cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Efficacy of Hypnosis as a Treatment for Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis quantifies the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating anxiety. Included studies were required to utilize a between-subjects or mixed-model design in which a hypnosis intervention was compared with a control condition in alleviating the symptoms of anxiety. Of 399 records screened, 15 studies incorporating 17 trials of hypnosis met the inclusion criteria. At the end of active treatment, 17 trials produced a mean weighted effect size of 0.79 (p ≤ .001), indicating the average participant receiving hypnosis reduced anxiety more than about 79% of control participants. At the longest follow-up, seven trials yielded a mean weighted effect size of 0.99 (p ≤ .001), demonstrating the average participant treated with hypnosis improved more than about 84% of control participants. Hypnosis was more effective in reducing anxiety when combined with other psychological interventions than when used as a stand-alone treatment.
CDKL5 Deficiency Augments Inhibitory Input into the Dentate Gyrus That Can Be Reversed by Deep Brain Stimulation.

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by early epileptic seizures, intellectual disability, and autistic behaviors. Although loss of CDKL5 affects a number of molecular pathways, very little has been discovered about the physiological effects of these changes on the neural circuitry. We therefore studied synaptic plasticity and local circuit activity in the dentate gyrus of both Cdkl5-/y and Cdkl5+/- mutant mice. We found that CDKL5 haploinsufficiency in both male and female mice impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in multiple tasks. In vivo, loss of CDKL5 reduced long-term potentiation of the perforant path to the dentate gyrus and augmented feedforward inhibition in this pathway; ex vivo experiments confirmed that excitatory/inhibitory input into the dentate gyrus is skewed toward inhibition. Injecting the GABAergic antagonist gabazine into the dentate improved contextual fear memory in Cdkl5-/y mice. Finally, chronic forniceal deep brain stimulation rescued hippocampal memory deficits, restored synaptic plasticity, and relieved feedforward inhibition in Cdkl5+/- mice. These results indicate that CDKL5 is important for maintaining proper dentate excitatory/inhibitory balance, with consequences for hippocampal memory. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Cognitive impairment is a core feature of cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) deficiency disorder. Although CDKL5 deficiency has been found to affect a number of molecular pathways, little is known about its physiological effects on the neural circuitry. We find that CDKL5 loss reduces hippocampal synaptic plasticity and augments feedforward inhibition in the perforant path to the dentate gyrus in vivo in Cdkl5 mutant mice. Chronic forniceal deep brain stimulation rescued hippocampal memory deficits, restored synaptic plasticity, and relieved feedforward inhibition in Cdkl5+/- mice, as it had previously done with Rett syndrome mice, suggesting such stimulation may be useful for other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Chapter 22 – Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Publisher Summary The hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies in the world, because of the high incidence in East Asia and Africa. It is clearly caused by an early infection with the hepatitis B virus, and evidence now indicates it is also caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus, which is usually acquired in adulthood from IV drug use or infected blood products. Genetic factors may render some persons more susceptible. Other known causes include cigarette smoking, alcoholic cirrhosis, and toxins produced by fungal contaminants of stored food, especially in developing countries. Oral contraceptives cause nonmalignant tumors of the liver, and, rarely, carcinomas may develop from these benign growths. Carcinoma of the liver is usually a disease of older persons that is more common in Los Angeles County and San Francisco than elsewhere in this country, and is several times more common among men than women. Persons of Asian ancestry are at highest risk, followed by African-Americans and Latinos. The reason for the male excess is unknown, and might be the result of differential alcohol and tobacco consumption, or other behavioral differences.
Digital Fluid logic Elements

Publisher Summary Within a relatively short period— that is, almost since the beginning of their existence, electronics and semiconductor technique have penetrated the field of control devices and computing elements thoroughly. One is, therefore, likely to believe that computing is only possible because of the existence of these more or less recent developments. This widespread belief, however, neglects the fact that purely mechanical devices were the forerunners of present day computers, and the historical sequence confirmed by pointing to our preference in using the expression “to mechanize” instead of “to electronize” can easily be found. “Forerunner” is not synonymous with obsolete; the contrary is true: mechanical elements have been in constant use up to now, and are an object of continuous research and development efforts. This is mainly because of their unique properties to be discussed in this chapter. It is interesting to see that until recently not too many thoughts were spent on hydraulic or pneumatic circuits. Recently, a new section was added to the catalog of mechanical elements: amplifiers using liquids or gases and containing neither moving nor deformable parts (except the fluid itself) were invented. A variety of amplifiers, storage devices, and switching elements now exist, of which not much is known. Many difficulties in understanding are because of the complexity of the hydrodynamic equations that describe the phenomena in question and because all three dimensions play an important role. The present situation in the field of digital fluid logic elements is discussed.
Indoor positioning by light

