cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Poor in the Financial Market: Changes in the Use of Financial Products, Institutions, and Services from 1995 to 1998

The poor are in a disadvantaged position in the financial market. In this article, a review is given of public policy initiatives that are implemented to help the poor as well as an examination of how the poor are served in the financial market, using data from the 1995 and 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances provided by the Federal Reserve Board. Specifically, poor households' use of depository and credit products, the financial institutions that provide these products to the poor, and the way in which the poor conduct their financial business (e.g., visit to branch offices, ATMs, etc.) are compared to that of non-poor households. Marketing and public policy implications are drawn from the findings.
Survival of Men with Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer Detected in the Eighth Decade of Life

AbstractWe reviewed our experience with the management of men 70 to 79 years old with clinically localized prostate cancer to determine whether surgical candidates were likely to die of intercurrent disease soon after the disease was diagnosed. Of 101 men in the eighth decade of life who were surgical candidates by all criteria other than patient age 44 underwent radical prostatectomy, whereas 57 were managed by medical therapy including observation, radiation therapy and/or androgen deprivation. Five patients died in the surgical group at a median followup of 59 months, only 1 of whom died of intercurrent disease. Among 15 deaths in the medical group metastatic prostate cancer was the most common cause and all deaths from prostate cancer occurred more than 3 years after diagnosis. Survival for the surgical group was significantly better than that for the medical group during followup (p <0.01 log-rank test). We conclude that men at our institution who underwent radical prostatectomy in the eighth decade ...
How best to estimate glomerular filtration rate? Novel filtration markers and their application.

Purpose of reviewChronic kidney disease is an increasing health burden. Estimating equations using serum concentrations of creatinine and cystatin C facilitate the assessment of kidney function as reflected in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Reduced eGFR is associated with increased ris
Introduction to the Special Section on Bisexual Health: Can You See Us Now?

Despite comprising the largest proportion of the “lesbian, gay, and bisexual” population, research focusing on the unique health concerns and needs of bisexual individuals is relatively scarce. While health disparities are increasingly well documented among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals relative to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts, gaps remain in our basic understanding of how health status, behaviors, and outcomes vary within these groups, especially bisexual individuals. The lack of specified research on bisexual health is even more curious given that, when separated from both heterosexual and gay/lesbian individuals, bisexual individuals consistently report higher rates of a wide range of negative health outcomes, including mood and anxiety disorders, substance use, suicidality, as well as disparities related to healthcare access and utilization. Indeed, in scientific research, mass media, and in public health interventions, bisexual individuals remain relatively invisible. This Special Section represents an effort to shed light on a new generation of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research studies that examine health-related concerns, outcomes, and intervention opportunities specifically among diverse samples of bisexual individuals from a variety of social and cultural contexts. The research herein focuses on intersections of multiple identities, the development of new measures, the use of large national data sets, and diverse groups of self-identified bisexual men (who tend to be least visible in health research). Findings from these studies will significantly advance our knowledge of factors associated with health disparities, as well as health and well-being more generally, among bisexual individuals and will help to inform directions for future health promotion research and intervention efforts.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence and Time to Onset of Manifestations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: The California Lupus Surveillance Project.

Objective The California Lupus Surveillance Project (CLSP) is a population-based registry of individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) residing in San Francisco County, California from 2007 to 2009, with a special focus on Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic patients. We used retrospective CLSP data to analyze racial and ethnic differences in lupus manifestations and in the timing and risk of developing severe manifestations. Methods A total of 724 patients with SLE were retrospectively identified. Prevalence ratios (PRs) of SLE manifestations were calculated using Poisson regression models stratified by race/ethnicity and adjusted for sex, age at SLE diagnosis, and disease duration. We studied onset of severe SLE manifestations after SLE diagnosis using Kaplan-Meier methods to examine time-to-event and Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs). White patients were the referent group in all analyses. Results African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic patients had increased prevalence of renal manifestations (PR 1.74 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.40-2.16], PR 1.68 [95% CI 1.38-2.05], and PR 1.35 [95% CI 1.05-1.74], respectively). Furthermore, African Americans had increased prevalence of neurologic manifestations (PR 1.49 [95% CI 1.12-1.98]), and both African Americans (PR 1.09 [95% CI 1.04-1.15]) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (PR 1.07 [95% CI 1.01-1.13]) had increased prevalence of hematologic manifestations. African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic patients, respectively, had higher risk of developing lupus nephritis (HR 2.4 [95% CI 1.6-3.8], HR 4.3 [95% CI 2.9-6.4], and HR 2.3 [95% CI 1.4-3.8]) and thrombocytopenia (HR 2.3 [95% CI 1.1-4.4], HR 2.3 [95% CI 1.3-4.2], and HR 2.2 [95% CI 1.1-4.7]). Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic patients had higher risk of developing antiphospholipid syndrome (HR 2.5 [95% CI 1.4-4.4] and HR 2.6 [95% CI 1.3-5.1], respectively). Conclusion This is the first epidemiologic study comparing lupus manifestations among 4 major racial and ethnic groups. We found substantial differences in the prevalence of several clinical SLE manifestations among racial/ethnic groups and discovered that African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic patients are at increased risk of developing several severe manifestations following a diagnosis of SLE.
Reflections on computing beyond pencils

