cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Volumetric parameterization and trivariate b-spline fitting using harmonic functions

We present a methodology based on discrete volumetric harmonic functions to parameterize a volumetric model in a way that it can be used to fit a single trivariate B-spline to data so that simulation attributes can also be modeled. The resulting model representation is suitable for isogeometric analysis [Hughes T. J. 2005], Imput data consists of both a closed triangle mesh representing the exterior geometric shape of the object and interior triangle meshes that can represent material attributes or other interior features. The trivariate B-spline geometric and attribute representations are generated from the resulting parameterization, creating trivariate B-spline material property representations over the same parameterization in a way that is related to [Martin and Cohen 2001] but is suitable for application to a much larger family of shapes and attributes. The technique constructs a B-spline representation with guaranteed quality of approximation to the original data. Then we focus attention on a model of simulation interest, a femur, consisting of hard outer cortical bone and inner trabecular bone. The femur is a reasonably complex object to model with a single trivariate B-spline since the shape overhangs make it impossible to model by sweeping planar slices. The representation is used in an elastostatic isogeometric analysis, demonstrating its ability to suitably represent objects for isogeometric analysis.
Optically-Induced Ultrafast Displacive Structural Transformations in Semiconductors and Semimetals

Ultrafast coherent structural dynamics in fs-laser highly electronically excited semi-and insulating materials is studied in terms of displacive excitation of coherent optical phonon modes as precursors of soft modes for corresponding solid-solid and solid-liquid “metal-insulator” transitions. The theoretical predictions for coherent optical phonon induced bandgap shrinkage and electronic softening of the coherent phonon mode during the initial coherent Peierls-like stage of such transitions are compared to experimental results for various semiconductors and semimetals.
Impaired left ventricular contractile function in patients with long-term mitral regurgitation and normal ejection fraction

Objectives. We tested the hypotheses that left ventricular chamber elastance would detect impaired contractile function in patients with long-term mitral regurgitation and a normal ejection fraction and that these patients would have unique temporal left ventricular size and ejection fraction responses to mitral valve surgery. Background. Although it has been suggested that left ventricular contractile function may begin deteriorating in patients with long-term mitral regurgitation whereas ejection fraction remains normal, no data exist in humans. Methods. We studied 11 control patients and 28 patients with long-term mitral regurgitation using micromanometer-measured pressures, biplane contrast cineventriculography and radionuclide angiography under control conditions and with alterations in load during right atrial pacing to calculate left ventricular chamber elastance and myocardial stiffness. Results. The patients with mitral regurgitation were classified into subgroups: Group I, normal contractile function; Group II, impaired contractile function (reduced Emax) but normal ejection fraction, and Group III, impaired contractile function (reduced Emax) with reduced systolic myocardial stiffness. Twenty-two of the patients with mitral regurgitation underwent mitral valve surgery. In Group I, comparable decreases in left ventricular volume indexes (p < 0.01 and p = 0.05, respectively) were associated with no change in ejection fraction at 3 months and 1 year. In contrast, in Group II, reductions in volume indexes (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001) were associated with a short-term decrease in ejection fraction (p < 0.001) that recovered at 1 year (p < 0.01 vs. short-term). Finally, in Group III, variable responses in volume indexes were associated with a consistent decrease in ejection fraction at 3 months and 1 year. Conclusions. An analysis of left ventricular chamber elastance provides data to support the concepts that 1) contractile function is impaired in some patients with long-term mitral regurgitation and a normal ejection fraction, 2) impaired contractile function may not be irreversible in all of these patients, and 3) an earlier consideration of mitral valve surgery may be warranted to preserve contractile function in these patients.
Salivary duct carcinoma

BACKGROUND Although there have been several reports of cytologic features for salivary duct carcinoma (SDC), it still can be difficult to diagnose patients with these tumor accurately at the time of fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Review of the literature indicates that, immunohistochemically, SDC expresses androgen receptor (AR) in the majority of patients. The authors investigated the cytologic characteristics and utility of AR immunostaining on cytologic smears for the diagnosis of patients with SDC. METHODS FNA and imprint smears from four patients with SDC were stained with Papanicolaou and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS). Immunostaining for AR on paraffin sections and imprint smears of SDC was performed, including 51 benign and other malignant salivary gland tumors. RESULTS The smears were cellular and contained three-dimensional clusters, flat sheets, and scattered epithelial cells with necrotic backgrounds. A cribriform architectural pattern was noted in many of the tumor sheets. The tumor cells were large polygonal, spindle, and round to oval, and had abundant, finely granular, or vacuolated cytoplasm. Intracytoplasmic vacuoles were PAS negative. The nuclei were hyperchromatic, medium to large in size, round to oval in shape, and often had prominent nucleoli. All SDC tumors expressed AR. Two patients with carcinoma in (pleomorphic adenoma) showed a focal, comedo carcinoma pattern in which AR positive nuclei were observed. Other salivary gland tumors were completely negative for AR. CONCLUSIONS The cytologic features of high-grade adenocarcinoma with a variety of cell morphologies, flat sheets of tumor cells with a cribriform pattern, and necrotic backgrounds are characteristic findings in patients with SDC. Immunostaining for AR on cytologic smears is useful for the diagnosis of these patients. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2001;93:344–350. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
Gel-derived single layer antireflection films

