cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of Modeling to Enhance the Microbiological Safety of the Food System

The use of modeling techniques for safety and risk prediction in the food supply is strongly supported by the incidence of foodborne outbreaks worldwide. In microbiological food safety, important parameters include incidence, microbial growth, microbial inactivation or survival, and dose response of the host. The goals of the modeler should include (1) identifying possible inputs and outputs for a particular concern and (2) choosing factors for integration into a larger, overall model. A case study of ground beef from the farm to the consumer reviews multiple points of concern where relevant parameters for Escherichia coli O157:H7 can be modeled. The prevalence and concentration of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle have been confirmed and studies have explored various feeding regimens and hide-cleaning methods for controlling the pathogen prior to slaughter. There is significant impact of incidence and cross-contamination during slaughter operations. Intervention methods such as washing and heat treatments and proper carcass handling may reduce the contamination level. Microbial growth in meat products can be extensive, given the possibility of temperature abuse during transportation and storage. Dose-response models for susceptible consumers provide a safety perspective for quantitative microbial models. Growth prediction and lethality models, available online, are valuable tools for both researchers and processors. The goal of the processor should be the "highest reduction possible" (to meet adequate safety requirements) prior to the preparation of raw product. The researcher must continually question the use of a model and the availability of data to validate any conclusions.
Effect of age, dose and antibiotic therapy on the development of Clostridium difficile infection in neonatal piglets

Piglet diarrhea is associated with increased pre-weaning mortality, poor growth rates, and variation in weight at weaning. Clostridium difficile is a known cause of enteric disease in neonatal piglets, yet risk factors associated with C. difficile infection in piglets are unknown. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the consistency and severity of lesions in piglets challenged with C. difficile at different bacterial doses (DOSAGE experiment), (2) evaluate the use of antibiotics as a contributing risk factor in 1-day-old piglets (ANTIMICROBIAL experiment), and (3) to provide a clinical and histological evaluation of C. difficile infection in 10-day-old piglets (AGE experiment). One hundred and eleven conventional neonatal pigs were snatch farrowed and divided into experimental groups addressing the objectives. In the DOSAGE experiment, 40 1-day-old piglets were sham inoculated or challenged with varying amounts of C. difficile heat shocked spores and euthanized 72 h post infection. Results indicate a clear trend for disease development as bacterial numbers increase. In the ANTIMICROBIAL experiment, 39 1-day-old piglets were challenged and then treated with one of four different antibiotics after 16 h. No significant difference in disease development was found. Thirty-three 10-day-old piglets were given varying doses of C. difficile in the AGE experiment. Disease and lesions were reproduced in 10-day-old piglets. Combined results indicate that C. difficile dosage appears to be an important factor that influences the appearance and severity of lesions, 10-day-old pigs can develop disease associated with C. difficile, and antibiotic administration following inoculation may not be a major contributor for disease in neonatal piglets.
Trabecular Bone Response to Mechanical and Parathyroid Hormone Stimulation: The Role of Mechanical Microenvironment

Bone response under combined mechanical and PTH stimuli is important in osteoporosis. A rat tail animal model with computer modeling was used to examine bone response to loading and PTH. PTH enhances and sustains increased bone formation rate, which directly correlates to mechanical microenvironment, suggesting beneficial effects of combined PTH treatment and exercise in preventing osteoporosis. Introduction: Using an in vivo rat tail vertebra model combined with a specimen-specific, high-resolution microcomputed tomography (μCT)-based finite element analysis (FEA) technique, trabecular bone response to combined dynamic compressive loading and parathyroid hormone (PTH) stimulation was characterized. Materials and Methods: Two hundred twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into seven treatment groups: (1) Control, (2) vehicle + 0N, (3) PTH + 0N, (4) vehicle + 50N, (5) PTH + 50N, (6) vehicle + 100N, and (7) PTH + 100N, with three treatment durations (1, 2, or 4 weeks). Rat PTH(1–34) was administered daily in the PTH-stimulated groups approximately 3 h before daily mechanical stimulation with 0, 50, or 100N dynamic compressive loading. μCT-based FEA was performed for each loaded vertebra after death. Bone histomorphometry was performed on trabecular bone with double fluorochrome labeling to assess bone formation. Results: Daily mechanical loading or PTH administration significantly increased bone formation rate (BFR) compared with control or V + 0N with significant increases in both mineral apposition rate (MAR) and labeled bone surface (LS/BS). PTH, when combined with mechanical loading, enhanced BFR mainly through a significant increase in MAR after the first week and through a significant increase in LS/BS after 2 and 4 weeks. Synergistic effects in BFR were present when PTH was combined with mechanical loading, especially after 2 and 4 weeks, where the increase in BFR was sustained. However, when either PTH or mechanical loading was the only stimulus, the bone formation response diminished to the level of Control animals after 4 weeks. Furthermore, significant correlations were observed between the bone formation indices and trabecular bone tissue mechanical microenvironments at 1 and 2 weeks, with PTH administration enhancing and sustaining these correlations into 4 weeks. Conclusions: The synergistic effects of combined PTH and mechanical stimulation on trabecular bone formation rate suggest a potential benefit for combined PTH administration and exercise in the treatment of osteoporosis.
Inflammation in cardiac injury, repair and regeneration

