cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tuberculous psoas abscess

Although its historical significance is well established, Mycobacterium tuberculosis today is considered an extremely rare cause of psoas abscess. Nontuberculous bacterial infection, most commonly secondary to an intraabdominal process but at times appearing without an identifiable source, is responsible for the vast majority of psoas abscesses. The recent resurgence of tuberculosis may portend another change in the etiologic trend of psoas abscess. It is essential that the emergency physician not only recognize the potentially subtle presentation of psoas abscess, but also include tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of infectious causes of this entity. A case of tuberculous psoas abscess in an HIV-negative man is presented. A review of the anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, epidemiology, and treatment follows, highlighting the similarities and differences between tuberculous and nontuberculous psoas infection.
Comparison of the Effects of Prostaglandin E2 and Parathyroid Hormone on Plasma Calcium Concentration and Osteoclast Function

Prostaglandin Es (PGEs) are known to be stimulators of bone resorption, but there are conflicting reports as to the effects of PGE2 and synthetic 16,16-dimethyl-PGE2 on plasma calcium concentration. This study involves iv infusion of PGE2 or its dimethyl analog into male thyroparathyroidectomized, parathyroidectomized, or thyroidectomized rats. Rats were given an initial dose of 5 μg PGE2 or its analog, followed immediately by infusion at a rate of 10 μg/ml-h for up to 12 h. An additional group of rats was injected with 0.01 U parathyroid hormone. (PTH)/g BW • h. 45Ca was injected ip at either 10 h or 6 days before commencing the experiment. In contrast to PTH, PGE2 and its analog affected bone lining cells only by increasing their quantity of filipodia. The PGs and PTH influenced osteoclast function by increasing the size of the population and the activity of individual osteoclasts. However, only PTH raised the plasma calcium level. PTH produced the expected results in plasma 45Ca and 45Ca specific activ...
Nitric oxide and NAD-dependent protein modification

Nitric oxide (NO) has been suggested to act as a regulator of endogenous intracellular ADP-ribosylation, based on radiolabelling of proteins in tissue homogenates incubated with [32P]NAD and NO. After the NO-stimulated modification was replicated in a defined system containing only the purified acceptor protein, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), the hypothesis of NO-stimulation of an endogenous ADP-ribosyltransferase became moot. The NO-stimulated, NAD-dependent modification of GAPDH was recently characterized as covalent binding of the whole NAD molecule to the enzyme, not ADP-ribosylation. With this result, along with the knowledge that GAPDH is stoichiometrically S-nitrosylated, the role of NO in protein modification with NAD may be viewed as the conferring of an unexpected chemical reactivity upon GAPDH, possibly due to nitrosylation of a cysteine in the enzyme active site. (Mol Cell Biochem 138: 201–206, 1994)
Analysis of the oligosaccharides on androgen-binding proteins: implications concerning their role in structure/function relationships.

Abstract Rat androgen-binding protein (rABP), human testosterone-binding globulin (hTeBG) and rabbit (rb) TeBG are heterodimeric proteins. The source of the heterogeneity arises from the differential glycosylation of a common protein core. This glycosylation results in a heavy subunit (more glycosylation) and a light subunit (less glycosylation). Glycosylation is one factor responsible for multiple charged species seen when rABP, hTeBG, and rbTeBG are analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Enzymatic digestion with the endoglycosidase, peptide: N -glycosidase F indicated that all three proteins have asparagine (Asn)-linked oligosaccharides as their major glycan substituent. Treatment with exoglycosidases provided evidence for terminal sialic acid, galactose and mannose and N -acetylglucosamine residues. About 16–22% of the mass of the heavy subunit and about 8–14% of the mass of the light subunit is contributed by carbohydrate. Serial lectin chromatography indicated that rABP is glycosylated differently from hTeBG and rbTeBG. About 40% of the rABP contains tri and tetraantennary complex oligosaccharides, while only about 20% of the hTeBG and TeBG from pregnant rabbits contains these types of glycans. About 9% of the TeBG from male rabbits bears these types of oligosaccharides. All of the biantennary complex oligosaccharides on rABP are fucosylated on the chitobiose core, but only 8% of those on hTeBG and none of those on rbTeBG are fucosylated in this manner. All three proteins are glycosylated at more than one site. The data indicate that the proteins may have more than one type of oligosaccharide on them. It is likely that differences in glycosylation are responsible for different physiological roles of the proteins.
Protistan biodiversity in the plankton: new insights from new approaches

