cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ultraviolet Photometry of Stars from OSO II

Ultraviolet stellar fluxes from 1500 to 3200 A were from February through August 1965 on OSO II. A 15-cm diameter Gregorian telescope with a stepped grating spectrophotometer provided flux measurements in ten adjacent 180 A wide band passes.
The past protecting the future

Purpose – In answer to the urgent need to adapt conservation strategies and approaches to climate change, the purpose of this paper is to locate the climatically stable forests in West and Central Africa and to assess whether they overlap with the existing network of protected areas and if not, to prioritize them for protection.Design/methodology/approach – With ongoing global warming, rain forest will survive where locally soil moisture content remains high compensating for the regional drought stress. As a proxy for a soil moisture‐driven model, rainfall >2,000 mm, altitude >500 m and strong relief (standard deviation in elevation data pixels) were overlapped in a GIS analysis to locate the climatically stable forest within the present continuous forest of Central Africa and within the degraded forest of West Africa. As a means of verification, the biodiversity was measured in and outside the identified areas in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea as high levels of biodiversity are related to the survival and s...
On the characteristics of nonlinear soil response

Abstract A numerical code for calculating the time-domain response of a nonlinear soil-to-base excitation is used to examine the characteristics of strong-motion accelerograms recorded in soil. The results verify several of the effects that are usually cited as evidence of nonlinearity: decreased spectral ratios of surface-to-input motion near the dominant frequency of the soil; decreased statistical uncertainty in prediction of peak acceleration; and increased effective period of surface motion. When examined in the Fourier-transform domain, the results show that the soil response can be separated into three frequency bands. In the lowest frequency range, the spectral amplitudes are not affected by the nonlinearity. In the central band, the spectral amplitudes are decreased. The increase in the dominant period is caused primarily by a strong decrease in the amplitude of shorter-period waves, rather than by amplification of low-period motion. Above a cross-over frequency, however, the spectral amplitudes at the free surface are increased relative to linear soil response calculations. This is a consequence of the sudden change in the stiffness of the soil at reversals in the stress-strain curve. This increase in spectral amplitudes at high frequencies causes the spectral decay parameter κ to decrease for the soil model that was used. The transition frequencies separating these three types of behavior shift to lower frequencies as the thickness of the soil layer is increased.
Social Inclusion or Market Competitiveness? A Comparison of Rural Development Policies in the European Union and the United States

The language of EU rural development policy appears more interested in social inclusion and that of US policy more interested in market competitiveness. We seek to determine why policies directed at rural development in the EU and the USA differ. In both contexts new rural development policies emphasize partnership and participation but we find local participation is used to promote social inclusion in the EU and market competitiveness in the USA. An examination of these dimensions illustrates important transcontinental differences and similarities in rural development policies. We explore the socio-historical reasons for differences in the commitment to social inclusion, while also noting similarities in the priority of market competitiveness.
COGNITIVE CHANGE IN SPECIAL FORCES PERSONNEL FOLLOWING STRESSFUL SURVIVAL TRAINING

Understanding the deterioration in cognitive functioning produced by stress continues to gain in importance due to the increasing demands imposed by technologically sophisticated systems. Although the general deleterious effects of stress are well established, the relative sensitivity of different cognitive functions to stress and the pattern of cognitive recovery with rest have not been fully distinguished. In this paper, we examined the cognitive performance of Special Forces soldiers immediately prior to and immediately following one week of Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) School training at Ft. Bragg, NC. Post-stress cognitive performance was characterized by significantly increased response time with minimal change in response accuracy. While response time increased for all tasks, memory appears to be most sensitive to stress. Performance returned to pre-stress levels the next morning following one night of sleep. The tasks affected most in the current study differed from changes whic...
Subclavian steal syndrome: can the blood pressure difference between arms predict the severity of steal?

Background and Purpose. A side-to-side difference in systolic brachial arterial blood pressure is a common finding in subclavian artery stenosis and is frequently used as a screening tool for subclavian steal syndrome (SSS). It was the goal of this retrospective study to investigate the relationship between different vertebral artery waveform types and the side-to-side difference in systolic blood pressure in patients with sonographically proven SSS. Methods. The records of 1860 patients from the Neuroultrasound Laboratory between January 2000 and December 2000 were screened for the diagnosis of SSS in the final ultrasound report. In all patients, bilateral brachial arterial blood pressure was measured in a sitting position prior to the ultrasound examination. Vertebral artery waveforms were classified as (1) systolic deceleration, (2) alternating flow, and (3) complete reversal at rest. Blood pressure difference as calculated by normal-side blood pressure minus lesion-side blood pressure was compared with the 3 Doppler waveform types. Results. SSS was found in 51 of 1860 (2.7%) ultrasonography studies of 49 patients (17 men, 32 women; mean age 65.3 ± 10.5 years). Two patients (4%) had bilateral SSS. In 3 patients (6%), SSS was related to an innominate artery stenosis. Waveform analysis showed a completely reversed flow in 16 (31%), an alternating flow in 24 (47%), and a systolic deceleration in 11 (22%) cases. Systolic blood pressure difference was significantly higher in the complete reversal and alternating groups than in the systolic deceleration group (P < .001). Conclusion. Brachial systolic blood pressure difference is related to the severity of SSS and can be used as a screening tool for SSS. However, it performed better in severe steal than milder steal phenomena.
Contrast enhancement in the craniopharyngioma cyst wall caused by irradiation

