cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association between cardiac troponin I concentrations and electrocardiographic abnormalities in dogs with blunt trauma

Objective To determine whether a normal cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentration and normal ECG on entry rule out the development of a clinically significant cardiac arrhythmia (CSCA, defined as an arrhythmia requiring anti-arrhythmic treatment) in dogs that have sustained blunt trauma. Design Prospective, observational study. Client-owned dogs were enrolled between January 2015 and November 2016. Setting University teaching hospital. Animals Forty-seven client-owned dogs with a history of witnessed or suspected blunt trauma within 24 hours prior to presentation to the hospital. Interventions On admission to the emergency service, dogs had a standard 3-lead ECG and cTnI concentration (using a veterinary point-of-care device* ) performed. Animal Trauma Triage (ATT) scores, Modified Glasgow Coma Scale (MGCS), and the details regarding the nature and timing of the injury were recorded. The patients were monitored in the ICU for a minimum of 24 hours on continuous ECG telemetry. Cardiac rhythm was monitored every hour, and any abnormalities were noted. The need for anti-arrhythmic therapy was recorded. There were no treatment interventions. Measurements and main results Five of 47 dogs (10.6%) developed a CSCA during hospitalization after sustaining blunt trauma. A normal entry ECG and normal cardiac troponin concentration on entry had a 100% negative predictive value (NPV) for ruling out the development of a CSCA, although a normal cardiac troponin concentration alone also had an NPV of 100%. A normal entry ECG had an NPV of 95.3%. The prognosis for survival to discharge was 89.4% in this study population (42/47 dogs). Conclusions In dogs with blunt trauma, an entry cTnI concentration or a combination of cTnI and ECG on entry may be useful in determining which patients are at a higher risk for the development of CSCA during the first 12 to 24 hours after the trauma.
Chapter 8 – Cell Cycle Regulators in Stem Cells

Adult stem cells have defined therapeutic roles evident in clinical bone marrow transplantation. The promise of broader therapeutic use for adult stem cells has been fueled by the controversial finding that cells derived from one tissue type may display phenotypic characteristics of other tissue types, given appropriate environmental cues. Therapeutic efficacy of stem cells in part depends on their proliferation; therefore, strategies to manipulate them require understanding of their cell cycle control. A significant hurdle restricting broader use of adult stem cells is their limited number and differentiation in response to proliferative stimuli, thus compromising ex vivo expansion efforts. Cell cycle regulators play key roles in this process. In this chapter, we do not intend to detail the biochemical pathways of general cell cycle regulation because they were largely obtained from other model systems and have been extensively reviewed elsewhere. Instead, we focus on the distinct cell cycle kinetics in stem cell populations, in particular the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs) in murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Admittedly, those studies do not give the whole picture with regard to how the cell cycle in stem cells is controlled. Nevertheless, they underscore the importance of further investigation of other cell cycle regulators in stem cell biology and offer new paradigms for therapeutic manipulations of stem cells.
Meta-Analysis of Emotional Designs in Multimedia Learning: A Replication and Extension Study

Emotions can both facilitate and hinder learning. Emotional design features such as colors and shapes can be embedded in multimedia learning environments to manipulate learners’ affects and learning outcomes. However, some studies suggest that emotional designs promote learning, while others show that they hinder it. Although Brom et al. (Educational Research Review 25:100–119, Brom et al. 2018) published a meta-analysis on the use of emotional designs in multimedia learning, an updated search showed that more studies were published recently. Thus, the present meta-analysis is a replication and extension of Brom et al.’s (Educational Research Review 25:100–119, Brom et al. 2018) meta-analysis. A total of 28 articles yielded the following independent effect sizes for each outcome examined: retention (k = 28), transfer (k = 38), comprehension (k = 16), mental effort (k = 28), perceived difficulty (k = 19), change in positive affect (k = 25), intrinsic motivation (k = 28), and liking/enjoyment (k = 19). Results showed that including emotional designs enhanced learning outcomes (retention: g+ = 0.35; transfer: g+ = 0.27; comprehension: g+ = 0.29), change in positive affect (g+ = 0.09), intrinsic motivation (g+ = 0.15), mental effort (g+ = 0.11), liking/enjoyment (g+ = 0.10), and reduced perceived difficulty (g+ = − 0.21). Moderator analyses were conducted for retention, mental effort, intrinsic motivation, and positive affect, and findings showed that mean effect sizes were moderated by participant characteristics as well as methodological and contextual features of the studies. We discuss these findings as well as their theoretical and practical implications.
A poll-tax receipt from Hermopolis

Edition of a poll-tax receipt from Hermopolis in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munchen. The receipt is dated August 6, AD 195, and is one of the few poll-tax receipts from Hermopolis.
Quantum-Dot Transistor Based Multi-Bit Multiplier Unit for In-Memory Computing

In-memory computing is an emerging technique to fulfill the fast growing demand for high-performance data processing. This technique provides fast processing and high throughput by accessing data s...
PL17 Ending the HIV Epidemic: The Critical Role of Implementation Science

