cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The State of Simulation in Endoscopy Education: Continuing to Advance Toward Our Goals

Since the introduction of flexible endoscopy in the late 1960s, training programs have faced challenges with endoscopy education. Among these hurdles of traditional endoscopic training are the negative financial impact training poses to a program (in the form of ecreased productivity and lost revenues), the increased isks to patient comfort and safety, as well as the adminstrative responsibility to ensure that competency by rainees is assessed and documented. Over the past deade, these hurdles have become even more challenging s procedure reimbursements have grown increasingly ighter and expectations to document quality and cometency metrics have grown. One potential answer to hese challenges is the use of simulation during training. ith the advent of computer simulation and ex vivo nimal models, there has been renewed interest and reearch in the area of endoscopy simulation with the opes of overcoming some of these hurdles by reducing raining duration, providing a risk-free environment for raining, and allowing for objective measures of skills and ompetency. Despite these research efforts, only a fracion of these hopes have been realized to date.
Laser coherence enhancement by extra-cavity parametric mixing

We introduce a novel approach for laser coherence enhancement through parametric multiplication of the instantaneous frequency variation, thus eliminating the use of highly-resonant cavities. A 300-fold linewidth reduction of a tunable laser is demonstrated.
Fine structure of the oocyst wall of Eimeria nieschulzi.

SYNOPSIS. Oocysts of Eimeria nieschulzi from the laboratory rat, Rattus, norvegicus, were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Oocysts had a rough outer wall with apparent random depressions. The oocyst wall is composed of 2 layers: an osmiophilic outer layer consisting of a rough external and smooth internal surface, and a relatively thick, electron-lucent inner layer. The outer layer is composed of a dense, coarsely granular matrix. The inner layer consists of homogeneous fine granular material interspersed with coarse osmiophilic granules and contains one closely applied membrane on the outermost surface. Several raised lenticular areas are seen on the coarse outer surface of the inner layer. These layers are 102 (75–128) and 176 (135–204) nm thick, respectively. The sporocyst wall is thin, consisting of 3 to 4 unit membranes, and measures 27 (18–34) nm thick.
Release of enzymes by ricin from macrophages and chinese hamster ovary cells in culture

Ricin selectively depletes hepatic Kupffer's cells (macrophages) in mice, and is cytotoxic in vitro to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, the L 929 (mouse fibroblast) cell line, and rat bone marrow macrophages. Therefore, the toxicity of ricin to the macrophage J-744A. 1 and CHO cell lines was assessed by determining the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransfer-ase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Both dose- and time-dependent increases in the release of LDH and AST were observed. In macrophages, concentrations > 10-9 g ricin/ml inhibited the release of ALT at 48- and 72-h incubation times, whereas ALT release from CHO cells was inhibited by all concentrations of ricin at 24 and 48 h. The results indicate that the release of LDH and AST from macrophage and CHO cell lines may be useful in studies involving the molecular mechanism of toxicity of ricin as well as in assessing the efficacy of potential chemoprotectant agents against ricin.
Treatments of Effect Sizes and Statistical Significance Tests in Textbooks

The dialog surrounding effect sizes and statistical significance tests often places the two ideas into separate camps amid controversy. In light of recommendations by the Task Force on Statistical Inference and the fifth edition of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual calling for the reporting of effect sizes, a review of treatments of effect sizes in textbooks may be quite timely. This study reviews textbooks published since 1995 and as regards treatments of effect sizes and statistical significance tests. Of The textbooks examined, every textbook (n = 89) included the topic of statistical significance testing (2,248 pages), whereas only a little more than two thirds of the textbooks (n = 60) included information on effect sizes (789 pages).
Loop conformation and dynamics of the Escherichia coli HPPK apo-enzyme and its binary complex with MgATP.

Comparison of the crystallographic and NMR structures of 6-hydroxymethyl-7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphokinase (HPPK) suggests that the enzyme may undergo significant conformational change upon binding to its first substrate, ATP. Two of the three surface loops (loop 2 and loop 3) accounting for most of the conformational differences appear to be confined by crystal contacts, raising questions about the putative large-scale induced-fit conformational change of HPPK and the functional roles of the conserved side-chain residues on the loops. To investigate the loop dynamics in crystal-free environment, we carried out molecular dynamics and locally enhanced sampling simulations of the apo-enzyme and the HPPK·MgATP complex. Our simulations showed that the crystallographic B-factors underestimated the loop dynamics considerably. We found that the open-conformation of loop 3 in the binary complex is accessible to the apo-enzyme and is the favored conformation in solution phase. These results revise our previous view of HPPK-substrate interactions and the associated functional mechanism of conformational change. The lessons learned here offer valuable structural insights into the workings of HPPK and should be useful for structure-based drug design.
A Gene Upregulated in the Acoustically Damaged Chick Basilar Papilla Encodes a Novel WD40 Repeat Protein

