cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Convex Icebergs and Sectorial Starlike Functions

We consider the complex plane $$\mathbb {C}$$ as a space filled by two different media, separated by the real axis $$\mathbb {R}$$ . For a planar body (connected compact set) $$E$$ in $$\mathbb {C}$$ , the sets $$E_+=E\cap \{z:\mathfrak {I}z>0\}$$ and $$E_-=E\backslash \{z:\mathfrak {I}z>0\}$$ will be considered as a “visible” part of $$E$$ and an “invisible” part of $$E$$ , respectively. In a recent paper of Barnard, Pearce and Solynin, the authors discussed the problem of estimating the maximum draft, $$\min \{\mathfrak {I}z:z\in E_-\}$$ , from characteristics of the whole body $$E$$ and characteristics of its “visible” part $$E_+$$ . Their study was focused on the general case of compact sets, i.e. they worked with sets $$E$$ which are not necessarily convex. In this paper, we investigate the maximal draft of $$E$$ as a function of the logarithmic capacity of $$E$$ and the area of $$E_+$$ under the more natural, yet also more difficult, assumption that $$E$$ is convex. As a tool in our proof, we consider extremal problems for the related class of sectorial starlike functions.
Dental malpractice experience: a closed claim study.

This study is part of a larger study of closed dental malpractice claims recently funded by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, US Public Health Service. This paper focuses on the outcome of malpractice claims against dentists in a major state. Limiting the analysis of dentist closed claims to one state experience allows us to avoid confounding because of differences in legal, market, and sociodemographic characteristics across states and to concentrate
Drosophila genes Posterior Sex Combs and Suppressor two of zeste encode proteins with homology to the murine bmi-1 oncogene

THE Polycomb group (Pc-G) genes are needed to maintain expression patterns of the homeotic selector genes of the Antennapedia (Antp-C) and bithorax (bx-C) complexes, and hence for the maintenance of segmental determination1–3. We report the predicted protein sequence of the Pc-G gene Posterior Sex Combs (Psc), and of the neighbouring and related gene Suppressor two of zeste (Su(z)2). Both genes encode large proteins that contain a 200 amino-acid domain identical over 37.4% that is also conserved in the murine oncogene bmi-1 (refs 4,5). At the amino terminus of this domain is a cysteine-rich sequence that has been proposed as a novel type of zinc finger6.
Osteotomies in rhinoplasty surgery.

Purpose of review To review the current literature on nasal osteotomies with an emphasis on new techniques as well as evaluations of existing procedures. Recent findings Powered instrumentation has seen greater use and is felt to offer an improvement by some over more traditional methods. The enbloc osteotomy may be an alternative procedure to straighten a deviated bony dorsum that does not require hump reduction. Osteotomy sequence can have a significant effect on final outcomes. Comparisons of continuous vs. perforating osteotomy shows only a difference in ecchymosis and edema rather than effectiveness. Summary The often frustrating and inconsistent nasal osteotomy has been carefully scrutinized by many surgeons over the years. Evolutionary improvements have been developed that may reduce outcome variability and enhance reliability.
Finding the true spin-lattice relaxation time for half-integral nuclei with non-zero quadrupole couplings.

Abstract Measuring true spin–lattice relaxation times T1 of half-integral quadrupolar nuclei having non-zero nuclear quadrupole coupling constants (NQCCs) presents challenges due to the presence of satellite-transitions (STs) that may lie outside the excitation bandwidth of the central transition (CT). This leads to complications in establishing well-defined initial conditions for the population differences in these multi-level systems. In addition, experiments involving magic-angle spinning (MAS) can introduce spin exchange due to zero-crossings of the ST and CT (or possibly rotational resonance recoupling in the case of multiple sites) and greatly altered initial conditions as well. An extensive comparison of pulse sequences that have been previously used to measure T1 in such systems is reported, using the 71Ga (I = 3/2) NMR of a Ge-doped h-GaN n-type semiconductor sample as the test case. The T1 values were measured at the peak maximum of the Knight shift distribution. Analytical expressions for magnetization-recovery of the CT appropriate to the pulse sequences tested were used, involving contributions from both a magnetic relaxation mechanism (rate constant W) and a quadrupolar one (rate constants W1 and W2, approximately equal in this case). An asynchronous train of high-power saturating pulses under MAS that is able to completely saturate both CT and STs is found to be the most reliable and accurate method for obtaining the “true T1”, defined here as (2W + 2W1,2)−1. All other methods studied yielded poor agreement with this “true T1” value or even resulted in gross errors, for reasons that are analyzed in detail. These methods involved a synchronous train of saturating pulses under MAS, an inversion-recovery sequence under MAS or static conditions, and a saturating comb of pulses on a static sample. Although the present results were obtained on a sample where the magnetic relaxation mechanism dominated the quadrupolar one, the asynchronous saturating pulse train approach is not limited to this situation. The extent to which W1 and W2 are unequal does affect the interpretability of the experiment however, particularly when the quadrupolar mechanism dominates. A numerically approximate solution for the I = 3/2 recovery case reveals the quantitative effects of any such inequality.
Evaluating the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine encoding Lassa virus nucleoprotein

