cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sleep Disturbances in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis: A Prospective Study (P3.132)

Objective: To evaluate the subjective sleep disturbances such as impaired sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), worry, insomnia, and Willis Ekbom Disease (restless leg syndrome) in Myasthenia Gravis. Background: Sleep impairment symptoms such as non-restorative night sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia have been commonly observed in patients with Mysthenia Gravis. Design/Methods: This is a prospective two-site study with 58 Myasthenia Gravis patients answering six sleep related questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and International RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) Study Group Rating Scale. Results: Thirty-one of the 58 subjects (53.4[percnt]) were female and the mean age was 54.6+/-18.1 (20-88) years. The mean duration of disease was 85.4+/-113.7 (range 3-504) months, 24 (41.4[percnt]) subjects had a thymectomy and 46 (79.3[percnt]) subjects were taking prednisone, either alone or with pyridostigmine and/ or another immunosuppressant medication. The results of the 6 sleep related questionnaires revealed: 37 (63.8[percnt]) have poor sleep quality (PSQI score>=5 ); all report having sleep disturbance (PSQI-c5 >=1); 14 (24.1[percnt]) report EDS (ESS >=10); 29 (50.0[percnt]) show moderate worry level (PSWQ >=40); 26 (44.8[percnt]) have subthreshold insomnia level (ISI > 7) while 13 (22.4[percnt]) experiences moderate or severe insomnia (ISI >= 15); and 16 (27.6[percnt]) suffer from moderate or more severe RLS symptoms. Conclusions: Two thirds of our subjects with Myasthenia Gravis had poor sleep quality. Other sleep disturbances indications such as excessive daytime sleepiness; worry; insomnia, and restless legs syndrome symptoms were also commonly recorded in approximately one quarter of the subjects. Correlation of sleep disturbances with disease severity, anthropometric characteristics and medications will be evaluated. Study Supported by the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of California (MGFC). Drs. Wang, Goyal, Mozaffar and Chui are members of the MGFC Medical Advisory Board. Disclosure: Dr. Wang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Le has nothing to disclose. Dr. Goyal has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mozaffar received personal compensation from Genzyme Corporation and Grifols for speaking engagements and has served as an advisory board member for Amicus, Biogen idec, Biomarin, Genzyme, Idera Pharmaceuticals and Ultragenyx. Dr. Mozaffar has receive Dr. Chui has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hungs has received personal compensation for activities with EMD Serono, Pfizer and Teva as a speaker.
Acoustic Characteristics of Fricatives /s/ and /∫/ Produced by Speakers with Parkinson's Disease.

Purpose This study investigated acoustic characteristics of fricatives produced in a repeated syllables task by speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD), focusing on temporal, intensity, and spectral moment analyses. Methods Ten participants with PD and nine neurologically-healthy participants were asked to repeat the two words, sigh and shy, ten times in a row and at a comfortable rate. Acoustic measurements were made for duration and intensity of each fricative and vowel, plus four coefficients of spectral moments for the fricatives. Results Results indicated a varying effect of duration difference between group, with marginally shorter duration of fricatives but much shorter duration of vowels in speakers with PD, as compared to controls; comparable vowel-fricative intensity differences for the two groups; and for the group with PD relatively intact coarticulation throughout fricative. Conclusions The findings suggest considering the complex effect of overall speech rate on different kinds of segments in PD. The findings also have implications for speech stimuli in research on coarticulation.
Meniscus resection versus reattachment of the meniscus

Stable partial-thickness tears, longitudinal tears of less than 5 mm length and short (5 mm or less) radial tears can sometimes be left alone. Tears known to be definitely repairable are traumatic longitudinal tears within the vascular zone of the meniscus with minimal damage to the meniscus body fragment. When an attempt is to be made to repair tears in the avascular zone, it is necessary to utilize healing-enhancement techniques such as synovial fringe rasping and fibrin clot insertion. The survival rate for repaired menisci at a minimum follow-up time of 10 years was 79% in the author's cases. Intermediate (5 year) results after partial meniscectomy show a diminished incidence of post-surgical degenerative changes when compared to total meniscectomy.
Effect of an Automated Tracking Registry on the Rate of Tracking Failure in Incidental Pulmonary Nodules

Abstract Objective Following incidental lung nodules with interval CT scanning is an accepted method to detect early lung cancer, but delayed tracking or failure to track is reported in up to 40% of patients. Methods Our institution developed and implemented an automated lung nodule registry tracking system. This system uses a code at the time that a suspicious nodule is discovered to populate the registry. Suspicious nodules were defined as any nodule, solid or ground glass, Results After implementation of the registry tracking system in the two VAMCs, we found a significant decrease in tracking failure, from a preimplementation rate of 74% to a postimplementation rate of 10% ( P Conclusions The automated lung nodule registry tracking system can be exported to other health care facilities and significantly reduces the rate of tracking failure.
Networks: Connections Within and Without