Indoor positioning is a research area that is gaining lots of attention recently. Its applications cover a wide area where the technology can be incorporated into consumer electronic products. For example, in the case of in-house navigation, indoor positioning technology can be utilized by handheld products to provide location identification, and thus guide users inside large museums and shopping malls.
The Contraction Phase of Virus-Specific CD8+ T Cells Is Unaffected by a Pan-Caspase Inhibitor

The effectiveness of protection conferred by CD8 + memory T cells is determined by both their quality and their quantity, which suggests that vaccine efficacy might be improved if it were possible to increase the size of the memory pool. Approximately 90% of virus-specific CD8 + T cells die during the contraction phase and, herein, we have attempted to increase the memory pool by reducing CD8 + T cell death. CD8 + T cell contraction has been attributed to apoptosis, or programmed cell death (PCD), which, classically, is dependent on caspases. Caspase-dependent PCD can be prevented by the pan-caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp (OMe)-fluoromethylketone (zVAD), and here we evaluate the effect of this compound on virus-specific T cell responses in mice. zVAD prevented caspase-dependent PCD of freshly isolated virus-specific T cells in tissue culture, and a fluorescent analog, FITC-VAD, entered CD8 + T cells following in vivo injection. However, despite using 11 different regimens of zVAD administration in vivo, no significant effects on CD8 + or CD4 + memory T cell numbers were observed. Furthermore, the CD8 + memory T cell responses to secondary virus infection were indistinguishable, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in zVAD-treated and normal mice. The absence of effect cannot be attributed to a technical flaw, because identical doses of zVAD were able to rescue mice from hepatocyte apoptosis and lethal intrahepatic hemorrhage, induced by inoculation of anti-Fas Ab. We conclude that the contraction phase of the virus-specific T cell response is unlikely to require caspase-dependent PCD. We propose that contraction can be mediated by an alternative, caspase-independent pathway(s).
Electric-magnetic confinement

The theoretical plasma confinement times for an electromagnetic trap, which is an electrostatically plugged magnetic cusp device, are calculated. The plasma may be produced by electron beam injection or by other methods. Electron losses along field lines are inhibited by negative electrodes (cathodes) placed at the cusp openings. The main electron losses are then by diffusion in velocity space over the potential barrier and by collisional diffusion across the magnetic field. After a few ions are lost, the excess negative charge of the plasma creates a negative potential well in which the remaining ions are electrostatically trapped. (MOW)
Quotas for Women in Politics: Gender and Candidate Selection Reform Worldwide by Mona Lena Krook

Although more than 100 countries have adopted some form of national gender quota, such adoptions have not resulted in a universal increase in women's representation. Mona Lena Krook's Quotas for Wo...
The rise of the modern state: III. Bureaucratization

The term “bureaucracy” is ubiquitous in historical work on the emergence of the modern state. Yet it is rarely defined and often misused. This is a pity, for since Weber, sociologists have generally used the term precisely. Weber (1978: I, 220–1) identified ten constituent elements of bureaucracy: Officials are free, subject to authority only in their official tasks. Officials are organized in a clearly defined hierarchy of offices. Each office has a clearly defined sphere of competence. Offices are filled by free contract. Candidates for office are selected according to their qualifications, normally examinations and technical training. Officials are salaried and granted pensions. The office is the sole or primary occupation of the incumbent. The office constitutes a career, involving promotion by seniority or for achievement. The official is separated from ownership of the means of administration. The official is subject to systematic discipline and control in official conduct. This is surely more detail than we need – and research in modern-day offices demonstrates that most of the ten are closely interrelated (Hall 1963–4). For purposes of macrohistorical generalization, I have simplified Weber's ten into five key characteristics of bureaucracy, two of personnel, two of offices, and one indicating their relationship to the wider society: Bureaucrats are officials (1) separated from ownership of office by an employed, salaried status and (2) appointed, promoted, and dismissed according to impersonal criteria of competence.
Immunodominant antigen of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 in high-responder patients

Abstract This study was undertaken to look for characteristics of the immunodominant antigen(s) of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 that might help explain the high antibody titers in periodontitis patients. Radioimmunoassays (RIA) were performed on sera from 481 patients; sera from the 32 patients with the highest anti-Y4 titers (above 128,000 RIA U/ml) were further analyzed. Y4 antigen was boiled for 45 min or treated with papain, and antibody responses were analyzed by RIA and Western blotting (immunoblotting). In addition, carbohydrate was purified from Y4 and examined by Western blotting. The results indicated that the immunodominant antigen of Y4 in high responders was stable after papain treatment or boiling for 45 min. Papain or boiling eliminated protein bands but a large diffuse band persisted on Western blots. With increasing dilutions of sera, bands on Western blots corresponding to protein antigens disappeared, while the large diffuse band resembling that of carbohydrate persisted. Partially purified Y4 carbohydrate contained the large diffuse band. Double-immunodiffusion analysis indicated that rabbit serotype b-specific antiserum and patient sera recognized the same antigen. When the carbohydrate extract was passed over a lipid A-binding column to remove lipopolysaccharide, the smear corresponding to the immunodominant antigen was still present on Western blots. The immunodominant antigen of Y4 in high-responder individuals appears to be a carbohydrate and is possibly the capsular polysaccharide.
Computing rate-distortion optimized policies for streaming media to wireless clients

