cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surgical reconstruction of posterior tibial tendon dysfunction: Prospective comparison of flexor digitorum longus substitution combined with lateral column lengthening or medial displacement calcaneal osteotomy

Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) may require surgical intervention when nonoperative measures fail. Different methods of bony reconstruction may supplement tendon substitution. This study compares two types of bony procedures used to reinforce reconstruction of the posterior tibial tendon-the lateral column lengthening (LCL), and the medial displacement calcaneal osteotomy (MDCO). Twenty patients with PTTD were evaluated before and after scheduled reconstruction comprised of either flexor digitorum longus (FDL) substitution combined with MDCO (MDCO group, 14 patients) or FDL substitution with LCL fusion or osteotomy (LCL group, 6 patients). Foot/ankle kinematics and temporal-spatial parameters were analyzed using the Milwaukee Foot Model, and results were compared to a previously evaluated normal population of 25 patients. Post-operatively, both patient groups demonstrated significantly improved stride length, cadence and walking speed, as well as improved hindfoot and forefoot position in the sagittal plane. The LCL group also demonstrated greater heel inversion. All post-operative subjects revealed significant improvement in the talo-MT1 angle in the A/P and lateral planes, calcaneal pitch and medial cuneiform-MT5 height. Surgical reconstruction of PTTD with either the LCL or MDCO shows comparable improvements in gait parameters, with better heel inversion seen with the LCL, but improved 1st ray plantarflexion and varus with the MDCO. Both procedures demonstrated comparable improvements in radiographic measurements.
Analysis and Design of High Performance, Low Power Multiple Ports Register Files

This paper talks about how to analyze and design high performance low power multiple-ports register file circuitry, which is mostly used on mu-P and DSP chip. Firstly, in this paper, we discuss basic concept of register files. Secondly we introduce the different types of register file architecture. Then we analyze and compare design trade-offs among those approaches. With that, we decide the suitable register file circuitry for our application. Then, we start to analyze the low power design style for each block. Finally, we achieve design goal of low power and high performance register file circuit compare to some other designs. It is fabricated by TSMC 0.13mum 1p8m 1.2v process. Simulation result shows the design has the fine 0.013 mW/MHz-port
Progressive morphologic changes in electrolytic brain lesions.

Abstract Lesions were produced in the caudate nucleus and in the hypothalamus of rats by passing anodal direct current through sterotaxically inserted electrodes. The rats were killed at various intervals from 1 hour to 16 weeks after operation and the changes in the microscopic appearance, configuration, and size of the lesions were studied. The main finding was that the apparent lesion size increases during the first postoperative day as cells fixed by the current disintegrate and then decreases progressively after the first postoperative week with contraction of the central cavity and disappearance of neuroglia cells.
RESTORATION OF LAKE BALLINGER

ABSTRACT Lake Ballinger is a 40 ha (100 acres) eutrophic lake in the city of Mountlake Terrace, Wash. The lake's very poor water quality characteristics have been brought about by excessive nutrient loadings from the watershed and internal cycling of phosphorus during periods of hypolimnetic anoxia. A two-phase restoration project was undertaken to improve the water quality of the lake. Phase I was the restoration of Hall Creek (the major surface water inlet) by establishing two sedimentation basins and rehabilitating the stream bank. Phase II was the construction of a hypolimnetic injection/withdrawal system to enhance the dissolved oxygen levels in that strata and remove phosphorus-rich hypolimnetic waters. The internal cycling of phosphorus has been reduced from an annual loading of 109 kg in 1980 to 17 kg in 1984. Data analysis indicates that further watershed management efforts are needed to control the increasing loading of nutrients into Lake Ballinger and achieve a long-term improvement in the lak...
Disability and Institutional Change A Human Variation Perspective on Overcoming Oppression

For at least three decades, disability rights activists have challenged exclusionary and stigmatizing social processes that constrain people with disabilities, an effort highlighted by the 1990 enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, all environmental barriers to participation by people with disabilities may not be eliminated by a policy strategy that focuses on discrimination and fails to address many forms of oppression that do not fall under legal definitions of discrimination. The human variation model of disability defines disability as the systematic mismatch between physical and mental attributes of individuals and the present (but not the potential) ability of social institutions to accommodate those attributes. Although rights-based approaches remain necessary to overcome the barriers facing many Americans with disabilities, a policy strategy that builds on a human variation approach may further efforts to eliminate disability oppression.
The Use of Superimposed Imaginary E. M. Fs. Currents, and Fluxes in the Solution of Alternating-Current Problems