Summary form only given. Protists are unicellular, eukaryotic organisms that exhibit phototrophic (microalgae), heterotrophic (protozoa) or mixotrophic nutrition. These species play essential roles in planktonic food webs as primary producers and consumers. Protistan species have traditionally been identified based on morphological and ultrastructural features, and the techniques used to identify these species have often been varied or taxon-specific. While morphological features have proven useful for taxonomists and evolutionists, they have not proven helpful to ecologists studying complex natural communities of protists where biodiversity may be high and phylogenetic breadth may be great. For this reason, ecological studies have rapidly incorporated new approaches from molecular biology and immunology for assessing protistan species diversity, species identification and quantification of taxa of ecological interest. Surprisingly, analyses of protistan biodiversity by sequencing DNA taken from environmental samples have indicated a significant protistan assemblage that has gone undetected until recently by traditional, microscopical analyses. In this presentation, information supporting this finding will be presented and studies being undertaken to describe and isolate these species will be discussed.
Heavy metal inactivation and chelator stimulation of higher plant nitrate reductase

Abstract Squash ( Cucurbita maxima ) cotyledon NADH: nitrate oxidoreductase (EC 1.6.6.1) has an affinity for heavy metals which can result in the inactivation of the enzyme. The oxidized enzyme has been found to be much less susceptible to inactivation by Cu 2+ than the reduced or turnover form of nitrate reductase. Micromolar concentrations of metal chelators such as EDTA, each of the 20 amino acids, and thiols sequester the heavy metals, resulting in a competent nitrate reductase. Nitrate reductase has been found to bind to a Zn 2+ chelate affinity column, and could be eluted with 70% recovery by 50 mM EDTA. Heavy metal inhibition of nitrate reductase appears to affect electron flow, since both active sites of the enzyme remain functional. A similarity between heavy metal sensitivity of nitrate reductase and lipoamide dehydrogenase activities is also evident.
Measuring the impact of hepatitis A virus in Chinese cities: a life table approach.

The infection of hepatitis A virus is an important public health problem in China. In 1990, a survey on seroprevalence of anti-hepatitis A was conducted in eight large cities of population size between one to four million. The results were used to analyze the impact of hepatitis A. In our study, we used life table techniques to determine the impact that the hepatitis A virus (HAV) has on these eight cities by computing the expected years of life with anti-hepatitis A virus. We compared the results from our approach with those from a previous method. The expected years of life with anti-hepatitis A virus were 53.82, 54.65, 44.26, 53.89, 46.18, 55.77, 55.31 and 49.89 for the eight cities (Xi'an, Huhehaote, Chongqing, Nanjing, Jinan, Ha'erbin, Fuzhou and Nanchang), respectively. The hepatitis A virus had the greatest impact in Ha'erbin in northeastern China; whereas, the impact was lowest in Chongqing in southwestern China. However, based on the previous indicator, Chongqing was ranked the highest among thes...
The SiO2-SI3N4 Interface, Part II: O2 Permeation and Oxidation Reaction

Previous analyses of Si3N4 oxidation on the basis of diffusion control by a suboxide layer yielded impossibly high N2 pressures. Those models assumed interfacial reactions as the oxidation mechanism. However, it is now thought that the oxidation process is in situ substitution of O for N in silicon oxynitride of graded composition rather than interfacial reaction. In this paper, diffusional and thermodynamic analyses appropriate to this mode of oxidation are developed for both the permeation and reaction aspects of oxidation; O2 diffusivities are calculated from permeation energies; gas pressures in the oxide are derived from solution thermodynamics and found to be moderate.
Measuring Nutrition Literacy: Problems and Potential Solutions

Copyright: © 2013 Carbone ET. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Health literacy is defined as the “degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” [1]. Health literacy skills encompass a wide range of components: reading and writing (print literacy), speaking and listening (oral/aural literacy), numeracy (use of numbers), and cultural and conceptual knowledge [2]. Health literacy is one of the most important crosscutting issues to affect health in the US [2]. Indeed, it is a stronger predictor of a person’s health than age, income, employment status, education level, and race [3]. Poor health literacy affects all levels of the health care experience. It impedes provider-patient communications, and affects the ability to access and navigate the health service system [2]. The readability of health information is also of concern. More than 90 million adults in the US have limited ability to use print materials to accomplish everyday tasks. Most adults read at an eighth-grade level and 20% read at or below a fifth-grade level [4,5], yet many health education materials are written at a ninth-grade level or above [6]. If this disparity is not addressed, providers will be unable to respond adequately to growing global health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer [7].
Metabolism, disposition, and kinetics of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in men and women