We consider the problem of streaming packetized media over the Internet from a server through a base station to a wireless client, in a rate-distortion optimized way. For error control, we employ an incremental redundancy scheme, in which the server can incrementally transmit parity packets in response to negative acknowledgements fed back from the client. Computing the optimal transmission policy for the server involves estimation of the probability that a single packet will be communicated in error as a function of the expected redundancy (or cost) used to communicate the packet. In this paper, we show how to compute this error-cost function, and thereby optimize the server's transmission policy, in this scenario.
Polycistronic Effects of Catabolite Repression on the lac Operon

The catabolite repression caused by glucose and glucose-6-phosphate has been studied for both beta-galactosidase and thiogalactoside transacetylase, the products of the operator proximal and distal cistrons of the lac operon, respectively. We find that both cistrons are affected coordinately by this form of repression. We also find that a single alteration at the lac promoter region is sufficient to abolish sensitivity to repression of both cistrons. From this, we conclude that there is only one target site for catabolite repression in the lac operon.
Fields and Galois Theory

The first principal theme of this chapter is the structure theory of fields. We shall study a field F in terms of a specified subfield K (F is said to be an extension field of K). The basic facts about field extensions are developed in Section 1, in particular, the distinction between algebraic and transcendental extensions. For the most part we deal only with algebraic extensions in this chapter. Arbitrary field extensions are considered in Chapter VI. The structure of certain fields and field extensions is thoroughly analyzed: simple extensions (Section 1); splitting fields (normal exten-sions) and algebraic closures (Section 3); finite fields (Section 5); and separable algebraic extensions (Sections 3 and 6).
Trends in Alcohol Services Utilization from 1991–1992 to 2001–2002: Ethnic Group Differences in the U.S. Population

Background: During the early 1990s in the United States, changes to the provision and financing of alcohol treatment services included reductions in inpatient treatment services and in private sector spending for treatment. We investigated trends in alcohol services utilization over the 10-year period from 1991-1992 to 2001-2002 among U.S. whites, blacks, and Hispanics. Methods: Data come from 2 household surveys of the U.S. adult population. The 1991 to 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey and the 2001 to 2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions conducted face-to-face interviews with a multistage cluster sample of individuals 18 years of age and older in the continental United States. Treatment utilization represented both total utilization and the use of alcohol services. Data analyses were prevalence rates and multivariate logistic regressions for lifetime utilization with drinkers and individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Results: From 1991-1992 to 2001-2002, drinking-related emergency room and human services use increased for drinkers, while total utilization and the use of private health professional services and mutual aid decreased for individuals with AUDs. In drinkers and individuals with AUDs, blacks and Hispanics were less likely than whites to use private health professional care. Hispanics with AUDs were less likely than whites with AUDs to use alcohol or drug programs. Ethnicity interacted with alcohol severity to predict alcohol services utilization. At higher levels of alcohol severity, blacks and Hispanics were less likely than whites to ever use treatment and to use alcohol services (i.e., human services for Hispanic drinkers, mental health services for blacks with AUDs, and mutual aid for Hispanics with AUDs). Conclusions: Our findings showed increases from 1991-1992 to 2001-2002 in alcohol services utilization for drinkers, but reductions in utilization for individuals with AUDs. Blacks and Hispanics, particularly those at higher levels of alcohol severity, underutilized treatment services compared to whites. These utilization trends for blacks and Hispanics may reflect underlying disparities in healthcare access for minority groups, and language and logistical barriers to utilizing services. Language: en
Attitudes of Social Work Students About Substance Abuse: Can a Brief Educational Program Make a Difference?

ABSTRACT This study examined whether a brief educational program could modify attitudes of master's level social work students about substance abuse. Study methodology involved a two-group pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design. The Substance Abuse Attitude Survey, a standardized assessment instrument, was used to measure attitudes based on five distinct factors. No significant changes in student attitudes were found after participating in the educational session. Recommendations are offered for how social work schools may enhance their efforts to prepare students to effectively work with substance abusing clients and their families.
Deriving equations of state from non-hydrostatic data

