cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermal structure of the atmospheric boundary layer over the South African Mpumalanga Highveld

This study deals with the parametrisation of the vertical thermal structure of the atmos- pheric boundary layer up to 100 m above ground level over the industrial Mpumalanga Highveld in South Africa. Potential air temperatures were calculated by similarity theory based algorithms. The results were unsatisfactory for stable and unstable conditions in comparison to the measured data of a 96 m tower. A higher accuracy was achieved with algorithms constructed by subjecting the mea- sured data to multiple regression analysis. Potential air temperatures at various levels up to 96 m above ground level were calculated with average errors of 0.82°C for stable conditions, 0.63°C for unstable early-morning and late-afternoon conditions and 0.37°C for unstable daytime conditions. The accuracy was sufficient to assess the thermal atmospheric stability of the boundary layer up to 100 m above ground level.
Vapor deposition of parylene-F using hydrogen as carrier gas

A new method for depositing parylene-F (PA-F) thin films on silicon substrates has been explored. Hydrogen has been used as a carrier gas along with liquid precursors, dibromotetrafluoro-p-xylene and 1,4-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzene, to deposit PA-F. The properties of this film have been compared with the films obtained by the Gorham dimer method and the liquid precursor method using FTIR, XPS, and XRD. The PA-F films deposited by the dimer or liquid precursor acquired some kind of microcrystallinity on annealing. However, the PA-F films deposited in the presence of hydrogen were amorphous on annealing. This property could be potentially exploited for application in microelectronic device fabrication.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumor: psychosocial characteristics and considerations.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are very rare, especially within the pediatric population. The National Institutes of Health initiated a multidisciplinary clinic to bring together a worldwide group of healthcare providers with experience in the study and treatment of GIST in order to better understand the disease and to examine whether this is a population at psychosocial risk. Seven GIST clinics have been held to date. Participants completed a GIST Psychosocial Assessment containing items covering demographic factors, family stressors, general health, psychosocial concerns, psychiatric history, and self-identified needs. Our sample consists of 60 adult patients (ages 18–66) and 18 pediatric patients (ages 9–17). Living with pain at least a few days a week was endorsed by those whose self-reported health status was good to excellent (49% of the adult cohort and 25% of the pediatric cohort). Pain was significantly associated with anxiety, difficulties with family relationships, behavior problems, and psychotropic medication use. Body image and appearance concerns were endorsed by over half of the cohort. Post-trauma symptoms were prevalent for those newly diagnosed and those living with GIST for over 15 years. This is the first study to explore the psychosocial impact of GIST. Individuals living with GIST experience chronic pain, post-trauma symptoms and significant anxiety along with an expressed need for interventions to help them manage their anxiety. Due to the chronic nature of this disease, the GIST population is at risk for long-term psychological distress. Psychosocial interventions in pediatric and adult care settings are offered.
Evidence for a Conformational Change in Nerve Membrane with Depolarization

THERE has been much interest in identifying and characterizing the protein elements in cell membranes which seem to be involved in regulating membrane ionic permeability1–3. We now have further evidence that membrane-bound proteins in nerve axons are involved in ion permeability regulation. It was first found that external treatment of isolated crayfish nerve axons with the proteolytic enzymes papain, trypsin, and chymotrypsin (unpublished data) considerably affected the axons, resting permeability to potassium, sodium, and chloride, while having minimal effects on the action potential. It was also found that the external application of 1-fluoro 2,4-dinitrobenzene (which reacts with protein reactive groups) considerably reduced chloride permeability without reducing the resting membrane potential or action potential4.
Dynamic response of Cu 46 Zr 54 metallic glass to high-strain-rate shock loading: Plasticity, spall, and atomic-level structures

We investigate dynamic response of ${\text{Cu}}_{46}{\text{Zr}}_{54}$ metallic glass under adiabatic planar shock wave loading (one-dimensional strain) with molecular dynamics simulations, including Hugoniot (shock) states, shock-induced plasticity, and spallation. The Hugoniot states are obtained up to 60 GPa along with the von Mises shear flow strengths, and the dynamic spall strengths, at different strain rates and temperatures. The spall strengths likely represent the limiting values achievable in experiments such as laser ablation. For the steady shock states, a clear elastic-plastic transition is identified (e.g., in the shock velocity-particle velocity curve), and the shear strength shows strain softening. However, the elastic-plastic transition across the shock front displays transient stress overshoot (hardening) above the Hugoniot elastic limit followed by a relatively sluggish relaxation to the steady shock state, and the plastic shock front steepens with increasing shock strength. The local von Mises shear strain analysis is used to characterize local deformation, and the Voronoi tessellation analysis, the corresponding local structures at various stages of shock, release, tension and spallation. The plasticity in this glass, manifested as localized shear transformation zones, is of local structure rather than thermal origin, and void nucleation occurs preferentially at the highly shear-deformed regions. The Voronoi and shear strain analyses show that the atoms with different local structures are of different shear resistances that lead to shear localization (e.g., the atoms indexed with $⟨0,0,12,0⟩$ are most shear-resistant, and those with $⟨0,2,8,1⟩$ are highly prone to shear flow). The dynamic changes in local structures are consistent with the observed deformation dynamics.
Origin of the longitudinal-ultrasonic-attenuation peak in heavy-fermion superconductors.