A key attribute of systems is that internally the components are connected in various relations. That is, the physical system is a network of relations between components. It is also possible to “represent” a system as an abstract network of nodes and links. The science and mathematics of networks can be brought to bear on the analysis of these representations, and characteristics of network topologies can be used to help understand structures, functions, and overall dynamics.
Ensemble feature selection for domain adaptation in speech emotion recognition

When emotion recognition systems are used in new domains, the classification performance usually drops due to mismatches between training and testing conditions. Annotations of new data in the new domain is expensive and time demanding. Therefore, it is important to design strategies that efficiently use limited amount of new data to improve the robustness of the classification system. The use of ensembles is an attractive solution, since they can be built to perform well across different mismatches. The key challenge is to create ensembles that are diverse. This paper proposes the use of active learning along with feature selection to build a diverse ensemble that performs well in the new domain. The diversity and accuracy of the ensemble are achieved by (1) training emotional classifiers with bias toward specific emotions, (2) eliminating overlap in the feature sets of the ensemble, and (3) conducting feature selection by maximizing the performance over the new labeled data. We study various data selection criteria, and different sample sizes to determine the best approach toward building a stable diverse ensemble that generalize well on new domains.
The identification problem of double-circuit transmissions state estimation based on the current reckoning method

The current reckoning method is based on the system operation network and modeling to achieve current reckoning network model, using the link reckoning technique and branch current measurement to identification and calculation. Analysis current difference identification features, to identify bad data, then correct the bad data, on the basis of the revised branch current to determine the state changes of branches. The research based on current reckoning method in double-circuit transmissions to discriminate bad measurement and determine the state of branch opening and closing is recorded in this paper.
Using Teacher Ratings to Investigate Developmental Regression as a Potential Indicator of School-Age Symptoms in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have a history of parent-reported developmental regression, or early skill loss, little is known about core-ASD symptoms (i.e., social communication, restricted/repetitive behaviors) and emotional/behavioral (E/B) symptoms during the school-age years. Study aims were to investigate whether early skill loss (i.e., ≤ 36 months old) was an indicator of heightened risk for later, school-based emotional and behavioral difficulties during the school-age years. Differences in teacher ratings for students with ASD from various age ranges (early elementary, late elementary/middle school, high school), with and without parent-reported developmental regression, were examined. Data were analyzed from teacher ratings for students with ASD (n = 951) on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and ASEBA Teacher Rating Form (TRF). Students’ families were participants in the multi-site Simons Simplex Collection (SSC), and students had study-confirmed clinical diagnoses of ASD. Overall, ANCOVA indicated few significant effects of developmental regression on teacher ratings of core-ASD symptoms or on ratings of internalizing or externalizing behavior problems, even when controlling for cognitive ability. These results, based on the perspective of teachers who are unaware of (i.e., “blinded” to) child regression status, were surprising yet suggest that early skill loss may not be an indicator of greater risk for some difficulties during the school-age years. Future work is needed to further investigate long-term outcomes among those with ASD who had an early skill loss, and teachers offer unique and important perspectives that may enhance future research in this area.
A comparison of the identification of group A streptococci and enterococci by two rapid pyrrolidonyl aminopeptidase methods

Group A streptococci and enterococci can be differentiated from other streptococci by their ability to cleave L-pyrrolidonyl-beta-napthylamide (PYR). The authors evaluated two pyrrolidonyl aminopeptidase (PYRase) systems--Minitek (BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, MD) and Identicult-AE (Scott Laboratories, Inc., Fiskeville, RI)--for the presumptive identification of Group A streptococci and enterococci. Eighty-three Group A streptococci, 77 beta-hemolytic non-Group A streptococci, 74 enterococci, 56 nonenterococcal non-beta-hemolytic streptococci, 1 Streptococcus pneumoniae, and 1 Aerococcus were tested. Compared with results obtained with reference methods (bile esculin agar and 6.5% [w/v] sodium chloride for identification of enterococci, and latex agglutination tests by Streptex [Burroughs Wellcome, NC] for grouping of beta-hemolytic streptococci) both the Identicult-AE and MInitek systems were 100% sensitive and specific for identification of both enterococci and Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. Advantages of the Identicult-AE system compared with Minitek were the use of a smaller inoculum for which subculture was not necessary, incubation at room temperature rather than at 37 degrees C, and lower cost. Both PYRase kits tested, and in particular the Identicult-AE system, were very easy to use and should be considered as rapid, reliable, and cost-effective alternative methods for the presumptive identification of Group A streptococci and enterococci in the clinical laboratory.
On the paper “On an identity for the zeros of Bessel functions” by Baricz et al.