Marasoiu and Church [9] (hereafter MC and computational materials that are not just paper and charcoal, but oil, acrylic and watercolour paints, stone and clay and metal. "Even the simple pencil feels different on gloss paper or cloth, whilst everything in a computer is smooth and textureless." Second, the tyranny of structure: "The structures fight back. Even transgression is hard. We prefer to think about programs rather than work with them because only in thought can we reconceptualise without being bogged down by someone else's structures." "In asking 'for whom do we write?', Videla wonderfully highlights these questions - that we currently engage in the pretence that we can have a discussion about the beautiful ideas of programming, by explaining them to each other in a conversation mediated by the mindless pedantry of compilers, IDEs, type checkers and linters. Surely, there must be a better way? (in [3]; cited in M&C)"
Practice 4: Reconstructing Needs for Creative Associations

In this chapter, we examine the participants’ behaviors during a crowdsourcing event undertaken by a managed health-care insurance company. The executives conducted an internal crowdsourcing event to solicit from the claims professionals innovative ways to service customers. We found that those posts initially offering a specific need coupled with a specific solution garnered the most attention by participants, but did not necessarily lead to innovative solutions. What led to innovative solutions were participants peeling away the need, then reconstructing the need into a creative association only tangentially related to the initial need. Thus, innovation in crowds does not emerge from simply listing requirements for the solution, but rather, from needs being creatively reconstructed to inspire others to think of new solutions.
DRY NEEDLING AND PHYSICAL THERAPY VERSUS PHYSICAL THERAPY ALONE FOLLOWING SHOULDER STABILIZATION REPAIR: A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL.

Background Post-operative range of motion (ROM) loss and pain can limit quality of life, prolong functional return to activity, and may be sport/career threatening. Dry needling (DN) is intended assist in the treatment of these complaints. Purpose To determine if the addition of upper quarter DN to a rehabilitation protocol is more effective in improving ROM, pain, and functional outcome scores when compared to a rehabilitation protocol alone after shoulder stabilization surgery. Study design Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial. Methods Thirty-nine post-operative shoulder patients were randomly allocated into two groups: (1) standard of care rehabilitation (control group) (2) standard of care rehabilitation plus dry needling (experimental group). Patient's pain, ROM, and functional outcome scores were assessed at baseline (4 weeks post-operative), and at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months post-operative. Results Of 39 enrolled patients, 20 were allocated to the control group and 19 to the experimental group. At six-month follow up, there was a statistically significant improvement in shoulder flexion ROM in the control group. Aside from this, there were no significant differences in outcomes between the two treatment groups. Both groups showed improvement over time. No adverse events were reported. Conclusion Dry needling of the shoulder girdle in addition to standard of care rehabilitation after shoulder stabilization surgery did not significantly improve shoulder ROM, pain, or functional outcome scores when compared with standard of care rehabilitation alone. Both group's improvement was largely equal over time. The significant difference in flexion at the six-month follow up may be explained by additional time spent receiving passive range of motion (PROM) in the control group. These results provide preliminary evidence that dry needling in a post-surgical population is safe and without significant risk of iatrogenic infection or other adverse events. Level of evidence Therapy, Level 2.
Fungal Social Barriers: To Fuse, or Not to Fuse, That Is the Question

Cell fusion takes place in all domains of life and contributes greatly to the formation of complex multicellular structures. In particular, many fungi, such as the filamentous Neurospora crassa, rely on conspecific somatic cell fusion to drive the unicellular-to-multicellular transition and formation of the interconnected mycelial syncytium. This can, however, lead to the transmission of infectious elements and deleterious genotypes that have a negative impact on the organismal fitness. Accumulating evidence obtained from natural populations suggests that N. crassa has evolved various self/non-self or allorecognition systems to avoid fusion between genetically non-identical spores or hyphae at all costs. Here we present an overview of the recent advances made in the field of fungal allorecognition, describe its genetic basis, and comment on its evolutionary meaning. These data pinpoint the multilayered complexity of the cooperative social behaviors undertaken by a model eukaryotic microbe.
Trends in Emergency Department Visits and Hospital Admissions in Health Care Systems in 5 States in the First Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US.