Several viruses in the Arenavirus genus of the family Arenaviridae cause severe, often fatal, hemorrhagic fever. One such virus, Lassa virus (LV), is a frequent cause of disease in Africa, and survivors often are left with substantial neurological impairment. The feasibility of protective immunization against LV infection, and the associated disease, has been demonstrated in animal models, using recombinant vaccinia viruses to deliver Lassa proteins. Circumstantial evidence implicates cellular immunity in this Lassa-induced protection, but this has not been confirmed. Here, we describe DNA vaccines that encode LV proteins. A single inoculation of a plasmid encoding full-length Lassa nucleoprotein (LNP) can induce CD8(+) T cell responses in mice and can protect against challenge with two arenaviruses, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and Pichinde virus (PV). A DNA minigene vaccine encoding a 9 amino acid sequence from LNP also induces CD8(+) T cells and protects against arenavirus challenge, thus confirming prior speculation that protective cellular immunity is induced by LV proteins.
INCREASING EXTENDED CARE FACILITY RESIDENTS' ATTENDANCE AT RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES WITH CONVENIENT LOCATIONS AND PERSONAL INVITATIONS1

Residents of extended care facilities generally exhibit a low level of attendance at recreational and therapeutic activities. Spatial arrangement of rooms, prompting, snacks, and small prizes have been suggested as factors that affect attendance. The present study examined the effects of an extensive system of prompts and the location of activity areas on the attendance of residents at a variety of activities. Twenty-six subjects were randomly selected from the ambulatory population of the facility. The first time each subject entered the activity room during the first 6 min of an activity session their name was recorded. Reliability measures were taken at 10 sessions, with a 95% mean agreement between observers. The variables examined were the amount of individualization of subjects (experimental group I: names announced versus experimental group 2: names not announced), room location (central or peripheral), use of names in announcements (activity only versus activity and group I names), and mode of announcement (PA system only versus PA system and in-person). A counter-balanced group design with repeated measures was used, with a randomly determined order of application of experimental treatments. An analysis of variance split plot 2.222 (Kirk, R. E. Experimental Design: Procedures for the Behavioral Science. Belmont, Ca.: Brooks-Cole, 1968.) of the level of subject attendance yielded significant main effects for room location, F(1, 24) = 5.47, p < 0.05, and type of announcement, F(1, 24) = 9.10, p < 0.01, and significant interactions for Individualization × Use of Names in Announcements, F(1, 24) = 5.57, p < 0.05, and Room Location × Mode of Announcement, F(1, 24) = 7.90, p < 0.01. The results indicate that using a centrally located room and announcement of resident names increases attendance at a variety of activities. The increased social and environmental interaction generated by activity attendance has potential therapeutic benefits for the residents involved. Furthermore, the kind of information reported here and by others should be taken into consideration by planners of a variety of group living facilities, ranging from nursing homes to residential treatment cottages.
The Statistician Who Changed the World: W. Edwards Deming, 1900–1993

(1994). The Statistician Who Changed the World: W. Edwards Deming, 1900–1993. The American Statistician: Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 179-187.
Reticular Synthesis of Microporous and Mesoporous 2D Covalent Organic Frameworks

Three new crystalline microporous and mesoporous 2D covalent organic frameworks termed COF-6, -8, and -10 from boronic acid building blocks and 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene have been synthesized and structurally characterized. These materials constructed of C2O2B rings form eclipsed layered structures with pore sizes ranging from 6.4 to 34.1 A and are found to have high thermal stability, low density, and high porosity as indicated by the surface areas of 980, 1400, and 2080 m2 g-1 for COF-6, -8, and -10, respectively. The control of pore size and structure demonstrates the effectiveness of reticular chemistry methods toward materials design.
Genomic organization, sequence, and chromosomal localization of the human helix-loop-helix Id1 gene.