Purpose of reviewCardiomyocyte necrosis activates an inflammatory response that serves to clear the injured myocardium from dead cells, and stimulates repair, but may also extend injury. This manuscript discusses new findings that advanced our understanding of the role of inflammation in cardiac inj
Possibility of studying the internal field in a current-carrying conductor using nuclear quadrupole resonance

Abstract A non-invasive method is proposed to probe the Landauer's residual resistivity dipoles in a current-carrying mesoscopic metal. The local voltage fluctuations induce extra local electric field gradients which can then be measured using nuclear quadrupole resonance. We have estimated that such kinds of experiments are indeed feasible.
Do Contingent Valuation Estimates Pass a “Scope” Test? A Meta-analysis☆

Abstract This paper considers the scope test proposed to judge the internal consistency of contingent valuation estimates. The test is shown to be quite sensitive to the maintained hypotheses required to derive fairly precise expectations for the properties of WTP functions, and, therefore, a different approach may be needed in gauging the reliability of CV. This paper describes an approach that relies on a weight-of-the-evidence criterion and uses meta-analysis to develop a systematic appraisal of what the economic values of changes in amenity resources are. The approach is illustrated for the case of estimating people's willingness to pay for improving (or maintaining) visibility at the national parks.
The development of a health information system

In order to redress the inequities in the health care system inherited from the apartheid era, a comprehensive database on health should be developed under the National Health Plan. Important policy decisions about the scope, content, control and use of such an information system will be required at all levels of government and in the private sector. The availability of factual information about users and providers should make it possible to improve the quality of health care, to set priorities in the delivery of care and to minimise the costs.
The Relationship Between Oxygen Consumption and Work Rate in Patients With Airflow Obstruction

The oxygen cost of augmented ventilation is increased in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, either at rest or during exercise. Thus, if excessive demands are placed on the respiratory muscles during exercise in these patients, we postulate that the total oxygen consumption (VO2) may increase relative to the work rate compared to control subjects. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between VO2 and work rate during exercise in patients with airflow obstruction. A retrospective analysis of data collected over 7 years was conducted. Patients with airflow obstruction (n = 131) were compared and contrasted with those in whom pulmonary function studies (spirometry, lung volumes) were normal (n = 199). Severity of airflow obstruction (ie, mild moderate, severe) was determined, using the 95 percent confidence limits for the ratio of FEV1 to FVC. Incremental exercise studies were performed on a cycle ergometer. Resting VO2 was not significantly different across the groups with airflow obstruction measured either directly or normalized for body weight. The VO2max was significantly reduced in the patients with severe airflow obstruction, compared with the normal group, as well as the patients with mild and moderate airflow obstruction. No differences were noted in the slope of VO2 plotted against work rate in the patients with airflow obstruction (regardless of the severity of the obstruction) and individuals in whom results of pulmonary function tests were normal. In addition, when gender was taken into account, there was essentially no difference in the slopes for either male or female subjects across all groups. Stepwise, linear regression failed to demonstrate any variable or variables that were strongly related to slope. We postulate that the maintenance of a normal slope of VO2 on work rate in patients with airflow obstruction, in whom the oxygen cost and work of breathing is likely increased, may mask a significant reduction in nonrespiratory VO2 (for example, to exercising skeletal muscles).
Tensile and fatigue properties of aluminum alloy sheet 6022

Tensile and fatigue tests were performed on aluminum alloy 6022 T4E29 and T6 sheet specimens in ambient air. The tensile and fatigue properties were compared with other commercial aluminum alloys. The results showed that 6022 alloy has high fatigue strength and good ductility with moderate tensile strength.
Connecting to Constituents: The Diffusion of Representation Practices among Congressional Websites

Legislative websites are increasingly important in the practice of representation. Since adapting old practices to new technology entails uncertainty, the authors expect legislative offices to learn website representation practices from each other. Using data from the 2006 and 2007 official home pages of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the authors find that web design practices regarding the content of legislative websites diffuse within state delegations, that is, among members hailing from the same state, but the underlying website technologies do not. These results suggest the continued importance, even in the online world, of state delegations in congressional representation.
Ameliorating Some Negative Effects of Positive Mood: Encouraging Happy People to Perceive Intragroup Variability

