cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Input Linkages and the Transmission of Shocks: Firm-Level Evidence from the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake

Support for this research at the Michigan RDC from NSF (ITR-0427889) is also gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Census Bureau. All results have been reviewed to ensure no confidential information is disclosed.
Artificial Ground-Water Recharge with Capillarity

The effect of capillarity on the transient response of the water table to recharge was evaluated by a numerical and a porous media model. The numerical model was developed to simulate the growth and spread of ground-water mounds taking into consideration the flow and storage in the capillary region. The contribution from the capillary region was described analytically in terms of recharge rates and the measureable soil properties of bubbling pressure, pore-size distribution index, and hydraulic conductivity. The numerical model was verified by comparing its predictions for various flow conditions with the result obtained from the porous media model. The effects of bubbling-pressure head, pore-size distribution index, initial saturated depth, depth to water table, and recharge rate on the predicted mound height were determined. It was shown that the effect of the capillary region significantly influences the growth and spread of ground-water mounds.
Dual-Polarized Tightly Coupled Array With Substrate Loading

A dual-polarized, tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA), delivering 13.1:1 bandwidth, is presented. The array incorporates a resistive sheet (R-Card) in the substrate to suppress resonances within the operational band and employs a dielectric layer as a superstrate to maintain high efficiency. The simulated infinite array demonstrates broadside VSWR -2.2 is dB across all frequencies and scanning angles. An 8×8 prototype was fabricated and tested to validate the design. Measured array gain and mid-band and high-frequency patterns for the two principal scanning planes are presented, demonstrating good agreement with the respective simulations.
The process of transformation experienced by the patients, their families, and nurses during critical illness in the intensive care unit: perspective from a phenomenological study.

Background There are no studies in the literature that explore and describe the concept of transformation from the perspective of patients, family members, and nurses during critical illness in the intensive care unit (ICU). Objectives The purpose of this article is to explore and describe the concept of transformation among patients, their families, and nurses during critical illness in the ICU. Methods The concept "transformation" is a theme illuminated from a qualitative phenomenological study conducted in the ICU in 2010. Fifteen participants were interviewed until data saturation was achieved. van Manen's holistic, selective, and detailed line-by-line approach was used to analyze the data until themes emerged. Results Processes of transformation related to ICU experience during critical illness were noted among the patients, family members, and nurses and presented in the following descriptors: (a) patients: a "wake-up call," "the longest days of my life," and "thankful to be alive"; (b) family members: "the experience made me emotionally empowered," and "the experience strengthened my faith"; (c) nurses: "the experience made me grow as a person," "the experience made me more enthusiastic for learning," and "realization that good care equals family satisfaction thus own personal satisfaction." Discussion The concept of transformation from the perspective of a triad of patients, their families, and nurses may be noted in other conditions other than critical illness; thus, replicating studies with different populations and settings is needed.
Some Objectives of Intramurals

(1939). Some Objectives of Intramurals. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 86-125.
Quality, health system and governance. The argentinean case

Argentina had been a fertile ground for reform attempts, focusing in the quality of its health services and subsequently, improving the accessibility and equity to the system. Even though bioethics, as a tool for interdisciplinary reflection, should had been a participant for the foundations of health policies and the impact on its users, it seems that local bioethics had omitted the deleterious consequences created by the lack of governance and corruption on the Argentinean public and social security healthcare systems, choosing instead for focusing in blurry discussions about universal issues related to solidarity and justice, blaming for the failures to the imposition of foreign economical models.
Neutron radii and the neutron equation of state in relativistic models

The root-mean-square radii for neutrons in nuclei and their relationship to the neutron equation of state are investigated in the relativistic Hartree model. A correlation between the neutron skin in heavy nuclei and the derivative of the neutron equation of state is found which provides a linear continuation of results obtained from nonrelativistic Hartree-Fock models. The relativistic models tend to give larger neutron radii and an associated stiffer neutron equation of state compared with the nonrelativistic models.
Punish and Expel: Border Control, Nationalism, and the New Purpose of the Prison

In 2006, after a scandal that gripped the country, the British government began to transform its prison system. Under pressure to find and expel non-citizens, the Prison Service embedded border agents in penal institutions, created new "all-foreign" prisons, empowered prison staff to refer anyone suspected of being foreign to immigration authorities, and issued a policy preventing any non-citizen from being released from prison without approval from the U.K. border agency. These sweeping changes altered the character of the penal estate and, for prisoners who cannot be deported, turned British prisons into sites of indefinite immigration detention. Though unusually swift, the transformation of Britain's prison system is not exceptional. Over the past decade, penal institutions across the United States, Australia, and much of Western Europe have become key sites for border control. The British approach to foreign nationals reflects a broader trend in prison policy - one that challenges basic assumptions about the nature of punishment and the purpose of prisons. This book explores that trend. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and a year of fieldwork inside five men's prisons, Punish and Expel examines the prison's central - and growing - role in the regulation of mobility. The book provides the first comprehensive account of the imprisonment of non-citizens in the United Kingdom, describes many prison officers' resistance to their new role as immigration enforcers, and documents the widespread over-identification of black British citizens as foreign nationals. It then links the treatment of incarcerated non-citizens to the history of British colonialism and the contemporary politics of race.
Localization of magnetic dipole targets

