cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Clinical Outcomes Utilizing Revascularizaton and Aggressive Drug Evaluation trial: a vindication of the power of medical therapy for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease.

s c b The ultimate goals of secondary prevention in patients ith coronary artery disease (CAD) are to increase survival nd reduce the risk for myocardial infarction (MI). In light f the recently published results of the Clinical Outcomes tilizing Revascularizaton and Aggressive Drug Evaluation COURAGE) trial,1 percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) an no longer be assumed to fulfill these criteria in patients ith stable CAD. COURAGE was the first prospective, randomized conrolled trial comparing PCI plus optimal medical therapy ith optimal medical therapy alone.1 Statistically powered o assess the clinical outcomes of death and nonfatal MI, the esults refuted the study’s hypothesis that patients randomzed to PCI and intensive medical therapy would have a ecreased risk for death and MI compared with those reeiving intensive medical therapy alone. COURAGE randomized 2,287 patients with stable CAD nd objective evidence of myocardial ischemia to a strategy f PCI (with bare-metal stents) plus intensive medical therpy compared with intensive medical therapy alone.2 The tudy population included patients with significant CAD efined by coronary stenoses 70% in 1 proximal epiardial coronary artery, and all had evidence of myocardial schemia elicited by exercise or pharmacologic stress testing r present on electrocardiography at rest.3 More than 2/3 of atients had multivessel CAD, 2/3 had hypertension, 1/3 ad diabetes, 38% had previous MIs, and 25% had histories f PCI or coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Eligible patients included those with Canadian Cardiovasular Society class I to III chronic angina and histories of MI nd asymptomatic patients with proved CAD.3 Exclusion crieria included unstable angina, persistent Canadian Cardiovasular Society class IV angina, markedly positive stress test esults at low workloads (significant ST depression or hypoension during stage I of the Bruce protocol), refractory heart ailure or cardiogenic shock, a left ventricular ejection fraction 30%, PCI or coronary artery bypass graft surgery within the ast 6 months, left main coronary artery stenosis 50% with o previous coronary artery bypass graft surgery, or coronary rteries deemed unsuitable for PCI.3 The primary outcome was composite of death from any cause and nonfatal MI. Secndary end points included quality of life and cost-effectiveess; hospitalization for unstable angina; and a composite of eath, nonfatal MI, and stroke.
A microwave probe for plasma plumes

Swinging-arm microwave probe to measure electron density and collision frequency profiles transverse to plasma jet plumes
The FEATURE framework for protein function annotation: modeling new functions, improving performance, and extending to novel applications

Structural genomics efforts contribute new protein structures that often lack significant sequence and fold similarity to known proteins. Traditional sequence and structure-based methods may not be sufficient to annotate the molecular functions of these structures. Techniques that combine structural and functional modeling can be valuable for functional annotation. FEATURE is a flexible framework for modeling and recognition of functional sites in macromolecular structures. Here, we present an overview of the main components of the FEATURE framework, and describe the recent developments in its use. These include automating training sets selection to increase functional coverage, coupling FEATURE to structural diversity generating methods such as molecular dynamics simulations and loop modeling methods to improve performance, and using FEATURE in large-scale modeling and structure determination efforts.
Image component labeling using local operators

Binary image component labeling is a fundamental process in image processing and computer vision. This paper presents several image component labeling algorithms with local operators expressed in the language of image algebra. These algorithms are then analyzed for their time and space complexities.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Estimation of Calcium Status in Selected Food Systems

Ionic and total dialyzable calcium in nonfat dry milk, soy protein isolate, and a 50:50 mixture of the two were estimated in dialysates before and after in vitro digestion by HCl/pepsin and pancreatin/bile. Heat pasteurization did not affect % ionic or % total dialyzable calcium, before or after digestion, for the three food systems. Digestion increased % ionic dialyzable calcium for non-fat dry milk and the mixture, and increased % total dialyzable calcium for all three food systems. After digestion, % total dialyzable calcium did not differ between the milk and the mixture. Soy protein did not bind substantial amounts of calcium from the milk.
A stochastic control formalism for dynamic biologically conformal radiation therapy

Abstract State-of-the-art methods for optimizing cancer treatment over several weeks of external beam radiotherapy take a static–deterministic view of the treatment planning process, mainly focusing on spatial distribution of dose. Recent progress in quantitative functional imaging as well as mathematical models of tumor response to radiotherapy is increasingly enabling treatment planners to monitor/predict a patient’s biological response over weeks of treatment. In this paper we introduce dynamic biologically conformal radiation therapy (DBCRT), a mathematical framework intended to exploit these emerging technological and biological modeling advances to design patient-specific radiation treatment strategies that dynamically adapt to the spatiotemporal evolution of a patient’s biological response over several treatment sessions in order to achieve the best possible health outcome . More specifically, we propose a discrete-time stochastic control formalism where we use the patient’s biological condition to model the system state and the beam intensities as controls. Three approximate control schemes are then applied and compared for efficiency. Numerical simulations on test cases show that DBCRT results in a 64–98% improvement in treatment efficacy as compared to the more conventional static–deterministic approach.
Personality Assessment With American Indians and Alaska Natives: Instrument Considerations and Service Delivery Style