Longitudinal-ultrasonic-attenuation \ensuremath{\alpha}(T) in the strongly correlated heavy-fermion superconductors ${\mathrm{UBe}}_{13}$ and ${\mathrm{UPt}}_{3}$ shows an unusual peak below the superconducting transition temperature ${T}_{c}$. This feature can arise from a purely normal-state property, namely the large, heavy-electron effective mass ${m}_{e}^{\mathrm{*}}$. Thus, the peak may not necessarily be an indication of anisotropic superconductivity.
Correlation of nipple aspiration and ductal lavage cytology with histopathologic findings for patients before scheduled breast biopsy examination.

Abstract Background The use of ductal lavage to obtain cells from within the breast ducts has been described for patients at high risk for breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to correlate ductal lavage cytologic findings with the corresponding histology. Methods Twenty-two patients were evaluated and 20 patients underwent ductal lavage followed by breast biopsy examination as a result of positive nipple aspiration fluid. Ductal lavage samples were classified by a cytopathologist as negative, mild atypia, marked atypia, or malignant. A different pathologist interpreted the histologic findings of the biopsy examination. Results Adequate specimens for cellularity were obtained in 12 of 22 (53%) patients: 6 of the 12 (50%) had both benign cytology and histology, 2 (16.7%) had benign cytology with atypical ductal hyperplasia or atypical lobular hyperplasia on histology, 2 (16.7%) had marked atypia on cytology and benign histology, and 2 (16.7%) had malignant cytology and benign histology. The specificity of the procedure was 83.4%. Conclusions Ductal lavage yielding an adequate sample for analysis was successful in only 52% of patients. Of those, the cytologic–histologic correlation was discordant in 50%. The role of ductal lavage in accurately predicting lesions present on subsequent breast histologic evaluation of planned biopsy examinations requires further investigation.
Glucose Production and Gluconeogenesis Are Negatively Related to Body Weight in Mechanically Ventilated, Very Low Birth Weight Neonates

The regulation of gluconeogenesis by low birth weight infants remains poorly delineated. To investigate this, 15 5-d-old infants (26-31-wk gestational age, 795-1485-g body weight), were infused i.v. for 4 h with uniformly labeled [U-13C]glucose (5 mg/kg/min) as the sole source of glucose. Intralipid (3 mg/kg/min) was provided, but no amino acids were given. Blood samples were taken immediately before and after 4 h of tracer infusion. The isotopic enrichments of plasma glucose and alanine were measured by selected ion monitoring gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Glucose production rates were calculated from the isotopic dilution of plasma[U-13C]glucose and the glucose infusion rate. Gluconeogenesis was estimated from the relative isotopic enrichments of [M + 3]- and [M + 6]-glucose, using the isotopic enrichment of plasma [U-13C]alanine, to define the isotopic dilution of the 3-carbon pool, and previously published equations to calculate the isotopic dilution of hepatic oxaloacetate. Glucose production (15 ± 9 μmol/kg/min) was negatively related to body weight (r = -0.67; p < 0.05) and the ratio of the isotopic enrichments of[13C3]alanine:[13C6]glucose (0.27 ± 0.07) was positively related to body weight (r = 0.74; p < 0.025). Both relationships were exponential. Gluconeogenesis (via pyruvate) accounted for 72 ± 28% of glucose production, and gluconeogenesis per unit body weight was negatively and exponentially (r = -0.82;p < 0.005) related to body weight. These results demonstrate that neonates whose birth weights are less than 1200 g have a particularly high glucose production rate secondary to enhanced gluconeogenesis. We speculate that these results reflect a high weight-specific glucose demand that is met by up-regulation of gluconeogenesis.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins in Sera of Pregnant Nonhuman Primates*

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are mitogenic peptides that are important for fetal and maternal tissue growth during pregnancy. They circulate complexed primarily with a serum binding protein, IGFBP-3, which regulates the availability of the IGFs to their target tissues. We previously reported that in pregnant women, serum IGFBP-3 levels, assessed by Western ligand blotting, decline markedly beginning at 6 weeks gestation due to a circulating protease that cleaves IGFBP-3 into a 29-kilodalton (kDa) protein and lower mol wt (M(r)) fragments. In the current study, we compared IGFBP profiles, IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-1 levels, and IGFBP protease activities in sera from pregnant and nonpregnant women, baboons, and rhesus monkeys, using Western ligand blotting, IGFBP-specific immunoassays, IGFBP-3 protease assay, and zymographic gel electrophoresis. Serum IGFBP profiles in nonpregnant human and nonhuman primates were similar and were not cycle-dependent. IGFBP-3 (37-43 kDa), IGFBP-2 (31 kDa), and IGFBP-1 (28 kDa)...
The center manifold and bifurcations of damped and driven sine-Gordon breathers

