cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A two-channel action-potential generator for testing neurophysiologic data acquisition/analysis systems.

A 2-channel action-potential generator system was designed for use in testing neurophysiologic data acquisition/analysis systems. The system consists of a personal computer controlling an external hardware unit. This system is capable of generating 2 channels of simulated action potential (AP) waveshapes. The AP waveforms are generated from the linear combination of 2 principal-component template functions. Each channel generates randomly occurring APs with a specified rate ranging from 1 to 200 events per second. The 2 trains may be independent of one another or the second channel may be made to be excited or inhibited by the events from the first channel with user-specified probabilities. A third internal channel may be made to excite or inhibit events in both of the 2 output channels with user-specified rate parameters and probabilities. The system produces voltage waveforms that may be used to test neurophysiologic data acquisition systems for recording from 2 spike trains simultaneously and for testing multispike-train analysis (e.g., cross-correlation) software.
Fluctuations in nuclear dynamics: Comparison of different methods

Abstract We compare several methods for incorporating the effect of the fluctuating collision integral in Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck simulations of nuclear dynamics: the method of correlated pseudo-particle collisions proposed by Bayer, Bertsch and Das Gupta, the method of projection onto collective variables (specifically the local quadrupole moment of the momentum distribution) proposed by Ayik and Gregoire, and the method of direct simulation on a lattice in phase space recently proposed by Burgio, Chomaz and Randrup. Considering a periodic two-dimensional nucleon gas in a constant one-body field, we examine the evolution of the fluctuations of the phase-space occupancy and their correlations.
Characterizing the learning curve of the VBLaST-PT(©) (Virtual Basic Laparoscopic Skill Trainer).

Background Mastering laparoscopic surgical skills requires considerable time and effort. The Virtual Basic Laparoscopic Skill Trainer (VBLaST-PT©) is being developed as a computerized version of the peg transfer task of the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) system using virtual reality technology. We assessed the learning curve of trainees on the VBLaST-PT© using the cumulative summation (CUSUM) method and compared them with those on the FLS to establish convergent validity for the VBLaST-PT©.
SELECTIVITY OF HERBICIDES.

With the introduction of new organic chemicals, the use of selective herbicides is finding broader application. Stimulated by war conditions, their use offers a promising method for increasing efficiency and reducing drudgery of agricultural production. Early work on selective herbicides is reviewed by ?slander (1), and by Bobbins, Crafts, and Raynor (17). This paper considers selectivity from a broader viewpoint, discussing the selective killing of annual weeds in crops of the family Umbelliferae by oils, the control of annuals and shallow-rooted perennials among deep-rooted perennial crops, and the selective use of growth regulators as sprays and soil amendments. Plants differ in many ways ; their surfaces vary in form and chemical composition ; some are easily wet by aqueous sprays ; others are difficult to wet. Surface coatings vary in permeability, and protoplasm responds specifically to different chemicals. The gross structure of plants varies in such a way that the meristematic tissues of some are exposed and vulnerable to sprays, others have their growing points protected. Because of these differences certain weeds may be destroyed in growing crops with little or no injury to the latter. The nature of selectivity
Concerns of children with a chronic illness: a cognitive‐developmental study of juvenile diabetes

Summary Chronically ill children become increasingly able to understand their illnesses as they develop intellectually. But cognitive development also brings the ability to grasp the meaning of a poor prognosis or functional limitations, which may take an emotional toll on the youngster. We studied this problem in a sample of children with insulin-dependent diabetes. Those who had more advanced disease concepts were more worried about their diabetes. Children saw their parents as worried primarily about current management of the disease, suggesting that youngsters' concerns about the future were difficult to discuss at home. There is a need for clinicians and parents to integrate emotional support into the education and management of chronically ill children.
Phase-Based Adaptive Estimation of Magnitude-Squared Coherence Between Turbofan Internal Sensors and Far-Field Microphone Signals

A cross-power spectrum phase based adaptive technique is discussed which iteratively determines the time delay between two digitized signals that are coherent. The adaptive delay algorithm belongs to a class of algorithms that identifies a minimum of a pattern matching function. The algorithm uses a gradient technique to find the value of the adaptive delay that minimizes a cost function based in part on the slope of a linear function that fits the measured cross power spectrum phase and in part on the standard error of the curve fit. This procedure is applied to data from a Honeywell TECH977 static-engine test. Data was obtained using a combustor probe, two turbine exit probes, and far-field microphones. Signals from this instrumentation are used estimate the post-combustion residence time in the combustor. Comparison with previous studies of the post-combustion residence time validates this approach. In addition, the procedure removes the bias due to misalignment of signals in the calculation of coherence which is a first step in applying array processing methods to the magnitude squared coherence data. The procedure also provides an estimate of the cross-spectrum phase-offset.
Kinetic models for non‐homogeneous complex systems with a time‐dependent rate constant