A comparative study was done in women and men of the effects of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 9-THC), intravenously or orally, on dynamic activity, metabolism, excretion, and kinetics. In general no differences between the two sexes were observed. delta 9-THC is converted by microsomal hydroxylation to 11-hydroxy-delta 9-THC (11-OH-delta 9-THC), which is both a key intermediate for further metabolism to 11-nor-delta 9-THC-9-carboxylic acid (11-nor-acid) by liver alcohol-dehydrogenase enzymes and a potent psychoactive metabolite. Major differences in the ratio of the concentration of 11-OH-delta 9-THC to that of delta 9-THC in plasma were found after intravenous dosing (ratio 1:10 to 20) compared with oral administration (ratio 0.5 to 1:1). The final metabolic products are the 11-nor-acids and the related, more polar acids. Urinary excretion of delta 9-THC is restricted to acidic nonconjugated and conjugated metabolites. After 72 hr mean cumulative urinary excretion, noted for both routes and for both sexes, ranged from 13% to 17% of the total dose. After 72 hr the cumulative fecal excretion for both sexes after intravenous administration ranged from 25% to 30%; after oral administration the range was 48% to 53%. Metabolites were found in the feces in large concentration in the nonconjugated form; concentrations of 11-OH-delta 9-THC were particularly noteworthy. Kinetics of delta 9-THC and metabolites were much the same for female and male subjects. For delta 9-THC, terminal-phase t1/2s for both sexes, irrespective of the route, ranged from 25 to 36 hr. A comparison of the results for AUC/dose (delta 9-THC) after oral dosing with comparable data from intravenous administration indicated bioavailability of the order of 10% to 20% for both sexes. After intravenous delta 9-THC, large apparent volumes of distribution were noted (about 10 l/kg for both sexes).
"Light Green Doesn't Mean Hydrology!": Toward a Visual-Rhetorical Framework for Interface Design

Abstract The utility of metaphor as a visual–rhetorical design framework has diminished dramatically, and continues to erode. Metaphor has two important limitations as it is commonly applied in interface design: (a) metaphors are indexical, pointing to physical artifacts that they represent, and (b) metaphors are static, that is, unwavering in their indexicality. Both assumptions are demonstrably flawed. In this article, I first critically examine metaphor’s limitations as a visual–rhetorical framework for designing, evaluating, and critiquing user interfaces. Next, I outline an alternate framework for visual rhetoric, that of genre ecologies, and discuss how it avoids some of the limitations of metaphor. Finally, I use an empirical study of computer users to illustrate the genre-ecology framework and contrast it with metaphor.
Interaction of phonemic quantity with speech rate and emphasis

Finnish has a quantity contrast in both consonants and vowels. It also has primary stress on the word‐initial syllable. But, unlike in Czech, there is no neutralization of vowel length in stressed positions, i.e., a stressed syllable may contain either a phonemically short or long vowel. Vowel length is one of the major stress cues in a language like English but obviously in Finnish this use would conflict to some extent with its use in contrasting phonemes. In comparing word structures CVCV, CVVCV, and CVCCV in Finnish it was found that the final vowel in CVCV words was significantly longer than in the other two where the first syllable is long. It would appear as if the effect of the stress were spread over the two syllables in the CVCV words. The same lengthening has been found in an earlier study in normal speech rates in nonemphatic positions. The present study found this effect in both normal and fast speech rates, in two different sentence positions and in three different emphasis conditions.
Crystallographic texture in oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloys

Crystallographic and elastic moduli data are presented which document the degree of texture in several oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) nickel-base alloys. The existence of strong crystallographic textures in such multicrystalline alloys is considered important, since the small angle grain boundaries may be partially responsible for creep threshold stresses. Gleiter (1979) has shown that ideal, low energy boundaries will act as vacancy sources only when the applied stress is greater than a threshold stress, while large angle grain boundaries will emit vacancies at all stress levels. The continued operation of a net vacancy in an ODS alloy must be avoided, since it will lead to a localized disruption of the microstructure.
Nonpsychiatric Medical Treatment of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Many individuals with body dysmorphic disorder seek nonpsychiatric medical and surgical treatment to improve perceived defects in their physical appearance. However, the types of treatments sought and received, as well as the treatment outcome, have received little investigation. This study describes the frequency, types, and outcomes of treatments sought and received by 200 individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. Treatment was sought by 71.0% and received by 64.0%. Dermatological treatment was most frequently sought and received (most often, topical acne agents), followed by surgery (most often, rhinoplasty). Twelve percent of the subjects received isotretinoin. Such treatment rarely improved body dysmorphic disorder. Thus, nonpsychiatric medical treatments do not appear effective in its treatment.
Topical Treatment with Inhibitors of the Phosphatidylinositol 3′-Kinase/Akt and Raf/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Pathways Reduces Melanoma Development in Severe Combined Immunodeficient Mice

Topical treatment with inhibitors of the phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase/Akt and Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathways inhibited the growth of TPras transgenic melanomas in severe combined immunodeficient mice, blocked invasive behavior, and reduced angiogenesis. The inhibitor Ly294002, which is specific for phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase, effectively reduced melanoma cell growth both in vitro and in vivo . Both Ly294002 and U0126, a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1/2 inhibitor, reduced invasion, which correlated with reduction of the metalloproteinase matrix metalloproteinase 2. Tumor angiogenesis was disrupted through inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor production from the tumor cells and antiangiogenic effects on endothelial cells. Observations with TPras melanoma cells that express dominant negative Δp85 or kinase-inactive Raf 301 supported the specificity of the phenomena observed with the chemical inhibitors. These studies demonstrate that topical treatment targeting Ras effectors is efficacious, without systemic toxicities, and may prove to be useful in treating and preventing the progression of cutaneous melanoma.
Chain structure, phase morphology, and toughness relationships in polymers and blends