Existing research raises significant questions regarding the conceptual equivalence of standardized personality assessment instruments with American Indians and Alaska Natives. Standardized assessment research with American Indian and Alaska Native people is reviewed and methodologically critiqued. Alternatives to current practice are explored through review of recent research on the construct equivalence of depression, current research on cultural identification, and use of picture story tests with American Indians. Finally, selected issues relevant to culturally appropriate assessment service delivery style for Indian and Native people are discussed.
An examination of decomposition sparsity

Abstract Sparsity of transform domain coefficients is a critical requirement for algorithms employing wavelet transforms to pre-process signals or images. This paper examines a measure of transform domain sparsity which provides a means of comparing wavelet and subband decomposition performance. The transforms of one-dimensional signals and two-dimensional images are considered using 110 different wavelets and nonlinear subband decomposition filters, including weighted order statistics and functions of weighted order statistics. These measurements indicate that nonlinear subband decompositions employing median filters or central order statistics can produce sparser decompositions than wavelets for certain classes of signals and images.
Newton iteration with multiquadrics for the solution of nonlinear PDEs

Abstract Newton iteration is a standard tool for the numerical solution of nonlinear partial differential equations. We show how globally supported multiquadric radial basis functions can be used for this task. One of the insights gained is that the use of coarse meshes during the initial iterations along with a multiquadric parameter which is adjusted with the meshsize increases the efficiency and stability of the resulting algorithm. Some experiments with Nash iteration are also included.
Synthesis, X-ray Structure Determination, and Reactions of (Pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)(nitrosyl)ruthenium η2-Arene Complexes

The thermally induced reductive elimination of biphenyl from Cp*Ru(NO)Ph2 (1) has been reinvestigated. Careful monitoring of the reaction in aromatic solvents by 1H NMR spectroscopy has revealed the presence of intermediate Cp*Ru(NO)(η2-arene) complexes (4a, arene = benzene; 4b, arene = toluene). Complexes 4 were independently prepared from Cp*Ru(NO)(Me)(OTf) (5) and LiHBEt3 in benzene with loss of CH4 and LiOTf. At 25 °C added naphthalene displaced the bound arene to generate Cp*Ru(NO)(η2-naphthalene) (6). The crystal structure of complex 6 has been determined; it crystallizes in triclinic space group P1, with a = 8.6333(16) A, b = 9.8642(10) A, c = 11.2055(13) A, β = 80.551(13)°, V = 870.6(2) A3, and Z = 2. The ligand substitution and oxidative addition reactions of 6 with several organic substrates have been investigated. A kinetic study has shown that the reactions of 6 with phosphines, triphenylsilane, and dimethyl disulfide require initial naphthalene dissociation. The oxidative addition of diaryl ...
Trigger First Order Phase Transitions in Liquid Crystal Systems

Abstract The experimentally observed D hd (disordered hexagonal)—four sublattice P321 and D he —two sub-lattice P21/a phase transitions in columnar liquid crystals are treated in a unified manner by means of the Laudau theory of phase transitions. They can be understood as a trigger first order phase transition associated with two coupled irredacible representations in an asymmetric model. Details of the symmetry analysis are also given.
Kinetics of the reaction OH + D → OD + H

Abstract The reaction of OH radicals with D-atoms to form OD has been studied at room temperature in a discharge-flow system utilizing UV resonance fluorescence detection of the molecular species. A rate constant of k 1 = (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10 −10 cm 3 s −1 is reported where the error limits include systematic error estimates. Astrophysical and kinetic implications are discussed briefly.
The Molecular Biology of Borrelia

Borrelia burgdorferi, the cause of Lyme disease, has two major outer-membrane proteins, OspA and OspB, which act as surface antigens. A 49-kilobase linear plasmid contains the genes that encode for these surface proteins. Direct examination of denatured plasmid molecules has revealed single-stranded circles with a circumference of approximately 100 kilobases (about twice the length of the linear duplex molecule), a finding that indicates the plasmid strands have covalently closed ends. This form of DNA, while present in eukaryotic organisms and their viruses, has not been observed in a prokaryotic organism. Plasmid heterogeneity has been observed in strains with surface proteins of similar molecular weights and similar monoclonal antibody reactivity. Thus, plasmid analysis may prove a sensitive tool for differentiating strains of B. burgdorferi. Furthermore, since loss of plasmids in vitro has been correlated with loss of the ability of many-passaged strains to cause infection, borrelial plasmids may encode for virulence factors as well.
The Role of Independent Directors in VC-Backed Firms

This paper seeks to explain the widespread use of independent directors in the governance of VC-backed firms, and in particular their use as "tie-breakers" on the boards of these firms. Allocating a tie-breaking vote to an unbiased "arbiter" commits the entrepreneur and VCs to more reasonable behavior and can reduce the opportunism that would result if either party were to control the board. Consistent with my theory, data from Silicon Valley startups illustrate several mechanisms entrepreneurs and VCs use to select an unbiased independent director. I conclude by considering implications for corporate law and fiduciary obligations in VC-backed firms.
The Relationship Between Parental Involvement and Mathematics Achievement for Students With Visual Impairments