Modeling of non-hydrostatic strains allows extraction of a reliable (quasi-hydrostatic) equation of state from diamond-cell x-ray measurements at high pressures, as illustrated by new data on Os collected to 60 GPa at room temperature: axial- and radial-diffraction measurements are in good agreement with data collected using Ar and He pressure media, as well as with first-principles calculations, in confirming that osmium is the densest but not the most incompressible element. Dynamic-loading methods can generate much higher pressures than static compression, however, shock compression leads to high temperatures there is much interest in compression using ramp waves. This can be accomplished with graded-density mechanical impacts, or with laser-driven pressure waves; other means of maintaining low temperatures include pre-compression and cooling of the sample before it is dynamically compressed by ramp- or multiple-shock waves. Reduced temperatures lead to enhanced strength, which makes it necessary to model both temperature and strength effects in order to extract the equation of state. A unified approach combining analysis of static and dynamic compression measurements offers a means of determining pressure?density equations of state to high compressions.
Relationships between biomarkers of exposure and toxicokinetics in Fischer 344 rats and B6C3F1 mice administered single doses of acrylamide and glycidamide and multiple doses of acrylamide

Acrylamide (AA) is a widely studied industrial chemical that is neurotoxic, mutagenic to somatic and germ cells and carcinogenic in rodents. AA is also formed in many commonly consumed starchy foods during cooking. Our previous toxicokinetic investigations of AA and its important genotoxic metabolite, glycidamide (GA), in rodents showed that AA is highly bioavailable from oral routes of administration, is widely distributed to tissues and that the dietary route, in particular, favors metabolism to GA. Measurements of DNA adducts in many tissues supported the hypothesis that AA is carcinogenic in rodent bioassays through metabolism to GA. The current investigation describes the development and validation of methodology for measuring hemoglobin (Hb) adducts with AA and GA in the same rodents previously used for toxicokinetic and DNA adduct measurements. The goal was to investigate possible relationships between these circulating biomarkers of exposure and serum toxicokinetic parameters for AA and GA and tissue GA-DNA adducts in rodents from both single and repeated dosing with AA. Significant correlations were observed between GA-Hb and liver GA-DNA adducts for either single or multiple dosing regimens with AA. Using available GA-Hb adduct data, empirical and allometric relationships permitted estimation of liver DNA adducts in humans in the range of 0.06-0.3 adducts/10(8) nucleotides. This approach may prove useful in extrapolating human cancer risks from findings in rodent bioassays.
Aquarium, Computer, and Alaska range mirages

Superior mirages, such as those of the Alaska Range mountains, can be understood both from a simple laboratory experiment and a computer simulation. An aquarium filled with several solutions is used to produce mirages with up to seven images, and a computer program is used to simulate three- and five-image mirages.
Novel changes in the plasma membrane and cortical cytoplasm during wound-induced contraction in a giant-celled green alga

Changes in the plasma membrane surface and in the cortical cytoplasm during wound healing in giant green algal cells ofErnodesmis verticillata (Kutzing) Bφrgesen were followed using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Microvillus-like structures that contain cytoplasmic and cytoskeletal constituents were observed emanating from the surface of the plasma membrane at the retracting/cut end of wounded cells. These delicate structures seem to be remnants of cell wall-plasmalemma connections that draw out the plasma membrane and cortical components from the contracting cytoplasm as it pulls away from the cell wall. Most of these connections break during wound healing and, when contraction stops, the microvillus-like protrusions become progressively shorter. In cells treated with a calmodulin antagonist (W-7), a number of distinctive bodies accumulate that are of unknown composition, are oblong in shape, and have a diameter slightly smaller than the protoplasmic protrusions. Ultrastructural and other data indicate that these bodies result from retrieved constituents of the plasma-membrane protrusions, as they do not accumulate in unwounded drugtreated cells or in cells treated in W-5. These findings suggest that the protoplasmic protrusions accumulate membrane and cytoplasmic components that are retrieved and recycled during wound healing inErnodesmis by a novel mechanism. The combined plasma membrane surfaces of the microvillus-like protrusions may help to account for the drastic decrease in surface area that occurs during wound healing.
Environmental Views and Values of Children in an Inner‐City Black Community

72 children across grades 1, 3, and 5 (mean ages, 7-5, 9-6, and 11-4) from an economically impoverished inner-city Black community were interviewed on their views and values about the natural environment. Assessments were made on whether children were aware of environmental problems, discussed environmental issues with their family, valued aspects of nature, and acted to help the environment. Additional assessments pertained to the prescriptivity and generalizability, and supporting justifications, of children's normative environmental judgments based on a hypothetical scenario that involved polluting a waterway. Overall, children showed sensitivity to nature and awareness of environmental problems, although attenuated by both developmental and cultural factors. Most children believed that polluting a waterway was a violation of a moral obligation. Children's environmental moral reasoning largely focused on homocentric considerations (e.g., that nature ought to be protected in order to protect human welfare). With much less frequency, children focused on biocentric considerations (e.g., that nature has intrinsic value or rights). Findings are discussed in terms of moral-developmental theory, and the place of social-cognitive research in understanding the human relationship to the natural environment.
Archaic human genomics