We present chain structure, phase morphology, and toughness relationships in thermoplastic polymers and polymer/rubber blends. In neat polymers, molecular aspects of craze/yield behavior are controlled by two chain parameters: entanglement density ν e and characteristic ratio C ∞ . The crazing stress is proportional to ν e 1/2 , and the yield stress is proportional to C ∞ . The dispersed rubber toughens a polymer/rubber blend mainly by promoting energy dissipation of the matrix. The toughening efficiency correlates with the rubber phase morphology and the chain structure of the matrix
Business-To-Business Electronic Markets: Does Trading on New Information Create Value, and for Whom?

This paper studies the impact of a Business-to-Business electronic market on an environment where manufacturers used fixed-term contracts to purchase materials from suppliers. We focus on the effects of private information and consider the interaction between fixed-term contracting and the electronic market. We study the effects of the electronic market on the participants using four factors: changes in industry structure, information effects, volatility and price flexibility. We find that the effects of Business-to-Business electronic markets on industry performance are subtle, and that it can make the supply chain as a whole less profitable, with the benefits accruing largely to consumers.
A randomized trial of saline solution-moistened misoprostol versus dry misoprostol for first-trimester pregnancy failure.

Objective The purpose of this study was to estimate whether the efficacy of treatment with intravaginal misoprostol for first-trimester pregnancy failure is enhanced by the addition of saline solution.
Coning Hybridoma cDNA by RACE

V region primer PCR is usually successful in the amplification of hybridoma V genes, especially if using diverse primer sets (Wang et al. 2000; Krebber et al. 1997; Coloma et al. 1991; Gavilondo-Cowley et al. 1990; Rohatgi et al. 2008). However, there are a number of potential pitfalls in using V region PCR. Mutations within the 50 or 30 ends of the V genes may inhibit primer annealing, and so, prevent amplification. In some cases, the use of universal V region primers can introduce mutations that can reduce stability, production yield, and antigen affinity (Honegger and Pluckthun 2001; Jung et al. 2001). Another problem is the presence of other V genes within the hybridoma that are preferentially amplified. These arise for two reasons. The first is nonproductive rearrangments, which, not being mutated, are very good PCR templates (Carroll et al. 1988; Storb et al. 1980), while the second is probably caused by the fusion of more than one spleen cell to the myeloma cell line, resulting in multiple functional (as well as nonfunctional) V genes (Zack et al. 1995). In this situation, an alternative to V gene PCR is to use either traditional cDNA cloning or rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) (Frohman et al. 1988). This technique relies on knowledge of a small part of gene sequence to amplify from that gene sequence to either end of the cDNA. For both cases, an oligo-dT primer containing a specific tag is used to amplify the cDNA end. In the case of the 30 end, the sequence to which it anneals is the naturally occurring poly-A tail, while in the case of the 50 end (which is that used when RACE is used to clone hybridoma V genes), a poly-A tail is added using terminal transferase. PCR specificity can be
Equilibrium electrification parameters inferred from Couette charger terminal measurements

The authors consider the use of a compact Couette charger of coaxial cylinders to measure basic parameters in flow-induced electrification of oil/pressboard models of transformer insulation. They describe a method for obtaining both the turbulent core and wall charge densities by measuring either the terminal current in the short-circuit connection or the terminal voltage in the open-circuit connection between inner and outer metal cylinders. Theoretical considerations and experimental results are presented. Results obtained with the proposed technique are compared with those from the absolute charge sensor technique for measuring the charge density at the oil/cylinder interface. >
An attempt to locate the boundaries of the Durham Triassic Basin with a magnetometer

This survey was undertaken to establish the practicability of determining, entirely on the basis of variations in the Earth's magnetic field, the boundaries of a sedimentary series surrounded by Igneous and metamorphic rocks. It was hoped that the difference in magnetic permeability between the various kinds of rocks was such that boundary determinations could be made with sufficient accuracy for most geological purposes. The Durham Triassic Basin (see Fig. 1) appeared to be admirably adapted to such a study.
Response of Lint Foreign Matter and Dust to Gin Machinery1

The changes in lint foreign matter and respirable dust in cotton were evaluated using eight different cottons, three moisture levels, and seven gin machine sequences. Linear regression equations were developed to estimate the effect of each machine sequence. Coefficients of determination ranged from 0.85 to 0.93 and from 0.72 to 0.94 fbr the lint foreign matter and respirable dust, respectively. Substantial reduction in the levels of foreign matter (50%) and respirable dust (66%) were achieved by se quences that included lint cleaners, but the other sequences achieved minimal reduc tions. The effectiveness of each machine sequence can be determined with the regression equations and will provide a basis for machinery selection to optimize cleaning and for automatic process control.
Intracerebral infection with murine cytomegalovirus induces CXCL10 and is restricted by adoptive transfer of splenocytes

