cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Room Temperature Synthesis of Lead-Free Stable FASnI 3 Perovskite Nanoparticles

We report a room temperature synthesis of FASnI 3 nanocrystals which exhibited long term stability against oxidization from Sn2+ to Sn4+ because of the thermodynamic stability of this compound. X-ray diffraction peaks were obtained from both precipitates and particles in the supernatant. The XRD spectra taken several times over two months so far show no degradation at all, which is very significant for the Sn-based perovskites. We attribute such a stability to the thermal stability of FA-based Sn-perovskite and to the ligands used that shield the core nanocrystals. The PL measurement showed the PL maximum around 830 nm, which corresponds to an energy of 1.49 eV, which is slightly higher than the band gap of the bulk form of this compound. This could be due to the particle size of the nanocrystals which were around 10 nm according to the images obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging.
Religion and mental health from the mormon perspective

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the religion and mental health from the Mormon perspective. People believe in the saving grace of religion, in particular the salvation offered by Jesus Christ, as restored through Prophet Joseph Smith. Among Mormon communities, those are part of a cultural overlay that has some distinctions and some similarities to the potentially pathogenic features shared by other religions. Sometimes the appropriate aid of a psychotherapist restores the individual to his or her community with a new sense of self and an increased ability to relate to others and to God. This is especially true if therapists who respect religious concerns by finding out about the particular religious system and carefully discern constructive cultural belief from manifestations of psychopathology. Therapists acknowledge boundary issues by adhering not only to ethical guidelines regarding dual roles but also, when appropriate, enlisting the support of religious leaders in the client's community when permission is given. They also promote therapeutic interventions that encourage client skill-building without contradicting their own sense of morals and the ways to understand client spiritual experiences, including accounts of personal revelation that are not automatically attributed to thought disorder. And finally, therapists encourage the development of individuation and appropriate ego skills, including altruism. Such steps ensures the adequate care of and appropriate service to Latter-Day Saints (LDS) or Mormons clients and the larger religious community.
Studies on Diarrheal Diseases. The Multiplicity of Infectious Agents in the Intestinal Flora of Puerto Rican Children with Gastroenteritis.

A total of 214 children with diarrhea and 73 control children were studied for the presence of enteric microorganisms. The percentage of bacterial and viral agents was higher in the acute than in the chronic diarrhea cases, and very low in the control group. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli was the most frequently found bacterial agent in the patients with diarrhea. Shigellosis was absent in the control group. A serologic response against the viral agents isolated occurred in three fourths of the diarrhea cases. A causal relationship of the viral agents isolated with the clinical syndrome is suggested. The prevalence of protozoan and helminthic infections was higher in the group with chronic diarrhea, and a direct relationship between egg load and chronicity was obtained. Multiplicity of possible infectious agents was obtained in about one fourth of the patients. The possible role of combined viral, bacterial, and/or parasitic infection in diarrhea is discussed.
Analysis of cartilage differentiation from skeletal muscle grown on bone matrix: I. Ultrastructural aspects☆

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that embryonic skeletal muscle is competent to form hyaline cartilage when cultured in vitro on demineralized bone matrix (Nogami, H., and Urist, M. R. (1970). Exp. Cell Res. 63, 404–410; Nathanson, M. A., et al. (1978). Develop. Biol. 64, 99–117). The present experiments were undertaken to determine the nature of the morphological alterations which attend this phenotypic transformation and to investigate the ultrastructural characteristics of the myoblasts and fibroblasts of skeletal muscle during the transformation. Nineteen-day embryonic rat limb muscles were minced and the tissue fragments explanted to bone matrix or collagen gels. The trauma of excision and mincing causes syncytial myotubes to degenerate and the nuclei of mononucleate cells to enter a heterochromatic “resting stage.” In culture, nuclei of mononucleate cells rapidly regain euchromasia. No myoblast or fibroblast cell death can be detected. On bone matrix, the entire mononucleate population transforms into fibroblast-like cells. Myoblasts are the major contributor to this population; they dissociate from the degenerate myotubes and begin to acquire endoplasmic reticulum by 24 h in vitro . The fibroblast-like morphology persists through 4 days in vitro . By 6 days in vitro some of these fibroblast-like cells acquire the phenotypic characteristics of chondrocytes, and by 10 days masses of hyaline cartilage are found. In control explants of skeletal muscle onto collagen gels, the heterochromatic nuclei of the mononucleated cells expand after 24 hr in vitro , but the mononucleated cells remain as myoblasts and fibroblasts and begin to regenerate skeletal muscle by 4 days in vitro . No cartilage forms. The results indicate that both myoblasts and fibroblasts have chondrogenic potential when grown on demineralized bone. It is tempting to conclude that the embryonic mesenchymal cells which give rise to skeletal muscle, cartilage, and other connective tissue of the limb have similar developmental potentials and that local influences, rather than separate cell lineages, account for the final pattern of differentiation.
Marginalized Multilevel Models and Likelihood Inference

