cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Methylcobalamin and Folinic Acid Treatment on Adaptive Behavior in Children with Autistic Disorder Is Related to Glutathione Redox Status

Treatments targeting metabolic abnormalities in children with autism are limited. Previously we reported that a nutritional treatment significantly improved glutathione metabolism in children with autistic disorder. In this study we evaluated changes in adaptive behaviors in this cohort and determined whether such changes are related to changes in glutathione metabolism. Thirty-seven children diagnosed with autistic disorder and abnormal glutathione and methylation metabolism were treated with twice weekly 75 µg/Kg methylcobalamin and twice daily 400 µg folinic acid for 3 months in an open-label fashion. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) and glutathione redox metabolites were measured at baseline and at the end of the treatment period. Over the treatment period, all VABS subscales significantly improved with an average effect size of 0.59, and an average improvement in skills of 7.7 months. A greater improvement in glutathione redox status was associated with a greater improvement in expressive communication, personal and domestic daily living skills, and interpersonal, play-leisure, and coping social skills. Age, gender, and history of regression did not influence treatment response. The significant behavioral improvements observed and the relationship between these improvements to glutathione redox status suggest that nutritional interventions targeting redox metabolism may benefit some children with autism.
Homo sapiens dullard protein phosphatase shows a preference for the insulin-dependent phosphorylation site of lipin1.

Human lipin1 catalyzes the highly regulated conversion of phosphatidic acids to diacylglycerides. Lipin’s cellular location, protein partners, and biological function are directed by phosphorylation−dephosphorylation events catalyzed by the phosphoserine phosphatase dullard. To define the determinants of dullard substrate recognition and catalysis, and hence, lipin regulation, steady-state kinetic analysis was performed on phosphoserine-bearing nonapeptides based on the phosphorylation sites of lipin. The results demonstrate that dullard shows specificity for the peptide corresponding to the insulin-dependent phosphorylation site (Ser106) of lipin with a kcat/Km of 2.9 × 104 M−1 s−1. These results are consistent with a coil−loop structure for the insulin-dependent phosphorylation site on human lipin1 and make unlikely the requirement for an adaptor protein to confer activity such as that proposed for the yeast homologue.
Iodine-induced autoimmune thyroiditis in NOD-H-2h4 mice.

Excess iodine ingestion has been implicated in induction and exacerbation of autoimmune thyroiditis in human populations and animal models. We studied the time course and sex-related differences in iodine-induced autoimmune thyroiditis in NOD-H-2h4 mice. This strain, derived from a cross of NOD with B10.A(4R), spontaneously develops autoimmune thyroiditis but not diabetes. NOD-H-2h4 mice were given either plain water or water with 0.05% iodine for 8 weeks. Approximately 54% of female and 70% of male iodine-treated mice developed thyroid lesions, whereas only 1 of 20 control animals had thyroiditis at this time. Levels of serum thyroxin (T4) were similar in the treatment and control groups. Thyroglobulin-specific antibodies were present in the iodine-treated group after 8 weeks of treatment but antibodies to thyroid peroxidase were not apparent in the serum of any of the animals. Levels of thyroglobulin antibodies increased throughout the 8-week iodine ingestion period; however, no correlation was seen between the levels of total thyroglobulin antibodies and the degree of thyroid infiltration at the time of autopsy. The thyroglobulin antibodies consisted primarily of IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgM antibodies with no detectable IgA, IgG1, or IgG3 thyroglobulin-specific antibodies. The presence of IgG2b thyroglobulin-specific antibodies correlated well with the presence of thyroid lesions.
Rhetoric and meaning in The House of Fame

(1996). Rhetoric and meaning in The House of Fame. Studia Neophilologica: Vol. 68, No. 1, pp. 9-23.
Statistical thermodynamics of relativistic heavy ion collisions

Abstract Statistical thermodynamics is used to investigate properties of the collisions of two heavy ions at high energies. Composite particle formation and multiparticle production are considered. The basis of the description is a heated system of nucleons and produced particles which expands from some initial state to some break-up state where interactions cease. In this expansion dynamical processes occur which form and fragment nuclei, and produce and absorb particles. Interactions persist until the mean free paths describing the various processes become comparable to the size of the system. Thereafter, the system is non-interacting and the multiplicity of the various species present at the break-up stage is assumed to reflect a frozen-in equilibrium. Using the Van't Hoff reaction box, the phase space distribution of composite particles is shown to be quasiclassical. Pion multiplicities are also considered and the importance of the expansion stage on this multiplicity is stressed. For an isentropic expansion, the multiplicity of produced pions is shown to be greatly reduced. The predictions of the model may be useful in establishing the role of viscosity in collisions of heavy ions.
Molecular Packing Parameter and Surfactant Self-Assembly: The Neglected Role of the Surfactant Tail†