In 2021, the requisite biomedical and behavioral interventions to eliminate new HIV infections exist. ‘Ending the HIV Epidemic’ worldwide now becomes primarily a challenge of will and implementation. For the past quarter century, the field of implementation science has been developing effective models and strategies to implement effective interventions in real-world service systems with the goal of efficiently providing interventions that reach the right people, at the right time, and in the right place. Yet, successful, sustained implementation is complex and requires a paradigmatic shift to focusing on the upstream factors in the system that are necessary to achieve the clinical effects demonstrated in efficacy research. While HIV/STI researchers have been implementing interventions for years, applying the best available scientific methods to this process has only recently begun to permeate the field and there are a number of gaps in knowledge, training, and application. This plenary will discuss the promising methods from implementation science for Ending the HIV Epidemic and describe some of the efforts in the United States to improve the science and lead to a world with no new HIV infections.
Iterative Solution of Non-Linear Equations in the Design of Slot Arrays

This paper describes the design of a waveguide-fed planar slot array with asymmetric excitations in the E-plane. The radiating waveguides are center-fed with centered-inclined coupling slots. The feed waveguide containing the coupling slots is also center-fed from an input waveguide with a shunt series coupling slot. Simultaneous non-linear design equations are solved by an iterative technique using a combination of quasi Newton technique and the secant method. Example designs demonstrate a highly convergent solution process.
A strategy for improved computational efficiency of the method of anchored distributions

[1] This paper proposes a strategy for improving the computational efficiency of model inversion using the method of anchored distributions (MAD) by “bundling” similar model parametrizations in the likelihood function. Inferring the likelihood function typically requires a large number of forward model (FM) simulations for each possible model parametrization; as a result, the process is quite expensive. To ease this prohibitive cost, we present an approximation for the likelihood function called bundling that relaxes the requirement for high quantities of FM simulations. This approximation redefines the conditional statement of the likelihood function as the probability of a set of similar model parametrizations “bundle” replicating field measurements, which we show is neither a model reduction nor a sampling approach to improving the computational efficiency of model inversion. To evaluate the effectiveness of these modifications, we compare the quality of predictions and computational cost of bundling relative to a baseline MAD inversion of 3-D flow and transport model parameters. Additionally, to aid understanding of the implementation we provide a tutorial for bundling in the form of a sample data set and script for the R statistical computing language. For our synthetic experiment, bundling achieved a 35% reduction in overall computational cost and had a limited negative impact on predicted probability distributions of the model parameters. Strategies for minimizing error in the bundling approximation, for enforcing similarity among the sets of model parametrizations, and for identifying convergence of the likelihood function are also presented.
The elemental and isotopic composition of galactic cosmic rays

Galactic cosmic rays represent a directly accessible sample of matter that originates outside the solar system. The element and isotope distribution of this high-energy material is a record that was molded in the fires of nucleosynthesis in other regions of the galaxy, and imprinted by subsequent nuclear and electromagnetic processes that have altered its composition. Recently, significant new advances have been achieved in reading this record, brought about in large part by the launch of new high-resolution instrumentation for measuring the charge, mass, and energy distribution of cosmic ray nuclides. In general, the data from these new experiments are telling us what is different about this extra-solar sample.
Experimental Study of Igneous and Sedimentary Apatite Dissolution: Control of pH, Distance from Equilibrium, and Temperature on Dissolution Rates

Apatite dissolution experiments were conducted using both a fluidized bed and stirred tank reactor over a range of pH, temperature, solution saturation state, and on non-carbonated and carbonated apatite compositions: igneous fluorapatite (FAP) and sedimentary carbonate fluorapatite (CFA), respectively. From 2 8.5 were not possible due to detection limits of the analytical techniques used in this study and the high insolubility of FAP. For the CFA compositions studied, the dissolution rate decreased with increasing pH from 4 < pH < 7. During early stages of the dissolution reaction for both FAP and CFA, mineral components were released in non-stoichiometric ratios with reacted solution ratios of dissolved Ca:P and Ca:F being greater than mineral stoichiometric ratios, suggesting that Ca was preferentially released compared to P and F from the mineral structure during the early stages of dissolution. An increase in reacted solution pH accompanies this early elevated release of Ca. As the dissolution reaction proceeded to steady state, dissolution became congruent. When normalized to BET measured surface area, FAP dissolved faster from 4 < pH < 7 compared to CFA. The apparent Arrhenius activation energy (Ea) of FAP dissolution over the temperature range of 25–55°C at pH = 3.0, I = 0.1, and pCO2 = 0 is 8.3 ± 0.2 kcal mol−1. Both the apparent exchange of solution H+ for solid-bound Ca at low pH in the early stage of dissolution and the Ea of dissolution suggest a surface and not a diffusion controlled dissolution reaction for FAP and CFA. The degree of undersaturation of the solution, ΔGR, with respect to FAP was important in determining the dissolution rate. At pH = 3.0, I = 0.1, and pCO2 = 0, the dissolution rate of FAP was ∼ 5× greater in the far-from-equilibrium region compared to the near-equilibrium slope region. A simple apatite weathering model incorporating the experimental results from this study was constructed, and numerical calculations suggest that during the Phanerozoic both the surface area of igneous rock available for weathering and the average global temperature were important factors in determining the P weathering flux from apatite dissolution. It is possible that elevated global temperatures coupled with relatively high surface area of igneous rock during the early- to mid-Paleozoic resulted in elevated P weathering fluxes, which along with climatic evolutionary pressures of the Neoproterozoic, facilitated the radiation of multicellular organisms, large-scale phosphorite deposition, and abundance of calcium phosphate shelled organisms during the early Cambrian.
SkimpyStash: RAM Space Skimpy Key-Value Store on Flash