Abstract The generic bifurcations of breathers in the damped and driven sine-Gordon equation are investigated both numerically and analytically. The linear stability analysis and information from periodic spectral theory suggest that three modes are relevant for the system. They correspond to frequency and (temporal) phase changes and to the flat pendulum. Using these modes (nonautonomous) amplitude equations are derived and compared with numerical simulations of the perturbed sine-Gordon equation.
Dipolar Ferromagnetism at 0°K

A critical examination of the Holstein-Primakoff spin-wave technique has yielded explicit criteria for the stability of ferromagnetic arrays. These criteria have been applied to point dipoles on the three primitive cubic lattices for the shape most favorable to ferromagnetism, that of a long, thin sample. The results are: (1) dipolar ferromagnetism cannot occur in the simple cubic lattice; (2) the ferromagnetic state can be the lowest, or at least a metastable, state on the face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic lattices. The zero-point energies of ferromagnetic states are calculated for the $〈100〉$, $〈011〉$, and $〈111〉$, directions, yielding two anisotropy constants, ${K}_{1}$ and ${K}_{2}$, for each lattice. The Holstein-Primakoff Hamiltonian is shown not to be diagonal for spin waves in the pathological region, i.e., of wavelengths comparable to the dimensions of the specimens. The properties of this region are shown to be unimportant in energy considerations but may effect stability. They are of great importance in effects such as ferromagnetic resonance which involve long-wavelength spin waves.
Density of organic matrix of native mineralized bone measured by water- and fat-suppressed proton projection MRI

Water- and fat-suppressed projection MR imaging (WASPI) utilizes the large difference between the proton Ts of the solid organic matrix and the fluid constituents of bone to suppress the fluid signals while preserving solid matrix signals. The solid constituents include collagen and some molecularly immobile water and exhibit very short T. The fluid constituents include mobile water and fat, with long T. In WASPI, chemical shift selective low-power π/2 pulses excite mobile water and fat magnetization which is subsequently dephased by gradient pulses, while the magnetization of collagen and immobile water remains mostly in the z-direction. Additional selective π pulses in alternate scans further cancel the residual water and fat magnetization. Following water and fat suppression, the matrix signal is excited by a short hard pulse and the free induction decay acquired in the presence of a gradient in a 3D projection method. WASPI was implemented on a 4.7 T MR imaging system and tested on phantoms and bone specimens, enabling excellent visualization of bone matrix. The bone matrix signal per unit volume of bovine trabecular specimens was measured by this MR technique and compared with that determined by chemical analysis. This method could be used in combination with bone mineral density measurement by solid state 31P projection MRI to determine the degree of bone mineralization. Magn Reson Med 50:59–68, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Gregorio Hernández Moreno: Diary of an undocumented worker

Diaries kept by undocumented immigrants are rare indeed, but Gregorio Hernandez Moreno produced such a document in 1968 while he worked in Saginaw, Michigan. During that long year Gregorio managed one visit to Ciudad Juarez, where his wife and children had remained, and various family members in turn travelled to Saginaw for short periods to be with him. Gregorio's use of the border as a springboard for employment deep in the interior of the United States is part of the larger story of crossborder migration during the second half of the twentieth century. By the 1960s thousands upon thousands of workers who resided in the Mexican border communities took seasonal jobs north of the boundary. During their absences their loved ones coped by themselves as best as they could.
Scores on the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory of children from lowand middle-income families

This study compared the language skills in a group of very low-income toddlers with those of a middle-income sample matched on age and sex. The assessment instrument was the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) for toddlers, a parent report form. The scores for the low-income group were strikingly lower on the three key indices evaluated: size of expressive vocabulary, age of appearance of word combinations, and complexity of utterances. The entire lowincome distribution was shifted about 30% toward the lower end of the middle-income distribution for both productive vocabulary and grammatical development. The magnitude of these income/ social class effects was larger than reported in most prior reports for children in this age range. This finding underscores the cautionary note issued by the CDI developers, which states that the published CDI norms, based on a middle-class sample, may not be directly applicable to low-income samples.
Comparison between transillumination and the roentgenogram in diagnosing paranasal sinus disease

The reliability of transillumination versus roentgenogram to diagnose maxillary and frontal paranasal sinus disease was assessed in 52 subjects with rhinitis and/or asthma. Two different otolaryngologists transilluminated the sinuses while the roentgenograms were evaluated by a radiologist and a third otolaryngologist. Patients filled in questionnaires of symptoms. There was excellent agreement (p < 0.001) between otolaryngologists regarding transillumination of the frontal sinuses but not the maxillary sinuses. Similarly, transillumination of the frontal sinuses correlated well with the roentgenograms. This was not true for transillumination of the maxillary sinuses. Although pain in the upper teeth related well to the presence of frontal disease, sinus headache was a frequent complaint but not useful as a predictor of sinus disease. Even though transillumination of the frontal paranasal sinus has some predictive value, the technique of transillumination has limited usefulness as a diagnostic tool and is not an adequate substitute for roentgenogram.
Chimaeric sounds reveal dichotomies in auditory perception

