cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Electronically Delivered, Patient-activation Tool for Intensification of Chronic Medications for Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: The Epic-hf Trial

Introduction Guideline Directed Medical Therapy (GDMT) recommends a combined regimen of beta blockers, ACE-I/ARB/ARNI, and mineralocorticoid receptor agents for optimal treatment of patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF). Unfortunately, data from numerous heart failure registries show that HFrEF patients by-and-large continue to remain on suboptimal therapy. Interventions to improve medication plans often target either patient adherence or provider prescribing methods, with mixed results. This suggests that a more novel approach—in which provider and patient are equally involved—may be necessary to incite change. Hypothesis Aspects of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) methods and Shared Decision Making models can be harnessed to encourage patients to engage providers in HFrEF prescribing decisions. This in turn may improve use of guideline-directed medical therapies. Methods Using DTC and Shared Decision Making models as our framework (Figure 1), we developed a user-friendly patient activation intervention—a 3-minute video and a HFrEF medication checklist—to encourage patients to discuss with their provider “one thing” that can be done to improve their medication plan. Patients were enrolled across three medical centers within the UCHealth medical system, and randomized to either intervention or control arms. Data on HFrEF medication prescribing and dosing was collected at enrollment, at time of intervention, and at 1-and-6 months from intervention. Results 305 patients were enrolled in total. At time of enrollment, 8.5% were on GDMT at suboptimal doses; only one patient (.3%) was on GDMT at target doses. Conclusions Our baseline results highlight the clear need for effective interventions to improve HFrEF prescribing. If successful, our intervention is simple enough to be adapted and implemented across a multitude of settings.
Fast, Optimal, and Targeted Predictions using Parametrized Decision Analysis

Prediction is critical for decision-making under uncertainty and lends validity to statistical inference. With targeted prediction, the goal is to optimize predictions for specific decision tasks of interest, which we represent via functionals. Although classical decision analysis extracts predictions from a Bayesian model, these predictions are often difficult to interpret and slow to compute. Instead, we design a class of parametrized actions for Bayesian decision analysis that produce optimal, scalable, and simple targeted predictions. For a wide variety of action parametrizations and loss functions--including linear actions with sparsity constraints for targeted variable selection--we derive a convenient representation of the optimal targeted prediction that yields efficient and interpretable solutions. Customized out-of-sample predictive metrics are developed to evaluate and compare among targeted predictors. Through careful use of the posterior predictive distribution, we introduce a procedure that identifies a set of near-optimal, or acceptable targeted predictors, which provide unique insights into the features and level of complexity needed for accurate targeted prediction. Simulations demonstrate excellent prediction, estimation, and variable selection capabilities. Targeted predictions are constructed for physical activity data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to better predict and understand the characteristics of intraday physical activity.
Implementation science: Scaling a training intervention to include IUDs and implants in contraceptive services in primary care.

Abstract Building capacity for contraceptive services in primary care settings, including for intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants, can help to broaden contraceptive access across the US. Following a randomized trial in family planning clinics, we brought a provider training intervention to other clinical settings including primary care in all regions. This implementation science study evaluates a national scale-up of a contraceptive training intervention to varied practice settings from 2013 to 2019 among 3216 clinic staff serving an estimated 1.6 million annual contraceptive patients. We measured providers' knowledge and clinical practice changes regarding IUDs and implants using survey data. We estimated the overall intervention effect, and its relative effectiveness in primary care settings, with generalized estimating equations for clustered data. Patient-centered counseling improved, along with comfort with method provision and removal. Provider knowledge increased (p
Histopathology of Hydrolyzed MIRAgel Scleral Buckles.

Introduction The goal of this study was to histopathologically evaluate the appearance of degrading MIRAgel scleral buckles so that they can be reliably distinguished by ophthalmic pathologists from other foreign materials. Methods Retrospective chart review and histopathologic study with special stains, including Alcian blue, periodic acid-Schiff, Masson's trichrome, and Perls' Prussian blue for iron, of 4 cases between 2017 and 2019. Results Hydrolyzed MIRAgel scleral buckles from 4 patients had a consistent histopathologic appearance. They had a honeycomb structure with the walls of the lattice ranging from distinct to poorly defined. The walls of the lattice were positive for Alcian blue, while the contents of each cell contained periodic acid-Schiff-positive material. Other special stains were not as valuable in highlighting the material. Discussion Although the capsules of MIRAgel scleral buckles have been well studied, the material itself has not been. While clinical history and radiographic appearance are often diagnostic of a hydrolyzed MIRAgel scleral buckle, there are instances of preoperative ambiguity where histopathologic confirmation can be useful. Conclusions MIRAgel scleral buckles have a distinct histopathologic appearance that can be readily distinguished from that of other foreign materials.
Mortgaging the future: the failure to address nutrition deficiencies and obesity

