cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prognostic significance of echocardiographically defined mitral regurgitation early after acute myocardial infarction

Background There are limited data regarding the clinical correlates and prognostic significance of echocardiographically defined mitral regurgitation (MR) early after acute myocardial infarction (MI). The current study addressed these issues. Methods Seven hundred thirty-seven patients with acute MI who underwent transthoracic echocardiography with assessment of MR during their index admission were identified. Patients were followed up a median of 19 months later. The study end point was all-cause mortality. Results The prevalence of MR increased with age. It was more common in women, in patients with non–ST-elevation MI, and in those with a history of diabetes, hypertension, prior MI, or previous revascularization. Patients with MR had worse left ventricular (LV) systolic function, more LV dilatation, and more clinical evidence of LV failure. Patients with moderate or severe MR had worse survival than those with no or mild MR (hazard ratio 2.3, 95% CI 1.6-3.2, P P = .004). Mild or moderate MR was not independently predictive of outcome, although, in multivariable analyses, a trend toward worse survival was maintained in patients with severe MR. Conclusions Mitral regurgitation, identified by echocardiography, early after acute MI predicts poorer survival after acute MI. However, if mild or moderate, it is not an independent prognostic indicator.
Spectrophotometric determination of palladium with glyoxime and chloroform extraction

Abstract Palladium(II) reacts with glyoxime in a 1:2 mole ratio to form a yellow water-insoluble chelate, which is soluble in chloroform; the solution has an absorption maximum at 397 mμ. Absorbance measurements at 397 mμ allow determination of the palladium glyoximate in solution. The maximum amount of palladium is extracted at pH 1.0. Platinum(II), iridium(III), gold(III), and phosphate cause some positive interference, and iron(II, III) causes negative interference; the interferences can be eliminated by masking with EDTA. The species extracted has been shown to be identical with that used to prepare the original palladium glyoximate chloroform solution. With EDTA and multiple extractions, the method is satisfactory for the determination of palladium in the presence of other platinum-group elements and many other cations.
The impact of previous abdominal surgery on outcome following laparoscopic cholecystectomy

The first 1000 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) at our institution were reviewed to investigate the impact of previous abdominal surgery on LC. The 454 patients having no previous abdominal surgery (NS) were compared to the 541 patients who had previous surgery (PS). PS patients were older, more likely to be female, and had a higher ASA risk category. PS patients had a higher incidence of wound infection, but in all other parameters of outcome, including operative duration and completion, length of hospitalization, and morbidity, there were no significant differences between PS and NS. When PS patients with previous upper abdominal surgery (PUAS, n = 59) were separately compared to the remainder of the entire patient group (NUAS, n = 936), the PUAS group was found to be older, to be more likely to be male, and to have a higher ASA risk category. PUAS patients had a longer postoperative hospitalization, and an increased incidence of intraoperative, postoperative, and total complications, readmissions to the hospital, and unrelated deaths. We conclude previous lower abdominal surgery has little impact on the outcome of patients undergoing LC while previous upper abdominal surgery is associated with increased morbidity.
The electrophysiologic demonstration of atrial ectopic tachycardia in man

Abstract Three patients with almost continuous atrial tachycardia were studied in an attempt to delineate the mechanism responsible for their cardiac arrhythmia. During cardiac catheterization intracardiac electrograms and specific atrial stimulation sequences revealed: (1) episodes of tachycardia were initiated by atrial premature depolarizations (APD's) which exhibited no increased delay in AV nodal conduction, (2) during tachycardia atrial cycle length was not a direct function of AV nodal conduction, (3) initial cycles of tachycardia showed progressive shortening in cycle length, (4) APD's introduced during tachycardia resulted in resetting of the atrial cycle, and (5) single APD's and atrial overdrive during tachycardia failed to interrupt it. The electrophysiologic behavior of the arrhythmia was consistent with the hypothesis that it was initiated and was sustained by an ectopic rapidly firing automatic atrial pacemaker.
Parkinson’s disease psychosis 2010: A review article

Psychotic symptoms are common in Parkinson's disease (PD), generally associated with the medications used to treat the motor symptoms. On rare occasion they occur in patients not taking medication for PD. Psychotic symptoms are usually hallucinations, typically visual, less commonly auditory, and rarely in other domains. Hallucinations are generally stereotyped and without emotional content. Initially patients usually have insight so that the hallucinations are benign in terms of their immediate impact but have poor prognostic implications, with increased risk of dementia, worsened psychotic symptoms and mortality. Delusions occur in about 5-10% of drug treated patients and are considerably more disruptive, being paranoid in nature, often of spousal infidelity or abandonment by family. Treatment of Parkinson's disease psychosis (PDP) focuses on reducing the psychiatric symptom load while balancing the competing problem of mobility. Contributors to the psychotic symptoms should be searched for, such as systemic illness and other psycho-active medications. If none are identified or can be eliminated then the PD medications should be reduced to the lowest levels that allow tolerable motor function. Once this level has been reached there are two schools of thought on treatment, using either acetylcholinesterase inhibitors or atypical anti-psychotics. Only clozapine has level I evidence to support its use. Quetiapine is the only other anti-psychotic free of motor side effects, but it has failed double blind placebo controlled trials to demonstrate efficacy.
Living situation and placement change and children's behavior