Abstract The chick WDR1 gene is expressed at higher levels in the chick basilar papilla after acoustic overstimulation. The 3.3-kb WDR1 cDNA encodes a novel 67-kDa protein containing nine WD40 repeats, motifs that mediate protein–protein interactions. The predicted WDR1 protein has high sequence identity to WD40-repeat proteins in budding yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), two slime molds ( Dictyostelium discoideum and Physarum polycephalum ), and the roundworm ( Caenorhabditis elegans ). The yeast and P. polycephalum proteins bind actin, suggesting that the novel chick protein may be an actin-binding protein. Sequence database comparisons identified mouse and human cDNAs with high sequence identity to the chick WDR1 cDNA. The mouse Wdr1 and human WDR1 proteins showed 95% sequence identity to each other and 86% identity to the chick WDR1 protein. Northern blot analysis of total RNA from the chick basilar papilla after noise trauma revealed increased levels of a 3.1-kb transcript in the lesioned area. The WDR1 gene was mapped to human chromosome 4, between 22 and 24 cM from the telomere of 4p.
Glutamate recognition sites in human fetal brain

We used in vitro autoradiography with [3H]glutamate to examine the distribution of glutamate recognition sites in 18 and 21 week gestation human fetal brains. We found a wide distribution of [3H]glutamate binding in both specimens, in a pattern distinct from that reported in adult brain using the same autoradiographic methods. In fetal brain, prominent [3H]glutamate binding was evident in hippocampal formation, caudate-putamen, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, reticular nucleus of thalamus and substantia innominata.
Factor Analysis of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index in Breast Cancer Survivors

Context Sleep is a significant problem in breast cancer survivors (BCS) and measured frequently using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Thus, it is important to evaluate its factor structure. The two-process model of sleep regulation was the theoretical framework for this study.
Stochastic electrodynamics. I. On the stochastic zero-point field

This is the first in a series of papers that present a new classical statistical treatment of the system of a charged harmonic oscillator (HO) immersed in an omnipresent stochastic zero-point (ZP) electromagnetic radiation field. This paper establishes the Gaussian statistical properties of this ZP field using Bourret's postulate that all statistical moments of the stochastic field plane waves at a given space-time point should agree with their corresponding quantized field vacuum expectations. This postulate is more than adequate to derive the Planck spectrum classically via Boyer's and Theimer's methods, but it requires that the stochastic amplitude of each linearly polarized plane wave in the field contain two independent Gaussian random variables, not just a random phase as has sometimes been assumed. In the succeeding papers in the series, the total motion of a charged HO is described by a fully renormalized dipole-approximation Abraham-Lorentz equation. This leads without further approximation to the following major results concerning this stochastic electrodynamics (SED) of the HO: i) The ensemble-average Liouville equation for the oscillator-ZP field system in the presence of an arbitrary applied classical radiation field is exactly equivalent to the usual time-dependent Schrodinger equation supplemented by an explicit radiation reaction vector potential similar to that of the Crisp-Jaynes-Stroud theory; ii) this SED Schrodinger equation for the HO is incomplete, insmuch as there exists a companion equation that restricts initial conditions such that the corresponding Wigner phase-space distribution is always positive; iii) the wave function of the SED Schrodinger equation has thea priori significance of position probability amplitude; iv) first-order transition rates predicted for the HO by this theory agree with those predicted by quantum electrodynamics for resonance absorption and spontaneous emission, which occurs with no triggering necessary; and v) if SED is taken seriously, then the concepts of quantized energies and photons must be abandoned.
Biphasic Resorbable Calcium Phosphate Ceramic for Bone Implants and Local Alendronate Delivery

A novel biphasic calcium phosphate ceramic composed of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and calcium pyrophosphate (CP) is synthesized in order to tailor the biodegradation behavior of the ceramic. The results show that biphasic TCP/CP ceramic has a strength of 62.2 ± 2.1 MPa, which is superior to single-phase TCP and CP ceramics, which show strengths of 44.3 ± 3.0 and 53.0 ± 4.8 MPa, respectively. In addition, biphasic TCP/CP ceramic displays a controlled strength degradation from 62.2 ± 2.1 to 40.5 ± 1.0 MPa in stimulated body fluid over a period of 28 d. An in vitro cell materials interaction study using human fetal osteoblast cells indicates that TCP/CP ceramic is cytocompatible. TCP/CP ceramic also show a good loading capacity for alendronate. Adsorption of alendronate (AD) on the TCP/CP surface is found to proceed via ligand exchange mechanism and the in vitro release profile of AD from TCP/CP surface is characterized by an initial fast release followed by a slow and sustained release. Strong electrostatic interactions between AD groups and surface Ca2+ ions enable the slow and sustained release of AD. These results demonstrate that the newly developed biphasic ceramic, with its controlled strength degradation and drug release, shows promise for use in orthopedic and tissue engineering applications.
The pea rbcS-3A enhancer-like element directs cell-specific expression in transgenic tobacco