Five years after the 1999 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) in Mexico, and after several analyses addressing the major issues that have arisen since the NNS have been published, nutrition problems and their differential impact along the socioeconomic gradient remain at the forefront of the public health agenda. Federal programs have enjoyed a measure of improvement, following efforts to collect representative data and undertake cogent analyses to elucidate the meaning of current nutritional status at the national level. 1 Such policies
Percutaneous Treatment of Left Main Coronary Stenosis

To the Editor: The multicenter report by Dr Ellis and colleagues1 of 107 patients with left main coronary obstruction who were not candidates for surgery and in whom an attempt was made to reopen the left main coronary vessel by percutaneous techniques with different devices has significant implications for the cardiac surgeon when the patient is a candidate for a surgical procedure. Ellis et al deserve to be congratulated for this important piece of information. There have been numerous reports of patients who have undergone direct attempts to widen the left main trunk of the coronary artery to provide antegrade flow when the distal branches are not significantly involved with obstructions. One of the main complications of this approach is early restenosis of the vessel and, occasionally, total occlusion, with fatal consequences for the patient. It appears that the main trunk of the coronary artery reacts unfavorably to endarterectomy procedures or any type of trauma damaging the …
Effect of adrenocorticotropic hormone and human chorionic gonadotropin before and after bilateral oophorectomy in a patient with acquired adult-onset adrenal hyperplasia: A case report

Abstract A 29-year-old woman presented with hirsutism, obesity, oligomenorrhea, and infertility caused by oligoovulation and tubal occlusion. Partial 21-hydroxylase deficiency of the adrenal was suggested by an abnormal adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. The patient subsequently developed bilateral tuboovarian abscesses and underwent abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Thus, an opportunity was presented to study the adrenal endocrine disorder in the absence of ovaries and to investigate the effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on the adrenals. There was no change in the adrenal response to ACTH stimulation after oophorectomy. hCG stimulation resulted in an increase in dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and 17β-estradiol levels, suggesting that hCG had a stimulatory effect on the adrenal. The ovarian-adrenal relationship and effects of adrenal stimulation in the absence of ovaries are discussed.
Impact of Solar EUV, XUV, and X‐Ray Variations on Earths's Atmosphere

Solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV and XUV) radiation (1-103 nm) is the main source of energy and ionization of the upper atmosphere. Changes in EUV flux over the solar cycle and solar rotation time-scales give rise to large changes in neutral temperature and density, and ion density. Thermal expansion of the upper atmosphere over the solar cycle changes the drag on low-Earth orbiting spacecraft by a factor of ten. The increase in plasma density impacts propagation of high-frequency (HF) radio communication signals, and introduces positioning errors by increasing the phase delay in single frequency Global Positioning System navigation signals. Reasonable agreement between observed and globally averaged models of the energy budget and ionospheric production indicates a high level of maturity in our understanding of aeronomic processes initiated by solar photon impact of Earth's atmosphere. Much of our current understanding is based on satellite data from over twenty years ago, but higher resolution observations at EUV and XUV wavelengths may shed light on some of the remaining discrepancies in the energy budget. On time-scales less than a day, the flux at X-ray wavelengths (0.1-0.8 nm) are highly variable, and can increase by three orders of magnitude during a major solar flare. During these events, D-region ion density increases and follows the time history of the flare, causing absorption of HF radio signals and disruption of low frequency navigation systems. EUV flares have also been observed on these same time-scales and can change EUV flux by ∼50% for a short period (less than an hour) and have a modest impact on neutral and plasma density in the upper atmosphere. Ionization by soft X-rays (XUV; 1-30 nm) are an important source of plasma in the E-region ionosphere, contribute significantly to the higher energies in the photoelectron spectrum, and are dominant in the time-varying production of low-latitude nitric oxide in the lower thermosphere. Recent measurements of the flux of soft X-rays by SNOE have largely resolved discrepancies in the observed and modeled photoelectron spectrum and E-region electron density profile. It remains to be seen if modeled solar produced NO densities can now be brought into agreement with observations at low latitudes, including the diurnal and latitude structure and the relative contribution of molecular ions.
Cell growth and mitosis in Physarum polycephalum. I. The effect of an increased nutrient supply upon the onset of mitosis.