The solution of some advanced problems on alternating currents leads to rather complicated trigonometric transformations. Let now, in addition to the real sinusoidal currents and voltages, certain imaginary currents and voltages be assumed to exist in the same circuit. These imaginary quantities may be selected of such a magnitude and phase that together with the real quantities they will give simpler mathematical expressions than the real quantities alone. In the final results the real and the imaginary terms can be readily separated, because an imaginary voltage cannot produce a real current, and vice versa. This method is based on some remarkably simple properties of certain mathematical functions which contain a real and an imaginary term, as compared to the properties of similar functions contaning real variables only. The following two analogs may make this method clearer. A. In order to make extremely fine platinum wire, a piece of heavier platinum wire is coated with silver and then passed successively through several dies until it is reduced to the smallest practicable size. Then the tubular coating of silver is dissolved in nitric acid. It would not be possible to draw platinum alone to the same size. Here the use of silver is analogous to that of imaginary quantities in alternating currents. Silver is carried along in the operations and separated in the end. B. In tthhede manufacture of common ether, sulphuric acid is combined with alcohol and carried through certain operations.
Software engineering technology watch

Predicting the evolution of software engineering technology is, at best, a dubious proposition; most typically, it is a frustrating exercise in disappointment and anxiety. It is not difficult to see why: the evolution of software technology is fast paced, and is determined by a dizzying array of factors, many of them outside the arena of software engineering, and most of them cannot be identified, let alone predicted, with any significant advance notice. In this paper, we briefly discuss our first ventures in this domain, and some (very) preliminary conclusions and resolutions.
The psychosocial adjustment to illness scale (PAIS)

The current report introduces the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) and its self-report version the PAIS-SR. The PAIS is a multi-dimensional, semi-structured clinical interview designed to assess the psychological and social adjustment of medical patients, or members of their immediate families, to the patient's illness. The report reviews and discusses the concepts that form the foundation for the development of the PAIS. In terms of psychometric characteristics, both internal consistency and interrater reliabilities are presented and a series of predictive and convergent validity studies are reviewed. Six normative illness groups are described and discussed, and contributions to construct validity for the scale from factor analytic and other studies of internal structure are presented.
Learning impairment in rats by N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists

2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV, icv) phencyclidine (PCP, ip) and scopolamine (sc) dose-dependently disrupted short term working memory in radial maze. These drugs injected before, but not after training attenuated retention of long term memory in passive avoidance task. A relation of PCP action to its antagonism at NMDA receptors may be suggested.
Stochastic Recruitment Control of Large Ensemble Systems With Limited Feedback

A new approach to controlling the ensemble behavior of many identical agents is presented in this paper, inspired by motor recruitment in skeletal muscles. A group of finite state agents responds randomly to broadcast commands, each producing a state-dependent output that is measured in aggregate. Despite the lack of feedback signal and initial state information, this control architecture allows a single central controller to direct the aggregate output of the ensemble toward a desired value. First, the system is modeled as an ensemble of statistically independent, identically distributed, binary-state Markov processes with state transition probabilities designated by a central controller. Second, steady-state behavior, convergence rate, and variance of the aggregate output, i.e., the total number of recruited agents, are analyzed, and design trade-offs in terms of accuracy, convergence speed, and the number of spurious transitions are made. Third, a limited feedback signal, only detecting if the output has reached a goal, is added to the system, and the recruitment controller is designed as a stochastic shortest path problem. Optimal convergence rate and associated transition probabilities are obtained. Finally, the theoretical results are verified and demonstrated with both numerical simulation and control of an artificial muscle actuator made up of 60 binary shape memory alloy motor units.
Cerebral preconditioning and ischaemic tolerance

Adaptation is one of physiology's fundamental tenets, operating not only at the level of species, as Darwin proposed, but also at the level of tissues, cells, molecules and, perhaps, genes. During recent years, stroke neurobiologists have advanced a considerable body of evidence supporting the hypothesis that, with experimental coaxing, the mammalian brain can adapt to injurious insults such as cerebral ischaemia to promote cell survival in the face of subsequent injury. Establishing this protective phenotype in response to stress depends on a coordinated response at the genomic, molecular, cellular and tissue levels. Here, I summarize our current understanding of how 'preconditioning' stimuli trigger a cerebroprotective state known as cerebral 'ischaemic tolerance'.
Post-based collaborative filtering for personalized tag recommendation

Social tagging provides a collaborative approach for information organization. The tags created by users in social tagging system not only contain rich semantic information about the described web objects, but also provide a window for information providers to learn a user's information interests and preferences. However, the tags created by a user for a document are always limited in terms of quantity and quality. Tag recommendation, especially personalized tag recommendation has been proposed as an approach to address this problem. In this paper, we develop a post-based collaborative filtering framework for personalized tag recommendation based on the tripartite social tagging network. The proposed method is evaluated and compared with a range of methods based on a real world social tagging dataset. The F-score and NDCG calculated to evaluate the recommendation results. The experimental results show that the proposed method can always generate the best results compared to other methods.
Quantitative GLC Analysis of Plasma Cholesterol

