cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New Greek Law on the Protection of Free Competition: Key Changes and First Impressions

On April 20, 2011, under the light of the internal and international demand for better institutions and a more competitive national economy, the New Greek Law, numbered 3959/2011, on the protection of free competition, came into force. Former Law 703/1977 on the same subject, which enjoyed considerable recognition in the country, was abolished, instead of being amended one more time, as the legislator declared its intention to avoid the risk of conflicting rules and oversights and to produce a coherent statute which is easier to understand and to implement. The paper will briefly present the main changes introduced by Law 3959/2011, and will attempt a first appraisal of their success, especially with regard to the above mentioned objectives.
Scholarship on Delarivier Manley: Past, Present, and Future

This essay offers an overview of scholarship on Delarivier Manley, from her marginalization by twentieth-century literary historians, to her scholarly recuperation in the 1980s, to the recent critical reappraisal of her as an innovative writer of political secret histories and an important voice in the female theatre world of the 1690s. This recent scholarship corrects the misperception of Manley as a (mediocre) novelist and finally does her justice as an innovator in every genre in which she wrote—including drama, poetry, epistolary travelogue, secret history, periodical, pamphlet, memoir, and novella. An overview of the historical trends in the field is followed by summaries of recent research on her works in various literary genres.
Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy evidence of efficacy for adrenal and gonadal hormone replacement therapy in anorexia nervosa.

Abstract Purpose Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) + estrogen/progestin therapy for adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa (AN) has the potential to arrest bone loss. The primary aim of this study was to test the effects of DHEA + estrogen/progestin therapy in adolescent girls with AN on bone marrow in the distal femur using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy. Methods Seventy adolescent girls with AN were enrolled in a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial at two urban hospital-based programs. Intervention Seventy-six girls were randomly assigned to receive 12 months of either oral micronized DHEA or placebo. DHEA was administered with conjugated equine estrogens (0.3 mg daily) for 3 months, then an oral contraceptive (20 μg ethinyl estradiol/ 0.1 mg levonorgestrel) for 9 months. The primary outcome measure was bone marrow fat by MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Results T2 of the water resonance dropped significantly less in the active vs. placebo group over 12 months at both the medial and lateral distal femur (p = 0.02). Body mass index (BMI) was a significant effect modifier for T1 and for T2 of unsaturated (T2 unsat ) and saturated fat (T2 sat ) in the lateral distal femur. Positive effects of the treatment of DHEA + estrogen/progestin were seen primarily for girls above a BMI of about 18 kg/m 2 . Conclusions These findings suggest treatment with oral DHEA + estrogen/progestin arrests the age- and disease-related changes in marrow fat composition in the lateral distal femur reported previously in this population.
Overview of polarimetric thermal imaging for biometrics

This paper presents an overview of polarimetric thermal imaging for biometrics, focusing on face recognition, with a short discussion on fingerprints and iris. Face recognition has been and continues to be an active area of biometrics research, with most of the research dedicated to recognition in the visible spectrum. However, face recognition in the visible spectrum is not practical for discrete surveillance in low-light and nighttime scenarios. Polarimetric thermal imaging represents an ideal modality for acquiring the naturally emitted thermal radiation from the human face, providing additional geometric and textural details not available in conventional thermal imagery. One of the main challenges lies in matching the acquired polarimetric thermal facial signature to gallery databases containing only visible facial signature, for interoperability with existing government biometric repositories. This paper discusses approaches and algorithms to exploit polarization information, as represented by the Stokes vectors, through feature extraction and nonlinear regression to enable polarimetric thermal-to-visible face recognition. In addition to cross-spectrum feature based approaches, crossspectrum image synthesis methods are discussed that seek to reconstruct a visible-like image given a polarimetric thermal face image input. Beyond facial biometrics, this paper presents an initial exploration of polarimetric thermal imaging for latent fingerprint acquisition. Latent prints are formed when the oils and sweat from the finger are deposited onto another surface through contact, and are typically collected by first dusting with powder before being imaged and then lifted with adhesive tape. This paper presents polarimetric thermal imagery of latent prints from a nonporous glass surface, acquired without the dusting process. A brief discussion of the utility of polarimetric thermal imaging for iris recognition is also presented.
Clonidine abuse among opiate addicts.

Objective: To determine if clonidine abuse among non-pregnant opiate dependent individuals is common and the reason for such use. Method: Self report of personal use or knowledge of others' use of this drug. Results: Fourteen of fifteen treatment seeking individuals with opiate dependence knew of clonidine abuse. Ten had used it personally to decrease the amount of heroin necessary to achieve a desired effect and to prolong the length of the opiate's action. Conclusion: clonidine abuse among opiate addicts may be more common than previous studies have suggested. Opiate addicts should be screened for abuse of this substance, especially in view of its widespread use for the purpose of opiate withdrawal. Further, such patients should be warned of potential health hazards attendant upon clonidine use and abrupt cessation.
Animal Models of Sexual Function