Abstract In starved plasmodia of the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum the nuclei undergo synchronous mitoses at intervals of 24–39 hr. Addition of growth medium to starved plasmodia at late interphase caused a delay of mitosis, although the onset of mitosis was considerably advanced when growth medium was added during early interphase. It is suggested that the initiation of mitosis is controlled by processes which are of such a nature that they are inhibited by an increased rate of macromolecular syntheses following the addition of growth medium.
Measuring client-perceived response times on the WWW

The response time of a WWW service often plays an important role in its success or demise. From a user's perspective, the response time is the time elapsed from when a request is initiated at a client to the time that the response is fully loaded by the client. This paper presents a framework for accurately measuring the client-perceived response time in a WWW service. Our framework provides feedback to the service provider and eliminates the uncertainties that are common in existing methods. This feedback can be used to determine whether performance expectations are met, and whether additional resources (e.g. more powerful server or better network connection) are needed. The framework can also be used when a consolidator provides Web hosting service, in which case the framework provides quantitative measures to verify the consolidator's compliance to a specified Service Level Agreement. Our approach assumes the existing infrastructure of the Internet with its current technologies and protocols. No modification is necessary to existing browsers or servers, and we accommodate intermediate proxies that cache documents. The only requirement is to instrument the documents to be measured, which can be done automatically using a tool we provide.
The Future of Liberal World Order

As these essays show, there is a lively debate over the future of world order. Sergey Chugrow offers a dark portrait of the breakdown of what he calls Western hegemony, driven in part by Russia's grievances and aggression in Ukraine. He points to a future where international order will have a mix of realist geopolitics and post-modern diversity. Keisuke Iida sees the debate over liberal international order as a return to older debates about the viability of hegemonic order and the role of regions and non-Western values in a post-hegemonic global system. Peter Haas sees the debate over liberal international order as a window onto various new forms of global governance. Behind these important observations is Amitav Acharya's vision of a post-American global order marked by diverse regional sub-systems; a world that is globalized, diversified, and localized. These developments lead Acharya to announce the ‘end’ of the American-led liberal international order.
An improved distance measure between the expression profiles linking co-expression and co-regulation in mouse

Many statistical algorithms combine microarray expression data and genome sequence data to identify transcription factor binding motifs in the low eukaryotic genomes. Finding cis-regulatory elements in higher eukaryote genomes, however, remains a challenge, as searching in the promoter regions of genes with similar expression patterns often fails. The difficulty is partially attributable to the poor performance of the similarity measures for comparing expression profiles. The widely accepted measures are inadequate for distinguishing genes transcribed from distinct regulatory mechanisms in the complicated genomes of higher eukaryotes. By defining the regulatory similarity between a gene pair as the number of common known transcription factor binding motifs in the promoter regions, we compared the performance of several expression distance measures on seven mouse expression data sets. We propose a new distance measure that accounts for both the linear trends and fold-changes of expression across the samples. The study reveals that the proposed distance measure for comparing expression profiles enables us to identify genes with large number of common regulatory elements because it reflects the inherent regulatory information better than widely accepted distance measures such as the Pearson's correlation or cosine correlation with or without log transformation.
News Media Coverage of the Iraq War in Basra, Fall 2007: A case study in “spinning” news for the state

By examining several mainstream press stories from The New York Times, CNN.com and the Associated Press during the fall of 2007, the author argues how mainstream news media have mostly failed to examine and put into headlines one of the devastating side effects of the occupation of Iraq: armed militias exerting harsh conditions on the citizens of Iraq, especially in the city of Basra, the site of one of the largest untapped oil reserves in the world. This failure stems from the fact that most of the media appear compliant and complicit in adhering to the government’s presentation of conditions in Basra − that it appears to be improving under “regime change.” News sources not beholden to this influence, the alternative news sites of Salon.com, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC News, and Juan Cole’s Informed Comment blog published stories challenging the views presented by the state, sourcing news outside official government channels. By doing so, readers find that the rise of armed militias in Basra caused corruption in the election process, resulting in a stagnation and decay of Basra’s infrastructure, the loss of jobs, and the rise of Taliban-like religious edicts taking away women’s freedom, as well as music from the public places of the city, which was once considered the Venice of the East.
Fractal symbolic analysis

Modern compilers restructure programs to improve their efficiency. Dependence analysis is the most widely used technique for proving the correctness of such transformations, but it suffers from the limitation that it considers only the memory locations read and written by a statement without considering what is being computed by that statement. Exploiting the semantics of program statements permits more transformations to be proved correct, and is critical for automatic restructuring of codes such as LU with partial pivoting.One approach to exploiting the semantics of program statements is symbolic analysis and comparison of programs.In principle, this technique is very powerful, but in practice, it is intractable for all but the simplest programs.In this paper, we propose a new form of symbolic analysis and comparison of programs which is appropriate for use in restructuring compilers. Fractal symbolic analysis is an approximate symbolic analysis that compares a program and its transformed version by repeatedly simplifying these programs until symbolic analysis becomes tractable while ensuring that equality of the simplified programs is sufficient to guarantee equality of the original programs.Fractal symbolic analysis combines some of the power of symbolic analysis with the tractability of dependence analysis. We discuss a prototype implementation of fractal symbolic analysis, and show how it can be used to solve the long-open problem of verifying the correctness of transformations required to improve the cache performance of LU factorization with partial pivoting.
The technique and instrumentation of low-impedance ground measurement

The measurement of the impedance of grounding systems that have a value of less than one ohm and also residual ground currents flowing at the time of measurement requires special techniques and instrumentation. A summation of the quantities involved is given in this paper, with a description of a practical instrument that has been developed for making this type of measurement.
First report of a new potyvirus, Tricyrtis virus Y, and Lily virus X, a potexvirus, in Tricyrtis formosana in the United States.