Abstract The helix–loop–helix protein Id-1 regulates growth and differentiation in many mammalian cells. In human fibroblasts, Id1 and Id1′, a putative splicing variant, are cell cycle regulated, essential for proliferation, repressed by senescence, and overexpressed by some tumor cells. To better understand Id1, we determined the complete sequence, transcriptional start, and localization of the human Id1 gene. Human Id1 has two exons (426 bp and 42 bp), separated by an intron (239 bp). Id1′ results from failure to splice the intron, which encodes 7 amino acids prior to a stop codon. Thus, Id-1 and Id1′ proteins differ only at the extreme C-terminus. Id1 transcription initiated 96 bp upstream of the initiation AUG; 2 kb of upstream sequence stimulated transcription of a reporter gene. Human Id1 maps to chromosome 20 at q11, very close to the centromere but outside the amplicons frequently found in human cancers.
Individual differences in behavioral measures: Correlations with nucleus accumbens dopamine measured by microdialysis

Rats were placed in one of two novel test environments for behavioral observation. In one, exploratory behavior (assessed by hole pokes) and locomotion were assessed during a 10-min test session. In the other, the chewing of varied objects on the cage floor was rated over a 20-min session. Within 2-18 days, animals were anesthetized and microdialysis probes were implanted into the nucleus accumbens for measurement of basal and d-amphetamine-stimulated levels of dopamine (DA). These measures were then correlated with the individual behavioral rating collected earlier from the drug-free animals. We found a significant correlation between duration of exploratory behavior and amphetamine-induced DA release. Locomotor activity did not correlated with either basal or amphetamine-stimulated DA release. Duration of chewing episodes correlated with basal levels of DA, as well as with amphetamine-induced DA release. Our studies indicate that differences in the dopaminergic responsivity of the nucleus accumbens (or other circuitry influencing nucleus accumbens DA function) may contribute to individual differences in certain behaviors displayed by the animals when placed in a novel environment.
In situ coexpression of glucose and monocarboxylate transporter mRNAs in metabolic-sensitive caudal dorsal vagal complex catecholaminergic neurons: transcriptional reactivity to insulin-induced hypoglycemia and caudal hindbrain glucose or lactate repletion during insulin-induced hypoglycemia.

Abstract The neurochemical phenotype(s) of metabolic sensing neurons in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) remains unclear. These studies utilized single-cell quantitative real-time RT–PCR, in conjunction with laser–catapult microdissection, to address the hypothesis that DVC A2 neurons express genes that encode the characterized metabolic transducers, e.g. glucokinase (GCK) and the energy-dependent potassium channel, K ATP . Studies show that either glucose or lactate alters synaptic firing of DVC chemosensory neurons, and that delivery of the latter fuel into the caudal hindbrain amplifies insulin-induced hypoglycemia (IIH) and elevates neuronal glucose and monocarboxylate transporter, GCK, and sulfonylurea-1 mRNA in the DVC. We thus examined the additional premise that IIH modifies A2 substrate transporter and metabolic transducer gene profiles, and that such transcriptional responses may be reversed by exogenous lactate and/or glucose. Individual tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactive (-ir) A2 neurons were microdissected from the caudal DVC 2 h after injection of insulin or saline, and continuous caudal fourth ventricular (CV4) infusion of lactate, glucose, or artificial cerebrospinal fluid. The data show that IIH decreased MCT2, but elevated GLUT3, GLUT4, GCK, and SUR-1 transcripts in A2 neurons. Blood glucose levels in insulin-injected rats were further reduced by CV4 infusion of either lactate or glucose. Lactate plus insulin reversed hypoglycemic reductions in MCT2 mRNA and further augmented GLUT3 transcripts in A2 neurons, whereas glucose infusion in insulin-injected rats further increased GLUT3 and GCK gene profiles. The present results demonstrate that caudal DVC A2 neurons express molecular markers for metabolic sensing, and genes that encode glucose and monocarboxylate transporters. Evidence that IIH reduces A2 MCT2, but elevates GLUT3 and GLUT4 gene profiles suggests that glucose may be a primary energy source to these cells during hypoglycemia, while decreased lactate uptake, alone or relative to glucose uptake, may be a critical manifestation of systemic glucose deficiency at the cellular level. Findings that singular fuel repletion does not normalize hypoglycemic patterns of glucose transporter, GCK, or SUR-1 mRNA expression in A2 neurons imply that sufficient supply of both energy substrates is required for metabolic balance, and that cellular adaptation to the prevalence of either fuel may increase cellular dependence on glucose-specific metabolites or other products.
On frequency distributions of air pollutant concentrations

Abstract Observed frequency distributions of air pollutant concentration levels are critically analyzed with respect to their statistical description. It is demonstrated that several common distributions can be used to fit observed data, one of which is the popular log-normal distribution. The observation that concentration distributions for all averaging times are approximately log-normal can be explained if the short averaging time data are themselves assumed to be log-normally distributed. The near log-normality of pollutant concentration frequency distributions can be explained on the basis of the near log-normality of wind speed distributions, although this explanation does not establish that wind speed distributions are solely responsible for observed concentration distributions. It is concluded that pollutant concentration frequency distributions are the result of complex phenomena and cannot be predicted exactly, but that the approximate log-normal character of the distributions is useful from a practical point of view and can be understood qualitatively on the basis of the relation between wind speed and concentration.
Gendering the Interview: Feminist Reflections on Gender as Performance in Research

This reflexive essay argues that gender is co-performed but that researchers have greater responsibility for gender performances during research. In the present case, the author began an oral history project with a masculine definition of history, cast narrators using gendered criteria, directed gendered communication performances during interviewing, and elicited narratives via gendered categories. Understanding gender as co-performative encourages researchers to study the communication of gender and to consider the ways they may gender their work.
Ribosome-membrane association in fat body tissues from reproductively active females of Leucophaea maderae.