Hierarchical or ‘‘multilevel’’ regression models typically parameterize the mean response conditional on unobserved latent variables or ‘‘random’’ effects and then make simple assumptions regarding their distribution. The interpretation of a regression parameter in such a model is the change in possibly transformed mean response per unit change in a particular predictor having controlled for all conditioning variables including the random effects. An often overlooked limitation of the conditional formulation for nonlinear models is that the interpretation of regression coefficients and their estimates can be highly sensitive to difficult-to-verify assumptions about the distribution of random effects, particularly the dependence of the latent variable distribution on covariates. In this article, we present an alternative parameterization for the multilevel model in which the marginal mean, rather than the conditional mean given random effects, is regressed on covariates. The impact of random effects model violations on the marginal and more traditional conditional parameters is compared through calculation of asymptotic relative biases. A simple two-level example from a study of teratogenicity is presented where the binomial overdispersion depends on the binary treatment assignment and greatly influences likelihood-based estimates of the treatment effect in the conditional model. A second example considers a three-level structure where attitudes toward abortion over time are correlated with person and district level covariates. We observe that regression parameters in conditionally specified models are more sensitive to random effects assumptions than their counterparts in the marginal formulation.
F3-Isoprostanes as a measure of in vivo oxidative damage in Caenorhabditis elegans

Oxidative stress has been implicated in the development of a wide variety of disease processes, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as progressive and normal aging processes. Isoprostanes (IsoPs) are prostaglandin-like compounds that are generated in vivo from lipid peroxidation of arachidonic acid (AA, C20:4, ω-6) and other polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Since the discovery of IsoPs by Morrow and Roberts in 1990, quantification of IsoPs has been shown to be an excellent source of biomarkers of in vivo oxidative damage. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5, ω-3) is the most abundant PUFA in Caenorhabditis elegans and gives rise to F3-IsoPs upon nonenzymatic free-radical-catalyzed lipid peroxidation. The protocol presented is the current methodology that our laboratory uses to quantify F3-IsoPs in C. elegans using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The methods described herein have been optimized and validated to provide the best sensitivity and selectivity for quantification of F3-IsoPs from C. elegans lysates. © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: C. elegans; F3-isoprostanes; oxidative stress; lipid peroxidation; reactive oxygen species
Proton Spin Flip in the Reaction C 12 ( p , p ′ ) C * 12 [4.44 MeV]

The angular correlation between protons inelastically scattered from the first excited state of $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ and the subsequent 4.44-MeV deexcitation $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ radiation perpendicular to the scattering plane was measured for 26.2- and 40.0-MeV incident proton energy. This correlation has previously been shown to be related to the fraction of protons undergoing spin flip along this direction. As has been observed at lower bombarding energies, the spin-flip probability peaks at large proton scattering angles; observed here are probabilities as high as 0.35 near 150\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. The spin-flip probability for all inelastic scattering to the 4.44-MeV state is 3%. The data were compared to the predictions of the distorted-wave Born approximation, using collective-model and microscopic-model form factors. The expected sensitivity to the spin-dependent part of the nucleon-nucleus interaction was confirmed. However, it was found that the observed spin flip was almost entirely accounted for by distortions in the entrance and exit elastic channels, due to the spin-orbit term in the optical-model potential. No definite conclusions regarding the spin-dependent part of the inelastic interaction could be reached from the $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ data, possibly owing to the failure of the assumptions of the optical model for such light nuclei. It appears that meaningful information regarding the spin dependence of the reaction mechanism producing the excited state can be obtained from spin-flip data only for those nuclei having well-determined optical-model parameters.
The innocuousness of amniotic fluid infusion in the pregnant rhesus monkey.

Abstract Nine female rhesus monkeys at 118 to 160 days of gestation were infused intravenously with unfiltered autogenous amniotic fluid in quantities up to 5 ml. per kilogram. Changes in maternal cardiovascular performance, respiratory rate, acid-base state, and oxygenation during and after infusion were not different from those observed following infusion of an equal volume of isotonic saline. The administration of amniotic fluid did not alter the concentration of fibrinogen of maternal blood, nor did it affect measurably the cardiovascular performance, the acid-base state, or the oxygenation of the fetus. It is proposed that the clinical syndrome of “amniotic fluid embolism” is not caused by the introduction of normal amniotic fluid into the maternal vascular compartment.
Cellular and Humoral Immunity against Vaccinia Virus Infection of Mice