Abstract A process based on the sol-gel process has been developed to deposit single layer alkaliborosilicate antireflection films on glass substrates for high power laser use. A partially polymerized solution in the Na2OB2O3SiO2 system prepared by the sol-gel process was deposited by the dipping technique. The gel-derived films after thermal treatment below 500°C were leached with acid leachants to leach the leachable phase and to change the pore morphology in a controlled way so that a refraction index gradient develops. The reflectivities of the heat treated leached films were in the range 0.15–0.7% at 1.06 μm wavelength. Laser damage thresholds of these films are four times greater than those of multilayer antireflection films.
Activation of brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease: The effect of mild cognitive impairment

This study examined the functionality of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and posterior cingulate (PC) in mild cognitive impairment amnestic type (MCI), a syndrome that puts patients at greater risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD). Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to identify regions normally active during encoding of novel items and recognition of previously learned items in a reference group of 77 healthy young and middle-aged adults. The pattern of activation in this group guided further comparisons between 14 MCI subjects and 14 age-matched controls. The MCI patients exhibited less activity in the PC during recognition of previously learned items, and in the right hippocampus during encoding of novel items, despite comparable task performance to the controls. Reduced fMRI signal change in the MTL supports prior studies implicating the hippocampus for encoding new information. Reduced signal change in the PC converges with recent research on its role in recognition in normal adults as well as metabolic decline in people with genetic or cognitive risk for AD. Our results suggest that a change in function in the PC may account, in part, for memory recollection failure in AD.
Fern constituents: Including occurrence, chemotaxonomy and physiological activity

A comprehensive survey of the 1966–1984 literature of the chemical constituents in ferns is presented. A table of fern constituents listed by species arranged according to Crabbe et al. (1975) is included. Advances in flavonoid, terpenoid and xanthone fern phytochemistry, including chemosystematics, are summarized. The taxonomic, chemical and pharmaceutical aspects of the phloroglucinols found in ferns are discussed. Developments in the investigation into the structure of the toxic principles of bracken (Pteridium aquilinum), whose consumption leads to cancer in domestic stock and to bracken cattle poisoning, are presented.
Efficient scheduling algorithm for component-based networks

In a grid computing environment, it is important to be capable of agilely quantifying the quality of service achievable by each alternative composition of resources. This capability is an essential driver to not only efficiently utilizing the resources but also promoting the virtual economy. In this paper, we design an efficient scheduling algorithm of minimizing completion time for component-based networks. The performance of the network is a function of resource assignment and resource allocation. Resource assignment assigns components to available machines and resource allocation allocates the resources of each machine to the residing components. Though similar problems can be found in the multiprocessor scheduling literature, our problem is different especially because the components in our networks process multiple tasks in parallel with their successor or predecessor components. The designed algorithm is simple but effective since it incorporates the fact that the components in a network can be considered independent under a certain resource allocation policy.
Analysis of thin-walled frames considering joint flexibilities

AbstractTAnalytical models are developed for static and dynamic analysis of thin-walled frames representing the automotive side structures. The model is based on one-dimensional beam theory that considers joint flexibility to compute stiffness and frequency response of the whole frame structure. The computed out-of-plane displacements under static and impact loading are in good agreement with those obtained from the shell finite element method. Using the validated analytical model, the influence of joint flexibility on the elastic response of the side structure is studied.
Molecular charge effects on protein behavior at hydrophobic and hydrophilic solid surfaces

Abstract The adsorption kinetics exhibited by selected charge mutants of bacteriophage T4 lysozyme at silanized silica surfaces were monitored with in situ ellipsometry. Mutant lysozymes were produced by substitution of lysine with glutamic acid. Each substitution resulted in a decrease in the net charge of the protein by 2 units. The wild type lysozyme of net charge +9, and two mutants of net charge + 7 and +5 were obtained from Escherichia coli strain RR1. Adsorption kinetics recorded at hydrophilic and hydrophobic interfaces were compared to the kinetic behavior predicted by two simple models for protein adsorption. One allowed for reversible adsorption followed by conversion to an irreversibly adsorbed form. The second model allowed for irreversible adsorption into one of two states directly from solution. Both models suggested that proteins apparently adsorbed at the interfaces more tightly and occupied a greater interfacial area with substitution of lysine with glutamic acid. These effects were related to the location of the substitutions relative to other mobile, solvent-exposed charged residues of the protein, and not to net charge.
Edge Detection Free Postprocessing for Pseudospectral Approximations