This paper discusses a phenomenological kinetic model which describes the conversion of complex non-homogeneous systems. The model embodies the concept of a severity parameter as a descriptor of the extent of reaction of the complex system. Temperature, time and catalyst concentration are simply and conveniently regrouped in the definition of the severity parameter. The link between our model and formal kinetics can be made via a time-dependent rate constant. Such dependency expresses the concept that in a complex non-homogeneous system the chemical acts leading to reaction are first order processes constrained either by microstructural effects, diffusional limitations, geometric discontinuities, or in generic terms by fractal considerations. The observable effect is the change in reactivity with extent (or time) of reaction. Our approach permits to model such systems via a set of four key markers characteristic of the overall reaction. The development of the model, the significance of the markers and their application to the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass as a case study are presented and discussed. Cet article presente un modele cinetique, de nature phenomenologique, qui decrit la conversion de systemes complexes non-homogenes. Le modele introduit la notion de parametre de severite en tant que descripteur du degre d'avancement de la conversion du systeme complexe en produits. Les variables temperature, temps et concentration de catalyseur se trouvent convenablement regroupees dans la definition du parametre de severite. Le lien entre notre modele et la cinetique formelle peut se faire par voie de la dependance de la constante cinetique avec le temps. La relation de dependance decoule de l'hypothese que dans un systeme complexe non-homogene, les etapes elementaires responsables des reactions chimiques, sont des processus de premier ordre assujettis a des contraintes microstructurelles, des limitations diffusionnelles, des discontinuites geometriques et, possiblement, des considerations d'ordre fractal. L'effet observable est le changement de reactivite avec l'avancement (c'est-a-dire, le temps) de la reaction. Notre approche permet de modeliser ces systemes par voie de quatre indicateurs caracteristiques de la reaction globale. Le developpement du modele, l'interpretation des indicateurs et leur application au cas de l'hydrolyse des matieres lignocellulosiques sont discutes.
Semiclassical model for atoms

Abstract The energies of several two- and three-electron atoms, in both ground states and excited states, are calculated by a very simple semiclassical model. The only change from Bohr's original method is to replace definite orbits by probability distribution functions based on classical dynamics. The energies are better than Hartree-Fock values. There is still a need for an exchange-energy correction.
A new protein graph model for function prediction

As several structural proteomic projects are producing an increasing number of protein structures with unknown function, methods that can reliably predict protein functions from protein structures are in urgent need. In this paper, we present a method to explore the clustering patterns of amino acids on the 3-dimensional space for protein function prediction. First, amino acid residues on a protein structure are clustered into spatial groups using hierarchical agglomerative clustering, based on the distance between them. Second, the protein structure is represented using a graph, where each node denotes a cluster of amino acids. The nodes are labeled with an evolutionary profile derived from the multiple alignment of homologous sequences. Then, a shortest-path graph kernel is used to calculate similarities between the graphs. Finally, a support vector machine using this graph kernel is used to train classifiers for protein function prediction. We applied the proposed method to two separate problems, namely, prediction of enzymes and prediction of DNA-binding proteins. In both cases, the results showed that the proposed method outperformed other state-of-the-art methods.
Evaluation and management of patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) describes syndromes with multiple etiologies, some of which are rapidly fatal without plasma exchange treatment. Although there have been advances in understanding the pathogenesis of TTP, evaluation and management remain difficult because there are no specific diagnostic criteria, as TTP can be clinically similar to other acute disorders, such as sepsis, disseminated malignancy, malignant hypertension, and preeclampsia, and because urgent treatment is required. An unexpected observation of anemia and thrombocytopenia should trigger consideration of TTP; evidence that the anemia is due to microangiopathic hemolysis, suggested by the presence of red cell fragmentation on the blood smear, supports the diagnosis. When the diagnostic criteria of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia without an apparent alternative etiology are fulfilled, plasma exchange treatment is appropriate. However, plasma exchange has risks for severe complications and death; th...
Incidence and identity of photosynthetic symbionts in Caribbean coral reef sponge assemblages