Purpose: to report the occurrence, degree, frequency, and duration of contrast enhancement in the craniopharyngioma cyst wall as caused by irradiationMaterial and Methods: Eight patients with cystic craniopharyngiomas had comparable CT or MR studies before and after either external irradiation of the cyst (n=5) or 32P instillation into the cyst (n=3)Results: A minimal to marked increase in cyst-wall enhancement was seen at 66–157 days after 32P instillation in 3/3 cases and at 112–495 days after external irradiation in 3/5 cases. the increased enhancement was always associated with a variable interim increase in the thickness of the enhanced cyst wallConclusion: CT or MR imaging after the irradiation of cystic craniopharyngiomas usually demonstrated an increase in thickness and enhancement in the cyst wall. Such changes may be due to the irradiation alone and do not necessarily represent infection or increased neoplastic activity. the timing is uncertain as to the earliest possible development of such cha...
High Throughput, Polymeric Aqueous Two‐Phase Printing of Tumor Spheroids

This paper presents a new 3D culture microtechnology for high throughput production of tumor spheroids and validates its utility for screening anti-cancer drugs. We use two immiscible polymeric aqueous solutions and microprint a submicroliter drop of the "patterning" phase containing cells into a bath of the "immersion" phase. Selecting proper formulations of biphasic systems using a panel of biocompatible polymers results in the formation of a round drop that confines cells to facilitate spontaneous formation of a spheroid without any external stimuli. Adapting this approach to robotic tools enables straightforward generation and maintenance of spheroids of well-defined size in standard microwell plates and biochemical analysis of spheroids in situ, which is not possible with existing techniques for spheroid culture. To enable high throughput screening, we establish a phase diagram to identify minimum cell densities within specific volumes of the patterning drop to result in a single spheroid. Spheroids show normal growth over long-term incubation and dose-dependent decrease in cellular viability when treated with drug compounds, but present significant resistance compared to monolayer cultures. The unprecedented ease of implementing this microtechnology and its robust performance will benefit high throughput studies of drug screening against cancer cells with physiologically-relevant 3D tumor models.
The Role of Paraprofessionals in Technical Services in Academic Libraries

Lihong Zhu, “The Role of Paraprofessionals in Technical Services in Academic Libraries,” Poster session accepted for presentation at Washington State University Academic Showcase, March 30, 2012, Pullman, Wash. The poster reports on the research findings about the roles of paraprofessionals in technical services in academic libraries in the previous five years.
Effects of age and food availability on diel vertical migration of Calanus pacificus

Age-specific differences in diel vertical migration behavior of Calanus pacificus were investigated in a 58 d (30 April–26 June, 1981) experiment in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Deep Tank, La Jolla, California, USA; the experiment spanned three successive generations of copepods. The onset of vertical migration behavior occurred in the first feeding stage, Nauplius III. The amplitude of vertical migration gradually increased with age, becoming maximal in the late copepodite stages. Night depths remained constant with age while daytime depths increased. The migratory behavior of late copepodite stages was influenced by food availability. When phytoplankton was abundant and individual ingestion rates were high, copepodites performed high-amplitude migrations. As food availability declined, however, and the competition for food increased, migration amplitudes decreased and then ceased altogether so that copepodites remained in the relatively food-rich surface waters at all times. We suggest that hunger is the primary factor controlling vertical migration behavior.
American Subcultural Continua as Exemplified by the Mormons and Texans

THE anthropological contributions to the study of American culture have been repeatedly criticized (from both inside and outside the discipline) for the tendency we have had (a) to make one or more community studies and then leap to unwarranted conclusions about American culture, or (b) to make "speculative" interpretations of the patterns of our culture as a whole based upon our experience of living in America, in much the same way that we derive knowledge of small nonliterate cultures from participant observation. It is frequently held that in both types of approach the anthropologists tend to ignore basic variations within the large mass society of the United States. Some of this criticism has been justified, much of it has been extreme. But as a result of this stream of criticism, anthropologists with research interests in American culture are by now thoroughly sensitized (if they were not before) to the problem of variation within our complex society. Many of the lines of variation within our culture are fairly clear-cut and have, in fact, long been recognized by anthropologists. Differentiation in terms of age, sex, region, ethnicity, social class, religion, rural or urban residence, and occupational type are of evident importance, and research by several disciplines is rapidly providing more complete data on these variations. It is the thesis of this paper that there is an additional type of variation in American culture which has not been given sufficient attention to date. I shall call this type a historically derived subcultural continuum. This unit has only partial relationships to geographical region, ethnic and religious affiliation, social class, rural-urban residence, occupational type, and the other kinds of differentiation that are well recognized-a partial relationship in the sense that, while all these factors may operate (in various combinations) to produce the unit, the most important facts about the unit are that it was derived from a chain of historical circumstances and that it tends to maintain special pat-
Novel, Inexpensive Robot for Teaching Controls Engineering