Abstract In this note we offer some criticism on the paper “On an identity for zeros of Bessel functions” by Baricz et al. [3] . The paper gives identities of type Stieltjes–Calogero for the sums of reciprocals of differences of fourth powers of zeros of Bessel functions. Although interesting in principle, by containing one too many sums of similar complexity the identities fail to convey the true spirit of the work of Stieltjes and Calogero. We rectify this by providing what we think is the correct type of identity for the above-said sums, in the general setup of entire functions of order
Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Degenerative Brain Diseases, an Overview

Mitochondria are multifaceted organelles that serve to power critical neuronal functions.[…].
Abstract Constructions of GMRAs

This chapter presents abstract constructions of GMRAs and wavelets using direct sums and direct limits. As a first example, we take up super-wavelets, which were developed in direct sum spaces to handle the application of multiplexing, the sending of multiple signals on a carrier at the same time. Direct limits, the second construction technique we discuss, were first used to build classical MRA’s and wavelets from filters, and later generalized to construct abstract GMRA’s from multiplicity functions. Finally we present a technique that uses direct sums to find a classifying set for all GMRA’s with finite multiplicity function and Haar measure class.
Dynamically Shared Wide-Area Cellular Communication for Hyper-dense IoT Devices

The emerging Internet of things (IoT) technology will enable a whole new set of applications, imposing far reaching influences on multifarious aspects of the society. At the same time, it also poses grand challenges to the wireless industry, such as the difficulty of allocating sufficient control/data channel resources to a large number of IoT devices operating in the same spectrum. While there has been some work proposing solutions for efficient radio spectrum efficiency, the core network aspect of the hyper-dense IoT communication is not well studied. In particular, the core network is not optimized for IoT traffic characteristics as it is mainly designed for human users' mobile traffic characteristics. In this paper, to address these issues, we develop a dynamically shared connectivity model to manage hyper-dense IoT traffic using the same resources (i.e., bearers). Then, using an evolutionary clustering method, we group the IoT devices based on their traffic patterns. Simulation results show that the proposed solution can result in smaller number of bearer usage for a given IoT traffic compared to previous solutions, while increasing the resource utilization and decreasing signaling cost.
AKT-dependent and -independent pathways mediate PTEN deletion-induced CNS axon regeneration

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) acts as a brake for the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase–AKT–mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway, the deletion of which promotes potent central nervous system (CNS) axon regeneration. Previously, we demonstrated that AKT activation is sufficient to promote CNS axon regeneration to a lesser extent than PTEN deletion. It is still questionable whether AKT is entirely responsible for the regenerative effect of PTEN deletion on CNS axons. Here, we show that blocking AKT or its downstream effectors, mTORC1 and GSK3β, significantly reduces PTEN deletion-induced mouse optic nerve regeneration, indicating the necessary role of AKT-dependent signaling. However, AKT is only marginally activated in PTEN-null mice due to mTORC1-mediated feedback inhibition. That combining PTEN deletion with AKT overexpression or GSK3β deletion achieves significantly more potent axonal regeneration suggests an AKT-independent pathway for axon regeneration. Elucidating the AKT-independent pathway is required to develop effective strategies for CNS axon regeneration.
Evaluating the Emergent Controls of Stream Water Quality with Similitude and Dimensionless Numbers

AbstractThe emergent hydrologic and land-use controls of coastal-urban stream water quality were evaluated by using similitude and dimensional analysis, considering southeast Florida a prototype of...
Clinical Intervention for Airway Improvement: Establishing a New Nose

Total laryngectomy results in a permanent, anatomical disconnection between the upper and lower airways, a process which directly impacts breathing in addition to other functional activities (e.g., smelling, tasting). Specifically, this includes changes in airway humidification, filtration, warming, and resistance as laryngectomees no longer have air actively passing through the nose and mouth, subsequently resulting in unconditioned airflow into the trachea and lungs. This chapter details the basic properties and benefits of heat and moisture exchange devices and explores available treatment options for airway protection and improvement following total laryngectomy. Of primary importance in this chapter is the goal of providing clinicians with a framework for assessing and managing pulmonary environments for laryngectomees as they work to establish a “new nose” for those who undergo total laryngectomy.
Appointment Scheduling for a Health Care Facility with Series Patients

