cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Father’s Fall from Grace

The focus of critical inquiry in this chapter is the rupture that occurred in the father-son, Ed-Ernest relationship in Hemingway’s early boyhood—and its implications for his developing identity and art. Analysis of the causes, effects, and implications of this rupture is contextualized within a pattern of parental wounding, in which the ideals of motherhood and frontier masculinity are respectively profaned by wounds of androgyny and emasculation. This rupture in the father-son dyad is read not only through the lens of “Fathers and Sons” but of trauma theory, and the trope of “retrenchment” in particular, in an effort to inform Hemingway’s turn toward the primitive—in the realms of personality and prose.
The Use of Bivalirudin in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and in the Interventional Cardiology Suite

Anticoagulation is an essential component for patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and for those with ventricular assist devices. However, thrombosis and bleeding are common complications. Heparin continues to be the agent of choice for most patients, likely owing to practitioners' comfort and experience and the ease with which the drug's effects can be reversed. However, especially in pediatric cardiac surgery, there is increasing interest in using bivalirudin as the primary anticoagulant. This drug circumvents certain problems with heparin administration, such as heparin resistance and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, but it comes with additional challenges. In this manuscript, the authors review the literature on the emerging role of bivalirudin in pediatric cardiac surgery, including its use with cardiopulmonary bypass surgery, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ventricular assist devices, and interventional cardiology. Moreover, they provide an overview of bivalirudin's pharmacodynamics and monitoring methods.
208 Driver’s license suspension policies: a transportation-related source of health inequity

Purpose Driver’s license suspension policies have been an effective means of removing high-risk drivers from the road and credited with reducing motor vehicle crashes. However, states have used these policies since the 1990s to incentivize compliance with laws and regulations unrelated to traffic safety (e.g., drug offense, failure to pay fine). Recent media reports point to potentially negative health impacts of such policies—particularly on low-income drivers. However, there are few systematic studies on this issue. As a first step, we estimated state-level prevalence of non-driving-related (NDR) suspensions and examined variation by individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics. Methods We utilized the New Jersey Safety and Health Outcomes (NJ-SHO) warehouse, which includes full driver’s licensing history, geocoded residential addresses, census tract-level socioeconomic measures, and systems-level resources for NJ drivers licensed during 2018. Results In 2018, 386,929 (5%) of all NJ drivers had an NDR license suspension—accounting for 90% of all suspensions. Drivers with NDR suspensions were younger than drivers without suspensions (mean: 39 vs 47 years) and more likely to be male. The prevalence of NDR suspensions was seven times greater in the lowest income (vs. highest income) neighborhoods, five times greater in neighborhoods with the highest percent of black and Hispanic residents, and twice as high in neighborhoods with the greatest walkability and access to public transportation. Conclusion Drivers with NDR suspensions were more likely to live in lower SES areas. Future research is critically needed to determine whether these suspensions affect risk of negative health outcomes, as well as whether greater access to systems-level resources can mitigate this risk. Significance of Contributions Although six states recently passed legislation banning NDR suspensions, others may be hesitant to do so given lack of available information on this population and effects of suspensions. Our study’s findings directly inform this health equity issue.
Avocado oil, coconut oil, walnut oil as true oil phase for ion transfer at nanoscale liquid/liquid interfaces

Abstract The interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES), typically formed between an organic (oil) phase and an aqueous phase, is essential for chemical sensing and for studying various electron transfer and ion transfer reactions. Solvent, as part of ITIES structure, plays critical roles in electrochemical reactions at ITIES. While different kinds of organic phases, including viscous ionic liquid, have been reported, use of true oils as organic phase has rarely been explored. In this study, we introduce true oils, including avocado oil, coconut oil, and walnut oil as new organic solvents for ITIES. We observed well defined potential windows, and sigmoidal cyclic voltammograms for ion transfer. We further measured the ion transfer rate constants at true oil-water interfaces supported at nanopipette of ∼20–60 nm in radius. Our study offers additional insights on the effect of solvent viscosity on the ion transfer rate at the liquid/liquid interface, with the viscosity of these true oils being ∼ 50–70 times that of 1, 2-dichloroethane. We measured the standard ion transfer rate constants of tetrabutylammonium to be 0.21–0.32 cm / s at these true oil-water interface. This work lays the foundation to expand ITIES platform to explore new reactions, playing critical roles in separation science, chemical sensing, chemical synthesis, catalysis, etc.
Assisted authoring of model-based systems engineering documents