By Fourier's theorem1, signals can be decomposed into a sum of sinusoids of different frequencies. This is especially relevant for hearing, because the inner ear performs a form of mechanical Fourier transform by mapping frequencies along the length of the cochlear partition. An alternative signal decomposition, originated by Hilbert2, is to factor a signal into the product of a slowly varying envelope and a rapidly varying fine time structure. Neurons in the auditory brainstem3,4,5,6 sensitive to these features have been found in mammalian physiological studies. To investigate the relative perceptual importance of envelope and fine structure, we synthesized stimuli that we call ‘auditory chimaeras’, which have the envelope of one sound and the fine structure of another. Here we show that the envelope is most important for speech reception, and the fine structure is most important for pitch perception and sound localization. When the two features are in conflict, the sound of speech is heard at a location determined by the fine structure, but the words are identified according to the envelope. This finding reveals a possible acoustic basis for the hypothesized ‘what’ and ‘where’ pathways in the auditory cortex7,8,9,10.
Hemodynamic effects of nitroglycerin ointment in congestive heart failure

Abstract The hemodynamic effects of nitroglycerin absorbed transcutaneously from an ointment base were determined in 10 patients with chronic congestive heart failure (9 with ischemic heart disease and 1 with cardiomyopathy). The response was characterized by a decrease in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure from an average of 30 to 19 mm Hg, and an increase in cardiac index from 1.7 to 2.2 liters/min per m 2 , with concomitant decreases in systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance and an increase in venous capacitance. Mean arterial pressure decreased from 85 to 80 mm Hg, and heart rate remained unchanged. The hemodynamic effects persisted for 3 to 6 hours. These results indicate that nitroglycerin ointment is a hemodynamically potent vasodilating agent with potential value in the therapy of congestive heart failure.
An adaptive case-based reasoning model for decision support in dynamic environments

In this research we propose an adaptive case-based reasoning model for the effective support of ill-structured, classificatory decisions. Our model is characterized by its incorporation of Type-I and Type-II errors into performance improvement. This model is used to complement the traditional approaches to decision support in dynamic environments. Performance comparison is conducted for our model, rule induction, and connectionist approaches. >
Synthesis Algorithm for Application-Specific Homogeneous Processor Networks

The application specific multiprocessor system-on-a-chip is a promising design alternative because of its high degree of flexibility, short development time, and potentially high performance attributed to application specific optimizations. However, designing an optimal application specific multiprocessor system is still challenging because there are a number of important metrics, such as throughput, latency, and resource usage, which need to be explored and optimized. This paper addresses the problem of synthesizing an application-specific multiprocessor system for stream-oriented embedded applications to minimize system latency under the throughput constraint. We employ a novel framework for this problem, similar to that of technology mapping in the logic synthesis domain, and develop a set of efficient algorithms, including labeling and clustering for efficient generation of the multiprocessor architecture with application specific optimized latency. Specifically, the result of our algorithm is latency optimal for directed acyclic task graphs. Application of our approach to the Motion JPEG example on Xilinx's Virtex II Pro platform FPGA shows interesting design tradeoffs.
Beyond the Inner City: New Form of Spatial Mismatch

In this study the job accessibility of low-income job seekers was compared with that of the affluent majority in a polycentric urban structure. Kain's spatial mismatch hypothesis was extended not only to examine where and why low-income job seekers have lower job accessibility than high-income job seekers but also to compare changes from 1990 to 2000 in the Los Angeles, California, metropolitan area. The job accessibility measure applied in this research captured travel impedance and both job supply and demand. The results suggested that spatial mismatch still existed and that it continued to increase over time. However, the spatial pattern of mismatch had changed. Low-income job seekers were more disadvantaged in the inner-ring suburbs, mainly because of the lag in the residential suburbanization of low-income job seekers. This research contributed to the understanding of the extent and consequences of urban spatial transformation and suggested that social equity problems be addressed from a broader spat...
LXR Signaling Couples Sterol Metabolism to Proliferation in the Acquired Immune Response

Cholesterol is essential for membrane synthesis; however, the mechanisms that link cellular lipid metabolism to proliferation are incompletely understood. We demonstrate here that cellular cholesterol levels in dividing T cells are maintained in part through reciprocal regulation of the LXR and SREBP transcriptional programs. T cell activation triggers induction of the oxysterol-metabolizing enzyme SULT2B1, consequent suppression of the LXR pathway for cholesterol transport, and promotion of the SREBP pathway for cholesterol synthesis. Ligation of LXR during T cell activation inhibits mitogen-driven expansion, whereas loss of LXRbeta confers a proliferative advantage. Inactivation of the sterol transporter ABCG1 uncouples LXR signaling from proliferation, directly linking sterol homeostasis to the antiproliferative action of LXR. Mice lacking LXRbeta exhibit lymphoid hyperplasia and enhanced responses to antigenic challenge, indicating that proper regulation of LXR-dependent sterol metabolism is important for immune responses. These results implicate LXR signaling in a metabolic checkpoint that modulates cell proliferation and immunity.
The importance of climate and soils for estimates of net primary production: a sensitivity analysis with the terrestrial ecosystem model