Abstract Using a national, representative sample of children who received child welfare services, this paper builds longitudinal path models that examine four effects: prior change in living situation or placement on subsequent change, prior behavior problems on subsequent problems, behavior problems on change in living situation or placement, and change in living situation or placement on behavior problems. The first three just-mentioned effects were significant (positive associations) in all models. At some time points, living situation and placement change predicted internalized behavior problems (positive association) but, overall, the effects of change in living situation or placement on children's behavior problems, if any, were small. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.
Skull adapted for teaching roentgenographic technique

Abstract The purpose of the project described here was to develop a teaching aid for oral roentgenology. Windows were prepared in the maxilla and mandible of a skull so that a light source, representing the focal spot of an x-ray machine, passing through the window would produce an image on a film packet which is positioned by means of standard film-holding devices. This teaching aid offers the following advantages: 1. 1. It serves as an intermediate step between classroom and clinic, reducing time consumption and unnecessary radiation during the trial-and-error period. 2. 2. A concept of target-film-object relationship can be easily visualized. 3. 3. This inexpensive laboratory teaching aid can be used in other than roentgenology courses.
Non-regulated water contaminants: emerging research

Abstract Those chemical pollutants that are regulated under various international, federal, and state programs represent but a small fraction of the universe of chemicals that occur in the environment as a result of both natural processes and human influence. Although the number of these targeted chemicals might be minuscule compared with the universe of both known and yet-to-be identified chemicals, an implicit assumption is that these selective lists of chemicals are responsible for the most significant share of risk with respect to environmental or economic impairment or to human health. This paper examines some of the less-discussed aspects of the background and assumptions that underlie society's relationship with chemical pollutants in water, particularly with respect to the need for a more holistic understanding of exposure and risk.
A thermal processing technique for TRIP steels

An investigation was made to determine the effect of thermal cycling between martensite and reverted austenite on the structure and mechanical properties of a Fe-24 pct Ni-4 pct Mo-0.3 pct C TRIP steel. Measurements of hardness, tensile properties, X-ray line broadening, and metallographic structure indicate that repetitive cycling both strengthens the austenite and raises theM D from below room temperature to above room temperature. It is shown that cyclical thermal processing produces mechanical properties essentially comparable with thermomechanical processing in this particular TRIP steel.
Pulmonary Embolism in a Patient With Pernicious Anemia and Hyperhomocysteinemia

We report the case of a 60-year-old woman with a history of ataxia who sought evaluation after a syncopal episode. A diagnostic workup revealed pulmonary emboli, pernicious anemia (PA), hyperhomocysteinemia, and a G20210A prothrombin gene mutation. She was successfully treated with homocysteine-lowering therapy, including high doses of oral cobalamin. She also received oral anticoagulation for 6 months. At 1 year of follow-up, no further thrombotic episodes had occurred. Our report highlights the thrombotic risk of hyperhomocysteinemia secondary to PA in a patient with the G20210A prothrombin gene mutation.
Evaluating the Brief Health Literacy Screen

The Authors Reply—We thank Louis et al. for their letter commending our article regarding the Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) as used in clinical practice. They state that at their institution they did not find the same magnitude of relationship between the BHLS and the short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) that we found at our institution, and hypothesized that this may have been due to differences in the two patient populations. They speculated that their results might have been less promising than ours because “the tools may perform better in populations with high health literacy.” We agree that there are differences in the two patient populations, but we disagree that the reason we obtained the results we did was due to either racial or educational differences between the two institutions. For one thing, the multiple regression analyses presented in our article adjusted for race and education (along with sex and age) and still found a significant relationship between the BHLS and the S-TOFHLA. Secondly, stimulated by their letter, we examined whether race or educational level moderated our finding in our inpatient sample, where 34 % of the patients (n = 163) were African American and 12 % (n = 58) had a high school education level or less. Neither race nor educational level made a difference in our findings; the relationship between the BHLS and S-TOFHLA is as strong for Blacks in our sample as it is for Whites, and for those with less education as for those with at least some college. In Nashville, if not in Chicago, the BHLS appears to validly assess health literacy even among subgroups of patients who have characteristics consistent with lower health literacy. Despite that, we endorse Louis et al.’s call “to further evaluate the utility of the BHLS in diverse patient populations,” particularly those which might be suspected of having difficulty understanding medical information unrelated to their demographic characteristics.
Spatially resolved characterization of gas - metallic nanoparticle interaction by energy loss spectroscopy in an environmental transmission electron microscope