Abstract Polysomal and microsomal profiles from fat body tissues of Leucophaea analysed by a combination of equilibrium sedimentation and sedimentation velocity centrifugations on sucrose density gradients revealed that microsomes from egg-maturing females are considerably more dense than those from allatectomized (reproductively inactive) females or from males. This greater density is conferred on the microsomes of reproductively active females by the binding of many more ribosomes (polysomes) to the membranes. Treatment of the microsomes with 500 mM K+ or 1 mM puromycin resulted in a removal of only a few ribosomes and polysomes from the membranes, as is documented with the electron microscope. Incubation of microsomes with a combination of 500 mM K+ and 1 mM puromycin resulted in a complete degranulation of the membranes. Such microsomes attained a density similar to those of the inactive tissues. From the available evidence it is concluded that the female specific protein (vitellogenin), which is induced by the juvenile hormone, is synthesized on ergastoplasmic membranes and released into the cisternae as is known for the synthesis of exportable proteins in several vertebrate systems.
Four Years' Progress in the Use of Artificially Controlled Light to Induce Early Spawning of Brook Trout

(1955). Four Years' Progress in the Use of Artificially Controlled Light to Induce Early Spawning of Brook Trout. The Progressive Fish-Culturist: Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 99-102.
Functionalizing maize zein in viscoelastic dough systems through fibrous, β-sheet-rich protein networks: An alternative, physicochemical approach to gluten-free breadmaking

While numerous approaches have been taken in developing gluten-free technologies, an alternative scheme for producing high quality, leavened products is through the viscoelastic properties generated in appropriately treated maize zein or other non-gluten cereal-based systems.This functional change is believed to be the result of developing fibrous, β-sheet-rich protein networks; however, current understanding of the physicochemical properties of these viscoelastic polymers is limited. This paper aims to present a mechanistic framework for approaching this system by highlighting structure/function relationships in wheat gluten, zein’s aggregative behavior, efforts to improve zein-starch dough functionality, and potential areas of interest moving forward.
Routine Police Arrest Practices: A Commonweal Perspective

Employing a commonweal conception of police organizations, the central aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which routine police arrest practices suggest police abuse of the societal delegated privilege to exercise non-negotiable coercive force. Public drunkenness encounters occurring in a large midwestern city were analyzed; and it was found that significantly higher rates of arrest were associated with offense conspicuousness, offender powerlessness, and offender disrespect. The major conclusion drawn is that the police abuse this societal delegated privilege. The implications of this conclusion for the commonweal conception of the police are discussed.
Calibration of DNDC model for nitrate leaching from an intensively cultivated region of Northern China

Abstract Nitrogen (N) loss through nitrate leaching in arable cropping systems in China has been recognized as one of the most common agricultural sources of groundwater contamination. The Denitrification–Decomposition or DNDC model, equipped with detailed soil hydrological and biogeochemical processes, was adopted in the study to quantify nitrate leaching for an intensively cultivated region in northern China. Several key parameters embedded in DNDC were calibrated against leaching data measured at a typical field with winter wheat–corn rotation within the target domain region. Five more sites representing the predominant cropping systems in the study region were selected for validating the modified model. In comparison with the original version of DNDC, the revised version yielded better results in simulated soil water and N leaching losses. To upscale the model simulation to regional level, we linked the validated DNDC to a regional database containing meteorological data, soil properties, vegetation types, and management practices for the target domain. Results from the regional simulation indicated that the total potential nitrate leaching load from the simulated 16.31 million ha croplands (sown area) ranged from 1.5 to 2.15 Tg N per year, with an average of 1.8 Tg N, which was equivalent to 26.1% of the total amount of N fertilizer applied in the region in 2009. The modeled results showed clear spatial patterns of nitrate leaching rates across the region due to the spatially differentiated fertilizer application rates as well as the soil water regimes. Alternative water management practices were suggested to effectively reduce nitrate leaching losses from the agricultural region in northern China.
RLC interconnect delay estimation via moments of amplitude and phase response