This study focuses on determining the appointment scheduling for healthcare facilities with series patients. “Series” patients are patients who are scheduled for a series of appointments instead of a single appointment. Examples of healthcare services with series patients include radiotherapy/chemotherapy for cancer, physical therapy, kidney dialysis, diabetes treatment, etc. The aim of this study is to design appointment scheduling policies taking into account revenues per service per patient, costs of staffing, overtime, overbooking and delay. The appointment scheduling problem is formulated using an MDP model. However, due to the huge state space, computing the optimal policy is impractical. Hence, we propose the Index Policy (IP) based on a one‐step policy improvement algorithm applied to the MDP model. We study a further simplification obtained by approximating the distribution of the number of patient visits by a Geometric distribution. A key analytical contribution is to prove the MDP to be a uni‐chain, which implies that there exists an optimal policy that maximizes the long‐run average profit. We also find that the IP provides a significant improvement over the other policies. Especially with the Geometric approximation, the IP requires minimal effort in implementing, and works almost as well. To test the effectiveness of our proposed IP in a real‐world setting, we use the data from a local physical therapy center to compare its performance with two other commonly used policies, namely, the Next Available Day Policy and the Shortest Queue Policy. We recommend the IP with Geometric approximation for series patients’ scheduling, which is computationally efficient and can significantly increases profits by incorporating the series feature of the patients’ appointments. Finally, we provide analysis that incorporates several practical considerations such as accounting for patient heterogeneity in number of visits and inter‐visit times, the option to reject new patients when the system is at full capacity, and incorporating patients with known number of visits at the time of the scheduling decision.
Enhanced recovery after surgery among adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) has evolved over the past two decades. Originally aimed to standardize care among adults undergoing colorectal surgery, the tenets that developed have since been broadly accepted by a large number of adult surgical subspecialties, including bariatric surgery. This multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach involving optimizing pre-, intra-, and postoperative phases of care has resulted in shorter hospitalizations, fewer complications, and lower mortality rates. Recently, multiple pediatric surgery subspecialties have adopted ERAS principles and have documented similar favorable outcomes. Among adolescent bariatric patients, outcomes following the implementation of ERAS have not yet been described. We will review the history and goals of ERAS and detail pediatric surgery specific implementations. We will also review outcomes associated with ERAS within specific pediatric surgical subspecialties. Lastly, we will discuss the current ERAS protocol developed at Children's Hospital Colorado for adolescent bariatric surgery.
Mechanical Ventilation – Part II: Monitoring of Respiratory Mechanics During Mechanical Ventilation and Ventilator Strategies

Review basic concepts of respiratory mechanics and their implications for monitoring patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Review ventilator strategies for specific diseases. Understand the role of adjunctive therapies during mechanical ventilation. Understand and identify the complications associated with mechanical ventilation and the use of endotracheal and tracheostomy tubes.
Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Associated With Adherence to Guideline-Based Polysomnography in Children With Down Syndrome.

ObjectivesTo compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of children with Down syndrome who did and did not receive polysomnography to evaluate for obstructive sleep apnea after publicatio...
Integrating distance sampling and presence-only data to estimate species abundance

Integrated models combine multiple data types within a unified analysis to estimate species abundance and covariate effects. By sharing biological parameters, integrated models improve the accuracy and precision of estimates compared to separate analyses of individual datasets. We developed an integrated point process model to combine presence-only and distance sampling data for estimation of spatially-explicit abundance patterns. Simulations across a range of parameter values demonstrate that our model can recover estimates of biological covariates, but parameter accuracy and precision varied with the quantity of each data type. We applied our model to a case study of black-backed jackals in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, to examine effects of spatially varying covariates on jackal abundance patterns. The model revealed that jackals were positively affected by anthropogenic disturbance on the landscape, with highest abundance estimated along the Reserve border near human activity. We found minimal effects of landscape cover, lion density, and distance to water source, suggesting that human use of the Reserve may be the biggest driver of jackal abundance patterns. Our integrated model expands the scope of ecological inference by taking advantage of widely available presence-only data, while simultaneously leveraging richer, but typically limited, distance sampling data.
HISAT-3N: a rapid and accurate three-nucleotide sequence aligner

Abstract Nucleotide conversion sequencing technologies such as bisulfite-seq and SLAM-seq are powerful tools to explore the intricacies of cellular processes. In this paper, we describe HISAT-3N (hierarchical indexing for spliced alignment of transcripts - 3 nucleotides), which rapidly and accurately aligns sequences consisting of nucleotide conversions by leveraging powerful hierarchical index and repeat index algorithms originally developed for the HISAT software. Tests on real and simulated data sets demonstrate that HISAT-3N is over 7 times faster, has greater alignment accuracy, and has smaller memory requirements than other modern systems. Taken together HISAT-3N is the ideal aligner for use with converted sequence technologies.
Exploring Spatially Varying Relationships Between Preterm Birth and Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Behavioral Factors in Georgia, USA Using Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression

Preterm birth (PTB) is an important cause of infant morbidity and mortality around the world. A good understanding of its associations with relevant factors is essential for an effective reduction ...
Multi-reference global registration of individual A-lines in adaptive optics optical coherence tomography retinal images