Importance As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread throughout the US in the early months of 2020, acute care delivery changed to accommodate an influx of patients with a highly contagious infection about which little was known. Objective To examine trends in emergency department (ED) visits and visits that led to hospitalizations covering a 4-month period leading up to and during the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study of 24 EDs in 5 large health care systems in Colorado (n = 4), Connecticut (n = 5), Massachusetts (n = 5), New York (n = 5), and North Carolina (n = 5) examined daily ED visit and hospital admission rates from January 1 to April 30, 2020, in relation to national and the 5 states’ COVID-19 case counts. Exposures Time (day) as a continuous variable. Main Outcomes and Measures Daily counts of ED visits, hospital admissions, and COVID-19 cases. Results A total of 24 EDs were studied. The annual ED volume before the COVID-19 pandemic ranged from 13 000 to 115 000 visits per year; the decrease in ED visits ranged from 41.5% in Colorado to 63.5% in New York. The weeks with the most rapid rates of decrease in visits were in March 2020, which corresponded with national public health messaging about COVID-19. Hospital admission rates from the ED were stable until new COVID-19 case rates began to increase locally; the largest relative increase in admission rates was 149.0% in New York, followed by 51.7% in Massachusetts, 36.2% in Connecticut, 29.4% in Colorado, and 22.0% in North Carolina. Conclusions and Relevance From January through April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified in the US, temporal associations were observed with a decrease in ED visits and an increase in hospital admission rates in 5 health care systems in 5 states. These findings suggest that practitioners and public health officials should emphasize the importance of visiting the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic for serious symptoms, illnesses, and injuries that cannot be managed in other settings.
Controlando el Dengue en tiempos de Pandemia por el COVID-19

Jorge Osorio, DVM, PhD works in Pathology Biology at the University of Wisconsin in the USA. His research team uses a molecular approach to understand interactions between host-pathogen for emerging diseases (West Nile, dengue) and biodefense pathogens (Plague, MonkeyPox). Research novel human vaccines like Dengue, Chikungunya, and Plague. We invite you to reflect on your experience in developing a dengue vaccine.
Prostate artery embolization in a patient with left ventricular assist device.

Abstract Increased number of left ventricular assist device placement in patients with end stage heart failure as well as years of survival increases the likelihood of need for non-cardiac procedures. Prostate artery embolization is a safe, minimally invasive procedure performed in the setting of lower urinary tract symptoms or refractory gross hematuria of prostatic origin. These patients require a multidisciplinary approach to weigh the benefits and risks of the procedure and provide optimal periprocedural care. We report a case of technically successful prostate artery embolization performed in a patient with HeartWare HVAD presenting with refractory hematuria of prostatic origin (RHPO).
Hitting the Books: A Nationwide Analysis of Advanced Degrees in Academic Plastic Surgery Faculty

Plastic surgery is one of the most competitive and innovative fields in medicine. The role of the academic plastic surgeon continues to grow beyond clinical care, and many surgeons have pursued advanced degrees (AD) to expand their professional skillset. We present an analysis of ADs of academic plastic surgery faculty in the USA, with consideration of timing of AD attainment. All academic plastic surgery faculty members were identified from plastic surgery program websites, as recognized by the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons. ADs were defined as additional degrees beyond the primary medical degree. Outcomes included timing of AD attainment, residency rankings, institutional standings, and research productivity. 949 faculty members were identified, and 167 had ADs. The most common ADs were PhD (30%), MS/MSc (18%), and MBA/EMBA (17%). Timing of AD attainment was available for 146 faculty members (84.7%). Having an AD before residency was associated with matching into higher-tiered and integrated residency programs (both p < 0.05). For attending physicians, having an AD was associated with more journal editorial board positions, more publications, higher H-index, receiving NIH funding, and median number of NIH grants (adjusted for years in practice, all p<0.05). Institutional analysis revealed that employing more faculty with an AD was associated with having an integrated residency program, higher residency research ranking, and higher tier integrated residency (all p < 0.05). ADs are growing in popularity in academic plastic surgery and are temporally associated with specific advantages in terms of residency placement, research productivity, and institutional standing. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each submission to which Evidence-Based Medicine rankings are applicable. This excludes Review Articles, Book Reviews, and manuscripts that concern Basic Science, Animal Studies, Cadaver Studies, and Experimental Studies. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .
Student training for community screening events: Asynchronous and live training comparison.