The effect of parental involvement on achievement has received a significant amount of research attention in the general student population, but surprisingly very little research has been conducted in this area for students with disabilities. This study investigated the association between parental involvement (both at home and at school) and mathematics achievement for students with visual impairments. The samples used for the study (N = 341 and N = 324) were taken from the nationally representative Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study. Multilevel modeling for longitudinal data was used to investigate the research questions. Parental involvement at school was positively associated with mathematics achievement for students who began the study in elementary school, and parental involvement at home was negatively associated with mathematics achievement for students without a cognitive disability. However, there was a strong positive association between mathematics achievement and parental involve...
Affinity capillary electrophoresis: a physical-organic tool for studying interactions in biomolecular recognition

Affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) is a technique that is used to measure the binding affinity of receptors to neutral and charged ligands. ACE experiments are based on differences in the values of electrophoretic mobility of free and bound receptor. Scatchard analysis of the fraction of bound receptor, at equilibrium, as a function of the concentration of free ligand yields the dissociation constant of the receptor-ligand complex. ACE experiments are most conveniently performed on fused silica capillaries using a negatively charged receptor (molecular mass < 50 kDa) and increasing concentrations of a low molecular weight, charged ligand in the running buffer. ACE experiments that involve high molecular weight receptors may require the use of running buffers containing zwitterionic additives to prevent the receptors from adsorbing appreciably to the wall of the capillary. This review emphasizes ACE experiments performed with two model systems: bovine carbonic anhydrase II (BCA II) with arylsulfonamide ligands and vancomycin (Van), a glycopeptide antibiotic, with D-Ala-D-Ala (DADA)-based peptidyl ligands. Dissociation constants determined from ACE experiments performed with charged receptors and ligands can often be rationalized using electrostatic arguments. The combination of differently charged derivatives of proteins - protein charge ladders - and ACE is a physical-organic tool that is used to investigate electrostatic effects. Variations of ACE experiments have been used to estimate the charge of Van and of proteins in solution, and to determine the effect of the association of Van to Ac2KDADA on the value of pKa of its N-terminal amino group.
An Experimental Design for Examining Thermoregulatory Set Points in Ectothermic Animals

As any student of physiology knows, body temperature has a profound influence on the physiology of organisms. This impact is revealed in the general phenomenon of the Qlo effect, where the proportional increase in a particular reaction rate per 100 C change in body temperature is typically 2 to 3 (i.e. Qlo = (Kl / K2)10/T1 T2 = 2 or 3). Physiological processes also tend to have narrow temperature plateaus over which they exhibit peak levels of performance. This is especially apparent in ectotherms, which tolerate much wider ranges of body temperatures than do endotherms. Performance plateaus and Qlo effects can be observed at many different physiological levels, ranging from the cellular and molecular levels (i.e. cellular metabolism) to the organismal level (sprinting ability and digestive efficiency). The powerful impact of body temperature on physiological performance makes maintaining body temperature a high priority for ectotherms. It also provides a strong argument for examining thermoregulation in the labs of physiology courses. Despite its importance, thermoregulation has proven difficult to examine in much detail in student laboratories. For ectotherms, the standard experimental mechanism in the lab has been to use a thermal gradient to estimate a preferred body temperature, or PBT. The animal selects a comfortable environmental temperature in the gradient, and the average body temperature over time is termed the PBT (for examples, see Huey 1982). Although PBT is a good
How do African American men rate their health care? An analysis of the consumer assessment of health plans 2003-2006.

African American (AA) men remain one of the most disconnected groups from health care. This study examines the association between AA men’s rating of health care and rating of their personal physician. The sample included 12,074 AA men aged 18 years or older from the 2003 to 2006 waves of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Adult Commercial Health Plan Survey. Multilevel models were used to obtain adjusted means rating of health care systems and personal physician, and the relationship of ratings with the rating of personal physician. The adjusted means were 80 (on a 100-point scale) for most health ratings and composite health care scores: personal physician (83.9), specialist (83.66), health care (82.34), getting needed care (89.57), physician communication (83.17), medical staff courtesy (86.58), and customer service helpfulness (88.37). Physician communication was the strongest predictor for physician rating. AA men’s health is understudied, and additional research is warranted...
Assessment of Rarefied Hypersonic Aerodynamics Modeling and Windtunnel Data

The future of space exploration and development will be determined by our ability to safely access and return from space. Steady improvements in the prediction of atmospheric entry phase conditions have occurred through comparisons of results obtained in the windtunnel and from computer simulation. In this study, computer simulations are presented using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method for hypersonic rarefied flow and compared to existing windtunnel data. Modified Newtonian and free molecular flow methods are employed to compliment the DSMC aerodynamic analysis. There is close agreement between the DSMC and windtunnel data for a blunted-cone windtunnel model. The computed aerodynamic properties are largely insensitive to modest changes in accommodation coefficients. For ballistic capsule models, there is significantly greater disagreement between the DSMC and windtunnel data. The DSMC numerical procedures are verified with results from an independent code and the windtunnel data are therefore considered suspect.
Accelerated age-related decline in processing resources in schizophrenia: evidence from pupillary responses recorded during the span of apprehension task.

Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia may be related to reduced availability of information-processing resources (resource limitations hypothesis). An abnormally accelerated age-related decline in processing resource availability may also occur in older patients with schizophrenia (neurodegeneration hypothesis). To test these hypotheses, pupillary responses were recorded as an index of processing resource availability during performance of the span of apprehension (SOA) task in 33 middle-aged and older patients with schizophrenia and 37 age-comparable nonpsychiatric participants. Consistent with the resource-limitations hypothesis, the patients with schizophrenia showed impaired detection accuracy and abnormally small pupillary responses (reduced resource allocation) only in the higher processing load SOA conditions. This pattern of results suggests that the patients depleted their available processing resources at lower processing loads than the nonpsychiatric participants. Consistent with the neurodegeneration hypothesis, cross-sectional analyses showed abnormally accelerated rates of age-related decline in SOA performance and pupillary responses in the patients with schizophrenia relative to age-comparable normal participants. (JINS, 2000, 6, 30–43.)
Multi-Solvent Optimization of HPLC Separations

The development of analytical methods for HPLC has in the past been based on experience, intuition and serendipidity. With the high efficiency of present-day columns, the main scope for improving separations lies in adjusting the mobile phase for selectivity. Optimization has been fostered (Snyder, Kirkland) by a ‘Selectivity Triangle’ based on solution interactions — acidic, basic and dipole. Thereby optimal resolution of components for a particular column is achievable by choosing solvents from a relatively small range.
Prony approximations for probability density functions

Performance evaluation of many systems in radar, sonar, and communications is often hampered by the complicated, if not intractable, analytical form of an underlying probability density function (pdf). In this paper, we propose the use of the Prony method to generate an exponential sum approximation to the pdf of positive random variables. The Prony method is well-known in signal processing, yet has not been applied to this application. The Prony method reduces the problem of estimating the modes and mode amplitudes of an exponential sum to that of two least squares problems. We illustrate the efficiacy of the method on several examples in statistical communications theory.
Captopril and vascular endothelial growth factor in a mouse model of retinopathy.

Purpose. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition has been shown in animal models of retinopathy and in patients with diabetes to improve retinal neovascularization. The mechanism is not clearly identified, but could potentially be mediated via vascular endothelial growth factor modification. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of captopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, on retinal VEGF, VEGF-R1, and VEGF-R2 expression in a mouse model of oxygen induced retinopathy (OIR). Methods. A mouse model of OIR was used and retinal tissue was obtained at P7, prior to oxygen exposure, at P12, just after oxygen exposure, and at P17, the time of maximal retinal neovascularization for VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 assessment. A group of animals were treated with captopril (0.5 mg/kg/d SC from P7 for five days). Results. Captopril plus OIR treated animals had higher levels of retinal VEGF mRNA and protein at P12 (p < 0.05) and lower levels at P17 (p < 0.05) than OIR animal...
Superoxide Dismutase Restores Impaired Histamine-Induced Increase in Venular Macromolecular Efflux During Diabetes Mellitus

The goal of this study was to determine the role of oxygen radicals in impaired histamine-induced increases in venular macromolecular efflux from the hamster cheek pouch. We used intravital fluorescent microscopy and fluorescein isothio-cynate dextran (FITC-dextran; MW = 70 K) to examine macromolecular extravasation from post-capillary venules in nondiabetic and diabetic (2–4 weeks after injection of streptozoticin) hamsters in response to histamine. Increases in extravasation of macromolecules were quantitated by counting venular leaky sites and by calculating clearance (ml/s × 10−6) of FITC-dextran-70 K. In non-diabetic hamsters, superfusion with histamine (1.0 and 5.0 µM) increased venular leaky sites from 0 ± 0 to 17 ± 6 and 35 ± 6 per 0.11 cm2, respectively. In addition, clearance of FITC-dextran-70 K increased during superfusion with histamine. In contrast, superfusion with histamine did not increase the formation of venular leaky sites (0 ± 0) or clearance of FITC-dextran-70 K in diabetic hamsters....
Special commentary: a note on credit market bubbles