Significance: Adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) technology enables non-invasive, high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the retina and promises earlier detection of ocular disease. However, AO-OCT data are corrupted by eye-movement artifacts that must be removed in post-processing, a process rendered time-consuming by the immense quantity of data. Aim: To efficiently remove eye-movement artifacts at the level of individual A-lines, including those present in any individual reference volume. Approach: We developed a registration method that cascades (1) a 3D B-scan registration algorithm with (2) a global A-line registration algorithm for correcting torsional eye movements and image scaling and generating global motion-free coordinates. The first algorithm corrects 3D translational eye movements to a single reference volume, accelerated using parallel computing. The second algorithm combines outputs of multiple runs of the first algorithm using different reference volumes followed by an affine transformation, permitting registration of all images to a global coordinate system at the level of individual A-lines. Results: The 3D B-scan algorithm estimates and corrects 3D translational motions with high registration accuracy and robustness, even for volumes containing microsaccades. Averaging registered volumes improves our image quality metrics up to 22 dB. Implementation in CUDA™ on a graphics processing unit registers a 512 × 512 × 512 volume in only 10.6 s, 150 times faster than MATLAB™ on a central processing unit. The global A-line algorithm minimizes image distortion, improves regularity of the cone photoreceptor mosaic, and supports enhanced visualization of low-contrast retinal cellular features. Averaging registered volumes improves our image quality up to 9.4 dB. It also permits extending the imaging field of view (∼2.1 × ) and depth of focus (∼5.6 × ) beyond what is attainable with single-reference registration. Conclusions: We can efficiently correct eye motion in all 3D at the level of individual A-lines using a global coordinate system.
Practical considerations will ensure the continued success of pre-harvest biocontrol using non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strains

There is an important reason for the accelerated use of non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus to mitigate pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination… it effectively addresses the imperative need for safer ...
A standardized protocol improves testing rates for Helicobacter Pylori among inpatients with peptic ulcer disease.

BACKGROUND Despite a strong link between Helicobacter Pylori infection and peptic ulcer disease (PUD), rates of testing for H. Pylori in hospitalized patients with PUD remain largely unexplored. We aimed to determine H. Pylori testing practices at our institution among inpatients with PUD, and to implement a protocol to improve testing rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this quality improvement initiative, baseline H. Pylori testing practices were determined by analysis of historical data on 100 subsequent inpatients with PUD from January 2016 to June 2017 at a tertiary care hospital undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Subsequently, a division-wide testing protocol was implemented, and data were analyzed from 43 consecutive inpatients with PUD from October 2019-March 2020 to determine the protocol's effects. RESULTS The analysis of baseline testing practices showed a 57% testing rate for H. Pylori. Gastric biopsies were less likely to be performed during EGDs done outside the endoscopy unit (5.9% vs 32.7%, P = 0.001), outside of usual business hours (6.7% vs 24.3%, P = 0.04), and in cases where endoscopic therapy was administered (6% vs 32%, P = 0.02). After implementation of the new division-wide testing protocol, testing rates increased to 93% (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Low baseline inpatient testing for H. Pylori represents a missed opportunity to test a substantial number of high-risk patients with PUD. Implementation of a conceptually simple protocol aimed at increasing rates of gastric biopsy significantly improved testing rates in a prospective follow-up. Widespread standardization of H. Pylori testing for inpatients with PUD may improve important patient outcomes related to complicated PUD.
(Re)Membering: Black Women Engaging Memory through Journaling:

This manuscript is a confluence of voices: A Black university professor at a Historically Black University in the Southeast and her two pre-service teachers. Using journaling as a catalyst for tran...
Legislative vs. Executive Political Offices: How Gender Stereotypes Can Disadvantage Women in Either Office

Different stereotypes exist for women politicians in a way that is not true for men; a difference that may affect voter evaluations. While some research concludes that these stereotypes disadvantage women candidates, other findings suggest there is no effect, or that women may have some advantages. I employ three unique experiments to offer insight to this disconnect, expanding the knowledge of stereotypes about the goals of legislative vs. executive offices and female politicians in these roles. This analysis provides insight into how the type of office matters, sharpening our understanding of gender stereotypes in candidate evaluation. I find that stereotypes of women in these offices are unique from those of an ungendered officeholder or male officeholders and stereotypes of women are vastly positive, but that these positive stereotypes never equate to an electoral feminine advantage and may penalize a woman with traits counter to the stereotype of the office.
Aging Effects and Latent Interface-Trap Buildup in MOS Transistors

Effects of ~35 years of aging during storage are investigated on the radiation response and 1/f noise of Oki nMOS and pMOS transistors with high oxygen vacancy densities in SiO2. Short-term interface-trap buildup during irradiation is enhanced significantly, relative to that observed in 1989, 1997, and 2008. In contrast, similar latent interface-trap buildup is observed for aged pMOS devices irradiated and annealed at room and elevated temperatures at positive bias in this and earlier studies. Significant latent interface-trap buildup is observed for nMOS devices irradiated at 0 V and annealed at room and elevated temperatures under positive bias, a condition not evaluated in prior work. Results strongly suggest that latent interface-trap buildup is due to H2 diffusion and dissociation at charged or dipolar O vacancies in SiO2, followed by proton transport to the Si/SiO2 interface and reactions with Si-H complexes. Models that attribute latent interface-trap buildup to long-term proton trapping at O vacancies in SiO2 appear to be ruled out by these results. Additional insight is provided into mechanisms of post-irradiation interface- and border-trap buildup after long-term MOS device storage.
Adsorption of surfactants on mineral oxide surfaces from aqueous solutions: II: Binary mixtures of anionic surfactants