Research has focused on neuroendocrine control and the impact of behavioral manipulations on sexual performance. There are no validated animal models of human sexual dysfunctions and as a consequence ‘normal’ animals are studied, most commonly, rodents. Female sexual function is assessed by motivation or consummatory assessments, often with lordosis as a behavioral endpoint. Paced mating and partner-preference studies are employed to model the complexities of human sexual behavior. Male sexual behavior is generally quantified from consummatory behaviors, such as mounting, intromissions, and ejaculation; however, penile erection can be assessed in conscious animals using either observational or radiotelemetric recording.
Patterns of financial attributes and behaviors of emerging adults in the United States

Abstract The growing socioeconomic and market complexities require all young adults to make sound financial decisions, yet a large number of them lack the necessary skills and knowledge. Literature on identifying the latent financial characteristics of American emerging adults are sparse. Based on the 2015 National Financial Capability Study, the present research explores heterogeneous patterns in financial attributes and behaviors of emerging adults (N = 3050, 18–24 years). Results indicate four different classes. More than half of the emerging adults were found to be financially precarious (32%) or financially at-risk (36%) who scored low on several financial attributes and behaviors. Financially striving (10%) and financially stable (22%) scored moderate to high on these indicators. Findings suggest that a deeper understanding of patterns of financial behaviors and attributes of emerging adults can help in designing appropriate need-based programs and increasing their program participation. Understanding this diversity in financial capabilities of emerging adults has implications for their economic wellbeing and financial socialization of their eventual children. Findings have implications for policymakers, practitioners, and socialization agencies, including families and parents.
Prevalence of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) mutations in localized prostate cancer according to Gleason grade: Implications for neoadjuvant clinical trial design.

5062Background: Approximately 5-10% of men with localized prostate cancer have homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) mutations, yet it is unknown if these vary by Gleason score. In order to hel...
New Daily Persistent Headache and OnabotulinumtoxinA Therapy.

Objective The aim of the study was to determine whether onabotulinumtoxinA therapy is effective in the treatment of new daily persistent headache (NDPH). Background New daily persistent headache is a difficult to treat headache syndrome resistant to both conventional and unconventional headache therapies. New daily persistent headache was excluded in the registration trials for onabotunlinumtoxinA (onabot) in chronic migraine. Apart from case reports supporting its benefit, little is known about its therapeutic value in NDPH. Design and methods We performed a single-center, retrospective chart review of patients with a diagnosis of NDPH who received onabot treatment for a 30-month period at the Cleveland Clinic Headache Center. Measures of interest were headache frequency and headache severity. All patients had received the Food and Drug Administration-approved PREEMPT Protocol. Results A decrease in headache frequency was noted in 8 (50.0%) of 16 patients at 6 months and 7 (63.6%) of 11 patients at 12 months. Headache severity improved in 5 (50.0%) of 10 patients at 6 months and in 7 (77.8%) of 9 patients at 12 months. Conclusions Most therapies are unable to break the unremitting course of NDPH. In our investigation, at 1 year (3-4 cycles of onabot treatment), approximately half of the patients treated showed a reduction in headache frequency and approximately 75% demonstrated some improvement in headache severity. Evidence from this small-scale retrospective study suggests that onabot shows strong promise for the treatment of NDPH, which currently is resistant to most therapies, but a randomized controlled study should be the next step in confirmation of this therapy.
Effects of Perfluoralkyl Substances on a Multigenerational Scale: A Case Study with Chironomus riparius (Diptera, Chironomidae).

A multigenerational test with Chironomus riparius was performed to assess long-term effects on life-traits of exposure to selected perfluoroalkyl compounds: perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS). These persistent contaminants are widespread in aquatic ecosystems at low concentrations, possibly exerting long-term toxicity. Larvae of C. riparius of a native population were exposed for 10 generations to 10 μg/L nominal concentrations of PFOS, PFOA, and PFBS, comparable with the maximum values found in European rivers. All treatments showed reduced growth at most/several generations. No effects on survival, development, and reproduction were found. A final tolerance-induction test was performed exposing the pre-exposed experimental cohorts to 100 µg/L PFOS and 150 µg/L PFOA for a whole life cycle. Factorial analysis of variance revealed no difference between treatments (i.e., PFOS vs PFOA), indicating no induced tolerance. Instead, organisms pre-exposed to PFBS were the most stressed, followed by those pre-exposed to PFOA and PFOS, with earlier emergence and reduced adult weight. The results may be related to general stress and genetic erosion induced by long-term laboratory culture, but also to long-term toxicant exposure. However, no effects at the population level (population growth rate) were proved, and thus a toxicity risk in real ecosystems at the tested concentrations seems unlikely. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;00:1-12. © 2019 SETAC.
Complications of Neuroanesthesia

This chapter discusses the complications encountered when administering anesthesia for neurologic surgery. Complications discussed include those directly related to intracranial surgery such as venous air embolism, intracranial hypertension and herniation, pneumocephalus, and postoperative seizures, as well as those related to the effects of neurologic injury or surgery on various organs including the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal systems. In addition, a discussion of delayed emergence is included as well as unique complications encountered during spinal surgery of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the prone position and airway management pitfalls in the patient with cervical spine disease.
Update of Arthropod Containment Guidelines