In systems engineering practices, system design and analysis have historically been performed using a document-centric approach where stakeholders produce a number of documents that represent their views on a system under development. Given the ad-hoc, disparate, and informal nature of natural language documents, these views become quickly inconsistent. Rigor in engineering work is also lost in the transition from model-based engineering design and analysis to engineering documents. Once the documents are delivered, the engineering portion of the work is disconnected. In the Open Model Based Engineering Environment (OpenMBEE), Cross-References (aka transclusions) synthesize relevant engineering information where model elements are not simply hyperlinked, but de-referenced in place in a document, upgrading a document-based process with model-based engineering technology. Those Cross-References are nowadays partially created manually, putting a burden on the engineer who is authoring the document. This paper presents an approach which can assist the engineer by providing machine-generated suggestions for Cross-References using language processing, graph analysis, and clustering technologies on model data managed by the OpenMBEE infrastructure.
Abstract 15217: Combination Phosphodiesterase V Inhibition and Low Dose B-type Natriuretic Peptide Did Not Enhance Renal Function in Acute Heart Failure

Introduction: Cardiorenal dysfunction with impaired cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) response to volume load is a hallmark of heart failure. Phosphodiesterase V (PDEV) is known to be upregulat...
Introducing Autonomy in an Embedded Systems Course Project

This Research-to-Practice Full Paper presents the redesign of a course project to promote student professional formation in engineering in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Iowa State University. This is part of a larger effort to redesign core courses in the sophomore and junior years through a collaborative instructional model and pedagogical approaches that promote professional formation. A required sophomore course on embedded computer systems has been assessed and revised over multiple semesters. The redesign of the project was initiated with the purpose of promoting student professional formation, interest, autonomy and innovation, and it was undertaken using a collaborative process. This paper describes the course, final project, redesign process, assessment, results and future work. Several conclusions from the research may be useful to other educators. A small change to the course project yielded positive effects in interest and autonomy and may influence longer term effects of the project. There was evidence of difference in engagement with the project. The difference observed was not only due to option selected by students but why students selected the option.
β-Oxochlorin cobalt(II) complexes catalyze the electrochemical reduction of CO2

Inspired by the architecture of the macrocycle of heme d1, a series of synthetic mono-, di- and tri-β-oxo-substituted porphyrinoid cobalt(II) complexes were evaluated as electrocatalytic CO2 reducers, identifying complexes of unusually high efficiencies in generating multi-electron reduction products, including CH4.
An evaluation of impact factor bias of clinical trials published in pain journals.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Studies with nonsignificant results are less likely to be published or published in lower impact factor journals. To determine whether a similar phenomenon occurs in pain literature, we explored impact factor bias in peer-reviewed pain journals. METHODS A PubMed search involving randomized controlled trials in pain journals during 2012 through 2018 was performed. The primary outcome was the publication impact factor. Exclusion criteria included commentaries, editorials, meta-analyses, reviews, and animal studies. The average impact factor for each journal was determined. The primary independent variable was a study with a positive outcome. RESULTS Of the 9 journals evaluated, 1108 articles met our inclusion criteria and were included in our analysis. The quartiles for the impact factor for the journals included were 2.5, 2.9, and 3.6. A multivariate analysis identified sample size greater than 100, description of a sample size calculation, presence of a stated hypothesis, and presence of sponsorship funding as independent predictors of publication in a journal with greater impact factor. In contrast, positive results were not associated with publication in a greater impact factor journal, even when forced into the model, P = 0.49. CONCLUSIONS After adjusting for study factors associated with publication, there is no evidence of impact factor bias within the pain literature. The lack of impact factor bias in the pain literature is a positive finding for the field and should benefit scientific development and the clinical care of patients.
Randomness and Complexity in Matrix Groups

We reflect on how to define the complexity of a matrix and how to sample a random invertible matrix. We also discuss a related issue of complexity of algorithms in matrix groups.
Addressing the Nationwide Shortage of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists: Determining Factors that Influence the Decision for Psychiatry Residents to Pursue Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training.

Objective This study aimed to identify factors that influence whether adult psychiatry residents choose to pursue fellowship training, particularly in child psychiatry. The study also assessed how child psychiatry is perceived among adult psychiatry residents as a subspecialty. Methods Electronic surveys were administered to all adult psychiatry residents at the University of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, and Authority Health. These three programs were selected for geographic convenience. The survey included demographic questions as well as Likert-scale statements that assessed the importance of various factors in determining future career choice. The survey also assessed the agreeability of various statements pertaining to the field of child psychiatry. Results The most important factor for residents in deciding their specialty choice was personal interest, followed by work-life balance, the ability to work directly with patients, and the location of their future job. Over half of residents rated length of training as being "extremely important" or "very important," and fewer than 30% of residents surveyed felt that child psychiatry fellowship was too long. Child psychiatry is widely recognized by residents as having ample job opportunities. However, fewer than 30% of psychiatry residents surveyed rated a high level of interest in child psychiatry. Conclusion The knowledge of psychiatry residents' views on specialty selection could inform decision making around recruitment efforts. It may also gauge the efficacy and impact of different propositions made to increase child psychiatry recruitment, such as shortening fellowship training in child psychiatry and sponsoring mentorships and interest groups.
Prediction Markets and the First Amendment