The pea rbcS-3A gene codes for the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and its expression is regulated by light, tissue type and stage of development. Analysis in transgenic tobacco plants has shown that the upstream region contains an enhancer-like element which can confer light-regulated and organ-specific expression upon a reporter gene (Fluhr et al. 1986a). Here we address the question of whether the enhancer specifies not only organ specificity, but also expression in the correct cell types. In situ immunofluorescence and microdissection were used on transgenic tobacco plants containing the rbcS-3A enhancer fused to a reporter gene consisting of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and the bacterial gene encoding chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT). CAT levels are high in leaf mesophyll cells, but in the epidermis expression is restricted to guard cells. In the midrib, of the leaf and in the stem, there is considerable signal in the chlorenchyma and in the phloem region. This pattern of expression closely correlates with the distribution of the endogenous RbcS polypeptides and with the presence of chlorophyll. Our results demonstrate that the rbcS-3A enhancer-like element possesses all the necessary DNA sequences for expression in the correct cell types.
Non-parabolic hydrodynamic formulations for the simulation of inhomogeneous semiconductor devices

Hydrodynamic models are becoming prevalent design tools for small scale devices and other devices in which high energy effects can dominate transport. Most current hydrodynamic models use a parabolic band approximation to obtain fairly simple conservation equations. Interest in accounting for band structure effects in hydrodynamic device simulation has begun to grow since parabolic models cannot fully describe the transport in state of the art devices due to the distribution populating non-parabolic states within the band. This paper presents two different non-parabolic formulations or the hydrodynamic model suitable for the simulation of inhomogeneous semiconductor devices. The first formulation uses the Kane dispersion relationship ((hk)(exp 2)/2m = W(1 + alphaW). The second formulation makes use of a power law ((hk)(exp 2)/2m = xW(exp y)) for the dispersion relation. Hydrodynamic models which use the first formulation rely on the binomial expansion to obtain moment equations with closed form coefficients. This limits the energy range over which the model is valid. The power law formulation readily produces closed form coefficients similar to those obtained using the parabolic band approximation. However, the fitting parameters (x,y) are only valid over a limited energy range. The physical significance of the band non-parabolicity is discussed as well as the advantages/disadvantages and approximations of the two non-parabolic models. A companion paper describes device simulations based on the three dispersion relationships; parabolic, Kane dispersion and power law dispersion.
Neural and glial phenotypic expression by neural crest cells in culture: effects of control and presumptive aganglionic bowel from ls/ls mice.

The enteric nervous system is formed by cells that migrate to the bowel from the neural crest. Previous experiments have established that avian crest cells in vitro will colonize explants of murine bowel and there give rise to neurons. It has been proposed that phenotypic expression by the crest- derived precursors of enteric neurons and glia is critically influenced by the microenvironment these cells encounter within the gut. To test this hypothesis, quail crest cells were cocultured with explants of control or presumptive aganglionic bowel from the ls/ls mutant mouse, and the effects of the enteric tissue on five phenotypic markers of crest cell development were followed. Aganglionosis develops in the terminal region of the colon of the ls/ls mouse because viable crest- derived neural and glial precursors fail to colonize this tissue. Expression of the phenotypic markers in the cocultures was compared with that in cultures of crest alone, crest plus neural tube, and gut grown alone. The markers examined were melanogenesis and immunostaining with antisera to 5- hydroxytryptamine (5- HT) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and the monoclonal antibodies, NC- 1 and GlN1. Explants of control, but not presumptive aganglionic ls/ls gut were found to increase the incidence of the expression of 5- HT and NC- 1 immunoreactivities; moreover, especially near the gut, the assumption of a neuronal morphology by 5- HT-, NC-1-, and GlN1- immunoreactive cells was also increased. Coincidence of expression of 5- HT with NC- 1 and GlN1 immunoreactivities was observed. The effect of the bowel was selective in that the expression of TH immunoreactivity, which is not a marker of mature enteric neurons, was reduced rather than enhanced. The effect of enteric explants on crest cell development was specific in that it was not mimicked by explants of metanephros, which inhibited expression of 5- HT immunoreactivity and the acquisition of a neuritic form by NC- 1- immunoreactive cells. It is concluded that theenteric microenvironment affects the phenotypic expression of subsets of crest cells and that this action of the bowel. Is manifested in vitro. The inability of presumptive aganglionic gut from ls/ls mice to influence neural phenotypic expression may be due to the failure of this tissue to produce putative factor(s) required for theeffector to the inability of the crest- derived precursor cells to migrate into the abnormal enteric tissue.
The application of the Su(3) shell model to 9Be

Abstract The normal and non-normal parity levels, as well as the static properties of the ground state, of 9Be are investigated using the Elliott SU(3) shell model. The model predicts that the non-normal (i.e., positive) parity levels from a K = 1 2 rotational band. Three different normal-parity energy level schemes are proposed, and it is shown that they each, to a good approximation, are composed of a K = 3 2 band and a K = 1 2 band. Each of the three normal-parity schemes involve an approximate degeneracy. For all three energy level schemes the calculated ground state quadrupole moment is in excellent agreement with experiment and does not aid in distinguishing between them. On the other hand, the ground state magnetic moment does depend significantly on the particular scheme chosen and favours a scheme that has a degeneracy at 2.50 MeV involving two levels with spin and parity assignment 1 2 − and 5 2 − , respectively. The conclusion is reached that the SU(3) shell model is capable of describing the 9Be nucleus, and it is suggested that the normal-parity energy level scheme with the 1 2 − , 5 2 − degeneracy is involved in this description. Finally, the results of some photodisintegration calculations are reported, which tend to confirm the preceding conclusion.
R1-PCA: rotational invariant L 1 -norm principal component analysis for robust subspace factorization