Tricyrtis formosana (toad lily) is an herbaceous perennial in the family Liliaceae. Native to Asia, T. formosana is now used in the United States as an ornamental border plant in woodland and shade gardens. A T. formosana var. stolonifera plant showing chlorosis and mild mosaic symptoms obtained from a commercial grower in Columbia County, Oregon tested positive for potyvirus by ELISA using our genus Potyvirus broad spectrum reacting PTY-1 Mab (3). Electron microscopic examination of negatively stained leaf-dip preparations from symptomatic leaves showed a mixture of two sizes of flexuous rod-shaped particles, approximately 700 nm long (resembling potyviruses) and 470 nm long (resembling potexviruses). Total RNA extracts from symptomatic leaves were used in reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assays with potyvirus- or potexvirus-specific primers. The degenerate primers for the genus Potyvirus (2) direct the amplification of approximately 1,600-bp fragments from the 3′ terminus of most potyviruses. Overlapping ...
Divergent Actions of the Pyrethroid Insecticides S-Bioallethrin, Tefluthrin and Deltamethrin on Rat Nav1.6 Sodium Channels

Abstract We expressed rat Na v 1.6 sodium channels in combination with the rat β 1 and β 2 auxiliary subunits in Xenopus laevis oocytes and evaluated the effects of the pyrethroid insecticides S -bioallethrin, deltamethrin, and tefluthrin on expressed sodium currents using the two-electrode voltage clamp technique. S -Bioallethrin, a type I structure, produced transient modification evident in the induction of rapidly decaying sodium tail currents, weak resting modification (5.7% modification at 100 μM), and no further enhancement of modification upon repetitive activation by high-frequency trains of depolarizing pulses. By contrast deltamethrin, a type II structure, produced sodium tail currents that were ~ 9-fold more persistent than those caused by S -bioallethrin, barely detectable resting modification (2.5% modification at 100 μM), and 3.7-fold enhancement of modification upon repetitive activation. Tefluthrin, a type I structure with high mammalian toxicity, exhibited properties intermediate between S -bioallethrin and deltamethrin: intermediate tail current decay kinetics, much greater resting modification (14.1% at 100 μM), and 2.8-fold enhancement of resting modification upon repetitive activation. Comparison of concentration–effect data showed that repetitive depolarization increased the potency of tefluthrin ~ 15-fold and that tefluthrin was ~ 10-fold more potent than deltamethrin as a use-dependent modifier of Na v 1.6 sodium channels. Concentration–effect data from parallel experiments with the rat Na v 1.2 sodium channel coexpressed with the rat β 1 and β 2 subunits in oocytes showed that the Na v 1.6 isoform was at least 15-fold more sensitive to tefluthrin and deltamethrin than the Na v 1.2 isoform. These results implicate sodium channels containing the Na v 1.6 isoform as potential targets for the central neurotoxic effects of pyrethroids.
Sensitivity limits on an image-plane fiber interferometer at low-light levels

ABSTRACT We discuss the performance of a fiber-coupled image-plane interferometer in which one transports individual image-plane wavefronts point by point by means of bundles of single-mode fibers to a beam-combining station where such wavefronts are cross-correlated. We compute the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of image reconstruction under low-light conditions where the principal source of noise is the shot noise of photodetection. 1. INTRODUCTION Since optical fibers are waveguides that combine mechanical strength with flexibility, they have been sug-gested for implementation in high-resolution interferometers for astronomical imaging.' A prototype pupil-planeinterferometer of this sort called FLTJOR2 has recently been tested at Kitt Peak. Here we describe an image-plane version of a fiber linked, co-phased array of telescopes, in which one trans- ports individual image-plane wavefronts by means of bundles of single-mode fibers to a beam-combining station where correlation information is acquired for image reconstruction. We shall present an analysis of the sensitivity
Histone Phosphorylation Combined with Acetylation Dramatically Increase Nucleosome Accessibility