The continuing development of prediction markets is important because of their success in foretelling the future in politics, economics, and science. In this article, we identify the expressive elements inherent in prediction markets and explore how legislation such as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 might harm such predictive speech. This article is the first to explore First Amendment protections for prediction markets in such depth, and in so doing, we distinguish prediction markets from other regulated areas such as gambling and securities trading. The article's examination of prediction markets also illustrates the limitations of current commercial speech doctrine. We conclude by discussing how the executive, legislative, and judicial branches might resolve the First Amendment challenges of regulating prediction markets, and we propose a new legal test, modeled on existing free speech jurisprudence, which may assist courts in adjudicating any constitutional challenges.
New M(atrix)-models for Commutative and Noncommutative Gauge Theories

We propose a M(atrix) model for N=4 $SU(k)$ Super-Yang-Mills theory compactified on $T^4$. In this model it is possible to make $T^4$ noncommutative and it is easy to turn on all 6 components of the noncommutativity on $T^4$. The action of S-duality on the noncommutativity parameters is also manifest. The M(atrix)-model is given by the large $N$ limit of a $\sigma$-model on $T^2$ whose target space is the moduli space of $k$ SU(N) instantons on $T^3\times R$. We also propose that the $SU(k)$ 2+1D $Spin(8)$ theory (the low-energy description of $k$ M2-branes) on $T^3$ corresponds to the large $N$ limit of an integral over the latter instanton moduli space. The identification is based on the fact that Euclidean wrapped M2-branes in toroidally compactified M-theory correspond to instantons in the M(atrix)-model. In the new M(atrix) models, operators with nonzero momentum along $T^3$ (or $T^4$) correspond to insertions of Wilson lines along a 1-cycle that is determined by the momentum. Momentum is conserved in the large $N$ limit.
Application of appropriate use criteria to cardiac stress testing in the hospital setting: limitations of the criteria and areas for improved practice

Background Imaging cardiac stress test use has risen significantly, leading to the development of appropriate use criteria. Prior studies have suggested the rate of inappropriate testing is 13% to 14%, but inappropriate testing in hospitalized patients has not been well studied. Hypothesis Appropriate use of stress testing in hospitalized patients is not comparable to the ambulatory setting. Methods We studied 459 consecutive patients referred for imaging stress tests (nuclear imaging or stress echocardiography) at a single institution over a 6-month period. Appropriate use was determined by research cardiologists blinded to patient outcomes. Results Most tests (68%) were in patients with chest pain or possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Another 20% were for preoperative evaluation. The rate of inappropriate testing was 13%. Imaging modality did not correlate with appropriate use. Only 2% of the chest pain or possible ACS were inappropriate, compared to 49% of the preoperative exams (P < 0.001). The most common reason a test was considered inappropriate was for a low-risk patient for preoperative exam (77% of inappropriate tests). Using Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction score 0 to define inappropriate testing in the possible ACS cohort might make an additional 27% inappropriate. Conclusions The rate of inappropriate use of cardiac stress testing with imaging in the inpatient setting is similar to that in the ambulatory setting. However, there is wide variation in inappropriate testing based on the indication for the test. Taking risk into consideration in possible ACS patients could result in a larger number of tests being considered inappropriate.
A clinical study of the lupus anticoagulant

Eighty-three patients with circulating anticoagulants were studied at The New York Hospital. The lupus-type anticoagulant, an inhibitor of the prothrombin activator complex, was demonstrated in 58 patients. The inhibitor was identified using the blood and tissue thromboplastin inhibition tests. Inhibition by the lupus anticoagulant was augmented in 67% of these patients by a cofactor present in normal plasma. The lupus inhibitor was detected primarily because of an unsuspected abnormal coagulation test. One-half of the patients with the lupus-type anticoagulant did not have systemic lupus erythematosus.
High-speed Access Control for XML Documents.

One of the important tasks of managing eXtensible Markup Language (XML) documents is to uniformly specify and securely maintain both target documents and authorization policies. However, since existing techniques decouple access authorization from query processing, the query processing time with access control is not satisfactorily fast. The access control requires the overhead in addition to the time required for query processing, and the powerful expression of authorization policies makes it impossible to accelerate the determination of access authorization. In this paper, we propose a bitmap-based access authorization technique for both fast and secure services of XML documents. The authorization policies are encoded into a bitmap index and further to be coupled an index of XML documents. User access requests are encoded into bitmap-masks. By applying bit-wise operations of a bitmap-mask to the authorization bitmap index, authorization can be determined significantly fast. The contribution of this paper includes 1) the dual goals achieved for fast and secure accesses to XML document collections, and 2) early propagation of subjects and objects in bitmap indexes.
Generalized Nyquist Stability Criterion for Linear Time Periodic Systems

A generalized Nyquist stability criterion for linear time periodic systems is presented. This stability criterion is similar in many respects to the generalized Nyquist stability criterion for linear time invariant multi-input multi-output systems. The criterion is graphical and is based on the eigenloci of the transfer function operator that describes the input/output behavior of the system. The criterion has the advantage that it can determine the stability of a feedback system for a range of gains, whereas Floquet theory determines stability for only a specific gain.
Celebrating the ACP Centennial: From the Annals Archive-Ending LGBT Invisibility.