We use an environmental transmission electron microscope to identify gas adsorption sites for various concentrations of hydrogen and carbon monoxide on Au nanoparticles by collecting electron energy-loss spectra. Experimental results are consistent with simulation.
Nanofluidic channel based biosensor using surface enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS)

The Raman scattering signature of molecules has been demonstrated to be greatly enhanced, on the order of 106-1012 times, on roughened metal surfaces and clustered structures such as aggregated colloidal gold. Here we describe a method that improves reproducibility and sensitivity of the substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) by using a nanofluidic trapping device. This nanofluidic device has a bottle neck shape composed of a microchannel leading into a nano channel that causes size-dependent trapping of nanoparticles. The analyte and Au nanoparticles, 60 nm in diameter, in aqueous solution was pumped into the channel. The nanoparticles which were larger than the narrow channel are trapped at the edge of the channel to render an enhancement of the Raman signal. We have demonstrated that the Raman scattering signal enhancement on a nanochannel-based colloidal gold cluster is able to detect 10 pM of adenine, the test analyte, without chemical modification. The efficiency and robustness of the device suggests potential for single molecule detection and multicomponent detection for biological applications and/or biotoxins.
Wrestling with SUMO in a New Arena

Sumoylation is a widespread posttranslational modification thought to affect primarily nuclear proteins, especially transcription factors for which sumoylation usually results in repression of their transactivational function. Recent proteomics studies have greatly expanded the cadre of known SUMO substrates, and an increasing number of cytoplasmic proteins have been identified as SUMO targets. However, very few of these cytosolic proteins have been evaluated for the functional consequences of sumoylation. Rajan et al. now demonstrate that the activity of an integral cytoplasmic membrane channel-forming protein, K2P1, is completely abrogated by sumoylation at a single lysine residue on the cytoplasmic tail. This is the first report of a plasma membrane protein as a SUMO substrate and explains the long-standing inability to demonstrate functionality of K2P1. Apparently, K2P1 is stoichiometrically sumoylated under most cellular conditions, so it is constitutively inactive until desumoylated. These observations raise several intriguing questions, including: How and where does K2P1 become sumoylated? Why, unlike most known substrates, is K2P1 so efficiently sumoylated? and, What are the signals and SUMO proteases that trigger K2P1 desumoylation? But most importantly, the report by Rajan et al. expands the functional roles attributed to sumoylation into the new arena of membrane protein functional regulation and suggests that similar mechanisms may regulate the function of other pore proteins.
Efficiency of energy conservation in oxidative phosphorylation.

Summary 1. P/O ratios, greater than 7 for α-ketoglutarate, 6 for malate and 4 for succinate have been observed in rat-liver mitochondria. 2. KF is required for maximum P/O ratios; KCl or NaF cannot replace KF. The concentration of KF required is quite critical, and is optimum at 5 · 10−3 M under the conditions of this report. 3. The rate of incorporation of tritium by mitochondria into water, using tritium labeled succinate (with label at the 2 and 3 positions) as substrate, is non-linearly related to respiration, and is strikingly stimulated by addition of large amounts of KF (10−2 M), but not by uncoupling agents, such as valinomycin or dinitrophenol.
Hypertension in Hispanics.

A great deal of attention has been paid to the fact that hypertension is more common in African Americans than whites in the United States, the reasons for which have been addressed previously.1 Although the facts are not in doubt, there is dispute about the origins of ethnic differences, with some favoring environmental and social factors1 and others favoring genetic differences.2 There is a marked inverse gradient of many chronic diseases with socioeconomic status (SES), which has been used to explain the higher prevalence and higher mortality rates of common conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and cancer in African Americans than in whites. The fastest-growing segment of the US population is persons of Hispanic or Latino descent. This group is overtaking African Americans as the largest US minority group. Between 1980 and 1990 the US Hispanic population increased by 39%, while the overall US population increased by only 7%.3 Many are recent immigrants who tend to be of relatively low SES. If psychosocial factors are so important in determining the SES gradient of disease it might therefore be expected that Hispanics would also have higher mortality rates than whites. Surprisingly, this does not appear to be the case. According to the National Center for Health Statistics,4 the age-adjusted death rates for heart disease are 121.9 per 100,000 for whites, 183.3 per 100,000 for African Americans, and 84.2 per 100,000 for Hispanics. For stroke the corresponding figures are 23.3, 41.4, and 19.0, and for cancer 121.0, 161.2, and 76.1. Thus, for all these conditions the rates appear to be lower, not higher, for Hispanics. Relationships between chronic disease, ethnicity, and SES undoubtedly have complex explanations, so findings that seem to go against this gradient are of particular interest to help reveal which factors are relevant. First, we must define who makes up an ethnic group, and in the case of Hispanics this is far from easy.
The effect of strain rate and depressed temperature on the low cycle deformation behavior of alpha iron