Pseudospectral Methods based on global polynomial approximation yield exponential accuracy when the underlying function is analytic. The presence of discontinuities destroys the extreme accuracy of the methods and the well-known Gibbs phenomenon appears. Several types of postprocessing methods have been developed to lessen the effects of the Gibbs phenomenon or even to restore spectral accuracy. The most powerful of the methods require that the locations of the discontinuities be precisely known. In this work we discuss postprocessing algorithms that are applicable when it is impractical, or difficult, or undesirable to pinpoint all discontinuity locations.
Platelet concentrations and platelet-associated IgG in greyhounds.

Background: Greyhounds have lower platelet concentrations (PC) than dogs of other breeds have. No underlying cause has been investigated. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that Greyhounds have lower mean PC because of breed variation, not immune-mediated causes. Our secondary hypothesis was that PC is dependent on the method of analysis. Animals: Sixty privately owned Greyhounds in Kansas. Methods: Blood samples were collected into evacuated glass tubes containing ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). Blood smears were evaluated for platelet clumps. All 60 samples had PC determined by manual, impedance, and buffy coat analyzer methods. Results of the 60 samples were compared with results of samples with (n = 25) and without (n = 35) clumps, and with control dogs. Platelets were assayed for the presence of surface-associated antigen (PSAIgG) by direct immunofluorescence. Results: The mean PC was below that of the control dogs for the impedance method (P < .001). No significant difference in PC was detected between analysis methods or between samples with or without platelet clumps. Three of 60 (5%) of the Greyhounds had PC between 50,000 and 100,000/μL with impedance analysis; no samples had < 100,000/μL via buffy coat analysis. PSAIgG was not identified in any samples. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The mean Greyhound PC for the impedance method was below the reference interval for control dogs but was not significantly different from PC determined by other methods. An immune-mediated cause for the lower PC was unlikely because no samples had PSAIgG. The decreased PC is most consistent with breed variation. As only 0–5% of samples, depending on analysis method, had PC < 100,000/μL, a Greyhound with a PC < 100,000/μL is not necessarily consistent with breed variation, thus diagnostic testing is indicated.
The Zenith AAA endovascular graft for abdominal aortic aneurysms: clinical update

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to provide an update regarding the US clinical trial assessing the performance of the Zenith AAA Endovascular Graft in the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Materials and Methods: A prospective, nonrandomized, concurrent control-based study design was used to contrast conventional repair of infrarenal aneurysms with endovascular repair in patients that would otherwise be candidates for open surgical procedures. Additional study arms allow high-physiologic-risk patients and roll-in patients to be treated using the same endovascular device in a registry format. Patients were evaluated clinically and radiographically computed tomography (CT) and abdominal radiographs) before any intervention, at hospital discharge, 30 days, 6 months, 12 months, and yearly thereafter. Data were analyzed with the intent of assessing acute and chronic morbidity and mortality, radiographic parameters indicative of successful aneurysm repair, and device integrity. Results: A total of 352 patients were treated with the Zenith graft (one patient did not receive an implant in the standard-risk group), and 80 patients underwent conventional surgical repair. Two hundred patients were enrolled in the standard-risk group, 100 in the high-risk group, and 52 underwent endovascular repair as roll-in patients. All cause mortality, aneurysm-related deaths, and ruptures were statistically identical between the groups. Procedural morbidity was significantly lower for patients treated with endovascular grafts with respect to cardiac, pulmonary, renal, and vascular complications. Secondary interventions were more commonly required in the endovascular group. The endoleak rate was 4.9% at 12 months in the standard-risk endovascular group. There was one rupture in the high-risk subset of patients and 3 elective conversions. A total of 1.6% of the endovascular patients were noted to have a barb separation without evidence of significant migration or clinical events. No other device integrity issues were observed. Conclusions: The safety of the Zenith endovascular graft was superior to conventional management with respect to morbidity and clinical utility. The short-term device efficacy was satisfactory; however, longer-term follow-up will be necessary to establish the duration of this observation.
Experience versus Structures: New Tendencies in the History of Labor and the Working Class in Latin America—What Do We Gain? What Do We Lose?

