cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Clinical Comparison and Economic Evaluation of Erich Arch Bars, 4-Point Fixation, and Bone-Supported Arch Bars for Maxillomandibular Fixation.

Importance Erich arch bars, 4-point fixation, and bone-supported arch bars are currently used in maxillomandibular fixation, although to what extent they differ in terms of overall charges and clinical outcomes has yet to be reported. Objective To determine the association of Erich arch bars, 4-point fixation, and bone-supported arch bars in maxillomandibular fixation with hospital charges and clinical outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants This historical cohort included 93 patients with mandible fracture who underwent maxillomandibular fixation from January 1, 2005, to June 30, 2015, at a tertiary care center. Statistical analysis was conducted from October 4, 2015, to September 8, 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures Charge analysis from an institutional perspective, operative time, necessity for a secondary procedure, and postoperative complications. Results Of the 93 patients in the study (18 women and 75 men; median age, 28.0 years [interquartile range, 23.0-40.0 years]), 27 (29%) received Erich arch bars, 51 (55%) received 4-point fixation, and 15 (16%) received bone-supported arch bars. The mean operative time for Erich arch bars (98.7 minutes; 95% CI, 89.2-108.2 minutes) was significantly longer than for 4-point fixation (48.8 minutes; 95% CI, 41.8-55.7 minutes) and bone-supported arch bars (55.9 minutes; 95% CI, 43.1-68.6 minutes). A total of 17 patients who received Erich arch bars (63%), 37 patients who received 4-point fixation (72%), and 1 patient who received bone-supported arch bars (7%) needed to return to the operating room for hardware removal. Patients who received Erich arch bars and those who received 4-point fixation had significantly higher odds of requiring a secondary procedure than did patients who received bone-supported arch bars (Erich arch bars: odds ratio, 27.1; 95% CI, 2.7-274.6; and 4-point fixation: odds ratio, 42.8; 95% CI, 4.4-420.7). Mean total operative charges for application of the hardware alone were significantly less for 4-point fixation ($5290; 95% CI, $4846-$5733) and bone-supported arch bars ($6751; 95% CI, $5936-$7566) than for Erich arch bars ($7919; 95% CI, $7311-$8527). When secondary procedure charges were included, the mean total charge for Erich arch bars ($9585; 95% CI, $8927-$10 243) remained significantly more expensive than the mean total for 4-point fixation ($7204; 95% CI, $6724-$7684) and bone-supported arch bars ($6924; 95% CI, $6042-$7807). No clinically meaningful difference in complications between groups was found (Erich arch bars, 3 [11%]; 4-point fixation, 5 [10%]; and bone-supported arch bars, 2 [13%]). Conclusions and Relevance Bone-supported arch bars have comparable complication outcomes, operative time for placement, and overall charges when compared with Erich arch bars and 4-point fixation, and have a lower likelihood of requiring removal in an operative setting.
Long-term Survival Analysis of Kidney Transplant Recipients Receiving Mizoribine as a Maintenance Immunosuppressant: A Single-Center Study

Abstract Background Mizoribine (MZR) has been developed as an immunosuppressant and is widely used in Asia. However, most studies on MZR have been performed in Japan, and there remains a lack of reports on long-term use in other countries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of MZR’s use in Korean kidney transplant recipients by observing their clinical courses and analyzing their long-term patent and graft survival rates. Methods We studied 129 subjects who had received MZR as a maintenance immunosuppressant since January 2000. Our analysis was based on the patients’ medical records from January 2000 to December 2017. Results The overall survival rates of the kidney transplant recipients were 100% at 1 year, 99.1% at 5 years, 96.8% at 10 years, and 92.5% at 15 years. The graft survival rates were 100% at 1 year, 98.3% at 5 years, 93.2% at 10 years, and 82.2% at 15 years. There were differences in the recipient survival and graft survival rates according to the kidney donor and the use of renal replace therapy before transplant. There were no differences in the survival rates according to the MZR dose, the type of underlying disease, or other clinical factors. Conclusions The use of low doses of MZR as a maintenance immunosuppressant could be an effective means of ensuring relatively good long-term patient and graft survival rates in cases of kidney transplant.
Confident and Cunning: Negotiator Self-Efficacy Promotes Deception in Negotiations

Self-confidence is associated with many positive outcomes, and training programs routinely seek to build participants’ self-efficacy. In this article, however, we consider whether self-confidence increases unethical behavior. In a series of studies, we explore the relationship between negotiator self-efficacy—an individual’s confidence in his or her negotiation ability—and the use of deception. We find that individuals high in negotiator self-efficacy are more likely to use deception than individuals low in negotiator self-efficacy. We also find that perceptions of the risk of deception mediate this relationship. By identifying negotiator self-efficacy as an antecedent to unethical behavior, our findings offer important theoretical and empirical insights into the use of deception, the role of individual differences in ethical decision making, and the broader consequences of self-confidence in business and society.
Reductive Explanation and the Construction of Quantum Theories

I argue that philosophical issues concerning reductive explanations help constrain the construction of quantum theories with appropriate state spaces. I illustrate this general proposal with two examples of restricting attention to physical states in quantum theories: regular states and symmetry-invariant states.
Gene therapy in sickle cell disease: Possible utility and impact.