A GLC method is described for the quantitative analysis of cholesterol in plasma. The method was applied to the analysis of total cholesterol in 152 human plasma samples and compared with the results obtained by a standard automated colorimetric procedure on the same samples with values ranging from 100 to 472 mg %. The results of the two methods when subjected to a linear regression analysis yielded a sample correlation coefficient of 0.969 and a standard error of the estimate of ± 15.2. The precision of the GLC method was determined by repeated total cholesterol analysis of the plasma of three human subjects. Similar results were obtained with all three. One of these had a mean total cholesterol of 172 mg % in 19 determinations with a standard error of the mean of ± 1.0. Results with a single sample may be obtained in less than 2 hr, and one technician may obtain the results on 40 samples in 1 day using manual techniques. The GLC procedure clearly separates cholesterol from desmosterol and lanosterol. Adjustments in the volume and type of solvents allow quantitative determination of as little as 1.0 μg/sample. Evidence indicates that the method may be used for determining nonesterified cholesterol in the plasma.
Lysosomes and lysosomal enzyme activity in the regenerating planarian; evidence in support of dedifferentiation.

The lysosomal enzyme acid phosphatase has been shown to increase in activity rapidly during the first 12 hours of cephalic regeneration in the planarian Dugesia dorotocephala. This increase was correlated with the cytological demonstration of lysosomes in dedifferentiating cells and the electron microscopical cytochemical localization of acid phosphatase in lysosomes. These findings are interpreted as being consistent with the dedifferentiation hypothesis for the origin of blastema cells.
History of the 13-inch photographic telescope and its use since the discovery of Pluto

Abstract Immediately after the discovery of Neptune, the possibility of a more distant planet became a valid field of interest. Stimulated by numerous unsuccessful approaches by others, Percival Lowell became interested in the problem. The background that led to the development of several observational programs based on his early theoretical study of all the observed comet orbits in Galle's catalog is outlined. From these experiences, Lowell's successors specified and constructed the 13-inch photographic search telescope. The use of the telescope for comet and minor planet work following the discovery of Pluto by Clyde W. Tombaugh in 1930 is described, followed by a summary of a 20-year program of proper motion studies by H. L. Giclas, utilizing the early planet search plates as first-epoch observations. Ancillary equipment developed to facilitate observations and reductions of measurement is described.
Diverse osteoclastogenesis of bone marrow from mandible versus long bone.

Background: Mandibles (MB) and maxillae possess unique metabolic and functional properties and demonstrate discrete responses to homeostatic, mechanical, hormonal, and developmental stimuli. Osteogenic potential of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) differs between MB versus long bones (LB). Furthermore, MB- versus LB-derived osteoclasts (OCs) have disparate functional properties. This study explores the osteoclastogenic potential of rat MB versus LB marrow in vitro and in vivo under basal and stimulated conditions.Methods: Bone marrow from rat MB and LB was cultured in osteoblastic or osteoclastic differentiation media. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, resorption pit assays, and real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed. Additionally, osmotic mini-pumps were implanted in animals, mandibles and tibiae were isolated, and multinucleated cells (MNCs) were measured.Results: MB versus LB marrow cultures that were differentiated with receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RA...
The synthesis of DL-3,3-difluoroglutamic acid from a 3-oxoprolinol derivative

Abstract DL-3,3-Difluoroglutamic acid was synthesized from a masked 3-hydroxyprolinol, 6-hydroxy-1-aza-3-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]octan-2-one, in eight steps. The described synthetic route expands the utility of fluoroproline derivatives as precursors of fluoroglutamic acids.
Dopaminergic amacrine neurons of rat retinas with photoreceptor degeneration continue to respond to light.

Abstract Exposure of albino rats to continuous light of low intensity (350–700 lux) for 4 months produces massive degeneration of the photoreceptor segments and cell bodies of the outer nuclear layer of the retina. Only a few heterochromatic, receptor cell nuclei remain, and no photoreceptor segments are present. On the other hand, the inner layers of these retinas remain morphologically intact. The inner nuclear layer of the normal rat retina contains a group of amacrine cells which contain the putative neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA). Short term exposure to light (30 or 60 min) markedly stimulates the rate of DA turnover in these cells in normal, previously dark-adapted rats. Such enhancement of the rate of neurotransmitter turnover in the brain has been correlated with an increase in nerve impulse activity. The present study was undertaken to determine if the dopaminergic amacrine cells of the inner nuclear layer were still responsive to light in the retinas of rats whose photoreceptors were previously destroyed by long term exposure to continuous illumination. One week before sacrifice, the animals which had been housed in continuous light for 4 months were returned to normal 14 hr light: 10 hr dark lighting conditions. At the end of this time they and a group of control rats which had been housed in cyclic lighting conditions for the entire 4 months were dark adapted for approximately 15 hr. Then the rate of retinal DA turnover was estimated from the depletion of DA following inhibition of DA synthesis by α methyl para-tyrosine. The turnover of DA in the dark-adapted retinas of the control rats and of experimental rats with photoreceptor degeneration was dramatically enhanced 2–4 fold by short term exposure (up to 1 hr) to light. Since rats are nocturnal and avoid light, we tested the light aversion of another group of rats which had been exposed to light for 4 months and then returned to cyclic lighting conditions for one week. These rats and control animals which had been maintained in cyclic lighting conditions for 4 months both chose the dark side of a light-dark box over 80% of the time. This behavior of the rats with retinal degeneration was taken as a crude indication of their continued ability to detect light. The light-induced increase in DA activity in retinas with photoreceptor degeneration may play a role in the continued ability of these rats to perceive light.
SEX RATIO AND SEX EXPRESSION IN THE CULTIVATED CUCURBITS