Health disparities in the LGBT community are the topic of this issue's discussion from the Annals archive.
Gene Expression Networks

‘Gene expression network’ is the term used to describe the interplay, simple or complex, between two or more gene products in performing a specific cellular function. Although the delineation of such networks is complicated by the existence of multiple and subtle types of interaction between gene products, the use of high-throughput functional genomics techniques and mathematical modeling provides a powerful approach to deciphering expression networks and revealing the molecular mechanisms of cell growth and function. Keywords: DNA arrays; functional genomics; gene expression networks; modifier genes; pleiotropy
Disorder and decline

Objectives:A significant and diverse body of research has built up during the 30+ years since the publication of Wilson and Kelling’s seminal “broken windows” article. They affected research, policy, and politics around the world. This article summarizes some of the main strands of research that have since sprung up around these and other claims.Results:This article discusses approaches to conceptualizing and measuring disorder and weighs the strengths and weaknesses of various measurement modalities. It summarizes what this research has revealed about the apparent causes and effects of disorder.Conclusion:Research documents that disorder has broad implications for public health and safety and that it is deeply implicated in the dynamics of neighborhood stability and change. Further, there is evidence that—directly and via its impact on other features of community life—disorder stimulates conventional crime.
Quantile regression-based Bayesian semiparametric mixed-effects models for longitudinal data with non-normal, missing and mismeasured covariate

Quantile regression (QR) models have received increasing attention recently for longitudinal data analysis. When continuous responses appear non-centrality due to outliers and/or heavy-tails, commonly used mean regression models may fail to produce efficient estimators, whereas QR models may perform satisfactorily. In addition, longitudinal outcomes are often measured with non-normality, substantial errors and non-ignorable missing values. When carrying out statistical inference in such data setting, it is important to account for the simultaneous treatment of these data features; otherwise, erroneous or even misleading results may be produced. In the literature, there has been considerable interest in accommodating either one or some of these data features. However, there is relatively little work concerning all of them simultaneously. There is a need to fill up this gap as longitudinal data do often have these characteristics. Inferential procedure can be complicated dramatically when these data feature...
Sexing Bovine Sperm

Many methods of sexing sperm have been attempted, and there have been sufficient failures to cause much skepticism about sperm-sexing claims. However, recent work has clearly shown that one method is successful with various species, including cattle and horses. This procedure, flow cytometry/cell sorting, is 85 to 95% accurate. It was developed for sexing live sperm by Dr. Larry Johnson in the United States Department of Agriculture laboratory at Beltsville, Maryland, and patented by the U.S. government. Exclusive rights to the patent have been assigned to XY, Inc., a company in Colorado, for applications in non-human mammals. XY, Inc. has subsequently spent millions of dollars in further research, including development of faster sperm sorters. Much of this work was done in collaboration with Colorado State University.
Technical Change in Corn Production in the United States, 1870–1960

tion techniques explains most of the measured increase in total output in the United States, and the declining relative prices of agricultural products reflect lower unit costs of production. Nevertheless, evaluation of the contribution of specific changes in techniques toward total economic growth has been seriously neglected. Because success in raising incomes in the poorer countries will depend mainly on the rate at which economic changes can be achieved, it is urgent that the economic implications of competing technical changes be understood and that the consequences of alternative timing and sequence patterns of adoption be more fully considered. The aim of this paper is to reexamine the evidence on resource use as well as that on technical changes attending the great increase in corn production in the United States over the past century. Viewed in its relation to the total economy, a principal product of the agricultural sector is energy. Food and feed grains, hay and pasture, as well as other crops, constitute the basic energy sources. Some are directly usable for human consumption, but may be converted into draft power by animals, or into the more costly meat and dairy products. It seems evident that achieving ability to produce such energy cheaply is one kind of economic growth that permits more growth; technical change * This paper is a contribution from the Project on Causes of Increased Productiv.ity in American Agriculture directed by Karl Brandt and supported by the Relmhn Foundation. We are also indebted to our colleague R. J. Hammond for critical discussions of the argument and suggestions that helped to improve the clarity of exposition.
Removal of gastrin by various organs in dogs