An algorithm for the detection and localization of magnetic targets is described. The algorithm uses overlapping segments of magnetic gradient data (which contain more information than more common single-channel magnetometer data), collected from a moving platform, to estimate the positions and moments of stationary dipole targets. Effects of platform motion are removed prior to localization. This motion compensation can be performed with attitude information from inertial measurements, if available. Subtracting a least-square fit to measurements from a vector magnetometer that is used as a reference can also perform the compensation. This general reference-subtraction method can be used to remove other forms of noise. In particular, it can be used to remove interference from active noise sources during operation on UUVs. The dipole parameters are estimated with a combination of linear (to find the moments) and nonlinear (to find the positions) least-squares fits. Multiple targets are handled with an iterative scheme, with new targets being successively added until there is no improvement in the fit. The implementation of this algorithm runs in real time, with only a short lag for processing.
Changes in Blood Flow-Distribution During the Application of Multiple Stresses

Until recently, the quantitative analysis of the cardiovascular system was focused primarily on the mechanical properties of the heart and the cardiovascular tree, as well as on the physicochemical properties of the blood. A variety of models were developed dealing either with overall input-output relationships (mostly lumped parameter models) or with the pulsatile nature of blood flow and pressure (mostly distributed parameter models). The investigation of cardiovascular control systems by means of such models was limited largely to isolated control functions such as cardiac and blood volume control, chemo- and baroreceptor reflex loops, and autoregulation [4, 10, 14, 16, 18].
How is the Taylor Rule Distributed under Endogenous Monetary Regimes

This paper estimates Taylor rules at various points (quantiles) on the conditional interest-rate distribution for endogenously identified monetary regimes. I find that the Taylor principle upholds only for the upper tails of the interest-rate distribution in monetary Hawkish regimes, but not in monetary interim and Dovish regimes. Moreover, the results show that the Federal Reserve responds more aggressively to inflation at upper tails than at lower tails in both monetary Dovish and Hawkish regimes, implying its significant inflation-avoidance preference. Finally, the Federal Reserve appears to respond to inflation more aggressively during Hawkish regimes than during Dovish regimes across quantiles.
Five-year retrospective review of blunt renal injuries at a level I trauma center

We report the experience of a Level I trauma center in the management of blunt renal injury during a 5-year period, with special attention to those treated using angiography with embolization. The institutional trauma registry was queried for all patients with blunt renal injury between September 1, 2009 and August 30, 2014. Each injury was graded using the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma guidelines. Patients that underwent angiography with embolization were reviewed for case-specific information including imaging findings, treatment, materials used, clinical course, and mortality. The registry identified 48 blunt renal injury patients. Median Injury Severity Score was higher and hospital length of stay was significantly longer in those with blunt renal injury when compared with those without blunt renal injury (P < 0.001). The majority of patients with blunt renal injury were managed nonoperatively. Mortality was three out of 48 patients (5%). Nine patients underwent exploratory laparotomy. These operations were always performed for reasons other than the renal trauma (e.g., splenic injury, free fluid, free air). No patient underwent invasive renal operation. Six patients were treated using angiography with embolization. Of the six, one patient died of pulmonary septic complications. We conclude that selective nonoperative management is the mainstay of treatment for blunt renal injury. Angiography with embolization is a useful modality for cases of ongoing bleeding, and is typically preferable to nephrectomy in our experience.
The glucose sensor Snf1 and the transcription factors Msn2 and Msn4 regulate transcription of the vacuolar iron importer gene CCC1 and iron resistance in yeast

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae stores iron in the vacuole, which is a major resistance mechanism against iron toxicity. One key protein involved in vacuolar iron storage is the iron importer Ccc1, which facilitates iron entry into the vacuole. Transcription of the CCC1 gene is largely regulated by the binding of iron–sulfur clusters to the activator domain of the transcriptional activator Yap5. Additional evidence, however, suggests that Yap5-independent transcriptional activation of CCC1 also contributes to iron resistance. Here, we demonstrate that components of the signaling pathway involving the low-glucose sensor Snf1 regulate CCC1 transcription and iron resistance. We found that SNF1 deletion acts synergistically with YAP5 deletion to regulate CCC1 transcription and iron resistance. A kinase-dead mutation of Snf1 lowered iron resistance as did deletion of SNF4, which encodes a partner protein of Snf1. Deletion of all three alternative partners of Snf1 encoded by SIT1, SIT2, and GAL83 decreased both CCC1 transcription and iron resistance. The Snf1 complex is known to activate the general stress transcription factors Msn2 and Msn4. We show that Msn2 and Msn4 contribute to Snf1-mediated CCC1 transcription. Of note, SNF1 deletion in combination with MSN2 and MSN4 deletion resulted in additive effects on CCC1 transcription, suggesting that other activators contribute to the regulation of CCC1 transcription. In conclusion, we show that yeast have developed multiple transcriptional mechanisms to regulate Ccc1 expression and to protect against high cytosolic iron toxicity.
Prediction of the rate of the rise of an air bubble in nanofluids in a vertical tube