The concept of molecular packing parameter is widely invoked in the literature to explain, rationalize and even predict molecular self-assembly in surfactant solutions. The molecular packing parameter is defined as vo/aelo, where vo is the surfactant tail volume, lo is the tail length, and ae is the equilibrium area per molecule at the aggregate surface. A particular value of the molecular packing parameter can be translated via simple geometrical relations into specific shape and size of the equilibrium aggregate. This is the predictive application of the concept of molecular packing parameter, as discussed in the literature. In calculating the packing parameter, the dominant notion in the literature is that the surfactant headgroup determines the surface area per molecule of equilibrium aggregates ae. It follows that, given a headgroup, the molecular packing parameter vo/aelo is fixed, because the volume-to-length ratio (vo/lo) of the tail is a constant independent of the tail length for common surfacta...
Electrochemical and Spectroscopic Characterization of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Ferrocenylalkyl Compounds with Amide Linkages

Short chain ferrocenylalkyl disulfides, where n < 9, with the amide functionality (−OCN) at variable positions were synthesized and self-assembled on vapor-deposited gold. The effects of interchain hydrogen bonding on the stability, packing density, electron transfer rate and the formal potential of these self-assembled monolayers were investigated using cyclic voltammetry and infrared reflection−absorption spectroscopy. Interchain hydrogen bonding appeared to enhance the stability of these monolayers, although the packing densities were lower than that expected for a full monolayer. The electrochemical behavior of coadsorbed monolayers of ferrocenylalkyl disulfides and nonelectroactive unsubstituted alkanethiols was also examined. In these coadsorbed systems, an unexpected negative shift in the formal potential of the ferrocenyl compounds with the amide linkages was observed. This was attributed to disorder arising from the disruption of the hydrogen bonds within the monolayer caused by the alkanethiol “...
Investigation of thermal fatigue behavior of thermal barrier coating systems

Abstract In the present study, the mechanisms of fatigue crack initiation and propagation, and of coating failure under thermal loads that simulate those in diesel engines are investigated. Surface cracks initiate early and grow continuously under thermal low cycle fatigue (LCF) and high cycle fatigue (HCF) stresses. It is found that, in the absence of interfacial oxidation, the failure associated with LCF is closely related to coating sintering and creep at high temperatures. Significant LCF and HCF interactions have been observed in the thermal fatigue tests. The fatigue crack growth rate in the ceramic coating strongly depends on the characteristic HCF cycle number, N * hcf , which is defined as the number of HCF cycles per LCF cycle. The crack growth rate is increased from 0.36 μm/LCF cycle for a pure LCF test to 2.8 μm/LCF cycle for a combined LCF and HCF test at N * HCF about 20 000, A surface wedging model has been proposed to account for the HCF crack growth in the coating systems. This mechanism predicts that the HCF damage effect increases with heat flux and thus with increasing surface temperature swing, thermal expansion coefficient and elastic modulus of the ceramic coating, as well as with the HCF interacting depth. Good correlation has been found between the analysis and experimental evidence.
N‐person Prisoner's Dilemma†

Multi‐person versions of Prisoner's Dilemma are widely applicable in the social sciences. Examination of two important classes of real‐world situations reveals that although both can appropriately be called Prisoner's Dilemma, they have incompatible payoff structures. Thus Prisoner's Dilemma games constitute an important but apparently ambiguous set of models. We therefore undertake a taxonomy of multi‐person Prisoner's Dilemma. Some aspects of the well‐studied two‐person case provide a useful beginning for the task. In the general multi‐person form, however, some properties of the two‐person game are found incompatible with others and so are dropped. Additional properties are suggested by strategic considerations and the associated social phenomena. We demonstrate interdependencies among the various properties and relate some of them to a simple graphical representation.
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency with Selective T-Cell Cytokine Genes

ABSTRACT: A 4-y-old female with severe combined immunodeficiency disease had normal numbers of T cells in her circulation and normal T-cell subsets. However, her T cells proliferated poorly to mitogens and did not proliferate to antigens or to anti-CD3 MAb. IL-2 receptor expression was normal, but IL-2 synthesis was undetectable. The addition of recombinant IL-2 to a mitogen-stimulated culture resulted in normalization of the proliferative response. Northern blot analysis of total RNA derived from the patient's T cells revealed a weak or absent expression of mRNA coding for IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, and IL-5. In contrast, there were normal amounts of mRNA coding for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Tumor necrosis factor and IL-6 production were also normal. Nuclear run-on transcriptional assays revealed markedly decreased levels of newly initiated nuclear transcripts coding for IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, and IL-5 and normal levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor transcripts in the patient relative to control lymphocytes. Gel retardation assays suggest that the NFAT-1 nuclear transcription complex is abnormal in this patient. These results indicate that the patient suffers from a defect that affects the transcription of multiple T-cell lymphokines and suggest that abnormalities affecting the production of T-cell lymphokines may underlie some of the primary immunodeficiency diseases.
Polycythemia in transgenic mice expressing the human erythropoietin gene