In 6 anesthetized dogs receiving 400 pmoles kg-1 hr-1 of natural human little gastrin intravenously, blood samples for radioimmunoassay of gastrin were taken repeatedly from a carotid artery, jugular vein, femoral vein, renal vein, and mesenteric vein. The calculated removal of gastrin in a single passage through these four vascular beds ranged from 21 to 30% and did not differ significantly among them. In 6 additional dogs, the carotid arterial to hepatic venous removal was 40%. We conclude that the percentage removal of gastrin is about the same in all of the major vascular beds of the body.
Effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol administration on marker proteins of rat testicular cells

Abstract The effects of chronic administration of 2 mg Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol per kg body weight upon rat testicular cell function was examined by use of selected testicular cell marker proteins. γ-Glutamyl transpeptidase was used as a marker of Sertoli cell plasma membranes; sorbitol dehydrogenase was used as a marker of pachytene spermatocytes. The interstitial cells were marked by cytochrome P-450, a microsomal component, and β-glucuronidase, a lysosomal component. The results of this study show a rapid reduction in microsomal P-450 content following 2 days of tetrahydrocannabinol administration. In addition, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase was significantly reduced at 2 days and continued to decline to day 9. β-Glucuronidase and sorbitol dehydrogenase exhibited no significant change over the course of the experiment. It is suggested that the reduction of testosterone synthesis in testes of tetrahydrocannabinol treated rats may be the result of a reduction in P-450 content.
Genetic and transcriptional analysis of the siderophore malleobactin biosynthesis and transport genes in the human pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a gram-negative facultative intracellular pathogen that causes melioidosis, an invasive disease of humans and animals. To address the response of this bacterium to iron-limiting conditions, we first performed a global transcriptional analysis of RNA extracted from bacteria grown under iron-limiting and iron-rich conditions by microarrays. We focused our study on those open reading frames (ORFs) induced under iron limitation, which encoded predicted proteins that could be involved in the biosynthesis and uptake of the siderophore malleobactin. We purified this siderophore and determined that it consisted of at least three compounds with different molecular weights. We demonstrated that ORFs BPSL1776 and BPSL1774, designated mbaA and mbaF, respectively, are involved in the biosynthesis of malleobactin, while BPSL1775, named fmtA, is involved in its transport. These genes are in an operon with two other ORFs (mbaJ and mbaI) whose transcription is under the control of MbaS, a protein that belongs to the extracytoplasmic function sigma factors. Interestingly, the transcription of the mbaA, fmtA, and mbaS genes is not controlled by the availability of the siderophore malleobactin.
Damage tracker: a cloud and mobile system for collecting damage information after natural disasters

Tornadoes and other natural disasters frequently cause large amounts of damage to buildings and infrastructure. An important part of learning from these events is assessing key damage-indicators within the affected area. Researchers can analyze these damage-indicators to better understand the event and how to minimize future loss. These assessments require many teams of researchers, government agencies, and volunteer citizen groups to survey affected areas and collect information. Assessment teams take thousands of digital photographs for later review. When combined with GPS data, these images can be used to document and understand an extreme event. In this paper, we present Damage Tracker, a software system for capturing and managing tornado damage information. A mobile application for Android devices allows users to capture, annotate, and upload geo-tagged photos. A web application stores uploaded photos and meta-data and displays this information on an interactive map. This system allows an online community of users to easily share data, which encourages more collaboration, reduces duplicate collection efforts, and potentially improves the quality and depth of subsequent research. Damage Tracker realizes the benefits of crowdsourcing and citizen science in the context of disaster data collection.
Structural health monitoring of wind turbine blade using piezoceremic based active sensing and impedance sensing

Wind energy has recently risen to the forefront of green, sustainable energy. The structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades are important for optimal operational safety and costs. In this paper, the piezoceramic based active sensing method and impedance method were proposed and applied for the monitoring of wind turbine blades. A tensile test on a customized blade specimen and a destructive test on commercial full blade were performed to simulate the damage process. Piezoceramic patches were mounted on the surface to monitor the damage process. Wavelet packet analysis was used to build the energy vector for the propagated wave during active sensing. Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) based damage index were built for both approaches. Results indicate that both methods were able to detect and locate damage on wind turbine blades.
A conjoint analysis regarding influencing factors of golfers' preferred driving ranges in Korea

This study was to investigate what Korean golfers prioritise when choosing an outdoor driving range. For the purpose of the current study, four attributes were chosen, namely range size, monthly fee, facility condition, and location (travel distance). The results of the conjoint analysis with 279 active Korean golfers revealed that Korean golfers put more weight on facility condition, followed by range size, travel distance, and monthly fee, when choosing an outdoor driving range. An ad hoc sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify how any change of a given driving range may affect its market share.
Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles indicate reproductive status in the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis

Reproductive division of labor in social insects is accompanied by the reliable communication of individual fertility status. A central question is whether there exists a general mechanism underlying this communication system across species. The best way to produce reliable information is through physiological markers tightly associated with reproductive status. Cuticular hydrocarbons exhibit this link to individual fertility in several species of ants, bees, and wasps, and we present the first evidence for such a system in a non-Hymenopteran eusocial species. In the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis, we identified four polyunsaturated alkenes, which only occur in significant amounts on reproductives that are actively producing gametes. These compounds are either absent or only occur in small amounts in soldiers, worker-like larvae, and secondary reproductives with inactive gonads. In contrast to Hymenopteran social insects, both sexes express the reproductive peaks. The reproductive-specific hydrocarbons may promote tending behavior by worker-like larvae or act as a primer pheromone, inhibiting the reproductive development of immature conspecifics.
MRI of the Breast: Does the Internet Accurately Report its Beneficial Uses and Limitations?

: As consumer use of the Internet for medical information grows, continuing evaluation of the medical content on the Internet is needed. We evaluated Internet sites describing breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an emerging technology tool in breast cancer diagnosis and screening. We searched Google for sites describing breast MRI and abstracted the affiliation, content, media type, readability, and quality of 90 most popular unique sites. Over half (56%) of the sites were commercially sponsored. The content varied by site and included medical and procedural facts, information about clinical trials, grants and journal articles, as well as human interest stories. Most (82%) sites described potentially beneficial uses of breast MRI, such as further evaluation of newly diagnosed breast cancers (58%); screening women at high risk for breast cancer (54%); evaluation of abnormal breast findings (48%); screening women with dense breasts (48%) or implants (27%); and surveillance for breast cancer recurrences (24%). Approximately half (56%) of the sites described the limitations of breast MRI, most commonly false positive findings (44%) and costs (24%). Website quality, including the display of contact information, sponsorship, currency of information, authorship, and references varied. The reading level was close to high school graduate. Internet sites describing breast MRI were mostly commercially sponsored, more often described the potential beneficial uses of the procedure than its limitations, and were of variable quality and high reading level. With the lack of enforceable standards for display of medical information on the Internet, providers should encourage patients to direct their searches to the most credible sites.
Vegetative Community Compositional Gradients of Tropical Hardwood Hammocks along the Florida Keys

Tropical hardwood hammocks, among the rarest and most threatened vegetative communities in the United States, occur throughout the 225-km Florida Keys archipelago as it extends toward the Caribbean from the southeast tip of peninsular Florida. Compounding their critical conservation status, tropical hardwood hammocks and the dynamics that support their peculiar species diversity in the region are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to explore the dynamics of the species compositional gradient of the hammocks along the Florida Keys, and to identify significant ecological units within the gradient. The primary data for this research were assembled from the Institute for Regional Conservation's floristic database of South Florida. We were able to extract presence/absence data for 295 species from comprehensive surveys of 23 study sites. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling was used to deconstruct the compositional trends into a reduced ordination space. Cluster analysis was subsequently used to identify discrete ecological units. Additionally, we used vector fitting to interpret the significant correlated ancillary variables. Our main results were three well-fitted nonmetric multidimensional scaling axes with three nonoverlapping ecological units. Of the ancillary variables, latitude, longitude, percent composition from biogeographical regions, richness, and area were correlated to the nonmetric multidimensional scaling results. These results increase our understanding of the community structure of the hammocks along the Florida Keys, and can contribute to increasing our ability to adequately protect and restore tropical hardwood hammocks and other similar tropical dry forest communities throughout the Caribbean.
Tumor Heterogeneity Confounds and Illuminates: Assessing the implications

Certain biological features are inherent traits of cancer, yet some of them still hold mysteries for researchers and clinicians. The heterogeneity of a tumor mass is an old concept that has lately become both a puzzling factor and a feature that should be harnessed to better understand tumor vulnerabilities. Improved scientific approaches to further determine and uncover the meaning of these heterogeneous features are still needed to translate findings into ways to develop therapies, identify drug response biomarkers and stratify patients. In Bedside to Bench, Maria Kleppe and Ross L. Levine look at recent clinical cancer trials that have advanced the field and discuss main questions regarding the role of tumor heterogeneity in predicting therapeutic response and tumor progression. In addition, they raise awareness of the relevance of the interactions among different tumor entities and their contribution to the malignancy of the whole tumor. In Bench to Bedside, Kornelia Polyak peruses studies that uncover specific mutations conferring endocrine drug resistance in breast tumors and that add to our knowledge of the evolution and architecture of tumors, and she discusses how this can be used to implement drug regimens.
Interference with taste familiarization by several drugs in rats.