Principal component analysis (PCA) minimizes the sum of squared errors (L2-norm) and is sensitive to the presence of outliers. We propose a rotational invariant L1-norm PCA (R1-PCA). R1-PCA is similar to PCA in that (1) it has a unique global solution, (2) the solution are principal eigenvectors of a robust covariance matrix (re-weighted to soften the effects of outliers), (3) the solution is rotational invariant. These properties are not shared by the L1-norm PCA. A new subspace iteration algorithm is given to compute R1-PCA efficiently. Experiments on several real-life datasets show R1-PCA can effectively handle outliers. We extend R1-norm to K-means clustering and show that L1-norm K-means leads to poor results while R1-K-means outperforms standard K-means.
Calculation of thermal-diffusion coefficients from plane-wave fluctuations in the heat energy density

A method to calculate the thermal diffusivity [ital D][sub [ital T]] from spontaneous fluctuations in the local heat energy density is presented. Calculations of the thermal diffusivity are performed for the Lennard-Jones fluid, carbon dioxide, and water. The results for the Lennard-Jones fluid are in agreement with calculations of the thermal conductivity using Green-Kubo relations and nonequilibrium molecular-dynamics techniques. The results for carbon dioxide and water give thermal diffusivities within a factor of 2 of the experimental values.
The effect of the structural energy of Cr on the NiCr equilibrium phase diagram

Abstract The temperature-composition phase diagram of the NiCr system is calculated using 1. (i) a semi-empirical thermodynamic model and 2. (ii) a first principles model based on a tight-binding description of the electronic structure of the alloy. In all our calculations we use a theoretical structural energy for f.c.c. Cr that is considerably larger than previous empirical estimates. Our results indicate that the procedure of fitting experimental phase diagrams with free energy models lacks the sensitivity required for an unambiguous determination of structural energies. Good overall agreement with experimental data is obtained for both the semi-empirical and first principles models. From the calculated effective pairwise interactions we obtain the experimentally observed Pt2Mo type structure as one of the possible stable structures at 67at.% Ni.
High-performance liquid chromatographic separation of phenylthiocarbamyl derivatives of amino acids from protein hydrolysates using a Partisphere C18 column

The conditions for the rapid analysis of amino acids in protein hydrolysates are given for the Whatman Partisphere C18 cartridge column. Amino acids from protein hydrolysates are derivatized to phenylthiocarbamyl (PTC) derivatives and separated within 22 min. The Partisphere column is generally less expensive than specialty columns designed for the PTC derivative. The “void sealing” capability of this column, in addition to its guard column attachment, increases the life span of the column.
Placement of emotionally disturbed children in residential treatment : a review of placement criteria

In view of the growing concern over the number of disturbed children in residential treatment centers, identification of the kinds of children best treated in such centers is important. A review of the literature reveals that criteria for placement are inadequate and information on outcomes insufficient for guidance on the placement problem. Implications and recommendations for practice and research are delineated.
Lead concentrations in the newborn infant

1. Neufeld, E. F., and Fratantoni, J. C.: Inborn errors of mucopolysaccharide metabolism, Science 169: 141, 1970. 2. Fratantonl, J. C., Hail, C. W., and Neufeld, E. F.: The defect in Hurler and Hunter syndromes. II. Deficiency of specific factors involved in mucopolysaccharide degradation, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 64: 360, 1969. ~. Cantz, M., Chrambach, A., and Neufeld, E. ~.: Characterization of the factor deficit in the Hunter syndrome by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 39: 5, 1970. 4. Wiesmann, U., and Neufeld, E. F.: Scheie and Hurler syndromes: Apparent identity of the biochemical defect, Science 169: 72, 1970. 5. Kresse, H., Wiesmann, U., Cantz, M., Hall, C. W., and Neufeld, E. F.: Biochemical heterogeneity of the Sanfilippo syndrome: Preliminary characterization of two deficient factors, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 42: 892, 1971. 6. Neufeld, E. F., and Cantz, M.: Corrective factors for inborn errors of mucopolysaccharide metabolism, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 179: 580, 1971. 7. McKusick, V.: Heritable disorders of connective tissue, ed. 3, St. Louis, 1966, The C. V. Mosby Company, pp. 325-399. 8. Barton, R. W., and Neufeld, E. F.: Purification and preliminary studies of the Hurler corrective factor. In preparation. 9. Spranger, J. W., Koch, F., McKusick, V. A., Natzschka, J., Wiedemann, H. R., and Zellweger, H.: Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (Maroteaux-Lamy's disease) Helv. Paediatr. Acta 25: 337, 1970. I0. DiFerrante, N., Nichols, B. L., DonnelIy, P. V., Neri, G., Hrgovcic, R., and Berglund, R. K.: Induced degradation of glycosaminoglycans in Hurler's and Hunter's syndrome by plasma infusion, Proe. Nat. Aead. Sci. 68: 303, I97I.
Foam Fractionation and Ion Flotation of Simple and Complex Anions with Cationic Surfactants