Sex expression in the Cucurbitaceae offers many interesting possibilities to the geneticist. In this comparatively large family practically everv type of sex expression is represented from the dioecious species such as Bryonia dioica to those with hermaphroditic flowers represenfted by one species of Melotheria. According to Yampolsky (I922) the monoecious expression is the most common. the dioecious next, with hermaphroditism very rare. During the course of a genetic investigation with the various species comprising the cultivated Cucurbitaceae, the writer has had under observation numerous commercial varieties. In connection with the other aspects of the investigation records were kept upon the sex expression of the different varieties. It was also thought desirable to learn something of the sex ratio, or the ratio of the staminate to pistillate flowers, and to obtain a record of the seasonal distribution of these flowers. This type of work is of particular interest at present in view of the recent theory of Correns (I928) as to sex determination in plants. Data upon the sex ratio and sex expression of some of the different groups of plants which have not been thoroughly investigated from their sex standpoint will tend to bring out more clearly the merits or demerits of this theory. As this work is primarily concerned with sex expression it may be well to define at this time exactly what is meant by the terminology employed in designating a particular type of sex expression:
The significance of elevated troponin T in patients with nondialysis-dependent renal insufficiency: a validation with coronary angiography.

Background: Patients with elevated troponin are at high risk of adverse outcomes, future cardiac events, and are more likely to have hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenoses. Elevated troponin T (cTnT) in patients with poor renal function portends a poor prognosis; however, findings of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) by coronary angiography have not been demonstrated in patients with poor renal function and elevated cTnT. Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to correlate the angiographic findings of patients with elevated cTnT with respect to renal function in patients with nondialysis-dependent renal insufficiency. Methods: We retrospectively identified 342 patients with elevated cTnT who underwent coronary angiography in the setting of acute coronary syndrome. Patients were divided into poor ( 40 ml/min) renal function by measuring their glomerular filtration rate. Our primary outcome was CAD stenosis, defined as epicardial stenosis ≥ 70%. Secondary outcomes were rates of contrast nephropathy, initiation of hemodialysis, revascularization, length of stay (LOS), and in-hospital mortality. Results: There was no significant difference in the prevalence of CAD between patients who had positive cTnT with poor renal function versus patients with positive cTnT and normal renal function (87.1 vs. 89.7%, p = 0.54). This finding persisted after stratifying by age. Patients with impaired renal function had a higher mortality, longer LOS, and a higher rate contrast nephropathy requiring hemodialysis. Conclusion: The association between elevated cTnT and significant CAD stenosis does not vary with renal function.
Copper(II) adsorption by activated carbons from pecan shells: effect of oxygen level during activation.

Agricultural by-products represent a considerable quantity of harvested commodity crops. The use of by-products as precursors for the production of widely used adsorbents, such as activated carbons, may impart a value-added component of the overall biomass harvested. Our objective in this paper is to show how the partial oxidation of phosphoric acid-impregnated pecan shells resulted in activated carbons with different affinities for a typical metal ion, copper(II), in aqueous sorption studies. The oxygen level was varied during activation by altering the sweep gas (air) flow rate in the furnace. Surface area and micropore volume of the produced carbon did not vary significantly with degree of oxidation, while the surface charge and the adsorption capacity were strongly dependent on the oxidative conditions. Surface area functional groups of C O, aromatics, and phosphorus were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. The results show that the yield of activated carbon product was higher in the more oxygen-deprived atmosphere but that the product had a lower affinity for adsorbing copper from an aqueous solution. The carbon with the highest adsorptive capacity was produced by activation in approximately 14% oxygen atmosphere, yielding adsorption values of 0.97 and 1.3 mmol of copper(II) per gram of carbon when the carbon had been in contact with a copper(II) solution with initial concentration of 10 and 20 mM of copper, respectively.
Review of: Fantasy and Belief: Alternative Religions, Popular Narratives and Digital Cultures, by D. Kirby

Bristol, CN: Equinox Publishing, 194 pp. $99.95 (hardcover).How are various forms of media used as tools of human identity and practice? This question, vital as it already is, becomes doubly so whe...
A Novel Algorithm for Mining Association Rules in Wireless Ad Hoc Sensor Networks