Abstract Our recent experiments have demonstrated that when a bubble rises through a nanofluid (a liquid containing dispersed nanoparticles) in a vertical tube, a nanofluidic film with several particle layers is formed between the gas bubble and the glass tube wall, which significantly changes the bubble velocity due to the nanoparticle layering phenomenon in the film. We calculated the structural nanofilm viscosity as a function of the number of particle layers confined in it and found that the film viscosity increases rather steeply when the film contains only one or two particle layers. The nanofilm viscosity was found to be several times higher than the bulk viscosity of the fluid. Consequently, the Bretherton equation cannot accurately predict the rate of the rise of a slow-moving long bubble in a vertical tube in a nanofluid because it is valid only for very thick films and uses the bulk viscosity of the fluid. However, in this brief note, we demonstrate that the Bretherton equation can indeed be used for predicting the rate of the rise of a long single bubble through a vertical tube filled with a nanofluid by simply replacing the bulk viscosity with the proper structural nanofilm viscosity of the fluid.
Quantitative DNase I Footprinting

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview on quantitative deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) footprinting. DNase I footprinting was introduced by Schmitz and Galas to identify the DNA sequences that constitute binding sites for site-specific DNA-binding proteins. It has been used to detect changes in DNA structure and to measure the relative binding affinities of DNA-binding proteins. The unique value of footprinting as a quantitative titration technique for protein-DNA interactions is its ability to separately monitor the binding of protein to each specific site on the DNA. Further, the chapter focuses on the use of DNase I footprinting in vitro to yield data about specific binding sites and to obtain thermodynamic information that characterizes DNA-protein systems. One advantage of DNase I over chemical footprinting agents is that its enzymatic activity is specific to the DNA, so that degradation of the protein ligand is not a concern. A disadvantage is that its activity is somewhat sensitive to the DNA sequence, so that some regions are inefficiently cleaved even in the absence of bound protein ligand.
Model Checking Combined Fragments of Sequence Diagrams

Graphical representations of scenarios using the Combined Fragments of UML Sequence Diagrams, serve as a well-accepted means for expressing an aggregation of multiple traces encompassing complex and concurrent behaviors. However, Combined Fragments increase the difficulty of analysis of scenarios. This paper introduces an approach to formally verify all the Combined Fragments, and nested Combined Fragments using model checking.
A therapeutic vaccine that reduces recurrent herpes simplex virus type 1 corneal disease.

PURPOSE. To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of periocular vaccination with herpes simplex virus (HSV) recombinant glycoprotein D from HSV-I (gD1) or HSV-2 (gD2) in decreasing HSV-induced recurrent dendritic keratitis and HSV-induced recurrent ocular shedding in rabbits latently infected with HSV-I. METHODS. Rabbits latently infected with HSV-1 were vaccinated periocularly (by subconjunctival injection) with gD1 and adjuvant, gD2 and adjuvant, or adjuvant alone. Eyes were examined daily for 49 days for recurrent herpetic keratitis and for recurrent infectious HSV-I shedding. RESULTS. In both vaccinated groups, a significantly decreased number of eyes exhibited recurrences of herpetic keratitis compared with recurrences in adjuvant-treated control eyes (gD1 group, 27/1372, [2%]; gD2 group, 24/1274, [2%]; and control, 54/1274 [4%] P < 0.005). Eyes in the gD1-vaccinated group (44/1308 [3.4%]; P = 0.01), but not those in the gD2-vaccinated group (71/1274 [5.6%]; P = 0.93), had significantly decreased viral shedding (positive cultures compared with total cultures) compared with eyes in the adjuvant-treated control group (69 of 1275 [5.4%]). CONCLUSIONS. Recurrent HSV-I corneal disease was significantly reduced by therapeutic local periocular vaccination. The vaccine may be more efficacious against HSV-1-induced recurrent corneal disease than against recurrent HSV-I ocular shedding. Its efficacy against corneal disease appeared to be longer lasting than its efficacy against recurrent spontaneous shedding. The heterotypic gD2 vaccine was as efficacious as the homotypic gD1 vaccine against recurrent corneal disease, whereas the homotypic vaccine was much more efficacious than the heterotypic vaccine against recurrent HSV-1 shedding. This is the first report in any animal model of a successful therapeutic vaccine against recurrent HSV-1-induced corneal disease. These results support the concept that development of a therapeutic vaccine for ocular HSV-1 recurrence in humans may be possible.
Improved Lightweight Implementations of CAESAR Authenticated Ciphers