Abstract Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone that regulates mammalian erythropoiesis. To study the expression of the human erythropoietin gene, EPO, 4 kilobases of DNA encompassing the gene with 0.4 kilobase of 5' flanking sequence and 0.7 kilobase of 3' flanking sequence was microinjected into fertilized mouse eggs. Transgenic mice were generated that are polycythemic, with increased erythrocytic indices in peripheral blood, increased numbers of erythroid precursors in hematopoietic tissue, and increased serum erythropoietin levels. Transgenic homozygotes show a greater degree of polycythemia than do heterozygotes as well as striking extramedullary erythropoiesis. Human erythropoietin RNA was found not only in fetal liver, adult liver, and kidney but also in all other transgenic tissues analyzed. Anemia induced increased human erythropoietin RNA levels in liver but not kidney. These transgenic mice represent a unique model of polycythemia due to increased erythropoietin levels.
Generalized canonical formalism for degenerate dynamical systems

The familiar classical dynamical theory treats only a restricted class of dynamical systems. For a Lagrangian depending on n generalized coordinates, the n generalized velocities, and (perhaps) the time the usual theory considers only the normal case in which the Hessian matrix of the Lagrangian with respect to the generalized velocities has rank n. But the rank of this Hessian matrix can be less than n in a given dynamical system. Dynamical systems with this property are called degenerate in the present work. Some important physical systems do in fact belong to this degenerate class: for instance, Einstein's theory of the gravitational field, the theory of the electromagnetic field in terms of the electromagnetic potentials, and the theory of the neutral vector meson field. This circumstance makes it necessary to have a general theory of degenerate dynamical systems (and of the associated degenerate variational problems).
Schizophrenia among first-degree relatives of paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics.

Abstract In 1971, McCabe et al. 1 conducted a blind family study of a group consisting of 28 good-prognosis and 25 poor-prognosis schizophrenics. The results of that study showed that the families of poor-prognosis schizophrenics contained significantly more schizophrenia, neurosis, and overall illness, but significantly less affective disorder, than the families of good-prognosis schizophrenics. On the basis of their study, the data seemed to support the idea of at least two illnesses in schizophrenia: namely, that which could be called "good prognosis," which tends toward affective disorder, and that which could be called "poor prognosis," which tends toward process schizophrenia. Subsequently, Fowler et al. 2 reported a similar blind family study of a group consisting of 35 additional poor-prognosis schizophrenics and the 25 poor-prognosis schizophrenics from the McCabe study, 1 for a total of 60. Probands and their families were classified and then compared, according to paranoid (32) and nonparanoid (28) subgroups, to determine if there are still further distinct illnesses in schizophrenia on the basis of familial data. Family differences between the two groups were limited to a greater risk for the combination of schizophrenia, undiagnosed psychosis, and paranoid personality in the nonparanoid probands' families. This paper presents the results from the further analysis of data gathered for the 60 probands and their families. In addition to the overall frequency of schizophrenia in this group, frequency is calculated for the combined variables of sex, relationship to proband, and diagnostic subtype (of both the proband and of the ill family member).
Slow mesons accompanying high energy interactions

Four nuclear events were found in G-5 emulsions, exposed in Texas at an altitude of 104 000 feet, where the breakup of the primary or the resulting interaction was accompanied by the emission of slow pions. Two of the events could be analysed as nucleon-nucleon interactions, and the energies of the slow pion produced were (8.06 ± .09) and (8.6 ± 0.1) MeV respectively. On the basis of existing theories on multiple meson production an attempt was made to calculate the probability of observing the production of a 10 MeV pion or less. Computations for two energies of the incident nucleon were made. When the incident nucleon in the laboratory system of co-ordinates was 1.38 GeV, one meson was produced and the probability that it had an energy of 10 MeV or less was found to be 6 in 100. If the incident nucleon is 11.1 GeV (N = 2), the probability that one meson had an energy of 10 MeV or less was found to be 2 in 1000.
A higher level of behavioural specification: An example in interval temporal logic

Abstract This paper reports on the use of Moszkowski's Tempura — an executable version of Interval Temporal Logic — in developing behavioural specifications for digital circuits. A Tempura model for a commercial avionics circuit is described, showing how Tempura facilatates a well-structured executable specification, incorporating timing characteristics, but expressed at a high level of abstraction. A second version shows the use of temporal projection to develop a model at a finer temporal granularity.
Candidate Traits and Voter Inferences: An Experimental Study

This paper examines to what extent, and in what ways, voters are willing to go beyond the information given--when that information consists of either a candidate's personal traits or his issue positions--to make broader candidate assessments. Based on an experiment in which students were given either personal trait or issue information about candidates for president, we find strong evidence for voter inferences from traits to issues and vice versa (although there is greater inference from issues than from traits). Finally, we find that, although inferences are frequently made, they are often idiosyncratic. Only in particular cases (i.e., relating candidate's compassion with his support of government providing jobs), do different types of respondents make the same inferences (a finding which is also borne out by the 1984 NES).
Use of the linear heat flow for poor conductors and its application to the thermal conductivity of nylon