For much of the 20th century, the predominant view of human evolutionary history was derived from the fossil record. Homo erectus was seen arising in Africa from an earlier member of the genus and then spreading throughout the Old World and into the Oceania. A regional continuity model of anagenetic change from H. erectus via various intermediate archaic species into the modern humans in each of the regions inhabited by H. erectus was labeled the multiregional model of human evolution (MRE). A contrasting model positing a single origin, in Africa, of anatomically modern H. sapiens with some populations later migrating out of Africa and replacing the local archaic populations throughout the world with complete replacement became known as the recent African origin (RAO) model. Proponents of both models used different interpretations of the fossil record to bolster their views for decades. In the 1980s, molecular genetic techniques began providing evidence from modern human variation that allowed not only the different models of modern human origins to be tested but also the exploration demographic history and the types of selection that different regions of the genome and even specific traits had undergone. The majority of researchers interpreted these data as strongly supporting the RAO model, especially analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Extrapolating backward from modern patterns of variation and using various calibration points and substitution rates, a consensus arose that saw modern humans evolving from an African population around 200,000 years ago. Much later, around 50,000 years ago, a subset of this population migrated out of Africa replacing Neanderthals in Europe and western Asia as well as archaics in eastern Asia and Oceania. mtDNA sequences from more than two-dozen Neanderthals and early modern humans re-enforced this consensus. In 2010, however, the complete draft genomes of Neanderthals and of heretofore unknown hominins from Siberia, called Denisovans, demonstrated gene flow between these archaic human species and modern Eurasians but not sub-Saharan Africans. Although the levels of gene flow may be very limited, this unexpected finding does not fit well with either the RAO model or MRE model. More thorough sampling of modern human diversity, additional fossil discoveries, and the sequencing of additional hominin fossils are necessary to throw light onto our origins and our history.
The Decrease in Newcastle Virus Titer Subsequent to Inoculation in De-Embryonated Eggs

Abstract When Newcastle virus is inoculated into 10 day old embryonated chick eggs, the infectious titer of the virus inoculum rapidly diminishes (Nadel and Eisenstark, 1955). This swift loss of infectious power may be due to adsorption onto host cells of the chorio-allantoic membrane or to some other type of inactivation, such as 37°C thermal inactivation or inactivation by some substance in the embryonic fluid. To test whether the loss of titer is due to adsorption or to some other factor, an experiment employing the de-embryonated egg technique (Bernkopf, 1950) was devised. In the first phase, the disappearance of virus subsequent to inoculation in de-embryonated eggs was observed. The chorio-allantoic membranes remained intact in these eggs. The second phase employed de-embryonated eggs minus the chorio-allantoic membrane. Virus was inoculated into buffered saline contained in egg shells and incubated at 37°C. The third phase utilized the same technique as the second, except …
Health and health behavior of persons with chronic cardiovascular disease

Health conceptions, perceived health status and health behaviors were compared for 58 adults; 29 with cardiovascular disease and 29 who were healthy. Data were collected by interview. Results indicated similarities in health conceptions and behaviors for the two groups. The cardiovascular patients perceived themselves less healthy overall but when health status was subdivided into dimensions, they perceived themselves less healthy on the clinical dimension only. They were equally healthy on the functional, adaptive, and eudaimonistic (self-actualization) dimensions. These findings underscore the necessity of viewing health within a broader context when providing health care to individuals with chronic disease.
Analysis of greedy approximations with nonsubmodular potential functions

In this paper, we present two techniques to analyze greedy approximation with nonsubmodular functions restricted submodularity and shifted submodularity. As an application of the restricted submodularity, we present a worst-case analysis of a greedy algorithm for Network Steiner tree adapted from a heuristic originally proposed by Chang in 1972 for Euclidean Steiner tree. The performance ratio of Chang's heuristic is a longstanding open problem due to the nonsubmodularity of its potential function. As an application of the shifted submodularity, we present a worst-case analysis of a greedy algorithm for Connected Dominating Set generalized from a greedy algorithm proposed by Ruan et al. Such generalized greedy algorithm is shown to have performance ratio at most (1 + e)(1 + ln(Δ - 1)), which matches the well-known lower bound (1-e)ln Δ, where Δ is the maximum vertex-degree of input graph and e is any positive constant.
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION ON THE RATE OF OXIDATION OF A METAL FORMING A VOLATILE OXIDE

Abstract Data taken in flowing air and helium-oxygen mixtures have shown the oxidation rate of molybdenum to be dependent both on flow velocity and diffusivity in the temperature range 1945°–2959 dgR. An extension of the Arrhenius equation to include flow and diffusion effects was found to correlate the data quite well for temperatures above 2400° R, at which the oxide formed was gaseous. The results obtained for molybdenum should be applicable to other metals forming volatile oxides in the appropriate temperature ranges.
Precocious puberty associated with neurofibromatosis and optic gliomas. Treatment with luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue.