The low cycle deformation saturation stress in Ferrovac-E a-iron was studied using diametral plastic strain (0.001 ≤ Δedp/2 ≤ 0.0135) as the control variable. Increasing strain rate (6 × 10•5 s•1 • 4 × 10•3 s•1) and decreasing temperature (295 to 173 K) increased the saturation stress levels. The cyclic work hardening coefficient decreased from 0.18 at 295 K to 0.10 at 173 K, which is consistent with previous studies of monotonie deformation. The temperature dependence of both the saturation stress and the strain rate sensitivity, as measured during cyclic deformation, were similar to that measured during monotonic tensile tests. The temperature dependence of the dislocation velocity indexm* was in good agreement with published values from high cycle fatigue and monotonie tensile tests. Thus the same deformation mechanisms are believed to occur in both monotonie and large plastic cyclic deformation (Δedp/2 ≥ 0.001) of a-iron.
Do we need to educate and train EM Engineers And Scientists

Electromagnetic system modeling and simulation can be performed using a variety of analytical, numerical and computational methods, such as IE/MoM, FDTD, FEM, GTD/UTD, just to name a few. In addition, there are a plethora of personal and commercial full-wave simulators, based on such methods, which can be used to perform the modeling and simulations. One of the first questions that we need pose, answer and justify is: Do we need to educate and train EM engineers and scientists with BS, MS and PhD degrees, especially when the CEM resources, hardware and software, are so advanced?
Influence of ion implantation and overlay coatings on various physico-mechanical and wear properties of stainless steel, titanium and aluminium

Abstract This work represents the data on the wear behaviour of 304 stainless steel, commercial grade titanium and commercial grade aluminium without and with different surface treatments, namely ion implantation of boron and nitrogen and overlay coatings of titanium carbide and nitride. The surface treatments were characterized by phase identification, hardness, bend strength, as well as adhesion of overlay coatings. Wear properties were evaluated in adhesive, erosive and abrasive modes of wear. The experimental results showed that surface treatments produced measurable changes in hardness and strength. The results of adhesive wear tests indicated that the wear resistance of all the substrate materials can be considerably improved by overlay coating with superhard materials in dry as well as lubricated test conditions. Ion implantation resulted in improvement of wear properties for only a limited regime of adhesive wear under lubricated conditions and for the abrasive mode of wear. Overlay coatings produced a marked improvement in abrasive wear tests under lubricated conditions on all substrate materials.
Prostate target volume variations during a course of radiotherapy

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the mobility of the clinical target volume (CTV) in prostate radiotherapy with respect to the pelvic anatomy during a course of therapy. These data are needed to properly design the planning target volume (PTV). Methods and Materials: Seventeen patients were studied. Each patient underwent computed tomography (CT) scanning for treatment planning purposes. Subsequently, three CT scans were obtained at approximately 2-week intervals during treatment. The prostate, seminal vesicles, bladder, and rectum were outlined on each CT study. The second through the fourth CT studies were aligned with the first study using a rigid body transformation based on the bony anatomy. The transformation was used to compute the center of mass position and bounding box of each organ in the subsequent studies relative to the first study. Differences in the bounding box limits and center of mass positions between the first and subsequent studies were tabulated and correlated with bladder and rectal volume and positional parameters. Results: The mobility of the CTV was characterized by standard deviations of 0.09 cm (left–right), 0.36 cm (cranial–caudal), and 0.41cm (anterior–posterior). Prostate mobility was not significantly correlated with bladder volume. However, the mobility of both the prostate and seminal vesicles was very significantly correlated with rectal volume. Bladder and rectal volumes decreased between the pretreatment CT scan and the first on-treatment CT scan, but were constant for all on-treatment CT scans. Conclusion: Margins between the CTV and PTV based on the simple geometric requirement that a point on the edge of the CTV is enclosed by the PTV 95% of the time are 0.7 cm in the lateral and cranial–caudal directions, and 1.1 cm in the anterior–posterior direction. However, minimum dose to the CTV and avoidance of organs at risk are more important considerations when drawing beam apertures. More consistent methods for reproducing prostate position (e.g., empty rectum) and more sophisticated beam aperture optimization are needed to guarantee consistent coverage of the CTV while avoiding organs at risk. Elsevier Science Inc.
Micro-technology for positioning, navigation, and timing towards PNT everywhere and always