Bubble theories and concerns are becoming quite common these days for several asset classes, prompting discussions and warnings, including those from regulators. We now come to some key questions – are we in the midst of an inflating credit bubble and, if so, when is it likely that the bubble will burst? Contrarily, are we experiencing an extended period of opportunistic debt financing – a theory made popular amongst corporate finance theorists going back to at least the 1960s and 1970s. The evidence we have compiled leads us to conclude that, indeed, a bubble is building, but it is not likely to explode dramatically, with a significant increase in corporate bond and loan defaults, until at least late 2015 or more likely in 2016–2017. Fear, however, of a potential crisis in credit and equity markets may contribute to periods of negative price movements and increased volatility in these, and other, asset classes before the bubble actually bursts.
History of sex trafficking, recent experiences of violence, and HIV vulnerability among female sex workers in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract Objectives To estimate the prevalence of sex trafficking as a mode of entry into sex work, and to examine associations between sex trafficking and recent violence experiences and HIV vulnerability among female sex workers (FSWs). Methods In a cross-sectional study in 2006 in coastal Andhra Pradesh, India, 812 FSWs were recruited via respondent-driven sampling to take part in an oral survey of their experiences in sex work. Results One in 5 (19.3%) FSWs met the UN definition of sex trafficking. Women trafficked into sex work were more likely than other FSWs to report recent violence experiences (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32–2.81), more clients per week (AOR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.11–2.41), and more days of sex work per week (AOR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.18–2.63), and were less likely to report use of FSW-focused services (AOR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.42–0.86). No significant differences emerged regarding HIV knowledge or consistent condom use. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of sex trafficking. A history of sex trafficking was associated with a greater vulnerability to recent violence and HIV risk behaviors, underscoring the need for increased attention to the public health needs of trafficked populations.
Mortality Within the First 2 Years in Infants Exposed to Cocaine, Opiate, or Cannabinoid During Gestation

Objective. To determine the mortality rate, during the first 2 years of life, in infants who were exposed to cocaine, opiate, or cannabinoid during gestation. Methods. For a period of 11 months, a large group of infants were enrolled and screened at birth for exposure to cocaine, opiate, or cannabinoid by meconium analysis. Death outcome, within the first 2 years after birth, was determined in this group of infants using the death registry of the Michigan Department of Public Health. Results. A total of 2964 infants was studied. At birth, 44% of the infants tested positive for drugs: 30.5% positive for cocaine, 20.2% for opiate, and 11.4% for cannabinoids. Compared to the drug negative group, a significantly higher percentage (P Conclusion. We conclude that prenatal drug exposure in infants, although associated with a high perinatal morbidity, is not associated with an overall increase in their mortality rate or incidence of SIDS during the first 2 years of life. However, a significantly higher mortality rate was observed among low birth weight infants (≤2500 g) who were positive for both cocaine and opiate.
Notícias do fantástico: jogos de linguagem e efeitos de sentido na comunicação jornalística

Analysis of the rhetoric game that takes place in journalistic communication. The study takes as object of analysis the content of news stories about bizarre events. Such news stories are called "Fantastic news stories" because of the strange character of the events reported. Such events tend to induce the language of the stories to the limits between objectivity and subjectivity thus offering an opportunity to observe the language games and intended cognitive effects. The analysis reveals that editors of leading papers sometimes test the frontier between the intended veritable language and the poetic cognitive effects to reaffirm the authority of journalism to establish what is true and "real" and where they indeed are. The language strategy seems to be firstly seducing the reader offering him fragments of the unbelievable aspects of the events reported, but soon coming back to the rational explanations and causes of the strange facts. That seems to be the journalism cognitive game: suggest some surprises and risks but draws back soon, never permitting doubts or hesitations about what reality indeed is. A rich and dynamic intersubjective game of cognitive construction of human reality.
Fuel Effects on a Low-Swirl Injector for Lean Premixed Gas Turbines

Fuel Effects on a Low-swirl Injector for Lean Premixed Gas Turbines D. Littlejohn and R. K. Cheng Environmental Energy Technologies Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720, USA Corresponding Author: David Littlejohn Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory MS 70-108B, 1 Cyclotron Rd. Berkeley, CA 94720 USA Work: Fax: E-Mail: DLittlejohn@lbl.gov COLLOQUIM 11. IC ENGINE AND GAS TURBINE COMBUSTION SHORT TITLE: Fuel Effects on Low-swirl injector KEYWORDS: gas turbines, lean premixed, swirl, NOx, alternate fuels Word Count: Main Text (from MS Word) Equations (2 single line single column) Tables Table 1 (M1) Table 2 (M1) Figures (including captions) Figure 1 (M1) Figure 2 (M1) Figure 3 (M1) Figure 4 (M1) Figure 5 (M1) Figure 6 (M1) Figure 7 (M1) Figure 8 (M1) Figure 9 (M1) References (formula)
High CW power (>200 mW/facet) at 3.4 [micro sign]m from InAsSb/InAlAsSb strained quantum well diode lasers

Strained quantum well diode lasers consisting of compressively strained InAsSb active layers and tensile strained InAlAsSb barrier layers have exhibited CW power of 215 mW/facet at 80 K. The internal quantum efficiency and internal loss coefficient at 80 K are estimated to be 63% and 9 cm/sup -1/, respectively.
Invasive and Noninvasive Pediatric Mechanical Ventilation