• Seven children with central precocious puberty and either neurofibromatosis and/or optic gliomas were referred to the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, for evaluation and treatment with the long-acting luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRH a ) D-Trp 6 -Pro 9 -NEt-LHRH. Only six of the seven children chose to receive treatment. Four children presented with neurofibromatosis, three of whom also had optic gliomas; the remaining three children had isolated optic gliomas, without other neurocutaneous stigmas. All had central precocious puberty mediated by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Six months of LHRH , therapy caused suppression of gonadotropin and sex steroid levels, stabilization or regression of secondary sexual characteristics, and decreases in growth velocity and the rate of bone age maturation. We conclude that LHRH , therapy is effective in the treatment of central precocious puberty secondary to neurofibromatosis and/or optic gliomas. ( AJDC 1985;139:1097-1100)
Advances in antihypertensive combination therapy: benefits of low-dose thiazide diuretics in conjunction with omapatrilat, a vasopeptidase inhibitor.

The preferred initial agents for the treatment of high blood pressure are low-dose thiazide diuretics, β blockers, calcium antagonists, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. In high-risk patients, including those with diabetes, renal insufficiency, left ventricular dysfunction, and atherosclerosis, ACE inhibitors may have specific benefit in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Omapatrilat, the prototypical vasopeptidase inhibitor, inhibits not only ACE but also neutral endopeptidase. Like conventional ACE inhibitors, omapatrilat causes extracellular volume reduction and vasodilatation; moreover, it increases levels of atrial and brain natriuretic peptides and bradykinin. Effective blood pressure control, especially in the high-risk patient, usually necessitates combination therapy. A recent study randomized 274 subjects with mild to severe hypertension (stages 1–3 diastolic blood pressure elevation) and confirmed the benefits of omapatrilat combined with hydrochlorothiazide in patients not controlled on hydrochlorothiazide alone. The frequencies of adverse events, serious adverse events, and discontinuation attributed to adverse events were similar for omapatrilat and placebo. Furthermore, there were no clinically significant changes in serum creatinine, potassium, or other laboratory parameters. Adding omapatrilat to the background of hydrochlorothiazide treatment produced statistically significant additional reductions in trough diastolic and systolic blood pressures at weeks 4 and 8.
Efficient robotic welding for shipyards ‐ virtual reality simulation holds the key

Describes how virtual reality simulation technology is being used and developed to support the design, and programming, of large‐scale robot arc‐welding cells in two of the world’s largest and most modern shipyards. GRASP‐VRI is a shipbuilding‐specific software simulation and offline programming tool, developed as part of a highly‐productive method for rapidly creating arc‐welding programs for robots. Describes the integrated program creation concept which uses pre‐defined, parametric libraries of generic arc‐welding tasks that were created and verified prior to, and during, cell commissioning. Says that the approach is applicable to other robotics applications such as cutting, gluing and inspection.
In vitro neutralization by monoclonal antibodies of α-bungarotoxin binding to acetylcholine receptor

In order to develop monoclonal antibodies that would neutralize binding of alpha-bungarotoxin to acetylcholine receptor in vitro, mice were hyperimmunized with native toxin. Frequent small doses of toxin were used. Hybridoma supernatants were screened by ELISA and six monoclonal antibodies isolated and tested. The anti-alpha-bungarotoxin monoclonal antibodies consisted of IgM, IgG1 or IgG2a antibodies. In an in vitro neutralization assay measuring the effect of the antibodies on the binding of iodinated alpha-bungarotoxin to BC3H1 and TE671 (mouse and human cell lines bearing acetylcholine receptor), three of the six monoclonal antibodies were able to neutralize toxin binding. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of using native toxin for the generation of hybridomas, and the potential of using in vitro neutralization assays to screen hybridomas for in vivo neutralization.
Quantitative trait locus mapping for Verticillium wilt resistance in a backcross inbred line population of cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum × Gossypium barbadense ) based on RGA-AFLP analysis

Verticillium wilt (VW), caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb., is one of the most important diseases in cotton. The objective of this study was to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) conferring VW resistance using resistance gene analog (RGA)-targeted amplified fragment length polymorphism (RGA-AFLP) markers in an interspecific backcross inbred line mapping population, consisting of 146 lines from a susceptible Sure-Grow 747 (Gossypium hirsutum L.) × resistant Pima S-7 (G. barbadense L.) cross. VW resistance was evaluated in replicated tests based on disease incidence in the field, and disease incidence and severity in the greenhouse. Of 160 polymorphic RGA-AFLP markers, 42 were significantly correlated with one or more VW traits and 41 were placed on a linkage map which covered 1,226 cM of the cotton genome and contained 251 other molecular markers. Three QTLs for VW resistance were detected, each of which explained 12.0–18.6 % of the phenotypic variation. Two of these QTLs for disease incidence and severity detected in the greenhouse inoculation tests using root wounding are located on chromosome c4. Both are closely linked to four RGA-AFLP markers and therefore considered as the same QTL for VW resistance. The other QTL detected in the field test was located on c19 and flanked by several RGA-AFLP markers. The desirable QTL allele on c4 for VW resistance detected in the greenhouse was from the VW susceptible Upland parent and absent from the resistant Pima parent which was more VW susceptible due to the disarmament of the first line of defense mechanism due to root wounding during inoculation. The other desirable VW resistance QTL allele, on c19, was from the resistant parent Pima S-7, consistent with the fact that Pima cotton was more resistant to VW when naturally infected in the field. The results should facilitate the development of more sequence specific markers and the transfer of VW resistance from Pima to Upland cotton through marker-assisted selection.
Project and process improvements in healthcare organizations: a simulation study of the radiology department at JMH