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s American Committee of Medical Entomology has released their updated edition (Version 3.2) of the Arthropod Containment Guidelines. The Guidel...
Philip Ridley: Still In-Yer-Face

Many playwrights associated with In-Yer-Face Theatre have become surprisingly respectable over the years; Philip Ridley is a notable exception. Ridley’s unsparing dramaturgy makes the case for him as the most In-Yer-Face playwright today. From the 1990s to the present (including the infamous Mercury Fur), his plays combine sex, violence, and shock in order to disturb audiences while advancing a surprisingly humanist agenda. The other great paradox of Ridley’s career is his series of children’s plays that stand in stark contrast to his work for adults. This chapter historicizes and theorizes Ridley’s dramatic works, examining their unique style and structure within the context of the In-Yer-Face aesthetic. Oldham makes a case for this underappreciated artist as perhaps the last true In-Yer-Face writer.
An Integrative Review of the LupusQoL Measure.

Background and purpose Systemic Lupus Erythematosus negatively affects health related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this review is to synthesize and evaluate findings related to the psychometric properties of the LupusQoL and its variations. Methods A search of CINAHL, PubMed, and Medline for the timeframe of 2007-2019 for English-language articles using any form of the LupusQoL was completed. Thirty-five studies were reviewed to determine psychometric soundness. Results Cronbach alpha results supported the internal consistency with test-retest data supporting stability. Factor structure and Scree plots varied. Content, construct, criterion, convergent, and discriminate validity were supported. Ceiling and floor effects occurred. Conclusions The LupusQoL and its variations offer a disease-specific measure with supported reliability and validity for use in culturally disparate populations. Factor structure and ceiling/floor effects need further edification.
Defining the Mechanistic Correlates of Protection Conferred by Whole-Cell Vaccination against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Acute Murine Pneumonia.

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogen that causes severe pulmonary infections associated with high morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The development of a vaccine against P. aeruginosa could help prevent infections caused by this highly antibiotic-resistant microorganism. We propose that identifying the vaccine-induced correlates of protection against P. aeruginosa will facilitate the development of a vaccine against this pathogen. In this study, we investigated the mechanistic correlates of protection of a curdlan-adjuvanted P. aeruginosa whole-cell vaccine (WCV) delivered intranasally. The WCV significantly decreased bacterial loads in the respiratory tract after intranasal P. aeruginosa challenge and raised antigen-specific antibody titers. To study the role of B and T cells during vaccination, anti-CD4, -CD8, and -CD20 depletions were performed prior to WCV vaccination and boosting. The depletion of CD4+, CD8+, or CD20+ cells had no impact on the bacterial burden in mock-vaccinated animals. However, depletion of CD20+ B cells, but not CD8+ or CD4+ T cells, led to the loss of vaccine-mediated bacterial clearance. Also, passive immunization with serum from WCV group mice alone protected naive mice against P. aeruginosa, supporting the role of antibodies in clearing P. aeruginosa. We observed that in the absence of T cell-dependent antibody production, mice vaccinated with the WCV were still able to reduce bacterial loads. Our results collectively highlight the importance of the humoral immune response for protection against P. aeruginosa and suggest that the production of T cell-independent antibodies may be sufficient for bacterial clearance induced by whole-cell P. aeruginosa vaccination.
Engineering Bureaucracy: The Genesis Of Formal Policies, Positions, And Structures On High-Technology Firms

This article examines the impact of organizational founding conditions on several facets of bureaucratization - managerial intensity, the proliferation of specialized managerial and administrative roles, and formalization of employment relations. Analyzing information on a sample of technology start-ups in California`s Silicon Valley, we characterize the organizational models or blueprints espoused by founders in creating new enterprises. We find that those models and the social composition of the labor force at the time of founding had enduring effects on growth in managerial intensity (i.e., reliance on managerial and administrative specialists) over time. Our analysis thus provide compelling evidence of path dependence in the evolution of bureaucracy - even in a context in which firms face intense selection pressures - and underscore the importance of the `logics of organizing` that founders bring to new enterprises. We find less evidence that founding models exert persistent effects on the formalization of employment relations or on the proliferation of specialized senior management titles. Rather, consistent with neo-institutional perspectives on organizations, those superficial facets of bureaucracy appear to be shaped by the need to satisfy external gatekeepers (venture capitalists and the constituents of public corporations), as well as by exigencies of organizational scale, growth, and aging. We discuss some implications of these results for efforts to understand the varieties, determinants, and consequences of bureaucracy.
Comparative Analysis of Alternative Splicing Profiles in Th Cell Subsets Reveals Extensive Cell Type-Specific Effects Modulated by a Network of Transcription Factors and RNA-Binding Proteins