Despite the widespread use of vaccinia virus (VV) as a vector for other Ags and as the smallpox vaccine, there is little information available about the protective components of the immune response following VV infection. In this study, protection against wild-type VV was evaluated in mice with respect to the relative contributions of CD8(+) T cells vs that of CD4(+) T cells and Ab. C57BL/6 mice primed with the Western Reserve strain of VV mount significant IgM and IgG Ab responses, specific cytotoxic T cell responses, IFN-gamma responses in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, and effectively clear the virus. This protection was abrogated by in vivo depletion of CD4(+) T cells or B cells in IgH(-/-) mice, but was not sensitive to CD8(+) T cell depletion alone. However, a role for CD8(+) T cells in primary protection was demonstrated in MHC class II(-/-) mice, where depleting CD8(+) T cells lead to increase severity of disease. Unlike control MHC class II(-/-) mice, the group depleted of CD8(+) T cells developed skin lesions on the tail and feet and had adrenal necrosis. Adoptive transfer experiments also show CD8(+) T cells can mediate protective memory. These results collectively show that both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell-mediated immunity can contribute to protection against VV infection. However, CD4(+) T cell-dependent anti-virus Ab production plays a more important role in clearing virus following acute infection, while in the absence of Ab, CD8(+) T cells can contribute to protection against disease.
Thermodynamics and general relativity could determine the geometry of the universe

We introduce a suggestive model where certain quantities in Friedmann models are treated like their thermodynamic counterparts; temperature entropy, Gibbs energy, and so on. Within this model, changes in the symmetry of the universe are interpreted as first- or second-order phase transitions. The thermodynamics we introduce give us a new way of determining the geometry of the universe. By choosing a specific local equation of state (P=αρ), we show that with respect to the thermodynamics we have introduced, it is always more advantageous for the universe to be in a Bianchi V (open) symmetric state.
Prometheus: user-controlled P2P social data management for socially-aware applications

Recent Internet applications, such as online social networks and user-generated content sharing, produce an unprecedented amount of social information, which is further augmented by location or collocation data collected from mobile phones. Unfortunately, this wealth of social information is fragmented across many different proprietary applications. Combined, it could provide a more accurate representation of the social world, and it could enable a whole new set of socially-aware applications.We introduce Prometheus, a peer-to-peer service that collects and manages social information from multiple sources and implements a set of social inference functions while enforcing user-defined access control policies. Prometheus is socially-aware: it allows users to select peers that manage their social information based on social trust and exploits naturally-formed social groups for improved performance. We tested our Prometheus prototype on PlanetLab and built a mobile social application to test the performance of its social inference functions under realtime constraints. We showed that the social-based mapping of users onto peers improves the service response time and high service availability is achieved with low overhead.
Sildenafil citrate improves erectile function after castration in a rat model

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: The administration of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor commencing at the time of castration might preserve erectile function. OBJECTIVE: To determine if sildenafil citrate treatment could improve erectile function after castration. To determine if sildenafil citrate treatment reduces collagenisation and apoptosis in erectile tissue after castration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In all, 60 Sprague-Dawley rats were studied; the rats were divided into the following groups: sham - no orchidectomy (S), control - orchidectomy only (O) and treatment - orchidectomy plus sildenafil treatment (V), with 10 rats per group. Erectile haemodynamics assessment was done at 7 days (S7, O7, V7) and at 28 days (S28, O28, V28) yielding a total of six groupings. Functional assessment measured the mean maximum intracavernosal pressure-mean arterial pressure (ICP/MAP) ratio. TUNEL assay was used to define apoptotic indices (AIs) and Masson's trichrome staining was used to evaluate smooth muscle-collagen (SM-C) ratios. RESULTS: The S28 group had the highest and the O7 group the lowest ICP/MAP ratio, at a mean (sd) of 70 (6)% and 36 (6)%, respectively. Both treatment groups, V7 [42 (12)%] and V28 [49 (13)%] showed statistically significant improvements over their corresponding control groups: O7 [36 (6)%] and O28 [37 (9)%] (P < 0.05). However, ICP/MAP values for V7 and V28 remained significantly below the S28 group (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in ICP/MAP values between the 28-day and 7-day ICP/MAP ratios within each group (S, O, V). There were no significant differences in SM-C ratio between the O and V groups (O7 vs V7, P = 0.45; O28 vs V28, P = 0.16). There were no significant differences in AIs between the O and V groups (O7 vs V7, P = 0.54; O28 vs V28, P = 0.8). CONCLUSIONS: Daily treatment with sildenafil improved erectile function in rats after castration. ICP/MAP ratios increased significantly in the treatment groups compared with the control groups with the greatest erectile function occurring 28 days from administration. In this series of experiments the improved erectile function recovery with sildenafil after surgical castration cannot be explained by smooth muscle protection and decreased collagenisation. The improved erectile function with sildenafil after surgical castration cannot be explained by reduced apoptosis in erectile tissue.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is an independent poor prognostic factor for survival in advanced stage epithelial ovarian cancer patients.

High levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in tissue extracts have been associated with poor prognosis in many epithelial cancers. Ovarian cancers contain a higher concentration of PAI-1 than benign ovarian tumors or normal ovaries. Reports, however, on the prognostic value of PAI-1 content in ovarian cancers have been conflicting. We used immunohistochemistry to study the primary and metastatic tissues from 131 epithelial ovarian cancer cases. This group has been previously characterized for the expression of urokinase (uPA), uPA receptor, PAI-2 and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1). The intensity and extent of staining for PAI-1 in the tumor epithelium was scored. Kaplan-Meier curves of survival were compared using the log-rank test. The Cox regression model was utilized for multivariate analysis. Approximately 50% of the primary tumors and metastases expressed PAI-1. Among invasive stages III and IV patients, those whose primary tumors expressed PAI-1 had a shorter overall survival. The combination of strong expression of PAI-1 and expression of uPA was a highly significant factor for short disease-free and overall survival. Similar results were seen with the combination of high PAI-1 and low PAI-2 expression. Strong PAI-1 expression was significantly associated with expression of uPA receptor or CSF-1 in the tumor epithelium, but not with standard clinical parameters, and was an independent prognostic factor for poor survival on multivariate analysis. Our results show that PAI-1 expression in the primary tumor epithelium is an independent poor prognostic factor for survival, underscoring the tumor protective role of PAI-1 in ovarian cancer biology. Int. J. Cancer (Pred. Oncol.) 79:449–454, 1998.© 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Sequential changes in weight, density, and percentage ash weight of human skeletons from an early fetal period through old age.

The weight, density and percentage ash weight of the dry, fat-free osseous human skeleton have been examined from 16 weeks of gestation to 100 years of age. Data were drawn from 426 skeletons of American Whites and Negroes of both sexes. Weight increases exponentially in the fetus and continues to increase to early adulthood, most rapidly in the second decade. A decrease appears about the fourth decade and continues gradually. Estimated loss in skeletal weight throughout the adult period is, on the average, 15.6 gm per year. Proportionate contributions of divisions of the skeleton to its total weight change with age. Densities of bones follow the changing weight pattern. Volume and weight increase concomitantly to adulthood, when weight decreases but not volume. Percentage ash weight increases slightly in the total skeleton and in some bones during the fetal period, with no significant trend thereafter, indicating that change in weight of a dry, fat-free bone is accompanied by change in ash weight. Race and sex differences are not evident in the fetal skeleton, but become marked by the second decade of life: Negro skeletons exceed White skeletons and male skeletons exceed female skeletons in mean weight and density and, to a lesser degree, in percentage ash weight.
Anatomical differentiation within the nucleus accumbens of the locomotor stimulatory actions of selective dopamine agonists and d-amphetamine.

The effects of local injections of dopamine receptor agonists into various areas within the nucleus accumbens or the medial caudate-putamen on the generation of locomotor activity were examined. Combinations of 0.32 µg/side of the dopamine receptor agonists SKF 38393 (D1) and quinpirole (D2) produced increases in locomotor activity that varied according to the rostral-caudal placement of the cannulae within the nucleus accumbens. The greatest levels of locomotion were generated by injections into a region in the caudal-central nucleus accumbens, with lower levels of activity elicited by injections into more rostral or caudal regions. A similar pattern of responses was produced by administration of the indirect dopamine agonistd-amphetamine. These results indicate that there is marked heterogeneity in the response of discrete sub-regions of the nucleus accumbens to dopamine receptor stimulation and that this heterogeneity is functionally expressed in the mediation of the locomotor effects of dopaminergic agonists.
Symmetric semigroups of integers generated by 4 elements

Let K be an arbitrary field, t transcendental over over K. It is shown that if the numerical semigroup of nonnegative integers, generated nonredundantly by 4 elements, is symmetric, then the prime ideal of all polynomials f(x1,x2,X3,x4) e K[x1,x2,x3,x4] such that\(f(t^{n_1 } ,t^{n_2 } ,t^{n_3 } ,t^{n_4 } ) = 0\) is generated by 3 or 5 elements. From this, arithmetic conditions for the generators are obtained.
Direct photometric or fluorometric assay of proteinases using substrates containing 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin.

N-Acyl derivatives of 7-amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin (I) provide new and novel substrates for the assay of proteinases, allowing either direct fluorometric or photometric measurements. The yellow-green fluorescence of the free coumarin I makes it possible to visually observe hydrolysis of the arylamide bond, thus making it a very useful non-mutagenic fluorophore for the identification and quantification of proteinases whether in dynamic assay or in intact cells.
Measuring the efficiency of highway maintenance contracting strategies: A bootstrapped non-parametric meta-frontier approach

Highly deteriorated US road infrastructure, major budgetary restrictions and the significant growth in traffic have led to an emerging need for improving performance of highway maintenance practices. Privatizing some portions of road maintenance operations by state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) under the auspices of performance-based contracts has been one of the innovative initiatives in response to such a need. This paper adapts the non-parametric meta-frontier framework to the two-stage bootstrapping technique to develop an analytical approach for evaluating the relative efficiency of two highway maintenance contracting strategies. The first strategy pertains to the 180 miles of Virginia’s Interstate highways maintained by Virginia DOT using traditional maintenance practices. The second strategy pertains to the 250 miles of Virginia’s Interstate highways maintained via a Public Private Partnership using a performance-based maintenance approach. The meta-frontier approach accounts for the heterogeneity that exists among different types of highway maintenance contracts due to different limitations and regulations. The two-stage bootstrapping technique accounts for the large set of uncontrollable factors that affect the highway deterioration processes. The preliminary findings, based on the historical data for the state of Virginia, suggest that road authorities (counties) that have used traditional contracting for transforming the maintenance expenditures into the improvement of the road conditions seem to be more efficient than road authorities that have used the performance-based contracting. This paper recommends that road authorities use hybrid contracting approaches that include best practices of both traditional and performance-based highway maintenance contracting.
is homo hierarchicus