Abstract Individual surfactant adsorption was measured for well defined mixtures of two isomerically pure alkylbenzene sulfonates adsorbing from aqueous solutions onto both alumina and kaolinite. An adsorption model, which includes two-dimensional phase transitions resulting from lateral interactions, is shown to describe the observed isotherms. The phase transitions result in the formation of mixed hemimicelles (high-density aggregates of surfactant mixtures on the surface). The environment for methylene groups in the mixed hemimicelle is slightly less favorable than that in either pure surfactant hemimicelle. For solution compositions below the mixed Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC), the surfactant having the least tendency to adsorb exhibits greatly increased adsorption because of the presence of the mixed hemimicelles. The adsorption of the surfactant having the greatest tendency to adsorb is not greatly different from the pure component adsorption. Since only monomer adsorbs significantly, monomer-micelle equilibrium had to be considered simultaneously with the adsorption model to predict results above the CMC. Ideal solution theory was shown to be a good approximation for this equilibrium. Above the CMC, conditions are described which result in minima and maxima in total adsorption isotherms.
Generation of a Neutrophil Chemotactic Agent by Spermatozoa: Role of Complement and Regulation by Seminal Plasma Factors

The interactions of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, spermatozoa, seminal plasma, and serum have been examined in an in vitro leukocyte chemotaxis system. Bovine or human spermatozoa have no neutrophil chemotactic activity alone, but generate potent activity when incubated with serum. Generation of this activity requires magnesium, but not calcium ions and is blocked by pre-heating the serum. Chemotactic activity is generated normally in serum deficient in immunoglobulins or C4, but is not produced in serum deficient in C3. Thus, spermatozoa activate complement via the alternative pathway. The chemotactically active agent has been identified as the low m.w. C5 cleavage product (C5a) on the basis of heat stability, gel filtration characteristics, and specific inhibition by antiserum to C5. The spermatozoal constituents responsible for complement activation are largely heat stable, resistant to diisopropylfluorophosphate and on gel filtration compise a heterogeneous group of large m.w. materials. Bovine seminal plasma has no neutrophil chemotactic activity alone; considerable activity, however, is generated by incubating low, but not high concentrations of seminal plasma with serum. The chemotactic agent produced in serum is C5a. Bovine seminal plasma also contains potent heat labile inhibitors of chemotaxis. Two distinct inhibitors differing in m.w. (50 to 100,000 and 15,000) and heat stability have been isolated. The inhibitors appear to act directly on the neutrophil rather than on the chemotactic factor. Human seminal plasma exhibits slight chemotactic activity alone but does not generate significant additional activity on incubation with serum. In contrast to the inhibitory activity of bovine seminal plasma, the human material contains heat-stable, nondialyzable factors which enhance the neutrophil chemotactic response. These studies document a specific mechanism for the directed migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes toward spermatozoa. The findings may provide an explanation for the observed in vivo leukocyte accumulation in the female genital tract in association with spermatozoa and seminal plasma. The biologic significance of this phenomenon relates to potential leukocyte-spermatozoa interaction which may influence the likelihood of fertilization.
Enclaves of anarchy: Preprint sharing, 1940-1990

The purpose of this paper is to provide a timeline of the gradual organization of preprint sharing of traditional research articles and its consolidation as the preferred means of connection among scientists engaged at the forefront of increasingly narrower sub-specialties that emerged after World War II. At mid-century, the flood of research that scientific journals faced created a burden on the traditional system of publication. The social dynamics involved in the production of high energy physics research, in particular, proved to be the main arena of scientific communication that contributed to the advent of preprint exchange as an alternate system of publication during the 20th century. Increasing sophistication of information and communication technology relative to cost and convenience of use were factors that ultimately led to the online deployment of arχiv in 1991. The history of preprint sharing in scientific publishing is a relatively unexplored area of study, and subserves the larger need to understand the immediate circumstances surrounding the move to digital publication by scientific journals. In particular, the challenge presented by preprint sharing to the formal system of peer review that print journals have traditionally offered was an over-riding concern throughout the course of the changes described here.
A new shaping method for circularly symmetric dual reflector antennas