A new category of moments-Amplitude and Phase moments (AP moments) are introduced for RLC interconnect delay estimation. We show that there are tight relationships between AP moments, circuit moments and central moments. The first order AP moment represents the Elmore delay while the higher order AP moments can be used to represent the error between the Elmore delay and the exact 50% delay from the view of gain and phase-shift variation. With the help of the physical meaning revealed by the AP moments, a closed-form 50% delay model-AP delay model is proposed for RLC interconnect delay estimation in terms of the first four AP moments. We also propose a new two-pole model (AP two-pole model) by matching the first two phase moments of the transfer function. The AP two-pole model can be used for more generally timing parameters estimation. The input signal's impact on delay estimation can be incorporated into these two delay models by simply combining the input signal's AP moments with the transfer function's AP moments. In our experiments these two models show significant accuracy improvement over the Elmore delay model.
Alkali adsorption on Si(111) surfaces: ab initio molecular dynamics studies

Abstract We have applied the Car-Parrinello method to determine structural and electronic properties of Si(111) in the presence of one monolayer of Na and Li. In both cases we find that the alkali adsorption stabilizes the 1 × 1 structure. In spite of the overall similarity in the chemical bonding, we find that the energitically favored adsorption sites are different. The substrate relaxation upon adsorption is minor in the case of Na and significant in the case of Li, where it also plays a crucial role in determining the equilibrium configuration. In both cases, small distortions in the uppermost Si layers are predicted along the [11 2 ] direction. Both systems turn out to be non-metallic, in agreement with the experimental data for Na. The surface band dispersion is in very good agreement with photoemission data on Si(111): Na and is predicted to be less flat for Si(111): Li
History of Construction Equipment

This paper gives a brief technical and institutional history of how construction equipment developed, primarily during the twentieth century. It identifies the major machine forms and describes their origins and development. It also identifies the major market forces for equipment advancement and the key organizations involved.
New strategies in immune tolerance induction.

Induction of tolerance in clinical organ transplantation that will obviate the use of chronic immunosuppression and preserve host immune response to other antigens remains the goal of transplant research. The thymus plays a critical role in the ability of the immune system to discriminate between self- and nonself-antigens or harmful and harmless alloantigens. We now know that multiple factors determine how the immune system responds to a self-antigen or foreign antigen. These determinants include developmental stage of the host, stage of T-cell maturity, site of antigen encounter, type and maturity of antigen-presenting cells, and presence and type of costimulatory molecules. Our understanding of the mechanisms of T-cell interactions with peptide/major histocompatibility complex in peripheral lymphoid organs has led to experiments that translate into peripheral T-cell tolerance. The induction of high-avidity peripheral alloreactive T cells in the early phase of organ transplantation makes it difficult to achieve long-term alloantigen-specific tolerance without the use of transient perioperative immunosuppression. Therefore, protocols that induce robust tolerance in rodent and nonhuman primate models involve the use of donor antigen combined with a short course of perioperative immunosuppression. These studies suggest that the underlying mechanisms of peripheral tolerance include deletion, anergy, immune deviation, and regulatory T cells. This review focuses on recent advances in tolerance induction in experimental animal models and discusses their relevance to the development of protocols for the induction and maintenance of clinical transplant tolerance.
Extracting data from electronic medical records: validation of a natural language processing program to assess prostate biopsy results

The extraction of specific data from electronic medical records (EMR) remains tedious and is often performed manually. Natural language processing (NLP) programs have been developed to identify and extract information within clinical narrative text. We performed a study to assess the validity of an NLP program to accurately identify patients with prostate cancer and to retrieve pertinent pathologic information from their EMR. A retrospective review was performed of a prospectively collected database including patients from the Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Region that underwent prostate biopsies during a 2-week period. A NLP program was used to identify patients with prostate biopsies that were positive for prostatic adenocarcinoma from all pathology reports within this period. The application then processed 100 consecutive patients with prostate adenocarcinoma to extract 10 variables from their pathology reports. The extraction and retrieval of information by NLP was then compared to a blinded manual review. A consecutive series of 18,453 pathology reports were evaluated. NLP correctly detected 117 out of 118 patients (99.1 %) with prostatic adenocarcinoma after TRUS-guided prostate biopsy. NLP had a positive predictive value of 99.1 % with a 99.1 % sensitivity and a 99.9 % specificity to correctly identify patients with prostatic adenocarcinoma after biopsy. The overall ability of the NLP application to accurately extract variables from the pathology reports was 97.6 %. Natural language processing is a reliable and accurate method to identify select patients and to extract relevant data from an existing EMR in order to establish a prospective clinical database.
Applying AC impedance electrochemical methods to corrosion testing cobalt alloy media

A rapid electrochemical corrosion test for a rigid thin-film (TF) magnetic recording disk has been developed. An AC impedance technique is utilized to provide an estimate of the instantaneous corrosion current for a 1 cm/sup 2/ area of the disk surface exposed to an aqueous electrolyte. Results for tests of CoCr TF media exposed to sulfate- and chloride-containing electrolytes are discussed. >
Disturbed homeostasis of lung intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 during sepsis

Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis in mice was associated with perturbations in vascular adhesion molecules. In CLP mice, lung vascular binding of 125I-monoclonal antibodies to intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 revealed sharp increases in binding of anti-ICAM-1 and significantly reduced binding of anti-VCAM-1. In whole lung homogenates, intense ICAM-1 up-regulation was found (both in mRNA and in protein levels) during sepsis, whereas very little increase in VCAM-1 could be measured although some increased mRNA was found. During CLP soluble VCAM-1 (sVCAM-1) and soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) appeared in the serum. When mouse dermal microvascular endothelial cells (MDMECs) were incubated with serum from CLP mice, constitutive endothelial VCAM-1 fell in association with the appearance of sVCAM-1 in the supernatant fluids. Under the same conditions, ICAM-1 cell content increased in MDMECs. When MDMECs were evaluated for leukocyte adhesion, exposure to CLP serum caused increased adhesion of neutrophils and decreased adhesion of macrophages and T cells. The progressive build-up in lung myeloperoxidase after CLP was ICAM-1-dependent and independent of VLA-4 and VCAM-1. These data suggest that sepsis disturbs endothelial homeostasis, greatly favoring neutrophil adhesion in the lung microvasculature, thereby putting the lung at increased risk of injury.
Evaluation of Bend Relief Disconnection in Patients Supported by a HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist Device

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are an established treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure as either a bridge to cardiac transplantation1 or as lifelong support, also known as destination therapy.2 The HeartMate II (HM II) LVAD (Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, CA) is a continuous-flow device that was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2008, after a pivotal trial in 133 patients awaiting transplantation.3 More patients have been implanted with the HM II than any other durable LVAD. Actuarial survival with continuous-flow LVADs has improved to 80% at 1 year and 70% at 2 years, leading to a growing population of patients with heart failure living with long-term mechanical circulatory support.4 The HM II titanium axial flow rotary pump is placed in the abdominal musculature or within a preperitoneal pocket in the left upper quadrant. Blood enters the LVAD via an inflow cannula at the LV apex and exits through an outflow cannula connected via a graft to the ascending aorta. The outflow bend relief is a polytetrafluoroethylene tube at the junction of the outflow cannula and the pump housing designed to prevent kinking of the outflow cannula. In February 2010, Thoratec modified the outflow cannula bend relief with a snap ring design that allowed disconnection of the bend relief to facilitate assessment of the underlying cannula for bleeding or malposition. Between February 2010 and February 2012, the manufacturer distributed >3800 modified outflow cannula bend reliefs to 226 hospitals and distributors worldwide. In April 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a class I recall for the HM II LVAD after reports of disconnection of the bend relief from the outflow grafts.5 The initial reported worldwide incidence of disconnected outflow graft bend reliefs was 0.75% (29 of 3852 patients), with 1 death …
Evaluation of HER-2/neu gene amplification and protein expression in non-small cell lung carcinomas

HER-2/neu gene amplification and cell surface overexpression are important factors in breast cancer for prognosis and prediction of sensitivity to anti-HER-2/neu monoclonal antibody therapy. In lung cancer, the clinical significance of HER-2/neu expression is currently under evaluation. We investigated 238 non-small lung carcinomas for HER-2/neu protein overexpression by immunohistochemistry using the HercepTest. We found 2+ or 3+ overexpression in 39 patients (16%), including 35% in adenocarcinomas and 20% in large cell carcinomas, but only 1% of squamous cell carcinomas. Marked (3+) overexpression was uncommon (4%). The association between protein expression and gene copy number per cell, as determined by fluorescence in situ hybridisation assay, was investigated in 51 of these NSCLC tumours. Twenty-seven tumours (53%) were negative by both tests. Marked (3+) protein expression and gene amplification were present in only 4% of samples. In 11 tumours (21%), gene gain was accompanied by chromosomal aneusomy and did not result in high protein levels while in 7 (14%) the score 2+ was associated with maximum number of signals per cell <9. The prognostic implication of HER-2/neu protein expression was studied in 187 surgically resected tumours. No statistical difference in survival was observed comparing patients with positive (2+/3+) and negative tumours (0/1+), although 3+ patients showed a tendency to shorter survival. The therapeutic implications of protein expression and gene amplification in lung cancer need to be examined in prospective clinical trials.
Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor β/δ Regulates Very Low Density Lipoprotein Production and Catabolism in Mice on a Western Diet