Authenticated ciphers offer potential benefits to resource-constrained devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). The CAESAR competition seeks optimal authenticated ciphers based on several criteria, including performance in resource-constrained (i.e., low-area, low-power, and low-energy) hardware. Although the competition specified a "lightweight"? use case for Round 3, most hardware submissions to Round 3 were not lightweight implementations, in that they employed architectures optimized for best throughput-to-area (TP/A) ratio, and used the Pre- and PostProcessor modules from the CAESAR Hardware (HW) Development Package designed for highspeed applications. In this research, we provide true lightweight implementations of selected ciphers (ACORN, NORX, CLOC-AES, SILC-AES, and SILC-LED). These implementations use an improved version of the CAESAR HW Development Package designed for lightweight applications, and are fully compliant with the CAESAR HW Application Programming Interface for Authenticated Ciphers. Our lightweight implementations achieve an average of 55% reduction in area and 40% reduction in power compared to their corresponding high-speed versions. Although the average energy per bit of lightweight ciphers increases by a factor of 3.6, the lightweight version of NORX actually uses 47% less energy per bit than its corresponding high-speed implementation.
Productivity Effects of Relative Performance Information and Mutual Monitoring

Using an experiment in which workers pay depends only on their own performance (output), I examine the interactive effects of mutual monitoring (opportunity to observe peer effort) and relative performance information (RPI) on productivity (performance per unit of time spent). I predict and find a positive effect of mutual monitoring on productivity. I also predict and find that RPI provision moderates this effect, such that the positive effect of mutual monitoring on productivity is weaker in a setting with RPI compared to a setting without RPI. I highlight a downside of providing RPI to workers who can mutually monitor peer effort, as RPI decreases the effect of mutual monitoring on productivity. My results extend prior research on management control by identifying the substitutive effect of two common features of management control environment.
High Performance Erasure Coding for Very Large Stripe Sizes

Exascale computing demands high bandwidth and low latency I/O on the computing edge. Object storage systems can provide higher bandwidth and lower latencies than tape archive. File transfer nodes present a single point of mediation through which data moving between these storage systems must pass. By increasing the performance of erasure coding, stripes can be subdivided into large numbers of shards.This paper’s contribution is a prototype nearline disk object storage system based on Ceph. We show that using general purpose graphical processing units (GPGPU) for erasure coding on file transfer nodes is effective when using a large number of shards. We describe an architecture for nearline disk archive storage for use with high performance computing (HPC) and demonstrate the performance with benchmarking results. We compare the benchmark performance of our design with the Intel®Storage Acceleration Library (ISA-L) CPU based erasure coding libraries using the native Ceph erasure coding feature.
Nonreciprocal Metasurfaces through Biasing with Circularly Polarized Waves

Spatiotemporal modulation (STM) has emerged as a promising paradigm for the development of magnetless nonreciprocal devices, but it poses significant practical challenges when sought to be implemented over structures with a large number of modulated components, such as metasurfaces. Here it is shown that this problem may be overcome in metasurfaces biased with circular-polarized waves. In particular, it is shown that this type of biasing can create modulation equivalent to angular-momentum modulation, without any complicated modulation network. Different forms of CP modulation are discussed and shown how they can lead to different nonreciprocal functionalities, including Faraday rotation, nonreciprocal amplification and isolation.
Indirect Calorimetry Overestimates Oxygen Consumption in Young Children: Caution is Advised Using Direct Fick Method as a Reference Method in Cardiac Output Comparison Studies.

Direct Fick method is considered a standard reference method for estimation of cardiac output. It relies on indirect calorimetry to measure oxygen consumption. This is important as only a minor measurement error in oxygen consumption can result in false estimation of cardiac output. A number of studies have shown that indirect calorimetry overestimates oxygen consumption in adults. The aim of this prospective single center observational method comparison study was to compare the determination of oxygen consumption by indirect calorimetry and reverse Fick method in pediatric patients. Forty-two children mean age 352 days (range 30 to 1303 days) and mean weight 7.1 kg (range 2.7–13.6 kg) undergoing corrective cardiac surgery were included in the study. The mean (standard deviation) oxygen consumption by reverse Fick method was 43.5 (16.2) ml/min and by indirect calorimetry 49.9 (18.8) ml/min (p < 0.001). Indirect calorimetry overestimated the reverse Fick oxygen consumption by 14.7%. Bias between methods was 6.5 (11.3) ml/min, limits of agreement (LOA) − 15.7 and 28.7 ml/min and percentage error of 47.7%. A significant bias and large percentage error indicates that the methods are not interchangeable. Indirect calorimetry and the direct Fick method should be used with caution as a reference method in cardiac output comparison studies in young children.
Low-Temperature Lithium Plating/Corrosion Hazard in Lithium-Ion Batteries: Electrode Rippling, Variable States of Charge, and Thermal and Nonthermal Runaway