Marine sponges are abundant and diverse components of coral reefs and commonly harbour photosynthetic symbionts in these environments. The most prevalent symbiont is the cyanobacterium, Synechococcus spongiarum, isolated from taxonomically diverse hosts from geographically distant regions. We combined analyses of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations with line-intercept transect surveys to assess the abundance and diversity of reef sponges hosting photosymbionts on Caribbean coral reefs in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama. To identify symbionts, we designed PCR primers that specifically amplify a fragment of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene from S. spongiarum and used these primers to screen potential host sponges for the presence of this symbiont. Chlorophyll-a data divided the sponge community into two disparate groups, species with high (>125 µg/g, N=20) and low (<50 µg/g, N=38) chl-a concentrations. Only two species exhibited intermediate (50– 125 µg/g) chl-a concentrations; these species represented hosts with reduced symbiont populations, including bleached Xestospongia muta and the mangrove form of Chondrilla nucula (C. nucula f. hermatypica). Sponges with high and intermediate chl-a concentrations accounted for over one-third of the species diversity and abundance of sponges in these communities. Most (85%) of these sponges harboured S. spongiarum. Molecular phylogenies reveal that S. spongiarum represents a sponge-specific Synechococcus lineage, distinct from free-living cyanobacteria. The prevalence of sponge–photosymbiont associations and dominance of symbiont communities by S. spongiarum suggest a major role of this cyanobacterium in sponge ecology and primary productivity on coral reefs.
Genetic Heterogeneity of Borrelia burgdorferi in the United States

To examine in detail Borrelia burgdorferi strain diversity in the United States, 186 isolates from human, tick, and rodent sources were analyzed from multiple distinct geographic regions of the United States and abroad. Strains were characterized by genomic macrorestriction analysis and ospA and 23S rDNA gene sequencing followed by phylogenetic analysis. Results indicate that spirochetal isolates from the United States fall into two major divisions and nine or more subdivisions; human isolates fell into five of these subdivisions. Greater genetic diversity was observed among B. burgdorferi isolates from moderate climatic regions, consistent with increased tick vector and reservoir diversity. All of the Borrelia isolates were reactive by ospA polymerase chain reaction except for Borrelia hermsii controls and several tick isolates from the Northeast, which were shown to lack the 49-kb plasmid encoding outer surface protein A (OspA). The data suggest that US B. burgdorferi isolates demonstrate substantial genetic heterogeneity, with regional differences in spirochete populations.
Switching from Ru to Fe: picosecond IR spectroscopic investigation of the potential of the (fulvalene)tetracarbonyldiiron frame for molecular solar-thermal storage

A foray into the exploration of Fe analogues of the (fulvalene)tetracarbonyldiruthenium [FvRu2(CO)4] solar-thermal storage system 1 ⇆ 2 is described. It was facilitated by the development of a convenient synthetic access to the parent [FvFe2(CO)4] 3a and the more soluble di(tert-butyl)fulvalene derivatives 3c and d. Laboratory time scale irradiations (>400 nm) fail to induce photoisomerization, an observation that is explained by the results of time-resolved IR experiments. They show that photoexcitation generates only the short-lived singlet syn biradical of 3 (and a small amount of decarbonylation product), in the absence of the corresponding triplet species required for the occurrence of rearrangement to 4.
Surgical salvage of acquired lung lesions in extremely premature infants

Acquired neonatal lung lesions including pneumatoceles, cystic bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and pulmonary interstitial emphysema can cause extrinsic mediastinal compression, which may impair pulmonary and cardiac function. Acquired lung lesions are typically managed medically. Here we report a case series of three extremely premature infants with acquired lung lesions. All three patients underwent aggressive medical management and ultimately required tube thoracostomies. These interventions were unsuccessful and emergency thoracotomies were performed in each case. Two infants with acquired pneumatoceles underwent unroofing of the cystic structure and primary repair of a bronchial defect. The third infant with pulmonary interstitial emphysema, arising from cystic bronchopulmonary dysplasia, required a middle lobectomy for severe and diffuse cystic disease. When medical management fails, tube thoracostomy can be attempted, leaving surgical intervention for refractory cases. Surgical options include oversewing a bronchial defect in the setting of a bronchopleural fistula or lung resection in cases of an isolated expanding lobe.
Mucopolysaccharidosis I Cats Mount a Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Response after Neonatal Gene Therapy That Can Be Blocked with CTLA4-Ig

Although gene therapy has reduced manifestations of genetic diseases, immune responses can abrogate the effect. One approach to inducing tolerance is to perform gene transfer in newborns when the immune system is immature. We demonstrate here that the dose of retroviral vector (RV) is important in mice, as mucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS I) mice that received neonatal intravenous gene therapy with a high dose of a canine α-l-iduronidase (cIDUA)-expressing RV had stable expression, while those that received a low dose did not. It was unclear, however, if neonatal transfer with any dose could induce tolerance in large animals. Therefore, newborn MPS I cats were injected intravenously with the RV expressing cIDUA. Although this resulted in high serum IDUA activity due to secretion by transduced cells, expression fell due to a CTL response. Cats that transiently received the immunosuppressive agent CTLA4-Ig did not develop a CTL response. In contrast, MPS I dogs, which can respond immunologically to canine IDUA, had stable serum IDUA activity after neonatal gene therapy. We conclude that cats, but not dogs, mount a potent CTL response to canine IDUA after neonatal gene therapy, which can be prevented with transient CTLA4-Ig.
Sampled-data formation control under dynamic directed interaction