This paper discusses a study of the Radiology department at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The animated simulation model was fed data from the operations database. Several inefficiencies were identified, and suggestions for improvement were explored. These adjustments included six scenarios: 1) Current system, 2) Modeling each procedure to take place with the assistance of only one technologist, 3) Modeling each procedure to take place with the assistance of two technologists, 4) Addition of a new Neurological operating room, 5) Addition of a designated pre-holding area for the patients' comfort, and 6) One-day extension in the weekly operating schedule. It was identified that under scenario 2 (one technologist) the total time in the system was significantly lower than the current system and scenario 3 (two technologists). However, this scenario also gave the lowest utilization rate for the eight technologists and the lowest utilization rate for the operating rooms. To increase efficiency, other recommendations were made.
Cognitive dysfunction after central pontine myelinolysis

Abstract Central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) is a rare but increasingly recognized neurological disorder associated with a lesion of the central portion of the basis pontis and characterized by altered level of consciousness, seizures, pseudobulbar palsy, dysphagia, and quadriparesis. Until the advent of computerized tomography, CPM was considered fatal and discovered only at post-mortem. The case is reported of a 61-year-old, high-functioning, non-alcoholic man who developed CPM after liver transplantation. Neuropsychological evaluation documented many expected motoric deficits. More unforeseen was this patient's lingering amnestic syndrome and global lowering of many ‘higher’ cognitive processes, e.g. intelligence, reasoning, concentration, etc. The role of the brainstem in ‘higher’ cognitive functions is considered through four mechanisms: the reticular activating system, disruption of neocorticat-ponto-cerebellar networks, the preliminary processing model, and through interruption of neurotransmitter p...
The interaction of palladium with alumina and titanium oxide supports

In a series of recent electron microscopy studies attempts were made to relate the phenomenological consequences of strong metal-support interactions (SMSI), such as suppressed chemisorption capacity, with morphological changes in either the support or supported metal particles. In the present investigation, a combination of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and hydrogen chemisorption measurements were employed to address the sintering behavior of Pd supported on Al2O3 and TiO2 following reduction at temperatures up to 800 °C. Palladium was chosen, since it has the unique ability to both adsorb and absorb (β-hydride formation) hydrogen. This behavior was anticipated to provide an added dimension for characterizing SMSI systems. Palladium on alumina was selected as a control system. At reduction temperatures in excess of 700 °C, Pd particles sinter on both Al2O3 and TiO2 supports. The extent of sintering is, however, more extensive in the case of the TiO2 support. The quantities of hydrogen adsorbed and absorbed by PdTiO2 decreased in parallel with increasing reduction temperature, reaching essentially zero uptakes at reduction temperatures above 500–600 °C. The amount of H2 adsorbed by PdAl2O3 decreased about 60% upon increasing the reduction temperature from 500 to 700 °C, in agreement with the extent of sintering detected by TEM which occurs within this temperature range. The quantity of H2 absorbed by PdAl2O3, however, did not significantly decrease after reduction at 700 °C. The anomalous behavior of PdTiO2 is rationalized in terms of a model whereby reduction of TiO2 to Ti4O7 leads to the simultaneous formation of mobile titanium suboxides, which are free to migrate onto the metal particle surface. The process ultimately results in the decoration of the Pd particles by titanium suboxide species. In this coated state, Pd is no longer capable of either adsorbing or absorbing hydrogen.
A potential hydroxyl ultraviolet laser

Abstract A strong emission band extending from 3060 to 3120 A was observed following proton beam excitation of an Ar-H 2 O mixture. This emission band was assigned to the transition of OH ( A 2 Σ + ) υ =0 → OH ( X 2 Π ) υ =0 . At high argon partial pressure (> 200 torr), the precursor of this emission band is believed to be the argon excimer Ar ★ 2 (1 u ). The fluorescence efficiency of Ar-H 2 O is estimated to be a factor of 4 times that of Ar-N 2 . Development of a highly efficient, tunable uv laser by e-beam pumping is promising.
A glycine to serine change in puroindoline b is associated with wheat grain hardness and low levels of starch-surface friabilin