Attenuation of conditioned taste aversion by prior exposure to the conditioned stimulus (CS) has been called “learned safety.” Injection of imipramine, chlordiazepoxide, pentobarbital, scopolamine, or penicillin after the first CS exposure interfered with learned safety. Further experiments showed that this drug effect was not due to aversiveness of the drugs, generalized neophobia, retroactive state dependence, gustatory interference, impaired memory, or overshadowing of the CS and that the drug effect could be abolished by familiarization. Conditioned suspicion due to alteration of the internal milieu was proposed as a possible mechanism of the drug effect. Such suspicion can facilitate subsequent taste aversion but is not aversive in itself. Time-course studies suggested that conditioned suspicion may be yet another form of long-delay learning.
RECTIFICATION OF RABBIT CARDIAC RYANODINE RECEPTOR CURRENT BY ENDOGENOUS POLYAMINES

The actions of three endogenous polyamines (spermine, spermidine, and putrescine) were defined on Ca2+ release channels (ryanodine receptors, RyRs) isolated from rabbit cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum. The current-voltage relationship of the RyR channel was N-shaped in the presence of polyamine (1–5 mM). Polyamine blocked conduction near 0 mV, but the blockade was relieved at large potentials. Polyamines acted (blocked) from both sides of the channel. Polyamine efficacy was dependent on current direction and was inversely related to the ion selectivity of the RyR pore. This suggests that polyamine interacts with current-carrying ions in the permeation pathway. The apparent half-block concentration of spermine at 0 mV was
PHOTOMETRIC SEPARATION OF STELLAR PROPERTIES USING SDSS FILTERS

Using synthetic photometry of Kurucz model spectra, we explore the colors of stars as a function of temperature, metallicity, and surface gravity with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) filters, u'g'r'i'z'. The synthetic colors show qualitative agreement with the few published observations in these filters. We find that the locus of synthetic stars is basically two-dimensional for 4500 < T < 8000 K, which precludes simultaneous color separation of the three basic stellar characteristics we consider. Colors including u' contain the most information about normal stellar properties; measurements in this filter are also important for selecting white dwarfs. We identify two different subsets of the locus in which the loci separate by either metallicity or surface gravity. For 0.5 < g' - r' < 0.8 (corresponding roughly to G stars), the locus separates by metallicity; for photometric error of a few percent, we estimate metallicity to within ~0.5 dex in this range. In the range -0.15 < g' - r' < 0.00 (corresponding roughly to A stars), the locus shows separation by surface gravity. In both cases, we show that it is advantageous to use more than two colors when determining stellar properties by color. Strategic observations in SDSS filters are required to resolve the source of a ~5% discrepancy between synthetic colors of Gunn-Stryker stars, Kurucz models, and external determinations of the metallicities and surface gravities. The synthetic star colors can be used to investigate the properties of any normal star and to construct analytic expressions for the photometric prediction of stellar properties in special cases.
Limits of iterated H -line graphs

Abstract For a connected graph H on at least three vetices, the H-line graph HL(G) of a graph G is the graph whose vertices correspond to the edges of G, and two vertices of HL(G) are adjacent if the corresponding edges of G are adjacent and lie in a common copy of H in G. We determine the length of the sequence {HLk(G)} when H = Kn and show that KnL(G) is eulerian. A class of limits of such sequences for arbitrary H is characterized.
Sub-millisecond coincidence detection in active dendritic trees

Simulations of a morphologically reconstructed cortical pyramidal cell suggest that the long, thin, distal dendrites of such a cell may be ideally suited for nonlinear coincidence-detection at time-scales much faster than the membrane time-constant. In the presence of dendritic sodium spiking conductances, such hypothetical computations might occur by two distinct mechanisms. In one mechanism, fast excitatory synaptic currents inside a thin dendrite create strong local depolarizations, whose repolarization—resulting from charge equalization—can be 100-fold faster than the membrane time-constant; two such potentials in exact coincidence might initiate a dendritic spike. In the alternate mechanism, dendritic sodium spikes which do not fire the soma nonetheless create somatic voltage pulses of millisecond width and a few millivolts amplitude. The soma may fire upon the exact coincidence of several of these dendritic spikes, while their strong delayed-rectifier currents prevent the soma from temporally summating them. The average firing rate of a compartmental simulation of this reconstructed cell can be highly sensitive to the precise (submillisecond) arrangement of its inputs; in one simulation, a subtle reorganization of the temporal and spatial distribution of synaptic events can determine whether the cell fires continuously at 200 Hz or not at all. The two cellular properties postulated to create this behavior—fast, strong synaptic currents and spiking conductances in the distal dendrites—are at least consistent with physiological recordings of somatic potentials from single and coincident synaptic events; further measurements are proposed. The amplitudes and decays of these simulated fast EPSPs and dendritic spikes can be quantitatively predicted by approximations based on dendritic properties, intracellular resistance, and transmembrane conductance, without invoking any free parameters. These expressions both illustrate the dominant biophysical mechanisms of these very transient events and also allow extrapolation of the simulation results to nearby parameter ranges without requiring further simulation. The possibility that cortical cells perform temporally precise computations on single spikes touches many issues in cortical processing: computational speed, spiking variability, population coding, pairwise cell correlations, multiplexed information transmission, and the functional role of the dendritic tree.
Food Selectivity of Bigmouth Buffalo, Ictiobus cyprinellus, in Lake Poinsett, South Dakota