Histone post translational modifications (PTMs) regulate DNA transcription, replication and repair. A number of histone PTMs have been identified within the DNA entry-exit region of the nucleosome including phosphorylation of H3 at tyrosine 41 (H3Y41ph) and threonine 45 (H3T45ph). Each of these modifications are implicated to occur with H3K56ac, which is known to increase DNA unwrapping and accessibility. However, the influence of H3Y41ph and H3T45ph on nucleosome dynamics and stability with and without H3K56ac remains undetermined. Micrococcal nuclease digestion, small angle x-ray scattering and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements reveal that each phosphorylation mimics H3Y41E and H3T45E, and the exact modification, H3Y41ph that was prepared by sequential native ligation, increase nucleosome unwrapping and enhance DNA accessibility to protein binding by three fold. Combinations of either phosphorylation site with H3K56ac increased DNA accessibility multiplicatively, while the combination of the phosphorylation sites did not increase accessibility beyond single phosphorylations. These results show that H3Y41 and H3T45 phosphorylation increase nucleosome unwrapping and accessibility similarly to H3K56 acetylation, and that combinations of PTMs can function multiplicatively to increase DNA accessibility by more than an order of magnitude.
Characterization of biochar from switchgrass carbonization.

Switchgrass is a high yielding, low-input intensive, native perennial grass that has been promoted as a major second-generation bioenergy crop. Raw switchgrass is not a readily acceptable feedstock in existing power plants that were built to accommodate coal and peat. The objective of this research was to elucidate some of the characteristics of switchgrass biochar produced via carbonization and to explore its potential use as a solid fuel. Samples were carbonized in a batch reactor under reactor temperatures of 300, 350 and 400 °C for 1, 2 and 3 h residence times. Biochar mass yield and volatile solids decreased from 82.6% to 35.2% and from 72.1% to 43.9%, respectively, by increasing carbonization temperatures from 300 °C to 400 °C and residence times from 1 h to 3 h. Conversely, biochar heating value (HV) and fixed carbon content increased from 17.6 MJ kg−1 to 21.9 MJ kg−1 and from 22.5% to 44.9%, respectively, under the same conditions. A biomass discoloration index (BDI) was created to quantify changes in biochar colors as affected by the two tested parameters. The maximum BDI of 77% was achieved at a carbonization temperature of 400 °C and a residence time of 3 h. The use of this index could be expanded to quantify biochar characteristics as affected by thermochemical treatments. Carbonized biochar could be considered a high quality solid fuel based on its energy content.
Detectability of γ-rays from clumps of dark matter

IF the dark matter in our Galaxy is made up of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses of the order of several GeV (for example, photinos or Higgsinos), γ-rays produced by their annihilation would in principle be observable1,2. But the expected flux3 from a smoothly distributed dark matter halo4,5 is much smaller than the observed diffuse background6, and although narrow lines might be produced, their intensity would be much too low to see with the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO)3,7. A complementary approach is to consider unique spatial signatures. Numerical simulations of galaxy formation8 show that even in the central bulge of the Galaxy, the mean density of the dark matter could be equal to that of the stars. If this were so, GRO could see the Galactic Centre as a source of annihilating dark matter1,3. Other lumps formed as part of the hierarchical formation of the Galaxy could also produce sources that would be recognized by the shape of their continuum spectrum2,3 and a line feature in sufficiently bright sources3,7. Even Geminga9,10, the second strongest source of γ-rays at energies greater than 50 MeV, could be annihilating dark matter.
Almost automorphic solutions to a Beverton-Holt dynamic equation with survival rate

Abstract In this paper we study and obtain the existence of an almost automorphic solution to a Beverton–Holt dynamic equation with a nonconstant survival rate under some reasonable assumptions.
Automated Optimization of Tracking Algorithms Using Simulated Annealing

The task of tuning a tracking filter often requires a tedious "trial and error" effort, and thus it is prudent to attempt to automate the process. There are a number of heuristic algorithms, such as simulated annealing and genetic algorithms, which are designed to seek global maxima or minima in multi-variable problems, and which appear suitable for this application. In this study, simulated annealing was used to tune two types of track filters used for a standard benchmark problem.
Mantle Cell Lymphoma: Taking Therapeutic Advantage of New Insights into the Biology

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an uncommon, incurable B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that afflicts the elderly. There is no standard course of treatment, with options varying from observation in asymptomatic patients to aggressive induction/consolidation regimens in younger patients with rapidly progressive disease. Emerging data regarding the role of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, B-cell receptor and mTOR signaling pathways, cell cycle regulation, and epigenetic and immune-modulation in the pathogenesis of MCL have resulted in the development of novel therapies, with a shift away from conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy to relatively less toxic, more targeted treatment. The challenge now is to determine the optimal sequence and combination of the various available and emerging therapies for use in patients with MCL.
Narrative Accounts, Generative Fathering, and Family Life Education

This article suggests that theory and story can be effectively linked in interpretive family life education programs and illustrates this potential by discussing how personal narrative accounts of fathers encounters with their children can be used to understand and encourage good fathering (herein referred to as generative fathering). The article (a) presents a theory of how fathers change and the implications of this theory for the use of fathers narrative accounts in interpretive family life education, (b) briefly discusses the concept of generative fathering and presents a conceptual framework for understanding and encouraging generative fathering, and (c) illustrates the potential utility of narrative accounts in encouraging generative fathering in family life education with accounts collected from fathers. Although the method applied herein is not, in the strictest sense, qualitative research, it illustrates how qualitative methodology can be applied to family life education.
End-to-end performance aware association mechanism for wireless municipal mesh networks

