cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hydralazine and Isosorbide Dinitrate in Heart Failure Historical Perspective, Mechanisms, and Future Directions

Until the 1970s, treatment options for heart failure were limited to digitalis and diuretics.1 Although effective for symptoms, there was no evidence of mortality benefit with this combination, and it was an inadequate option for many patients with advanced symptoms. The search for more effective options led to strategies that modulated hemodynamics.1 Numerous physiological studies showed the dependence of ventricular function on vascular resistance, and drugs that reduced systemic vascular resistance improved cardiac performance.2,–,5 A pivotal study by Franciosa et al6 showed that sodium nitroprusside in patients with heart failure in the setting of acute myocardial infarction reduced left ventricular filling pressures from 22.7±2.0 to 11.3±1.6 mm Hg and led to a modest increase in cardiac output. A subsequent study revealed more striking improvements in patients with refractory heart failure, in whom nitroprusside reduced systemic vascular resistance by 50%, increased cardiac output by 56%, and reduced left ventricular filling pressure by 47%.7 These hemodynamic benefits with nitroprusside led to studies with oral agents, including hydralazine, isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN), prazosin, phentolamine, and minoxidil. Although these drugs did affect hemodynamics, none was as effective as nitroprusside individually.8,–,12 In 1977, Massie et al13 studied the combination of 2 oral agents, hydralazine and ISDN (H-ISDN) in class III to IV heart failure patients, proposing that simultaneously reducing preload with ISDN and afterload with hydralazine would result in a better response than with either drug individually. They found that H-ISDN reduced left ventricular filling pressure by 36%, increased cardiac index by 58%, and reduced systemic vascular resistance by 34%. Later, Pierpont et al14 compared H-ISDN with nitroprusside and showed that the 2 therapies had similar effects on wedge pressure reduction and cardiac index increase. Considering these hemodynamic benefits with …
The 1H NMR structure of bovine Pb2+-osteocalcin and implications for lead toxicity

Structural information on the effect of Pb(2+) on proteins under physiologically relevant conditions is largely unknown. We have previously shown that low levels of lead increased the amount of osteocalcin bound to hydroxyapatite (BBA 1535:153). This suggested that lead induced a more compact structure in the protein. We have determined the 3D structure of Pb(2+)-osteocalcin (49 amino acids), a bone protein from a target tissue, using (1)H 2D NMR techniques. Lead, at a stoichiometry of only 1:1, induced a similar fold in the protein as that induced by Ca(2+) at a stoichiometry of 3:1. The structure consisted of an unstructured N-terminus and an ordered C-terminal consisting of a hydrophobic core (residues 16-49). The genetic algorithm-molecular dynamics simulation predicted the lead ion was coordinated by the Gla 24 and Gla 21 residues. It is proposed that mineral binding occurs via uncoordinated Gla oxygen ions binding to calcium in hydroxyapatite. A comparison of Pb(2+)- and Ca(2+)-osteocalcin suggests Pb(2+), at a lower stoichiometry, may induce similar conformational changes in proteins and subsequent molecular processes normally controlled by calcium alone. This may contribute to a molecular mechanism of lead toxicity for calcium binding proteins. Lead exposure may alter the amount of mineral bound osteocalcin and contribute to abnormal bone remodeling.
Effect of Si—H and N—H bonds on electrical properties of plasma deposited silicon nitride and oxynitride films

Strong correlations were observed between the improvement in the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) (aluminum-nitride-semiconductor) electrical properties of plasma deposited silicon nitride and oxynitride films and their (Si—H/N—H) bonding ratios in the film bulk. Total hydrogen concentration and spin density of all deposited films decreased with post-deposition annealing. Films with more Si—H bonds and stable (Si—H/ N—H) ratios generally have lowerV fb shift, less positive trap charge and higher breakdown dielectric strength. Silicon oxynitride films with refractive indices of 1.75-1.80, as-deposited and after annealing in forming gas (10% H2 + 90% N2) at various temperatures, were found to have stable (Si—H/N—H) bonding ratios, lower silicon dangling bond density, and better MIS electrical properties compared to other plasma deposited nitride and oxynitride films.
Implications of the Arab-Israeli Arms Race