We present SkimpyStash, a RAM space skimpy key-value store on flash, designed for high throughput server applications. The distinguishing feature of SkimpyStash is the design goal of extremely low RAM footprint at about 1 (+/- 0.5) byte per key-value pair, which is more aggressive than earlier designs. By being RAM space frugal, SkimpyStash can accommodate larger flash drive capacities for storing and indexing key-value pairs. SkimpyStash uses a hash table directory in RAM to index key-value pairs stored in a log-structure on flash. To break the barrier of a flash pointer (say, 4 bytes) worth of RAM overhead per key, it “moves” most of the pointers that locate each key-value pair from RAM to flash itself. This is realized by (i) resolving hash table collisions using linear chaining, where multiple keys that resolve (collide) to the same hash table bucket are chained in a linked list, and (ii) storing the linked lists on flash itself with a pointer in each hash table bucket in RAM pointing to the beginning record of the chain on flash, hence incurring multiple flash reads per lookup. Two further techniques are used to improve performance: (iii) two-choice based load balancing to reduce wide variation in bucket sizes (hence, chain lengths and associated lookup times), and a bloom filter in each hash table directory slot in RAM to disambiguate the choice during lookup, and (iv) compaction procedure to pack bucket chain records contiguously onto flash pages so as to reduce flash reads during lookup. The average bucket size is the critical design parameter that serves as a powerful knob for making a continuum of tradeoffs between low RAM usage and low lookup latencies. SkimpyStash can be used as a high throughput persistent key-value storage layer for a broad range of server class applications. We use real-world data traces from two data center applications, namely, Xbox LIVE Primetime online multi-player game and inline storage deduplication, to drive and evaluate the design of SkimpyStash on commodity server platforms. SkimpyStash provides throughputs from few 10,000s to upwards of 100,000 get-set operations/sec on the evaluated applications.
Immortalization of human fibroblasts transformed by origin-defective simian virus 40.

Abstract Simian virus 40 (SV40)-mediated transformation of human diploid fibroblasts has provided an effective experimental system for studies of both "senescence" in cell culture and carcinogenesis. Previous interpretations may have been complicated, however, by the semipermissive virus-cell interaction. In earlier studies, we previously demonstrated that the human diploid fibroblast line HS74 can be efficiently transformed by DNA from replication-defective mutants of SV40 containing a deletion in the viral origin for DNA synthesis (SVori-). In the current study, we found that such SVori- transformants show a significantly increased life span in culture, as compared with either HS74 or an independent transformant containing an intact viral genome, but they nonetheless undergo senescence. We have clonally isolated six immortalized derivatives of one such transformant (SV/HF-5). Growth studies indicate that the immortalized cell lines do not invariably grow better than SV/HF-5 or HS74. Genetic studies involving karyotypic analysis and Southern analysis of integrated viral sequences demonstrated both random and nonrandom alterations. All immortalized derivatives conserved one of the two copies of SV40 sequences which expressed a truncated T antigen. These cloned SV40-transformed cell lines, pre- and postimmortalization, should be useful in defining molecular changes associated with immortalization.
Land-Cover Change and Avian Diversity in the Conterminous United States

Changes in land use and land cover have affected and will continue to affect biological diversity worldwide.Yet,understandingthespatiallyextensiveeffectsofland-coverchangehasbeenchallengingbecause data that are consistent over space and time are lacking. We used the U.S. National Land Cover Dataset Land Cover Change Retrofit Product and North American Breeding Bird Survey data to examine land- cover change and its associations with diversity of birds with principally terrestrial life cycles (landbirds) in the conterminous United States. We used mixed-effects models and model selection to rank associations by ecoregion. Land cover in 3.22% of the area considered in our analyses changed from 1992 to 2001, and changes in species richness and abundance of birds were strongly associated with land-cover changes. Changes in species richness and abundance were primarily associated with changes in nondominant types of land cover, yet in many ecoregions different types of land cover were associated with species richness than were associated with abundance. Conversion of natural land cover to anthropogenic land cover was more strongly associated with changes in bird species richness and abundance than persistence of natural land cover in nearly all ecoregions and different covariates were most strongly associated with species richness than with abundance in 11 of 17 ecoregions. Loss of grassland and shrubland affected bird species richness and abundance in forested ecoregions. Loss of wetland was associated with bird abundance in forested ecoregions. Our findings highlight the value of understanding changes in nondominant land cover types and their association with bird diversity in the United States.
MR-Based three-dimensional modeling of the normal pelvic floor in women : Quantification of muscle mass