The brain’s intrinsic immune system consists of glial cells that produce cytokines and chemokines in response to stimulation with cytomegalovirus (CMV). The present experiments were undertaken to determine whether this intrinsic glial cell response alone is sufficient to control CMV infection of the central nervous system (CNS) or whether effector cells from the somatic immune system are also required. Following stereotactic, intracerebroventricular (icv), injection of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) into immunocompetent (C.B-17) mice, viral spread in the brain was limited to the cells of the ventricular walls and the infection was resolved by 10 days post infection (p.i.). In contrast, icv infection of immunodeficient (C.B-17 SCID/bg) mice resulted in viral spread from the ventricles throughout the brain parenchyma and these mice succumbed to lethal disease. Adoptive transfer of total splenocytes from major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-matched, MCMV-primed animals restricted intracerebral viral infection to the periventricular cells and reduced levels of reporter gene expression from the viral genome. Peripheral immune cell transfer also protected immunodeficient animals from lethal disease. Depletion of Thy 1.2+ cells from MCMV-primed splenocytes abolished the protective effect of adoptive transfer. Viral expression was found to be fourfold greater in the brains of animals given Thy 1.2-depleted splenocytes than from those receiving total undepleted cells. As MCMV infection proceeded in the brains of immunodeficient mice, levels of the T-cell chemoattractants CXCL10 and CCL2 remained elevated, whereas CXCL10 levels waned in the brains of animals receiving transferred splenocytes. Taken together, these results demonstrate the ability of T lymphocytes to restrict intracerebral viral spread and indicate that intrinsic glial cell responses alone are insufficient to control MCMV brain infection.
LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES defines a new family of DNA-binding transcription factors and can interact with specific bHLH proteins

Conserved in a variety of evolutionarily divergent plant species, LOB DOMAIN (LBD) genes define a large, plant-specific family of largely unknown function. LBD genes have been implicated in a variety of developmental processes in plants, although to date, relatively few members have been assigned functions. LBD proteins have previously been predicted to be transcription factors, however supporting evidence has only been circumstantial. To address the biochemical function of LBD proteins, we identified a 6-bp consensus motif recognized by a wide cross-section of LBD proteins, and showed that LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB), the founding member of the family, is a transcriptional activator in yeast. Thus, the LBD genes encode a novel class of DNA-binding transcription factors. Post-translational regulation of transcription factors is often crucial for control of gene expression. In our study, we demonstrate that members of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family of transcription factors are capable of interacting with LOB. The expression patterns of bHLH048 and LOB overlap at lateral organ boundaries. Interestingly, the interaction of bHLH048 with LOB results in reduced affinity of LOB for the consensus DNA motif. Thus, our studies suggest that bHLH048 post-translationally regulates the function of LOB at lateral organ boundaries.
Preclinical safety and effectiveness studies of ultrasonic propulsion of kidney stones

Objective To provide an update on a research device to ultrasonically reposition kidney stones transcutaneously. This article reports preclinical safety and effectiveness studies, survival data, modifications of the system, and testing in a stone-forming porcine model. These data formed the basis for regulatory approval to test the device in humans. Materials and Methods The ultrasound burst was shortened to 50 ms from previous investigations with 1-s bursts. Focused ultrasound was used to expel 2- to 5-mm calcium oxalate monohydrate stones placed ureteroscopically in 5 pigs. Additionally, de novo stones were imaged and repositioned in a stone-forming porcine model. Acute safety studies were performed targeting 2 kidneys (6 sites) and 3 pancreases (8 sites). Survival studies followed 10 animals for 1 week after simulated treatment. Serum and urine analyses were performed, and tissues were evaluated histologically. Results All ureteroscopically implanted stones (6/6) were repositioned out of the kidney in 14 ± 8 minutes with 13 ± 6 bursts. On average, 3 bursts moved a stone more than 4 mm and collectively accounted for the majority of relocation. Stones (3 mm) were detected and repositioned in the 200-kg stone-forming model. No injury was detected in the acute or survival studies. Conclusion Ultrasonic propulsion is safe and effective in the porcine model. Stones were expelled from the kidney. De novo stones formed in a large porcine model were repositioned. No adverse effects were identified with the acute studies directly targeting kidney or pancreatic tissue or during the survival studies indicating no evidence of delayed tissue injury.
Graph-theoretical tools and their use in a practical distributed operating system design case