Abstract Thermal conductivity measurements have been carried out on Polypenco 101 and Comco brands of nylon 66 (polyhexamethylene adiapamide) rods along the direction of extrusion. The temperature range covered was 1.2 to 350 K, Below 20 K our date (estimated uncertainty ± 2%), together with all known published data, conforms to the expression λ = 0.00193 T 1.30 W m −1 K −1 to within 10%. Radiative effects above 100 K were demonstrated by performing measurements with and without batting; at 300 K there was a 50% difference between the two sets of data. It is concluded that other radiative effects are present besides direct losses of heat. An increase in the slope of the conductivity versus temperature curve was observed for both samples at the brittleness temperature (T B = 188 K) and a value of λ max = 0.371 W m −1 K −1 was obtained at the glass transition temperature T g ⋍ 330 K . Above 200 K, λ is nearly independent of temperature. A value of 0.365 W m −1 K −1 ±3% was found at 300 K, which is about 25% greater than values obtained previously by radial measurements. Anisotropy is a probable cause of this difference. Thermal conductivity integrals have been constructed from the data.
The melting point behavior of mixtures of the solid tetra- and hexabromides of linoleic and linolenic acids

1. The melting points of binary mixtures of tetrabromostearic acid and hexabromostearic acid are reported. 2. The system shows a eutectic between 9 and 10% by weight of hexabromide and at a temperature of 112°C. 3. It has been shown that it is necessary to report heating time and rate as well as melting point for hexabromostearic acid because of its extreme sensitivity to heat.
Intraoperative Pathologic Examination in the Era of Molecular Testing for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Background Diagnostic thyroidectomy is typically indicated for indeterminate thyroid cytology results. Traditionally, intraoperative pathologic examination (IOPE) helped to guide the extent of initial surgery. Preoperative molecular testing (MT) of fine needle aspiration cytology has emerged as another diagnostic adjunct, is highly specific for thyroid cancer, and can lead to appropriate initial total thyroidectomy. We hypothesized that preoperative MT obviates the need for routine IOPE during lobectomy. Study Design In a retrospective, consecutive cohort study, we compared outcomes of 670 patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Cohort A (January 2005 to December 2006) received surgery without MT, and cohort B (January 2008 to September 2010) had preoperative MT for BRAF , RAS , RET/PTC , and PAX8/PPARγ mutations , and cytology assessment by the 2007 modified Bethesda criteria. In both cohorts, IOPE was performed during lobectomy and a positive result prompted total thyroidectomy. Results In cohort B, total thyroidectomy was more often the initial surgery (62% vs A 45%; p 60% with routine use of MT and the Bethesda criteria (A 18.4% vs B 5.9%). After lobectomy, differentiated thyroid cancer ≥1 cm was equally likely to be diagnosed in both cohorts (p = 0.1), but follicular variant papillary thyroid cancer was more common in cohort B (74% vs 45%; p=0.02). Conclusions Together with the Bethesda cytologic criteria, preoperative MT allows for an increased rate of initial definitive total thyroidectomy and eliminates the need for routine intraoperative pathologic examination during diagnostic lobectomy.
Analytical techniques in high temperature corrosion

This paper considers the application of analytical techniques (particularly AES, SIMS, RHEED, laser Raman, Mossbauer, TEM, EELS) to high-temperature oxidation studies. Specific systems reviewed include NiO on Ni, oxides on Fe, Cr and their alloys, and Al2O3 on Al and β-NiAl. The often complementary information provided by the various techniques leads to a better understanding of oxide growth mechanisms on an atomic sale, interfacial segregation phenomena, and the role of reactive elements in modifying transport processes in oxides.
Character space restrictions and boundary conditions in the evolution of quantitative multistate characters

Abstract The effects of restrictions of available character space on the mean morphological distance between living members of evolutionary phylads are examined by Monte Carlo simulation. The approach involves specifying the degree to which ancestor-descendant species may differ and limiting the range of attainable character states within a phylad. Morphological evolution is modeled as a Markovian process involving quantitative multistate characters. States for a given character are allowed to evolve at time-dependent or speciation-dependent rates. The final distributions of morphological distance for a given trait among members of a phylad depend on the number of species in the phylad, the rate and pattern of evolution of new character states, and the existence of boundary conditions indicating possible selective constraints on the trait. When morphological change is proportional to time, increasing restrictions on character evolution tend to (a) lower mean distance between species and (b) leave the ratio of mean distances ( D R D p ) in species-rich vs. species-poor phylads of comparable evolutionary age near one. When change is proportional to rate of speciation, similar restrictions tend to (a) limit mean distance only in phylads in which the number of speciations exceeds the range of attainable character states and (b) permit D R D p to be considerably greater than one, except in extreme cases. Implications of these results for the current phyletic gradualism-rectangular evolution controversy are considered.
Otx2 and Onecut1 Promote the Fates of Cone Photoreceptors and Horizontal Cells and Repress Rod Photoreceptors