This paper studies two discrete-time formation control algorithms for multi-vehicle systems with double-integrator dynamics in a sampled-data setting under dynamic directed interaction. With an absolute damping term, the first algorithm guarantees relative position keeping with a zero final velocity. With a relative damping term, the second algorithm guarantees relative position keeping with a constant final velocity. For the first algorithm, it is shown that formation control can be achieved if the interaction graph has a directed spanning tree jointly and the damping gain and the sampling period satisfy certain conditions. For the second algorithm, it is shown that formation control can be achieved if the interaction graph has a directed spanning tree at each time interval and the damping gain and the sampling period satisfy certain conditions.
Minocycline-Associated Tooth Staining

OBJECTIVE:To describe a case of tooth discoloration in an adult after minocycline treatment for arthritis.CASE SUMMARY:A 68-year-old white woman presented with blue–black staining of her lower anterior teeth after 4 months of minocycline therapy for arthritis. Her other medications are not known to cause discoloration of teeth. While the patient continued taking minocycline, her dentist was not able to remove the discoloration. Within 1 month after discontinuation of the minocycline, the dentist was able to remove the discoloration entirely.DISCUSSION:Minocycline, a synthetic derivative of tetracycline, has been shown to cause abnormal pigmentation of the skin, thyroid gland, nails, bone, sclera, and conjunctiva in adults. It also has been shown to cause tooth discoloration in a few patients. This case is unusual in that the tooth discoloration disappeared after discontinuing minocycline therapy.CONCLUSIONS:This complication of minocycline is more commonly thought of in the pediatric population. However, ...
Efficient modeling of metal fill parasitic capacitance in on-chip transmission lines

We present a general modeling methodology for metal fill parasitic capacitance in on-chip transmission lines. Our approach is based on reducing the problem complexity in all three dimensions. Typical speed-up is 16 fold. The maximum error in self and mutual capacitance is &#60; 6 % and &#60; 10 %, respectively over a wide range of parameters. The agreement with measurements is within 2.1 %. We predict the slow-wave factor of transmission line designs with &#60; 1.2 % error and Q degradation with &#60; 4 % error.
Accommodations and Modifications in the New York City Housing Court for Litigants with Disabilities

This article discusses the rights of disabled litigants to assert claims and defenses in Housing Court and elsewhere in landlord-tenant proceedings.
Hydrophile scanning as a complement to alanine scanning for exploring and manipulating protein–protein recognition: Application to the Bim BH3 domain

Alanine scanning has been widely employed as a method of identifying side chains that play important roles in protein–protein and protein–peptide interactions. Here we show how an analogous and complementary technique, hydrophile scanning, can provide additional insight on such interactions. Mutation of a wild-type residue to alanine removes most of the side-chain atoms, and the effect of this removal is typically interpreted to indicate contribution of the deleted side chain to the stability of the complex. Hydrophile scanning involves systematic mutation of wild-type residues to a cationic or anionic residue (lysine or glutamic acid, in this case). We find that the results of these mutations provide insights on interactions between polypeptide surfaces that are complementary to the information obtained via alanine scanning. We have applied this technique to a peptide that corresponds to the BH3 domain of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim. The wild-type Bim BH3 domain binds strongly to the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-xL and Mcl-1. Combining information from the alanine, lysine, and glutamic acid scans has enabled us to identify Bim BH3 domain mutants containing only two or three sequence changes that bind very selectively either to Bcl-xL or Mcl-1. Our findings suggest that hydrophile scanning may prove to be a broadly useful tool for revealing sources of protein–protein recognition and for engineering selectivity into natural sequences
Thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) is a novel tumor suppressor in thyroid cancer

Background: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, and many patients with metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC), and anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) fail to respond to conventional therapies, resulting in morbidity and mortality. Additional therapeutic targets and treatment options are needed for these patients. We recently reported that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is highly expressed in ATC and confers an aggressive phenotype when overexpressed in DTC cells. Methods: Microarray analysis was used to identify downstream targets of PPARγ in ATC cells. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to assess thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) expression in thyroid cancer cell lines and primary tumor specimens. Retroviral transduction was used to generate ATC cell lines that overexpress TXNIP, and assays that assess glucose uptake, viable cell proliferation, and invasion were used to characterize the in vitro properties of these cells. An orthotopic thyroid cancer mouse model was used to assess the effect of TXNIP overexpression in ATC cell lines in vivo. Results: Using microarray analysis, we show that TXNIP is highly upregulated when PPARγ is depleted from ATC cells. Using Western blot analysis and IHC, we show that DTC and ATC cells exhibit differential TXNIP expression patterns. DTC cell lines and patient tumors have high TXNIP expression in contrast to low or absent expression in ATC cell lines and tumors. Overexpression of TXNIP decreases the growth of HTh74 cells compared to vector controls and inhibits glucose uptake in the ATC cell lines HTh74 and T238. Importantly, TXNIP overexpression in T238 cells results in attenuated tumor growth and decreased metastasis in an orthotopic thyroid cancer mouse model. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that TXNIP functions as a tumor suppressor in thyroid cells, and its downregulation is likely important in the transition from differentiated to advanced thyroid cancer. These studies underscore the potential of TXNIP as a novel therapeutic target and prognostic indicator in advanced thyroid cancer.
Well-Differentiated Lymphocytic Leukemia in a Dog: Long-Term Survival Without Therapy:

Well-differentiated lymphocytic leukemia was found during routine hematologic examination of a 12-year-old female poodle with signs of anxiousness, panting and pica. The total white blood cell count was 106,900/microliters and at least 90% of the leukocytes were small, normal-appearing lymphocytes. The dog was examined several times during a 23-month period before it was killed at the owner's request for conditions unrelated to the leukemia. The hematologic picture of the leukemia was essentially unchanged during this time. A deep nuclear cleft was seen in most lymphocytes examined by electron microscopy. Cell surface markers showed most blood lymphocytes to be B-cells. These cells responded poorly to mitogen stimulation.
Time Series Model to Predict Burden of Viral Respiratory Illness on a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Background. In the United States, viral respiratory infections are a leading cause of illness and hospitalization in young children. Caring for children with severe viral respiratory illness can have a substantial impact on resource utilization in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The objective was to build a robust model that captures the periodicity of severe pediatric viral respiratory illness and forecasts the incidence of viral respiratory illness in the PICU. Methods. This was a retrospective time series analysis in a PICU at a quaternary care children’s hospital. Patients were less than 18 years of age with laboratory-confirmed respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, parainfluenza, or adenovirus infection on or during admission from October 2002 to September 2008. Time series modeling techniques were to used to model viral incidence, using maximum likelihood estimation to identify model parameters. Results. A total of 289 patients were included in the analysis. An autoregressive model of or...
A workload for evaluating deep packet inspection architectures

High-speed content inspection of network traffic is an important new application area for programmable networking systems, and has recently led to several proposals for high-performance regular expression matching. At the same time, the number and complexity of the patterns present in well-known network intrusion detection systems has been rapidly increasing. This increase is important since both the practicality and the performance of specific pattern matching designs are strictly dependent upon characteristics of the underlying regular expression set. However, a commonly agreed upon workload for the evaluation of deep packet inspection architectures is still missing, leading to frequent unfair comparisons, and to designs lacking in generality or scalability. In this paper, we propose a workload for the evaluation of regular expression matching architectures. The workload includes a regular expression model and a traffic generator, with the former characterizing different levels of expressiveness within rule-sets and the latter characterizing varying degrees of malicious network activity. The proposed workload is used here to evaluate designs (e.g., different memory layouts and hardware organizations) where the matching algorithm is based on compressed deterministic and non deterministic finite automata (DFAs and NFAs).
Data reverse engineering: a historical survey

Data reverse engineering is a rapidly growing field which is sometimes misunderstood. In our effort to promote the realization that data reverse engineering is a valuable and essential part of reverse engineering and is now finding its place in software engineering, we present a summary of the history of data reverse engineering. A definition of data reverse engineering, a summary of the history of what has been none and published, a statement about the state-of-the art today, and a comment on the future of DRE is presented.
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A RAPID TEST PROCEDURE TO DETECT SALMONELLAE IN FEED INGREDIENTS AND FINISHED FEEDS1

Broiler, layer, and swine feeds were inoculated with low levels of three Salmonella serotypes commonly found in feed ingredients using a “charged” chalk. The inoculated feeds, noninoculated control feeds, and naturally contaminated poultry byproduct meals were included in an interlaboratory evaluation of two testing procedures. Three FDA labs, an independent lab, and one university lab were participants in the interlaboratory study. A rapid test kit (Salmonella-Tek, Organon Teknika Corp., Durham, NC) was compared to the culture method of Bailey and Cox (1992) which utilizes Universal Preenrichment broth and standard culture procedures. Each lab utilized 45 100-g feed ingredient or finished feed samples. There was 89.3% agreement in test results by the five labs when comparing the two test procedures. The culture method resulted in 1.3% false negatives while the Salmonella-Tek procedure resulted in 6.2% false positives. Either of the test procedures was capable of detecting extremely low levels (< 5 organisms/100 g) when samples (100 g) were preenriched with Universal Preenrichment broth.
Natural and Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy in the Vacuum Ultraviolet