Experimental data are presented and interpreted on the foam fractionation of an extensive series of simple and complex anions from dilute (of the order 10−6−10−4 molar) aqueous solutions, utilizing a quaternary ammonium surfactant with which the anions form soluble ion pairs in competition with the surfactant's counterion. Selectivity coefficients, based on a bubble-interface, ion exchange model, are established in a single-equilibrium-stage, continuous-flow, foam fractionation unit for each of a series of 13 anions and oxyanions versus the surfactant's bromide counterion. Three additional series of batch experiments with multi-metal solutions establish the separation and concentration in the foam of the oxyanions of Re(VII), Mo(VI), Cr(VI), W(VI), and V(V); of the cyanide complex anions of Zn(II), Cd(II), Hg(II), and Au(III); and of the chloride complex anions of Zn(II), Cd(II), Hg(II), and Au(III). The metal oxyanions and metal cyanide and chloride complex anions can be separated from each other and from competing chloride, cyanide, or nitrate. Ion flotation of anionic species with a cationic surfactant involves an entirely different mechanism, in which a precipitation reaction occurs and particle flotation follows. Hexavalent chromium (primarily HCrO−4) is ion-floated with each of a series of variable chain length quaternary ammonium surfactants, elucidating the effects of temperature, the surfactant/Cr(VI) feed ratio, mixing time, and surfactant chain length in terms of the roles of the surfactant as precipitant, dispersant, collector, and frother.
Calculation of Coulomb Wave Functions for High Energies

For high energies and moderate radii Coulomb functions are conveniently calculated by evaluating certain integrals numerically.
Restrictions on components of variance for epistatic models.

If a disease is caused by several loci, then the additive variance at each locus may represent only small portions of the total genetic variance, while epistatic variance components may explain a significant amount of the total genetic variance. In this paper we first give simple general formulations to derive all the components of total genetic variance in a random sample for any multilocus model. We then derive these components for a series of fifteen models that have been proposed as being the two-allele two-locus models most likely for disease. We discuss the restrictions and limitations on the penetrance and the gene frequencies, implied by the disease prevalence, for each model. We investigate the relative magnitudes of the components of variance for the various models and show that in six of the models one or other of the epistatic variance components can be larger than each of the other components. It is suggested that investigations be undertaken to develop appropriate sampling and analytical techniques to detect these variance components by linkage analysis.
Effect of molecular weight on the fracture surface energy of poly(methyl methacrylate) in cleavage

By the radiolysis of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), the fracture surface energy (γ) was determined at room temperature as a function of viscosity average molecular weight (¯Mv). Using a modified parallel cleavage technique, results showed that γ decreased more than two orders of magnitude with decreasing molecular weight. In the high molecular weight region (¯Mv≳105), γ (∼1×105 erg cm−2) was relatively insensitive to polymer chain length; whereas for 2.5×104≲¯Mv≲ 1×105, γ was strongly dependent on molecular weight. A linear regression analysis in the range ¯Mv=2 to 2.25×103 indicated that a truly glassy “Griffith” material was approached for which γ ≃ 750 erg cm−2. The results confirm the sigmoidal dependence of γ on molecular weight tested in notched tension. The apparent independence which variations in crack velocity have on γ with decreasing ¯Mv is shown and explained in terms of the increasingly brittle character of PMMA. Problems associated with the measurement and interpretation of experimental data are considered, particularly with respect to the lower ¯Mv regions.
Microwave growth of ZnO bulk crystals

A novel approach for fabricating ZnO crystals using self-encapsulated microwave melt growth technique is developed, which permits idealized temperature profile for the nucleation of the ZnO crystals and their growth in a contamination-free environment. This paper reports that both un-doped ZnO and p-type doped ZnO (by P or Li:N doping) single crystals were successfully fabricated by this technique. The as-grown ZnO crystals were of light brown to clear in color depending on processing conditions. Their transparency and colorless form were restored after post-growth annealing in oxygen.
Comparison of contractile state and myosin isozymes of rat right and left ventricular myocardium.