The quantitative level of friabilin 15-kDa protein present on the surface of water-washed starch is highly correlated with wheat grain softness. Friabilin is composed primarily, if not exclusively, of the proteins puroindoline a and b. The transcript levels of these two proteins are similar among hard and soft wheat varieties, and the expression of both is controlled by the short arm of chromosome 5D, also the chromosomal location of the Hardness gene. We report here a glycine to serine sequence change in puroindoline b associated with hard grain texture. This amino acid change results from a single nucleotide mutation and resides in a region thought to be important for the lipid-binding properties of puroindolines. No recombination was observed between the serine puroindoline-b mutation, hard grain texture and low levels of starch surface friabilin among a set of 83 homozygous 5D recombinant lines derived from the soft-textured variety ‘Chinese Spring’ and the substitution line ‘Chinese Spring’ containing the 5D chromosome of the hard-textured variety ‘Cheyenne’. The sequence change reported here may adversely affect the lipid-binding properties of puroindoline-b and so effect hard grain texture. The results suggest that grain hardness results from puroindoline-b functionality such that the Hardness gene is a direct manifestation of puroindoline structure. We are suggesting the tentative molecular marker loci designations of Pinb-D1a and Pinb-D1b for the glycine and serine puroindoline-b types, respectively.
Fate of ethephon andN-methyl-2-pyrrolidone in soil and cotton plants

[14C]ethephon and [14C]N-methyl-2-pyrollidone (NMP) dissipated rapidly from three different soils. Half-life of [14C]ethephon was 3.3, 4.9, and 9.7 days, respectively, in clay, loam, and sand. The half-life of NMP was 3.9, 7.9, and 11.6 days, respectively in clay, loam, and sand when combined with nonlabeled ethephon, and was 4.0, 8.7, and 11.5 days, respectively, when applied alone to these soils. Soil treated with NMP contained less than 0.1 ppm NMP equivalents after 21 days and soils treated with [14C]ethephon contained less than 0.1 ppm ethephon equivalents after 28 days. In leaching studies with soils coated on thin layer chromatography plates, ethephon had frontal Rf values of 0.66, 0.59, and 0.20 in silt, loam, and clay, respectively, and streaked from the origin to near the solvent in sand. Frontal Rf values for NMP were 0.74, 0.65, 0.67, and 1.0 in silt, loam, clay, and sand. In cotton plants 14 and 21 days after treatment with [14C]ethephon or NMP, only a small portion of the applied doses were detected in plant tissues, and none remained on leaf surfaces after 21 days. An unidentified metabolite was detected along with NMP in leaf and terminal extracts of cotton plants treated with NMP.
The Application of the Bethe-Peierls Method to Ferromagnetism

The method introduced by Bethe and Peierls for treating the problem of order-disorder in alloys is applied to the problem of ferromagnetism. The method is first applied to the Ising model of the spin in which case the treatment is much the same as it is for the alloy problem, as has already been pointed out by Peierls. The correct treatment of the spin is used for spin values of \textonehalf{} and 1 per atom. The critical temperatures of different types of lattices are investigated. The method gives results in agreement with the rigorous results of the Bloch spin-wave theory in that only three-dimensional lattices are found to be ferromagnetic. The values of the critical temperatures of these lattices are found to lie between the values predicted by the two Heisenberg approximations. The discontinuity of the specific heat at the critical temperature is computed for a body-centered lattice and for the two values of the spin. The magnitude of the discontinuity is larger than that predicted by Heisenberg's first approximation. The magnitude for the spin 1 is 3.4 $3.4k$ per atom and compares favorably with the experimental value for iron. The susceptibility is computed as a function of the temperature above the critical point. The variation of the susceptibility with temperature does not obey the Curie-Weiss Law but displays some curvature. This curvature explains qualitatively the difference between the "paramagnetic" and ferromagnetic critical temperatures and also helps remove some of the discrepancy between the number of Bohr magnetons per atom as measured at high and low temperatures.
Stem cells: Surf the waves of reprogramming

Cellular reprogramming to a stem-cell-like state is inefficient and poorly understood, despite its biomedical potential. Detailed molecular analyses of this process are now reported, and should help to overcome these limitations.
Detection of inspiratory resistive loads in double-lung transplant recipients.

The afferent pathways mediating respiratory load perception are still largely unknown. To assess the role of lung vagal afferents in respiratory sensation, detection of inspiratory resistive loads was compared between 10 double-lung transplant (DLT) recipients with normal lung function and 12 healthy control (Nor) subjects. Despite a similar unloaded and loaded breathing pattern, the DLT group had a significantly higher detection threshold (2.91 ± 0.5 vs. 1.55 ± 0.3 cmH2O · l−1 · s) and Weber fraction (0.50 ± 0.1 vs. 0.30 ± 0.1) compared with the Nor group. These results suggest that inspiratory resistive load detection occurs in the absence of vagal afferent feedback from the lung but that lung vagal afferents contribute to inspiratory resistive load detection response in humans. Lung vagal afferents are not essential to the regulation of resting breathing and load compensation responses.