In developed countries, 95% of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) survive into adulthood, yet the median age of death remains in the mid-40s,[1][1] highlighting the clear need for curative therapies for this disease. See related article, page [19][2] At present, the only potentially curative
Correction to: Percutaneous retrieval of migrated Viabahn stent from a segmental pulmonary artery.

In the published article [1] the statement under the subheading ‘Consent for publication’ is incorrect.
Human equivalent dose of oral 4-aminopyridine differentiates nerve crush injury from transection injury and improves post-injury function in mice

4-Aminopyridine (4-AP), an FDA-approved drug for the symptomatic treatment of multiple sclerosis, is used to improve neuromuscular function in patients with diverse demyelinating disorders. We recently demonstrated that local, transdermal or injectable forms of 4-AP improve myelination, nerve conduction velocity, muscle atrophy, and motor function after traumatic peripheral nerve injury in mice. While oral 4-AP is most commonly used in the clinic, it is unknown whether human equivalent oral doses of 4-AP have effects on traumatic peripheral nerve injury differentiation, myelination, muscle atrophy, functional recovery, and post-injury inflammatory processes in animals. Mice with sciatic nerve crush or denervation injury received oral or intraperitoneal 4-AP (10 μg) or vehicle alone and were examined for pharmacokinetics, motor function, muscle mass, intrinsic muscle force, nerve morphological and gene expression profiles. 4-AP showed linear pharmacokinetics and the maximum plasma 4-AP concentrations were proportional to 4-AP dose. Acute single dose of oral 4-AP administration induced a rapid transient improvement in motor function that was different in traumatic peripheral nerve injury with or without nerve continuity, chronic daily oral 4-AP treatment significantly enhanced post crush injury motor function recovery and this effect was associated with improved myelination, muscle mass, and ex vivo muscle force. Polymerase chain reaction array analysis with crushed nerve revealed significant alterations in gene involved in axonal inflammation and regeneration. These findings provide convincing evidence that regardless of the route of administration, 4-AP can acutely differentiate traumatic peripheral nerve injury with or without nerve continuity and can enhance in vivo functional recovery with better preservation of myelin sheaths, muscle mass, and muscle force. The animal experiments were approved by the University Committee on Animal Research (UCAR) at the University of Rochester (UCAR-2009-019) on March 31, 2017.
Interactions between Hormonal Contraception and Anti-Retroviral Therapy: An Updated Review.

Hormonal contraception provides women living with HIV the ability to control their fertility and avoid pregnancy-related morbidity. Due to shared metabolic pathways, there has been concern over drug-drug interactions between hormonal contraception and anti-retroviral therapy, which may affect the drugs’ safety and efficacy. This article aims to provide an updated review of the most recent data around hormonal contraceptives and anti-retroviral therapy. Prior data have suggested possible pharmacologic interactions between certain hormonal contraceptives and anti-retroviral therapy. The most significant interactions implicated include those between progestin-based contraceptive implants and efavirenz as well as between combined hormonal contraceptives and protease inhibitors. Most past studies, however, feature small sample sizes with few clinical outcomes reported. Recent data since 2017 have largely affirmed prior studies on this topic, showing possible pharmacokinetic relationships between certain contraceptives and anti-retrovirals. Notably, while the effectiveness of progestin-based contraceptives, specifically the implant, appears reduced with efavirenz use, the overall effectiveness may remain higher than most other contraceptive methods. Larger studies are needed to provide further guidance before contraceptive-prescribing recommendations can be changed.
The record 2017 flood in South Asia: State of prediction and performance of a data-driven requisitely simple forecast model