Spatially dependent low-temperature to room-temperature degradation mechanisms for Li(Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2)O2/LixC6 (NMC532/graphite) large format 50Ah Li-ion batteries were investigated. First, highly ...
Ductility and Brittleness in small clear notched S-P-F beams

Because wood has both brittle and ductile behaviors, the impact of stress concentration around notches is difficult to quantify. This research used the bending stiffness to strength ratio as a means of evaluating stress concentrations in the tension and compression faces of small clear spruce-pine-fir beams. The bending strength and stiffness behavior of wood and wood composites is of particular interest in ladder rails, laminated beams, and structural cross laminated timber, and other heavy timber construction. It was found that rectangular notches up to half of the beam depth located on the tension face reduced the bending strength by 10.5%. The drop in in ductility, as measured by MOE/MOR, was significantly higher, up to 52%. Beams loaded with the notch on the compression face had no statistically significant change in MOR; however, ductility dropped by as much as 30%.
Detection of coincidentally correct test cases through Random Forests

The performance of coverage-based fault localization greatly depends on the quality of test cases being executed. These test cases execute some lines of the given program and determine whether the underlying tests are passed or failed. In particular, some test cases may be well-behaved (i.e., passed) while executing faulty statements. These test cases, also known as coincidentally correct test cases, may negatively influence the performance of the spectra-based fault localization and thus be less helpful as a tool for the purpose of automated debugging. In other words, the involvement of these coincidentally correct test cases may introduce noises to the fault localization computation and thus cause in divergence of effectively localizing the location of possible bugs in the given code. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach of ensemble learning combined with a supervised learning algorithm namely, Random Forests (RF) for the purpose of correctly identifying test cases that are mislabeled to be the passing test cases. A cost-effective analysis of flipping the test status or trimming (i.e., eliminating from the computation) the coincidental correct test cases is also reported.
Adipokines and Subclinical Cardiovascular Disease in Post‐Menopausal Women: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

Background The menopausal transition is characterized by increased cardiovascular risk, weight gain, and increased adiposity for many women. The adipose‐derived secretory proteins adiponectin and l...
Temporally dynamic antagonism between transcription and chromatin compaction controls stochastic photoreceptor specification

Stochastic mechanisms diversify cell fates during development. How cells randomly choose between two or more fates remains poorly understood. In the Drosophila eye, the random mosaic of two R7 photoreceptor subtypes is determined by expression of the transcription factor Spineless (Ss). Here, we investigated how cis-regulatory elements and trans factors regulate nascent transcriptional activity and chromatin compaction at the ss gene locus during R7 development. We find that the ss locus is in a compact state in undifferentiated cells. An early enhancer drives ss transcription in all R7 precursors to open the ss locus. In differentiating cells, transcription ceases and the ss locus stochastically remains open or compacts. In SsON R7s, ss is open and competent for activation by a late enhancer, whereas in SsOFF R7s, ss is compact and repression prevents expression. Our results suggest that a temporally dynamic antagonism, in which transcription drives decompaction and then compaction represses transcription, controls stochastic cell fate specification.
Clustering longitudinal clinical marker trajectories from electronic health data: applications to phenotyping and endotype discovery

Diseases such as autism, cardiovascular disease, and the autoimmune disorders are difficult to treat because of the remarkable degree of variation among affected individuals. Subtyping research seeks to refine the definition of such complex, multi-organ diseases by identifying homogeneous patient subgroups. In this paper, we propose the Probabilistic Subtyping Model (PSM) to identify subgroups based on clustering individual clinical severity markers. This task is challenging due to the presence of nuisance variability— variations in measurements that are not due to disease subtype—which, if not accounted for, generate biased estimates for the group-level trajectories. Measurement sparsity and irregular sampling patterns pose additional challenges in clustering such data. PSM uses a hierarchical model to account for these different sources of variability. Our experiments demonstrate that by accounting for nuisance variability, PSM is able to more accurately model the marker data. We also discuss novel subtypes discovered using PSM and the resulting clinical hypotheses that are now the subject of follow up clinical experiments.
Murine Toxicity of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Eleven strains of the crown gall organism, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, tested by intraperitoneal injection into mice, were lethal within 48 hr. Five other species had some lethal strains. The lethal effect of A. tumefaciens appeared to be the result of a toxic rather than an infectious process, since histopathological anomalies were not found in mice injected with live cultures and since heat-killed cultures were lethal. The murine toxin disappeared when A. tumefaciens was grown at 36 C and reappeared when the organism was subsequently incubated below 30 C. The murine toxin itself was not inactivated by exposure to 100 C for 30 min. The toxin was associated with the cells and was not excreted into the medium. Centrifugal fractionation revealed that the toxin was associated with the smaller cells in 3-day stationary-phase cultures. These data suggested a possible relationship between toxin production and the production of the agents responsible for the initiation of plant tumors.
VASCULAR INVOLVEMENT IN PRIMARY HYPEROXALOSIS: AN EVIDENCE BASED SYTEMATIC OVERVIEW OVER A FIFTY YEAR SPAN