Abstract Introduction One way pharmacy students contribute to their community while simultaneously practicing critical skills is by providing community blood pressure (BP) and blood glucose (BG) screenings. Instruction on correct techniques ensures student participants obtain accurate results and develop confidence. Previously, community event training had been held live and in person, but due to a curriculum change, an asynchronous online training program was piloted. The purpose of this study was to determine if the online training provides similar confidence, convenience, and knowledge when compared to live training. Methods Three online training modules (BP, BG, and event procedures) were built into a web-based course management system. Each online module consisted of an educational slideshow, an instructional video, and a short quiz. A 10-question anonymous survey was given both before and after the live training in 2017, as well as before and after the asynchronous, online training in 2018. Data were compared using descriptive statistics to see if the increase in knowledge and confidence was similar. Results The live training event had 69 participants; the online training had 77 participants. Both the live and online training had 99 to 100% successful completion, based upon skill demonstration (live), or quiz (online). Both the live and online training had increases in reported student confidence. Both formats were rated as convenient by participants (9.7/10 for live, 9.6/10 for online). Conclusions The use of an online, asynchronous training program is an effective alternative for student training to prepare for participation in community screening events.
Contamination of Retail Meat Samples with Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Relation to Organic and Conventional Production and Processing: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Data from the United States National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, 2012-2017.

Background: During food animal production, animals are exposed to, colonized by, and sometimes infected with bacteria that may contaminate animal products with susceptible and multidrug-resistant o...
Progress on miRNA in giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a family of endogenous non-coding RNAs with a length of about 22 nucleotides, are widely found in eukaryotes. miRNAs can affect gene expression through specific bindings with mRNAs of target genes and participate in the regulation of a variety of biological processes. Giant panda is not only a unique rare animal in China, but also the focus of attention on wildlife preservation worldwide. In recent years, with the popularization of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, miRNAs in giant panda have been discovered and identified one after another. In this review, we focus on the research progress on miRNAs in giant panda, involved in immune response, mammary gland development, sperm freezing tolerance and other biological processes, and then discuss future research directions of miRNAs in giant panda, and thus providing the scientific references and new ideas for studying the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs and promoting the breeding and protection of giant panda.
A History of Nerve Functions: From Animal Spirits to Molecular Mechanisms

Recent developments have extended our knowledge of the basic functions of nerves: notably, the demonstration of the mechanism within nerve fibers which transports a wide range of essential materials. In order to understand how this discovery occurred, it is necessary to examine its history. The story begins in ancient Greece when nerves were conceived of as channels through which animal spirits carried sensory impressions to the brain. As science developed, the discoveries of various physical and chemical agents supplanted the agency of animal spirits until the molecular machinery of transport was recognized. In this fascinating and complete history, Sidney Ochs begins with a chronological look at this path of discovery, followed in the second half by a thematic approach wherein the author describes the electrical nature of the nerve impulse, fiber form and its changes in degeneration and regeneration, reflexes, learning, memory and other higher functions in which transport participates.
Studies on ultrastructural dislocations in mitochondria. II. On the dislocation induced by lyophilization and the mechanism of uncoupling.

Abstract Lyophilization has been shown to uncouple bovine heart mitochondria; however, well-coupled particles may be derived by sonication of the mitochondria uncoupled in this way. An ultrastructural dislocation has been demonstrated by electron microscopy in the cristael membrane of the lyophilized particles. This dislocation is believed to be the morphological basis of uncoupling in lyophilized mitochondria. A mechanism is proposed whereby coupled submitochondrial particles may be derived by sonic irradiation of uncoupled mitochondria.
Constructing Diagrams Representing Group Motions

Certain domains, such as military activities and weather phenomena, are characterized by a large number of individual elements moving in a field, either in pursuit of an organized activity in groups at different levels of aggregation (military action), or subject to underlying physical forces that cluster different elements in different groups with common motion (weather). Reasoning about phenomena in such domains is often facilitated by abstracting the mass of data into diagrams of motions of groups, and overlaying them on diagrams that abstract static features into regions and curves. Constructing such diagrams of motion basically calls for clustering at different time instants and joining the centers of the clusters to produce lines of motion. However, because of incompleteness and noisiness of data, the best that can be done is to produce plausible hypotheses. We envision a multi-layered abductive inference approach in which hypotheses largely flow upwards from raw data to a diagram to be used by a problem solver, but there is also a top-down control that asks lower levels to supply alternatives if the original hypotheses are not deemed sufficiently coherent.
Toward better balance

The AANS was founded in 1931 as an educational and scientific organization whose principal purpose was to foster optimum neurosurgical care. Because socioeconomic and political pressures on medicine generally and neurosurgery specifically have escalated in recent years, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) has been required to respond effectively to matters beyond its traditional role. However, the AANS has lacked an effective, focused policymaking process to deal with socioeconomic concerns despite existing expertise within the specialty. The AANS now needs to develop a comprehensive socioeconomic effort that is consistent with its more traditional educational and scientific activities. A Task Force on Governance has been appointed to address how the Association's governance structure can reflect all the needs of our specialty in times of economic uncertainty and health care reform.
Faking It: Hoist with His Own Petard