We used the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) to investigate how alternative input data sets of climate (temperature/precipitation), solar radiation, and soil texture affect estimates of net primary productivity (NPP) for the conterminous United States. At the continental resolution, the climates of Cramer and Leemans (C&L) and of the Vegetation/ Ecosystem Modelling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) represent cooler and drier conditions for the United States in comparison to the Legates and Willmott (L&W) climate, and cause 5.2% and 2.3% lower estimates of NPP. Solar radiation derived from C&L and given in VEMAP is 32% and 60% higher than the solar radiation data derived from Hahn cloudiness. These differences cause ∼ 8% and 10% lower NPP because of radiation-induced water stress. In comparison to the FAO/CSRC soil texture, which represents most biomes with loam soils, the soil textures are finer (more silt and clay) in the Zobler and VEMAP data sets. The use of VEMAP soil textures instead of FAO/CSRC soil textures causes ∼ 3% higher NPP because enhanced volumetric soil moisture causes higher rates of nitrogen cycling, but use of the Zobler soil textures has little effect. In general, NPP estimates of TEM are more sensitive to alternative data sets at the biome and grid cell resolutions than at the continental resolution. At all spatial resolutions, the sensitivity of NPP estimates represents the impact of uncertainty among the alternative data sets we used in this study. The reduction of uncertainty in input data sets is required to improve the spatial resolution of NPP estimates by process-based ecosystem models, and is especially important for improving assessments of the regional impacts of global change.
Diluting the Cesspool Families, Home Improvement, and Social Change

In recent years, the process of social change through improvement of residences in decaying neighborhoods—gentrification—has itself changed. Traditional families (married with children) and a broader spectrum of the social class spectrum are more likely to be involved. The present research takes an ethnographic perspective and considers the experiences and understandings of a set of families in one urban community as they attempt a variety of home improvement (do-it-yourself or DIY) projects. Although cultural and institutional representations of home improvement are found to be helpful, they frequently fail to capture the complexities of actual home improvement projects. The practical logic of home repair in this community involves leadership, responsiveness, continuing struggle, and compromise. To accomplish the work under circumstances in which ideals do not match reality, these families use humor, exchange, and trial and error. Their lives show that family, home, and community are inseparable in the e...
Techniques and results in the implantation of the artificial urinary sphincter in women with type III stress urinary incontinence by a vaginal approach

Thirty-four women with type III stress urinary incontinence underwent implantation of the artificial urinary sphincter (AUS) for control of urination using the AMS #800TM device via a combined vaginal and minimal retropubic approach. The deliberate opening of the vagina facilitates placement of the sphincteric cuff in its proper position and serves to prevent urethral or bladder neck damage without increasing the risks of cuff infection or erosion. Results show no erosions, no detrusor instability, four patients on intermittent self-catheterization, and three patients requiring repeat surgery for mechanical problems. These results indicate that the AUS is a viable alternative in the management of this difficult group of incontinent women and that implanting surgeons should not fear entering the vagina during implantation, but should deliberately do so to facilitate surgical placement of the cuff while protecting the urinary organs and reducing operating room time.
EMPLOYING TOPOLOGICAL EQUIVALENCE IN BIOMECHANICS

By its very nature, biomedical engineering is interdisciplinary, often combining tools and techniques originally developed for engineered systems and applying them to biological problems. Often techniques developed to solve one problem may be used to solve a very different problem. One useful concept from the field of mathematics is topological equivalence. Two dynamical systems are “topologically equivalent” if the phase portraits are qualitatively similar. That is, one portrait can be obtained from the other by a continuous transformation (Figure 1).Copyright © 2010 by ASME
An evaluation of vancomycin dosing for complicated infections in pediatric patients.

Objective: To determine the incidence with which a vancomycin dosing regimen of 15 mg/kg per dose every 6 hours achieves steady-state trough concentrations of 15 to 20 mg/L in pediatric patients with complicated infections. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review for patients admitted to our children’s hospital between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2011. Patients were included if they were between 1 month and 18 years of age, had at least 1 steady-state vancomycin trough obtained, received an initial vancomycin dose of 15 mg/kg per dose every 6 hours, and were being treated for a diagnosis of meningitis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis, bacteremia/sepsis, or endocarditis. Results: Seventy-four patients were enrolled, mean age of 4.2 ± 3.9 years and weight of 17.0 ± 11.2 kg. Five (6.8%) patients obtained an initial trough of 15 to 20 mg/L. Patients between 1.0 and 5.9 years of age were significantly less likely to achieve an initial trough of 15 to 20 mg/L compared with other age groups evaluated (P = .041). Thirty-four patients with initial subtherapeutic troughs received a dose adjustment and a follow-up vancomycin trough. Of these patients, 15 (44.1%) achieved a trough between 15 and 20 mg/L. The median dose for patients achieving a therapeutic trough at any point during the study was 80 mg/kg per day. Conclusions: A vancomycin dosing regimen of 15 mg/kg per dose every 6 hours is not likely to achieve a trough concentration of 15 to 20 mg/L in pediatric patients with complicated infections. An initial regimen of 80 mg/kg per day for these patients may be more likely to result in therapeutic steady-state concentrations of vancomycin.
End-stage renal disease in lupus: Disease activity, dialysis, and the outcome of transplantation:

Lupus nephritis remains a major cause of morbidity in SLE. Approximately 10% of patients with SLE develop end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In most SLE patients, disease activity diminishes as ESRD a...
Origins and Molecular Evolution of the Carbonic Anhydrase Isozymesa

Work on membrane-bound and subcellular forms of CA at the protein level, and the possibility of multiple forms of the mouse CA II gene at the DNA level, indicate that CA may represent an extensive multigene family. A method for classifying newly sequenced CA molecules, or genes encoding them, is discussed. Phylogenetic trees based on the existing sequence data are presented and discussed in terms of gene evolution. The active-site residues of CA II have been more conserved in evolution than those of CA I or CA III. After the gene duplications, CA III and CA I initially evolved more rapidly than CA II. Since the mammalian radiation, the CA II molecule as a whole has been accepting substitutions more frequently than CA I, which in turn is evolving more rapidly than CA III. These findings can be explained if external regions of CA I and CA III have been conserved in evolution owing to interactions with other molecules. Two such regions appear to be residues 18-37 in CA I and 231-250 in CA III. Spinach CA was purified and a small amount of sequence data collected. The difficulty in aligning it with animal CAs suggests that a plant CA may not be suitable to shed light on the active site and character of the ancestral eukaryote CA.
Dynamic storage allocation for an information retrieval system

This paper presents an information retrieval problem whose programming solution included dynamic storage allocation. Allocatable machine code is defined, and an assembly program to produce allocatable machine code is described. The work reported on was done as part of Project ACSI-MATIC1 which is concerned with the application of computer techniques to the activities of certain headquarters military intelligence operations of the U.S. Army [1, 2].
Municipal Boundaries in a Discriminatory Housing Market: An Example of Racial Leapfrogging

Racial 'leapfrogging' occurs when some blacks settle farther from the urban core and inner city ghettos than some whites. Previously, this phenomenon has only been discussed as a theoretical possibility by Courant and Rose-Ackerman. This article gives evidence of leapfrogging across a municipal boundary under circumstances somewhat similar to those of the Rose-Ackerman model. However, the cause of the leapfrogging is less organized than that posited by Rose-Ackerman. Blacks jumped over more affluent whites in the inner city to a nearby suburb because they were discouraged by racial prejudice from locating in white neighborhoods in the central city and because the neighboring community has better schools and less crime.
An Efficient and Accurate Method for Computing the Wet-Bulb Temperature along Pseudoadiabats

Abstract A new technique for computing the wet-bulb potential temperature of a parcel and its temperature after pseudoadiabatic ascent or descent to a new pressure level is presented. It is based on inverting Bolton’s most accurate formula for equivalent potential temperature θE to obtain the adiabatic wet-bulb temperature Tw on a given pseudoadiabat at a given pressure by an iterative technique. It is found that Tw is a linear function of equivalent temperature raised to the −1/κd (i.e., −3.504) power, where κd is the Poisson constant for dry air, in a significant region of a thermodynamic diagram. Consequently, Bolton’s formula is raised to the −1/κd power prior to the solving. A good “initial-guess” formula for Tw is devised. In the pressure range 100 ≤ p ≤ 1050 mb, this guess is within 0.34 K of the converged solution for wet-bulb potential temperatures θw ≤ 40°C. Just one iteration reduces this relative error to less than 0.002 K for −20° ≤ θw ≤ 40°C. The upper bound on the overall error in the compu...
Hybrid polymer-based photovoltaics via carbon nanotubes and electrostatic self-assembly

Recently, there has been increased interest in polymer-based photovoltaic devices due to their promise for the creation of lightweight, flexible, and inexpensive electrical power. WE examined the possibility of using nanoparticles and nanoparticles with tailored interfaces for the creation of hybrid polymer-based devices with enhanced photovoltaic response. Initially, we investigated the incorporation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) in the poly(benzimidazo-benzophenanthroline) ladder (BBL) layer of two-layer poly(p-phenylene vinylene)(PPV)-BBL photovoltaic devices. Subsequently, we explored the possibility of tuning polymer-particle interfaces through the creation of core-shell particles fabricated using electrostatic self- assembly. For the PPV/BBL(MWNT) devices, a doubling of the photocurrent and a drastic reduction in photovoltage with MWNT incorporation is observed for a range of BBL layer thickness values. This behavior is consistent with the MWNTs functioning as a three dimensional extension of the top aluminum electrode. Fabrication studies on core-shell particles demonstrate that the interfacial properties of a variety of particles can be manipulated, shells of up to 10 bilayers can be achieved, and TiO2 nanoparticles with PPV polymer shells are possible.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Meso-Scale Modeling the Orientation and Interface Stability of Cu/Nb-Layered Composites by Rolling