Cone photoreceptors carry out phototransduction in daylight conditions and provide the critical first step in color vision. Despite their importance, little is known about the developmental mechanisms involved in their generation, particularly how they are determined relative to rod photoreceptors, the cells that initiate vision in dim light. Here, we report the identification of a cis-regulatory module (CRM) for the thyroid hormone receptor beta (Thrb) gene, an early cone marker. We found that ThrbCRM1 is active in progenitor cells biased to the production of cones and an interneuronal cell type, the horizontal cell (HC). Molecular analysis of ThrbCRM1 revealed that it is combinatorially regulated by the Otx2 and Onecut1 transcription factors. Onecut1 is sufficient to induce cells with the earliest markers of cones and HCs. Conversely, interference with Onecut1 transcriptional activity leads to precocious rod development, suggesting that Onecut1 is critically important in defining cone versus rod fates.
First Report of Uromyces plumbarius, Rust of Gaura, in Louisiana and a new host, Guara lindheimeri.

Gaura lindheimeri Engelm. & A. Gray (Onagraceae) is an ornamental shrub that is native to southern Louisiana and Texas. Its texture and form make it a popular perennial border plant. In April 2010 and 2011, three collections of Guara leaf samples with signs and symptoms of a rust disease were made from a home garden in Baton Rouge, LA. Infected leaves showed chlorotic lesions on the adaxial surface and were associated with scattered, hypophyllous uredinia. Urediniospores were globose to obovoid, echinulate, had two equatorial germ pores, and measured 16 to 21 × 18 to 25 μm with a wall 2 μm thick. Telia and teliospores were not observed on any of the collected samples. The pathogen was identified as Uromyces plumbarius Peck on the basis of the uredinial characters compared with four U.S. National Fungus (BPI 1103868, 0013551, 0013554, and 0013557) collections of U. plumbarius. The three collections from Louisiana have been deposited in the Bernard Lowy Mycological Herbarium. DNA was extracted from all thre...
Die Oxidation von C‐H‐ und O‐H‐Bindungen durch Kupfer(III)‐Komplexe

Bei Oxidationen durch Kupferenzyme werden immer haufiger Kupfer(III)-Spezies als Intermediate vorgeschlagen. Ein gutes Modell fur derartige Reaktionen ist die Oxidation von Dihydroanthracen zu Anthracen durch einen isolierbaren Kupfer(III)-imin/oxim-Komplex [Gl. (1)].
Productivity measures associated with a patient access initiative.

Objective: To assess financial performance associated with a patient 7-day access initiative. Background Data: Patient access to clinical services is frequently an obstacle at academic medical centers. Conflicting surgeon priorities among academic, clinical, educational, and leadership duties often create difficulties for patient entry into the "system." Methods: The scope and objectives were identified to be: design of a standard, simple new patient appointment process, design of a standard process in cases where an appointment is not available in 7 days, use subspecialty team search capabilities, minimize/eliminate prescheduling requirements, centralize appointment scheduling, and creation and reporting of 7-day access metrics. Following maturation of the process, the 7-day access metrics from the period July 2004 to December 2004 and January 2005 to June 2005 were compared with corresponding time periods from calendar years 2001, 2002, and 2003. Results: Payor mix was unaltered. The median waiting time for a new patient appointment decreased from 21 days to 10 days. When compared with calendar years 2001, 2002, and 2003, respectively, the 2 periods of the 7-day access initiative in calendar years 2004 and 2005 were associated with significantly increased visits, new patients, operative procedures, hospital charges, and physician charges. Conclusions: Implementation of a 7-day access initiative can significantly increase financial productivity of general surgery groups in academic medical centers. We conclude that simplifying access to services can benefit academic surgical practices. Sustaining this level of productivity will continue to prove challenging.
Outcome of salvage abdominoperineal resection after failed endocavitary radiation in patients with rectal cancer.

Endocavitary radiation is a treatment option for selected patients with rectal cancer, but concern exists for the effectiveness of salvage abdominoperineal resection. This study was designed to examine outcomes after salvage abdominoperineal resection for recurrence after endocavitary radiation. A prospective database was used to identify patients undergoing abdominoperineal resection after endocavitary radiation from 1985 to 2001. Office records and a tumor registry were used for disease status and survival data. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and groups compared using the Mantel-Haenszel test. Thirty-eight patients underwent salvage abdominoperineal resection. The mean time to recurrence after completion of endocavitary radiation was 21 ± 27 months, with 29 percent having persistent disease, 63 percent recurrent disease, and 8 percent a second primary. At abdominoperineal resection, 47 percent had tumor transection, specimen perforation, or injury to the genitourinary or gynecologic tract. Nine patients (24 percent) had positive radial margins. The mean time to perineal wound healing was 56 ± 74.1 days postoperatively, with 36.8 percent taking more than 60 days. Seventeen patients (45 percent) re-recurred at a mean of 21 ± 25 months after salvage, with a local control rate of 26 percent at 45 ± 37 months of follow-up. Median disease-specific survival from completion of endocavitary radiation was 115.5 months, with a five-year, disease-specific survival rate of 66 percent. Patients with recurrent disease after endocavitary radiation had significantly (P = 0.025) better disease-specific survival than those with persistent disease (median survival 115 vs. 25 months). Although technically difficult and associated with a high morbidity, abdominoperineal resection can salvage a significant fraction (55 percent) of patients failing endocavitary radiation. A high index of suspicion for recurrence and a tenacious approach to its diagnosis are essential for optimal outcomes.
Kai: how media affects learning