There's letters seal'd, and my two schoolfellows Whom I will trust as I will adders fang'd They bear the mandate, they must sweep my way And marshal me to knavery. Let it work, For 'tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his own petar, an't shall go hard But I will delve one yard below their mines, And blow them at the moon. ( Hamlet 3.4.203–210) E arlier we met those words and phrases that made no sense to us when we were little and not so little, the “plejallegiance” or the “forgive us our trespasses” of the Lord's prayer. Without checking the gloss on the bottom of the page, few of us know, or remember if we did check, what exactly the image of being hoist with a petar(d) is. When we read Shakespeare we are so often faking reading Shakespeare. Many think the image of petards means being run up a flagpole or tossed in the air and impaled on your own spear (and to justify this the line is often misremembered as hoist on his own petard). Even misunderstood in that way, the metaphor is properly conceived as having something to do with plots recoiling on the plotter in ways he never foresaw, of having himself become the inadvertent object of his own machinations intended to undo another. To be hoist with your own petard really means to have the mine or shell you intend for the enemy explode in your own face.
Microchallenges of Chemical Weapons Proliferation

Advances in microprocess technology within the chemical industry will challenge chemical weapons nonproliferation efforts. Meeting this challenge is especially difficult because of the potential of this technology to revolutionize chemical manusfacturing for beneficial applications. The author of this Policy Forum strongly recommends discussions between scientists and diplomats at the early stages of development; these are crucial to nonproliferation and international security.
VLSI design of compact and high-precision analog neural network processors

The design of an analog VLSI neural network processor for scientific and engineering applications such as pattern recognition and image compression is described. The backpropagation and self-organization learning schemes in artificial neural networks require high-precision multiplication and summation. The analog neural network design presented performs high-speed feedforward computation in parallel. A digital signal processor or a host computer can be used for updating of synapse weights during the learning phase. The analog computing blocks consist of a synapse matrix and the input and output neuron arrays. The output neuron is composed of a current-to-voltage converter and a sigmoid function generator with a controllable voltage gain. An improved Gilbert multiplier is used for the synapse design. The input and output neurons are tailored to reduce the network settling time and minimize the silicon area that is used for implementation. >
Efficient Oblivious Pseudorandom Function with Applications to Adaptive OT and Secure Computation of Set Intersection

An Oblivious Pseudorandom Function (OPRF) [15] is a two-party protocol between sender S and receiver R for securely computing a pseudorandom function f k (·) on key k contributed by S and input x contributed by R , in such a way that receiver R learns only the value f k (x ) while sender S learns nothing from the interaction. In other words, an OPRF protocol for PRF f k (·) is a secure computation for functionality $\mathcal F_{\mathsf{OPRF}}:(k,x)\rightarrow(\perp,f_k(x))$. We propose an OPRF protocol on committed inputs which requires only O (1) modular exponentiations, and has a constant number of communication rounds (two in ROM). Our protocol is secure in the CRS model under the Composite Decisional Residuosity (CDR) assumption, while the PRF itself is secure on a polynomially-sized domain under the Decisional q -Diffie-Hellman Inversion assumption on a group of composite order, where q is the size of the PRF domain, and it has a useful feature that f k is an injection for every k . practical OPRF protocol for an injective PRF, even limited to a polynomially-sized domain, is a versatile tool with many uses in secure protocol design. We show that our OPRF implies a new practical fully-simulatable adaptive (and committed) OT protocol secure without ROM. In another example, this oblivious PRF construction implies the first secure computation protocol of set intersection on committed data with computational cost of O (N ) exponentiations where N is the maximum size of both data sets.
Laser Illuminates Compact Galaxies

Lick laser adaptive optics (AO) images of 6 low-redshift luminous compact blue galaxies were obtained in the H and K bands. The near-IR morphologies range from disky to irregular and include one possible galaxy merger. For one of the irregular galaxies, we combine the AO data with HST far-ultraviolet (FUV) STIS imaging and do stellar population synthesis modeling of the sub-arcsec structure. We find a string of compact knots in the STIS image with the brightest knot roughly 10 times brighter than 30 Doradus, indicating a recent major star-forming event. This structure is seen in the near-IR AO images which also contain an even larger red concentration that is undetected in the FUV. The stellar population synthesis models indicate that the red concentration is significantly older than the blue knot. One possible explanation for the observations is a recurrent burst history for this object.
Dual-layer Voltage and VAR Control Approach with Active Participation from Distributed Solar Generations