This paper describes ongoing efforts, sponsored by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Microsystems Technology Office (DARPA/MTO) to develop new technology that improves performance and reduces the Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) of inertial navigation sensors.
Vegetation canopy anisotropy at 1.4 GHz

We investigate anisotropy in 1.4-GHz brightness induced by a field corn vegetation canopy. We find that both polarizations of brightness are isotropic in azimuth during most of the growing season. When the canopy is senescent, the brightness is a strong function of row direction. On the other hand, the 1.4-GHz brightness is anisotropic in elevation: an isotropic zero-order radiative transfer model could not reproduce the observed change in brightness with incidence angle. Significant scatter darkening was found. The consequence of unanticipated scatter darkening would be a wet bias in soil moisture retrievals through a combination of underestimation of soil brightness (at H-pol) and underestimation of vegetation biomass (at V-pol). A new zero-order parameterization was formulated by allowing the volume scattering coefficient to be a function of incidence angle and polarization. The small magnitude of the scattering coefficients allows the zero-order model to retain its limited physical significance.
3D integrable nanowire FET sensor with intrinsic sensitivity boost

In this paper, we review a recently developed transformative nanowire FET sensor concept and 3D-compatible fabrication technology. Compared to the generic nanowire FET sensors, an intrinsic boost in detection sensitivity is accomplished through the seamless integration of a sensing nanowire with an amplifying nanowire FET. Exclusively enabled by top-down nanofabrication technology, the back-end-of-line compatible sub-450 °C manufacturing processes have been developed. Sensing experimental data have also revealed around 1 order of magnitude sensitivity improvement in solution pH detection. Finally, an ultra-low thermal budget nanowire formation technology has been preliminarily developed for future 3D integration with CMOS.
Safety, Diagnostic Yield, and Therapeutic Implications of Flexible Bronchoscopy in Patients With Febrile Neutropenia and Pulmonary Infiltrates

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety, diagnostic yield, and therapeutic implications of flexible bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and transbronchial biopsy in patients with febrile neutropenia and pulmonary infiltrates. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of all patients with neutropenic fever and pulmonary infiltrates evaluated by flexible bronchoscopy and BAL between January and December 2002 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Appropriate demographic, clinical, microbiological, and histological data and procedure-related complications were summarized. Therapeutic decisions implemented based on information obtained by bronchoscopy, and 28-day mortality were determined. RESULTS Thirty-five patients with febrile neutropenia and associated pulmonary infiltrates were identified. Flexible bronchoscopy, including 35 BALs and 9 transbronchial biopsies, was performed safely (3 complications). The diagnostic yield of BAL was 49%. Sputum analysis was underused (only 34%) but complementary to BAL. The combined diagnostic yield of BAL and sputum analysis was 63%. Transbronchial biopsy provided additional information to BAL and sputum analysis in only 1 patient and did not substantially increase the combined diagnostic yield. The most common diagnoses identified were fungal pneumonias (15/35 [43%]) and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (5/35 [14%]). Bronchoscopic findings resulted in management changes in 51% of patients. The 28-day mortality rate was 26% and was highest in patients who required mechanical ventilatory assistance before bronchoscopy. CONCLUSION The favorable safety record, good diagnostic yield, and frequent therapeutic implications support the routine use of BAL for the evaluation of pulmonary infiltrates in neutropenic patients. Bronchoalveolar lavage should be combined with the analysis of several sputum specimens. Transbronchial biopsy did only change the management of 1 patient.
Hyperspherical Strumian basis functions

A Sturmian basis set is a set of solutions to the Schrodinger equation, with the potential scaled in such a way that all the members of the set correspond to the same value of the energy. We discuss, in particular, the set of Sturmian basis functions corresponding to solutions of the d-dimensional hydrogenlike wave equation. These hydrogenlike Sturmian functions are expressed in terms of Laguerre polynomials and hyperspherical harmonics. When they are used as a basis for solving the many-particle Schrodinger equation, the secular equations take on a simple form [Eq. (59)]. The necessary integrals are evaluated explicitly, and the possibility of combining the hyperspherical technique with dimensional scaling is discussed.
Research on the Workflow System of Collaborative Process Planning

It is extremely important for effective control and management of process planning, but there are many shortcomings with traditional process planning system in these aspects. To solve these problems and meet the process informationization requirements in manufacturing enterprises, application of workflow technology in collaborative process planning system was discussed. Semantic decriptions of workflow and workflow intergrating with process planning were defined to further describe the workflow of process planning. The function structure and architecture of the system were designed based on the analysis of part process features of process planning. A workflow system of collaborative process planning was developed and workflow engine as the heart of the whole system was designed based on JBOSS JBPM, which greatly improves the control capability of the process and the efficiency of process planning.
NONSTABILITY OF THE IDEALS OF THE CORONA ALGEBRA OF A SEPARABLE STABLE PRIME C*-ALGEBRA