Abstract Subjects in positive moods typically perceive groups as being more homogeneous than do subjects in neutral moods (Stroessner & Mackie, 1992). Two experiments tested the idea that increasing the attention that happy perceivers paid to information that differentiated target group members would eliminate this effect. In Experiment 1, salience of distinguishing information was manipulated by either attributing stereotype-inconsistent information to a number of mildly atypical group members or attributing the same stereotype-inconsistent information to a few extremely atypical, and therefore highly salient, group members. In Experiment 2, the salience of distinguishing information was manipulated by asking subjects to merely read descriptions of the group members or to sort them into subgroups on the basis of similarities and differences. In both experiments, happy subjects perceived the group as more homogeneous than did subjects in neutral moods when distinctive information was not made salient, but perceived the group in a manner similar to their neutral mood counterparts when the distinctive information was made salient.
Tissue engineering and regenerative science in pediatrics.

Tissue engineering is a discipline that focuses on the regeneration of living tissues from a combination of cells, biomaterials, and signaling cues (1). The nature of this regenerative science is multidisciplinary, drawing knowledge from cellular and developmental biology, material science and engineering, drug delivery, and wound healing. There has been a tremendous growth in the number of scientific publications that relates to tissue engineering. A simple search in the PubMed database using the term “tissue engineering” shows that the number of publication has grown from less than one per year in the 1980s to 2087 in 2007. This tremendous growth is partly due to the increased interests in stem cells and their therapeutic potential, leading to a new era in regenerative science. Tissue engineering technology has been applied to many organ systems over the last two decades. Several tissue-engineered products are either in clinical use or in clinical trials. For example, skin substitutes made from human cells and collagen matrices have been used to treat patients with burn injury (2). Urinary bladder replacements made from autologous cells and biodegradable polymers to augment bladders of patients with myelomeningocele are in phase 2 clinical trials (3). These tissue-engineering based treatments bring new options and hope to a wide range of patients with tissue deficits. The potential applications of tissue engineering to the pediatric population are diverse. Congenital anomalies that require surgical reconstruction of the tissue deficits occur in every organ system. For example, children with a cleft palate may require bone grafts for reconstruction, and bone regeneration using stem cells, biomaterials, and molecular signals can avoid the donor site morbidity (4,5). In the cardiovascular system, children with congenital heart disease may require shunts, patches, and valves for their repair, and the use of cells and biomaterials to produce cardiovascular tissue substitutes are being actively pursued (6,7). In the genitourinary systems, children with hypospadias, dysfunctional bladders, and dysplastic kidneys will often require multiple procedures for urologic reconstruction. Tissue deficits in these settings are being addressed with emerging tissue-engineered products (8‐10). The application of tissue engineering is well suited to the pediatric population because children heal better and adapt faster than adults. It is also more
An investigation of middle school students' alternative conceptions of global warming

Because global warming presents a serious potential threat to our biosphere, it is receiving considerable attention by scientists, policy makers, and educators. This article presents alternative conceptions about global warming held by a sample of 24 grade 6 to 8 students. Students completed interviews on global’ warming approximately two weeks after instruction from a Science‐Technology‐Society (STS) global warming unit. The majority of students introduced ‘ozone layer’ or ‘ultraviolet radiation’ in response to the question, ‘When you think about global warming, what comes to mind?’ Approximately one‐half of the students held the alternative conceptions that ozone layer depletion is a major cause of global warming and that carbon dioxide destroys the ozone layer. These and other alternative conceptions evidenced by the students suggest that global warming instruction should help students clarify that ozone layer depletion and global warming are different environmental problems and that the ozone ‘hole’ d...
On Buekenhout-Metz unitals of odd order

Abstract The odd order Buekenhout-Metz unitals are enumerated and classified. Their inherited collineation groups are computed, they are shown to be self-dual as designs, and related designs are constructed.
The effects of multiple objectives in the theory of public sector supply

This paper incorporates objectives of both legislators and bureaucrats in a model of public sector decisionmaking. Existing models assume that either bureaucrats control production information and decisions, (Niskanen-type models) or legislators control production decisions (legislative models). My model explicitly incorporates imperfect agent behavior and corresponding preferences of both legislators and bureaucrats to reflect the bilateral nature of appropriations. The analysis shows that output levels generally differ from politically and socially efficient levels and depend on the relative weights of legislative and bureaucratic interests. Accordingly, Niskanen-type and legislative models are viewed as special cases of this more general approach.
Arrestin-dependent but G-protein coupled receptor kinase-independent uncoupling of D2-dopamine receptors