Abstract Food habits and food selectivity of bigmouth buffalo, Ictiobus cyprinellus, in Lake Poinsett, South Dakota were studied from January through November 1968. Food of bigmouth buffalo fry ranging from 12.5 to 21.0 mm total length was primarily benthic organisms. Food of sub-adult and adult bigmouth buffalo ranging from 236 to 833 mm total length was primarily zooplankton. Most planktonic organisms were consumed in about the same proportion as they were available. Selectivity was greatest for adult Daphnia pulex, the largest food item present, and least for calanoid copepods. The bigmouth buffalo in Lake Poinsett might best be described as an indiscriminate planktivor throughout most of its life history.
Powder X-ray diffraction can differentiate between enantiomeric variants of calcium lactate pentahydrate crystal in cheese

Powder X-ray diffraction has been used for decades to identify crystals of calcium lactate pentahydrate in Cheddar cheese. According to this method, diffraction patterns are generated from a powdered sample of the crystals and compared with reference cards within a database that contains the diffraction patterns of known crystals. During a preliminary study of crystals harvested from various Cheddar cheese samples, we observed 2 slightly different but distinct diffraction patterns that suggested that calcium lactate pentahydrate may be present in 2 different crystalline forms. We hypothesized that the 2 diffraction patterns corresponded to 2 enantiomeric forms of calcium lactate pentahydrate (L- and DL-) that are believed to occur in Cheddar cheese, based on previous studies involving enzymatic analyses of the lactate enantiomers in crystals obtained from Cheddar cheeses. However, the powder X-ray diffraction database currently contains only one reference diffraction card under the title “calcium lactate pentahydrate.” To resolve this apparent gap in the powder X-ray diffraction database, we generated diffraction patterns from reagent-grade calcium l-lactate pentahydrate and laboratory-synthesized calcium dl-lactate pentahydrate. From the resulting diffraction patterns we determined that the existing reference diffraction card corresponds to calcium dl-lactate pentahydrate and that the other form of calcium lactate pentahydrate observed in cheese crystals corresponds to calcium l-lactate pentahydrate. Therefore, this report presents detailed data from the 2 diffraction patterns, which may be used to prepare 2 reference diffraction cards that differentiate calcium l-lactate pentahydrate from calcium dl-lactate pentahydrate. Furthermore, we collected crystals from the exteriors and interiors of Cheddar cheeses to demonstrate the ability of powder X-ray diffraction to differentiate between the 2 forms of calcium lactate pentahydrate crystals in Cheddar cheeses. Powder X-ray diffraction results were validated using enzymatic assays for lactate enantiomers. These results demonstrated that powder X-ray diffraction can be used as a diagnostic tool to quickly identify different forms of calcium lactate pentahydrate that may occur in Cheddar cheese.
High specific activity tritiation of TCP and BTCP

Methods are described to synthesize and characterize tritium labelled TCP and BTCP at high specific activity.
Low-cost quality assurance techniques for high-performance mixed-signal/RF circuits and systems

There exist a variety of quality assurance techniques for tasks ranging from post-silicon validation, silicon debugging, manufacturing testing, in-field testing, and life time resiliency. Adding dedicated circuitry to exclusively support each task would be too costly, as each technique incurs non-trivial overheads. This paper describes three cost-effective quality assurance techniques that attempt to increase the reuse and sharing of test circuitry for multiple quality assurance tasks. First, we propose to reuse the calibration circuitry in mixed-signal/RF systems for manufacturing testing. Then, we propose the concept of application-aware testing for which application-specific criteria are used for defect screening of components. Some of the manufacturing defects which do not cause any system failures for the target applications will not be rejected and thus resulting in yield enhancement. We also develop an all-digital built-in self-test technique for mixed-signal and RF circuits that can be further used to tune the circuit performance. These techniques are demonstrated using digitally-assisted analog circuits and three-dimensional (3D) integrated designs.
Nasopharyngeal impression technique for fabrication of a radiation carrier

A new technique for intracavitary application of Iridium 192 seeds in carcinoma of the nasopharynx is described. This technique allows for accurate construction of a nasopharyngeal carrier that permits the radiotherapist to deliver an adequate dose of irradiation to the nasopharynx.
Review essay / corruption control and its critics

Frank Anechiarico and James B. Jacobs, The Pursuit of Absolute Integrity: How Corruption Control Makes Government Ineffective Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996, 274 pp.