Let be a separable stable and prime C*-algebra. We show that every proper nontrivial ideal in (and hence every proper ideal in which properly contains ) is not stable. Some consequences are counterexamples naturally occuring, in the non-σ-unital case, to Zhang's Dichotomy as well as the Hjelmborg–Rordam theory of stability.
Enhanced sensitivity for selected reaction monitoring-mass spectrometry-based targeted proteomics using a dual-stage electrodynamic ion funnel interface

Selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (SRM-MS) is playing an increasing role in quantitative proteomics and biomarker discovery studies as a method for high throughput candidate quantification and verification. Although SRM-MS offers advantages in sensitivity and quantification compared with other MS-based techniques, current SRM technologies are still challenged by detection and quantification of low abundance proteins (e.g. present at ∼10 ng/ml or lower levels in blood plasma). Here we report enhanced detection sensitivity and reproducibility for SRM-based targeted proteomics by coupling a nanospray ionization multicapillary inlet/dual electrodynamic ion funnel interface to a commercial triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Because of the increased efficiency in ion transmission, significant enhancements in overall signal intensities and improved limits of detection were observed with the new interface compared with the original interface for SRM measurements of tryptic peptides from proteins spiked into non-depleted mouse plasma over a range of concentrations. Overall, average SRM peak intensities were increased by ∼70-fold. The average level of detection for peptides also improved by ∼10-fold with notably improved reproducibility of peptide measurements as indicated by the reduced coefficients of variance. The ability to detect proteins ranging from 40 to 80 ng/ml within mouse plasma was demonstrated for all spiked proteins without the application of front-end immunoaffinity depletion and fractionation. This significant improvement in detection sensitivity for low abundance proteins in complex matrices is expected to enhance a broad range of SRM-MS applications including targeted protein and metabolite validation.
The Social Consequences of a Dry Well1

THIS paper will attempt to describe in some detail the responses of a Navajo extended family when confronted with a diminishing water supply. Inasmuch as the responses were both internal and external to the group, the material will as far as possible be presented in two sections; the first, how the extended family met the challenge of a drought by activating relationships between itself and other extended families and finally through recourse to the modern political institutions of the reservation. The second will attempt to show how the relationships within the group were changed due to the drought. I will further attempt to relate this single case to what appear to be more general statements about residential mobility in societies with a commitment to animal husbandry. The area in which the field work was carried out is that central portion of the Navajo Reservation officially known as District Four but commonly referred to as Pifion, in reference to the major settlement in the area. In Pifion two trading stores, a government school, a clinic, two part time missions, a chapter house, a warehouse, a rodeo arena and a tribal corral compose what is the social, political, and economic center of a widely dispersed community of from 3500 to 5000 persons. Although many of the residents of the area work at wage labor or receive various forms of retirement or relief payments, the economic, social, and cultural foundation of the area is pastoralism.2 Every Navajo who identifies himself with the area and considers it as his home has some interest in, and obligation toward, one or more flocks of sheep. Most families also engage in dry farming of corn, pumpkins, squash, watermelons and beans, but erratic and scanty rainfall precludes any extensive development of agriculture. Most fields are small and rather casually tended and, as compared to the flocks and herds, command rather scant attention from the farmers. The alluvial flanks of the mesas and hills of the area are dotted with abandoned fields which are growing back to sage brush and scanty grass. In some cases these are exhausted fields but in many other cases they are simply fields which failed to make a crop due to lack of rainfall. In a few comparatively well-watered spots, somewhat larger and more permanent fields occur, but these are rare. A few attempts are made to divert water from gullies into the fields during cloudbursts but, once again, due to the lack of rain, gullies may never have enough water to divert. The largest field recorded by me was perhaps 20 acres in a particularly favorable spot, owned by a large polygynous family, many of whom lived miles from the field. Other fields generally averaged less than half of this size.
The Definition of Religion

INTERPRET my invitation to address the American Academy of Religion on the definition of its key concept, religion, as an opportunity to exercise several of what I believe to be my philosophical responsibilities. In this paper I reject, therefore, the currently popular view of the philosopher as technician, restricted in his proper function to the clarification of linguistic meanings. This technical role is indeed one of my important responsibilities, but the "love of wisdom" involves far more than technique. In what follows three sections correspond to my three primary aims for this occasion. First, I have an apologetic aim: to defend the very enterprise of definition-making, particularly the enterprise of defining religion, against several significant criticisms. Second, I have a constructive and critical aim: to sketch out a definition of religion, briefly explain it, test it, and show some of its uses. And third, I have a frankly hortatory aim: I want what I say to make a fruitful difference, both among inquirers in the fields concerned with religion and outside them. I intend, therefore, to close with an appeal to this body to take a vitally required initiative in ending the present state of conceptual chaos engulfing studies about religion.
A new yeast PUF family protein, Puf6p, represses ASH1 mRNA translation and is required for its localization

In yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ash1p, a protein determinant for mating-type switching, is segregated within the daughter cell nucleus to establish asymmetry of HO expression. The accumulation of Ash1p results from ASH1 mRNA that is sorted as a ribonucleoprotein particle (mRNP or locasome) to the distal tip of the bud where translation occurs. To study the mechanism regulating ASH1 mRNA translation, we isolated the ASH1 locasome and characterized the associated proteins by MALDI-TOF. One of these proteins was Puf6p, a new member of the PUF family of highly conserved RNA-binding proteins such as Pumilio in Drosophila, responsible for translational repression, usually to effect asymmetric expression. Puf6p-bound PUF consensus sequences in the 3′UTR of ASH1 mRNA and repressed the translation of ASH1 mRNA both in vivo and in vitro. In the puf6Δ strain, asymmetric localization of both Ash1p and ASH1 mRNA were significantly reduced. We propose that Puf6p is a protein that functions in the translational control of ASH1 mRNA, and this translational inhibition is necessary before localization can proceed.
5. Secularism and the Limits of Community

This paper addresses two issues: (1) the use of religious considerations in social and political argument; and (2) the validation of the claims of community against markets and other aspects of globalization. It argues that we should be very wary of the association of (1) with (2), and the use of (1) to reinforce (2). The claims of community in the modern world are often exclusionary (the word commonly associated with community is "gated") and hostile to the rights of the poor, the homeless, the outcast, and so on. The logic of community in the modern world is a logic that reinforces market exclusion and the disparagement of the claims of the poor. If religious considerations are to be used to uphold those claims and to mitigate exclusion, they need to be oriented directly to that task, and to be pursued in ways that by-pass the antithetical claims of community. Religious considerations are at their most powerful in politics - and are most usefully disconcerting - when they challenge the logic of community.
Characterizing rangeland vegetation using Landsat and 1-mm VLSA data in central Wyoming (USA)

As an alternative to ground-cover data collection by conventional and expensive sampling techniques, we compared measurements obtained from very large scale aerial (VLSA) imagery for calibrating moderate resolution Landsat data. Using a grid-based sampling scheme, 162 VLSA images were acquired at 100 m above ground level. The percent vegetation cover in each photo was derived using SamplePoint (a manual inventory method) and VegMeasure (a reflectance based, automated method). Approximately two-thirds of the VLSA images were used for calibrating Landsat data while the remainder was used for validation. Regression models with Landsat bands accounted for 55% of the VegMeasure-based measurements of vegetation, whereas models that included both Landsat bands and elevation data accounted for 67%. The relationship between the Landsat bands and the percent vegetation cover measured by SamplePoint was lower (R 2 = 20%), highlighting the differences between the inventory and reflectance based protocols. Results from the model validation indicated that the model’s predictive power was lower when the vegetation cover was either 55%. Additional work is needed in these ecosystems to improve the calibration techniques for sites with low and high vegetation cover; however, these results demonstrate the VLSA imagery could be used for calibrating Landsat data and deriving rangeland vegetation cover. By adopting such methodologies the US Federal land management agencies can increase the efficiency of the monitoring programs in Wyoming and in other western states of the US.
31P NMR of mammalian cells encapsulated in alginate gels utilizing a new phosphate‐free perfusion medium

A simple technique permitting long term 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cultured mammalian cells is described. Cells are encapsulated in calcium alginate gels and perfused with a new phosphate-fre medium designed for maintenance of high cell viability. Intracellular pH and beta-NTP/Pi ratios, studied in three cell types, remained stable over a 16-20 h NMR monitoring period. The techniques described may be useful for monitoring cell metabolism with a variety of cell types.
Positive and Negative Affect in Depression: Influence of Sex and Puberty

To examine adolescent depression as a model for unusual emotion regulation, the current study considered the influence of gender, pubertal development, and cortisol on self-reported mood. Children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (n = 35, mean age 12.5 years) were compared with psychiatrically healthy children and adolescents (n = 36, mean age 10.5 years). During a three-day assessment, participants rated their mood at three time points, pubertal development was determined through physical examination, and plasma cortisol was sampled during the second night. Depressed participants experienced less positive affect and more negative affect than did controls. Diagnostic group, gender, and pubertal status interacted to predict negative affect, with depressed adolescent girls experiencing especially high levels of negative affect. Cortisol was generally unrelated to depression and mood. Findings are consistent with emotion-based models of depression and with the literature on depression and emotion regulation during adolescence.
Vitreoretinal Management and Surgical Outcomes in Proliferative Sickle Retinopathy: A Case Series