A novel Control and Sensor System (CASSY) has been developed to teach controls engineering to electrical and mechanical students. The inexpensive platform, which can be built for under $1500, has a first order velocity loop and a first order yaw rate loop with friction. A detailed model of the robot allows students to perform system identification and compare with the model. Students can implement PID, digital filter, and state space controllers on the robot, vary constants, measure performance, identify stability, and perform step and sine based system identification on the open and closed loop system. Wireless telemetry between the robot and a host computer allow all the control signals to be saved for later analysis. Fabrication guides and training videos are located on robotics.ualr.edu, and the robot has been fabricated by students at UALR and Hendrix College, demonstrating the ease with which the platform can be integrated into a curriculum. The CASSY platform has been used in both undergraduate and graduate control courses at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The practical robot experiments have improved learning outcomes of the largely theoretical material.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
The role of drought preparedness in building and mobilizing adaptive capacity in states and their community water systems

The likely intensification of extreme droughts from climate change in many regions across the United States has increased interest amongst researchers and water managers to understand not only the magnitude of drought impacts and their consequences on water resources, but also what they can do to prevent, respond to, and adapt to these impacts. Building and mobilizing ‘adaptive capacity’ can help in this pursuit. Researchers anticipate that drought preparedness measures will increase adaptive capacity, but there has been minimal testing of this and other assumptions about the governance and institutional determinants of adaptive capacity. This paper draws from recent extreme droughts in Arizona and Georgia to empirically assess adaptive capacity across spatial and temporal scales. It combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify a handful of heuristics for increasing adaptive capacity of water management to extreme droughts and climate change, and also highlights potential tradeoffs in building and mobilizing adaptive capacity across space and time.
When facts, truth, and reality are God‐terms: on journalism's uneasy place in cultural studies

This article tracks the uneasy coexistence of journalism and cultural studies, arguing that the tensions between the two fields have worked to mutual disadvantage. The article suggests that rethinking the ways in which journalism and its inquiry might be made a more integral part of cultural studies could constitute a litmus test of sorts for cultural studies. Figuring out how to embrace journalism's god‐terms of facts, truth, and reality alongside its own regard for subjectivity and construction could help move cultural studies into further degrees of maturation as a field.
Global and local optimization using radial basis function response surface models

The focus of this paper is the optimization of complex multi-parameter systems. We consider systems in which the objective function is not known explicitly, and can only be evaluated through computationally intensive numerical simulation or through costly physical experiments. The objective function may also contain many local extrema which may be of interest. Given objective function values at a scattered set of parameter values, we develop a response surface model that can dramatically reduce the required computation time for parameter optimization runs. The response surface model is developed using radial basis functions, producing a model whose objective function values match those of the original system at all sampled data points. Interpolation to any other point is easily accomplished and generates a model which represents the system over the entire parameter space. This paper presents the details of the use of radial basis functions to transform scattered data points, obtained from a complex continuum mechanics simulation of explosive materials, into a response surface model of a function over the given parameter space. Response surface methodology and radial basis functions are discussed in general and are applied to a global optimization problem for an explosive oil well penetrator.
Response of duffing-type harvesters to band-limited noise

Abstract This paper aims to experimentally investigate the influence of stiffness-type nonlinearities on the transduction of vibratory energy harvesters (VEHs) under band-limited noise. For the purpose of the study, an energy harvester consisting of a clamped–clamped piezoelectric beam bi-morph is considered. The shape of the harvester's potential function is altered by applying a static compressive axial load at one end of the beam. The axial load permits the harvester to operate with different potential energy characteristics, namely, the mono-stable (pre-buckling) and bi-stable (post-buckling) configurations. The performance of the harvester in both the configurations is investigated and compared by tuning the harvester's oscillation frequencies around the static equilibria such that they have equal values in both scenarios. The harvester is then subjected to random base excitations of different levels, bandwidths, and center frequencies. The variance of the output voltage is measured across an arbitrary, purely resistive load and used for the purpose of performance comparison. Critical conclusions pertinent to the influence of the nonlinearity and relative performance in both configurations are presented and discussed.
Integrating a Relaxation Response-Based Curriculum into a Public High School in Massachusetts.