Background and Aims: Primary hyperoxaluria (PH) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by calcium oxalate nephrocalcinosis leading to renal failure. When renal function is impaired, plasma oxalate concentration increases and extra-renal oxalate deposition occurs. Vascular involvement includes vasculitis and ischemic related morbidity and death. The prevalence of vascular involvement is not known with only a few cases described in the literature. A systematic overview of the literature was performed to identify the demographics, clinical presentation and outcomes of such patients. Methods: A computerized search of MEDLINE (Jan 1950 to May 30, 2007), EMBASE (Jan 1988 to May 2007) and CINAHL (Jan 1982 to May 30, 2007 identified twenty three cases of vascular involvement. Results: The majority of those reported in the literature are young females (74%). Vascular deposition of oxalate crystals presents as skin vasculitis; limb or mesenteric ischemia or gangrene. Stroke is uncommon. The lower limbs are affected more than upper limbs followed by mesenteric vessels. Vasculitic skin manifestations occur in 52% of cases. Death occurred in 8 (38%) of cases (63% abdominal gangrene/sepsis; 37% cardiac). Conclusions: Little information exists on vascular involvement in PH. Morbidity and mortality is high (death and limb loss occurring in 2/3 of patients). Awareness of the vascular presentation is thus important to allow a better understanding. Prospective reporting via a national or international registry on optimal management of vascular involvement in PH is needed.
Fritz–John and KKT Optimality Conditions for Constrained Optimization

Optimality conditions for Fritz–John and Karush Kuhn Tucker (KKT) points provide one strategy for solving nonlinear optimization problems. In fact, KKT conditions are necessary, if not sufficient, for proving optimality. In this article, we introduce Fritz–John and KKT optimality conditions for constrained optimization. We begin by reviewing some essential definitions for completing the logic, including Gordon's and Farkas' Lemmas. We derive the Fritz–John conditions and show when these conditions are necessary to show optimality. We then derive the necessary and sufficient KKT conditions for optimality. The article concludes with two simple numerical examples illustrating Fritz–John and KKT theory. Keywords: Karush Kuhn Tucker conditions; Fritz–John conditions; sufficient conditions; necessary conditions; constraint qualifications
Use of isotope competition and alternative substrates for studying the kinetic mechanism of enzyme action. II. Rate equations for three substrate enzyme systems.

Abstract The theory and experimental protocol for distinguishing between various three-substrate enzymic mechanisms by use of alternative substrates and isotopic substrates is presented in this paper. The rate equations describing alternative substrate inhibition and isotope competition are presented for 10 different three-substrate enzymic mechanisms. Various mechanisms can be distinguished by evaluation of their inhibition patterns.
Basic Microbiologic and Infection Control Information to Reduce the Potential Transmission of Pathogens to Patients via Computer Hardware

Computer technology from the management of individual patient medical records to the tracking of epidemiologic trends has become an essential part of all aspects of modern medicine. Consequently, computers, including bedside components, point-of-care testing equipment, and handheld computer devices, are increasingly present in patients' rooms. Recent articles have indicated that computer hardware, just as other medical equipment, may act as a reservoir for microorganisms and contribute to the transfer of pathogens to patients. This article presents basic microbiological concepts relative to infection, reviews the present literature concerning possible links between computer contamination and nosocomial colonizations and infections, discusses basic principles for the control of contamination, and provides guidelines for reducing the risk of transfer of microorganisms to susceptible patient populations.
Self-help and guided self-help treatments for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

This article reviews the use of self-help and guided self-help treatments for bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). Available data suggest that self-help and guided self-help treatments based on empirically-supported cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) have efficacy for binge eating problems. Emerging findings from initial studies suggest that the magnitude of the differences in outcomes between certain guided-self-help CBT programs and therapist-led CBT may not be substantial, although further research is clearly indicated. Initial data suggest that self-help and guided self-help CBT programs may not only demonstrate "efficacy" but also "effectiveness"-i.e., utility in "real-world" primary care or community settings. Implications for clinical practice and for future research are discussed.
High time resolution fluorescence imaging with a CCD camera