Purpose To report the outcomes of current vitreoretinal surgical management of proliferative sickle retinopathy and to compare current methods to previous studies. Design A retrospective, interventional case series. Methods Fifteen eyes of 14 patients with proliferative sickle retinopathy were managed with vitreoretinal surgery over a 12-year period at a single institution. Results Nine patients had a sickle cell–hemoglobin C (SC) profile, 1 was sickle cell–beta + thalassemia (S beta + -thal), and 4 were sickle cell trait (AS). All 15 eyes underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV): 6 for vitreous hemorrhage (VH), 1 for epiretinal membrane (ERM), and an additional 8 for tractional retinal detachment (RD) and/or rhegmatogenous RD. In addition, an encircling scleral buckle (SB) was used in 2 cases. In 7 cases, 20 gauge PPV was used; 23 gauge was used in 3; and 25 gauge was used in 5. All 7 eyes with VH or ERM had improved vision postoperatively. Four of the 8 patients with traction and/or rhegmatogenous RD developed recurrent detachments and required a second operation. All retinas were attached at last follow-up, and visual acuity was 20/400 or better in all eyes. No cases of anterior segment ischemia were encountered. Conclusions Anterior segment ischemia is no longer a common occurrence in eyes undergoing surgery for proliferative sickle retinopathy. Although PPV has replaced the use of SB in many situations, an encircling SB may still be used in this population when necessary. Surgery for VH and ERM generally results in favorable outcomes, but eyes undergoing surgery for traction/rhegmatogenous RD carry a more guarded prognosis.
Crystallization Kinetics of Calcium-magnesium Aluminosilicate (CMAS) Glass

The crystallization kinetics of a calcium-magnesium aluminosilicate (CMAS) glass with composition relevant for aerospace applications, like air-breathing engines, were evaluated using differential thermal analysis (DTA) in powder and bulk forms. Activation energy and frequency factor values for crystallization of the glass were evaluated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the onset of crystallization and the phases that developed after heat treating bulk glass at temperatures ranging from 690 to 960 deg for various times. Samples annealed at temperatures below 900 deg remained amorphous, while specimens heat treated at and above 900 deg exhibited crystallinity originating at the surface. The crystalline phases were identified as wollastonite (CaSiO3) and aluminum diopside (Ca(Mg,Al) (Si,Al)2O6). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to examine the microstructure and chemical compositions of crystalline phases formed after heat treatment.
Maximum likelihood methods in biology revisited with tools of computational intelligence

We investigate the problem of identification of genes correlated with the occurrence of diseases in a given population. The classical method of parametric linkage analysis is combined with newer tools and results are achieved on a model problem. This traditional method has advantages over non-parametric methods, but these advantages have been difficult to realize due to their high computational cost. We study a class of Evolutionary Algorithms from the Computational Intelligence literature which are designed to cut such costs considerably for optimization problems. We outline the details of this algorithm, called Particle Swarm Optimization, and present all the equations and parameter values we used to accomplish our optimization. We view this study as a launching point for a wider investigation into the leveraging of computational intelligence tools in the study of complex biological systems.
Reduced-complexity sphere decoding via detection ordering for linear multi-input multi-output channels

Sphere decoding is a powerful approach for maximum-likelihood (ML) detection over Gaussian multi-input multi-output (MIMO) linear channels. We propose a new detection ordering approach, which minimizes the corresponding diagonal element of the upper-triangular matrix R over all possible column permutations in each step of the QR decomposition. Compared with the previously proposed V-BLAST ZF-DFE ordering approach, our approach has two major advantages: (1) it is efficiently embedded in the QR decomposition with a small computational overhead, rendering itself suitable for fast-varying channels, while the V-BLAST ZF-DFE ordering is not suitable for fast-varying channels since it incurs large computation overhead; (2) the sphere decoder with our proposed detection ordering achieves 17%-69% and 9%-59% reductions in the number of multiplications and the number of additions, respectively, in comparison to that with the V-BLAST ZF-DFE ordering.
N topics in search of an editorial: Heuristics, superresolution, and bibliography

This paper is the result of editorial license in the effect that it is designed to augment the invited papers for enhancement and restoration in this issue. Unfortunately this editor found the genesis of a special issue to be a very dynamic process, and as such this paper has experienced many contortions. However, it is hoped that a few topics not covered earlier, but which warrant some discussion in a digital image enhancement issue, can find a home (albeit brief and uneasy) in this editorial. The topics discussed below include some heuristic techniques which might be useful to the image enhancement objective, some superresolution and positive restoration techniques (still of esoteric interest), some comments on experimental methods, and a bibliography restricted to digital techniques for image restoration and/or enhancement.