Both invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation techniques are inherent to the care of most patients admitted to intensive care units. Despite the everyday use of mechanical ventilation for thousands of patients and the availability of thousands of reports in the medical literature, there are no clear and consistent guidelines for the use of mechanical ventilation for pediatric patients. In many areas data are lacking, and in other areas data are extrapolated from studies performed with adult subjects. Despite the variability in views about mechanical ventilation, 2 themes are consistent. First, modern pediatric respiratory care requires a substantial institutional commitment for state-of-the-art management of the mechanically ventilated patient. Second, a team approach involving physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists is essential. This review highlights some of the major issues affecting the pediatric patient who requires invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation. These issues are pertinent to critical care clinicians because one of the most common reasons for admission to an intensive care unit is the need for mechanical ventilation. Furthermore, the duration of mechanical ventilation is one of the major determinants of the duration and cost of an intensive care unit stay.
Genome-wide screening of chromosomal imbalance in NSCLC by array-based comparative genomic hybridization(array-CGH)

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004 1689 Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths throughout the world. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the major histological subgroup, shows widespread chromosomal aberrations. Genome-wide screening for DNA gains/losses is a useful approach to identify genetic loci harboring potential oncogene/tumor suppressor gene (TSG). Currently, comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis are the most commonly used screening methods, but an array-based CGH approach enables a higher resolution power for detecting DNA copy number changes spanning a single BAC clone. The aim of this study is to identify chromosomal aberrations in NSCLC by array-CGH as a preliminary step towards the identification of oncogene/TSG. 48 cases of NSCLC from 31 non-smokers (NS) and 17 smokers (SM), including 20 males and 28 females were studied. 3200 BAC clones with minimal repetitive sequences chromosomally spaced at about 1Mb interval were arrayed in triplicate on glass slides and the hybridization results read by a microarray scanner. For each case, duplicate sets of hybridizations were performed between tumour and sex-matched reference DNA pooled from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 15 normal young NS. In the second hybridization, reverse-labeling of samples was performed to obtain reciprocal readings for the calculation of results. Hybridizations using reference DNA only were performed to control for non-random background aberrations. The frequency of genomic gain/loss for each locus was calculated, and 60 clones showing high frequency imbalances were selected for sequence-verification of their chromosomal locations. DNA copy number alterations were observed in all tumors studied. Overall, DNA losses were more frequent than gains. The most frequent locus of DNA gain and loss, respectively, was 1q32 (29/48, 60%) and 4q35 (26/48, 54%). Tumors of SM harbored more changes than NS, with significant differences (p<0.05) at 4q35, 6p21.2-21.3, 10p15, 10q23, 11p14, 13q32 and 16q22; squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) showed more frequent alterations than adenocarcinoma (AD) at 4p15.3, 6p21.2-21.3, 7q11-21, 10p12, 10p15, 10q26, 11q13 and 15q25-26 (p<0.05). Patients with advanced stage showed more changes than those at early stage at 11q13, 18q22.1 and 19q13.3 (p<0.05). Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) study was performed on 2 primary lung cancer cell lines using BAC clone probes at 1q32, 1q21 and 6p12, verifying DNA gains at 1q32 and 1q21 and loss at 6p12. In conclusion, the results suggest that array CGH is a valuable first step to target the genome for DNA imbalances and to further identify candidate genes involved in the development of NSCLC.
Carbocation Stability in H-ZSM5 at High Temperature

Zeolites are common catalysts for multiple industrial applications, including alcohol dehydration to produce olefins, and given their commercial importance, reaction mechanisms in zeolites have long been proposed and studied. Some proposed reaction mechanisms for alcohol dehydration exhibit noncyclic carbocation intermediates or transition states that resemble carbocations, and several previous studies suggest that the tert-butyl cation is the only noncyclic cation more stable than the corresponding chemisorbed species with the hydrocarbon bound to the framework oxygen (i.e., an alkoxide). To determine if carbocations can exist at high temperatures in zeolites, where these catalysts are finding new applications for biomass vapor-phase upgrading (∼500 °C), the stability of carbocations and the corresponding alkoxides were calculated with two ONIOM embedding methods (M06-2X/6-311G(d,p):M06-2X/3-21G) and (PBE-D3/6-311G(d,p):PBE-D3/3-21G) and plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) using the PBE functional corrected with entropic and Tkatchenko-Scheffler van der Waals corrections. The embedding methods tested are unreliable at finding minima for primary carbocations, and only secondary or higher carbocations can be described with embedding methods consistent with the periodic DFT results. The relative energy between the carbocations and alkoxides differs significantly between the embedding and the periodic DFT methods. The difference is between ∼0.23 and 14.30 kcal/mol depending on the molecule, the model, and the functional chosen for the embedding method. At high temperatures, the pw-DFT calculations predict that the allyl, isopropyl, and sec-butyl cations exhibit negligible populations while acetyl and tert-butyl cations exhibit significant populations (>10%). Moreover, the periodic DFT results indicate that mechanisms including secondary and tertiary carbocations intermediates or carbocations stabilized by adjacent oxygen or double bonds are possible at high temperatures relevant to some industrial uses of zeolite catalysts, although as the minority species in most cases.
Mechanical properties of rubberized lightweight aggregate concrete