Academic and societal pressures result in U.S. high school students feeling stressed. Stress management and relaxation interventions may help students increase resiliency to stress and overall well-being. The objectives of this study were to examine the feasibility (enrollment, participation and acceptability) and potential effectiveness (changes in perceived stress, anxiety, self-esteem, health-promoting behaviors, and locus of control) of a relaxation response (RR)-based curriculum integrated into the school day for high school students. The curriculum included didactic instruction, relaxation exercises, positive psychology, and cognitive restructuring. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in levels of perceived stress, state anxiety, and health-promoting behaviors when compared to the wait list control group. The intervention appeared most useful for girls in the intervention group. The results suggest that several modifications may increase the feasibility of using this potentially effective intervention in high schools.
Polyp Height and Width Measurement Using Topographic Height Map

The height and width of colonic polyps are important characteristics to evaluate the status and malignancy of polyps. We borrow the idea from geographic information systems to employ topographic height maps to compute the polyp height and width. The height map is generated using a ray-casting algorithm through an orthogonal projection. A concentric index is devised to gauge the quality of the height map and is maximized in a multi-scale spiral spherical search for the optimal projection. We then locate the polyp tip and neck using directional height profiles, and derive height and width measurement based on geometrical analysis. We manually measured the height and width of 58 polyps and performed paired t-tests between manual measurement and height map measurement. The test shows that Pearson correlation is 0.742 and P(T<=t) is 0.01 for height measurement; and Pearson correlation is 0.663 and P(T<=t) is 0.002 for width measurement.
MicroRNA-mediated gene regulations in human sarcomas

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of tumors with mesenchymal origins. Sarcomas are broadly classified into bone and soft tissue sarcomas with over 50 subtypes. Despite recent advances in sarcoma classification and treatment strategies, the prognosis of some aggressive sarcoma types remains poor due to treatment infectiveness and development of drug resistance. A better understanding of sarcoma pathobiology will significantly increase the potential for the development of therapeutics and treatment strategies. Recently, expressions of microRNAs (miRNA), a class of small non-coding RNAs, have been found to be deregulated in many sarcomas and are implicated in sarcoma pathobiology. Comprehensive understanding of gene regulatory networks mediated by miRNAs in each sarcoma type and the conservation of some shared/conserved miRNA-gene networks could be potentially investigated in the prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and as multi-modal treatment options in these cancers. In this review, we will discuss the current knowledge of miRNA–gene regulatory networks in various sarcoma types and give a perspective of the complex multilayer miRNA-mediated gene regulation in sarcomas.
Antibiotic treatment and conservative surgery plus short-course antibiotics were similar for diabetic foot osteomyelitis.

Lazaro-Martinez JL, Aragon-Sanchez J, Garcia-Morales E. Antibiotics Versus Conservative Surgery for Treating Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis: A Randomized Comparative Trial. Diabetes Care. 2014 Mar;37(3):789-95. ### Question: In patients with diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO), how does antibiotic treatment alone compare with conservative surgery and short-course antibiotic therapy? ### Design: Randomized (allocation concealed), unblinded, controlled trial with 12 weeks of follow-up. ### Setting: The diabetic foot unit of a university hospital in Madrid, Spain. ### Patients: 52 patients >18 years of age with DFO confirmed by the probing-to-bone test and by radiography. Exclusion criteria included severe infections, presence of necrotizing soft-tissue infections, peripheral arterial disease, Charcot foot, glycated hemoglobin >10%, exposed bone in the ulcer, pregnancy, antibiotic allergies, creatinine values >98 μmol/L in women or >106 μmol/L in men, and hepatic insufficiency. 46 patients (88.5%; mean age, 69 years; 71% men) were included in the analysis. ### Intervention: Patients were allocated to antibiotic treatment (n = 25) or surgery (n = 27). The antibiotic regimen lasted up to 90 days or until healing and consisted of ciprofloxacin (500 mg) twice per day; …
Directive effects in the hydroboration of isomeric methoxy-2-hexynes

Abstract A series of isomeric methoxy-2-alkynes were hydroborated to determine the effect of the methoxy group on the direction of the hydroboration. The effect of the methoxy group is to direct the boron atom to the side of the triple bond nearest to it. The magnitude of the directive effect increases as the methoxy group approaches the site of unsaturation. However, steric interactions become significant when the substituent is adjacent to the triple bond.
Conditioned medium from spinal cord cells stimulates DRG cells to migrate, cluster and rearrange in dissociated cell cultures

Murine spinal sensory neurons migrate in dissociated cell culture resulting in convergence, divergence and cluster rearrangement by the cells. We found that culture medium which had been conditioned by the growth of spinal cord cells stimulated the convergence of DRG cells into clusters. Binuclear sensory neurons, which are often found in these cultures, failed to migrate or proceed with mitotic cleavage during the 2 weeks of observation. We conclude that these cells were arrested in mitosis during or shortly after their removal from the 13-day-old embryo.
Structure of the KvAP voltage-dependent K+ channel and its dependence on the lipid membrane.