This work presents a shaping method for a circularly symmetric dual reflector antenna. The shaped reflector surface is determined from the prescribed aperture field based on the principles of geometrical optics (GO), including power conservation, Snell's law and ray condition. Using these principles, two first order ordinary differential equations for shaping circularly symmetric reflectors, have been formulated previously. These principles were also used to design the subreflector and consequently the main reflector surface to obtain the desired uniform aperture field distribution. However, in this research, instead of solving rather complicated partial differential equations, several nonlinear algebraic equations are formulated based on these principles and geometrical properties of conventional dual reflector antennas, and solved numerically with a certain approximation for a shaped dual reflector surface and caustic line.
Determining Storage Properties of Sequential and Concurrent Programs with Assignment and Structured Data

Determination of storage properties (e.g., aliasing, def-use chains, liveness, etc.) is one of the primary concerns in the implementation of any programming language. We present a new semantic framework and analysis based on operational traces that subsumes and improves upon most existing work in this area and handles concurrency, higher-order functions, first-class continuations, assignment, and recursive structured data. The analysis determines a storage relation: b\(\mathop \rightsquigarrow \limits^{a} \)a:x.w means that in any evaluation segment starting from program point a, the single unit of data allocated at point b is referenced by subcomponent w of variable x after evaluation proceeds through control path a, where b is either a control path representing the point of an allocation that occurred after point a, or a symbolic term x′.w′ representing an allocation before point a and referenced by component w′ of variable x′ at a. This relation can relate recursive control structure (including process spawns) and recursive data structure, and is suitable for analysis of arbitrary code or evaluation-trace fragments.
Dietary Intake of Antioxidants including Vitamins C, E, and Lycopene among Normal Weight and Obese Native American Adolescents

Antioxidants are well-known for possessing anti-inflammatory properties which can reduce the risk of chronic disease and obesity. However, very little research has been done to examine antioxidant intake among adolescent minority populations such as Native American adolescents. Our study examined the significance of antioxidant intake among Native American adolescents at an urban residential high school in Southern California. Our study population consisted of 183 male and female Native American adolescents, 14-18 years of age, representing 43 tribes from across the United States. Students' primary source of food was the school food service. Based on BMI measurements, we calculated the rate of obesity within our population to be 38% for males and 40% for females, more than two-fold the national rate indicated by NHANESIII data. We used the Harvard School of Public Health Youth/Adolescent Questionnaire (HSPH YAQ), a semi-quantitative usual food intake questionnaire, to examine antioxidant intake and to eva...
A Technique for Invariant Generation

Most of the properties established during verification are either invariants or depend crucially on invariants. The effectiveness of automated formal verification is therefore sensitive to the ease with which invariants, even trivial ones, can be automatically deduced. While the strongest invariant can be defined as the least fixed point of the strongest post-condition of a transition system starting with the set of initial states, this symbolic computation rarely converges. We present a method for invariant generation and strengthening that relies on the simultaneous construction of least and greatest fixed points, restricted widening and narrowing, and quantifier elimination. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated on a number of examples.
Accuracy of fine-needle aspiration of thyroid.

Abstract Context.—Fine-needle aspiration has become an accepted and cost-effective procedure for rapid diagnosis of thyroid lesions. The routine use of fine-needle aspiration has reduced the rate of unnecessary surgery for thyroid nodules. Objectives.—To determine the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy diagnosis and to discuss the possible pitfalls. Design, Setting, and Participants.—Reports of 6226 fine-needle aspiration biopsies of the thyroid performed during a period of 16 years (1982–1998) were reviewed. Computerized reports of the fine-needle aspiration biopsies were sent to the physicians who performed the procedures, and clinical follow-up information regarding the patients was requested. Twenty-four clinicians participated in the study. Histologic diagnoses were available for 354 cases. The cytopathologic diagnoses were correlated with the histologic findings or clinical outcomes. Results.—The cytologic diagnoses were as follows: 210 (3.4%) malignant, 450 (7.2%) suspicious, 3731 (60%) beni...
Damping of charge-density-wave motion.

Starting from a three-dimensional generalization of the Lee-Rice-Anderson Hamiltonian (wherein the electron motion is still treated one dimensionally), the damping of a field-driven q=0 phason is studied. The dominant contribution to the phason damping comes from its scattering by a thermal phason to produce two q\ensuremath{\ne}0 phasons. Taking into account the nonlinearity of the phason spectrum, we find that the associated charge-density-wave (CDW) conductivity [in the (10--100)-GHz region] is comparable to that in the metallic phase, in rough agreement with experiment. The contribution to damping of phason scattering by thermal amplitude modes is a factor of \ensuremath{\sim}(1/5) smaller than that of thermal phasons. Comparison of the order of magnitude of the damping coefficient with experiment is discussed, and possible theoretical improvements are proposed.
THE EFFECT OF STILBESTROL IN EARLY PREGNANCY1