Timelines provides perspectives on HCI history, glancing back at a road that sometimes took unexpected branches and turns. History is not a dry list of events; it is about points of view and differing interpretations. Jonathan Grudin, Editor
Constitutive modeling and computational implementation for finite strain plasticity

This paper describes a simple alternate approach to the difficult problem of modeling material behavior. Starting from a general representation for a rate-tpe constitutive equation, it is shown by example how sets of test data may be used to derive restrictions on the scalar functions appearing in the representation. It is not possible to determine these functions from experimental data, but the aforementioned restrictions serve as a guide in their eventual definition. The implications are examined for hypo-elastic, isotropically hardening plastic, and kinematically hardening plastic materials. A simple model for the evolution of the 'back-stress,' in a kinematic-hardening plasticity theory, that is entirely analogous to a hypoelastic stress-strain relation is postulated and examined in detail in modeling finitely plastic tension-torsion test. The implementation of rate-type material models in finite element algorithms is also discussed.
The two alkaline phosphatases for glycerophosphate in the rat's kidney☆

Abstract Evidence has been presented from in vitro studies, in confirmation of histochemical findings, that there exist, in the kidney of the rat, two distinguishable phosphatases capable of hydrolyzing sodium β-glycerophosphate in an alkaline environment. One of the enzymes, A, has been shown to be inhibited by iodoacetate and to be activated by glycine and zinc. The other, B, which is not inhibited by iodoacetate, is activated by magnesium and inhibited by glycine, and by those concentrations of zinc which activate the A enzyme. Some of the dissociation constants for the two enzymes with substrate, activators, and inhibitors have been calculated. The reciprocity of the effects of amino acids and bivalent metals on the two enzymes, has been interpreted in terms of glycine cation complex formation.
Sutured reality: film, from photographic to digital

The advent of the digital image changes cinema’s relationship with physical reality.1 No longer, the story goes, are we dealing with an image based (as with photography on film) exclusively on a direct record of objects placed in front of the camera, the essential link between the world and its representation thus established. The digital image has the ability to offer us a representation of things without ever having need of things themselves, thanks simply to the elaboration of an algorithm. The consequences of this situation are weighty. Faced with an image on a screen, we no longer know if the image testifies to the existence of that which it depicts or if it simply constructs a world that has no independent existence. Does this spell the end of the realistic nature of the cinema—the end of its ability to show us the world as it is, extending, in a certain sense, its life? Many scholars, including Lev Manovich and Sean Cubitt, maintain that the advent of the digital pushes cinema further from reality and closer to animation.2 Without rehearsing the current debate in depth, the following pages suggest that questions about the relationships between cinema and reality should be situated within a wider history of “realism.” First: from its inception, film theory has focused its attention not only on the peculiarity of cinema as a direct record of the physical world, but also on its capacity to create an impression of reality. In this light, it is important to reconsider the recent attempts to go “beyond indexicality”; cinematic realism does not depend solely on a “trace” left by objects on the filmstrip. Second: an impression of reality is not simply a feeling experienced by the spectator: it is an effect triggered by a set of discursive practices that film has acquired along its history. Italian Neorealism is the climax of such a develop-
Immunoglobulin deposition in thickened basement membranes of aging strial capillaries

The presence of immunoglobulins in the thickened basement membrane (BM) of aging strial capillaries was investigated as a possible indicator of autoimmunity in the genesis of atypical BM. Cochleas from young and old Mongolian gerbils raised in quiet were examined by immunostaining at the light microscopic level for IgG and IgM and for the BM components laminin (La) and type IV collagen (IV-C). Another age-graded series of cochleas was stained for IgG at the ultrastructural level. No immunoreactive IgG was detected in specimens from animals less than 6 months old. In contrast, 2 of 12 cochleas from 20- to 28-month-old gerbils and 11 of 20 cochleas from gerbils 30 months or older showed positive staining for IgG in strial capillary BM. IgM was not detected at any age. At the electron microscope level, no immunoreactive IgG was detected in the stria of cochleas younger than 30 months. However, labeling demonstrative of IgG was observed in the thickened BM of some strial capillaries in all six cochleas from gerbils older than 33 months. Lysosome-like granules in endothelial cells and the superiormost marginal cells also stained for content of IgG as did fibrillar material in edematous regions in the intrastrial space. In addition to showing accumulation of IgG, the findings confirm our prior demonstration of increased La deposition in the thickened strial capillary BM of all cochleas from old gerbils. The BM alterations appear confined to strial capillaries in old gerbils, since morphological observations and immunostaining for La and IgG failed to detect changes in BMs at any other site in a wide survey of aged gerbil organs including vessels in other regions of the affected cochleas. The results point more towards the development of an age-dependent permeability to IgG selectively in strial capillaries than to autoimmunity as an explanation of the IgG in BM.
On the inherent stability of rationally adaptive expectations