Fluid Signs: Being a Person the Tamil Way. E. VALENTINE DANIEL. The Untouchable as Himself: Ideology, Identity and Pragmatism among the Lucknow Chamars. RAVINDRA S. KHARE. The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism. ASHIS NANDY.
Effects of retinoic acid (RA) on the growth and phenotypic expression of several human neuroblastoma cell lines

It has been shown that retinoic acid (RA) can promote morphologic differentiation and inhibit the growth of a human neuroblastoma cell line, LA-N-1. The present study tests the histological generality of these phenomena by determining the effects of RA on seven other human neuroblastoma cell lines. Results show that RA strongly inhibited anchorage-dependent growth and induced morphologic alterations in six of seven of the cell lines. These alternations included morphologic differentiation as evidenced by formation of neurite extensions in four of the lines, cellular enlargement and vacuolization in one culture, and formation of large, flattened epithelial or fibroblastic-like cells in another culture. Although one cell line was relatively insensitive to the effects of RA in monolayer culture, all seven were strongly inhibited by RA in soft agar assays. Cellular RA-binding proteins were detected in 2/2 lines tested. These findings suggest that, as a histological group, human neuroblastoma cells are extremely sensitive to RA-induced growth inhibition and morphological alterations generally associated with reduced expression of the malignant phenotype of this type of cancer.
The Bursicon Gene in Mosquitoes: An Unusual Example of mRNA Trans-splicing

The bursicon gene in Anopheles gambiae is encoded by two loci. Burs124 on chromosome arm 2L contains exons 1, 2, and 4, while burs3 on arm 2R contains exon 3. Exon 3 is efficiently spliced into position in the mature transcript. This unusual gene arrangement is ancient within mosquitoes, being shared by Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens.
Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons promote lipid peroxidation in vascular cells.

Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene and trichloroethane cause acute and chronic cardiotoxicities via mechanisms that are still obscure. Some of these toxic effects may result from free‐radical‐induced membrane damage to the vascular tissues. The pro‐oxidant effects of carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, 1,1,1‐trichloroethane, 1,2‐dichloroethane, and trans‐1,2‐dichloroethylene were assessed in cultured arterial endothelial and aortic smooth muscle cells. Exposure of the cells to the above chemicals alone did not increase the formation of thiobarbiturate reactive products above background levels. However, in the presence of low levels of iron (3.1–25 μM Fe3+ chelated by ADP), all five agents promoted lipid peroxidation up to 200% of control. The rank order of potency is carbon tetrachloride > trichloroethylene > 1,1,1‐trichloroethane > trans‐1,2‐dichloroethylene > 1,2‐dichloroethane. The synergistic interaction between iron and chlorinated hydrocarbons in promoting lipid peroxi...
Analysis of the energy transport and deposition within the reaction chamber of the Prometheus inertial fusion energy reactor

Abstract The thermodynamic response of the Prometheus reactor chamber was analyzed and, from this analysis, a simplified thermodynamic response model was developed for parametric studies on this conceptual reactor design. This paper discusses the thermodynamic response of the cavity gas and models the condensation/evaporation of vapor to and from the first wall. Models of X-ray attenuation and ion slowing down are used to estimate the fraction of the pellet energy that is absorbed in the vapor. It was found that the gas absorbs enough energy to become partially ionized. To treat this problem, methods developed by Zel'dovich and Raizer are used in modeling the internal energy and the radiative heat flux of the vapor. From this analysis, RECON was developed, which runs with a relatively short computational time, yet retains enough accuracy for conceptual reactor design calculations. The code was used to determine whether the reactor designs could meet the stringent mass density limits that are placed on them by the physics of beam propagation through matter. RECON was also used to study the effect that the formation of a local dry spot would have on the first wall of the reactor. It was found that, for a typical reactor lifetime of 30 years, the first wall could not have a dry spot over any one section for more than 15.5 min for the laser driver design and 4.5 min for the heavy ion driver design. These times are relatively short, which implies that there is a need to keep the liquid film attached at all times.
Asymptotic growth of multiplicity functions

Abstract We consider several multiplicity functions associated with a pair of ideals J ⊆ I in a local noetherian ring R . In particular, given an arbitrary ideal J and an element x ∈ R , we show that for each m the multiplicity f ( n ) of the R -module ( J + x R ) n / ( J + x R ) n − m J m is eventually a constant φ J , x ( m ) which is non-zero only in the case when x is not integral over J . We study the asymptotic growth of φ J , x ( m ) and some other multiplicity functions.
Strategy independent program restructuring using the critical reference principle