We compared myocardial mechanics and myosin isozymes of right and left ventricular papillary muscles from adult (6 to 8 month old) male rats. Analysis of force velocity relations indicate that right ventricular papillary muscles contract more rapidly than left at light loads (2.68±0.13 vs 2.18±0.07 muscle lengths/s measured 75 ms following stimulation, at 0.5 g/mm 2 ; P V 1 myosin isozyme and less of the V 3 containing β heavy chain myosin isozyme than left ventricular preparations ( P V 1 ) in right ventricle papillary muscles relative to left correlated with the more rapid velocities of shortening seen in right ventricular papillary muscles (r=0.60; P
Organizing Learning for Transformation in College Outreach Programmes

A master narrative exists that operates to preclude Mexican migrant students from college access. By ethnographically examining the experiences of Mexican migrant students in the UCLA Migrant Student Leadership Institute, I describe counterstories that show how Mexican migrant students disrupt the assumptions of the master narrative. Findings suggest that attending to the social organization of learning in college outreach programmes can afford transformative learning opportunities that fracture the master narrative, and provide for new potentialities to emerge in Mexican migrant students' struggles for educational opportunity. The UCLA Migrant Student Leadership Institute is used as an exemplary case showing how pedagogical interventions, such as college outreach programmes, can mediate college access for underrepresented students.
Methodologic issues in the design and analysis of epidemiologic studies of pregnancy outcome

Using epidemiology to elucidate the causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes offers unique opportunities and poses distinctive challenges. The context of pregnancy includes contraception and planning, medical interventions altering the natural history, and the tendency for selective participation in demanding research protocols. Several key pervasive issues are considered in detail: 1) the close temporal proximity of determinants and outcomes, which makes separation of causes and effects difficult and introduces the real possibility of reverse causality; 2) non-random allocation of exposure, often done consciously in response to concerns about having a healthy pregnancy or to the health of the pregnancy itself, making confounding a major concern; 3) heterogeneity of pregnancy outcomes, with endpoints such as pregnancy loss and preterm birth arising through diverse pathways that are not easily identified and if grouped, could diminish the magnitude of observed associations; and 4) racial and ethnic disparities, which pose a public health challenge in the USA and offer a potentially important opportunity for identifying preventable causes of adverse pregnancy outcome. Sophisticated biological and statistical methods are needed to advance epidemiologic research in this area.
Doing Much About Nothing

One of the interesting problems concerning experimental results is what happens when an experiment gives a null result, when the phenomenon expected is not observed. Is it because the experimental apparatus and the associated analysis procedures cannot detect or measure the phenomenon in question or is it because the phenomenon is not present? This is a real problem in the practice of physics. In the Michelson-Morley experiment, one of the most famous experiments in modern physics, the experimenters expected to detect a fringeshift caused by the motion of the earth relative to the ether. They found no such fringeshift. Was it because the apparatus was faulty or because the earth’s velocity relative to the ether was zero? 1 In this paper I will discuss the Michelson
The nature of behavioural correlates of healthy ageing: a twin study of lifestyle in mid to late life.

Background With the greying of the industrialized world has come increased interest in identifying the modifiable lifestyle factors that promote healthy and successful ageing. Whereas many of the behavioural correlates of late-life morbidity and mortality have been identified, relatively little is known about the origins of individual differences in these factors. Methods A sample of 12 714 twins, including both members of 3806 pairs of known zygosity, ascertained through the Danish Twin Registry and aged 40 to 80 years, completed a self-report assessment of six lifestyle factors associated with ageing: smoking, drinking, diet and physical, social and intellectual activities. Standard biometric methods were used to analyse the twin data and determine the extent to which individual differences in each of the lifestyle factors are heritable. Results For each of the six lifestyle factors, the estimate of heritability ranged from 32% (95% CI: 19–42%) for the diet scale to 69% (62–72%) for the smoking measure. Biometric estimates of the contribution of the twins’ common rearing environment were uniformly small (≤6%). There was little evidence that standardized biometric estimates varied by gender or age. Conclusions Individuals likely construct lifestyles in part to complement and reinforce underlying genetically influenced dispositions and talents. The heritable nature of lifestyle factors implies that the behavioural and genetic contributors to ageing processes are not necessarily conceptually distinct but rather reflect the complexity of gene-environment interplay in ageing.
Life Lessons through Storytelling: Children's Exploration of Ethics

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Donna Eder and with Regina Holyan Year: 2010 Pages: 190 Publisher: Indiana University Press ISBN: 978-0-253-22244-2 (soft cover).
Using a management perspective to define and measure changes in nursing technology.

Using a management perspective to define and measure changes in nursing technology Aims. The aims of this paper are to discuss the uses of the concept of technology from the medical science and the management perspectives; to propose a clear definition of nursing technology; and to present a study applying the use of the concept of nursing technology on nursing units. Background. Nurse managers must use management terms correctly and the term technology may be misleading for some. A review of the nursing literature shows varied uses of the concept of technology. Thus a discussion of the dimensions, attributes, consequences, and definitions of nursing technology from the management perspective are given. Design. A longitudinal study to measure the dimensions of nursing technology on nursing units 10 years apart. Results. The findings suggest that the dimensions of nursing technology change over time and support the need for nurse managers to periodically assess nursing technology before making management changes at the level of the nursing unit. Conclusions. This study helps health care providers understand the unique role of nurses as healthcare professionals by identifying and measuring nursing technology on the nursing unit.
A brain model with the circuit to convert short-term memory into long-term memory