Abstract In August 2017, South Asia was affected by devastating floods that caused widespread death and destruction in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra River experienced a record flow in Bangladesh. However, the prediction of a 200-year flood from an international forecasting agency did not materialize. In fact, the evolution and dynamics of 2017 flood was very different from previous floods in the region—localized in nature and short-lived in duration. We examine the hydrometeorology of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna River basins to show how the 2017 August flood emerged differently from past major floods in the region. Assessment of available rainfall datasets reveals the usefulness of satellite sources, such as TMPA, GPM, ERA-Interim, CPC Global Precipitation, and WRF to capture the extreme events and highlights the poor spatial coverage of in-situ measurements. We then present a data-driven Requisitely Simple (ReqSim) flood forecast model. Findings from the real-time application of ReqSim during the 2017 flood provide encouraging results with accurate predictions of peak flood timing and magnitude for several locations. For example, the ReqSim provides 10-day forecasts with Nash Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values 0.89–0.97 and Mean Absolute Errors (MAE) 0.33–0.54 m for the Ganges River system inside Bangladesh. For the Brahmaputra River system, NSE value ranges 0.49–0.68 and MAE 0.32–0.48 m for 10-day forecasts and NSE 0.62–0.78 and MAE 0.36–0.68 m for 7-day forecasts. Comparison of 2017 flood with past major regional floods suggests that—it is not the intensity of rainfall or severity of flood in either the Ganges or the Brahmaputra basin—but the lack of peak flow synchronization of these two rivers may help explain why 2017 flood did not become as severe as the floods of 1998 and 2007 in Bangladesh. Ease of operationalization and reliable forecasting accuracy of ReqSim for 2017 flood is of particular relevance for large rivers, where access to upstream gauge-measured rainfall and flow data are limited, and detailed modeling approaches are operationally prohibitive and functionally ineffective. Plain language summary Vast areas of South Asia—across the border regions of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh—were flooded by intense rainfall and overflowing rivers in August 2017. This record flood event killed over a thousand people and affected over 40 million people. However, forecasts of a 200-year flood event, issued by an international agency and covered widely in local media outlets, did not materialize. It was found that the evolution and dynamics of 2017 flood was very different from previous major floods in the region—localized in nature and short-lived in duration. We examine the rainfall and flood generating processes before and during the floods and the performance of a simple flood forecast model in detail to identify the mechanisms that led to these apparent false forecasts including the nature and timing of the peak rainfall events and subsequent floods.
Anti-LGBT Free Speech and Group Subordination

This Article is about the tension between liberty and equality. It examines this tension in the context of disputes over free speech and LGBT rights. In the modern Civil Rights Era, the social and legal climate has become increasingly intolerant of bullying, embraced liberal sexual and gender norms, and sought to institute formal equality for formerly disfavored groups. The conservative movement has responded in part by seeking refuge from progressive change in constitutional jurisprudence, articulating theories of both the First and Fourteenth Amendments to effectively protect the status quo. Because of a receptive Supreme Court, dominant conceptions of both equal protection and free speech are informed today by libertarian ideology, reflecting a commitment to limited government oversight and regulation. A libertarian view of the Constitution, however, ensures that meaningful liberty and equality exist not for everyone but only for some. To create a more equitable society, constitutional interpretation must more adequately balance libertarian interests in the exercise of individual rights—like free speech—with the need for governmental action to promote the public good and address group-based harms. This Article draws from the field of critical race theory to advocate for an antisubordination approach in mediating competing claims of equality and liberty. Unlike a libertarian free speech jurisprudence that treats all speakers and viewpoints as equally worthy of constitutional respect, an antisubordination approach to free speech is attentive to historical and contemporary modes of group- based oppression. Simply put, if the triumph of a free speech claim would enforce a status hierarchy that positions historically marginalized groups as inferior, that free speech claim should fail. The need to reconceptualize liberty and equality came into sharp relief in the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. The Bostock Court held that Title VII prohibits discrimination against gay and transgender employees,but the majority concluded by expressing concern for religious and conservative dissenters. The Court suggested that constitutional and statutory principles of religious freedom and free speech might override antidiscrimination commands in appropriate cases. The jurisprudence that emerges from these developing cases will help determine the scope of equality, the breadth of First Amendment liberties, and the Constitution’s role in addressing inequity for all marginalized groups.
A Comprehensive Analysis of Medicare Reimbursement to Physicians for Common Arthroscopic Procedures: Adjusted Reimbursement Has Fallen Nearly 30% From 2000 to 2019.

Purpose To analyze and objectively measure the trends in inflation-adjusted Medicare reimbursement rates for the 20 most commonly performed orthopaedic arthroscopic surgical procedures from 2000 to 2019. Methods The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website was used to find the top 20 most commonly performed arthroscopic procedures using the Public Use File data file for calendar year 2017. By use of the Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool, national reimbursement averages were calculated from 2000-2019 and data were analyzed. Averages were adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index. Current Procedural Terminology codes that did not exist in 2000 were unable to be analyzed in this study. Results When adjusted for inflation, Medicare reimbursement for the 20 most commonly performed arthroscopic procedures from 2000-2019 has decreased substantially (–29.81%). The mean Medicare reimbursement to physicians was $906 in 2000 and $632 in 2019. During this same period, the annual change in the adjusted mean reimbursement rate for all included arthroscopic procedures was –1.8% whereas the average compound annual growth rate was –1.9%. Conclusions This study shows that when adjusted for inflation, Medicare reimbursement to physicians has decreased by nearly 30% during the past 20 years for the most common arthroscopic procedures. Clinical Relevance This analysis will give orthopaedic surgeons and hospital administrators a better understanding of the financial trends surrounding one of the fastest-growing techniques in surgery. Additionally, these financial-trend data will be increasingly important as the population in the United States continues to age and new payment models are introduced.
The Optimality of Call Provision Terms