Abstract This paper defines and analyzes two new strategy independent program restructuring algorithms. The more effective of these two algorithms combines the critical reference principle used in strategy dependent algorithms with the bounded locality interval mechanism. Limited, though encouraging, results are presented which show that this new algorithm can be at least as effective as the Critical LRU algorithm, even when the memory management policy is LRU itself, and can also be at least as effective as Critical Working Set, even when the memory management policy is the working set policy. This new algorithm combines the benefits of strategy independent restructuring with the performance improvements previously possible only with a strategy dependent method.
Characteristics of Lynch syndrome in 13 Hispanic Families

Background While the incidence of colorectal cancer is lower in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic Caucasians, it is the second most common cancer in this diverse ethnic population. Emerging data indicate hereditary colon cancer syndromes contribute to cancer burden regardless of race and ethnicity. These data derive from research and cohorts where Hispanics are underrepresented. Here we report on 14 individuals from 13 Hispanic families with Lynch syndrome.
Spatial light modulator based color polarization imaging.

We describe a compressive snapshot color polarization imager that encodes spatial, spectral, and polarization information using a liquid crystal modulator. We experimentally show that polarization imaging is compressible by multiplexing polarization states and present the reconstruction results. This compressive camera captures the spatial distribution of four polarizations and three color channels. It achieves 30 PSNR.
Spontaneous fistula formation as a complication of relaxing incisions with suture placement for postkeratoplasty high astigmatism

A 39-year-old man had a corneal relaxing incision with corneal compression suture placement to correct more than 10 diopters of corneal astigmatism. A permanent fistula formed from the compression suture, resulting in a localized corneal pocket of aqueous that broke through the surface. The aqueous drained into the tear film, requiring major surgical repair.
Behavioral and biological effects of NRDC-161 as factors in control of the boll weevil.

Methyl parathion applied topically was much more toxic to adult Anthonomus grandis Grandis Boheman than NRDC-161 (S)-[cyano(3-phenoxyphenyl)methyl] cis -(+)-3-(2,2-dibromoethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate), but NRDC-161 was more toxic to immature stages in laboratory media. NRDC-161 reduced fecundity of females, was repellent, and toxic to eggs at 0.01 ppm.
Percutaneous absorption, disposition, and excretion of 4,4'-methylenebis(2-chloroaniline) in dogs.

Abstract Percutaneous (pc) absorption, disposition, and excretion of 14 C-MBOCA (4,4′-methylenebis(2-chloroaniline)) were investigated in male beagle-type dogs by HPLC and compared to intravenously (iv) administered controls. Following application of 115 μCi MBOCA to a 25 cm 2 area of the skin, no measurable radioactivity was detected in blood for the subsequent 24-hr period, but 14 C-MBOCA and metabolites were excreted in urine and bile. During the 24-hr collection period, a total of 1.3% of the administered dose was recovered in the urine (0.4% of which was unchanged MBOCA). At 24 hr 0.62% of the dose was recovered in gallbladder bile. Approximately 90% of the administered dose was recovered in skin at the application site. Liver, kidney, and fat were the tissues with highest radioactivity. After a bolus iv injection, MBOCA disappeared rapidly from blood ( t 1 2β = 0.70 hr ). In the 24 hr following iv injection, 46% of the administered dose was excreted in urine (0.54% of which was unchanged MBOCA). At 24 hr 32% of the dose was recovered in gallbladder bile. Tissue radioactivity was 10−20× higher after iv than pc administration and highest in liver, kidney, fat, and lung. The results demonstrated in a canine model that skin absorption was a viable route of entry for MBOCA and that unmetabolized MBOCA was a small percentage (0.4–0.5%) of the total urinary excretion. MBOCA was rapidly and extensively metabolized and excreted in urine and bile following both iv and pc administration.
Vocal cordectomy as an aid in the management of horses with laryngeal hemiparesis/hemiplegia

Abstract In horses with laryngeal hemiparesis/hemiplegia, the degree of deficit of the abductor branches of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve causes varying degrees of decrease of both vocal cord and arytenoid cartilage movement. During inhalation, the vocal cord of affected horses is displaced axially, increasing impedance, decreasing ventilation, and causing an upper-respiratory noise. Clinically incomplete or absent abduction of the left arytenoid cartilage and vocal cord is manifested by impaired performance and/or upper-respiratory noise. Many treatments have been used for preventing these paradoxical movements, increasing the diameter of the rima glottidis, and reducing the noise produced during exercise. This article describes the vocal cordectomy technique that is performed to reduce the exercise intolerance in horses working a low velocity (draft horses) and in all horses to reduce the abnormal sound created with laryngeal hemiplegia. Vocal cordectomy is also performed by many surgeons as an adjunct to the laryngoplasty procedure. Vocal cordectomy is felt to increase the ventral diameter of the rima glottidis, reduce the noise associated with laryngeal hemiparesis/hemiplegia, and if the laryngoplasty loses some abduction, prolong the results by increasing the ventral diameter of the larynx. When performed with either the diode or the Nd:YAG laser as described in this article, the vocal cordectomy is performed as a standing procedure. This has the advantage of being well tolerated by the horse, and does not require general anesthesia or a laryngotomy. When performed as an adjunct to the laryngoplasty, standing laser vocal cordectomy decreases the general anesthesia time and eliminates the need to change the patient position.
Erythroplakia of the oral cavity