Abstract A detailed investigation of rubberized lightweight aggregate concrete was conducted using 38 cylindrical and 36 beam specimens. Six mix designs, incorporated in the study, contained rubber replacement ratios from 0% to 100% by volume replacement of a lightweight expanded-shale coarse aggregate. The objective of this study is to investigate mechanical properties of lightweight tire-derived aggregate concrete, including compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, splitting-tensile strength, flexural strength, and flexural toughness. Further, an impact test was conducted using a falling weight to investigate dynamic properties of specimens subjected to flexure. Results suggest tire-derived aggregates reduces the mechanical strength of specimens, but, enhances ductility and toughness of materials. These enhancements are valuable for dynamic applications of lightweight concrete.
Differences in Response of Caged White Leghorn Layers to Various Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in the Diet

Abstract The PCBs tested with caged White Leghorn hens were Aroclors 1221, 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, 1268, 5542 and BP-6 fed at the 20 p.p.m. level. In addition, 1242, 1248 and 1254 were also fed at the 2 p.p.m. level. None of these pollutants exerted any adverse effects on adult body weight gain, livability, egg weight, egg shell thickness or fertility after 9 weeks of PCB feeding. Egg production was significantly reduced by 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254 and BP-6, all at the 20 p.p.m. level. Feed consumption per hen-day was significantly reduced by 20 p.p.m. 1242, 1248, 1254 and BP-6. Hatchability of fertile eggs was significantly affected by the 20 p.p.m. level of 1232, 1242, 1248 and 1254; the hatchability of eggs laid by hens fed 20 p.p.m. 1248 declined to 1.8% by the 9th week of feeding, as compared with 95% for the control group. Progeny growth was significantly depressed by the feeding of 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254 and BP-6 in the maternal diet; only one PCB (Aroclor 1248) in the maternal diet produced a significant increase in mortality of progeny.
If you don't know where you're starting from, you can't get directions: Commentary on an article by Morteza Meftah, MD, et al.: "Long-term results of intralesional curettage and cryosurgery for treatment of low-grade chondrosarcoma".

Yogi Berra is credited with saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.” If Yogi Berra were asked to give a historical perspective on the treatment of low-grade chondrosarcoma, he might have said, “If you don’t know where you’re starting from, you can’t get directions.” Finding direction in the maze of treatment options for the management of low-grade chondrosarcoma has been impossible since orthopaedic oncologists, pathologists, and radiologists could not find a common starting point on the journey. For many years the management of so-called “low-grade chondrosarcoma” has been extremely controversial, and it remains so today. Much of the controversy has been the result of an inability to find agreement on what truly constitutes a low-grade chondrosarcoma (the starting point). The literature has been clouded by a lack of agreement as to the criteria for distinguishing “low-grade chondrosarcoma” from active enchondroma and Grade-2 chondrosarcoma1. Earlier classifications of chondrosarcoma based solely on histologic criteria have proven to be inadequate. Grading of tumors must account for the biologic behavior of the tumor, not simply the histology. Fundamentally, the grade of a tumor depends on the predicted biologic behavior locally and its potential for metastasis. In the case of low-grade chondrosarcoma, considerations other than …
Konstitution von PrMn2—PrAl2

PrMn2 (Th6Mn23-Struktur) lost etwa 0,5 Mol% PrAl2. Eine C14-Struktur ist stabil von 2,25 bis 22,5 Mol% PrAl2 und PrAl2 (C15) lost 66,3 Mol% PrMn2.
Effect of Experience to Quality Control in Everyday Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmaceutical Kit Preparation

2743 Objectives The goal of this research was to determine the effectiveness of the radiopharmacist’s teaching techniques to nuclear medicine interns and certified nuclear medicine/PET technologists in the preparation of radiopharmaceutical kits and quality control. Methods Quality control data was compiled and compared for radiopharmaceutical kit preparation done by the radiopharmacist, nuclear medicine interns (monitored by the radiopharmacist) and certified nuclear medicine/PET technologists. For each category of staff, a set of 25 quality control attempts were reviewed for Myoview, MDP, and a miscellaneous category of seldom used kits. The data was compiled; an average of +/- 2 standard deviations were calculated. Results After reviewing the data, it was determined that the radiopharmacist had the highest average for each radiopharmaceutical category with 98.7% +/- 1.0% bound, followed by the nuclear medicine interns (with radiopharmacist supervision) at 97.4% +/- 4.2% bound, and finally the Nuclear Medicine/PET technologists with 96.9% +/- 3.9% bound. Conclusions The data shows that the radiopharmacist was the most proficient with labeling techniques, and he taught the interns and technologists to provide superb kit preparation and quality control, therefore offering patients a high quality radiopharmaceutical product. From this data, it was found that no further training is warrented by the radiopharmacist in the kit preparation and quality control of these compounded radiopharmaceuticals.
Depression in the Medically III