There is substantial variation in fixed-price call provision terms—call price premium and call protection. I investigate determinants of call price, call protection, and estimated call option value...
The Views of the Negotiators

This chapter presents the findings of interviews conducted with some of the main actors involved in the digital interception debate in the 1990s and early 2000s in the United Kingdom and the United States. Material collected from other primary and secondary sources is also exhibited in an attempt to outline vital elements in the digital communications interception debate that unfolded in the United Kingdom and the United States as digitization was emerging.
Research on a high-precision pattern prediction method of reflector antenna with phased array feed

In order to improve the prediction accuracy of the pattern of the reflector antenna with phased array feed, a high-precision semi-physical pattern prediction method based on the combination of the electric field and circuit priori measurement data is proposed in this paper. Combined with the differential evolution algorithm, the proposed method is applied to the beam optimization of the reflector antenna with phased array feed. For a given configuration of the reflector antenna with phased array feed, several examples are optimized efficiently and accurately. The proposed method greatly improves the accuracy of the optimization of the reflector antenna with phased array feed.
Witness History as Juries Become History: How the Eleventh Circuit Allowed the Opinions of Lay Witnesses to Overtake the Duty of the Jury in United States v. Jayyousi

On September 19, 2011, in United States v. Jayyousi, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that an FBI agent’s testimony regarding his post-hoc review of investigation materials was admissible as lay opinion testimony under Rule 701 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. In so holding, the Eleventh Circuit joined a minority of courts in adopting the most liberal interpretation of the Rule 701 perception and helpfulness requirements. This Comment argues that the Eleventh Circuit erred in adopting the most liberal interpretation of Rule 701 and that only by adopting the strictest interpretation can the courts continue to show due reverence for our jurors.
Substructure Lattices of Models of Peano Arithmetic

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the substructure lattices of models of Peano arithmetic (PA). The intersection of an arbitrary collection of elementary substructures of a model N of PA is an elementary substructure of N. Hence, the collection of elementary substructures of N forms a lattice, denoted by Lt(N) and referred to as the “substructure lattice” of N. The chapter concerns the substructure lattices that can be realized as substructure lattices. A certain type of lattice representation is discussed and some examples of these types of representations of lattices are presented in the chapter. All the examples come from canonical partition theorems. The chapter proves the main result that relates substructure lattices and the lattice representations. On applying these examples, all the results about specific lattices that can be realized as substructure lattices are obtained.
Cardiac gene therapy: Recent advances and future directions

Gene therapy has the potential to serve as an adaptable platform technology for treating various diseases. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality in the developed world and genetic modification is steadily becoming a more plausible method to repair and regenerate heart tissue. Recently, new gene targets to treat cardiovascular disease have been identified and developed into therapies that have shown promise in animal models. Some of these therapies have advanced to clinical testing. Despite these recent successes, several barriers must be overcome for gene therapy to become a widely used treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we evaluate specific genetic targets that can be exploited to treat cardiovascular diseases, list the important delivery barriers for the gene carriers, assess the most promising methods of delivering the genetic information, and discuss the current status of clinical trials involving gene therapies targeted to the heart.
On the Mechanism of Action and Metabolic Control of the Multifunctional Enzyme Complex that Catalyzes Adenylylation and Deadenylylation of Escherichia coli Glutamine Synthetase

Glutamine metabolism in E. coli is modulated by enzyme catalyzed adenylylation and deadenylylation of glutamine synthetase (GS) in response to fluctuations in the intracellular concentration of glutamine, α-ketoglutarate and various nucleoside triphosphates. Adenylylation is accompanied by a decrease in catalytic activity (1,2), a change in divalent ion specificity (1), a change in sensitivity to cumulative feedback inhibition by 9 different end products of glutamine metabolism (3,4) and a substantial shift in pH optimum (3).
Operative Management of Intractable Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias

There has been little new data published on the operative management of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Implantable defibrillators have clearly reduced the need for endocardial resections and other mapped-directed surgical procedures. Most of the focus on left ventricular aneurysm resection has related to improvement in cardiac function. Dor and colleagues recently demonstrated excellent results in 100 patients with either left ventricular aneurysm or large apical scar. All patients were treated with endoventricular patch repairs. Thirty-seven of the patients who had preoperative ventricular arrhythmias underwent cryotherapy in addition to the patch repair. Hospital mortality was 12% but all survivors had significant improvement in left ventricular function [1]. Another approach has been the use of left ventricular assist device to tide over patients with recurrent malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Kulick and colleagues reported a 50-year-old patient with ischemic cardiomyopathy. Due to refractory arrhythmias, the patient underwent implantation of a left ventricular assist device followed by eventual cardiac transplantation [2]. Therefore, there certainly are approaches for ventricular arrhythmias but the literature certainly is not excessive.
A gallium nitride device based switched capacitor multilevel converter for UPS applications