In a wireless municipal mesh (muni mesh) network, a client station (STA) needs to associate with a mesh access point (MAP) for network access. Previous association mechanisms assume high-speed backhaul and only the access link being the bottleneck. This assumption holds for most WLANs, but in wireless mesh networks traffic could be bottlenecked either by the access link or by the bandwidth-limited wireless backhaul. In this paper, we propose a new joint MAP association mechanism for wireless muni mesh networks to improve STA's end-to-end communication performance. A STA makes its association decision by jointly considering the quality of the access link between the STA and the associated MAP as well as the cost of the multi-hop path from the associated MAP to the Internet gateway. In addition, we design two new metrics, Contention Aware Expected Transmission Time (CAETT) and Load Aware Expected Transmission Time (LAETT), to measure the access link quality. The main strength of CAETT is incorporating the impact of 802.11 MAC layer contentions on the bandwidth sharing of multi-rate stations. LAETT further captures the real traffic load on the shared medium. In order to reduce the association delay, we use an analytical model to derive a hybrid measurement/estimation method to enable a station to quickly determine the cost of CAETT and LAETT. We conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed joint MAP association mechanism. Especially within the joint association framework, we investigate the impact of various combinations of access link metrics (RSSI, PB, CAETT, LAETT) and backhaul routing metrics (hopcount, ETT, RALA) on the system performance. We show that the joint association mechanism can significantly improve the network performance in terms of throughput and delay by up to 100%. In particular, the joint association mechanism with LAETT as the access link metric and RALA as the routing metric outperforms other schemes and metrics.
Physics and applications of the Schottky junction transistor

This paper presents the results from numerical simulations of a novel subthreshold transistor configuration. The device uses the input current from a forward-biased Schottky gate to control the larger current flowing in a depleted channel. Analytical approximations are used to derive the current gain of the transistor. The numerical simulations confirm the analytical derivation and show that a 0.5 /spl mu/m gate length device would have a cutoff frequency approaching 10 GHz for supply voltages less than 0.5 V. Possible applications of the device in the areas of micropower analog circuits and ULSI logic are discussed.
Effect of boron on the stability of monoclinic NaMnO2: Theoretical and experimental studies

The structural stability of NaBxMn1−xO2, where x = 0.0–0.375 has been studied using the Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP), employing density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). In addition, the structural stability of the oxides with 75% vacancy of Na ions for each concentration of B has been investigated. In order to validate the results of the ab initio study, a series of experimental investigations have been conducted for NaBxMn1−xO2 and LiBxMn1−xO2 synthesized via conventional solid-state and the chimiedouce ion-exchange reactions. Results of the simulation show that the monoclinic phase of these oxides is thermodynamically stable for all the B concentrations studied. Moreover, substitution of a larger amount of boron results in a higher energy difference between the monoclinic phase and its nearest concurrent orthorhombic phase. Also, deintercalation of Na ions from the parent oxide has shown that the monoclinic phase is stable and the energy difference between the monoclinic and spinel crystal structures increases with increasing amounts of boron. A rationale for this electrochemical response of boron substituted sodium manganese oxide has been provided. Electrochemical cycling results of the experimentally synthesized materials are also discussed in light of these theoretical predictions. © 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Musculature of the prostate gland.

SUMMARY The pattern of prostatic musculature may be outlined as follows: 1 The ureters enter the bladder, give rise to the trigonal musculature, and contribute elements to the bladder musculature. 2 The fibres of the trigonal muscle decussate in the midline and veer ventrally, giving rise to the internai sphincter and contributing fibres to the fibromuscular plate encircling the internai urethral orifice. 3 The internai sphincter surrounds the internai urethral orifice and decussates ventrally to the urethra, contributing elements to the urethra, external sphincter and prostatic parenchyma. 4 Henle's muscle arises from the puboprostatic muscle and in association with the external sphincter surrounds the urethra just distal to the prostate. It then passes ventrally and superiorly to insert into the glandular capsule of the prostate, the prostatic parenchyma and the tri go ne. 5 The ventral component of bladder musculature arises from the pubo-vesical ligament, the lateral true ligament of the bladder, and the fascial capsule of the prostate. The dorsal component arises from the glandular capsule of the prostate, the tendinous yoke under the uvula, and the prostatic parenchyma. 6 The longitudinal musculature of the urethra arises principally from the fibromuscular plate, but is also supplemented by elements from the glandular capsule, internai sphincter and prostatic parenchyma. 7 The double layered prostatic glandular capsule is contributed to by or gives rise to most of the muscular elements associated with the prostate gland, except the ventral longitudinal bladder musculature. 8 The external sphincter is formed by the distal prolongation of the anteriorly decussating fibres of the internai sphincter, and is separated from the deep perineal sphincter by the superior levator fascia. 9 The prostatic parenchymal musculature consists of ramifying septa extending between the middle third of the prostatic urethra and the prostatic glandular capsule. 10 Several prominent muscle groups envelop neuromuscular elements associated with the prostate gland and radiate into the adjacent supporting fascial structures.
Effects of zinc upon tolerance and heavy metal uptake in alfalfa plants (Medicago sativa)