The results of recent studies using selective agonists for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β (PPARβ) suggest that this receptor may have a role in regulating levels of serum lipids in animal models of obesity and insulin resistance. To further examine this possibility, serum lipid profiles of mice lacking a functional PPARβ receptor were determined. PPARβ-null mice maintained on either normal chow or a 10-week high fat (HF) diet, a condition that has been shown to induce insulin resistance and obesity in mice, have elevated levels of serum triglycerides primarily associated with very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) with no difference in either total cholesterol or phospholipids. Consistent with this finding, PPARβ-null mice on a HF-diet were shown to have an increased rate of hepatic VLDL production as well as lowered lipoprotein lipase activity in serum compared with wild-type controls. The latter parallels an increase in the hepatic expression of the genes encoding angiopoietin-like proteins 3 and 4 in PPARβ-null mice on a HF diet, both proteins of which have recently been shown to inhibit lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in vivo. Consistent with elevated VLDL production, a marked increase in plasma VLDL apoB48, -E, -AI, and -AII, as well as a sharp depletion of the hepatic lipid stores was also found in PPARβ-null mice. In addition, PPARβ-null mice on a HF diet were shown to have increased adiposity, despite lower total body weight. Together, these results indicate a clear role for PPARβ in regulating levels of serum triglycerides in mice on a high fat Western diet by modulating both VLDL production and LPL-mediated catabolism of VLDL-triglycerides and also suggest a potential therapeutic role for PPARβ in the improvement of serum lipids in the setting of metabolic syndrome.
Programming from the Reader's Perspective: Toward an Expectations Approach

There are many guidelines for composing programs, but few methodologies take into account the expectations readers have when reading an unfamiliar program. As a result, code that seems well-written and clear to the developer might not be read and interpreted by the reader in the way the programmer expected. We conducted a survey of Java programmers to determine how a program's structure may signal subjective cues to the reader. We found that the use of meaning-preserving program refactorings had a measurable effect on what readers believed the programmer's main intention was.
Applications of a simplified multidimensional stochastic approximation algorithm

A stochastic analog of the Newton-Raphson gradient search method may be used under certain conditions to accelerate convergence of a stochastic approximation algorithm to a local minimum. The method depends upon an iterative technique for determining the Hessian matrix. This paper presents a simplified algorithm which in some design problems sharply reduces the calculations required to determine the matrix. An application of this method to an attitude controller is explored in detail.
Tissue engineering: the design and fabrication of living replacement devices for surgical reconstruction and transplantation

All procedures that restore missing tissue in patients require some type of replacement structure for the area of defect or injury. This form of therapy accounts for a large part of health-care resources (table). These devices have traditionally been totally artificial substitutes (joints), non-living processed tissue (heart valves), or tissue taken from another site from the patients themselves or from other patients (transplantation).1 Now a new alternative, tissue engineering, is becoming available to clinicians: the replacement of living tissue with living tissue that is designed and constructed to meet the needs of each individual patient. Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field which applies the principles of engineering and the life sciences toward the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function, z Examples of tissue engineering can be found as early as 1933 when Bisceglie 3 encased mouse tumour cells in a polymer membrane and inserted them into the abdominal cavity of a pig. 3 The cells lived long enough to show that they were not killed by the immune system. In 1975, Chick and colleagues 4 reported their results of encapsulating pancreatic-islet cells in semipermeable membranes to aid glucose control in patients with diabetes mellitus. Replacement of the skin with cells in collagen gels, or collagen-glycosaminoglycan composites to guide regeneration, was attempted by the early 1980s and these techniques are now in clinical use. 5'6 The next major advance came with the recognition that thicker three-dimensional systems could organise implanted cells to form vascularised tissue in vivo. Synthetic degradable polymers were used as templates for cells to form permanent new tissues. 7 Systems were designed with highly porous structures to meet the needs for the mass transfer of large numbers of cells. Angiogenesis after implantation produced permanent vascularised new tissue. With the demonstration of experimental success in many different tissues, and the engineering flexibility that synthetic materials provided, tissue engineering has now gained wide attention. 2'8 A recent survey of tissue engineering as an emerging industry found that the total capital value of companies in the industry exceeded US$3.5 billion, that the industry growth rate was 22.5% per year, and that it employed over 2500 scientists with an annual expenditure of $450 million3 It has been estimated that the total market potential of tissue-engineered products in the USA alone is $80 billion annually (Business Week, July 27, 1998, p 61).
Apoptosis: Molecular Mechanisms

Apoptosis is an intrinsic cell-suicide programme which ensures proper development by maintaining tissue homeostasis and safeguarding the organism through the elimination of unwanted or virus-infected cells. Keywords: apoptosis; caspases; p53; Bcl-2; c-myc
An Index of Symptom and Disease in Zulu Culture