Erythroplakia of the oral cavity is a specific disease entity which must be differentiated from other specific or nonspecific inflammatory oral lesions, although this can only be done in most cases by biopsy. A series of 58 cases of oral erythroplakia has been retrieved from 65,354 consecutively accessioned biopsy-surgical specimens. The disease was found to have no apparent sex predilection (31 males and 27 females) and was most frequently seen during the 6th and 7th decades. The most common site of occurrence in females was the mandibular alveolar mucosa-mandibular gingiva-mandibular sulcus, whereas this was the least common site in males. The floor of the mouth was the most common site in males, followed by the retromolar area in both males and females. The histologic findings emphasized the serious nature of the disease, since 91% of the specimens were either invasive carcinoma, carcinoma in situ, or severe epithelial dysplasia.
CARBOHYDRATE FRACTIONS OF LEMON PEEL.

The peel of citrus fruits is physiologically important in fruit growth and maturity in that the vascular system is confined chiefly to the mesocarp (albedo), which thus serves the important function of transporting water and solutes from the trees to the juice vesicles of the pulp. To understand the principles of the biochemical mechanisms occurring in the fruit during growth and development, one has to know the chemical composition of the peel and the relation between the constituents. Such data are also essential for the understanding of certain physiological relation? between peel and pulp, and for the understanding of the metabolic reactions of the peel under storage conditions. The phase of the work which has to do with the organic acids and buffer properties of citrus peels has already been published (21). The present studies have been concerned with the carbohydrate fractions of lemon fruit peel. Samples of peel from lemons have been thoroughly extracted with 80 per cent, ethyl alcohol and separated into alcohol-soluble and alcohol-insoluble fractions. The alcohol-soluble fraction contains chiefly the monoand di-saccharides ; it also contains other substances such as essential oils and waxes, and various concentrations of undetermined substances. The alcohol-insoluble fraction contains the cell-wall constituents, such as cellulose, lignin, pectin, and hemicellulose (sometimes designated as polysaccharides or acid-hydrolyzable material). These substances, particularly pectin and hemicellulose, appear to be closely related. The pectins are not usually considered as part of the carbohydrate reserve of the plant. The readily available carbohydrate fractions serving as sources of energy consist of the total-soluble-sugars and the starch-dextrin fractions. The carbohydrate material of the cell walls is not necessarily composed of condensation products of the simple sugars, but may consist of uronic acids united with the hexose and pentose sugars. Pectins belong to this general class of compounds, and any hemicellulose fraction that may accompany the pectins on weak-acid extraction of the tissues probably contains a uronic acid group. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin compose the structural, and not the energy-yielding, units of the tissues; consequently, they are relatively inert to the metabolic activity of the cells.
Memory Effects Based on Intermolecular Photoinduced Proton Transfer

We have identified a strategy to communicate a chemical signal between two independent molecular components. One of them is a photoactive merocyanine that switches to a spiropyran, releasing a proton, when stimulated with visible light. The other is a 4,4'-pyridylpyridinium monocation that captures the released proton, producing an electroactive 4,4'-bipyridinium dication. Under the irradiation conditions employed, the photoinduced transformation requires ca. 15 min to reach a photostationary state. In the dark, the ensemble of communicating molecules reequilibrates to the original state in ca. 5 days. These processes can be monitored following the photoinduced enhancement and thermal decay, respectively, of the current for the monolectronic reduction of the 4,4'-bipyridinium dication. The pronounced difference in time scale for the current enhancement and decay steps can be exploited to implement a memory element with a bit retention time of 11 h. A bit of information can be written optically in the chemical system and it can be read electrically and nondestructively. The memory can be reset, extending its permanence in the dark beyond the bit retention time. A binary logic analysis of the signal transduction operated by the communicating molecules reveals the characteristic behavior of sequential logic operators, which are the basic components of digital memories.
Evaluating the Centers for Disease Control’s Empirical Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Case Definition:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently developed an empirical case definition that specifies criteria and instruments to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in order to bring more methodological rigor to the current CFS case definition. The present study investigated this new definition with 27 participants with a diagnosis of CFS and 37 participants with a diagnosis of a Major Depressive Disorder. Participants completed questionnaires measuring disability, fatigue, and symptoms. Findings indicated that 38% of those with a diagnosis of a Major Depressive Disorder were misclassified as having CFS using the new CDC definition. Given the CDC’s stature and respect in the scientific world, this new definition might be widely used by investigators and clinicians. This might result in the erroneous inclusion of people with primary psychiatric conditions in CFS samples, with detrimental consequences for the interpretation of epidemiologic, etiologic, and treatment efficacy findings for ...
The Role of Intraoperative Cystography Following the Injection of Dextranomer/Hyaluronic Acid Copolymer