Alfalfa Plants (Medicago sativa) J. R. Peralta-Videa, J. L. Gardea-Torresdey, J. Walton, W. P. Mackay, M. Duarte-Gardea 1 Environmental Science and Engineering, Ph.D. Program, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA 2 ITESM Campus Ciudad Juarez, PMB 10482, El Paso, TX 79995, USA 3 Chemistry Department, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA 4 Civil Engineering Department, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA 5 Biology Department, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA 6 School of Allied Health, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
Terrorism and pork-barrel spending

The horrifying, tragic events of 9/11 made Americans aware of their vulnerability to terrorist attacks and triggered the creation of the Department of Homeland Security along with a substantial increase in federal spending to both thwart terrorist attacks and to increase our ability to respond to such emergencies. Much of this large increase in spending was in the form of direct transfers to states and cities through several grant programs. Homeland Security grants may be used for protection against terrorist activities, thereby enhancing public interests, or as wealth transfers to state and local governments, enhancing the reelection efforts of incumbents, and thus, private interests. Using 2004 per capita Homeland Security grant funding to states and their cities, we find that the funding formula used for some of the grant programs, which allocates almost 40% of the funds in some grant programs through a minimum percent to each state with the rest allocated based on population, means that per capita funding is related to electoral votes per capita, i.e., to the politics of Presidential re-election. However, the funding in other grant programs is also related to some of the dangers and vulnerabilities faced by states and their cities. Some of the variation in per capita grant allocations is also explained by the amount of airport traffic in the state and the state's population density, which are variables closely linked to the state's vulnerability to attack. Per capita Homeland Security grant allocations, however, do not seem to be related to the closeness of the 2000 presidential race.
A Subpopulation of Platelets Responds to Thrombin- or SFLLRN-stimulation with Binding Sites for Factor IXa

Strong agonists cause platelets to expose a procoagulant surface supporting the assembly of two important coagulation enzyme complexes. Equilibrium binding has determined the density of high affinity saturable factor IXa binding sites to be 500–600 sites/platelet. We have now used flow cytometry to visualize the binding of factor IX and IXa to thrombin- or SFLLRN-activated platelets. Concentrations of these agonists that are half-maximal or maximal in kinetic studies resulted in only a small subpopulation (4–20%) of platelets binding factor IX or IXa with the density of binding sites for factor IX being about half of that for factor IXa, consistent with previous equilibrium binding studies. A small subpopulation (5 ± 1.5%) of platelets stimulated with either agonist also exposed annexin V binding sites, and this subpopulation of platelets also bound factor IXa. Annexin V decreased factor IXa binding in the presence or absence of factor VIIIa, and factor IXa could also decrease annexin V binding on some platelets indicating a common binding site in agreement with previous studies. All platelets binding factor IXa were positive for glycoprotein IX, at the same glycoprotein IX surface density as seen in platelets negative for factor IXa binding. These studies refine the results from equilibrium binding studies and suggest that, on average, only a small subpopulation (∼10%) of PAR 1-stimulated platelets expose ∼6000 factor IXa binding sites/platelet.
Effects of hemin on a lymphoblastoid cell line that expresses the human ɛ- and γ-globin genes

Northern blot analysis using probes specific for each of the human embryonic (ɛ), fetal (γ), and adult (β) globin genes indicates that the human lymphoblastoid F-265 cells express the embryonic and fetal globin genes. Unlike: the erythroid cell line K562, in which globin RNA levels increase during treatment with hemin in culture, globin RNA levels decrease in F-265 cells in the presence of hemin. This effect is reversible after passage of F-265 cells in fresh medium without hemin. Both the rates of globin RNA synthesis and the presence of DNase I-hypersensitive sites in hemin treated and untreated F-265 cells were investigated to identify the levels at which globin gene expression is controlled.
In-Situ Measurement of Surface Deformation and Temperature of SOFC Button Cell as a Function of Current Density