Metallic-based multilayered nanocomposites are recognized for their increased plastic flow resistance and indentation hardness, increased ductility, improved radiation damage resistance, improved electrical and magnetic properties, and enhanced fatigue failure resistance compared to conventional metallic materials. One of the ways in which these classes of materials are manufactured is through accumulated roll bonding where the material is produced by several rolling and heat-treatment steps during which the layer thickness is reduced through severe plastic deformation. A single rolling pass of the accumulated roll bonding process in which a Cu/Nb-layered composite with an initial average layer thickness of 24 μm subjected to a 50% height reduction is modeled. A single-crystal model based upon thermally activated dislocation motion is used. Nanohardness tests for both the Cu and Nb layers are used to help initialize the model for each of the two materials. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data of the heat-treated material is used to characterize the initial state of the composite and to produce 40 combined morphological and crystallographic numerical model realizations of the material. The results suggest very good agreement between the predicted and experimental textures for both the materials. Highly oriented microstructure develops during severe plastic rolling deformation of Cu/Nb nanocomposites. The deformation textures significantly deviate from those expected when rolling Cu or Nb alone, and the Cu/Nb interfaces do not correspond to those with the lowest possible formation energies. We study the interfacial stability of specific Cu/Nb bicrystal configurations under rolling conditions using a finite-element crystal plasticity model. Specifically, we examine how slip activity and lattice reorientation are affected by the kinematic constraint imposed by the interface. Our results show that for certain configurations the slip activity and lattice rotation of the individual crystallites display some sensitivity to the kinematic constraint, yet the overall stability of a given bicrystal can be predicted by the stability of the individual single-crystal orientations. Future work will account for the influence of the bimetal interface on the interface stability and development of enhanced properties.
PilP, a pilus biogenesis lipoprotein in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, affects expression of PilQ as a high‐molecular‐mass multimer

Studies of gonococcal pilus biogenesis are fundamental to understanding organelle structure/function relationships and identifying new approaches to controlling disease. This area of research is also relevant to elucidating the basic mechanisms of outer membrane translocation of macromolecules, which requires components highly related to those involved in type IV pilus expression. Previous studies have shown that products of several ancillary pil genes are required for organelle biogenesis but of these only PilQ, a member of the GspD protein family, is a component of the outer membrane. DNA sequencing of the region upstream of pilQ revealed the presence of two open reading frames (ORFs) whose deduced polypeptides shared significant identities with proteins required for pilus expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas syringae, the genes for which are arrayed upstream of a gene encoding a PilQ homologue. Gonococcal mutants bearing transposon insertions in these ORFs were non-piliated and failed to express pilus-associated phenotypes, and the corresponding genes were designated PilO and pilP. The piliation defects in the mutants could not be ascribed to polarity on distal pilQ expression as shown by direct measurement of PilQ antigen in those backgrounds and the use of a novel technique to create tandem duplications in the gonococcus (Gc) genome. As predicted by the presence of a consensus lipoprotein signal sequence, PilP expressed in both Escherichia coli and Gc could be labelled with [3H]-palmitic acid. PilP- as well as PilQ- mutants shed PilC, a protein which facilitates pilus assembly and is implicated in epithelial cell adherence, in a soluble form. Combined with the finding that levels of multimerized PiIQ were greatly reduced in PilP- mutants, the results suggest that PilP is required for PilQ function and that PilQ and PilC may interact during the terminal stages of pilus biogenesis. The findings also support the hypothesis that the Gc PilQ multimer corresponds to a physiologically relevant form of the protein required for pilus biogenesis.
Improving Outcomes for African Americans with Chronic Heart Failure: A Comparison of Two Home Care Management Delivery Methods

Available data indicate disparity in heart failure (HF) morbidity and mortality among African Americans. African Americans are diagnosed with HF at a younger age, have a more rapid clinical progression, and have higher hospitalization rates related to HF than Whites. Lack of inclusion of African Americans in research studies has been suggested as a possible contributing factor to this disparity. This study presents a secondary analysis from a randomized trial comparing biopsychosocial outcomes for only the African Americans whose HF home management was provided by one of two home care delivery methods—nurse telemanagement (NTM) or nurse home visits. Results indicate significantly higher self-efficacy, home care satisfaction, and quality of life, with significantly lower symptom distress, HF rehospitalization, and intervention charges for African Americans whose HF home management was delivered by the NTM method. These data suggest, independent of race, that NTM may be more efficient and effective as a del...
Determination of the strong coupling constant from the charmonium spectrum