A single phase gallium nitride devices based switched capacitor multilevel, multiport inverter for UPS applications is proposed in this paper. This UPS system enables the seamless transfer between the grid-connected and backup modes of operations, which ensures the continuity of the power to the critical load. The proposed UPS system also harnesses the superior characteristic of the switched capacitor circuit and the GaN devices. Therefore, it has fewer semiconductor devices, faster switching speed and boost functionality. The system can achieve multi-port multi-level operation. Hence, the harmonics of the output voltage can be reduced and the voltage stress of the switching devices can be lower. The absence of the passive components help to reduce the overall size and increase the overall power density. The operation of the proposed UPS system is explained and confirmed by the simulation with Matlab Simulink and preliminary results of circuit experiment.
Weak crystallization theory of metallic alloys

Crystallization is one of the most familiar, but hardest to analyze, phase transitions. The principal reason is that crystallization typically occurs via a strongly first-order phase transition, and thus rigorous treatment would require comparing energies of an infinite number of possible crystalline states with the energy of liquid. A great simplification occurs when crystallization transition happens to be weakly first order. In this case, weak crystallization theory, based on unbiased Ginzburg-Landau expansion, can be applied. Even beyond its strict range of validity, it has been a useful qualitative tool for understanding crystallization. In its standard form, however, weak crystallization theory cannot explain the existence of a majority of observed crystalline and quasicrystalline states. Here we extend the weak crystallization theory to the case of metallic alloys. We identify a singular effect of itinerant electrons on the form of weak crystallization free energy. It is geometric in nature, generating strong dependence of free energy on the angles between ordering wave vectors of ionic density. That leads to stabilization of fcc, rhombohedral, and icosahedral quasicrystalline (iQC) phases, which are absent in the generic theory with only local interactions. As an application, we find the condition for stability of iQC that is consistent with the Hume-Rothery rules known empirically for the majority of stable iQC; namely, the length of the primary Bragg-peak wave vector is approximately equal to the diameter of the Fermi sphere.
Transverse steady bifurcation of viscous shock solutions of a system of parabolic conservation laws in a strip

Abstract We derive rigorously a nonlinear, steady, bifurcation through spectral bifurcation (i.e., eigenvalues of the linearized equation crossing the imaginary axis) for a class of hyperbolic–parabolic model in a strip. This is related to “cellular instabilities” occurring in detonation and MHD. Our results extend to multiple dimensions the results of [1] on 1D steady bifurcation of viscous shock profiles; en passant, changing to an appropriate moving coordinate frame, we recover and somewhat sharpen results of [19] on transverse Hopf bifurcation, showing that the bifurcating time-periodic solution is in fact a spatially periodic traveling wave. Our technique consists of a Lyapunov–Schmidt type of reduction, which prepares the equations for the application of other bifurcation techniques. For the reduction in transverse modes, a general Fredholm alternative-type result is derived, allowing us to overcome the unboundedness of the domain and the lack of compact embeddings; this result applies to general closed operators.
Other Uses of Biodiesel

Publisher Summary This book generally deals with the use of biodiesel in surface transportation. Esters of vegetable oils possess other applications as well. This chapter briefly discusses these applications and included in these other uses of biodiesel are additional fuel or fuel-related applications. Besides serving as fuels, the esters of vegetable oils and animal fats can be utilized for numerous other purposes. The methyl esters can serve as intermediates in the production of fatty alcohols from vegetable oils. Fatty alcohols are used in surfactants and cleaning supplies. Branched esters of fatty acids are used as lubricants, with their improved biodegradability making them attractive under environmental aspects. Vegetable oil esters possess good solvent properties. This is expressed in their use as a medium for cleaning beaches contaminated with crude oil (petroleum). The high flash point, low volatile organic compounds, and benign environmental properties compounds of methyl soyate make it attractive as a cleaning agent. Methyl esters of rapeseed oil have been suggested as plasticizers in the production of plastics and as high-boiling absorbents for the cleaning of gaseous industrial emissions. The co-product stream of biodiesel production from soybean oil, which contains glycerol, soaps, and residual methyl esters, can serve as fermentation feedstock for the bacterial production of poly (hydroxyalkanoate) polymers.
Transient time-domain analysis of zero-current switching quasi-resonant converters

The authors introduce a general PSPICE switch model that can be used to implement zero-current switching (ZCS) in most quasi-resonant (QR) converters. This switch model allows the investigation of transient phenomenon in such converters. Using the ZCS-QR buck converter as an example, the authors show that tremendously large peak values can be encountered if the converter output filter is not properly designed. In addition, it is shown that ZCS is not guaranteed during the transient even if ZCS is achievable in the steady state. An output filter design procedure to reduce the peak values during the transient is proposed. >
Sham TMS: intracerebral measurement of the induced electrical field and the induction of motor-evoked potentials