Studies of Natural and Magnetic Circular Dichroism were extended into the vacuum ultraviolet spectral region, i.e. to wavelengths shorter than 200nm, beginning about 1970. The purpose of this effort is to make possible the measurement of CD and MCD for chromophores which have limited or no absorption at longer wavelengths, such as ethylene, alcohols, cyclopropane or to extend such measurements to more excited electronic states. Two basic thrusts can be distinguished in the published work on natural CD. One is directed toward the elucidation and determination of conformations, while the second seeks to obtain data additional and often complementary to absorption measurements aimed at the characterization and assignment of excited states. MCD spectroscopy is usually confined to the latter direction.
Making clinical decisions when ‘behavior has meaning’: An ethnographic study of expertise in a residential treatment center for children and adolescents:

Although social work scholars have proposed and promoted various models for making effective and ethical clinical decisions, little empirical research has addressed processes of clinical decision-m...
The Middle Proterozoic Mescal Paleokarst, Central Arizona, U.S.A.: Karst Development, Silicification, and Cave Deposits

Abstract A regionally extensive paleokarst developed on the Mescal Limestone of the middle Proterozoic Apache Group in central Arizona prior to deposition of the overlying middle Proterozoic Troy Quartzite and before intrusion of 1.1 Ga diabase sills. Intense weathering of middle Proterozoic basalt lavas overlying the Mescal released abundant silica that led to widespread silicification of the underlying paleokarst. Dissolution of the host carbonate allowed insoluble early diagenetic cherts of the Mescal to accumulate in their original stratigraphy while the remaining carbonate underwent nearly complete replacement by secondary silica phases. Silicified collapse breccias, cave-filling sandstone lenses, thinly laminated cave-floor siltstone, and newly discovered flowstone indicate extensive development of caves and cave deposits during the karst event. The geographic distribution of silicification was controlled by adjacent uplift caused by movement along Precambrian monoclines cutting across the Sierra Ancha. The Mescal paleokarst is one of the best preserved silicified karsts on Earth and hosts some of the best preserved cave flowstone from the Precambrian.
Discovery of regulatory elements in vertebrates through comparative genomics

We have analyzed issues of reliability in studies in which comparative genomic approaches have been applied to the discovery of regulatory elements at a genome-wide level in vertebrates. We point out some potential problems with such studies, including difficulties in accurately identifying orthologous promoter regions. Many of these subtle analytical problems have become apparent only when studying the more complex vertebrate genomes. By determining motif reliability, we compared existing tools when applied to the discovery of vertebrate regulatory elements. We then used a statistical clustering method to produce a computational catalog of high quality putative regulatory elements from vertebrates, some of which are widely conserved among vertebrates and many of which are novel regulatory elements. The results provide a glimpse into the wealth of information that comparative genomics can yield and suggest the need for further improvement of genome-wide comparative computational techniques.
EFFECT OF REPEATERS ON SCORE EQUATING IN A LARGE-SCALE LICENSURE TEST

This study investigated the subgroup invariance of equating functions for a licensure test in the context of a nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) design. Examinees who had taken a new, to-be-equated form of the test were divided into three subgroups according to their previous testing experience: (a) repeaters who previously took the reference form, to which the new form would be equated; (b) repeaters who previously took any form other than the reference form; and (c) first-time test takers for whom the new form was the first exposure to the test. Equating functions obtained with two subgroups, all repeaters, and first-time test takers were similar to those obtained with the total group, supporting score equatability of the two forms. However, when the repeater subgroup was divided into two groups based on the particular form examinees took previously, subgroup equating functions substantially differed from the total-group equating function, indicating subgroup dependency of score equating. The results indicate that repeater membership needs to be more clearly specified to assess the impact of repeaters on score equating. Such clarification may be especially necessary for high-stakes licensure tests because repeaters tend to perform more poorly on such tests than first-time test takers.
The Evolution of the Cavefish Craniofacial Complex

The vertebrate skull is a highly complex, integrated morphological structure derived from distinct embryonic tissues. Owing to its origin among vertebrates, this structure lies at the intersection of several important developmental, evolutionary, and fundamental biological questions. Although craniofacial phenotypes were some of the first features investigated in Mexican cavefish, our understanding of the genetic and developmental underpinnings of these traits are only just emerging. Interestingly, multiple cavefish populations of Astyanax mexicanus have converged on similar craniofacial aberrations. These alterations differ from the related surface-dwelling forms with respect to bone sizes, shape, and positioning within the craniofacial complex. Several of these characters have long been appreciated in the literature, and played a role in the early taxonomic classification of cavefish in the 1940s. Historically, craniofacial changes were considered to be solely a consequence of eye regression in cavefish. Developmental studies support the notion that circumorbital bone shape and positioning are a consequence of eye loss; however, other traits, such as bony fusion and fragmentation, do not appear to be associated with eye regression. Further, these traits are often asymmetric across the left-right axis. Many craniofacial features harbor a genetic basis; however, the precise mechanism that underlies their origin remains unknown. In this chapter, we discuss the historical relevance of the craniofacial complex in Astyanax and document the convergent appearance of similar craniofacial features in distinct cave populations. In addition, we review current knowledge of genetic, developmental, and evolutionary mechanisms influencing craniofacial evolution in cavefish, and provide suggestions for future research.
Trademark Product Appearance Features, United States and Foreign Protection Evolution: A Need for Clarification and Harmonization