Since the beginning of this decade there has been a boom in Latin American working-class history. Works vary from those still written within the framework of the theories of modernization and from a managerial perspective1 to those written by militants still using a schematic Marxist approach.2 Within the boundaries defined by the contradictory concerns of those interested in class collaboration and those interested in class struggle?the manager and the militant?there is an enormous variety of approaches, ranging from traditional empiricism to old and new Marxism. There are those who want to stress similarities in the history of labor in different Latin American countries, and those who can see only differ ences. There are those who think that an understanding of political economy is preliminary to the study of labor, and those who think that we can do without it and who focus instead on what is often called workers' "experience." Moreover, orientations overlap and concepts are fuzzy. It is not easy to find one's way through this maze, so I have decided to concentrate on what I call the "new labor history." From a methodological perspective, the new historiography makes a signifi cant shift away from traditional approaches. This shift is both a reflection of new tendencies in European and American labor history and historiography and a product of economic and political changes taking place in Latin America today, changes that in some countries, like Brazil and Argentina, have projected workers into the center of the political arena and brought into question traditional strategies of the labor movement. In this essay, I will characterize some of the new historiographical tendencies and examine their implications for future research. To make this enterprise manageable, I have restricted myself to examining recent works on urban and industrial labor, leaving aside the growing literature on rural labor. And, since it would be impossible to assess everything that has been published in different Latin American countries as well as in the United States and Great Britain (not to mention other countries), I have focused mainly on the work of American and British scholars.
Brand Loyalty and Marketing Strategy: An Application to Home Appliances

In the academic literature, the modelling of brand choice and switching behavior has a long history for frequently purchased packaged goods. Comparable efforts with consumer durable goods, however, are generally absent. This paper presents an application of the brand switching model proposed by Colombo and Morrison 1989 to a set of four major home appliances. Appliance brand loyalty, however, is shown to be a function of the timing of replacements, a factor that has not entered into the modelling of packed goods. As a result, the brand switching matrices are analyzed over the replacement cycle. This application illustrates how a brand switching analysis can be used to assess the relative competitive position of a firm in terms of the primary customer sources that a brand attracts.
Pore pressure response of earth dams in random seismic environment

Abstract The progressive development of pore water pressure due to earthquake loading and associated loss of strength may be a major cause of instability in earth dams consisting of low to medium dense saturated sands and hydraulic fill materials. In this study a procedure is developed for the analysis of pore pressure response of an earth dam subjected to a random seismic environment. The ground motion is modelled as a portion of the stationary random process which may be defined alternatively by (a) Kani—Tajimi spectral density function, or (b) a design response spectrum. The earth dam is modelled as a series of shear slices and is considered to be homogeneous. The nonlinearity in shear modulus and damping are incorporated by using an equivalent linear model for the stress-strain behavior of soils. The dynamic response to vertically propagating shear waves is formulated in the frequency domain providing the transfer functions for various parameters, viz, stress, strain and acceleration, etc. The power spectra of these parameters are then readily obtained. Using a simple linear model for the generation of pore water pressure the expected value of associated damage is obtained. Numerical results of an example analysis and a parametric study are presented.
Composition of the stratospheric “sulfate” layer

Spectacular sunsets are seen over much of the world following violent volcanic eruptions, and the brilliant displays may occur for many years (Figure 1). Especially noteworthy were those following the eruption of Krakatoa in the East Indies in 1883 and of Gunung Agung in Bali in 1963. The optical effects result from the scattering of sunlight by fine volcanic particles. Other recent eruptions that have been shown to inject particles—volcanic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and sulphur dioxide which by chemical reactions form particles—and entrained air into the stratosphere include Awu in 1966 and Fernandia in 1968. Of course there are small, but not zero, concentrations of particles in the stratosphere even following prolonged periods of little volcanic activity. These particles come from many sources, as discussed later in this article.
Historical Research in Home Economics: A Model for Implementation

In this article, the concept of historical research is considered, first as a generic method of research and second as a tool specifically pertinent to home eco nomics. Initially, historical research is defined from the perspectives of various historians. The steps in the historical method are delineated and explained and those steps are in turn included in a conceptual model. Actual application of historical research to a problem in home economics is exemplified by a step-by- step account of a study of the historical relationship between home economics and family law. The two objectives of that research were: (1) to delineate and analyze the concerns common to the fields of family law, as exemplified by the New York Domestic Relations Law, and to home economics; and (2) to isolate the resultant influences of each field on the other. In addition to serving as an example of historical research, the results of the research are used to show the potential influence of the information gained from historical research on the field of home economics.
Evaluation of the IL-682 Co-Oximeter; Comparison to the IL-482 Co-Oximeter and Gas Chromatography

ABSTRACTThe performance of the Instrumentation Laboratory, Inc. IL-682 for the analysis of postmortem blood specimens for carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) was evaluated. Within-run coefficients of variation for 5 blood specimens at COHb saturation values of 1.6%, 5.5%, 52%, 76% and 79% analyzed 5 times each were less than 7%. Between-run coefficients of variation for 3 blood specimens at COHb saturation values of 4%, 23%, and 60% each analyzed weekly over 4 months were less than 11%. All 27 specimens with a COHb saturation less than 10% by a reference gas chromatographic method had a COHb saturation less than 10% on both the IL-682 and the IL-482. Analysis of 21 specimens with elevated COHb saturation (> 12%) revealed good quantitative agreement between the three methods. We conclude that the IL-682 is an acceptable instrument for the analysis of postmortem blood specimens for COHb.
Cellular automaton algorithm for surface mass transport due to curvature gradients simulations of sintering