Testing the therapeutic potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in controlled trials requires a valid sham condition. Sham TMS is typically administered by tilting the coil 45--90 degrees off the scalp, with one or two wings of the coil touching the scalp. Lack of cortical effects has not been verified. We compared sham manipulations in their thresholds for eliciting motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in human volunteers and in intracerebral measurements of voltage induced in the prefrontal cortex of a rhesus monkey. Three types of sham (one-wing 45 degrees and 90 degrees and two-wing 90 degrees tilt) induced much lower voltage in the brain than active TMS (67--73% reductions). However, the two-wing 45 degrees sham induced values just 24% below active TMS. This sham was about half as potent in inducing MEPs over the motor cortex as active TMS. Some sham TMS conditions produce substantial cortical stimulation, making it critical to carefully select the sham manipulation for clinical trials.
An empirical examination of the intraday volatility in euro–dollar rates

Abstract We examine hourly observations of one-month euro–dollar rates using the GARCH model from Baillie and Bollerslev (1990) and find an intraday volatility pattern with two important components. First, intraday volatility is largest during regular business hours in the Asian markets and smallest during regular business hours in the U.S. This result is in contrast to the previously identified intraday volatility patterns in the currency exchange rates. Second, we find volatility spikes at the beginning of the business day in Tokyo, London, and New York. Currency exchanges rates also show volatility spikes at the beginning of the business day in Tokyo, London, and New York. We interpret these results as support for the model by Hong and Wang (2000) which suggests that volatility clusters at the beginning and end of the regular business day, even in the absence of market closures, if most traders are not active during regular non-business hours.
Parallel Multiblock Mixed Finite Element Method for Elliptic Problems on Unstructured Grids

In this paper, we develop a general multiblock mixed finite element method for solving 2D and 3D elliptic problems by different unstructured grids on both serial and parallel platforms. Detailed implementations and numerical results are presented.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Performance evaluation of SiC power MOSFETs for high-temperature applications

In this paper, the high-temperature performance of the commercial SiC power MOSFETs has been extensively evaluated beyond 125 °C - the maximum junction temperature according to the datasheet. Both the static and switching characteristics have been measured under various temperatures up to 200 °C. The results show the superior electrical performance of the SiC MOSFETs for high-temperature operation. Meanwhile, the gate biasing and gate switching tests have also been conducted to test the gate oxide reliability of these devices under elevated temperatures. The test results reveal the degradation in the device characteristics under high temperature and different gate voltage conditions, which exhibit the trade-off between the performance and the reliability of SiC MOSFETs for high-temperature applications.
Near threshold fatigue crack growth behavior of austempered ductile cast iron (ADI) processed by a novel two-step austempering process

Abstract The influence of a novel two-step austempering process on the microstructure and the near threshold fatigue crack growth behavior of austempered ductile cast iron (ADI) were investigated. Cylindrical tensile and compact tension (CT) specimens (for fatigue threshold tests) were prepared from an alloyed nodular ductile cast iron as per ASTM standards and were austempered by both the conventional single-step and the novel two-step austempering processes at four different temperatures. The near threshold fatigue crack growth behavior of these samples was examined in room temperature and ambient atmosphere. Tests results indicate this two-step austempering process has resulted in higher hardness, higher yield and tensile strengths for ADI but higher near threshold fatigue crack growth rate and lower fatigue threshold, as compared to the conventional single-step austempering process. Results also demonstrate that fatigue crack growth behavior of ADI in the near threshold region is influenced by microstructural parameters, such as volume fraction of austenite ( X γ ), carbon content in austenite ( C γ ), ferritic cell size ( d ) as well as total austenitic carbon, X γ C γ . SEM fractographs in all samples exhibit a combination of mechanisms, i.e. ductile striation with quasi-cleavage facet around graphite nodules.
Bacterial chemotaxis to xenobiotic chemicals and naturally-occurring analogs

The study of chemotaxis to xenobiotic chemicals in soil bacteria has revealed that the core mechanism for transduction of chemotactic signals is conserved. Responses to chemicals degraded by specialized catabolic pathways are often coordinately regulated with degradation genes, and in some cases auxiliary processes such as transport are integrated into the sensory process. In addition, degradation genes and associated chemotaxis genes carried on transmissible plasmids may facilitate the dissemination and evolution of catabolic and sensory systems. However, the strategies and receptors used by bacteria to sense chemicals are difficult to predict solely by bioinformatics, and much work is needed to uncover the range of chemicals detected and the specific functions of the numerous chemoreceptors present in catabolically versatile soil bacteria.
An Interpretation of an Election by Means of Obverse Factor Analysis

(1961). An Interpretation of an Election by Means of Obverse Factor Analysis. The Journal of Social Psychology: Vol. 53, No. 2, pp. 183-194.
A significant facet of attention in human mental activity.