In this paper, we propose a comprehensive framework for mining wireless ad hoc sensor networks (WASNs), which is able to extract patterns regarding the sensors' behaviors. The main goal of determining behavioral patterns is to use them to generate rules that will improve the WASN's quality of service by participating in the resource management process or compensating for the undesired side effects of wireless communication. The proposed framework consists of 1) a formal definition of sensor behavioral patterns and sensor association rules, 2) a novel representation structure that we refer to as the positional lexicographic tree (PLT) that is able to compress the data gathered for the mining process and thus allows the fast and efficient mining of sensor behavioral patterns, and 3) a distributed data extraction mechanism to prepare the data required for mining sensor behavioral patterns. Several experimental studies have been conducted to evaluate our PLT structure and our proposed data extraction algorithms for mining wireless sensor networks.
Twinned crystals and anomalous phasing

Merohedral or pseudomerohedral twinning of crystals cannot be identified from inspection of the diffraction patterns. Several methods for the identification of twinning and the estimation of the twin fraction are suitable for macro­molecular crystals and all are based on the statistical properties of the measured diffraction intensities. If the crystal twin fraction is estimated and is not too close to 0.5, the diffraction data can be detwinned; that is, related to the individual crystal specimen. However, the detwinning procedure invariably introduces additional inaccuracies to the estimated intensities, which substantially increase when the twin fraction approaches 0.5. In some cases, a crystal structure can be solved with the original twinned data by standard techniques such as molecular replacement, multiple isomorphous replacement or multiwavelength anomalous diffraction. Test calculations on data collected from a twinned crystal of gpD, the bacteriophage λ capsid protein, show that the single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) method can be used to solve its structure even if the data set corresponds to a perfectly twinned crystal with a twin fraction of 0.5.
Mechanical Principles of a Self-Similar Hierarchical Structure

Natural materials such as bone, shell, tendon and the attachment system of gecko exhibit multiscale hierarchical structures. Here we summarize some recent studies on an idealized self-similar hierarchical model of bone and bone-like materials, and discuss mechanical principles of self-similar hierarchy, in particular to show how the characteristic length, aspect ratio and density at each hierarchical level can be selected to achieve flaw tolerance and superior stiffness and toughness across scale.
Pulsations in sieve‐tray and bubble‐cap distillation towers

A periodic pulsation of the frothing mass of liquid and vapor on a sieve tray and a bubblecap tray is reported. An equation is proposed which relates the frequency of the oscillation to the velocity of sound, the physical dimensions of the systems, and the flow rates of the gas and liquid. The equation is a modification of the acoustical analogy to the classical Helmholtz resonance in electrical circuits having both capacitance and inductance. The oscillation is shown to decrease back-mixing on the tray, and thus to result in an increase in the Murphree vapor efficiency.
Object classification from aerial visual imagery

Aerial oil pipeline inspection is a dangerous endeavor in the current practice, where a pilot flying in a general aviation class aircraft flies slowly at low altitudes while concurrently looking at the ground for pipeline hazards with the unaided eye; high pilot workload in a dangerous low-speed, low-altitude environment results in an unacceptable number of accidents and loss of life each year. Automation of image acquisition and threat recognition has the potential to reduce pilot workload, improving the safety of the pilots and increasing efficiency. Towards these goals, this paper describes an image classification architecture and algorithm that utilizes several classifiers on different features extracted from the image to automate the threat detection process. The resulting classifier meets the requirement of greater than 80% accuracy in classification. The results will be discussed, and improvements will be proposed for continued research.
Sparse Estimation with Structured Dictionaries

In the vast majority of recent work on sparse estimation algorithms, performance has been evaluated using ideal or quasi-ideal dictionaries (e.g., random Gaussian or Fourier) characterized by unit l2 norm, incoherent columns or features. But in reality, these types of dictionaries represent only a subset of the dictionaries that are actually used in practice (largely restricted to idealized compressive sensing applications). In contrast, herein sparse estimation is considered in the context of structured dictionaries possibly exhibiting high coherence between arbitrary groups of columns and/or rows. Sparse penalized regression models are analyzed with the purpose of finding, to the extent possible, regimes of dictionary invariant performance. In particular, a Type II Bayesian estimator with a dictionary-dependent sparsity penalty is shown to have a number of desirable invariance properties leading to provable advantages over more conventional penalties such as the l1 norm, especially in areas where existing theoretical recovery guarantees no longer hold. This can translate into improved performance in applications such as model selection with correlated features, source localization, and compressive sensing with constrained measurement directions.
CELLULAR REACTIONS TO DEFATTED TUBERCLE BACILLI AND THEIR PRODUCTS