We reconstituted D2 like dopamine receptor (D2R) and the delta opioid receptor (DOR) coupling to G-protein gated inwardly rectifying potassium channels (Kir3) and directly compared the effects of co-expression of G-protein coupled receptor kinase (GRK) and arrestin on agonist-dependent desensitization of the receptor response. We found, as described previously, that co-expression of a GRK and an arrestin synergistically increased the rate of agonist-dependent desensitization of DOR. In contrast, only arrestin expression was required to produce desensitization of D2R responses. Furthermore, arrestin-dependent GRK-independent desensitization of D2R-Kir3 coupling could be transferred to DOR by substituting the third cytoplasmic loop of DOR with that of D2R. The arrestin-dependent GRK-independent desensitization of D2R desensitization was inhibited by staurosporine treatment, and blocked by alanine substitution of putative protein kinase C phosphorylation sites in the third cytoplasmic loop of D2R. Finally, the D2R construct in which putative protein kinase C phosphorylation sites were mutated did not undergo significant agonist-dependent desensitization even after GRK co-expression, suggesting that GRK phosphorylation of D2R does not play an important role in uncoupling of the receptor.
Electrical and structural effects on ionizing radiation in IGFETS

In terms of initial device yield, and long term reliability, process induced radiation damage represents an area of considerable concern. The processes that need to be examined include Ion Implantation, X-ray, E-Beam and Ion Beam lithography, Electron Beam metal evaporation, Sputtering, Reactive Ion Etching, and even SEM examination. The paper discusses the effects of synchrotron X-radiation in the energy range 300-100 eV, as well as Al Ka exposures which simulate the effective wavelength of storage rings planned for X-ray lithography. It will describe such effects in the context of preliminary studies dealing with varying rad exposure level at constant gate insulator thickness, as well as the behavior at several rad exposure levels as a function of gate insulator thickness. Data will be presented indicating that despite prevailing beliefs, damage in the synchrotron range follows a linear relationship over the thickness range from less than 10 nm to 50 nm, indicating strongly that damage resides near the interface and is constant with increasing insulator thickness. It will be shown that such behavior is consistent with a simple model. Even if such damage can be annealed completely using normal techniques, which is questionable, there are wide-ranging implications concerning the rad hardness of scaled devices.
Internet advertisements for public sexual encounters among men who have sex with men: are safe behaviors communicated?

Public and commercial sex venues typically provide easy access to sexual encounters that are often anonymous and, therefore, may facilitate HIV/STD transmission among those men who attend. Recently...
The signaling interface of the yeast multidrug transporter Pdr5 adopts a cis conformation, and there are functional overlap and equivalence of the deviant and canonical Q-loop residues.

ABC transporters are polytopic proteins. ATP hydrolysis and substrate transport take place in separate domains, and these activities must be coordinated through a signal interface. We previously characterized a mutation (S558Y) in the yeast multidrug transporter Pdr5 that uncouples ATP hydrolysis and drug transport. To characterize the transmission interface, we used a genetic screen to isolate second-site mutations of S558Y that restore drug transport. We recovered suppressors that restore drug resistance; their locations provide functional evidence for an interface in the cis rather than the trans configuration indicated by structural and cross-linking studies of bacterial and eukaryotic efflux transporters. One mutation, E244G, defines the Q-loop of the deviant portion of NBD1, which is the hallmark of this group of fungal transporters. When moved to an otherwise wild-type background, this mutation and its counterpart in the canonical ATP-binding site Q951G show a similar reduction in drug resistance a...
Angioplasty or stent placement in the proximal common iliac artery: is protection of the contralateral side necessary?

PURPOSE To determine if protection of the contralateral common iliac artery is necessary when performing angioplasty or stent placement in a proximal common iliac artery. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review of all patients undergoing endovascular treatment for unilateral common iliac artery stenosis or occlusion from 1979 to 2000 was performed. All angiograms were reviewed independently by three experienced vascular interventional radiologists who evaluated both common iliac arteries before and after angioplasty or stent placement. RESULTS The medical records or angiograms of 514 patients were located. Of these, complete records and angiograms were found for 175 patients who underwent proximal (within 2 cm of its origin) common iliac artery angioplasty or stent placement without treatment or protection of the contralateral common iliac artery. Treatment of proximal common iliac stenosis in 160 patients resulted in luminal compromise of the contralateral common iliac in two patients (17% and 24% reduction in luminal diameter). No contralateral compromise was noted in 15 patients treated for iliac occlusion. CONCLUSION The data reported herein suggest that protection of the contralateral common iliac artery during angioplasty or stent placement in a proximal common iliac artery is not mandatory.
Migrating keratinocytes express urokinase-type plasminogen activator