OBJECTIVE. Our objective was to use a combination of axial MR source images and three-dimensional (3D) models to describe the anatomy of the normal pelvic floor in young nulliparous women and to measure the volume of the levator ani.SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Ten healthy nulliparous female volunteers (average age, 27 years) underwent T2-weighted MR imaging of the pelvis. Three-dimensional color-coded models of the pelvic bones and organs and the three major components of the levator ani—puborectalis, iliococcygeus, and coccygeus—were created. Source images were used to measure muscle width and signal intensity and to identify ligamentous structures. Using 3D models, we measured the volume of the levator ani, the angle of the levator plate, the posterior urethrovesical angle, and the distance of the bladder neck from the symphysis pubis and the pubococcygeal line.RESULTS. In all volunteers, the signal intensity of the puborectalis exceeded that of the obturator externus. The average volume of the levator ani wa...
Sexual Abuse and the Culture of Catholicism: How Priests and Nuns Become Perpetrators, by M. L. Hidalgo

Sexual Abuse and the Culture of Catholicism: How Priests and Nuns Become Perpetrators, written by Myra Hidalgo, examines the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church from both a personal and a be...
Estimating dynamic lung images from high-dimension chest surface motion using 4D statistical model.

Computed Tomography (CT) has been widely used in image-guided procedures such as intervention and radiotherapy of lung cancer. However, due to poor reproducibility of breath holding or respiratory cycles, discrepancies between static images and patient’s current lung shape and tumor location could potentially reduce the accuracy for image guidance. Current methods are either using multiple intra-procedural scans or monitoring respiratory motion with tracking sensors. Although intra-procedural scanning provides more accurate information, it increases the radiation dose and still only provides snapshots of patient’s chest. Tracking-based breath monitoring techniques can effectively detect respiratory phases but have not yet provided accurate tumor shape and location due to low dimensional signals. Therefore, estimating the lung motion and generating dynamic CT images from real-time captured high-dimensional sensor signals acts as a key component for image-guided procedures. This paper applies a principal component analysis (PCA)-based statistical model to establish the relationship between lung motion and chest surface motion from training samples, on a template space, and then uses this model to estimate dynamic images for a new patient from the chest surface motion. Qualitative and quantitative results showed that the proposed high-dimensional estimation algorithm yielded more accurate 4D-CT compared to fiducial marker-based estimation.
Adsorption of Methylene Blue and Acid Blue 40 on Titania from Aqueous Solution

Langmuir type adsorption was observed for two systems: methylene blue (MB) on TX titania and acid blue 40 (AB40) on P25 titania at an ambient temperature of (23 ± 2) °C and ambient pH initially at 4.6 ± 0.2 for P25 titania and 7.8 ± 0.2 for TX titania. Based on a Langmuir analysis, values for maximum surface coverage, Nmax, and adsorption intensity, b, are 1.6 × 10-5 mol MB·g-1 and 3.6 × 104 L·mol-1, respectively, for TX titania. An Nmax value of 5.0 × 10-5 mol AB40·g-1 was determined for P25 titania. The TX titania adsorption surface area is estimated to be 12 m2·g-1 based on maximum adsorption of methylene blue. Results of gel electrophoresis on both dyes at pH values of 4 and 9 indicate that methylene blue remains cationic and acid blue 40 remains anionic in this pH range. Single-point adsorption experiments at selected pH values other than ambient were performed. Experimental evidence clearly indicates that electrostatic attraction is a reasonable explanation for the observed adsorption process in th...
Socialism in the Countryside? A Review Article

Though the peasantry dominated the French electorate from 1848 until at least 1900, historians of nineteenth-century France have only recently begun to pay adequate attention to the peasants' political role. Far from constituting an inert and largely conservative or apolitical mass, the French peasantry participated actively in local politics in the 1830s, voted heavily for the left-most political party in 1849-50, and rose up in defense of the "democratic and social republic" in 1851. Peasant ballots in the late 1870s secured the democratic institutions of the Third Republic, and as Tony Judt's Socialism in Provience shows, many Socialist deputies elected after 1890 owed their parliamentary seats to peasant suffrage. Judt bases his history of nineteenth-century socialism in Provence on a clear and important problematic: Why did peasant small property owners of the Var vote in increasing numbers for the overtly-Marxist French Socialists during the two decades before World War I; and how did a left-wing tradition become entrenched within the rural population of Provence? By no means is Judt's intention merely to contribute yet another study of Mediterranean France. Rather, Judt believes that the highly-charged political life of the Var, interesting in its own right, provides a particularly acute version of political phenomena that occur in a wider context. Thus Judt sees his study of left-wing politics in the Var both as a contribution to local history and as the basis for a consideration of French socialism as a whole. Moving from the Var to the nation, Judt broadens his original problematic to address a pair of fundamental questions about the history of French socialism: Why did a Marxist and urban-based Socialist Party attract so many peasants in Provence and elsewhere and how in turn did this rural base condition the development of the French Left?
Generation of tunable narrowband terahertz pulses from coherent transition radiation