Alternative splicing (AS) plays an important role in the development of many cell types; however, its contribution to Th subsets has been clearly defined. In this study, we compare mice naive CD4+ Th cells with Th1, Th2, Th17, and T regulatory cells and observed that the majority of AS events were retained intron, followed by skipped-exon events, with at least 1200 genes across cell types affected by AS events. A significant fraction of the AS events, especially retained intron events from the 72-h time point, were no longer observed 2 wk postdifferentiation, suggesting a role for AS in early activation and differentiation via preferential expression of specific isoforms required during T cell activation, but not for differentiation or effector function. Examining the protein consequence of the exon-skipping events revealed an abundance of structural proteins encoding for intrinsically unstructured peptide regions, followed by transmembrane helices, β strands, and polypeptide turn motifs. Analyses of expression profiles of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and their cognate binding sites flanking the discovered AS events revealed an enrichment for specific RBP recognition sites in each of the Th subsets. Integration with publicly available chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing datasets for transcription factors support a model wherein lineage-determining transcription factors impact the RBP profile within the differentiating cells, and this differential expression contributes to AS of the transcriptome via a cascade of cell type-specific posttranscriptional rewiring events.
Advanced Topics in Applied Mathematics: For Engineering and the Physical Sciences

This book is ideal for engineering, physical science and applied mathematics students and professionals who want to enhance their mathematical knowledge. Advanced Topics in Applied Mathematics covers four essential applied mathematics topics: Green's functions, integral equations, Fourier transforms and Laplace transforms. Also included is a useful discussion of topics such as the Wiener–Hopf method, finite Hilbert transforms, the Cagniard–De Hoop method and the proper orthogonal decomposition. This book reflects Sudhakar Nair's long classroom experience and includes numerous examples of differential and integral equations from engineering and physics to illustrate the solution procedures. The text includes exercise sets at the end of each chapter and a solutions manual, which is available for instructors.
A comparison of the mechanisms of CO2 hydration by native and Co2+-substituted carbonic anhydrase II.

We have measured the pH dependence of kcat and kcat/Km for CO2 hydration catalyzed by both native Zn2+-and metallo-substituted Co2+-bovine carbonic anhydrase II in the absence of inhibitory ions. For the Zn2+-enzyme, the pKa values controlling kcat and kcat/Km profiles are similar, but for the Co2+-enzyme the values are about 0.6 pH units apart. Computer simulations of a metal-hydroxide mechanism of carbonic anhydrase suggest that the data for both native and Co2+-carbonic anhydrase can be accounted for by the same mechanism of action, if we postulate that the substitution of Co2+ for Zn2+ in the active site causes a separation of about 0.6 pH units in the pKa values of His-64 and the metal-bound water molecule. We have also measured the activation parameters for kcat and kcat/Km for Co2+-substituted carbonic anhydrase II-catalyzed CO2 hydration and have compared these values to those obtained previously for the native Zn2+-enzyme. For kcat and kcat/Km we obtain an enthalpy of activation of 4.4 +/- 0.6 and approximately 0 kcal mol-1, respectively. The corresponding entropies of activation are −18 +/− 2 and −27 +/- 2 cal mol-1 K-1.
Primary chemotherapy for operable breast cancer: the NSABP experience

Primary or neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, initially described for patients with locally advanced or borderline inoperable breast cancer, has been increasingly utilized for patients with less advanced or operable breast cancer. Theoretically, primary systemic therapy could inhibit the rapid growth of metastases after surgery and may decrease the emergence of chemoresistant clones of cells. On a practical level, primary systemic therapy has the potential to increase the use of breast conservation by decreasing tumor size. Beginning in 1988, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) cooperative group conducted two sequential trials to test the value of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and to optimize the treatment regimen for operable breast cancers.
Capital, Gender, and Politics: Towards a Marxist Feminist Theory of Bioconvergence

This essay theorizes bioconvergent political subjectivity as that which is made possible by the production and circulation of new forms of “bio” capital. Turning to the Marxist concept of variable capital, the essay describes subjectivity as that which is inextricably bound with one’s position relative to the circulation of labor power, capital, and commodities, a positionality residing at the interstices of race, gender, and class. Turning to biomedical labor as an exemplary case, the essay considers how the refusal to either fully accept or reject new systems of value made possible by late capitalism and a logic of speculation demonstrates how and where resistance and critique are possible.​
Males and Females Respond Similarly to Walking With a Standardized, Heavy Load

ABSTRACT Females in the military sustain a higher incidence of lower extremity injuries compared to males. Previous investigations of gender differences during load carriage used loads normalized to body mass; as a result of anthropometric and strength differences between genders, this may partially normalize to strength, masking gender or size differences in response to load. We compared gait kinetics and kinematics between genders based on a standardized load, instead of loads relative to body mass. 11 males and 11 females walked at 1.5 m/s over level ground with a 22 kg rucksack using three load conditions: unloaded, low-back placement, and mid-back placement. We found a gender by load interaction for average trunk position (p 0.05) compared to unloaded walking. The lack of gender differences may indicat...
Methyl 2‐Bromocrotonate