Abstract This paper analyzes Cagan's model of hyperinflation under the assumption that the stochastic process generating the behavior of the money supply is such as to make adaptive expectations ‘rational,’ in the sense of Muth. The paper shows that when the coefficient of adjustment of expectations has the value implied by the assumption of adjustment of ‘rationality,’ the stability condition of Cagan's model is necessarily satisfied.
EXIT chart analysis of optimal signal constellation sets and symbol mappings for block-interleaved coded-modulation enabling ultra-high-speed optical transport

In this paper, we analyze the block-interleaved coded modulation with iterative decoding (BICM-ID) where the bit error rate is reduced by iteration of extrinsic information between a multilevel demapper and an LDPC decoder. Based on the mutual information concept of EXIT charts, a new mapping method based on optimal signal constellation (OSCD) is proposed that outperforms previously known ones. The simulation results have shown that optimized mappings for OSCD outperform natural mappings by 0.5 dB in 8-ary case and 0.6 dB in 16-ary case.
Comparative study of crustacean larval photoresponses

Ovigerous females of four brachyuran (Cancer gracilis, Lophopanopeus bellus bellus, Hemigrapsus oregonensis and Scyra acutiforns) and two anomuran (Pagurus beringanus and P. granosimanus) species, which live as adults in coastal areas, were collected near Friday Harbor, Washington, USA, in 1985, and spectral sensitivity and phototactic pattern of their larvae were measured. Responses were compared with previous measurements on estuarine species to determine whether responsiveness varies with adult habitat. Estuarine and coastal species have similar photoresponses. Spectral sensitivity of the test brachyran species had two maxima, one near 400 to 420 nm and another around 500 nm. The anomuran species were similar, but had an additional peak in the region of 580 to 620 nm. This sensitivity is adapted to daytime light conditions in the adult environment, and available spectra at the time of larval movement during diel vertical migration. Upon light adaptation and stimulation with a narrow light field, all six species showed positive phototaxis to high light intensities and a pronounced negative response to low intensities. Only the negative response will occur in natural underwater light conditions, and it is part of a predator-avoidance shadow-response which operates in areas of higher light intensity. The same phototactic pattern is observed in all species when darkadapted except H. oregonensis. If nocturnal vertical migration occurs, this negative response may be responsible for the descent at sunrise and depth maintenance during the day.
Clinical outcomes and nonendoscopic interventions after minor papilla endotherapy in patients with symptomatic pancreas divisum

Background Long-term outcomes of minor papilla endotherapy (MPE) in pancreas divisum are limited. Objective To determine the efficacy of MPE in symptomatic pancreas divisum subgroups. Design This was a retrospective study of patients from an endoscopy database. The data collection instrument included preprocedure and postprocedure pain score, narcotic use, acute pancreatitis episodes, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. A follow-up was obtained by chart review and telephone contact with a questionnaire. Setting A tertiary-referral center. Main Outcome Measurements (1) Clinical improvement defined as a ≥50% reduction in the evaluated data points and (2) non-MPE interventions for pain. Results Between January 2000 and April 2006, 57 patients were identified. Indications were recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) (n = 27 [47%]), abdominal pain and chronic pancreatitis (CP) (n = 20 [35%]), abdominal pain alone (n = 8 [14%]), other (n = 2 [4%]). Successful MPE occurred in 49 of 57 patients (86%). Initial MPE entailed minor papilla sphincterotomy (n = 46), stenting without sphincterotomy (n = 2), and tamponade of bleeding (n = 1). Follow-up was obtained in 56 of 57 patients (98%) for a median of 20 months (interquartile range 12-39 months); 28 of 48 patients (58%) with successful MPE had clinical improvement: 16 of 21 (76%) with RAP, 8 of 19 (42%) with CP, and 2 of 6 (33%) with pain alone (RAP vs non-RAP; P = .019). Two patients had resolution of a dorsal-duct leak and bleeding, respectively. Twelve of 57 patients (21%) underwent 16 additional interventions for incomplete response: celiac plexus block (4), intrathecal narcotic pump (2), sphincteroplasty (7), bilateral thoracic splanchnicectomy (2), and Puestow procedure (1); 7 of 12 patients (58%) clinically improved. Limitation This was a retrospective study. Conclusions (1) MPE is most effective in patients with pancreas divisum and with RAP with or without pancreatic ductal changes, (2) although patients with chronic pain and pancreas divisum respond poorly to MPE, the majority will have clinical improvement after additional nonendoscopic interventions for pain management.
Mode preference in a simple data-retrieval task

This paper describes some recent experiments that assess user behavior in a multi-modal environment in which actions can be performed with equivalent effect in speech, keyboard or scroiler modes. Results indicate that users freely choose speech over other modalities, even when it is less efficient in objective terms, such as time-to-completion or input error.
The impact on house officers of educational and administrative interventions in an outpatient department.