We demonstrate the generation of tunable, narrow-band, few-cycle and multi-cycle terahertz pulses from a temporally modulated relativistic electron beam through coherent transition radiation. OCIS codes: 320.0320
The Modulatory Effect of Acetylcholinesterase On Neuronal Activity Is Dependent On Age in Aplysia

In the adult nervous system maintenance of function is poorly understood. A possible means to maintain ncuronal function is the level of excitatory input impinging on a neuron. In Aplysia gill motor neuron L7 mediates the gill withdrawal reflex and it exhibits reduced function with increased age, resulting from infrequent excitatory inputs (PERFTZ et al., 1984). This reduction is most pronounced with ageing from mature to old Aplysia, who are about 100 days older. Paralleling L7's reduced function is reduced hemolymph acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in old Aplysia (SRIVATSAN et al., 1992). By increased excitatory input on L7, using stimulation of the reflex pathway in old Aplysia, ZOLMAN & PERETZ (1987) found that L7'S function improved. Chronic stimulation of the reflex pathway also produced increased levels of AChE activity in old Aplysia (PERETZ & SRIVATSAN, 1993). This parallel between the level of hemolymph AChE activity and changes of L7 function led me to investigate the physiological effects of AChE on gill motor neurons: AChE was superfused over the gill motor neurons in the abdominal ganglion, and it induced increased excitability as expressed by membrane depolarization, increased spike rate and spike width, and it produced a change in the IV curve; most pronounced was a lessening of a presumed inward rectification during current clamping of L7' L7s from old Aplysia exhibited minimal inward rectification, no appreciable increase in spike rate, and little if any, increase in spike width, yet AChE did elicit membrane depolarization. These results show that AChE modulates neuronal properties, and age-related changes of these properties render L7 less responsive to AChE.
“DISAPPEARING BILE DUCT SYNDROME,” RESULT OF A GRAFT VERSUS HOST (GvsH) REACTION, AFTER FETAL LIVER AND THYMUS TRANSPLANTATION FOR SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASE (SCID)

A year-old male with SCID was transplanted with fetal liver & thymus from a female fetus removed by hysterotomy from his mother at 16 weeks gestation. The fetus differed from the patient in both HL-A haplotypes. Four days after transplantation, a GvsH reaction appeared: fever, diarrhea, maculopapular rash & pos. skin biopsy. By 14 days, liver enzymes & bilirubin were elevated. Max. values: bilirubin 30mg% (tot.), 19mg% (dir.), SGOT 405U & SGPT 350U. Chimerism was shown by total change in lymphocyte HL-A antigens T cells rose from 5% to 75%, but did not respond to in vitro stimulation by mitogens, antigens & allogeneic cells to date, 7 ½ mos. after transplantation. Immunoglobulins remained essentially absent. Following anti-thymocyte globulin & steroids, bilirubin remains around 10-14mg% (tot.) & 3-8mg% (dir.) & the enzymes have decreased. Liver biopsy 5 mos. after transplantation showed no necrosis, intact lobular architecture, patchy canalicular & hepatocellular bile stasis. Portal bile ducts were totally absent. There were small lymphocytic portal infiltrates. No plasma cells, hematopoietic cells, or fibrosis were seen. No virus was isolated. The observations show that these fetal cells, capable of effecting a severe GvsH reaction in vivo, repeatedly did not respond to various stimuli in vitro before or after transplantation. The observations also suggest that a GvsH type reaction may be one cause of the “disappearing bile duct syndrome.”
Homeobox genes are expressed in the retina and brain of adult goldfish

The goldfish (Carassius auratus) visual pathway displays continuous growth and plasticity throughout life. Since homeobox genes are important transcriptional regulators in development, we searched for homeobox genes in the adult goldfish retina and brain. Using the PCR, we discovered a repertoire of homeobox sequences expressed in these tissues. In addition to isolating homeodomain sequences found in the vertebrate Hox gene clusters, a sequence identical to the chicken CHox7 homeodomain was characterized. Furthermore, a sequence with significant homologies to the Xenopus XIHbox8 and leech Htr-A2 homeodomains was identified, and these sequences may define an additional class of homeodomain. Finally, a sequence belonging to the paired class (prd) of homeodomains is reported. Homeobox gene expression in the adult goldfish retina and brain may be associated with the persistent developmental features of these tissues.
Expanding Peripheral Activities, Increasing Accountability Demands and Reconsidering Governance in US Higher Education.