(1; R = Me) [17642-18-1] C5H7BrO2 (MW 179.02) InChI = InChI=1S/C5H7BrO2/c1-3-4(6)5(7)8-2/h3H,1-2H3 InChIKey = DMKWWKUPZZAUQL-UHFFFAOYSA-N (E)-(1) [36297-23-1] InChI = 1S/C5H7BrO2/c1-3-4(6)5(7)8-2/h3H,1-2H3 InChIKey = DMKWWKUPZZAUQL-UHFFFAOYSA-N (Z)-(1) [22966-48-9] InChI = 1S/C5H7BrO2/c1-3-4(6)5(7)8-2/h3H,1-2H3/b4-3- InChIKey = DMKWWKUPZZAUQL-ARJAWSKDSA-N (2; R = Et) [59065-89-3] C6H9BrO2 (MW 193.05) InChI = InChI=1S/C6H9BrO2/c1-3-5(7)6(8)9-4-2/h3H,4H2,1-2H3 InChIKey = YHGVZVYRHWZVKI-UHFFFAOYSA-N (E)-(2) [51263-38-8] InChI = 1S/C6H9BrO2/c1-3-5(7)6(8)9-4-2/h3H,4H2,1-2H3 InChIKey = YHGVZVYRHWZVKI-UHFFFAOYSA-N (Z)-(2) [51263-39-9] InChI = 1S/C6H9BrO2/c1-3-5(7)6(8)9-4-2/h3H,4H2,1-2H3/b5-3- InChIKey = YHGVZVYRHWZVKI-HYXAFXHYSA-N (vinyl cyclopropanation/oxiranation reagent;1, 2 bisannulating agent3a) Alternate Names: methyl 2-bromo-2-butenoate; methyl α-bromocrotonate. Physical Data: (1) bp 61 °C/9 mmHg; d 1.5064 g cm−3 (17 °C); nD17 1.48700. (2) bp 69–70 °C/12 mmHg; d 1.3952 g cm−3 (18.4 °C); D18 1.47660. Solubility: sol most organic solvents. Form Supplied in: light yellow liquid as a mixture of (E) and (Z) isomers. The methyl ester is available commercially. Analysis of Reagent Purity: NMR, GC. Preparative Methods: ethyl or methyl crotonate is treated with Br2/CCl4 or Br2/AcOH followed by dehydrobromination with quinoline2 or DBU.1 Handling, Storage, and Precautions: handle under nitrogen in a fume hood; these reagents are moisture sensitive. Store refrigerated and in brown bottles to avoid polymerization. Caution: lachrymator and irritant; may be harmful.
Response to Letter Regarding Article, “Functional Pace-Mapping Responses for Identification of Targets for Catheter Ablation of Scar-Mediated Ventricular Tachycardia”

We appreciate the thoughtful comments raised by Dr Obeyesekere based on his work on the initiating post pacing interval (PPI) in differentiating mechanisms of supraventricular tachycardia. Our group has had an interest in this mechanistic concept as well, but we have observed disparate findings in the setting of scar-mediated ventricular tachycardia. Analysis of the initiating PPI at pace-mapped induction (PMI) sites fell into 3 categories: (1) inability to interpret a consistent electrogram to measure the initiating PPI; (2) likely resetting or entrainment rather than induction; and (3) suitable for analysis with a clear, distinguishable initiating beat. In 6 patients, a …
Sociological Writing as Higher-Level Thinking: Assignments that Cultivate the Sociological Imagination.

Educators agree that developing critical thinking skills is a key goal of college education. While the literature on higher-level thinking emphasizes the significance of writing for developing such skills, teachers often receive little guidance about the kinds of writing assignments that can prove most beneficial for helping students to develop and practice these new forms of thinking. This teaching note describes the course scaffolding surrounding one such assignment in a writing-intensive course, which challenges students to use common course texts to interpret evidence they have found in an outside setting—including TV shows, movies, and newspaper reports. The assignment demonstrates one way that students can be prompted to integrate intentionally the processes of thinking and writing, and it could be implemented across the undergraduate curriculum.
Plasma cholinesterase deficiency in a neonate

We report a two-day-old infant who had a period of apnoea lasting six hours following the intravenous administration of succinylcholine (Sch). The results of her plasma cholinesterase level and dibucaine number indicate a congenital absence of plasma cholinesterase (PChE) enzyme, although both parents and siblings had normal cholinesterase levels and dibucaine numbers. This is believed to be the youngest reported case of prolonged apnoea after the administration of succinylcholine.
Nosocomial tuberculosis in physicians: an analysis of direct costs of prevention and disease.

Abstract Calculations are made to compare the direct dollar cost of either BCG vaccine or a skin testing/isoniazid program with the direct dollar cost of active tuberculosis, as applied to the prevention of tuberculosis in physicians. At current infection (1% per year) and disease (10%) rates, the dollar cost of prevention exceeds the dollar cost of disease. Policy for the prevention of nosocomial tuberculosis must be based on other considerations, in addition to direct dollar costs and savings.
Getting Started with Evaluation

Hernon, Dugan, and Matthews have been mainstays in the management literature of librarianship for as long as I can remember, always producing solid books and articles laying out a base for anyone w...
Acceleration of the single electron transfer–degenerative chain transfer mediated living radical polymerization (SET–DTLRP) of vinyl chloride in water at 25 °C