Practical problems in developing large distributed systems (stemming e.g. from the real size of the system) regularly encounter several severe constraints that are not to be found in theoretical discussions when dealing with the abstract mirror image of the original problems. In this paper we report on part of our practical experience with the Theory of Interaction Systems which we used for designing the resource management of the completely distributed operating system DRAGON SLAYER, and even for verifying the actual implemented code. This had evolved into two different formal modeling problems since the distributed code which resulted from our first attempt (top-down approach) was changed and streamlined, for improving its efficiency, to such an extent that a completely new formal model had to be constructed in oder to prove the correct functioning of DRAGON SLAYER's resource scheduling algorithm. After introducing into the Theory of Interaction Systems as well as into the first formal model for the top-down design, we describe the incremental procedure of building a formal model for the implemented distributed algorithm. Hints for the correctness proof are given. The practicality of our theoretical approach is stressed throughout and finally discussed in detail.
Evaluation of jacobian determinants by Monte Carlo methods: Application to the quasiclassical approximation in molecular scattering☆

Sampling techniques have been used previously to evaluate Jacobian determinants that occur in classical mechanical descriptions of molecular scattering. These determinants also occur in the quasiclassical approximation. A new technique is described which can be used to evaluate Jacobian determinants which occur in either description. This method is expected to be valuable in the study of reactive scattering using the quasiclassical approximation.
Anemia Associated With ’Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ in a Feline Leukemia Virus-Negative Cat With Lymphoma

'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum,' previously known as the small form of Haemobartonella felis (California species), is a hemotrophic parasite found on erythrocytes of infected cats. Although fleas are potential vectors, confirmatory studies are lacking. Healthy cats infected with 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' generally do not have clinically significant anemia, but concurrent disease or immune suppression may predispose a cat to develop a life-threatening anemia, such as in the case reported here.
The Nutritional, Ecological, and Ethical Arguments Against Baiting and Feeding White-Tailed Deer

The use of food plots, supplemental feeding, and baiting has been a common and legal practice in Texas for many years. There is now controversy as to whether Texas Parks and Wildlife Department should include this extra nutrition as part of their carrying capacity estimates used to determine harvest permits for private landowners. Managers should remember that nutrition is only one component of carrying capacity, which includes water, shelter, and space as well. Extensive data exists about the potential negative impact of feeding on deer. Studies in Texas (Murden and Risenhoover 1993) have shown that fed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can degrade rangeland by overconsuming high-quality plants and underconsuming low-quality plants. Guiterrez (1999) did not find that effect when South Texas deer were offered winter food plots. Donier et al. (1997) found in Minnesota that winter supplementation increased browse pressure within 900 m of feeders. Other reports (Williamson 2000) show increased browse pressure within a 1-mile radius of feeders, perhaps due to concentration of deer. Cooper et al. (2002) found 50% kernal home range sizes of fed deer were half that of unfed deer and that browse pressure near the feeder was 7 times that of unfed deer. Supplemental feeding has been suspected of contributing to the spread of tuberculosis in deer, chronic wasting disease in elk (Cervus canadensis) and deer, and brucellosis in elk and bison (Bison bison; Williamson 2000). Crowding due to supplemental feeding led to fighting and injuries in Michigan deer (Ozoga 1972). Feeding has actually led to starvation in deer due to increases in population when feeding was initiated (McCullough 1977, Schmitz 1990). Supplemental feed is consumed by nontarget species, possibly leading them to pass disease and to attract predators. Cooper and Ginnett (2000) found decreased survivorship of simulated turkey nests within 400 m of deer feeders in Texas. In 1998 we found illegal levels of aflatoxin in 40% of 100 randomly purchased bags of “deer corn” in Texas (N. Wilkins, Texas Cooperative Extension, USA, unpublished data). The ecological significance of deer feeding and baiting is only part of the issue. Feeding leads to ethical questions as well. Feeding is part of the domestication process, along with fencing, breeding, and health programs that, due to their expense, may lead to the desire for private ownership of wildlife. Baiting, likewise, adds to the advantages of the hunter over the hunted and may decrease hunter satisfaction and increase concerns of the antihunters and the nonhunting public (Ortega y Gasset 1995). Deer managers and agency personnel should review the data presented here and incorporate it into their decision making when considering feeding or baiting of deer.
3rd Annual Earth System Grid Federation and 3rd Annual Earth System Grid Federation and Ultrascale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools Face-to-Face Meeting Report December 2013

The climate and weather data science community gathered December 3–5, 2013, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore, California, for the third annual Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) and Ultra-scale Visualization Climate Data Analysis Tools (UV-CDAT) Face-to-Face (F2F) Meeting, which was hosted by the Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Infrastructure for the European Network of Earth System Modelling, and the Australian Department of Education. Both ESGF and UV-CDAT are global collaborations designed to develop a new generation of open-source software infrastructure that provides distributed access and analysis to observed and simulated data from the climate and weather communities. The tools and infrastructure developed under these international multi-agency collaborations are critical to understanding extreme weather conditions and long-term climate change, while the F2F meetings help to build a stronger climate and weather data science community and stronger federated software infrastructure. The 2013 F2F meeting determined requirements for existing and impending national and international community projects; enhancements needed for data distribution, analysis, and visualization infrastructure; and standards and resources needed for better collaborations.
79 – Consideration for the Use of Therapeutic Drugs During Pregnancy and the Perinatal Period