Voltage-dependent ion channels gate open in response to changes in cell membrane voltage. This form of gating permits the propagation of action potentials. We present two structures of the voltage-dependent K+ channel KvAP, in complex with monoclonal Fv fragments (3.9 A) and without antibody fragments (8 A). We also studied KvAP with disulfide cross-bridges in lipid membranes. Analyzing these data in the context of the crystal structure of Kv1.2 and EPR data on KvAP we reach the following conclusions: (i) KvAP is similar in structure to Kv1.2 with a very modest difference in the orientation of its voltage sensor; (ii) mAb fragments are not the source of non-native conformations of KvAP in crystal structures; (iii) because KvAP contains separate loosely adherent domains, a lipid membrane is required to maintain their correct relative orientations, and (iv) the model of KvAP is consistent with the proposal of voltage sensing through the movement of an arginine-containing helix-turn-helix element at the protein-lipid interface.
Polarimetric scene modeling in the thermal infrared

Interest in polarimetric remote sensing is gaining momentum in the visible and remains strong in the microwave regions of the spectrum. However, passive polarimetric phenomenology in the 3-14 micron infrared (IR) region is complicated by the relative contributions and complementary polarization orientation of the thermally emitted and background reflected radiance. Although this modality has found success in specific missions (i.e. surface-laid landmine and tripwire detection), the dependence on time of day, scene conditions, scene geometry, collection geometry, etc. makes it difficult to easily perform empirical instrument design or tasking trade studies. This paper presents improvements to the modeling framework within the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) model to polarimetrically render scenes in the infrared. The DIRSIG model rigorously treats the polarimetric nature of both thermally emitted and background reflected scene radiance. The correct modeling of these two components is key to accurately predicting polarized signatures for various instrument designs and collection scenarios. The DIRSIG polarized BRDF and polarized directional emissivity models are described and compared to experimentally measured data. Results showing the sensitivity of polarimetric IR phenomenology to target and background material properties, collection geometry, and scene configuration are presented.
An analogue to the Smale—Birkhoff homoclinic theorem for iterated entire mappings

A snapback repeller of an analytic mapping is defined as a full orbit which tends to an unstable fixed point backwards in time and snaps back to the same fixed point. This note gives a rather elementary proof that unstable periodic orbits accumulate near snapback repellers. The proof is entirely selfcontained and uses only standard elementary tools. We exploit that the global semiconjugacy of the entire analytic map to a linear map is itself an entire analytic function and apply the Theorem of Rouche to its zeros. We also generalize Marotto's result about the chaotic motion near a snapback repeller to include the degenerate case.
Genomic Research with the Newly Dead: A Crossroads for Ethics and Policy

Recent advances in next generation sequencing along with high hopes for genomic medicine have inspired interest in genomic research with the newly dead. However, applicable law does not adequately determine ethical or policy responses to such research. In this paper we propose that such research stands at a crossroads between other more established biomedical clinical and research practices. In addressing the ethical and policy issues raised by a particular research project within our institution comparatively with these other practices, we illustrate the moral significance of paying careful heed to where one looks for guidance in responding to ethical questions raised by a novel endeavor.
Reduction of catheter-associated bloodstream infections in pediatric patients: experimentation and reality.

Objective:Few data exist on successes at reducing pediatric catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSI). The objective was to eradicate CA-BSI with a multifaceted pediatric-relevant intervention proven effective in adult patients.Design:Prospective cohort of pediatric intensive care (PICU) p
Application of detailed chemistry and CFD for predicting direct injection HCCI engine combustion and emissions

The present study applied a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism to simulate the combustion and emissions in a direct-injection homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine. The engine is a heavy-duty diesel engine equipped with a pressure-swirl injector using gasoline as the fuel. The intake air was heated to help fuel vaporization to achieve HCCI conditions. The CHEMKIN code was implemented into KIVA-3V so that the chemistry is solved in the context of the engine computational fluid dynamics simulation. The effects of turbulent mixing on the reaction rate were considered. The computations started from intake valve closure with the initial conditions provided by a one-dimensional cycle simulation code that can simulate the gas-exchange process. Good levels of agreement in combustion and emissions were obtained using the present model. Predicted cylinder pressures and heat release rates agreed well with measurements. The computational results showed that a lean and fairly homogeneous mixture was obtained under the current engine configurations. Relatively low gas temperature (with peak value only about 2000 K) was observed in the present HCCI combustion that produced low NOx emissions. The model also predicted the correct trends in unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions as the start-of-injection timing and engine load were varied. It was also found that the unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions increased drastically if the overall equivalence ratio was less than a certain limit, for example, 0.15, due to poor combustion.
Heritability and genetic linkage of plasma natriuretic peptide levels.