The accelerated single electron transfer–degenerative chain transfer mediated living radical polymerization (SET–DTLRP) of vinyl chloride (VC) in H2O/tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 25 °C is reported. This process is catalyzed by sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4)-sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). Electron transfer cocatalysts (ETC) 1,1′-dialkyl-4,4′-bipyridinum dihalides or alkyl viologens were also employed in this polymerization. The resulting poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) has a number-average molecular weight (Mn) = 2,000–12,000, no detectable amounts of structural defects, and both active chloroiodomethyl and inactive chloromethyl chain ends. The molecular weight distribution of PVC obtained is Mw/Mn = 1.5. The surface active agents afford the final polymers as a powder and provide an acceleration of the rate of polymerization. The role of ETC is to accelerate the single electron transfer (SET) step, whereas THF enhances the degenerative chain transfer (DT) step. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6364–6374, 2004
Removing interictal fast ripples on electrocorticography linked with seizure freedom in children

Background: Fast ripples (FR, 250–500 Hz) detected with chronic intracranial electrodes are proposed biomarkers of epileptogenesis. This study determined whether resection of FR-containing neocortex recorded during intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) was associated with postoperative seizure freedom in pediatric patients with mostly extratemporal lesions. Methods: FRs were retrospectively reviewed in 30 consecutive pediatric cases. ECoGs were recorded at 2,000 Hz sampling rate and visually inspected for FR, with reviewer blinded to the resection and outcome. Results: Average age at surgery was 9.1 ± 6.7 years, ECoG duration was 11.8 ± 8.1 minutes, and postoperative follow-up was 27 ± 4 months. FRs were undetected in 6 ECoGs with remote or extensive lesions. FR episodes (n = 273) were identified in ECoGs from 24 patients, and in 64% FRs were independent of spikes, sharp waves, voltage attenuation, and paroxysmal fast activity. Of these 24 children, FR-containing cortex was removed in 19 and all became seizure-free, including 1 child after a second surgery. The remaining 5 children had incomplete FR resection and all continued with seizures postoperatively. In 2 ECoGs, the location of electrographic seizures matched FR location. FR-containing cortex was found outside of MRI and FDG-PET abnormalities in 6 children. Conclusion: FRs were detected during intraoperative ECoG in 80% of pediatric epilepsy cases, and complete resection of FR cortex correlated with postoperative seizure freedom. These findings support the view that interictal FRs are excellent surrogate markers of epileptogenesis, can be recorded during brief ECoG, and could be used to guide future surgical resections in children.
The acute effects of antidepressant drugs on the performance of conditioned avoidance behavior in rats

Abstract The effects of acute administration of 10 different antidepressant drugs were examined on the performance of a two-way conditioned avoidance response in rats. The antidepressant drugs impaired avoidance behavior by decreasing avoidance responding and increasing the number of escape failures. The order of effectiveness for increasing overall response latency at a common dose of 10 mg/kg was: desipramine, maprotiline, protriptyline, (+) oxaprotiline, nortriptyline, imipramine, amtiriptyline, (−) oxaprotiline, fluoxetine, and chlorimipramine. Avoidance behavior was impaired most by those antidepressant drugs that are also potent inhibitors of norepinephrine uptake.
An argument against using standardized test scores for placement of international undergraduate students in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses

Development and administration of institutional ESL placement tests require a great deal of financial and human resources. Due to a steady increase in the number of international students studying in the United States, some US universities have started to consider using standardized test scores for ESL placement. The English Placement Test (EPT) is a locally administered ESL placement test at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This study examines the appropriateness of using pre-arrival SAT, ACT, and TOEFL iBT test scores as an alternative to the EPT for placement of international undergraduate students into one of the two levels of ESL writing courses at UIUC. Exploratory analysis shows that only the lowest SAT Reading and ACT English scores, and the highest TOEFL iBT total and Writing section scores can separate the students between the two placement courses. However, the number of undergraduate ESL students, who scored at the lowest and highest ends of each of these test scales, has...
Modeling and measurement of contact resistances

This paper presents a generalized model of ohmic contacts and a unified approach for the accurate extraction of specific contact resistivity (ρ c ) for ohmic contacts from measured contact resistance using the cross bridge Kelvin resistor, the contact end resistor, and the tranmsission line tap resistor test structures. A general three-dimensional (3-D) model of the contacts has been developed from the first principles and has been reduced to 2-D, 1-D, and 0-D (one lump) models with the necessary approximations. It is shown that the conventional I-D models overestimate the value of ρ c because of the parasitic resistance due to 2-D current flow around the periphery of the contact window. Using 2-D simulations, we have accurately modeled the current crowding effects and have extracted accurate values of ρ c independent of contact size and the test structure type. A theory of scaling of contacts has been developed and is applied to commonly used structures. A universal set of curves has been derived for each particular contact resistance test structure and, given the geometry of the structure, these allow accurate determination of ρ c , Without the actual use of the 2-D simulator. Experimental and theoretical accuracy of the three test structures has been compared. Accurate values of ρ c for various contact materials to n+and ρ+Si have been determined. The data confirm that in the past researchers have overestimated ρ c , and that ρ c will not limit device performance even with submicrometer design rules.
Injured children are resistant to the adverse effects of early high volume crystalloid resuscitation.