AbstractPower distribution systems are desired to operate at their optimal control settings. These settings typically mean operation at low energy consumption and minimized distribution losses. Renewable energy resources can be very important for efficient operation of the distribution systems. However, when the number of renewables in the distribution system increases, the complexity of the control also increases. Intermittent renewable resources, particularly wind and solar, can cause significant fluctuations in distribution feeder voltages. This article presents a dual-layer control approach for finding the optimal feeder control settings and maintaining the feeder voltages within specified limits between the optimization intervals. The load-tap changer transformers, voltage regulator, capacitor banks, and smart inverters participate in the global control, while the smart inverters deal with the fast changing transients at the local control level. Thus, this control scheme will take full advantage of p...
Listeriosis in patients with long-term hemodialysis and transfusional iron overload

Over a four-year interval, four cases of Listeria monocytogenes bacteremia were observed among a population of 127 patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. None had an underlying malignancy or were recently receiving immunosuppressive medications. A search for a predisposing factor suggested a relationship to transfusional iron overload. Although still a rare infection, the possibility of listeriosis must be kept in mind by physicians caring for patients undergoing hemodialysis, particularly those requiring blood transfusions.
Comparing Job Satisfaction among Public- and Private-Sector Employees:

Over the past several decades a number of empirical studies have demonstrated that job-satisfaction levels vary widely in the American labor force. The effect of age, tenure, salary, job type, job ...
Chronic hyperprolactinemia causes progressive changes in hypothalamic dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons.

Abstract Studies were undertaken to evaluate the effects of chronic hyperprolactinemia (HYP) on catecholamine concentrations and turnover rates in brain regions of the female rat. HYP was induced by inoculation of tissue derived from the prolactin secreting MtTW15 tumor. When serum prolactin (PRL) levels were moderately elevated, medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) dopamine (DA) turnover was enhanced and DA concentrations were moderately reduced. Later, as serum PRL levels increased to greater than 10 μg/ml, DA concentrations were further reduced and DA turnover was concomitantly reduced to below pre-tumor levels. In the preoptic area-anterior hypothalamus (POA-AH), DA concentrations were reduced as PRL levels increased and this was associated with a reduction in DA turnover. Between 5 and 8 weeks of tumor growth, DA turnover remained low, but DA concentrations increased. In the neurointermediate lobe of the pituitary (NIL) the tumor reduced DA turnover at 5 weeks only. Norepinephrine (NE) turnover, but not concentration, was reduced in both the POA-AH and MBH. Surgical removal of the tumor at 5 weeks of growth reduced serum PRL levels to near normal, but MBH DA concentrations and turnover remained depressed while POA-AH and NIL DA levels and turnover increased. Despite removal of the tumor, NE turnover remained depressed in both the MBH and POA-AH. These studies indicate that severe chronic HYP causes progressive alterations in hypothalamic catecholamine neurons which are not reversed by normalization of serum PRL levels. These results suggest that chronic HYP can cause long-lasting effects on some DA and NE neuronal systems.
Age effects in serial hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal monitoring

To evaluate age effects on hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal (HPA) regulation in depressives, we studied 65 patients with major depressive disorder, endogenous subtype. With each patient serving as his or her own control, we compared weekly dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results among three age subgroups ( 70 years, n = 7). The oldest patient group had higher mean post-dexamethasone plasma cortisol concentrations both before and after treatment, and more were DST nonsuppressors. Life table analyses revealed that elderly patients who were DST nonsuppressors had significantly slower patterns of normalization during treatment and that fewer elderly patients ever achieved normal suppression. The results indicate that age effects on HPA function may be confounded with other aspects of depression, such as severity, chronicity and number of previous episodes.
Relations Between Public Policy Issues and Economies of Scale

Notions of economies of scale have always played a unique role in public policy formation, although most often implicity rather than explicitly. It is the cornerstone of the theory of natural monopoly and provides the primary justification for direct government regulation of telecommunications common carriers. The relations between the technical economic concept of economies of scale and current public policy issues in telecommunications are examined. The relationship between economies of scale and the traditional approach to regulation as a basis for understanding current policy conflicts between federal and state regulators is discussed. The theoretical economic concept of economies of scale, in contrast to concepts of short-run capacity utilization, economies of specialization, and economies of technological change is developed. The importance of time, uncertainty, and market characteristics in the measurement of scale effects is emphasized. Finally, the implications of economies of scale for current public policy issues in telecommunications such as the role of competition, cream skimming, and discriminatory rate reductions in response to competition are addressed.
Retinal degeneration in the mouse. A model induced transplaceatally by methylnitrosourea