Assuming the existence of encoding synapses which record presynaptic axonal 'on-off' patterns as the contents of memory, and the existence of modulating synapses which help encoding synapses develop long-term potentiation and depression so as to convert short-term memory into long-term memory, it is possible to outline a brain model according to neuroanatomy. The loop of memory-conversion consists of the axons connecting the perceptive cortices, mesotemporal lobes, dorsomedial nuclei of thalamus (which also receive axons from septohippocampal complex and, indirectly, fornices), and prefrontal lobes. The contents of thought, feeling, dreaming, hallucination, and delusion all result from activation of different axonal 'on-off' patterns in many sets of synapses, and retrieval of memory, reactivation of the presynaptic axonal 'on-off' patterns in the correlating sets of synapses. In this model, degenerated synapses may be responsible for the thought disorder of schizophrenia.
Voluntary Regional Councils and the New Regionalism Effective Governance in the Smaller Metropolis

This article compares the opposite fates of two voluntary regional councils in similar substate regions of Michigan and evaluates their effectiveness as planning mechanisms of the new regionalism. Organizational development strategies and consensus building drove the survival and partial success of one council but reduced its policy effectiveness. A climate of mistrust emanating from virulent localism and idiosyncratic events undercut the other council’s organizational capacity and policy effectiveness and led to its demise. Implications of these cases as “weak” examples of new regionalism are discussed.
EFFECT OF CARBON DIOXIDE SNOW ON SHELF LIFE OF PACKAGED CHICKEN

This study had the purpose of determining effective concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) snow as a preservative for poultry meat under different external temperature conditions. Survival and growth of microorganisms on the surface of chicken was determined after 48 hr in plastic foam boxes containing different levels of CO2 and after storage in a retail display case at about 5°C. Different ratios by volume of CO2 snow to chicken were used and determinations were made of CO2 in containers and absorbed by the chicken meat. In general, CO2 snow resulted in greater decreases in counts of fluorescent Pseudomonas than total psychrotrophs and had little effect on mesophilic bacteria. With ratios of CO2 to chicken of 1.5:1.0, some inhibition of bacterial growth was observed, but the effect varied with different types of bacteria. Greater benefit was obtained when external temperature was 10°C than when it was 21°C. A minimum concentration of 40% CO2 was needed in the container atmosphere when external environmental temperature exceeded 21°C.
Pressure effects on the pool boiling of the fluorinated ketone C 2 F 5 C(O)CF(CF 3 ) 2

A low global warming potential dielectric fluid is under investigation for use in two-phase electronic cooling systems. The fluorinated ketone C 2 F 5 C(O)CF(CF 3 ) 2 , sufficient for either indirect cooling or direct immersion cooling, may be an environmentally friendly alternative for the cooling of power electronics and other high power density devices. This study examines pressure effects on the pool boiling heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux of the fluorinated ketone. Using a pressurized boiling facility, an aluminum substrate is heated by conduction with a cartridge heater. By measuring the surface temperature and surface heat flux, the nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient and critical heat flux are obtained for the fluorinated ketone under saturated conditions at various system pressures. Results are compared to the pool boiling of tetrafluoroethane (R-134a) in the same pressurized facility. Data are fitted using the Rohsenow correlation and surface-fluids parameters for R-134a and the fluorinated ketone are determined. Data indicate that the CHF and nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient of the fluorinated ketone may be increased with only modest increases in the system pressure.
Effect of modest alcohol consumption over 1-2 weeks on the coronary microcirculation of normal subjects

Aims It has been reported that imbibing red wine increases coronary blood flow reserve acutely. In the absence of changes in coronary driving pressure, any increases in coronary blood flow reserve should occur through a decrease in capillary resistance, which in turn is determined by capillary dimensions and whole-blood viscosity. Since alcohol intake is unlikely to acutely change capillary dimensions, we hypothesized that it must increase coronary blood flow reserve by reducing whole-blood viscosity. Methods and results Forty-five normal subjects were randomly assigned to water ( n = 12), vodka ( n = 11), white wine ( n = 11), and red wine ( n = 11). Myocardial blood flow reserve was measured at baseline and after up to 2 weeks of beverage consumption using myocardial contrast echocardiography. In addition, whole-blood viscosity and its principal determinants (haematocrit; erythrocyte deformability, mobility, and charge; plasma fibrinogen; and total serum protein, glucose, and lipids) were also measured. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate did not change between the two examinations either at rest or following dipyridamole infusion. Neither did myocardial blood flow reserve nor whole-blood viscosity or any of its determinants. Only high-density lipoprotein-2 increased for all alcohol consumers (12.4 ± 5.3 vs. 10.9 ± 4.7, P = 0.007). Conclusion It is concluded that modest alcohol consumption for up to 2 weeks does not increase myocardial blood flow reserve. It also does not alter whole-blood viscosity or any of its principal determinants. Therefore, the beneficial cardiovascular effects of modest alcohol consumption over 1–2 weeks cannot be attributed either to its effect on the coronary microcirculation or haemorheology.
Purification and characterization of LasD: a second staphylolytic proteinase produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Summary We have previously described studies of a 22 kDa active fragment of the LasA proteinase. In follow-up studies of LasA, we have discovered the separate existence of a 23 kDa proteinase which shares many of the enzymatic properties of LasA, including the ability to lyse heat-killed staphylococoi. However, this apparent serine proteinase, which we designate LasD, is distinct from the 22 kDa active LasA protein for the following reasons: (i) the N-terminal sequence of LasD shares no homology with LasA or the LasA precursor sequence; (ii) Pseudomonas aeruginosa LasA mutant strains AD1825 and FRD2128 do not produce LasA yet produce LasD; and (iii) specific antibodies to each proteinase do not show any cross-reactivity. LasD appears to be produced as a 30 kDa protein, which is possibly cleaved to produce a 23 kDa active fragment. The purified LasD fragment (23 kDa) shows strong staphylolytic activity only at higher pH conditions, while LasA exhibits staphylolytic activity over a broad pH range, in addition to their ability to cleave at internal diglycine sites, both the LasD and LasA endoproteinases efficiently cleave β-casein.
An Approach for Building a Personal Health Information System Using Conceptual Domain Knowledge