Activities emerging on the periphery of American universities and colleges of all types have challenged traditional conceptions of governance, particularly how to properly involve faculty. Examples of these activities are academic programs for non‐traditional students, various auxiliary activities within institutions, and partnerships with communities and industry. This paper describes the US approach to governance and discusses how concerns about diminishing resources and increasing demand, competition and costs are causing institutions to become more managed and less influenced by faculty. The paper concludes with a discussion of recent recommendations for reform in the governance of American higher education.
Quantitative Non-Destructive Evaluation of Steel Microstructure Using Elastic Wave Perturbation

The purpose of this investigation is to develop the nondestructive tools for microstructure assessments in carbon alloyed steels. The role of carbon in steel and its effects on electromagnetic property and also the free electron model have been reviewed. The fundamental electromagnetic principle behind low frequency impedance measurements has been included. The systematic analysis of phonon vibration and ultrasonic resonance spectroscopy for elastic wave perturbation in T22 Cr-Mo steel has been presented. A brief examination of nondestructive microstructure evaluation techniques has been described. The induced microstructure variations in Grade T22 Cr-Mo steel, including the correlations of changes in physical (microstructure) and mechanical (hardness data) properties during annealing have been measured. The explanations of aged carbide precipitates, martensitic and pearlitic nucleation and growth have been illustrated. The possibility of simultaneous use of two nondestructive wave techniques is discussed. The electron model and electron interactions are associated and are shown to support the results of low frequency impedance measurements enhanced elastic wave perturbations.
A Comparison of Co-Participant Perceptions of Self and Others in Placement Center Interviews.

This study investigated the degree to which applicants' perceptions of interview behaviors differed from interviewers' perceptions. Data were drawn from 188 actual employment interviews conducted under the auspices of a university‐operated placement center. Data analyses revealed applicants rating themselves and the interviewers significantly higher than the interviewers' ratings of either themselves or the applicants.
Tetralogy of Fallot with Right Aortic Arch and Isolation of the Left Innominate Artery from a Left-Sided Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Isolation of the left innominate artery arising from the ductus arteriosus is a rare clinical entity with only nine cases being reported in the literature [5, 7, 8]. We describe a case consisting of tetralogy of Fallot, right aortic arch, and isolation of the left innominate artery arising from a left-sided ductus arteriosus which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been previously reported. The embryology of the aortic arch anomaly is reviewed.
A Relevant Lesson: Hitler Goes to the Mall

Abstract A “Motivation” eliciting the “Aim” of each lesson initiates each lesson in the orthodox “developmental lesson-plan” that has dominated classroom instruction in NYC public schools for at least the past half-century. An action-research study of 38 lesson-plans (over 5 each from 5 teachers) drawn from student-teaching courses at the author's institution, combined with fieldnotes from observations, a teaching placement, and focus groups, yields a descrition of how the motivations “worked” in the classroom, and their relevance to the lesson that followed. The mandate to have a “motivation” and single sentence “aim” for each class appears to warp student-teacher thinking about the subject of history and how secondary students understand it. Comparisons to McNeil's classification of strategies teachers used to resist administrative controls demonstrates striking similarities. Suggested responses include a focus on year-long, not unit planning, for content and classroom systems, additional research on co...
Vocal attractiveness and vocal babyishness: effects on stranger, self, and friend impressions

Ratings of the attractiveness and babyishness of the voices of 124 stimulus persons were obtained. These were compared to impressions provided by judges on the basis of vocal information only; self-descriptions provided by the stimulus persons; and descriptions of the stimulus persons provided by close friends. The vocal attractiveness stereotype was generally replicated, and the effects of vocal attractiveness and babyishness on impressions were found to be independent of one another. Sex differences in the impact of vocal attractiveness on perceptions were also revealed. Analyses did not reveal an impact of vocal attractiveness on self or friend ratings.
Recent experiences with minimally invasive pectus excavatum repair "Nuss procedure".

Objective: To review the new technical modifications and results of 668 patients who have had pectus excavatum repair utilizing the minimally invasive technique. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 668 patients undergoing minimally invasive pectus repair from 1987 through July 2004. Since 1997, a standardized treatment pathway was implemented. Preoperative evaluation included computed tomography (CT) scan, pulmonary function tests, and cardiac evaluations with electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. Indications for operation included at least 2 of the following: progression of the deformity, Haller CT index greater than 3.25, mitral valve prolapse, cardiac compression or displacement, pulmonary function studies that indicate restrictive or obstructive airway disease, previous failed open or minimally invasive pectus repair. Technical and design modifications since 1998 have included routine thoracoscopy, the use of an introducer/dissector for creating the substernal tunnel, elevating the sternum, and routine use of a wired lateral stabilizer and polydioxanone suture (PDS) sutures around the bar and underlying rib to prevent bar displacement. The bar is removed as an outpatient procedure in 2 to 4 years. Results: In 668 patients undergoing minimally invasive pectus repairs, single bars were used in 78.1% and double in 21.7%. Lateral stabilizers were applied in 99.8% and were wired for further stability in 71%. Bar shifts before the use of stabilizers were 14.3%, which decreased to 4.6% after stabilizers were placed and 0.8% with a wired stabilizer and PDS sutures. Results were excellent in 78.5%, good in 13.1%, fair in 4.7% and failed in 3.7% after more than 1 year post bar removal. Conclusion: The minimally invasive technique has evolved into an effective method of pectus excavatum repair. Modifications of the technique have reduced complications. Long-term results continue to be excellent.
BMP-12 Treatment of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Vitro Augments Tendon-Like Tissue Formation and Defect Repair In Vivo