A model of retinal degeneration has been developed in mice which is induced by the DNA alkylating agent methylnitrosourea. Pregnant mice were injected with various doses of this potent teratogen on day 16 of gestation, a time of differentiation of numerous cell types of the mouse retina. Histological examination of retinas from offspring exposed to 20-, 10- and 5 mg kg−1 doses demonstrated retinal rosettes, a pathology similar to retinal dysplasia. The 1 mg kg−1 dosage did not produce rosettes; in fact, retinas appeared morphologically normal early in life. Control and treated animals were studied at specific age intervals: 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 36-, 52 weeks. Measurements of the overall retinal width and five retinal layers were made to quantify the degeneration. Results indicate a thinning of the retina begins at 4 weeks and worsens with age. These results are discussed with respect to the potential of low-level exposure to environmental toxins as a possible cause of retinal degeneration.
Turkey and Iran: limits of a stable relationship

Abstract Throughout the twentieth century, Turkey and Iran have enjoyed peaceful, if not always cordial relations. The Cold War strategic orientations of these two neighbours solidified that relationship. The Iranian Revolution posed the first major challenge to the stability of the Turco‐Iranian relations. However, throughout the 1980s Turkish and Iranian officials adroitly managed their differences, though they did not succeed in resolving them. During the 1990s, the pressures and polarities impinging upon Turco‐Iranian relations have both multiplied and intensified. Ranging from the exertion of US influence on Turkey, to the changing political dynamics in Turkey and Iran, Turco‐Iranian relations today rest on unsteady ground. Although the exact course which Turco‐Iranian relations will take remains unclear, there is reason to be concerned about its current state. For, to a significant degree, the stability and prosperity of the Middle East region depends to a significant degree on maintaining the stabi...
EFTEM Imaging of ZnO-TiO2 Core-Shell Nanowires and TiO2 Nanotubes

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are promising devices for low-cost, large-scale solar energy conversion. The anodes of DSCs are usually made of thick films of TiO2, ZnO or SnO2 nanoparticles. Recently, dense arrays of oriented, crystalline ZnO nanowires have been used to replace the traditional nanoparticle film, and a power conversion efficiency of 1.5% was demonstrated with this approach. 1 Spectrally limited absorption, a low fill factor and the relatively low surface area of the nanowire array limit the device efficiency. One way to increase the efficiency of the nanowire DSC is to use core-shell heterostructures. Here we use atomic layer deposition (ALD) 2 to synthesize ZnO-TiO2 core-shell nanowire arrays. ALD offers a unique ability to control thickness on the nanometer scale and can produce exceptionally uniform thin films. However, the uniformity, porosity and distribution of elements in these nanostructures are vitally important for the functionality of the solar cells. The aim of this work is to investigate the structure, morphology and chemical composition of the ZnO-TiO2 core-shell nanowires using electron microscopy, XRD, spectral imaging and EDS analysis. Elemental distribution characterization was performed using a Libra EFTEM equipped with an Omega energy filter. EFTEM was performed with specific energy losses for Ti, O and Zn based on the three-windows method, in which two images are taken at energy losses below the energy loss maximum to carefully define the background signal and then subtracted from the third image. EFTEM mapping by energy-filtered imaging provides information about the distribution of oxygen, titanium and zinc at the nanometer scale with an acquisition time of 10-30 seconds and a spatial resolution of 1-2 nm. The images are focused at an energy loss of 200300 eV. The weak intensity of EFTEM images obtained using K, L and M edges for O, Ti and Zn, respectively, is expected because small nanostructures produce weak contrast.
Impurity Conductivity in Single-Crystal CdS

The transport properties of electrons in CdS grown with Group I impurities which show the phenomenon of "storage" have been studied to determine the mechanism of conduction. The mobility parallel to the $c$ axis at low temperature is of the order of 1 to 10 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$/ volt sec and is very anisotropic, the mobility perpendicular to the $c$ axis being 10 to 30 times that parallel to the $c$ axis. The resistivity of the crystals shows an activation energy of about 0.001 eV at low temperature. The resistivity is very sensitive to either donor or acceptor concentration. These characteristics indicate that the conduction mechanism is not a result of electrons in the normal conduction band but is a result of an impurity conductivity. The activation energy of 0.001 eV is thought to correspond to ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{3}$ in silicon and germanium impurity-conduction theory.
Inhibition of the alanine tRNA aminoacylation by Ca2

Abstract The effect of Ca 2+ concentration on the in vitro aminoacylation of Escherichia coli tRNA's was tested. At a Ca 2+ concentration of 0.5 mM the aminoacylation of only two tRNA's, rRNA Ala and tRNA Cys , were found to be inhibited by 56% and 18%, respectively. The aminoacylation of tRNA Ala was completely inhibited at 5 mM Ca 2+ . The relatively high sensitivity of the aminoacylation of tRNA Ala to such a low level of Ca 2+ might suggest physiological role of Ca 2+ in the control of protein synthesis.
The Relationship of the Anticonvulsant Properties of Primidone to Phenobarbital