Background— Natriuretic peptides play a critical role in the maintenance of salt and water homeostasis and regulation of vascular tone. Thus, interindividual variation in plasma natriuretic peptide levels may contribute to variation in susceptibility to volume overload and hypertension. It is unknown to what extent genetic factors contribute to variation in plasma natriuretic peptide levels. Methods and Results— We studied 1914 Framingham Study participants (mean age 57 years, 53% women) who underwent routine echocardiography and testing for plasma N-terminal proatrial natriuretic peptide (N-ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). We estimated sex-specific multivariable models and used variance-components methods, implemented in SOLAR (Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines), to estimate heritability. Multipoint linkage analyses were performed using data from a 10-cM-density genome scan. Age, clinical, and echocardiographic variables accounted for 42% and 40% of the variation in log N-ANP and l...
E-Resources in Academic Medical Libraries: Analysis of Statistics to Inform Policy and Practice

Collecting and evaluating statistics for electronic resources is important to establishing effective action in policy and practice. This study examines methods for collecting data on the use of electronic resources in an academic medical library and how that information can affect decision making. Approaches for collecting data are discussed, with emphasis on consistent and reliable methods. Data are examined in aggregate and detail, and findings are discussed to highlight trends. Finally, implications to library policy and practice are considered in an effort to improve use and awareness of e-resources.
Unwarranted national variation in the use of prophylactic inferior vena cava filters after trauma: an analysis of the National Trauma Databank.

Background:The proportion of patients undergoing placement of prophylactic inferior vena cava (IVC) filters after trauma has increased dramatically in the past decade. Guidelines for prophylactic IVC filters vary from never recommended (American College of Chest Physicians/CHEST) to the more liberal
The level of a mRNA with sequence similarity to the old yellow enzyme-NADPH dehydrogenase increases in Chenopodium rubrum cells in response to cytokinin

Summary Stationary-phase cells of Chenopodium rubrum were treated with t -zeatin riboside for 2 h, and the pattern of gene expression in both treated and non-treated cells was examined by differential display of mRNA. Based on this screen, we isolated a cDNA clone whose corresponding mRNA level increased upon cytokinin treatment. Northern blot analysis confirmed that expression of this mRNA was induced by t -zeatin riboside. The amino acid sequence deduced from the partial cDNA showed a high level of similarity to the corresponding amino acid sequence of the old yellow enzyme-NADPH dehydrogenases of fungi.
2004 SIVB CONGRESS SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDING: CELL FATE SPECIFICATION DURING DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARABIDOPSIS ROOT EPIDERMIS

Root epidermis development in Arabidopsis provides a simple and powerful model for studying cell fate specification. Cellular, molecular, and genetic approaches have been used to define many genes, and their corresponding proteins, that are essential for the position-dependent specification of the two root epidermal cell types. These studies have led to a working model in which a network of transcriptional regulators that is influenced by positional cues establishes differences in gene expression in neighboring cells through a set of positive and negative feedback loops. The continued analysis of this experimental system is likely to provide new insights into mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and cell-cell interactions during development.
A coumarin-based prodrug strategy to improve the oral absorption of RGD peptidomimetics

In recent years, major progress has been made in the design and synthesis of fibrinogen antagonists, which are peptidomimetic Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) analogs. These RGD analogs are very promising antiplatelet agents. However, the clinical development of orally active RGD analogs has been hindered by the low oral bioavailability of many such RGD analogs. Aimed at enhancing their oral bioavailability, we have synthesized several coumarin-based cyclic prodrugs of RGD analogs, which have the two most polar functional groups, a carboxyl and an amino group, masked as an ester and an amide, respectively. As expected, these cyclic prodrugs have higher membrane interaction potentials as estimated by determining their partitioning between aqueous buffer and an immobilized artificial membrane than the corresponding RGD analogs. Consequently, these cyclic prodrugs are 5-6-fold more able to permeate monolayers of Caco-2 cells, an in vitro cell culture model of the intestinal mucosa barrier. Preliminary studies using dog also indicate the promising potential of using this coumarin-based prodrug strategy to improve the oral bioavailability of such RGD analogs.
Interpolation of q-variate weakly stationary stochastic processes over a locally compact abelian group