We characterized the differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) into tenocyte-like cells in response to bone morphogenetic protein-12 (BMP-12). BM-MSCs were prepared from Sprague-Dawley rats and cultured as monolayers. Recombinant BMP-12 treatment (10 ng/ml) of BM-MSCs for 12 hours in vitro markedly increased expression of the tenocyte lineage markers scleraxis (Scx) and tenomodulin (Tnmd) over 14 days. Treatment with BMP-12 for a further 12-hour period had no additional effect. Colony formation assays revealed that ∼80% of treated cells and their progeny were Scx- and Tnmd-positive. BM-MSCs seeded in collagen scaffolds and similarly treated with a single dose of BMP-12 also expressed high levels of Scx and Tnmd, as well as type I collagen and tenascin-c. Furthermore, when the treated BM-MSC-seeded scaffolds were implanted into surgically created tendon defects in vivo, robust formation of tendon-like tissue was observed after 21 days as evidenced by increased cell number, elongation and alignment along the tensile axis, greater matrix deposition and the elevated expression of tendon markers. These results indicate that brief stimulation with BMP-12 in vitro is sufficient to induce BM-MSC differentiation into tenocytes, and that this phenotype is sustained in vivo. This strategy of pretreating BM-MSCs with BMP-12 prior to in vivo transplantation may be useful in MSC-based tendon reconstruction or tissue engineering.
Reflections on reference services

Significant institutional and external trends are influencing the direction of reference services at the William H. Welch Medical Library. These trends include institutional restructuring and consolidation, improvements in technology infrastructure, and fiscal accountability, as well as external economic pressure. We describe fundamental programmatic changes in our reference services over the past decade and speculate on what Reference may mean for us at the millenium, given our growing instructional role. We also relate the cost center model used to fund the Library's programs to current trends and offer perspective on challenges we expect to face in fulfilling our mission in the face of these trends. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Effect of high pressure processing and cooking treatment on the quality of Atlantic salmon

Abstract The effect of high pressure treatment (HPP) (150 MPa and 300 MPa for 15 min) and cooking on quality of Atlantic salmon based on microbial activity, lipid oxidation, fatty acid profile, colour and texture during 6 days of storage was studied. High pressure and cooking significantly ( p L ∗ and b ∗ values but lower a ∗ values for dark muscle compared to control and samples treated at 150 MPa. An increase in pressure resulted in an increase in hardness, gumminess and chewiness parameters, and a decrease in adhesiveness compared to control and cooked samples. Whereas cooking and 150 MPa led to similar oxidation development as control in dark muscle, the 300 MPa treatment effectively reduced the samples susceptibility to oxidation. Fatty acid profile of cooked Atlantic salmon dark muscle showed significantly ( p n −3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and n −6 PUFA and significantly ( p p > 0.05) difference between control and HPP treated samples in terms of total saturated, monoenes, n −3 PUFA and n −6 PUFA fatty acid profile. This demonstrates that HPP is a very mild process in terms of its effect on fatty acids.
High-resolution isotopic record of C4 photosynthesis in a Miocene grassland

Abstract The origin and spread of grasslands is one of the key evolutionary events in the Cenozoic, which is characterized by long-term cooling and drying climatic conditions. One way to examine the relationship between vegetation and climate is to study the isotopic composition of organic carbon preserved in paleosols. Paleosols that preserve organic matter in the form of carbonaceous root traces provide direct evidence of the proportion of C3 to C4 biomass that grew in the soil, in contrast with pedogenic carbonate δ13C values, which may also reflect complicating factors including mixing from atmospheric δ13C in low productivity ecosystems. A high temporal and spatial resolution reconstruction of past ecosystems was derived from thirty-five paleosols in a thirty-four meter section of the Sixmile Creek Formation at Timber Hills, Montana (USA) that was deposited during the Miocene (10.2–8.9 Ma ago). Phytoliths were extracted from paleosol samples to compare vegetation assemblages to inferences based on isotopic compositions, with both proxies giving similar results. Isotopic results from organic matter indicate both a small component of C4 photosynthetic plants locally prior to their regional expansion to dominance in the late Miocene through the early Pleistocene, and large variation in the abundance of C4 plants (0–25%) in this ecosystem both laterally and on a 100 Kyr timescale. In contrast, pedogenic carbonate δ13C values from this site indicate a high proportion of C4 photosynthesis that is at odds with both phytolith and δ13Corg results, suggesting that the carbonate values are biased by diagenesis or diffusion of atmospheric CO2, and that a similar issue may impact previous paleovegetation reconstructions based on pedogenic carbonates. Quantitative reconstructions of mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation indicate little local variability through time and that the fluctuations in C4 proportion were not climatically driven. Instead, the variable proportion of C4 photosynthesis is best explained by ecosystem-scale variables such as succession, fluvial avulsion, and fire regime.
Sororin, a Substrate of the Anaphase- Promoting Complex, Is Required for Sister Chromatid Cohesion in Vertebrates