During pregnancy, physiologic changes occur in the woman's body, which potentially can alter the way in which drugs are handled. A few pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamic, or clinical trials are conducted during pregnancy because of concerns for fetal safety. The risk most commonly considered is the fetal risk of teratogenesis or drug-induced malformation. Maternal physiologic changes occur during gestation to accommodate fetal growth and development. This altered maternal physiology has the potential to affect the PK of drugs. These changes may increase drug distribution volume, decrease drug binding to plasma proteins, alter peak drug concentration and time to peak drug concentration, and cause changes in hepatic and/or renal drug clearance. Disregard of these changes in maternal physiology may affect drug efficacy impacting maternal disease and potentially overall pregnancy outcome. The expanded age of reproduction coupled with pregnancy occurring later in life effectively increases the number of women who require drug therapy for diseases present before pregnancy and who need to continue therapy during pregnancy. Adequate and well-studied therapies are needed to optimally treat pregnant women with underlying diseases.
Abstract 3187: Inflammatory Cell Infiltration Correlates with Hemosiderin Deposition (Intra-lesion Hemorrhage) in Surgical Excised Unruptured Human Brain Arteriovenous Malformations

Background and Purpose: Human brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) are common cause of hemorrhagic stroke in young adults. Evidence of inflammation in bAVM pathogenesis includes neutrophil and ...
Invasive Breast Cancer

The estimated number of new cases of invasive breast cancer in 2012 was estimated to exceed 226,000; nearly 40,000 dying from the disease. The vast majority of patients are women with just under 1 % of breast cancer cases affecting men. Factors associated with increased risk include gender, increasing age, early onset menarche, late menopause, nulliparity, late first pregnancy, obesity after menopause, alcohol use, and personal or family history of breast cancer; the most significant among these are female gender and advancing age. The median age at diagnosis is 61. The lifetime risk of a woman developing breast cancer is approximately 12 %, and this risk doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) diagnosed with the disease.
Psychological Development of Symbolism of the Sexes from Adolescence to Adulthood

In this chapter developmental aspects of and sex differences in expressed symbolism of the sexes will be discussed. As mentioned in the preceding chapter, symbolism of the sexes pertains to symbols representing the conception of the male or female person. The symbolic representation of what is considered to be a masculine or feminine way of existence can be embodied in a varied number of aspects, such as: a masculine or feminine person (e.g., father, mother) ; masculine or feminine appearance aspects (e.g., big, beautiful) ; masculine or feminine character qualities (e.g., strong, capricious) ; masculine or feminine activities (e.g., hunting, sewing) ; and a number more.
HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis

This article is an updated version of the previous edition article by Julie Myers, Kent Sepkowitz, volume 3, pp. 421–430, © 2008, Elsevier Inc.
A Validation Approach for the Multiscale Modeling of Additively Manufactured Lattice Structures

A validation approach is proposed to ensure that the computational models corresponding to each scale level in a hierarchical multiscale modeling process can produce accurate simulations in the material characterizations at multiple levels. In the validation approach, the stochastic upscaling method is utilized for the homogenization of the geometry and material properties of material structure at each scale level of interest. The experimental data is utilized for the validation of the predictions made by the multiscale models with homogenized properties at each scale level. For the quantitative assessment of the model’s prediction accuracy, a validation metric that integrates the u-pooling method with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test will be presented. Additively manufactured cellular structures are used as application examples to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed multiscale validation approach. The results from the examples show that the proposed method effectively captures the predictive capability of the models with an unbiased decision criterion based on the test statistic at multiple scales.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Zeons, orthozeons, and processes on colored graphs

Nilpotent adjacency matrix methods (based on zeon algebras) are extended to graph processes (i.e., sequences of colored graphs) by defining sequences of "zeon edge-coloring matrices" whose entries come from a particular commutative subalgebra of a Clifford algebra of appropriate signature. By utilizing orthozeons, enumeration of monochromatic paths in colored graph processes is possible. Introduced here are the "path-identifying orthozeons", whose properties allow the enumeration of monochromatic paths in edge-colored graphs. The algebraic formalism lends itself well to symbolic computations in Mathematica.
California Senate Race: The Anointing of Kamala Harris

Californians had an open seat for the first time in a generation with the retirement of Barbara Boxer. The 1992 Senate victories of Dianne Feinstein and Boxer anchored the Democratic Party’s dominance in the following decades. By 2016 there was a deep bench of possible contenders for Senate, but only Representative Loretta Sanchez mounted a challenge to Attorney General Kamala Harris. The race highlighted California’s diverse, multiethnic population and was the first California Senate race in which Republicans were shut out of the general election. Harris had a near monopoly on endorsements, interest group support, and fundraising while Sanchez struggled to be viewed as a viable candidate. Harris’ overwhelming victory and forceful opposition to the Trump administration cemented her image as a rising political star.
S-Isomap++: Multi manifold learning from streaming data