Abstract When confluent keratinocyte cultures were wounded by cutting with a blade, the cells rapidly retracted from the wounded site, leaving an area denuded of cells. Within 3–4 h of wounding, keratinocytes began to migrate from the edges and gradually reepithelialized the entire denuded area. Mitomycin C did not prevent the reepithelialization but did dramatically inhibit [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into the leading edge of cells. These results indicate that cell proliferation was not required for reepithelialization. Using a rabbit antibody against urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and an avidin-biotin-peroxidase detection method, we localized u-PA in the keratinocytes at the leading edge of the migrating cultures. Cytochalasin B dramatically inhibited the extent of migration and also altered cell morphology; nonetheless, urokinase was detected in the limited number of cells that moved into the wounded area, even in the presence of cytochalasin B. A small but consistent enhancement (36% ± 9) of plasminogen activator activity was observed in the supernatant of wounded cultures. These data suggest that plasminogen activator may be involved in the migration of keratinocytes that occurs during wound healing.
Control of an Electrostatic Microelectromechanical System Using Static and Dynamic Output Feedback

This paper examines control strategies for electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), with the goals of using feasible measurements to eliminate the pull-in bifurcation, robustly stabilize any desired operating point in the capacitive gap, decrease settling time, and reduce overshoot. We show that input-output linearization, passivity-based design, and the theory of port-controlled Hamiltonian systems lead naturally to static output feedback of device charge. This formalizes and extends previously reported results from the MEMS literature. Further analysis suggests that significantly improving transient behavior in lightly damped MEMS requires dynamic estimation of electrode velocity. We implement output-feedback control using a reduced-order nonlinear observer. Simulations predict greatly improved transient behavior, and large reductions in control voltage.
A Tactile Stimulator for Studying Passive Shape Perception

We describe a computer-controlled tactile stimulator for use in human psychophysical and monkey neurophysiological studies of 3D shape perception. The stimulator is constructed primarily of commercially available parts, as well as a few custom-built pieces for which we will supply diagrams upon request. There are two components to the stimulator: a tactile component and a hand positioner component. The tactile component consists of multiple stimulating units that move about in a Cartesian plane above the restrained hand. Each stimulating unit contains a servo-controlled linear motor with an attached small rotary stepper motor, allowing arbitrary stimulus shapes to contact the skin through vibration, static indentation, or scanning. The hand positioner component modifies the conformation of the restrained hand through a set of mechanical linkages under motorized control. The present design controls the amount of spread between digits 2 and 3, the spread between digits 4 and 3, and the degree to which digit 3 is flexed or extended, thereby simulating different conformations of the hand in contact with objects. This design is easily modified to suit the needs of the experimenter. Because the two components of the stimulator are independently controlled, the stimulator allows for parametric study of the mechanoreceptive and proprioceptive contributions to 3D tactile shape perception.
Person- versus computer-mediated feedback

Abstract The effects of feedback provided by a person versus that provided by a computer on performance, motivation, and feedback seeking were studied. Employing a 2 × 3 experimental design, subjects were assigned to one of three feedback conditions: (a) no feedback, (b) feedback only upon request, and (c) automatic feedback with feedback provided either by a person or a computer. The results indicate that (a) subjects are more likely to seek feedback from a computer than from another person; (b) feedback from a person causes a decline in performance relative to a condition where a person is present but does not deliver feedback; (c) both human- and computer-mediated feedback reduce motivation in comparison to a control group that receives no feedback; and (d) personality — in this case, self-esteem and public and private self-consciousness — interacts with the receipt of person-mediated feedback to negatively affect performance.
PROBABILISTIC METHODS IN STREAM QUALITY MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT. Recent advances in water quality modelling have pointed out the need for stochastic models to simulate the probabilistic nature of water quality. However, often all that is needed is an estimate of the uncertainty in predicting water quality variables. First order analysis is a simple method of providing an estimate in the uncertainty in a deterministic model due to uncertain parameters. The method is applied to the simplified Streeter-Phelps equations for DO and BOD; a more complete Monte Carlo simulation is used to check the accuracy of the results. The first order analysis is found to give accurate estimates of means and variances of DO and BOD up to travel times exceeding the critical time. Uncertainty in travel time and the BOD decay constant are found to be most important for small travel times; uncertainty in the reaeration coefficient dominates near the critical time. Uncertainty in temperature was found to be a negligible source of uncertainty in DO for all travel times.
The effect of age on children's learning of problems that require a configural association solution

Elemental associations permit subjects to solve problems when the significance of the relevant stimulus elements are consistent from trial to trial but do not allow subjects to solve problems that require them to construct and use representations of stimulus conjunctions or configurations to guide their behavior. Recent research with brain-damaged and developing animals has led several theorists to propose that elemental and configural associations depend on different neural systems. Some evidence suggests that changes in children's learning that occur when they are about 4.5 years old may be partially due to developmental differences in access to the elemental and configural association systems. Two experiments are reported that support this hypothesis. Children at least 4.5 years old were able to solve the transverse patterning problem and a conditional discrimination, two problems that require configural association solutions. Younger children did not solve these problems but were able to solve problems constructed from the same stimulus materials that permitted an elemental association solution. These results suggest that children may not gain access to the configural association system until they are about 4.5 years old and support the hypothesis that the configural association system depends on different, later developing neural structures than does the elemental association system.
λSHK and λAASV : phage vectors for efficient cDNA cloning and expression in mammalian cells