An experimental technique is developed that can measure in-situ surface deformation and monitor surface temperature of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode, along with its electrochemical performance. In this research, a NexTech Probostat™ button cell test apparatus is modified and integrated with Sagnac interferometric optical setup and infrared sensor for anode surface deformation and temperature measurement respectively. The cell surface transient temperature is monitored as a function of applied current densities in hydrogen and simulated syngas environment. The surface deformation is also measured over time to estimate the anode material degradation to predict its structural life. The experimental results are useful to validate the SOFC structural and electrochemical models.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Rightsizing Invasive Cardiac Services in the United States

Despite the fact that the United States spends more per capita on health care than any other nation in the world,1 a significant proportion of Americans still lack access to high-quality, modern cardiovascular care. In fact, recent national data suggest that only approximately two thirds of Medicare patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction receive revascularization.2,3 These numbers are even lower in rural communities4,5 and are likely part of the reason why patients in rural areas have worse outcomes after experiencing an acute myocardial infarction than those in more urban areas.6 Article see p 803 In this light, there is an urgent need to ensure the adequate availability of high-value invasive cardiac services, particularly in rural or semirural areas of the country. With these important concerns as a starting point, Horwitz et al7 examined the introduction of diagnostic angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention, and coronary artery bypass grafting services in the United States between 1996 and 2008. The authors studied whether new offerings of these services were leading to an expansion of access to care in areas that were previously unserved or underserved.7 Simply put, were the new services being offered in the places that needed them most? Unfortunately, the investigators found that the majority of invasive cardiac service expansions took place in areas where access was already established. In fact, during that time period, only 10% of the patients served by the 397 hospitals that newly offered diagnostic angiography were in areas outside a 40-mile radius of an existing catheterization laboratory. The authors report that, despite a 6% to 8% increase in the number of hospitals providing services since 1996, the population increase in geographic access to diagnostic angiography was just 1%, the increase in access to percutaneous coronary intervention …
Compact Polyimide-Based Antennas for Flexible Displays

In this paper, we present two compact ultra thin and flexible printed monopole antennas intended for integration with flexible displays, such as flexible organic light-emission displays (FOLEDs) and active matrix electro-phoretic displays (AM-EPDs). The proposed antennas are designed to provide Wireless local area network (WLAN) and Bluetooth connectivity for flexible displays. The first design is a dual band antenna operating at 2.45 GHz and 5.2 GHz while the second is a single band antenna operating at 2.4 GHz. Both antennas were printed on a Kapton polyimide-based substrate with dimensions (35 mmt25 mm) and (26.5 mmt25 mm) for the dual and single band respectively. Antenna properties, such as gain, far-field radiation patterns, scattering parameter S11 are provided. Moreover, the effect of folding/bending was performed experimentally on both designs to study its influence on the antennas performance. The proposed compact, thin and flexible designs along with antennas characteristics are perfectly suitable for integration into flexible displays for WLAN and Bluetooth connectivity.
Mathematical reduction of a heart dipole model

Abstract In this paper we show how to reduce the resultant dipole system developed by Gabor, Hodgkin and Nelson to a single quadratic equation. This system was developed to determine the resultant dipole of the heart from measurements on the body surface. Reducing the system to a quadratic equation eliminates previous difficulties in numerically solving the system.
Effects of reserpine administration on the fine structure of the rat pars intermedia

Hormone release from the pars intermedia is under inhibitory control of the hypothalamus. Control may be mediated via dopaminergic fibers which directly contact secretory cells. Administration of reserpine in vivo to adult male rats for four consecutive days results in major alternations in pars intermedia cytology. Cells show expanded areas and whorls of rough endoplasmic reticulum, as well as extensive Golgi zones with numerous dense granules. Some nerve fibers exhibit alterations in vesicle content, while others retain a more normal appearance. Freeze-fracture of glands from reserpine-treated animals provides evidence for exocytosis of granules, although such phenomena are not observed in thin sections. The ultrastructural findings suggest that reserpine alters the content of local inhibitory neurotransmitters in the pars intermedia, leading to unrestrained hormone release, followed by renewed granule synthesis.
Wilhelm Ostwald’s energetics 3: energetic theory and applications, part II

This is the third of a series of essays on the development and reception of Wilhelm Ostwald’s energetics. The first essay described the chemical origins of Ostwald’s interest in the energy concept and his motivations for seeking a comprehensive science of energy. The second essay and the present one discuss his various attempts, beginning in 1891 and extending over almost 3 years, to develop a consistent and coherent energetic theory. A final essay will consider reactions to this work and Ostwald’s replies, and will also seek to evaluate his program of research. Ostwald’s project—to reconstruct physics and chemistry “as a pure energetics”—is worth attending to for several reasons: first, because Ostwald did ground-breaking work in chemistry (he was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1909 for his studies in catalysis and rates of reaction); second, because an important school of physical chemistry formed around him at Leipzig, a school that promoted his ideas; and, finally, because he was a prominent and vigorous participant in debates at the end of the nineteenth century concerning the proper course of physical theory.