Abstract A cellular automaton algorithm is developed that simulates the evolution of a surface due to surface mass transport. The driving force is the reduction of chemical potential differences on the surface. This process is important in the development of microstructure during the sintering of powders. The algorithm is implemented in 2D in a digital image mode, using discrete pixels to represent continuum objects. The heart of the algorithm is a pixel-counting-based method for computing the potential at a pixel located in a digital surface. This method gives an approximate measure of the curvature at the given surface pixel. The sontinuum version of this method is analytically shown to give the true curvature at a point on a continuum surface. The digital version of the curvature computation method is shown to obey the scaling laws derived for the continuum version. Several examples, both quantitative and qualitative, are computed of surfaces evolving under curvature differences, and are shown to agree with the known physics of sintering.
Ontogeny of the Defensive Stinging Behavior of the Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

The fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, appears to deviate from the usual age-related pattern of defensive behavior seen in other social insects; instead of older workers being more defensive than younger ones, they are less so. Here I test this pattern by quantifying changes in the defensive stinging behavior of S. invicta workers of known age. I found defensiveness, measured as both the number of stings delivered and the amount of venom delivered per sting (venom dose), to increase with age initially but then decline after a mid-age peak. This hump-shaped ontogeny may be the result of S. invicta's foraging strategy, which effectively shifts the responsibility of nest defense to workers younger than foraging age. It is S. invicta's mid-aged workers that are the most defensive, probably because they are both physiologically and spatially the most suitable nest defenders.
Mammalian SIRT1 limits replicative life span in response to chronic genotoxic stress

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromatin silencing factor Sir2 suppresses genomic instability and extends replicative life span. In contrast, we find that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) deficient for SIRT1, a mammalian Sir2 homolog, have dramatically increased resistance to replicative senescence. Extended replicative life span of SIRT1-deficient MEFs correlates with enhanced proliferative capacity under conditions of chronic, sublethal oxidative stress. In this context, SIRT1-deficient cells fail to normally upregulate either the p19(ARF) senescence regulator or its downstream target p53. However, upon acute DNA damage or oncogene expression, SIRT1-deficient cells show normal p19(ARF) induction and cell cycle arrest. Together, our findings demonstrate an unexpected SIRT1 function in promoting replicative senescence in response to chronic cellular stress and implicate p19(ARF) as a downstream effector in this pathway.
Two-bead microrheology: modeling protocols.

Microbead rheology maps the fluctuations of beads immersed in soft matter to viscoelastic properties of the surrounding medium. In this paper, we present modeling extensions of the seminal results of Mason and Weitz [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 1250 (1995)] for a single bead and of Crocker et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 888 (2000)] and Levine and Lubensky [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 1774 (2000)] for two beads. We formulate the linear response analysis for two beads so that the model equations retain the local diffusive properties of each bead (through the memory kernel of the shell or depletion zone surrounding each bead) and the nonlocal dynamic moduli of the medium separating the beads (through the memory kernel that transmits fluctuations of one bead to the other). We then derive a $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}3$ invertible system of equations relating: an isolated bead's autocorrelations, the autocorrelations and cross-correlations of two coupled beads; and the shell radius surrounding each bead, the memory kernels of the shell, and of the medium between the two beads.
Intervention with Siblings of Children with Developmental Disabilities from Economically Disadvantaged Families

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based intervention for economically disadvantaged African American children who had siblings with a developmental disability. The children were randomly divided into two groups: one group was involved in an after-school program designed to support siblings of children with developmental disabilities and provide a positive environment with rewarding experiences; the other group did not participate in the program. The socioemotional functioning of the two groups was compared. The results indicated that the group who participated in the after-school program showed significantly improved socioemotional adjustment compared to the other group. Implications for providing services to families of children with developmental disabilities are discussed.
Water Immersion-Induced Skin Wrinkling Test in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

An 11-year-old boy was referred for right leg pain that had lasted for 3 months. No history of trauma was documented, and infectious, vascular, and neoplastic evaluation was unremarkable. Physical examination revealed atrophy of the right lower limb, and the right foot was cold and pale. He demonstrated allodynia with light tactile stimulation. He also complained of decreased heat and cold sensation and decreased sweating of the affected limb. A water immersion-induced skin wrinkling test was performed. Compared with the left toes, decreased skin wrinkling of the right toes was observed after immersion in warm water (104.0 F) for 20 minutes (Fig 1). Thermal tomography of the right lower limb showed a lower surface temperature (Fig 2). In the absence of vascular disorder, the result suggested peripheral sympathetic dysfunction of the affected limb. A diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome was made. Trigger point injection provided some relief for the pain, and physical therapy was commenced.
Hospital nurses’ comfort in and frequency of delivering heart failure self-care education:

Background:Nurses are expected to deliver pre-discharge heart failure education in 8 content areas: what heart failure means, medications, diet, activity, weight monitoring, fluid restriction, signs/symptoms of worsening condition and signs/symptoms of fluid overload.Aims:To examine nurses’ comfort in and frequency of delivering heart failure education to hospitalized patients.Methods:A multicenter, descriptive, correlational design and questionnaire methods were used. General linear models were performed to assess associations of comfort in and frequency of delivering patient education after controlling for significant nurse characteristics.Results:Of 118 nurses, mean age was 39 ± 11.6 years, 61.9% worked on cardiac units and 58.3% spent <15 min providing pre-discharge heart failure education. Comfort in delivering education was highest for weight monitoring and lowest for activity, and was associated with nurse age (p=0.019), years in profession (p=0.004) and minutes providing pre-discharge education (p...
Modulation of ovarian function in female dogs immunized with bovine luteinizing hormone receptor.

Adult female dogs were immunized with 0.5 mg bovine luteinizing hormone receptor (LH-R) encapsulated in a silastic subdermal implant and subsequently with four intramuscular booster injections of 0.1 mg LH-R each. Circulating LH-R antibody was detected in the sera 3 weeks post-implant. The appearance of LH-R antibody was associated with a decline in the serum progesterone concentrations to a range of 0-0.5 ng/ml until day 365 in the immunized dogs in comparison with a range of 5-10 ng in the control animals, suggesting a lack of ovulation and corpus luteum function in immunized dogs. The immunized dogs did not show signs of 'standing heat' and failed to ovulate when induced by LH-RH challenge. Serum oestradiol levels, however, remained in the range of 30-40 pg/ml in both the immunized and the control dogs. With the decline in the antibody titres, the hormonal profile and vaginal cytology returned to a fertile state and the dogs exhibited signs of 'standing heat', as well as vaginal bleeding. Dogs immunized with LH-R did not show any serious metabolic, local or systemic adverse effects. The hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal axis remained intact as indicated by little difference in pituitary LH levels between control and immunized animals, and by the release of LH by LH-RH challenge. These studies demonstrate that active immunization of female dogs with LH-R could immuno-modulate ovarian function to cause a reversible state of infertility. It may be postulated that, due to extensive interspecies homology, a recombinant LH receptor-based immunocontraceptive vaccine may also be effective in other vertebrates.
Catatonia in Limbic Encephalitis Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy (P5.105)

OBJECTIVE: Describe the clinical presentation and treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in a patient with limbic encephalitis-related catatonia. BACKGROUND: Limbic encephalitis is a disorder characterized by acute-subacute onset of cognitive impairment, psychiatric disturbances, or seizures with evidence of medial temporal lobe and limbic system pathology. Onconeuronal and cell surface antigen antibodies have been identified, but seronegative cases have been reported. In paraneoplastic cases, there may be improvement when malignancy is treated early. Autoimmune limbic encephalitis is treated immunologically, with methylprednisolone, IVIG, or plasmapheresis. DESIGN/METHODS: We report the case of a 74 year old previously healthy female who presented to our hospital for sudden onset of expressive aphasia. During her hospitalization, she progressed to akinetic mutism with paratonia. MRI Brain with contrast was significant for subtle bilateral medial temporal lobe FLAIR hyperintensities without enhancement. FDG-PET Brain revealed prominent bilateral medial temporal lobe hypermetabolism. Continuous video EEG showed generalized period pattern and slowing, but no seizures. Malignancy screening and infectious workup were negative. No metabolic abnormalities were identified. CSF WBC, protein and glucose were normal. IgG index was elevated, but serological and CSF assays were unrevealing for paraneoplastic autoantibodies and autoimmune disease. RESULTS: Initially the patient was treated IV methylprednisolone for three days without improvement. For catatonia, she had a trial of lorazepam which resulted in lethargy; methylphenidate caused a slight improvement, speaking single words. Thereafter she was treated with IVIG without improvement. Two months later, she was admitted to psychiatric hospital with akinetic mutism and treated with ECT. She improved to speaking in complete sentences and eating independently. CONCLUSIONS: This is a case of seronegative limbic encephalitis presenting as catatonia that was refractory to steroids and IVIG. However, the patient responded to ECT. In refractory cases of catatonia in limbic encephalitis, ECT could be considered for symptomatic treatment. Disclosure: Dr. Mente has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kim has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rae-Grant has received personal compensation for activities with Novartis, Biogen Idec, and Teva Neurosciences as a speaker.
Byzantine Fault Tolerant Event Stream Processing for Autonomic Computing