Almost all patients with medical illnesses that are of serious consequence, whether life-threatening or disabling, are accompanied by some depressed symptoms, often reaching DSM-III criteria for major depressive disorder. Patients with endocrine disorders, some viral disorders, and patients taking certain medications are at greater risk for full-blown depressive conditions. The theoretical and clinical aspects of depression in the medical ill and selected problems in diagnosis and management are discussed.
The Relevance of a Real Estate Factor in Modeling Insurance Company Returns

Executive Summary. A popular topic in financial research has been the development and perfection of models for pricing stocks. Yet, generalized models are not necessarily applicable to financial intermediaries because of their unique characteristics that distinguish them from other types of firms. A three-factor pricing model that incorporates a real estate factor along with stock market and interest rate factors is developed. Results of the analysis lend support to the application of the three-factor model to insurance companies. Insurance company returns are positively and significantly related to real estate market movements. The results also indicate that the precise estimate of exposure to each form of systematic risk varies by type of insurance company. The exposure levels to interest rate risk vary significantly across types of insurance companies.
Ovulation induction in polycystic ovary syndrome with urinary follicle-stimulating hormone or human menopausal gonadotropin.

In patients with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) ovulation was induced with a combination of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or with urinary follicle-stimulating hormone (uFSH; Metrodin, Serono Laboratories, Inc., Randolph, MA) alone. hMG/hCG and uFSH resulted in comparable rates of ovulation and conception in patients with PCOD. The incidence of hyperstimulation and the potential for multiple births appeared lower with uFSH. The fact that endogenous ovulation did not occur in hMG patients who had hCG withheld or in 3 of the 11 uFSH patients who had preovulatory levels of estradiol and follicles > 15 mm may imply that these similarly derived gonadotropins in some instances block endogenous ovulation.
Laser micromachining of fiber-optic taps

A simple and inexpensive method to couple light into a fiber and collect light from a fiber is essential to realize many new optical communications applications such as network interconnections, line status-monitoring systems, optical sensors, and signal-processing systems. We have recently demonstrated tire possibility of laser ablative chemical etching (LACE) of silica fibers to produce such fiber-optic taps.1-2 The previous techniques for fabrication of taps on fibers are not sufficiently easy, rapid, inexpensive, and reliable because they involve mechanical techniques such as macrobending, polishing, slicing, and deposition of dielectric mirrors in the fiber core, or epoxy attachment to the fiber core.
Clusters Beat Trend!? Testing Feature Hierarchy in Statistical Graphics

ABSTRACTGraphics are very effective for communicating numerical information quickly and efficiently, but many of the design choices we make are based on subjective measures, such as personal taste or conventions of the discipline rather than objective criteria. We briefly introduce perceptual principles such as preattentive features and gestalt heuristics, and then discuss the design and results of a factorial experiment examining the effect of plot aesthetics such as color and trend lines on participants’ assessment of ambiguous data displays. The quantitative and qualitative experimental results strongly suggest that plot aesthetics have a significant impact on the perception of important features in data displays. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Stimulatlon of the Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger by Angiotensin II

Angiotensin (Ang) II exerts an inotropic, a lusiotropic, and a hypertrophic response in the heart. All of these actions have been attributed, in part, to Ang II-mediated changes in the calcium movement within the myocyte. While the effect of Ang II on some calcium transporters has been widely studied, information regarding the effect of Ang II on Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity is lacking. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the potential regulation of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger by Ang II. Isolated sarcolemmal membranes were incubated with varying concentrations of Ang II at temperatures ranging from 10°C to 45°C and then assayed for Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity. At 37°C, Ang II exhibited a dose-dependent stimulation of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, reaching a maximal activity of 4.51 ± 0.l0nmol Ca2+mg/sec, which was 125% greater than activity in the unstimulated membranes. The underlying mechanism by which this stimulation occurred was through a decrease in the activation energy for the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger reaction. Interestingly, both losartan, an AT1 receptor antagonist, and chelerythrine, a protein kinase C inhibitor, significantly inhibited stimulation of the exchanger by Ang II. The potential contribution of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger stimulation to the actions of Ang II in the normal and failing heart are discussed.
Enzymatic Reductive Dehalogenation Controls the Biosynthesis of Marine Bacterial Pyrroles

Enzymes capable of performing dehalogenating reactions have attracted tremendous contemporary attention due to their potential application in the bioremediation of anthropogenic polyhalogenated persistent organic pollutants. Nature, in particular the marine environment, is also a prolific source of polyhalogenated organic natural products. The study of the biosynthesis of these natural products has furnished a diverse array of halogenation biocatalysts, but thus far no examples of dehalogenating enzymes have been reported from a secondary metabolic pathway. Here we show that the penultimate step in the biosynthesis of the highly brominated marine bacterial product pentabromopseudilin is catalyzed by an unusual debrominase Bmp8 that utilizes a redox thiol mechanism to remove the C-2 bromine atom of 2,3,4,5-tetrabromopyrrole to facilitate oxidative coupling to 2,4-dibromophenol. To the best of our knowledge, Bmp8 is first example of a dehalogenating enzyme from the established genetic and biochemical contex...