Abstract Introduction Excessive crystalloid resuscitation of blunt injured adults is deleterious. We hypothesize that children, unlike adults, are resistant to the adverse effects of high volume resuscitation. Methods We reviewed the trauma databases at two level-one trauma centers, including all children age 4–16years admitted following blunt trauma with an injury severity score (ISS) ≥15 to determine the relationship between crystalloid volume received and clinical outcomes. Results A total of 384 children were included. After controlling for age, sex, AIS head, ISS, GCS on presentation, hemoglobin, blood transfusion, and surgical procedures in the first 24hours, crystalloid volume greater than 60ml/kg in the first 24hours was associated with increased length of stay (LOS) and need for mechanical ventilation. On univariate analysis, initial crystalloid volume of >60ml/kg was associated with anemia and thrombocytopenia. Volume of resuscitation was not associated with ARDS, ACS, MOF, urinary tract infection, or blood stream infection. However, these complications were exceedingly rare, with no children developing MOF. Conclusions Excessive crystalloid resuscitation was associated with increased hospital LOS and need for mechanical ventilation. Increased rates of other complications including ARDS, ACS, and MOF were not observed. Injured children appear relatively resistant to some of the adverse effects of early high volume fluid resuscitation.
Regulation of heme metabolism during senescence: activity of several heme-containing enzymes and heme oxygenase in the liver and kidney of aging rats.

The activities of several heme-containing enzymes plus succinate dehydrogenase, the content of mitochondrial cytochromes, the amount of microsomal cytochrome P-450, and the activity of heme oxygenase, the major enzyme of heme degradation, have been compared in young, mature and senescent rats. Measurements were made in liver, a tissue previously reported to have an age-related decrease in δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase, and in kidney, a tissue previously reported to have no age-related change in this enzyme, the rate-limiting enzyme of heme biosynthesis (Paterniti, Lin and Beattie, Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 191 (1978) 792–797). The activity of cytochrome oxidase in liver mitochondria did not decrease with age while this activity in kidney mitochondria was highest in animals one year old and decreased in the two-year-olds. By contrast, succinate dehydrogenase of both kidney and liver mitochondria decreased markedly in the aging rats. No age-related change in the content of cytochromes b, c or aa3 was observed in liver mitochondria; however, a marked age-related decrease in cytochrome aa3 was observed in kidney mitochondria. Similarly no change in cytochrome P-450 levels was observed in either tissue obtained from aging animals. In the liver, catalase activity increased while in the kidney it decreased in senescent as compared to mature animals. Heme degradation does not decrease with age as the activity of heme oxygenase increased in both liver and kidney of two-year-old rats as compared to one-year-olds. These results suggest that the lower activity of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase observed in the aging rat may not be correlated with a decrease in the activity of heme-containing proteins and that the regulation of the heme pool used for the synthesis of various intracellular hemo-proteins may be complex.
Use of Fecal Steroids To Infer the Sources of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in the Lower Santa Ana River Watershed, California: Sewage Is Unlikely a Significant Source

The Santa Ana River (SAR), CA and adjacent wetlands have been identified as potential sources of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) to the surf zone at Huntington Beach, CA. A suite of fecal steroids, including coprostanol (COP), epicoprostanol (eCOP), cholesterol (CHOE), cholestanol (CHOA), α-cholestanone (aONE), β-cholestanone (bONE), β-sitosterol (bSIT), stigmasterol (STIG), stigmastanol (STAN), and campesterol (CAM), were used as chemical markers to examine whether sewage was a significant source of FIB within the lower Santa Ana River watershed. A total of 54 water samples were collected from three locations in the intertidal zone near the mouth of the Santa Ana River at different tidal stages. Steroid ratios in SAR samples were different from those found in raw and treated sewage from a local wastewater treatment plant or in nearby effluent plume and did not appear to be influenced by the sampling location, daily tides, and spring/neap tidal cycle. The characteristics of steroid ratios suggested a diage...
A characterization of fuzzy compactifications

Abstract It is shown that if X is a fuzzy T2-space, then X has a fuzzy T2-compactification if and only if X is a weakly induced ultra completely regular space. Also, for an arbitrary fuzzy topological space, a characterization is given of the set of all ultra fuzzy Compactifications.
D-Penturonic acids: solution studies of stable-isotopically enriched compounds by 1H- and 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy.

Methyl D-pentofuranosides were prepared by Fischer glycosidation of the aldopentoses D-arabinose, D-lyxose, D-ribose, D-xylose, and 2-deoxy-D-erythro-pentose, and oxidized with O2 over a platinum oxide catalyst to give the corresponding methyl D-pentofuranosiduronic acids. After purification by anion-exchange chromatography, these glycosides were hydrolyzed to give the corresponding D-penturonic acids [D-arabinuronic acid (1), D-lyxuronic acid (2), D-riburonic acid (3), D-xyluronic acid (4), and 2-deoxy-D-erythro-penturonic acid (5)] in 80% yield based on the starting pentofuranoside. 1-13C-Substituted D-aldopentoses were used to prepare D-(1-13C)penturonic acids. Aqueous solutions of the 1-13C-substituted penturonic acids, studied over a range of pH values by 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy, were found to contain alpha- and beta-furanoses, acyclic aldehyde and hydrate, and/or hydrated 2,5-lactone. The ratio of D-riburonic acid anomers was most sensitive to solution pH (alpha/beta = 0.49 and 1.2 at pH 1.9 and 4.9, respectively). The values of the 1H and 13C chemical shifts, and 1H-1H. 13C-1H, and 13C-13C spin-coupling constants, were determined by 1H-(300, 500, and 620 MHz) and 13C-(75 MHz) n.m.r. spectroscopy with the aid of 2-D 13C-1H chemical shift correlation maps, 2-D 1H-1H COSY data, and 13C substitution, and were compared to those determined previously for structurally-related furanose rings. Isomerization of the penturonic acids at pH 5.0 and 50 degrees gave the corresponding 4-pentulosonic acids.
Effect of prolonged O2 deprivation on Na+ channels: differential regulation in adult versus fetal rat brain.