Abstract We have built a high speed, sensitive camera system capable of capturing sequences of low-light level images synchronized with recordings of membrane potential. The camera system is based on a cooled, scientific grade CCD camera controlled by a PC/AT computer. It can take 100 frames/sec of 18 × 18 element images and 40 frames/sec of 50 × 50 element images with no lag in response to step changes in light intensity. High accuracy and dynamic range of the measurements result from the fact that light levels of the picture elements are digitized with 12 bit accuracy with intrinsic camera noise levels typically less than 1/10,000 of the maximum detectable light level. We have used this system to record calcium dependent fura-2 fluorescence transients in the dendrites of cerebellar Purkinje cells and from different regions of leech neurons in segmental ganglia or isolated in culture.
Oxidation of Styrene and Phenylacetaldehyde on Ag(111): Evidence for Transformation of Surface Oxametallacycle

The oxidation of phenylacetaldehyde has been used to help identify intermediates involved in the secondary oxidation reactions of styrene. Besides the epoxidation reaction found for styrene, styrene and phenylacetaldehyde undergo the same secondary oxidation reactions on oxygen-covered Ag(111) to produce CO2, H2O, benzoic acid, benzene, phenyl, biphenyl, and a small amount of benzeneacetic acid. In addition to oxametallacycle and benzoate intermediates, a stable combustion intermediate is identified in the oxidation of styrene on Ag(111). The oxametallacycle and the combustion intermediate evolve into styrene oxide or into other secondary oxidation products, respectively. Isotopic labeling and X-ray photoelectron studies show that the transformation of surface oxametallacycle to the combustion intermediate is kinetically important in determining the selectivity of styrene epoxidation.
A Controlled Trial of Gluten-Free Diet in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Diarrhea: Effects on Bowel Frequency and Intestinal Function

Background & Aims Patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) could benefit from a gluten-free diet (GFD). Methods We performed a randomized controlled 4-week trial of a gluten-containing diet (GCD) or GFD in 45 patients with IBS-D; genotype analysis was performed for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Twenty-two patients were placed on the GCD (11 HLA-DQ2/8 negative and 11 HLA-DQ2/8 positive) and 23 patients were placed on the GFD (12 HLA-DQ2/8 negative and 11 HLA-DQ2/8 positive). We measured bowel function daily, small-bowel (SB) and colonic transit, mucosal permeability (by lactulose and mannitol excretion), and cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells after exposure to gluten and rice. We collected rectosigmoid biopsy specimens from 28 patients, analyzed levels of messenger RNAs encoding tight junction proteins, and performed HE the GCD had a greater effect on bowel movements per day of HLA-DQ2/8–positive than HLA-DQ2/8–negative patients ( P = .019). The GCD was associated with higher SB permeability (based on 0−2 h levels of mannitol and the lactulose:mannitol ratio); SB permeability was greater in HLA-DQ2/8–positive than HLA-DQ2/8–negative patients ( P = .018). No significant differences in colonic permeability were observed. Patients on the GCD had a small decrease in expression of zonula occludens 1 in SB mucosa and significant decreases in expression of zonula occludens 1 , claudin-1 , and occludin in rectosigmoid mucosa; the effects of the GCD on expression were significantly greater in HLA-DQ2/8–positive patients. The GCD vs the GFD had no significant effects on transit or histology. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells produced higher levels of interleukin-10, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and transforming growth factor-α in response to gluten than rice (unrelated to HLA genotype). Conclusions Gluten alters bowel barrier functions in patients with IBS-D, particularly in HLA-DQ2/8–positive patients. These findings reveal a reversible mechanism for the disorder. Clinical trials.gov NCT01094041.
Toward fault-tolerant and reconfigurable digital microfluidic biochips

Microfluidics-based biochips are revolutionizing high-throughput sequencing, parallel immunoassays, blood chemistry for clinical diagnostics, and drug discovery. These devices enable the precise control of nanoliter volumes of biochemical samples and regents. They combine electronics with biology, and they integrate various bioassay operations, such as sample preparation, analysis, separation, and detection. This survey paper provides an overview of droplet-based “digital” microfluidic biochips. It describes emerging techniques for designing fault-tolerant and reconfigurable digital microfluidic biochips. Recent advances in fault modeling, testing, diagnosis and reconfiguration techniques are presented. These quality-driven techniques ensure that biochips can be used reliably during liquid-based biochemical assays.
Deafferentation‐induced changes in neuropeptides of the adult rat dorsal horn following pronase injection of the sciatic nerve