Abstract Let G be a discrete locally compact abelian group. Let ( x g ) g∈G be a q -variate weakly stationary stochastic process indexed by elements g of G . A. N. Kolmogorov, P. Masani, H. Salehi and others have derived numerous results on the minimality and interpolation of random processes indexed by the integers. The main efforts of this work are to derive similar results for multivariate processes indexed by the group G . Although the ideas and concepts used here are similar to the ones used earlier by other authors, some of the techniques are different, since the integers are ordered and singly generated, whereas an arbitrary group need not be. Results such as Kolmogorov's Minimality Theorem, the Wold Decomposition Theorem, the Wold-Cramer Concordance Theorem and several theorems on interpolation of ( x g ) g∈G are obtained.
Relationship Between Communication Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Three Guatemalan Organizations

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between organi zational communication satisfaction and organizational commitment in three Guatemalan organizations. Data were collected using three questionnaires: the Downs's (1990) Communication Audit Questionnaire (CAQ), the Mowday, Porter, and Steers's (1979) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ), and the Cook and Wall's (1980) Organizational Commitment Instrument (OCI). Results indicated that, first, there was an explicit positive relationship between communication satisfaction and employees' organizational commitment. Sec ond, school teachers were significantly more satisfied with the communication practices and more committed to their organization than were the employees of the other two organizations (a hospital and a food factory). Third, supervisors were significantly more satisfied than were subordinates with overall communi cation practices. Fourth, employees with more tenure were significantly more committed to their organ...
Surgical management of obstructive sleep apnea in children with cerebral palsy.

Objectives: To evaluate the surgical management of obstructive sleep apnea in children with cerebral palsy. Study Design: Retrospective review of 27 children with cerebral palsy who underwent surgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Methods: Charts were reviewed. Data gathered included primary complaint, coexisting illnesses, initial procedure performed, age at initial surgery, number of days the child was monitored postoperatively in the intensive care unit, notation of postoperative respiratory distress and management, and outcome. Results: Nineteen children underwent adenotonsillectomy for initial treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Three of these children also had a uvulectomy. Six children had an adenoidectomy alone as their initial procedure. Neither uvulopalatopharyngoplasty nor tracheostomy was performed as an initial procedure. Mean follow-up was 34 months. Seventy-six percent of these children have not required any further surgery. Of the six children who have undergone further surgery, one has required a revision adenoidectomy, and another underwent a tonsillectomy and uvulectomy 2 months after the initial adenoidectomy. Four children ultimately required a tracheotomy. Conclusions: Eighty-four percent of these children were successfully managed without a tracheotomy. We recommend tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy for initial surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in children with cerebral palsy.
Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a modified dome-down approach with conventional laparoscopic instruments.

Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) may increase the risk of bile duct injury due to compromised operative exposure. Dome-down laparoscopic cholecystectomy provides the ability to evaluate the cystic duct circumferentially prior to its division, thus minimizing the risks of bile duct injury. This study assesses the feasibility and safety of SILC using a modified dome-down approach with all conventional laparoscopic instruments. Three low-profile 5-mm trocars are placed via a single transumbilical incision. The two working trocars are aimed laterally via the rectus to achieve adequate triangulation. An extralong 5-mm 30o laparoscope with an L-shaped light-cord adaptor is used to yield more external working space. Cephalic liver retraction is achieved with one transabdominal suture through the gallbladder fundus. Leaving the gallbladder fundus attached to the liver bed, a window is first created between the gallbladder body and the liver. The dissection is then carried down retrograde toward the porta hepatis. A 360o view of the gallbladder–cystic duct junction is achieved prior to transecting the cystic duct. The gallbladder is then freed by separation of the fundal attachments. The specimen is retrieved by enlarging the fascial incision. All fascial defects are then primarily closed. Sixteen patients (mean age 31 years, mean BMI 26.3 kg/m2) were enrolled in this study. Thirteen had elective surgery for symptomatic cholelithiasis, and three had emergency surgery for acute cholecystitis. Mean operating time was 80.3 min, and blood loss was minimal. All patients were discharged within 24 h without complications. Follow-up at 1 month revealed a barely visible scar within the umbilicus. SILC using a modified dome-down approach is technically feasible with all straight instruments, and it is safe because of good delineation of ductal anatomy. Adoption of this approach may minimize the risk of bile duct injury during early experience of SILC.
Theoretical studies of a lithiated mitomycin analog

The antitumor antibiotic drug mitomycin reacts with DNA via ring opening of one of its active sites, the aziridine ring. Since the opening of aziridine rings is facilitated by the addition of a positively charged atom to the nitrogen, the possibility of the addition of a lithium ion to a mitomycin analog is investigated withab initio Hartree-Fock calculations. The lithium-ion affinity of the mitomycin aziridine nitrogen atom is found to be 42 kcal/mol, after correcting for the superposition error.
An unusual case of bigeminy due to vagal tone

Abstract A case of bigeminal rhythm in a person with no demonstrable heart disease is presented. Atropine produced abolition of all ventricular ectopic beats unrelated to rate change. If one accepts the opinion that the vagi do not innervate the ventricles, it is suggested that this patient might represent a case of anomalous vagal innervation.
Quark mass matrices and mixings: Implications for the top quark mass

Abstract We review the results on the subject of quark mass matrices that have been obtained in a series of papers written in collaboration with Jarlskog, Lindholm and Lindner. By varying the input parameters for the 3-family matrices, we obtain an upper bound of 110 GeV on the top quark mass that emerges in the hierarchical chiral symmetry-breaking framework.
Molecular analysis of a 4-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase from Malbranchea aurantiaca.