Neuronal Na+ channels are functionally inhibited in the adult in response to acute O2 deprivation. Since prolonged hypoxia may not only affect channel function, but also its expression, we hypothesized that long-term hypoxia alters Na+ channel density. This alteration may depend on age, because we have found major differences in neuronal responses to hypoxia between the immature and adult. In the present work, we used northern blots, slot blots, saxitoxin binding and autoradiography to ask whether: (i) prolonged hypoxia alters Na+ channel messenger RNA and protein levels in the brain; (ii) there is a difference between the adult and prenatal brains regarding Na+ channel expression with hypoxic exposure; and (iii) regional differences in Na+ channel expression occur in hypoxia-exposed brains. Our results show the following. (1) Na+ channel messenger RNA and saxitoxin binding density decreased after prolonged hypoxia in adult brain homogenates; this is in sharp contrast to the changes observed in fetal brains, which tended to increase Na+ channel messenger RNA and protein after hypoxia. (2) Changes in saxitoxin binding density are related to alterations in the number of saxitoxin binding sites and not to binding affinity, since there was no major change in Kd values between the hypoxia and naive groups. (3) The hypoxia-induced Na+ channel expression was heterogeneous, with major differences between rostral regions (e.g., the cortex) and caudal regions (e.g., the medulla and pons). We speculate that down-regulation of Na+ channels during long-term hypoxia in mature brains is an adaptive cellular response, aimed at minimizing the mismatch between energy supply and demand, since maintenance of Na+ gradients is a major energy-requiring process. However, the prenatal brain does not depend on this adaptive mechanism in response to hypoxic stress.
Radiation Energy Transfer and Thermal Conductivity of Ceramic Oxides

The heat-transfer mechanisms in several ceramic oxides were investigated from room temperature to 1250/sup o/C. The conductivity of normal sintered porous polycrystalline oxides results from phonon conduction, and results agree with theoretical expectations for the effect of impurities, structure, and temperature dependence. Single crystals, glasses, and low-porosity aggregates show deviations from the expected phonon conduction which are attributed to a second mechanism of heat transfer, namely, photon conduction. Measurements of photon conduction are related to infrared transmission, structure, and conditions of the measurements. Photon conduction can be a significant portion of the total heat conduction at high temperatures; however, for normal polycrystalline ceramic oxides of porosities greater than 2%, this contribution is small. (auth)
Designers Designing Design Education

Students in our schools today face challenges more complex and urgent than previous graduates. Globalization, climate change, and digital data tools have transformed the profession, and each of the...
“I'm Not Going to Be a Girl” Masculinity and Emotions in Boys' Friendships and Peer Groups

This study examines the peer relations and emotion practices of adolescent boys in light of their expectations and assumptions about masculinity. We carried out semistructured interviews with middl...
ALICE MEYNELL'S PRELUDES , OR PRELUDES TO WHAT FUTURE POETRY?

In 1875, the young poet Alice Thompson (soon to be Alice Meynell) published Preludes (1875), a slender volume of lyrics illustrated by her sister, Elizabeth. Given the professional musical training of the Thompson women, the title of the volume may recall Chopin's musical Preludes (1838), those brief lyrical pieces composed when Chopin was twenty-seven that cover all twenty-four musical keys and demonstrate, as one critic has put it, an “astonishing variety and vividness of mood…achieve[d] in little more than a blink of an eye” (Siepman 5). Meynell's Preludes, written in her mid-twenties and published when she, too, was twenty-seven, may similarly have aimed at variety and vividness of mood, achieved within the brief compass of lyric verse; this sense of the title certainly fits with a wide range of subjects, meters, and stanzaic forms in the volume. Yet whether or not the title embeds a musical allusion, Preludes suggests, more fundamentally, a first volume of poetry, a volume anticipatory of a later, larger poetic achievement and perhaps also of a new direction in lyric verse.
the Taos Pueblo Matachines: ritual symbolism and interethnic relations

This article analyzes the Matachines dance at Taos Pueblo as a ritual-symbolic expression of the history and character of Indian-Mexicano relations in the Taos Valley. Details of the dance are examined with reference to the history and ecology of Taos, including the overall pattern of interethnic village relations established around the Pueblo. The analysis focuses on the Abuelos, or clowns, and the burlesques they perform during the three-day Christmas performance. These burlesques appear to refer metaphorically and ironically to a shared Indo-Hispano heritage of conquest, competition, and miscegenation.