IN the initial stages of observation, even with energy phenomena, instrumentation for measuring such a novel finding may not be available. At that time only the verbal formulation can be used to describe the event1.
Anopheles gambiae Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase: Catalysis, Structure, and Inhibition † , ‡

The purine salvage pathway of Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito that transmits malaria, has been identified in genome searches on the basis of sequence homology with characterized enzymes. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is a target for the development of therapeutic agents in humans and purine auxotrophs, including malarial parasites. The PNP from Anopheles gambiae (AgPNP) was expressed in Escherichia coli and compared to the PNPs from Homo sapiens (HsPNP) and Plasmodium falciparum (PfPNP). AgPNP has kcat values of 54 and 41 s-1 for 2'-deoxyinosine and inosine, its preferred substrates, and 1.0 s-1 for guanosine. However, the chemical step is fast for AgPNP at 226 s-1 for guanosine in pre-steady-state studies. 5'-Deaza-1'-aza-2'-deoxy-1'-(9-methylene)-Immucillin-H (DADMe-ImmH) is a transition-state mimic for a 2'-deoxyinosine ribocation with a fully dissociated N-ribosidic bond and is a slow-onset, tight-binding inhibitor with a dissociation constant of 3.5 pM. This is the tightest-binding inhibitor known for any PNP, with a remarkable Km/Ki* of 5.4 x 10(7), and is consistent with enzymatic transition state predictions of enhanced transition-state analogue binding in enzymes with enhanced catalytic efficiency. Deoxyguanosine is a weaker substrate than deoxyinosine, and DADMe-Immucillin-G is less tightly bound than DADMe-ImmH, with a dissociation constant of 23 pM for AgPNP as compared to 7 pM for HsPNP. The crystal structure of AgPNP was determined in complex with DADMe-ImmH and phosphate to a resolution of 2.2 A to reveal the differences in substrate and inhibitor specificity. The distance from the N1' cation to the phosphate O4 anion is shorter in the AgPNP.DADMe-ImmH.PO4 complex than in HsPNP.DADMe-ImmH.SO4, offering one explanation for the stronger inhibitory effect of DADMe-ImmH for AgPNP.
Technology research and development

The U.S. Dept. of Energy discusses the new program plan, the parameters of which are a broad scientific and technology knowledge base, an attractive plasma configuration to be determined, and other issues concerning uncertainty as to what constitutes attractive fusion options to be determined in the future, and increased collaboration. Tables show changing directions in magnetic fusion energy, two examples of boundary condition impacts on long-term technology development, and priority classes of the latter. The Argonne National Laboratory comments on the relationship between science, technology and the engineering aspects of the fusion program. UCLA remarks on the role of fusion technology in the fusion program plan, particularly on results from the recent studies of FINESSE. General Dynamics offers commentary on the issues of a reduced budget, and new emphasis on science which creates an image of the program. A table illustrates technology research and development in the program plan from an industrial perspective.
A lack of Ricci bounds for the entropic measure on Wasserstein space over the interval

Abstract We examine the entropic measure, recently constructed by von Renesse and Sturm, a measure over the metric space of probability measures on the unit interval equipped with the 2-Wasserstein distance. We show that equipped with this measure, Wasserstein space over the interval does not admit generalized Ricci lower bounds in the entropic displacement convexity sense of Lott–Villani–Sturm. We discuss why this is contrary to what one might expect from heuristic considerations.
Doxepin in the treatment of nicotine withdrawal.

To examine the possibility that antidepressant medication may decrease the severity and/or frequency of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, a five-week pilot study was conducted in eight patients given doxepin (target dose, 150 mg/day) and 21 patients who quit smoking “cold turkey.” Dropouts were more frequent in the cold-turkey group (72% vs. 50%), although this difference was not significant. Among the completers, self-ratings of DSM-III withdrawal symptoms indicated a significant ameliorating effect of doxepin ( p
Applying Multilevel Analytic Strategies in Adolescent Substance Use Prevention Research

Background. School-based drug prevention programs have been criticized on methodologic grounds because the unit of analysis is often not the unit of randomization, thus increasing the likelihood of Type I errors. Application of multilevel analytic strategies appropriately corrects this biasing tendency. This study demonstrates the practical use of such analysis. Methods. Data from 2,370 seventh-grade students participating in a substance use prevention trial were analyzed using a multilevel strategy. We examined the effectiveness of a social pressure resistance training and a normative education (NORM) intervention against an information-only control group. Results. The NORM condition revealed 1-year program effects for cigarette and marijuana use with individuals as the unit of analysis and only marginal effects with classroom as the unit of analysis. No program effects were found using school as the analysis unit. A multilevel strategy revealed program effects for cigarettes and marijuana with both class and school as grouping levels. The effect for alcohol use was significant at the 2-year follow-up. Conclusions. Interventions establishing conservative drug use norms in classrooms may be an effective strategy in reducing substance use onset among adolescents. Utilization of appropriate analytic strategies is important in the analysis and interpretation of data containing nested structures.
A simplified, competitive RT-PCR method for measuring rat IFN-γ mRNA expression