The effect of deafferentation on the neuropeptides substance P (SP), calcitonin generelated peptide (CGRP), somatostatin (SS), and cholecystokinin (CCK) in the lumbar dorsal horn of the adult rat was examined by the indirect immunohistochemical method. Deafferentation was induced by injecting the sciatic nerve of anesthetized rats with proteolytic enzymes (20 mg pronase), which cause selective death of the nerve's ganglion cells and degeneration of their terminal arborization in the spinal cord. The density of immunolabel of each peptide was determined by using a computerized densitometry analysis system in two animal groups, i.e., short-term (10–13 days after injection) and long-term (4–9 months). In both groups, the deafferentation produced a significant ipsilateral depletion of CGRP, SP, CCK, and SS immunoreactivity. This depletion was limited to the area occupied by the sciatic terminals in the dorsal horn. In the long-term group, the loss of CGRP and SP staining was significantly less than that in the short-term animals, thus indicating partial recovery. A similar, but not statistically significant, trend was observed for CCK and SS. The large decrease in CGRP and SP seen in short-term animals reflects the large contribution of the sciatic nerve to the lumbar dorsal horn. The partial recovery of peptides demonstrates the plasticity of the nervous system and may parallel sprouting of primary afferents from other nerves, such as the saphenous nerve, as we have demonstrated in previous studies. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Comparison of detection and classification algorithms using boolean and fuzzy techniques

Modern military ranging, tracking, and classification systems are capable of generating large quantities of data. Conventional "brute-force" computational techniques, even with Moore's law for processors, present a prohibitive computational challenge, and often, the systemeither fails to "lock onto" a target of interest within the available duty cycle, or the data stream is simply discarded because the system runs out of processing power or time. In searching for high-fidelity convergence, researchers have experimented with various reduction techniques, often using logic diagrams to make inferences from related signal data. Conventional Boolean and fuzzy logic systems generate a very large number of rules, which often are difficult to handle due to limitations in the processors. Published research has shown that reasonable approximations of the target are preferred over incomplete computations. This paper gives a figure of merit for comparing various logic analysis methods and presents results for a hypothetical target classification scenario. Novel multiquantization Boolean approaches also reduce the complexity of thesemultivariate analyses, making it possible to better use the available data to approximate target classification. This paper shows how such preprocessing can reasonably preserve result confidence and compares the results between Boolean, multi-quantization Boolean, and fuzzy techniques.
Large deformation effects in the postbuckling behavior of compositeswith thin delaminations

The postbuckling deformation of composites with thin film delaminations is modelled through a procedure that is based on large deflections of the delaminated layer. The results on the stiffness and strain energy are compared with an approximate model that does not include those effects. The influence of large deflections on the energy release rate which characterizes delamination growth is also studied. These effects are found to be significant, leading to a less stiff and more growth resistant system. Furthermore, the end fixity conditions are found to play an imprortant role in the postbuckling behavior. Finally, results of experiments that were performed on the postbuckling characteristics of kevlar/epoxy specimens with thin delaminations are discussed.
Is absorption a consequence of unitarity

Absorptive corrections to scattering and production in a family of explicitly unitary models are studied. We find that in a particular model in which quantum-number constraints are ignored, all the results concerning absorptive corrections found in the Reggeon-calculus model of Abramovskii, Kancheli, and Gribov are reproduced. In extended models, however, the effects due to quantum numbers and/or alternative unitarization schemes are shown to have a significant effect on the form of absorptive corrections. In particular, explicitly unitary models are given in which (i) the absorptive corrections enhance all cross sections, and (ii) isospin is introduced in a simple way and is found to produce quite different counting rules from those assumed in the Reggeon calculus. It is shown that the internal quantum-number structure of the Pomeron affects the amount of absorption in inclusive cross sections and hence can be experimentally studied.
Behavioural evidence for light intensity discrimination by the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator (brachyura, ocypodidae).

Adult female Uca pugilator were allowed to make spontaneous choices during low tide toward lights differing in intensity only. The response patterns for 3010 trials shows that crabs consistently approached the dimmer of two white lights, but if two blue or two red-orange lights were presented, the brighter light was approached more frequently. The responses toward coloured lights disappeared when identical tests were performed at high tide.
Efficacy of inoculative releases of Trichogramma ostriniae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) against European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in field corn

We evaluated the egg parasitoid Trichogramma ostriniae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) to control European corn borer [Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner)] in Weld corn in 2001 and 2002. Inoculative releases of 75,000 T. ostriniae/ha occurred in New York and Virginia in 5–10 cornWelds per state when corn was at mid-whorl. Incidence of egg mass parasitism, number of stalk tunnels, incidence of ear damage, and whole-plant yield were evaluated. Parasitism of European corn borer egg masses ranged from 0 to 75% in release plots and was greater in release plots than in control plots. Individual comparisons between paired release and control plots showed no reductions in either stalk or ear damage. However, when data were combined across both years and Welds, stalk and ear damage were signiWcantly reduced in New York. In Virginia, no signiWcant diVerences were detected using data obtained from one year. There were no diVerences in yield between release and control plots. Low densities of European corn borer, drought conditions in 1 year, and a larger plant canopy in Weld corn are possible reasons why T. ostriniae releases provided less control than has been observed in previous trials in sweet corn. Additional research focused on improved timing and frequency and number of releases is warranted.