Trademark law has recently undergone a significant evolution both nationally and internationally. In the United States this change resulted from fundamental case law developments, while the creation and establishment of international agreements sparked the international evolution. Trade dress protection also experienced significant change, both in the United States and internationally. This Article focuses on the "product appearance features" aspect of trade dress protection.Trade dress includes both the product's packaging and the product's independent appearance, exemplified by the customized design of the packaging juxtaposed with the product's appearance and surface designs. The line between packaging and product appearance features is not easily drawn. For example, while a bottle is itself a product by way of functioning as a container, it could also be construed, for trade dress purposes, as a "package" for perfume or liquor.New terms, concepts, and issues surfaced in product appearance trademark protection, which resulted in a general change in the direction of intellectual property law. Questions arise concerning the propriety of using trademark protection alone, or using trademark law in combination with a design patent on the same product appearance. These questions demand an understanding of the relationship between trademark law and other fields of intellectual property, particularly patent law and especially utility and design patents. Another related issue is whether protection arises at the time of product introduction, as would be the case if inherently distinctive product appearance features receive protection, or whether product appearance features must acquire secondary meaning within the traditional parameters of trademark protection.While lawyers and judges review the legal issues, the commercial world, primarily industrial designers, continues to create several varieties of product appearance features in an effort to provide more useful and attractive products. The essence of trademark law creates the inherent overlapping of the legal community and the commercial world, and thus, when developing or amending trademark law, the legal community must consider the industrial designers' perspective.Before analyzing current developments, a brief introduction of basic trademark law terms and concepts is necessary to demonstrate how recent changes in trade dress protection align with prior law. To familiarize the reader with basic trademark concepts, this Article first considers word marks and progresses to product appearance feature marks.
Englerin A Inhibits EWS-FLI1 DNA Binding in Ewing Sarcoma Cells

High-throughput screening of extracts from plants, marine, and micro-organisms led to the identification of the extract from the plant Phyllanthus engleri as the most potent inhibitor of EWS-FLI1 induced luciferase reporter expression. Testing of compounds isolated from this extract in turn led to the identification of Englerin A (EA) as the active constituent of the extract. EA induced both necrosis and apoptosis in Ewing cells subsequent to a G2M accumulation of cells in the cell cycle. It also impacted clonogenic survival and anchorage-independent proliferation while also decreasing the proportion of chemotherapy-resistant cells identified by high ALDH activity. EA also caused a sustained increase in cytosolic calcium levels. EA appears to exert its effect on Ewing cells through a decrease in phosphorylation of EWS-FLI1 and its ability to bind DNA. This effect is mediated, at least in part, through a decrease in the levels of the calcium-dependent protein kinase PKC-βI after a transient up-regulation.
Realistic Metal–Graphene Contact Structures

The contact resistance of metal–graphene junctions has been actively explored and exhibited inconsistencies in reported values. The interpretation of these electrical data has been based exclusively on a side-contact model, that is, metal slabs sitting on a pristine graphene sheet. Using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study the wetting of metals on as-synthesized graphene on copper foil, we show that side-contact is sometimes a misleading picture. For instance, metals like Pd and Ti readily react with graphitic carbons, resulting in Pd- and Ti-carbides. Carbide formation is associated with C–C bond breaking in graphene, leading to an end-contact geometry between the metals and the periphery of the remaining graphene patches. This work validates the spontaneous formation of the metal–graphene end-contact during the metal deposition process as a result of the metal–graphene reaction instead of a simple carbon diffusion process.
Recovering Zn, Pb, Cd and Fe from electric furnace dust

In the operation of a typical mini-mill, about 1 to 2% of each charge to the electric furnace is converted to dust, which is collected as particulate matter in the baghouse system. The dust is considered hazardous because it contains lead and cadmium. However, it also contains large, recoverable quantities of zinc and iron. To make the dust environmentally acceptable and to recover the valuable content, pyrometallurgical processing was studied on a laboratory scale. The experimental results show that successful removal of zinc, lead and cadmium and considerable upgrading of iron from the electric furnace dust have been accomplished, and that a nonhazardous inert slag have been formed by pyrometallurgical processing at two temperatures.
Carbon nanotube deformation and collapse under metal contacts.

In carbon nanotube transistors, typically part of the nanotube is covered by a metal contact. This covered region plays an important role due to the significant electron transfer length. Here we predict that capillary and van der Waals forces cause the nanotube to deform or even collapse under the metal. Nanotubes are known to collapse when their diameters are above some critical value around 4 nm. Under the metal, we find that spontaneous collapse occurs for diameters down to ∼1.5–1.6 nm, close to the range used in high-performance transistors. Even at smaller diameters, we find surprisingly large deformations that could significantly affect the electronic structure.
Assessing effective physician-patient communication skills: "Are you listening to me, doc?"