We describe an adaptation of competitive RT-PCR to quantitate rat IFN-γ mRNA expression. An IFN-γ DNA mimic that shared the same primers and had an identical sequence to the target mRNA except for deletion of 66 nucleotides, was created by a simple PCR amplification from target cDNA. To reduce variations of initial RNA concentrations, β-actin cDNAs from each target RNA sample were normalized using the densitometric data. A known amount of pretitrated DNA competitor was then used to analyze the relative levels of target cDNA in different samples by PCR co-amplification. The amplification efficiency for both target and competitor remained constant throughout the PCR reaction, and the ratio of target to competitor PCR product remained proportional to the initial ratio of target to competitor. Relative mRNA levels among samples determined by this method were comparable to levels determined by northern blot analysis. They were also comparable to levels of IFN-γ protein estimated by ELISA. We conclude that this method can be used to estimate the relative abundance of the target mRNA. This method is adaptable to quantitation of other cytokines and is particularly valuable if there are numerous samples, or if the amount of initial mRNA is limited.
Human telomeric DNA sequences have a peroxidase apoenzyme activity.

Many G-quadruplex-forming, biological DNAs, such as telomeres and a c-Myc (an oncogene) promoter region, have been shown by an in vitro study to be peroxidaseapoenzymes.
Strain-level genomic variation in natural populations of Lebetimonas from an erupting deep-sea volcano

Chemolithoautotrophic Epsilonproteobacteria are ubiquitous in sulfidic, oxygen-poor habitats, including hydrothermal vents, marine oxygen minimum zones, marine sediments and sulfidic caves and have a significant role in cycling carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur in these environments. The isolation of diverse strains of Epsilonproteobacteria and the sequencing of their genomes have revealed that this group has the metabolic potential to occupy a wide range of niches, particularly at dynamic deep-sea hydrothermal vents. We expand on this body of work by examining the population genomics of six strains of Lebetimonas, a vent-endemic, thermophilic, hydrogen-oxidizing Epsilonproteobacterium, from a single seamount in the Mariana Arc. Using Lebetimonas as a model for anaerobic, moderately thermophilic organisms in the warm, anoxic subseafloor environment, we show that genomic content is highly conserved and that recombination is limited between closely related strains. The Lebetimonas genomes are shaped by mobile genetic elements and gene loss as well as the acquisition of novel functional genes by horizontal gene transfer, which provide the potential for adaptation and microbial speciation in the deep sea. In addition, these Lebetimonas genomes contain two operons of nitrogenase genes with different evolutionary origins. Lebetimonas expressed nifH during growth with nitrogen gas as the sole nitrogen source, thus providing the first evidence of nitrogen fixation in any Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. In this study, we provide a comparative overview of the genomic potential within the Nautiliaceae as well as among more distantly related hydrothermal vent Epsilonproteobacteria to broaden our understanding of microbial adaptation and diversity in the deep sea.
Validation of models with multivariate output

This paper develops metrics for validating computational models with experimental data, considering uncertainties in both. A computational model may generate multiple response quantities and the validation experiment might yield corresponding measured values. Alternatively, a single response quantity may be predicted and observed at different spatial and temporal points. Model validation in such cases involves comparison of multiple correlated quantities. Multiple univariate comparisons may give conflicting inferences. Therefore, aggregate validation metrics are developed in this paper. Both classical and Bayesian hypothesis testing are investigated for this purpose, using multivariate analysis. Since, commonly used statistical significance tests are based on normality assumptions, appropriate transformations are investigated in the case of non-normal data. The methodology is implemented to validate an empirical model for energy dissipation in lap joints under dynamic loading.
Digital Applications of AC Motor Controls

The rapidly developing field of adjustable frequency control of ac motors represents more than just the evolution of a technology for solving old problems in a different way. More importantly, it is bringing into being a power output element capable of doing new jobs and of dramatically simplifying many jobs that have been done in the past with considerable complexity and hardware and not very well. A key to its promise lies in its basic nature which is inherently more digital than analog and therefore capable of being readily integrated into digital systems and of interfacing easily with those sources of digital signals such as thumbwheels, digital tachometers, encoders, tape readers, and process computers which abound in modem industrial systems.
Biomechanical Comparison of Blade Plate and Intramedullary Nail Fixation for Tibiocalcaneal Arthrodesis

Background: Tibiocalcaneal arthrodesis is an uncommon salvage procedure used for complex problems of the ankle and hindfoot. A biomechanical evaluation of the fixation constructs of this procedure ...
Structure of althiomycin.

The structure of the antibiotic althiomycin has been determined by a combination of chemical and physical methods.
Tips for success: Networking is not a bad word

To many scientists, the word “networking” sounds like an enterprise only suitable for those who run in circles with the business elite. However in reality, most scientists depend on networking to generate and maintain professional relationships, disseminate and gather information, and to climb the professional ladder. Presented here are tips from three seasoned professors, Kathy Cheah, PhD, Susan Mango, PhD, and Randall Moon, PhD, who describe what networking means to them, why it is important, and how they go about doing it. Developmental Dynamics 240:2597–2599, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.