Event stream processing has been used to construct many mission-critical event-driven applications, such as business intelligence applications and collaborative intrusion detection applications. In this paper, we argue that event stream processing is also a good fit for autonomic computing and describe how to design such a system that is resilient to both hardware failures and malicious attacks. Based on a comprehensive threat analysis of event stream processing, we propose a set of lightweight mechanisms that help achieve Byzantine fault tolerant event processing for autonomic computing. The mechanisms consist of voting at the event consumers and an on-demand state synchronization mechanism triggered when an event consumer fails to collect a quorum of matching decision messages. We also introduce an evidence-based safe-guarding mechanism that prevents a faulty event consumer from inducing unnecessary rounds of state synchronization.
Transcription Factor GATA-2 Is Required for Proliferation/Survival of Early Hematopoietic Cells and Mast Cell Formation, But Not for Erythroid and Myeloid Terminal Differentiation

The zinc-finger transcription factor GATA-2 plays a critical role in maintaining the pool of early hematopoietic cells. To define its specific functions in the proliferation, survival, and differentiation of hematopoietic cells, we analyzed the hematopoietic potential of GATA-2-/- cells in in vitro culture systems for proliferation and maintenance of uncommitted progenitors or differentiation of specific lineages. From a two-step in vitro differentiation assay of embryonic stem cells and in vitro culture of yolk sac cells, we demonstrate that GATA-2 is required for the expansion of multipotential hematopoietic progenitors and the formation of mast cells, but dispensable for the terminal differentiation of erythroid cells and macrophages. The rare GATA-2-/- multipotential progenitors that survive proliferate poorly and generate small colonies with extensive cell death, implying that GATA-2 may play a role in both the proliferation and survival of early hematopoietic cells. To explore possible mechanisms resulting in the hematopoietic defects of GATA-2-/- cells, we interbred mutant mouse strains to assess the effects of p53 loss on the behavior of GATA-2-/- hematopoietic cells. Analysis of GATA-2-/-/p53-/- compound-mutant embryos shows that the absence of p53 partially restores the number of total GATA-2-/- hematopoietic cells, and therefore suggests a potential link between GATA-2 and p53 pathways.
Koineización e historia: la sincronía, ventana de la diacronía

En este trabajo analizo, por medio de paralelismos, que sucede en dos situaciones de contacto dialectal en la historia del espanol americano. La primera ocurrio durante la conquista y los primeros anos de la colonizacion espanola en el Nuevo Continente, cuando estuvieron en contacto hablantes de varios dialectos peninsulares y uno vernaculo, el espaiiol americano. La segunda, es una situacion actual de convivencia de dialectos en la parte central del sur de California, donde coexiste el espaiiol chicano con varios dialectos latinoamericanos. Me centro en la formacion y expansion de dos nuevos dialectos vernaculos en areas geograficas distintas y en etapas de la historia diferentes con el objeto de encontrar generalizaciones relevantes.
The neural bases of feeling understood and not understood

Past research suggests that feeling understood enhances both personal and social well-being. However, little research has examined the neurobiological bases of feeling understood and not understood. We addressed these gaps by experimentally inducing felt understanding and not understanding as participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results demonstrated that feeling understood activated neural regions previously associated with reward and social connection (i.e. ventral striatum and middle insula), while not feeling understood activated neural regions previously associated with negative affect (i.e. anterior insula). Both feeling understood and not feeling understood activated different components of the mentalizing system (feeling understood: precuneus and temporoparietal junction; not feeling understood: dorsomedial prefrontal cortex). Neural responses were associated with subsequent feelings of social connection and disconnection and were modulated by individual differences in rejection sensitivity. Thus, this study provides insight into the psychological processes underlying feeling understood (or not) and may suggest new avenues for targeted interventions that amplify the benefits of feeling understood or buffer individuals from the harmful consequences of not feeling understood.
hiREP: Hierarchical Reputation Management for Peer-to-Peer Systems

The open feature of peer-to-peer systems invites the spread of the malfunctioning data. Additional reputation systems are constructed to guarantee the data authenticity. One challenge in these systems is how to store and spread trust value securely and efficiently. Devoid of a central control system, most of the recently proposed P2P reputation systems adopt flooding based polling mechanisms, which need to inquire into every node in the system. The polling mechanisms create heavy traffic, do not guarantee voter anonymity, and make it hard for peers to filter out the fake trust values. In this paper, we propose a reputation management system - hiREP to address these problems. A peer in hiREP system only needs to contact a small group of reputation agents to obtain the trust values. hiREP guarantees data authenticity and voter anonymity, and also makes it easier for peers to filter out fake trust values.
Predictors of Outcome of Epilepsy Surgery: Multivariate Analysis with Validation