We describe here the construction of two hybrid λ phage vectors for the preparation of directional cDNA libraries that can be used directly, or after their conversion to plasmids, for expression in mammalian cells.
Special issues in the management and selection of the donor for lung transplantation

Lung transplantation is a viable treatment option for select patients with end-stage lung disease. Two issues hamper progress in transplantation: first, donor shortage is a major limitation to increasing the number of transplants performed. Secondly, recipient outcomes remain disappointing when compared with other solid organ transplant results. Outcomes are limited by primary graft dysfunction (PGD), the posttransplant acute lung injury that increases both short-and long-term mortality. Attempts to overcome donor shortage have included aggressively managing solid organ donors to increase the number of donor lungs suitable for transplantation. Yet, the quality of the lung donor is likely to be related to the probability of the recipient experiencing PGD. PGD is the culmination of a series of insults, hemodynamic, metabolic, and inflammatory, that begin with the brain dead donor and result in poor recipient outcomes. Understanding the mechanism of donor lung injury resulting from brain death and the possible treatment strategies for its inhibition could help to increase the number of usable lungs and decrease the rate of PGD in the recipient. Here we present a review of the key pathways which result in donor lung injury, and follow this with a brief review of recent biomarkers that are proving to be instrumental to our ability to predict truly unsuitable lungs, and our ability to predict and hopefully prevent or treat recipients with subsequent lung injury.
She has great spirit: insight into relationships between American Indian dads and daughters

Data from this preliminary study, the American Indian – Dads and Daughters Survey, shed light on how American Indian fathers think and feel about their relationships with their daughters. Respondents represent an array of tribal affiliations, age, occupations, socioeconomic status, and geographical/geopolitical locations, helping to ensure that these data are relevant across a broad spectrum of Indian Country. Among the many insights into the relationships revealed in these data are common themes involving spirituality, identity, and adherence to cultural values. These insights may help educators, and others, who work with American Indian families, gain a greater awareness and understanding of how the relationships between American Indian fathers and their daughters impact both traditional American Indian communities as well as more mainstream westernized American Indian communities.
Heart-lung transplantation for patients with cystic fibrosis. A test of clinical wisdom.

It is becoming increasingly clear that scientific or technologic advance in medicine (as in other fields) has the effect of multiplying ethical choices or, from a somewhat different perspective, of heaping new burdens of nuanced judgment on already overburdened clinicians. This is more evident, and more dramatic, in acute than in chronic illness; in the latter, the therapeutic status quo is rarely upset by major breakthroughs. Heart-lung transplantation (HLT) in end-stage cystic fibrosis (CF), however, is an example of what now may provisionally be called a therapeutic breakthrough in a chronic disease, in view of the apparent fact that the transplanted lungs do not redevelop CF. Since the early 1980s, when the first CF HLTs were performed, with encouraging results, clinicians dealing with patients with end-stage CF have been faced with the need to make judgments regarding which patients to recommend as candidates for HLT. The scope of ethical choice
Universal Newborn Screening and Adverse Medical Outcomes: A Historical Note.

Universal newborn screening programs for metabolic disorders are typically described as a triumph of medicine and public policy in the US over the last 50 years. Advances in science and technology, including the Human Genome Project, offer the opportunity to expand universal newborn screening programs to include many additional metabolic and genetic conditions. Although the benefits of such screening programs appear to outweigh their costs, some critics have claimed that historical examples of inadvertent harm ensuing from false-positive screening results and subsequent inappropriate medical treatment should make us wary of expanding universal newborn screening. In this essay, we report the results of a review of the published literature to assess whether the extension of screening from at risk populations to all newborns led to substantial morbidity and mortality from misguided medical treatment. We provide a historical overview of universal newborn screening programs in the United States, and then focus on six early NBS programs: congenital hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, galactosemia, sickle cell disease, and maple syrup urine disease. Our comprehensive search of published sources did not reveal a widespread problem of harm ensuing from medical treatment of children with false positive screening test results.
Butorphanol: Effects of a Prototypical Agonist-Antagonist Analgesic on κ-Opioid Receptors