The cellular reactions to defatted tubercle bacilli are complex and like those to heat-killed whole tubercle bacilli. The firmly bound lipid, when removed from these organisms, is non-acid-fast; it contains an hydroxy acid which is acid-fast and a polysaccharide, which is not. This hydroxy acid gives rise to foreign body giant cells and the tissues eventually become infiltrated with eosinophiles. The polysaccharides, both from the defatted bacilli and from the unfilterable lipid, call neutrophiles from the blood stream. The reactions to the unfilterable lipid include those of both its constituents.
CHD5, a tumor suppressor gene deleted from 1p36.31 in neuroblastomas

Background Neuroblastomas are characterized by hemizygous 1p deletions, suggesting that a tumor suppressor gene resides in this region. We previously mapped the smallest region of consistent deletion to a 2-Mb region of 1p36.31 that encodes 23 genes. Based on mutation analysis, expression pattern, and putative function, we identified CHD5 as the best tumor suppressor gene candidate.
Spacing in Colonial Spiders: Effects of Environment and Experience

Colonial orb-weaving spiders from Mexico (Metepeira spp.), show considerable geographic variation and temporal flexibility in group size and social spacing. A series of laboratory studies was conducted to test whether the variation observed in the field is the result of behavioral plasticity, or the result of genetic mechanisms inherent in different populations. Spiders from source populations in desert and moist tropical habitats were collected as eggs and raised in the laboratory under identical controlled conditions. To test for the effect of experience on conspecific tolerance, experiments were conducted rearing tropical and desert spiderlings in isolation and in communal groups. Measurements of spacing in laboratory colonies and observations of web building behavior show significant differences between populations, suggesting genetic differences between them. Desert spiders show an initial effect of isolation on tolerance of conspecifics — greater inter-individual distance that is eventually modified by communal adult experience. Tropical spiders put together after isolation show spacing patterns opposite those observed for desert spiders, and nearest neighbor distances similar to those seen in the communally reared (tropical) groups. These findings support the hypothesis that these populations represent separate species that differ with respect to their level of sociality.
Neoappendicostomy in the management of pediatric fecal incontinence.

Abstract Purpose The Malone appendicostomy, for antegrade enemas, has improved the quality of life for many children with fecal incontinence. In patients whose appendix has been removed, a neo-appendix can be created. We describe our approach and experience with this procedure as an option for surgeons managing children with fecal incontinence. Methods The procedure involves creating a transverse flap of cecum that receives its blood supply by a transverse mesenteric branch. This flap is then tubularized around a feeding tube. The surrounding colon is plicated around the neo-appendix to prevent leakage of stool. The tip of the flap is then anastomosed to the deepest portion of the umbilicus. We reviewed our experience with this procedure, including results and complications. IRB approval was obtained. Results Eighty patients required a neo-appendicostomy. Sixty-six patients (82%) had an anorectal malformation, four had spina bifida, and ten had other diagnoses. The reasons for not having an appendix available included: "incidental" appendectomy (34, 42.5%), use of the appendix for a Mitrofanoff procedure (20, 25%), and Ladd's procedure (5, 6%). In fifteen patients (19%) we could find no appendix and assume that it was removed previously. Following neoappendicostomy, nine patients (11%) developed a stricture, and seven patients had leakage (9%). In 2004, we modified the appendiceal-umbilical anastomosis and among these patients, only one patient (3%) developed a stricture, compared with eight patients (18%) without the modification. All seven patients with leakage were within the first forty cases. No patient in the last forty cases had a leakage. Conclusions In patients with the potential for fecal incontinence, the appendix should be preserved. In patients without an appendix, the neo-appendicostomy is a valuable tool for fecally incontinent patients. We have found that the V-V anastomosis had a reduced rate of stricture, and the rate of leakage seems to be related to surgical experience.
Effects of Welfare Reform on Statistics for Young Women With Disabilities

This article uses the Current Population Survey (CPS) data to show that changes in family policy implemented in the 1990s led to a substantial increase in the number of young women reporting work l...
On mean type aggregation

We introduce and define the concept of mean aggregation of a collection of n numbers. We point out that the lack of associativity of this operation compounds the problem of the extending mean of n numbers to n+1 numbers. The closely related concepts of self identity and the centering property are introduced as one imperative for extending mean aggregation operators. The problem of weighted mean aggregation is studied. A new concept of prioritized mean aggregation is then introduced. We next show that the technique of selecting an element based upon the performance of a random experiment can be considered as a mean aggregation operation.
A model of load sharing between muscles and soft tissues at the human knee during static tasks