IN 1938 PARKES, DODDS, AND NOBLE (1) reported that 4–4 dihydroxyα: diethyl stilbene, stilbestrol, was orally effective in the prevention of implantation in both rats and rabbits. Inasmuch as their report did not include the effects of stilbestrol upon the ova, and earlier investigations (2, 3) had shown the capacity of other estro gens to tube-lock or accelerate the rate of transport, this study was undertaken to determine the history of the ova following stilbestrol injections. Stilbestrol, dissolved in sesame oil, was injected subcutaneously into mated albino mice 8 to 12 hours after finding the vaginal plug (a.v.p.). Injections were daily with certain exceptions noted in table 1. Three groups of animals were injected with 1.0 mg., 0.5 mg. and 0.005 mg.respectively. When autopsied, the reproductive tracts were examined for vascularity and spontaneous activity and the number, color and sise of the corpora lutea noted. The uteri and oviducts were checked forova or early embryos, and, in a few cases, the v...
The relationship between willingness to adopt the sick role and attitudes toward women.

Abstract A number of papers in the literature have suggested a possible relationship between delay in seeking medical treatment and motivation for autonomous functioning. The explanation for the relationship generally rests on two related points: (1) Those feeling most secure about their body may be less threatened by symptoms and delay treatment longer; (2) Those feeling a need for autonomy and independence may delay longer because of an unwillingness to assume the role of patient with its associated passive-dependency. The present study supports the idea of a relationship between treatment delay and desire for autonomy with the finding of significant correlations between a woman's sex role attitudes and her predictions of treatment delay for herself over a variety of symptoms. The more liberal the woman was in her views, the longer the treatment delays she predicted for herself. More liberal women also described physicians in more negative terms in an essay on their last physical examination. Parallel findings were revealed by a series of semantic differential ratings which showed that more liberal women tended to perceive physicians and hospitals in more negative terms. Hospitals were also associated with greater inactivity by the more liberal women.
Brain Metabolic Correlates of Hypoxic-Ischemic Cerebral Necrosis in Mid-Gestational Sheep Fetuses: Significance of Hypotension

Summary: Midgestational sheep fetuses exposed to marked hypoxia for 2 h remain brain intact if MABP is maintained above 30 mm Hg. On the other hand, similarly hypoxic fetuses, if they experience reductions in MABP below 30 mm Hg, develop foci of necrosis that predominantly affect hemispheric white matter and neostriatum. Cortex damage is more restricted and is usually associated with more massive underlying white matter damage. The present study examines the brain metabolic basis for the important role of hypotension in brain injury development in marked hypoxia. Sheep fetuses rendered hypoxic by respiring their ewes with 11% oxygen (fetal Pao2 = 8-12 mm Hg) in which MABP was maintained above 30 mm Hg showed increases in brain lactic acid concentrations to 7-13 µmol/g but unaltered energy charge. In contrast, fetuses that sustained MABP reductions below 30 mm Hg showed increases in lactic acid concentrations in vulnerable structures to 16-24 µmol/g accompanied by marked decreases in energy charge. The vulnerable structures also showed reductions in fructose concentrations but a variable behavior of other brain metabolites including phosphocreatine, glycogen, and glucose. Thus, the present findings suggest a relation between hypotension during marked hypoxia, low energy charge, lactic acid accumulation in brain at high concentrations, and fetal brain injury. The ewes of hypoxic hypotensive fetuses received pentobarbital at lower doses than did those of fetuses that maintained blood pressure. This suggests that pentobarbital plays an important role in protecting the fetal brain from asphyxia by extending the hypoxic fetus's ability to maintain blood pressure in addition to reducing its brain metabolism.
Degenerative scoliosis surgical fixation techniques

Abstract Degenerative scoliosis patients present a unique challenge to the spine surgeons. When conservative treatments no longer provide benefit, certain surgical options may improve pain and disability. This article discusses the variety of surgical techniques available for deformity correction, including the following topics: muscle-sparing approaches, such as the presacral, lateral transpsoas, and mini-open ALIF; the role of anterior column support using interbody graft and devices; adjacent-level cement augmentation and proximal junctional kyphosis; the utility and methodology of pedicle screw augmentation with bone cement; and pelvic fixation techniques for protection of the lumbosacral fusion, including a comparison of S2-alar-iliac screws with standard iliac bolts. Finally, three illustrative cases are described with relevant pre- and post-operative images.
Energy band structure of three dimensional graphite

Abstract We present a progress report of our ab initio energy band structure calculation of 3-dimensional graphite. The motivation for this work derives from two principle objectives: (1) to provide a basis of comparison for our work on graphite intercalation compounds, and (2) to further test some computational aspects of our formalism. These considerations are discussed further in Section 1. In Section 2 we describe the graphite structure and our crystal potential. The formalism which has been presented in detail elsewhere [1] is briefly reviewed in Section 3. In Section 4 we present the results of our KKR calculation for a muffin tin potential. The final bands we have obtained so far are presented in Section 5 and we close with a comparison of our results with optical experiments and other theoretical studies.