The opioid analgesic, butorphanol (17-cyclobutylmethyl-3,14-dihydroxymorphinan) tartrate is a prototypical agonist-antagonist opioid analgesic agent whose potential for abuse has been the cause of litigation in the United States. With a published affinity for opioid receptors in vitro of 1:4:25 (mu:delta:kappa), the relative contribution of actions at each of these receptors to the in vivo actions of the drug are an issue of active investigation. A body of evidence has been developed which indicates that a substantial selective action of butorphanol on the kappa-opioid receptor mediates the development of tolerance to butorphanol and cross-tolerance to other opioid agonists; to the production of dependence upon butorphanol, particularly in the rodent; and to compensatory alterations in brain opioid receptor-effector systems. This perspective will identify the current state of understanding of the effects produced by butorphanol on brain opioid receptors, particularly on the kappa-opioid receptor subtype, and on the expression of phosphotyrosyl proteins following chronic treatment with butorphanol.
Alexander Hamilton's market-based debt reduction plan a comment

As noted by Garber, the debate over the payment of the domestic debt was long and complex. In fact, the arrangement reached by Hamilton and accepted by the Congress was a compromise, and the outcome for creditors could have been far worse. Many people at the time wanted to pay less to the domestic creditors. The motivation for these plans was the fact that much of the debt was not held by t’he original recipient. The popular outcry against the “speculators” who had purchased the securities was substantial. As one writer put it, “It is wished to sacrifice the mnny to a few...to make noblemen and nabobs of a few New York gentlemen, at the expense of all the farmers in the United States” (quoted in Ferguson, 1961, p. 301, italics in the original). It is likely that Hamilton was wrong in his claim that only a third of the debt was held by alienees (Garber, p. 90). For the states of Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, a.nd R.hode Isla.nd, data are available on the fraction of the federal debt held in state which had been transferred before the federal loan of 1790. For these states the average fraction held by the original creditors was less than 30% (Ferguson, 1961, pp. 273-83). In Virginia, 65% of the debts had been tra.nsferred by 17S6-only two years after many of the securities had been issued (Ferguson, 1961, pp. 254-5).
Using PIV to determine relative pressures in a stenotic phantom under steady flow based on the Pressure-Poisson equation

Pressure gradient across a Gaussian-shaped 87% area stenosis phantom was estimated by solving the pressure Poisson equation (PPE) for a steady flow mimicking the blood flow through the human iliac artery. The velocity field needed to solve the pressure equation was obtained using particle image velocimetry (PIV). A steady flow rate of 46.9 ml/s was used, which corresponds to a Reynolds number of 188 and 595 at the inlet and stenosis throat, respectively (in the range of mean Reynolds number encountered in-vivo). In addition, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of the same flow was performed. Pressure drops across the stenosis predicted by PPE/PIV and CFD were compared with those measured by a pressure catheter transducer. RMS errors relative to the measurements were 17% and 10% for PPE/PIV and CFD, respectively.
A Distributed Environment for Collaborative Design

Tools and applications are needed to provide engineers with support to design in a distributed and collaborative environment. These systems and tools need to make it possible to share design information, and schedule design process so that a group of distributed engineers can work together. Software level design is the prerequisite condition for applying any design approaches into the distributed mechanical design and in this paper, basic design systems and design tools are developed so that a typical distributed mechanical design can be supported. Requirements for a collaborative design system are presented, along with requirements to develop a prototype distributed system. The system is demonstrated on reverse engineering project for an aircraft component.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Exact results for a three-dimensional alloy with site diagonal disorder: comparison with the coherent potential approximation

Densities of states and spectral functions are obtained for large (\ensuremath{\sim}8000 atoms) three-dimensional alloy models with cell localized disorder and are compared with the single-site coherent-potential approximation (CPA). We find that the CPA agrees remarkably well with the exact numerical results. In particular, the overall structure of the electronic spectrum and the transition from one- to two-band behavior are well described. There is, however, some substructure which is not reproduced by the single-site approximation.
Epiphrenic Diverticulum: Clinical and Radiographic Findings in 27 Patients

Abstract The purpose of our study was to reassess the clinical and radiographic findings in patients with epiphrenic diverticula. A search of our radiology files revealed 27 patients with epiphrenic diverticula within 10 cm of the gastroesophageal junction. Medical records and radiographic reports and images were reviewed to determine the clinical and radiographic findings. Twenty-three patients had a solitary epiphrenic diverticulum, three had two diverticula, and one had three diverticula. The diverticula arose from the right side of the distal esophagus in 19 patients and the left side in eight. The diverticula had a mean width of 4.4 cm and a mean height of 3.7 cm. Other findings included prolonged retention of barium in the diverticula in 19 patients, preferential filling in 11, retained debris in 5, regurgitation of barium or debris in 5, compression of the esophagus in 5, pseudodiverticula formation in 3, and ulceration in 1. We found a significant correlation between the width of the diverticulum and preferential filling with barium. Twelve patients had abnormal esophageal motility, with diffuse esophageal spasm in two. Seventeen patients had symptoms attributable to the diverticulum (dysphagia in 11 and/or reflux symptoms in 12). We also found a significant correlation between the size or preferential filling of the diverticulum and the presence of symptoms. Conversely, we found no correlation between esophageal dysmotility and the presence of symptoms. Our experience suggests that the development of symptoms in patients with epiphrenic diverticula is more likely to be related to the morphologic features of the diverticula than to underlying esophageal motility disorders.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades

This article looks at the growth and evolution of the The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, from the group's Egyptian origins through its most recent attack on a Japanese tanker in the Hormuz Straits. In addition to an overview of the group's main personalities and claims of responsibility, the article aims to explain the group by placing it in the context of recent jihadi theory.
Radiometric calibration analysis of SIR-B imagery

The second flight of the NASA Spaceborne Imaging Radar (SIR-B) collected nearly 8 hours of digital synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data of the earth's surface. This paper analyzes the performance of the SAR to determine the accuracy of the relative radiometric calibration of these data. Procedures are presented for deriving accuracy estimates as well as limitations under which these estimates are valid. The impact on calibration of an RF breakdown in the primary antenna feed system cable is evaluated. An analysis of the platform stability based on the SAR echo data is also presented in conjunction with its resultant effect on the calibration accuracy. Finally, numerical error bounds are derived with guidelines on their utilization.
Asymmetric caching: improved network deduplication for mobile devices

Network deduplication (dedup) is an attractive approach to improve network performance for mobile devices. With traditional deduplication, the dedup~source uses only the portion of the cache at the dedup~destination that it is aware of. We argue in this work that in a mobile environment, the dedup~destination (say the mobile) could have accumulated a much larger cache than what the current dedup~source is aware of. This can occur because of several reasons ranging from the mobile consuming content through heterogeneous wireless technologies, to the mobile moving across different wireless networks.In this context, we propose asymmetric caching, a solution that is overlaid on baseline network deduplication, but which allows the dedup~destination to selectively feedback appropriate portions of its cache to the dedup~source with the intent of improving the redundancy elimination efficiency. We show using traffic traces collected from 30 mobile users, that with asymmetric caching, over 89% of the achievable redundancy can be identified and eliminated even when the dedup~source has less than one hundredth of the cache size as the dedup~destination. Further, we show that the ratio of bytes saved from transmission at the dedup~source because of asymmetric caching is over 6x that of the number of bytes sent as feedback. Finally, with a prototype implementation of asymmetric caching on both a Linux laptop and an Android smartphone, we demonstrate that the solution is deployable with reasonable CPU and memory overheads.
Abstract B93: Concatenated multitype L2 fusion proteins as prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccines

Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008 B93 Vaccination with minor capsid protein L2, is known to induce antibodies that cross-neutralize diverse papillomavirus types.However, neutralizing titers against the homologous type are generally much higher than the titers against heterologous types. We hypothesized that vaccination with concatenated multi-type L2 fusion proteins derived from known cross-protective epitopes of several divergent HPV types might increase immunity across medically significant HPV genotypes. Here, the antibody responses of mice and rabbits to vaccination with HPV16 L2 polypeptides comprising residues 1-88 or 11-200, was compared with multi-type L2 fusion proteins, namely 11-200x3 types (HPV6, 16, 18), 11-88x5 types (HPV1, 5, 6,16, 18), or 17-36x22 types (5 cutaneous, 2 mucosal low risk and 15 oncogenic types), and with a licensed quadrivalent HPV L1 virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine, Gardasil. The monotype L2 polypeptides generated robust neutralization titers against HPV16 but lower titers against other HPV types. In contrast, the antisera to the multi-type L2 fusion proteins, notably 11-200x3 and 11-88x5, induced high neutralizing titers against all heterologous HPVs tested. However, in mice, these neutralizing titers were consistently lower than those to L1 VLP. The in vitro neutralization titers elicited by vaccination with 11-200x3 in different adjuvant combinations tested were not significantly different at two weeks after immunization. However, the vaccines formulated in GPI-0100 adjuvant or alum and ISS 1018 protected mice against HPV16 challenge at four months after immunization in the same manner as HPV16 L1 VLP, whereas 11-200x3 alone or formulated with either alum or ISS 1018 alone was significantly less effective. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B93.
Have the constraints on PPP relaxed over time? Some evidence from Japan

Abstract A standard model with transportation costs implies that real exchange rates should follow a band threshold model where the process is a random walk within the bands and mean-reverting outside them. Because of technological improvements, these bands should narrow over time. The evidence indicates that such a feature is not supported by the data, casting doubts on the relevance of such models to describe the behavior of exchange rates.