Health disparities are defined as “differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States” (US Department of Health and Human Services 2002). Arguably the most remarkable health disparities in the United States is the difference in the incidence of biliarytract cancers (BTC)...

In a previous publication from this laboratory, a method was described for the quantitative bromodecarboxylation of amino acids, proteins, and peptides (1). A review of decarboxylating compounds and of the theories pertinent to their mode of action has been presented by Schijnberg and Moubacher (2). The reaction of N-bromosuccinimide with various compounds in organic solvents has received consi...

Since “learning that one’s child has a life-threatening disease” was included as a qualifying event for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), application of a trauma model for investigating parental responses to lifethreatening diseases of their children has become more prevalent (Stuber, Kazak...

Background: Barakat syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural deafness, and renal disease, collectively known as HDR syndrome. This disease is caused by the mutation of GATA3 gene located on chromosome 10p15. GATA3 is involved in the embryonic development of kidneys, inner ears, parathyroid glands, and central nervous systems.Case report: ...

Introduction Koa (Acacia koa) is currently the most important commercialized hardwood in Hawai'r's forests. A sustainable supply of koa will depend on reforestation with the best adapted seed sources and perhaps with vegetatively propagated cultivars having unique traits. At present, koa forests are in a serious state of decline, and improvement appears warranted if sustainable supply is to be ...

We have analyzed entropy properties of coherent and partially polarized light in an arbitrary number of spatial dimensions. We show that for Gaussian fields, the Shannon entropy is a simple function of the intensity and of the Barakat degree of polarization. In particular, we provide a probabilistic interpretation of this definition of the degree of polarization. Using information theory result...

The problem of motion planning and control of mobile robots has attracted the interest of researchers in view of its theoretical challenges because of their obvious relevance in applications. From a control viewpoint, the peculiar nature of nonholonomic kinematics and dynamic complexity of the mobile robot makes that feedback stabilization at a given posture cannot be achieved via smooth time-i...