SUMMARY Two measures of seizure threshold were examined in albino rats with comparable plasma phenobarbital concentrations resulting from administration of phenobarbital or primidone for 3.5 days. When the first myoclonic jerk was used as an endpoint, no difference in the effectiveness of primidone or phenobarbital was found. Primidone, however, was more effective than phenobarbital in raising the tonic-clonic seizure threshold in the same animals with comparable plasma phenobarbital levels. The importance of the convulsant procedure used to evaluate comparative anticonvulsant activity of drugs was emphasized. The rapidity of the anticonvulsant effectiveness of primidone was demonstrated by the observation that acutely administered primidone was as effective in elevating tonic-clonic seizure threshold as a dose of phenobarbital yielding 63 % more phenobarbital in the plasma. The half-life of primidone was estimated as about 100 min. This relatively rapid half-life implies that plasma levels of primidone will not be useful for therapeutic purposes and that plasma phenobarbital will be a more reliable index of the therapeutic range in patients taking primidone. This premise assumes similar metabolic patterns in rat and man. RESUME On a pris en consideration deux valeurs du seuil convulsivant chez des rats albinos ayant les memes concentrations plasmatiques de phenobarbital a la suite d'administra-tion de phenobarbital ou de primidone pendant 3 jours 1/2. Si l'on prend comme point de comparaison l'apparition des premieres myoclonies il n'y a pas de difference entre l'action anticonvulsivante de la primidone et du phenobarbital. Par contre la primidone est plus efficace que le phenobarbital du fait qu'elle augmente le seuil pour obtenir une convulsion tonico-clonique chez le meme animal avec des concentrations plasmatiques comparables de phenobarbital. On souligne l'importance de la methode convulsivante pour comparer l'activite anticonvulsivante des drogues. La rapidite de l'effet anticonvulsivant de la primidone a ete demontree par le fait que la primidone, administeree de facon aigue, parvient aelever le seuil pour la crise tonico-clonique de la meme facon qu'une dose de phenobarbital comportant 63% de plus de phenobarbital dans le plasma. On a estime que la demi-vie de primidone est de 100 minutes. Cette demi-vie relativement rapide implique que le niveau plasmatique de la primidone est mal utilisable a des fins therapeutiques tandis que le taux plasmatique de phenobarbital constitue un index plus sur de l'activite therapeutique chez des patients prenant de la primidone. Ceci bien entendu en presumant qu'il y a une ressemblance entre le metabolisme du rat et celui de l'homme.
Antiviral activities of 4'-(9-acridinylamino)-methanesulfon-M-aniside (SN11841).

SN11841 [4'-(9-acridinylamino)-methanesulfon-m-aniside] is an antitumor compound discovered by B.F. Cain. The LD50 for BALB/c mice with single intraperitoneal dosage is approximately 25 mg/kg. RLV-(Rauscher leukemia virus)-induced splenomegaly, a disease indicator in BALB/c mice, is inhibited at SN11841 doses not causing acute mortality. The life span of RLV-infected mice increases at some SN11841 doses. SN11841 does not have direct, or virolytic effects on RLV under conditions approximating those of antiviral effectiveness. SN11841 is cytotoxic for cells in tissue culture, as measured by inhibition of growth rate or vital dye uptake. At nontoxic concentrations SN11841 has no effect on RLV infectivity for murine cells, as determined by XC-cell induced syncytium formation. SN11841 has antiviral activity against vaccinia virus in tissue culture but is inactive against herpes simplex (Type 1), vesicular stomatitis, encephalomyocarditis, or reoviruses. SN11841 apparently does not act by inducing interferon. SN11841 is chemically labile, particularly in the presence of sulfhydryl compounds, but the degradation products resulting from prolonged storage in media are neither cytotoxic nor antiviral.
Evaluation of two instruments for the measurement of aerosols

Abstract The particle size distributions and concentrations of solid and liquid aerosols were simultaneously measured with an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) and a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA). Three types of aerosols were characterized: mono-sized polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres, mixtures composed of mono-sized PSL spheres, and polydisperse liquid sprays. Good correlation with PSL particle sizes was obtained by both instruments with PSL spheres in the 2–10 μm range. The PDPA had difficulty in the 1 μm and smaller size range, due to the limited resolution and nonlinear behavior of the phase-diameter relationship. For polydisperse liquid sprays, instrument agreement on concentration distributions was consistently good from 1 to about 5 μm diameter. Between 5 and 10 μm, the APS progressively predicted lower concentrations. The divergence between the two instruments may be attributable both to the design of the experimental apparatus and inlet inefficiencies of the APS.