Manifold learning based methods have been widely used for non-linear dimensionality reduction (NLDR). However, in many practical settings, the need to process streaming data is a challenge for such methods, owing to the high computational complexity involved. Moreover, most methods operate under the assumption that the input data is sampled from a single manifold, embedded in a high dimensional space. We propose a method for streaming NLDR when the observed data is either sampled from multiple manifolds or irregularly sampled from a single manifold. We show that existing NLDR methods, such as Isomap, fail in such situations, primarily because they rely on smoothness and continuity of the underlying manifold, which is violated in the scenarios explored in this paper. However, the proposed algorithm is able to learn effectively in presence of multiple, and potentially intersecting, manifolds, while allowing for the input data to arrive as a massive stream.
A Rare Case of Metastatic Choriocarcinoma of Lung Origin

Choriocarcinoma is part of the spectrum of gestational trophoblastic disease that occurs in women of reproductive age. Although the most common metastatic site of choriocarcinoma is the lung, primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma is rare. To diagnose primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma, the patient should have no previous gynecologic malignancy, have elevated human chorionic gonadotropin, and have pathological confirmation of the disease excluding gonadal primary site of the tumor. Due to the paucity of data, there are no guidelines for treatment. Prognosis of this malignancy is extremely poor. We report a rare case of metastatic primary lung choriocarcinoma in a 69-year-old postmenopausal woman who was treated with combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The patient had a good outcome and is doing well after 1-year follow-up.
An evaluation of the impact of wake vortex re-categorization: The case of Charlotte Douglas International airport (CLT)

Abstract This study compared departures before and after wake recat implementation at CLT. In both periods, departure counts and departure demand loaded highly onto Factor 1, arrival demand and gate departure delays onto Factor 2, and taxi-out time onto Factor 3. A two-level negative binomial mixed-effects model considered the random effects of approach conditions on operations. Only gate departure delay was significant within and across both samples. NextGen capabilities including wake recat appeared to minimize the random effects of instrument approach conditions (IAC) on operations in both samples. Wake recat increased departure throughputs in IAC and enabled multiple departure pushes throughout the day.
Data set about local mapping of the Earth's magnetic field.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "Magnetic field and its experimental measurement in teaching in high schools" (J. Beňuska, D. Polcin, 2016) [1]. The article describes the possibilities of relatively accurate experimental measurement of magnetic field in any geographical conditions, in both exteriors and interiors, without the need for special instrumentation, with minimal financial costs. The data set is publicly available to allow the comparison of magnetic induction values in given latitudes with the other latitudes by the given methods and a critical analysis of the applicability of these methods in areas and locations without more demanding instrumentation.
Locating a 1-Center on a Manhattan Plane with “Arbitrarily” Shaped Barriers

Barriers commonly occur in practical location and layout problems and are regions where neither travel through nor location of the new facility is permitted. Along the lines of (Larson and Sadiq, 1983) we divide the feasible location region into cells. To overcome the additional complications introduced by the center objective, we develop new analysis and classify cells based on number of cell corners. A procedure to determine the optimal location is established for each class of cells. The overall complexity of the approach is shown to be polynomially bounded. Also, an analogy is drawn to the center problem on a network and generalizations of the model are discussed.
Significance of angiogenic and growth factors in ovarian follicular development.

There are many events taking place during follicular development which cannot be explained by the presently known hormones and their inter-relationships as now understood (di Zerga and Hodgen, 1981). With the two-cell model of ovarian steroid secretion, luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulates androgen production by the theca and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) induces increased aromatase conversion of that androgen to estrogen by the granulosa cells. The FSH and estrogen locally induce LH receptors in the granulosa cell in anticipation of ovulation and formation of the corpus luteum (Hsueh et al., 1984). After much searching for the elusive follicular inhibin it has now been shown that FSH also stimulates granulosa production of inhibin (McLachlan et al., 1986) which along with estrogen provide the feedback from the follicle to the hypothalamic- pituitary unit (Tsonis and Sharpe, 1986). In spontaneous ovulators, estrogen feedback can trigger the LH surge which ultimately results in ovulation. The follicle destined to ovulate can be characterized by a microenvironent of characteristic follicular fluid steroid and gonadotropin concentrations and by an optimal granulosa cell number which distinguish the ripe follicles and their oocytes from those destined for atresia (McNatty et al., 1979).
A review of twenty congenital cholesteatomas of the middle ear in children.

Cholesteatomas, arising within the middle ear space behind an intact tympanic membrane, have been detected more frequently in recent years. This article reviews 19 children (with a mean age of 4.3 ...