In this study, we have subjects voluntarily generate various forces in a transverse plane just above their ankles. The contributions of their muscles and soft tissues to the support of the total external knee joint moment were determined by analyzing the experimental data using a biomechanical model of the knee. In this model, muscle forces were estimated using the recorded EMGs. To account for subject variability, various muscle parameters were adjusted using a nonlinear least-squares fit of the model's estimated flexion and extension joint moments to those recorded externally. Using the estimated muscle forces, the contributions from the muscles and other soft tissues to the total joint moment were obtained. The results showed that muscles were primarily used to support flexion and extension loads at the knee, but in so doing, were able to support some part of the varus or valgus loads. However, soft tissue loading was still required. Soft tissues supported up to an average maximum of 83 percent of the external load in pure varus and valgus. Soft tissue loading in pure varus and valgus was less than 100 percent of the external load as the muscles, on average, were able to support 17 percent of the external load. This muscle support was by virtue of muscle cocontraction and/or specific muscle activation.
Determining the physical stability and water–solid interactions responsible for caking during storage of glucose monohydrate

A free flowing crystalline powder can develop severe caking if held under humid and/or high temperature storage. In addition, a crystalline hydrate material can experience compositional changes due to hydrate formation or loss if held at too high or low of a storage RH, respectively. Thus, the critical RH values for caking and compositional changes of glucose monohydrate (GM) and GM partitioned into three particle sizes were assessed using saturated salt slurries ranging from 0 to 84 % RH at 25 °C for 20 weeks. Caking was measured using a five-point visual physical stability scale, from free flowing to fully caked, and sample composition was determined using X-ray powder diffraction. Caking was observed in GM during storage at 53–84 % RH at 25 °C and fine particle GM caked at lower RH values than medium and large particle GM. For all GM samples, hydrate loss (via conversion of GM to alpha-anhydrous glucose) occurred at 0 and 11 % RH and hydrate formation (via mutarotation of beta-anhydrous glucose to alpha-anhydrous glucose and conversion to GM) occurred at 53–84 % RH at 25 °C. Particle size did not affect compositional changes during GM storage, but greatly affected caking. Neither deliquescence nor amorphous content were detected in this study and hydrate formation and β-AG content did not cause caking in GM, therefore, decreased flowability was the result of capillary condensation caking. At 25 °C, GM should be stored above 11 % RH to avoid hydrate loss and below 53 % RH to avoid caking.
A Consensus Statement on Considerations for a Successful CPOE Implementation

In May of 2001, thirteen experts on computerized provider order entry (CPOE) from around the world gathered at a 2-day conference to develop a consensus statement on successful CPOE implementation. A qualitative research approach was used to generate and validate a list of categories and considerations to guide CPOE implementation.
Fur-Mediated Global Regulatory Circuits in Pathogenic Neisseria Species

The ferric uptake regulator (Fur) protein has been shown to function as a repressor of transcription in a number of diverse microorganisms. However, recent studies have established that Fur can function at a global level as both an activator and a repressor of transcription through both direct and indirect mechanisms. Fur-mediated indirect activation occurs via the repression of additional repressor proteins, or small regulatory RNAs, thereby activating transcription of a previously silent gene. Fur mediates direct activation through binding of Fur to the promoter regions of genes. Whereas the repressive mechanism of Fur has been thoroughly investigated, emerging studies on direct and indirect Fur-mediated activation mechanisms have revealed novel global regulatory circuits.
Metabolic effects of troglitazone on fructose-induced insulin resistance in the rat.

Troglitazone is a new orally active hypoglycemic agent that has been shown to reduce insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia in both diabetic animal models and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) subjects. To determine whether this drug could prevent the development of fructose-induced insulin resistance and related abnormalities, we studied the effects of troglitazone on the insulin resistance induced by fructose feeding in rats. Normal male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fructose diet for 3 weeks with and without troglitazone as a food admixture (0.2%) or were fed normal chow to serve as a control group. In vivo insulin resistnace was measured by the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique at two different insulin infusion rates, 29 (submaximal stimulation) and 290 (maximal stimulation) pmol.kg-1.min-1. Fructose feeding markedly reduced submaximal glucose disposal rate (GDR) (113.8 +/- 8.3 vs. 176.0 +/- 5.6 mumol.kg-1.min-1, P < 0.05) and maximal GDR (255.9 +/- 5.6 vs. 313.6 +/- 10.5 mumol.kg-1.min-1, P < 0.05), reduced the suppressibility of submaximal hepatic glucose production (HGP; 45.5 +/- 5.0 vs. 11.7 +/- 5.0 mumol.kg-1.min-1, P < 0.05), and resulted in hypertriglyceridemia and hypertension. Troglitazone treatment completely restored the GDR (submaximal 158.2 +/- 5.6, maximal 305.3 +/- 6.1 mumol.kg-1.min-1) and submaximal HGP (9.4 +/- 2.8 mumol.kg-1.min-1) to control levels and also normalized the elevated plasma triglyceride concentration and systolic blood pressure levels in fructose-fed rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Fixation control and eye alignment in children treated for dense congenital or developmental cataracts.