A major area on which the interests of physicians and behavioral scientists converge can be described broadly in a single question: what are the relationships between health and illness, human behavior, and culture? Attempts to explore this and related questions are represented by the increasing volume of studies in which a a disease or health condition is one of the major variables to be examined along various "social" or "behavioral" axes and by studies of the etiology or distribution of specific diseases which examine social phenomena as independent variables. Additionally, descriptive studies of the social distribution of disease, under such labels as social medicine, social epidemiology, human ecology, or geographical pathology, are covering a wider range of diseases and locales.
Low-dose naloxone does not improve morphine-induced nausea, vomiting, or pruritus.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that low-dose naloxone delivered with intravenous (IV) bolus morphine to emergency department patients in pain would reduce nausea. Methods: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients receiving 0.10 mg/kg morphine IV bolus rated pain, nausea, and pruritus on 100-mm visual analog scales at enrollment and 20 minutes. Patients were randomized to 0.25 lg/kg naloxone or equal volume placebo administered with IV morphine. Results: One hundred thirty-one enrolled, 99 (76%) treated according to protocol with sufficient data for analysis. At 20 minutes the difference between groups (naloxone-placebo) was 1 mm (95% CI [confidence interval], 9 to 11) for nausea, 1 mm (95% CI, 3 to 3) for pruritus, 4% (95% CI, 1t o 9) for vomiting, and 0% (95% CI, 5 to 5) for rescue antiemetics. Pain was significantly reduced in both groups.
Some thoughts on the quality of a computer-based system's architecture

This paper suggests quality criteria for a computer based system (CBS) architecture. Using a combination of these criteria, the quality areas of flexibility and interoperability are examined using the IEEE reference model for application portability and systems interoperability. The purpose is to show how to identify, and assess if a CBS architecture meets specific quality criteria. The goal of this work is to understand how the quality of a CBS architecture affects behavior and risk over the CBS life cycle. The paper closes with suggestions for further work.
Validation of a Method for the Determination of Total Chromium in Rat Feces by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry

The validation of a method for the determination of total chromium in Fischer-344 rat feces by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry following a rapid, atmospheric-pressure microwave digestion is described. The performance of the method was evaluated over the concentration range of 5.00 to 200 μg Cr/g feces. Data for method linearity, accuracy, precision, digest stability, and storage stability are presented along with limit of detection and limit of quantitation data. Data from a cross-validation method for B6C3F1 mouse feces are also presented. Following validation, the method was applied to analyze samples collected in support of two chronic toxicological investigations.
Has the Foundation for Physical Therapy Advanced the Body of Knowledge

In June, the Foundation for Physical Therapy (FPT) will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Marquette Challenge, a nationwide, student-run fundraising effort to benefit physical therapy research. There is much to celebrate. Since its inception in 1989, 165 schools have participated in the Challenge, raising more than $2.3 million. In the same time period, FPT has awarded 551 doctoral scholarships, 42 research grants, and 17 postdoctoral fellowships. Some of these awards were funded by students through the Challenge; many were made possible by other creative FPT funding initiatives and generous individual donors. These fundraising figures and award tallies are impressive; they also are important because they reflect our profession's commitment to research. However, the real measure of the success of FPT is the extent to which it has helped advance the body of knowledge that informs physical therapist practice. Has there been success in that realm, too? To gain insight into this question, we examined the quantity and quality of physical therapy literature addressing 3 conditions commonly treated by physical therapists: low back pain, spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy. The silver anniversary of the Challenge provided a temporal context for this exercise. A literature search—limited to a single database and 3 conditions and using specific search limits*—was conducted in MEDLINE for the 25-year period preceding the Challenge (1964–1988) and for the 25-year …
Variation aware extracted timing model

With shrinking process node sizes, the inherent effect of process variations is playing a larger factor in defining the behavior of a circuit. conventional static timing analysis (STA) using best case/worst case analysis is overly pessimistic, and could be optimistic also in some cases. This has resulted in the promotion of statistical static timing analysis (SSTA) as a method for estimating yield of a circuit in terms of timing activities. Model extraction is a technique that accurately captures the characteristics of interface logic of a design in the form of a timing library model and provides a capacity improvement in timing verification by more than two orders of magnitude. Timing extraction plays an important role in the hierarchical analysis flows by reducing the complexity of timing verification. Current model extraction techniques are not capable generating timing models which can be used for SSTA of the complete chip. In this work, we propose a technique for generating a Statistical (or Variation Aware) Extracted Timing Model (S-ETM) to be used in conjunction with any sensitivity based SSTA engine. We also describe a method for validating S-ETM.
Survey of Web Developers in Academic Libraries

A survey was sent to library Web designers from randomly selected institutions to determine the background, tools, and methods used by those designers. Results, grouped by Carnegie classification type, indicated that larger schools were not necessarily working with more resources or more advanced levels of technology than other institutions.
Observation of nontrivial 3-photon correlation of chaotic thermal light

The reported experiment observed a nontrivial third-order temporal correlation of chaotic-thermal light in the joint-detection of three individual photodetectors. It seems that the thermal photons are always “bunched” in triples. In the view of quantum mechanics, “three-photon bunching” is a three-photon interference effect.