Summary: Purpose: To identify predictors of outcome of epilepsy surgery, using the Duke experience, applying multivariate analysis and validation techniques. To compare the results of different modeling algorithms. Few previous studies have reported multivariate analysis, or validated their results. Methods: Records of 116 patients with focal resections for intractable epilepsy from January 1, 1980 through June 30, 1989 were analyzed. Primary outcome variable was patient's condition in second postoperative year: seizure free (except auras), or not. Three predictors of biologic interest were specified a priori for confirmatory analysis. Additional predictors were considered within exploratory analysis. Logistic regression techniques were applied to assess relations with pre-and postoperative predictors. Internal validity was assessed by repeated random selection of training and validation samples, used in conjunction with bootstrap techniques. Results: By using multivariate analysis, percentage of epileptic EEG activity arising from the site of resection and either imaging localization or lack of use of invasive monitoring were the only statistically significant preoperative predictors for good outcome at 2 years. Presence of seizures'within 2. months of surgery was a significant postoperative predictor for a poor outcome. Adding more variables did not result in significantly improved models. Use of validation techniques reduced the degree of optimism in the predictive value of the models. Conclusions: Pooling of data from multiple institutions is needed to attain the large sample sizes needed for multivariate analysis with validation.
Implementation of a Comprehensive Pain Program: Breaking Barriers in Managing Chronic Nonmalignant Pain

Implementation of a comprehensive pain management program faces numerous s barriers including the time in tensive work-up and treatment of patients with chronic non malignant pain. A task force at the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System identified this barrier and implemented a program that addressed the multi dimensional needs of the chronic non malignant pain patient and the primary care providers managing their pain. Elements leading to successful implementation included senior administrative support, systems to in crease primary care providers' knowledge base, realistic work load and on going support from an inter disciplinary team. This paper describes the methods used to implement a comprehensive pain management program that meets the new Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations pain standards and the Veterans Health Administration Pain Initiative. Administrative changes, provider education, and development of algorithms for treatment of chronic non malignant pain...
Water Vapor Permeability of an Edible, Fatty Acid, Bilayer Film

A bilayer film consisting of stearic and palmitic acids as one layer and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose as the other was prepared. The permeability of this film to water vapor was tested under a variety of conditions involving film composition, temperature and relative humidity. This film exhibited permeability values (g · mil w m−2· day−1· mm Hg−1) of 0.5 at 40°C 0.3 at 25°C 1.7 at 5°C, and 6.0 at −19°C. This film would be expected to perform well at relative humidities below 90% and temperatures within the range of 40°C to -19°C.
DISFLUENCIES IN COMPREHENDING ARGUMENTATIVE TEXTS

In two experiments, we examine university students' ability to comprehend authentic argumentative texts and factors that influence their application of this skill. Participants read several relatively lengthy arguments and identified the main claim and reasons. Experiment 1 shows that participants are not skilled at identifying key elements from an argumentative text (only 30% accuracy). The performance of participants of all skill levels was aided by explicit markers to signal the critical elements. Claim and reason identification errors showed interesting patterns such as identifying either an uncontroversial statement of the theme or a counter-argument as the claim. Based on the results from Experiment 1, a short argument tutorial was created and tested in Experiment 2. The tutorial was helpful when readers were reading simply to comprehend but not when they were reading to rebut. The results point to the need for further instruction in argument comprehension skills and the need for additional research...
Diffuse glutamine synthetase overexpression restricted to areas of peliosis in a β-catenin-activated hepatocellular adenoma: a potential pitfall in glutamine synthetase interpretation

Hepatocellular adenomas have recently been classified into four subtypes based on molecular findings: hepatocyte nuclear factor 1α (HNF1α) inactivated, inflammatory/telangiectatic, β-catenin activated, and unclassifiable. β-catenin-activated adenomas have the potential for malignant transformation and are thus important to recognize. Diffuse glutamine synthetase immunohistochemical positivity has been shown to be a reliable surrogate marker for β-catenin activation, though variations in staining patterns may be difficult to interpret. We report a case of a peliotic adenoma that was morphologically consistent with a β-catenin wild-type hepatocellular adenoma but harbored a β-catenin mutation by molecular analysis. The tumor lacked nuclear β-catenin positivity and demonstrated a hitherto undescribed pattern of glutamine synthetase overexpression restricted to areas of peliosis with mostly negative staining in non-peliotic areas. This pattern was initially interpreted as physiologic and may represent a potential pitfall in glutamine synthetase interpretation.
Flow Control Opportunities for Propulsion Systems

The advancement of technology in gas turbine engines used for aerospace propulsion has been focused on achieving significant performance improvements. At the system level, these improvements are expressed in metrics such as engine thrust-to-weight ratio and system and component efficiencies. The overall goals are directed at reducing engine weight, fuel burn, emissions, and noise. At a component level, these goals translate into aggressive designs of each engine component well beyond the state of the art.