Abstract The effects on housestaffs' attitudes and activities in ambulatory care following educational and administrative interventions in the outpatient department were studied in a prospective, controlled trial. Housestaff were arbitrarily assigned in advance, and patients were sequentially assigned to one of three pairs of clinics: one with intensive faculty supervision, the second with increased administrative support, and the third functioning in the traditional manner as the control. Housestaff in the educational clinics rated their educational experience significantly higher than those in the control clinics. Housestaff in the administrative clinics rated administrative support moderately higher than those in the control clinics. Information feedback in the administrative clinics selectively reduced excess prescribing but did not reduce laboratory utilization. No differential effects on the housestaffs' attitudes toward allocation of time to ambulatory care nor on their insights into patients' socioeconomic problems were found.
Structural Character and Energetics of Tyrosyl Radical Formation by Electron/Proton Transfers of a Covalently Linked Histidine-Tyrosine: A Model for Cytochrome c Oxidase

The structural, energetic, and electronic and IR spectroscopic properties for a model of the cross-linked histidine-tyrosine (His-Tyr) residues as found in cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) are investigat...
Further evaluation of the incorporation of an immunotoxicological functional assay for assessing humoral immunity for hazard identification purposes in rats in a standard toxicology study

Abstract A previous study ( Ladics et al., 1995 ) conducted in our laboratory using the known immunosuppressant agent, cyclophosphamide, indicated that a functional assay for assessment of humoral immunity may be conducted in rats in a standard toxicology study. The objective of this study was to further examine the feasibility of conducting an immunotoxicological assay for assessing humoral immunity in rats in a standard toxicology study using a chemical, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), whose principal target organ of toxicity is not the immune system. Specifically, the previous study and this study were done to determine whether the conduct of an assay for assessing humoral immune function would affect standard toxicological endpoints. Male CD rats were untreated or dosed orally for 30 or 90 days, excluding weekends, with vehicle or 12.5 or 25 mg/kg CCl4. Six days prior to sacrifice, selected rats were injected intravenously with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) for assessment of humoral immune function. One day prior to necropsy, blood for hematological and clinical chemical measurements was collected from each rat. On the day of necropsy standard protocol tissues were collected, weighed, processed to slides, and later examined microscopically. One-half of each spleen was used to assess spleen cell numbers and quantitate lymphocyte subsets (Thelper; Tcyt/sup; total T- and B-cells) by flow cytometry. Serum was analyzed for anti-SRBC IgM antibody by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Administration of 12.5 and 25 mg/kg CCl4 for 30 days decreased SRBC-specific serum IgM levels 42 and 45%, respectively, while 25 mg/kg CCl4 for 90 days increased SRBC-specific IgM levels by 50%. CCl4 did not alter splenic lymphocyte subset numbers nor the weight nor morphology of lymphoid organs. Exposure to 25 mg/kg CCl4 did increase liver weight and serum sorbitol dehydrogenase levels, as well as produce centrilobular fatty change. SRBC administration did not alter any hematological or clinical chemistry parameters, nor lymphocyte subset numbers. With the expected exception of the spleen (slight increase in number and size of germinal centers), administration of SRBC did not significantly alter the weights or morphology of routine protocol tissues. Furthermore, administration of SRBC did not mask the rather mild hepatotoxic effects of CCl4 exposure observed in this study. Based on these and previous findings, it appears that a functional assay for assessing humoral immunity may be conducted in animals on standard toxicology study without altering standard toxicological endpoints.
Durable, safe, multi-gene lentiviral vector expression in feline trabecular meshwork.

Multiple disease–specific considerations have led to interest in the potential of gene therapy to permanently correct elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), the main causal risk factor for primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Since IOP elevation results from abnormal resistance to aqueous humor outflow from the eye through the trabecular meshwork (TM), a means to genetically modify this specialized outflow organ permanently and safely is a prioritized goal. Here we tested different lentiviral vector designs and doses for long-term transgene expression in a large animal model, and investigated whether exogenously introduced myocilin proteins influenced IOP. The anterior chambers of 18 domestic cats (36 eyes) were injected with dual-gene feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) vectors. Substantial, well-tolerated green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression was achieved in TM and monitored non-invasively in vivo for 1.2–2.3 years, using both 5′ cap-translation and internal ribosome entry site (IRES)-translation. In all 36 eyes, post-mortem examination revealed substantial TM transgene expression (which often greatly exceeded that observable non-invasively during life). However, co-expression with enhanced GFP of myocilin or a juvenile glaucoma–associated mutant myocilin did not elevate IOP. These results demonstrate a safe, long-term single and dual gene expression in TM and establish an experimental system for testing candidate therapeutic transgenes for POAG.