The education of a physician includes much more than acquiring competence in medical knowledge and technical expertise. Physicians also need to have excellent communication skills in order to communicate with patients. Communication skills form the foundation for a more positive patient-provider relationship, leading to greater patient satisfaction and better patient compliance. In the patient’s eyes, the ability to communicate well forms a major component of a provider’s clinical competence. The ability to communicate effectively with patients can contribute significantly to improved patient outcomes. Because of their importance in the practice of medicine, teaching interviewing and communication skills are a part of the curriculum for medical schools. At the Mayo Medical School, a tool was developed to assist in the assessment of medical students when communicating with patients as they elicit a medical history. This rubric has been very useful for both teaching and assessment, and it may be applicable to other healthcare settings as well. Patients commonly complain that physicians do not listen to them. “Being a good doctor requires not only knowledge and technical skills, but also communication” [1]. Communication skills are not just restricted to talking, but also to listening and nonverbal communication [2]. Assessment of the provider’s ability to apply communication skills continues to be a concern of medical educators. Developing a positive relationship has historically contributed a great deal to a physician’s effectiveness and satisfaction within the profession [3]. Such relationships are crucial for successful medical treatment [4]. Good communication skills are a key to establishing these desired relationships, and the inability to display good communication skills has been shown to negatively affect many areas in patient care [5]. On the other hand, good communication skills have been shown to improve patient treatment compliance, thus leading to improved patient outcomes [6]. The benefits of good communication skills have been documented in the literature and recognized by physicians as early as Osler [7], who encouraged physicians to “care more particularly for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease.” Ludmerer [8] noted, “For over a century, the goal of medical education has been to produce thinking physicians, scientifically competent, who are sensitive to the emotional as well as the medical condition of the patient.” Unfortunately, there is evidence that suggests good communication skills are not universally practiced by physicians [5].
Neurogenic Fever after Acute Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Qualitative Systematic Review.

Study Design Systematic review. Objective To determine the incidence, pathogenesis, and clinical outcomes related to neurogenic fevers following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods A systematic review of the literature was performed on thermodysregulation secondary to acute traumatic SCI in adult patients. A literature search was performed using PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus. Using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, seven relevant articles were obtained. Results The incidence of fever of all origins (both known and unknown) after SCI ranged from 22.5 to 71.7% with a mean incidence of 50.6% and a median incidence of 50.0%. The incidence of fever of unknown origin (neurogenic fever) ranged from 2.6 to 27.8% with a mean incidence of 8.0% and a median incidence of 4.7%. Cervical and thoracic spinal injuries were more commonly associated with fever than lumbar injuries. In addition, complete injuries had a higher incidence of fever than incomplete injuries. The pathogenesis of neurogenic fever after acute SCI is not thoroughly understood. Conclusion Neurogenic fevers are relatively common following an acute SCI; however, there is little in the scientific literature to help physicians prevent or treat this condition. The paucity of research underscored by this review demonstrates the need for further studies with larger sample sizes, focusing on incidence rate, clinical outcomes, and pathogenesis of neurogenic fever following acute traumatic SCI.
Culture of mycoplasma pneumonia from throat swab specimen in children with pneumonia and drug sensitivity test

OBJECTIVE To investigate drug sensitivity of mycoplasma pneumonia from throat swab specimen in children with pneumonia.METHODS From Jan 2005 to Dec 2010,1260 cases of children with pneumonia were studied retrospectivly,throat swab samples were collected for the mycoplasma pneumonia culture and drug sensitivity test.RESULTS A total of 354 stains of mycoplasma pneumonia isolated from 1260 samples,the mycoplasma pneumonia positive rate was 28.1%.Mycoplasma pneumoniae was highly sensitive to Doxycycline and Minocycline,moderately sensitive to levofloxacin,roxithromycin,azithromycin,clarithromycin,and josamycin,while highly resistant to erythromycin,ciprofloxacin,thiamphenicol and tetracycline.CONCLUSION Mycoplasma pneumoniae becomes an important pathogen causing pneumonia in children,but highly resistant to regular antibiotics.Culture of mycoplasma pneumonia from throat swab specimen can offer clinical guidance for the choice of antibiotics in children with pneumonia.
The Use of the Operating Microscope in Ethmoid Surgery

The operating microscope opens a new world of precision in intranasal sinus surgery by providing binocular vision with excellent illumination. With a self-retaining speculum for better visualization, the surgeon is seated and both hands are free, allowing for better control. Removal of disease is more thorough, complications are reduced, and the need for repeat procedures is diminished.