We have identified a regulator of sister chromatid cohesion in a screen for cell cycle-controlled proteins. This 35 kDa protein is degraded through anaphase-promoting complex (APC)-dependent ubiquitination in G1. The protein is nuclear in interphase cells, dispersed from the chromatin in mitosis, and interacts with the cohesin complex. In Xenopus embryos, overexpression of the protein causes failure to resolve and segregate sister chromatids in mitosis and an increase in the level of cohesin associated with metaphase chromosomes. In cultured cells, depletion of the protein causes mitotic arrest and complete failure of sister chromatid cohesion. This protein is thus an essential, cell cycle-dependent mediator of sister chromatid cohesion. Based on sequence analysis, this protein has no apparent orthologs outside of the vertebrates. We speculate that the protein, which we have named sororin, regulates the ability of the cohesin complex to mediate sister chromatid cohesion, perhaps by altering the nature of the interaction of cohesin with the chromosomes.
Retreat from Utopia: The Reconfiguration of Russian Socialism

Although it has been fashionable to assert since the late eighties that Russia is in transition from administrative command planning to capitalism, close analysis reveals that this is hardly the case. Soviet and now Russian leaders have been trying throughout to retain state economic control while harnessing the market for their own public and private ends. In doing so, they have only succeeded in creating a bastard form of socialism that has simultaneously endogenized hyper-inflation, acute depression, suppressed competition, spawn-microeconomic disorder, and kleptocracy. The outlook for the future is more of the same.
Theory and application of differential OTF (dOTF) wavefront sensing

A new image-based technique for measuring the complex field in the pupil of a telescope is presented. The simplest form of the method uses two point source images, one with a small modification introduced in the pupil. The processing of the images is very simple and non-iterative. The method is based on a specially-defined complex functional derivative of the OTF. This derivative is approximated empirically by the difference between the Fourier transforms of the two PSFs: the differential OTF or "dOTF." Due to the complex conjugate in the OTF, the dOTF includes two complex images of the complex pupil field overlapping at the point of pupil modification. By placing the modification near the edge of the pupil, the overlap region can be minimized. The overlap region is typically small, but can be eliminated altogether by using a second modification and a third image. The technique can use broadband light, but the result incurs a radial blurring proportional to the fractional bandwidth. This is also easily dealt with using another modification and image. Although the dOTF a poor match for high frame rate astronomical AO applications, it has many potential uses. Optical shop testing, non-common-path wavefront error estimation, alignment and vignetting, telescope segment phasing, general imaging system diagnostics and testing applications are considered. More advanced applications are possible with extensions to the theory, such as extended incoherence background scenes as sources instead of stars, and 3-D tomographic aberration and transmission mapping open up many new applications.
An experimental study on the process of zeolite formation

Abstract Results are reported of an experimental study which examined the effect of solution composition on the composition, structure, and crystallization path of phillipsite and merlinoite in the system Na2OK2O-Al2O3-SiO2H2O at 80°C and pH = 13.34–13.71 . At a fixed 3.5 M total dissolved silica concentration, zeolite Si/Al ratio was found to be a linear function of pH within the pH range of the experiments.29Si NMR spectra of the initial solutions show that pH determines the distribution of aqueous aluminosilicate species and, as a result, the precipitated zeolite Si/Al ratio. SEM observations reveal that zeolites may precipitate with or without the presence of an intermediary gel phase, depending on solution composition. The growth rate of the zeolites was found to be dependent upon solution pH and total dissolved aluminum concentration. These observations are discussed in terms of their possible applications to natural zeolite paragenesis and serve to delineate the framework of a comprehensive theory for the mechanism of zeolite crystallization from highly alkaline solutions.
A Culture Medium proposed for the Isolation of Streptococcus faecalis, sensu strictu.

RECENTLY, a medium has been proposed1 for the specific detection of Streptococcus faecalis, sensu strictu, with the implication that this micro-organism resides almost exclusively in the intestinal tract of man. The functional ingredients of the medium depend on the ability of S. faecalis, sensu strictu, to ferment sorbitol, utilize tyro-sine, and reduce 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) when incubated in agar at 45° C after a preliminary incubation at 37° C.
Ambulatory electrocardiography and computer technology ― practical advantages

Ambulatory electrocardiography has employed computer technology for more than two decades. This review pertains to current state-of-the-art interaction between ambulatory electrocardiography and computer technology with regard to data analysis, quantitation and standardization, data formatting, data storage and retrieval, and comparative interpretation of ambulatory ECGs. This report also addresses evolving techniques expected in the near future.