Prenyltransferases are widely distributed in prokaryotes and eukaryotes and play critical roles in cell signaling, protein trafficking, and elaboration of complex molecules in secondary metabolism. Numerous prenylated natural products have been isolated from diverse microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi. These complex metabolites possess a wide range of biological activities, with some showing promise as medicinal agents. On the other hand, many prenylated secondary metabolites have been described as toxins such as ergot alkaloids that have potent psychotropic activity. We have characterized a new prenyltransferase isolated from genomic DNA of Malbranchea aurentiaca RRC1813. Enzyme specificity was investigated with a series of amino acid substrates revealing its function as a 4-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase. Polypeptide sequence alignment analysis showed that it groups with a new class of prenyltransferase enzymes that lack the typical (N/D)DXXD motif found in these polypeptides. MaPT activity was not dependent on a divalent cation cofactor, although it was reversibly inactivated by 5 mm EDTA. Analysis of kinetic parameters showed reduced enzyme efficiency upon simple modification of l-Trp. Moreover, d-Trp had 0.5% relative activity and functioned as a competitive inhibitor with a Ki of 40.41 μm. Finally, Thr-105, Asp-179, Lys-189, and Lys-261 in MaPT were serially mutated, and the resulting lesions displayed low or complete loss of activity. This study provides a detailed characterization of a prenyltransferase in Malbranchea species, reveals two enzyme inhibitors, and through site-directed mutagenesis identified several key amino acid residues in catalysis, yielding new insights into this important yet understudied class of natural product biosynthetic enzymes.
An ultrastructural analysis of microsomal preparations from Musca domestica and Prodenia eridania

Abstract The ultrastructure of abdomen, gut, and fat body microsomal preparations from adult Musca domestica and larval Prodenia eridania was examined by electron microscopy. The components of these enzyme preparations are similar to preparations from mammalian liver and contain membranous vesicles, broken membranes, and RNP particles. Clusters of glycogen granules are a prominent feature of the Prodenia gut preparations. Microbial contaminants are retained in pellets from gut and fat body homogenates. A preliminary centrifugation at 10,000 g for 15 min which removed all mitochondria from M. domestica preparations was inadequate for this purpose when Prodenia gut was being used. The fine structure was intact in Musca and Prodenia gut microsomal pellets. The structural integrity of fat body microsomes was impaired compared to those from the gut when both preparations were made in Millonig's sodium phosphate-sucrose buffer. This difference between Prodenia gut and fat body tissues was increased further when potassium phosphate buffer was the homogenizing medium. It is apparent that buffering systems and centrifugation speeds must be varied from one insect to another and from one tissue to another of the same insect.
Perchlorate Reduction by Autotrophic Bacteria Attached to Zerovalent Iron in a Flow-Through Reactor

Biological reduction of perchlorate by autotrophic microorganisms attached to zerovalent iron (ZVI) was studied in flow-through columns. The effects of pH, flow rate, and influent perchlorate and nitrate concentrations on perchlorate reduction were investigated. Excellent perchlorate removal performance (≥99%) was achieved at empty bed residence times (EBRTs) ranging from 0.3 to 63 h and an influent perchlorate concentration of 40−600 μg L-1. At the longest liquid residence times, when the influent pH was above 7.5, a significant increase of the effluent pH was observed (pH > 10.0), which led to a decrease of perchlorate removal. Experiments at short residence times revealed that the ZVI column inoculated with local soil (Colton, CA) containing a mixed culture of denitrifiers exhibited much better performance than the columns inoculated with Dechloromonas sp. HZ for reduction of both perchlorate and nitrate. As the flow rate was varied between 2 and 50 mL min-1, corresponding to empty bed contact times of...
Women and Anger: Sex and Sex-Role Comparisons in the Expression of Anger

This study investigated the relationship of sex and sex-role identity with the expression of anger. In particular, a number of common assertions about women's experience and expression of anger were examined empirically. Female (242) and male (213) college students completed several questionnaires assessing sex-role identity and multiple dimensions of the subjective experience and expression of anger. Univariate analyses revealed consistent relationships between sex-role identity and anger proneness, outward expression of anger, modulation or control of anger expression, and suppression of anger. Significant sex differences were not observed. Viewed unidimensionally, sex did not appear to be the determining factor in anger expression or the tendency to suppress anger.