In this paper we present the development of a Personal Health Information System (PHIS) by capturing the domain knowledge in the form of concept maps. The software architecture based on capturing the conceptual domain knowledge is demonstrated using a working prototype for patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. Cited current literature predicts that this user based information system has the potential to improve patient care, reduce medical errors, and lower health care costs.
Object-Centric Spatio-Temporal Pyramids for Egocentric Activity Recognition

Activities in egocentric video are largely defined by the objects with which the camera wearer interacts, making representations that summarize the objects in view quite informative. Beyond simply recording how frequently each object occurs in a single histogram, spatio-temporal binning approaches can capture the objects’ relative layout and ordering. However, existing methods use hand-crafted binning schemes (e.g., a uniformly spaced pyramid of partitions), which may fail to capture the relationships that best distinguish certain activities. We propose to learn the spatio-temporal partitions that are discriminative for a set of egocentric activity classes. We devise a boosting approach that automatically selects a small set of useful spatio-temporal pyramid histograms among a randomized pool of candidate partitions. In order to efficiently focus the candidate partitions, we further propose an “object-centric” cutting scheme that prefers sampling bin boundaries near those objects prominently involved in the egocentric activities. In this way, we specialize the randomized pool of partitions to the egocentric setting and improve the training efficiency for boosting. Our approach yields state-of-the-art accuracy for recognition of challenging activities of daily living.
Taking advantage of continuity of care documents to populate a research repository

Objective Clinical data warehouses have accelerated clinical research, but even with available open source tools, there is a high barrier to entry due to the complexity of normalizing and importing data. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's Meaningful Use Incentive Program now requires that electronic health record systems produce standardized consolidated clinical document architecture (C-CDA) documents. Here, we leverage this data source to create a low volume standards based import pipeline for the Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) clinical research platform. We validate this approach by creating a small repository at Partners Healthcare automatically from C-CDA documents. Materials and methods We designed an i2b2 extension to import C-CDAs into i2b2. It is extensible to other sites with variances in C-CDA format without requiring custom code. We also designed new ontology structures for querying the imported data. Results We implemented our methodology at Partners Healthcare, where we developed an adapter to retrieve C-CDAs from Enterprise Services. Our current implementation supports demographics, encounters, problems, and medications. We imported approximately 17 000 clinical observations on 145 patients into i2b2 in about 24 min. We were able to perform i2b2 cohort finding queries and view patient information through SMART apps on the imported data. Discussion This low volume import approach can serve small practices with local access to C-CDAs and will allow patient registries to import patient supplied C-CDAs. These components will soon be available open source on the i2b2 wiki. Conclusions Our approach will lower barriers to entry in implementing i2b2 where informatics expertise or data access are limited.
Ovarian follicle loss in humans and mice: lessons from statistical model comparison

BACKGROUND: Mammalian oocyte stocks reach maximum size in early development and begin depletion immediately thereafter. This depletion ends women's fertility by midlife. Here we compare five models proposed to characterize human follicular depletion, highlight underlying variation in atresia, and use oocyte counts from laboratory mice to illustrate possible effects of known covariates. METHODS: We compared statistical models, of human data, from five well-known sources and also compared the models' fit to data from four genetically distinct strains of mice. RESULTS: A model first published by Hansen et al. (2008) fit the human data better than any of the alternatives. Best-fit models of oocyte loss in the four strains of mice differed substantially from the best-fit model of the aggregated mouse data. CONCLUSIONS: Although the power model published by Hansen et al. (2008) fit the human data best, Faddy and Gosden's (1996) differential equation model may be a more useful characterization of human follicular atresia. However, these models leave a great deal of variation unexplained. Mouse strain comparisons show that follicle loss in genetically distinct subpopulations can differ substantially from the pattern in the aggregate population. This indicates that differences in follicular stock size between and within populations depend upon more than a single predictor (i.e. age or follicle stocks at previous time points). Our reliance upon data from Western populations represents this study's most important limitation. Expanding data collection to include likely covariates and a wider range of human populations would improve the basis for predicting individual trajectories of follicle loss as more women worldwide opt to delay childbearing and risk aging beyond their own windows of fertility.