Background Many children treated for cataracts develop strabismus and nystagmus; however, little is known about the critical period for adverse ocular motor outcomes with respect to age of onset and duration. Methods Children who had undergone extraction of dense cataracts by the age of 5 years were enrolled postoperatively. Ocular alignment was assessed regularly throughout follow-up. Fixation stability and associated ocular oscillations were determined from eye movement recordings at ≥5 years old. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate whether laterality (unilateral vs bilateral), age at onset, and/or duration of visual deprivation were associated with adverse ocular motor outcomes and to determine multivariate odds ratios (ORs). Results A total of 41 children were included. Of these, 27 (66%) developed strabismus; 29 (71%) developed nystagmus. Congenital onset was associated with significant risk for strabismus (OR, 5.3; 95% CI, 1.1-34.1); infantile onset was associated with significant risk for nystagmus (OR, 13.6; 95% CI, 1.6-302). Duration >6 weeks was associated with significant risk for both strabismus (OR, 9.1; 95% CI, 1.9-54.2) and nystagmus (OR, 46.2; 95% CI, 6.0-1005). Congenital onset was associated with significant risk for interocular asymmetry in severity of nystagmus (OR, 25.0; 95% CI, 2.6-649), as was unilateral cataract (OR, 58.9; 95% CI, 5.1-2318). Conclusions Laterality (unilateral vs bilateral) and age at onset were significant nonmodifiable risk factors for adverse ocular motor outcomes. Duration of deprivation was a significant modifiable risk factor for adverse ocular motor outcomes. The current study demonstrated that reduced risk for nystagmus and strabismus was associated with deprivation ≤6 weeks.
ConstraintJS: programming interactive behaviors for the web by integrating constraints and states

Interactive behaviors in GUIs are often described in terms of states, transitions, and constraints, where the constraints only hold in certain states. These constraints maintain relationships among objects, control the graphical layout, and link the user interface to an underlying data model. However, no existing Web implementation technology provides direct support for all of these, so the code for maintaining constraints and tracking state may end up spread across multiple languages and libraries. In this paper we describe ConstraintJS, a system that integrates constraints and finite-state machines (FSMs) with Web languages. A key role for the FSMs is to enable and disable constraints based on the interface's current mode, making it possible to write constraints that sometimes hold. We illustrate that constraints combined with FSMs can be a clearer way of defining many interactive behaviors with a series of examples.
A high performance MM-wave electron spin resonance spectrometer

We describe a novel millimetre-wave electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer designed to operate in the frequency range 90-200 GHz and in the temperature range 1.5 K-270 K. The spectrometer uses a bimodal reflection cavity coupled to a circular corrugated guide and uses Gaussian quasi-optics for most of the front-end signal processing. This technique has very low insertion loss and allows a number of sophisticated measurement techniques to be employed including induction operation and illumination by both circular polarisation states. >
Integrated mobile robot control

This paper describes the structure, implementation, and operation of a real-time mobile robot controller which integrates capabilities such as: position estimation, path specification and tracking, human interfaces, fast communication, and multiple client support. The benefits of such high-level capabilities in a low-level controller was shown by its implementation for the Navlab autonomous vehicle. In addition, performance results from positioning and tracking systems are reported and analyzed.
The Cubic-Spline Transform Method: Basic Definitions and Tests in a 1D Single Domain

Abstract The purpose of the paper is to describe the technical details of a numerical method that combines the cubic-spline representation of spatial variables in a finite domain with the logistics of the spectral transform method for the time integration of nonlinear meteorological equations. The reason for developing the method lies in its application to two-way interacting nested models of the atmosphere. When compared with the gridpoint representation, the cubic-spline representation allows direct evaluation of derivatives in the model equations, and leads to a substantial reduction of shortwave dispersion of advecting and propagating waves. When compared with the Fourier spectral representation, the cubic B-splines as basis functions provide simple but exact means of implementing a variety of boundary conditions that are needed at the domain interfaces, as well as at natural boundaries. A sharp (sixth order) low-pass filter, which is built into the cubic-spline transform, effectively eliminates adver...
Multiple sclerosis influences the precision of the ankle plantarflexon muscular force production

Abstract Objective To quantify the precision of the steady-state isometric control of the ankle plantarflexors musculature of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), and to evaluate if the precision is related to the mobility impairments. Methods Individuals with MS and healthy adults performed a submaximal steady-state isometric contraction with the ankle plantarflexors. The coefficient of variation was used to assess the amount of variability or error in the precision of the torques generated by the ankle plantarflexor musculature. The participants also walked across a digital mat at their preferred and fast-as-possible walking speeds, which recorded their spatiotemporal gait kinematics. Results The individuals with MS: (1) had reduced maximal voluntary torques at the ankle, (2) a greater amount of variability in the precision of the isometric ankle torques, (3) altered and more variable spatiotemporal gait kinematics, and (4) a greater amount of variability in the isometric ankle torques were related to a slower walking speed and cadence, shorter step length and a greater amount of gait variability. Conclusions These results further fuels the impression that a reduction in control of the ankle joint musculature may be a key factor in the mobility and balance impairments seen in individuals with MS.