Lattice gauge theory techniques have recently achieved sufficient accuracy to permit a determination of the strong coupling constant from the 1P-1S splitting in the charmonium system, with all systematic errors estimated quantitatively. The present result is ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}_{\mathrm{MS}\mathrm{\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}}}$(5 GeV)=0.174\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.012, or equivalently, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{\mathrm{MS}\mathrm{\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{}}}^{(4)}$=${160}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}37}^{+47}$ MeV (MS\ifmmode\bar\else\textasciimacron\fi{} denotes the modified minimal subtraction scheme).
Risk perception and intention to quit among a tri-ethnic sample of nondaily, light daily, and moderate/heavy daily smokers

Introduction Although the relationship between risk perceptions and quit intentions has been established, few studies explore the potential impact of smoking level on these associations, and none have done so among diversely-aged samples of multiple ethnicities.
Adaptive decoding for space time codes with imperfect channel estimation, using the bootstrap algorithm

Space time coding is a powerful technique to exploit transmitter diversity. Nevertheless, to enjoy its full potential performance, a perfect knowledge of the channel state information should be available at the receiver. Since even small channel estimation error results in severe performance lose, a long, rate consuming training sequences should be used to minimize these estimation errors. Hence, presenting an undesired tradeoff between rate and performance. Applying the ”bootstrap” algorithm; an adaptive decoder, can mitigate the effect of estimation errors, hence enables a way out of this deadlock, by achieving high performance transmission while reducing the required length of the training sequences.
Repression of dMyc expression by Wingless promotes Rbf-induced G1 arrest in the presumptive Drosophila wing margin.

Little is known about how patterns of cell proliferation and arrest are generated during development, a time when tight regulation of the cell cycle is necessary. In this study, the mechanism by which the developmental signaling molecule Wingless (Wg) generates G1 arrest in the presumptive Drosophila wing margin is examined in detail. Wg signaling promotes activity of the Drosophila retinoblastoma family (Rbf) protein, which is required for G1 arrest in the presumptive wing margin. Wg promotes Rbf function by repressing expression of the G1-S regulator Drosophila myc (dmyc). Ectopic expression of dMyc induces expression of Cyclin E, Cyclin D, and Cdk4, which can inhibit Rbf and promote G1-S progression. Thus, G1 arrest in the presumptive wing margin depends on the presence of Rbf, which is maintained by the ability of Wg signaling to repress dmyc expression in these cells. In addition to advancing the understanding of how patterned cell-cycle arrest is generated by the Wg signaling molecule during development, this study indicates that components of the Rbf/E2f pathway are targets of dMyc in Drosophila. Although Rbf/E2f pathway components mediate the ability of dMyc to promote G1 progression, dMyc appears to regulate growth independently of the RBF/E2f pathway.
A programming model performance study using the NAS parallel benchmarks

Harnessing the power of multicore platforms is challenging due to the additional levels of parallelism present. In this paper we use the NAS Parallel Benchmarks to study three programming models, MPI, OpenMP and PGAS to understand their performance and memory usage characteristics on current multicore architectures. To understand these characteristics we use the Integrated Performance Monitoring tool and other ways to measure communication versus computation time, as well as the fraction of the run time spent in OpenMP. The benchmarks are run on two different Cray XT5 systems and an Infiniband cluster. Our results show that in general the three programming models exhibit very similar performance characteristics. In a few cases, OpenMP is significantly faster because it explicitly avoids communication. For these particular cases, we were able to re-write the UPC versions and achieve equal performance to OpenMP. Using OpenMP was also the most advantageous in terms of memory usage. Also we compare performance differences between the two Cray systems, which have quad-core and hex-core processors. We show that at scale the performance is almost always slower on the hex-core system because of increased contention for network resources.
Racketed tail of the male and female turquoise-browed motmot: male but not female tail length correlates with pairing success, performance, and reproductive success

Both males and females of many avian species maintain elaborate plumage traits, and elaborate monomorphic plumage may convey adaptive benefits to one or both sexes as inter- or intraspecific signals. Both sexes of the turquoise-browed motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) are elaborately plumed with long racket-tipped tail. I investigated whether the racketed tail functions as a sexually selected signal in one or both sexes by testing the predictions that males and/or females with the largest tails have: (1) greater pairing success, (2) greater reproductive performance (clutch-initiation date, clutch size, and hatching success), and (3) greater reproductive success. Yearling males with longer denuded rachises (wires) on the central tail feathers had greater pairing success. In addition, adult males with longer wires paired with females who laid larger clutches, had greater hatching success independent of clutch size, and fledged more young. There was no relationship between female tail plumage and pairing success, reproductive performance, or fledgling success. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that male tail plumage functions as a mate choice or status signal, but that the tail of the female does not function in a sexually selected context. I discuss alternative hypotheses for the evolutionary maintenance of the elaborate female tail plumage.
Globalization and the Concept of the Second City

Globalization is fundamentally reorienting how cities are connected to one another through trade, migration, communication, and representation. Whereas most existing research has concentrated on un...