Purpose: Dextranomer/hyaluronic acid copolymer has become a popular bulking agent for subureteral injection in the treatment of vesicoureteral reflux. The success rates are lower compared to ureteral reimplantation, and, therefore, postoperative voiding cystourethrography is required. We sought to determine if post-injection intraoperative cystography can be useful in improving the success rate of injection and replacing the need for the 3 to 4-month postoperative voiding cystourethrogram.Materials and Methods: Dextranomer/hyaluronic acid copolymer was injected subureterally by a single surgeon until the orifice was crescentic at the dome of the bolus. Contrast material was instilled by gravity into the bladder until capacity was reached and was monitored fluoroscopically. No voiding phase was obtained. The procedure was deemed successful only in the absence of reflux. Postoperative voiding cystourethrography performed at 3 to 4 months postoperatively was used to determine whether antibiotic administratio...
Millikelvin temperature thermocouple

Abstract A Au FeNbTi thermocouple thermometer has been developed and used to measure temperature from 20 mK to 7.0 K. High sensitivity is achieved with the use of superconducting circuits and a SQUID amplifier. The performance of the thermocouple is found to be quite satisfactory with about a 1000 times more temperature resolution between 20 mK and 50 mK than conventional carbon resistance thermometers.
Comparison of ischemic response during exercise and dobutamine echocardiography in patients with left main coronary artery disease

Objectives. This study sought to compare manifestations of myocardial ischemia evoked by exercise and dobutamine echocardiography in patients with left main coronary artery disease. Background. During exercise testing, left ventricular cavity dilation, marked ST segment depression and blood pressure decrease indicate severe coronary artery disease. Whether these signs are comparably evoked by dobutamine echocardiography has not been described. Methods. Fifty-four patients who underwent stress echocardiography (36 exercise, 18 dobutamine) and coronary angiography showing ≥50% left main stenosis were analyzed. Electrocardiographic and blood pressure changes, symptoms, wall motion score indexes and sensitivity for coronary artery disease were compared. In 47 patients, the left ventricular endocardium was traced to quantify volumes and ejection fraction. Results. Stress-induced regional wall motion abnormalities developed in 91% of patients; this was not different on exercise (89%) or dobutamine echocardiography (94%). Rate-pressure product and wall motion score index, similar at rest, tended to be higher after exercise than after dobutamine stress (p = 0.07 and p = 0.05, respectively). ST segment depression ≥1 mm was more common with exercise (p = 0.005). Ejection fraction and endsystolic and end-diastolic volume indexes were comparable at rest in both groups. With exercise, ejection fraction decreased in 87% of patients, and end-systolic and end-diastolic volume indexes increased in 80%. In contrast, with dobutamine, decreased ejection fraction and increased volume indexes were infrequent. Ejection fraction was lower ([mean ±SD] 45 ± 19% vs. 54 ± 12%, p = 0.007) and end-diastolic (69 ± 26 vs. 50 ± 17 ml/m 2 , p = 0.02) and end-systolic (39 ± 20 vs. 24 ± 13 ml/m 2 , p = 0.02) volume indexes were higher after exercise than after dobutamine stress. Conclusions. On the basis of changes in regional wall motion, both dobutamine and exercise echocardiography have a comparable high sensitivity in diagnosing myocardial ischemia in left main coronary artery disease. However, conventional signs of severe myocardial ischemia, including left ventricular cavity dilation and marked ST segment depression, occur more often with exercise than with dobutamine echocardiography.
Mise en place: setting the stage for thought and action

A school became safer after security measures were removed. Children can learn better in playful, rather than didactic, settings. At-risk students earned higher grades after writing about a personal value. A novel construct – mise en place – explains how small changes in context, such as these, can lead to large changes in behaviors by highlighting how the psychology of preparing to act within an environment shapes and is shaped by that environment.
A Rapid gas chromatographic method for the identification of sporeformers and nonsporeformers in swollen cans of low-acid foods.

A rapid gas-liquid chromatographic method for the identification of sporeformers and nonsporeformers as the probable cause of swollen cans of low-acid foods was developed and evaluated. Cans of five types of food were inoculated with cultures of seven sporeforming organisms and three nonsporeformers. The supernatant from the can content was assayed on two packed columns designed for the assay of aqueous solutions of volatile free acids using flame ionization detectors. A statistical discriminant analysis was conducted on selected peak areas. Overall, 88% of 120 cans were correctly identified in the standard data set and 80% of 110 cans analyzed as unknowns. Sporeformers were detected in 62% of 30 cans inoculated with three mixtures of sporeformers and nonsporeformers.