For some thirty years, the Arab-Israeli arms race seems to have become an inevitable fact of international life. Indeed, the ingenuity used by some of the participants to acquire additional weapons has sometimes been amazing. Nevertheless, whatever the means by which such acquisitions materialized, the important point is that there has been an arms race in existence for somne time. During that period, four main wars have occurred, with each conflict being fought at a much higher level in terms of the sophistication of armaments used and destruction wrought. Certainly the competition for military superiority, or even balance, has important implications in terms of foreign policy perceptions, and affects in particular the willingness to take chances on peace when the weapons of war exist in abundance. Thus it is necessary to examine the effect arms races may have on the perceptions of foreign policy decision-makers involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Historically, there was a temporary abatement of this seemingly continually intensely developing arms race, but this occurred 25 years ago and was never again to transpire in succeeding years. In 1950, the "Tripartite Declaration Regarding Security in the Near East," was announced by the United States, Great Britain and France in an effort to head off an arms race between the Arab states and Israel. The agreement was effective for at least three years, and some would argue for five. Those propounding the latter figure would contend that the agreement
Social and Economic Organization of the Black Professoriate at Predominately-white Colleges and Universities

Two prominent ways of viewing U.S. inequality are American apartheid and concentrated poverty. These perspectives are largely geographic ones. This manuscript argues it is necessary to view the reproduction of the black professoriate through a relational lens. The relational view is a conflict one that focuses on daily activities to subjugate the black professoriate. This manuscript establishes why the relational view is important vis-a-vis geographic views. It then presents data to show disparities of the black professoriate class when compared to the white professoriate class. Using U.S. Census data, it selects fulltime in the labor market respondents holding doctoral degrees, and it finds that in relative terms the social and economic position of black Americans is similar to the social and economic position of the black professoriate. It then uses an autoethnographic method and it shows how black professoriate degradation is quotidian reproduction.
Invisible permutations and rook placements on a Ferrers board

Abstract In this paper we introduce invisible permutations and rook length polynomials. We prove a relationship between rook length polynomials and Garsia-Remmel polynomials. We give explicit formulas for both of them.
Concordance and discordance between stress-redistribution-reinjection and rest-redistribution thallium imaging for assessing viable myocardium. Comparison with metabolic activity by positron emission tomography.

BACKGROUND Stress thallium scintigraphy provides important diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with coronary artery disease by demonstrating regional myocardial ischemia. However, if the clinical question being addressed is whether a region is viable and not whether there is inducible ischemia, then it may be more reasonable to perform rest-redistribution imaging rather than stress-redistribution imaging followed by either reinjection or late redistribution. Therefore, we determined whether stress-redistribution-reinjection and rest-redistribution imaging provide the same information regarding myocardial viability. METHODS AND RESULTS Both stress-redistribution-reinjection and rest-redistribution thallium single photon emission computed tomographic imaging was performed in 41 patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease, with quantitative analysis of regional thallium activity. Thallium reinjection was performed immediately after the 3- to 4-hour redistribution images were completed. Of the 155 myocardial regions with perfusion defects on the stress images, 91 (59%) were irreversible on conventional 3- to 4-hour redistribution images. When the outcomes of these irreversible regions were assessed after reinjection and compared with rest-redistribution images, there was concordance of data regarding myocardial viability (normal/reversible or irreversible) in 72 of the 91 (79%) irreversible defects. Twenty of the 41 patients also underwent positron emission tomography at rest with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose and [15O]water. In these patients, stress-redistribution-reinjection and rest-redistribution imaging provided concordant information regarding myocardial viability in 427 (72%) of 594 myocardial regions and discordance in 167 regions. However, when irreversible thallium defects were further analyzed according to the severity of the thallium defect in these discordant regions, 149 of 167 (89%) demonstrated only mild-to-moderate reduction in thallium activity (51% to 85% of normal activity), and positron emission tomography verified 98% of these regions to be metabolically active and viable. Thus, when the severity of thallium activity was considered within irreversible thallium defects, the concordance between stress-redistribution-reinjection and rest-redistribution imaging regarding myocardial viability increased to 94%. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that one of two imaging modalities, either stress-redistribution-reinjection or rest-redistribution imaging, may be used for identifying viable myocardium. However, if there are no contraindications to stress testing, stress-redistribution-reinjection imaging provides a more comprehensive assessment of the extent and severity of coronary artery disease by demonstrating regional myocardial ischemia without jeopardizing information on myocardial viability.
Incommensurability of Two Conceptions of Reality: Dependent Origination and Emptiness in Nāgārjuna's MMK

Nāgārjuna is reconstructed here as someone who challenges the way that much of the mainstream Western and Indian philosophical traditions deal with the tension between conceptions of ultimate and conventional reality, termed “genic” and “generative.” He argues for fundamental incommensurability between the two and proposes a radically different way to understand the world, making it generatively real and genically empty. In so doing, he questions the distortive presence of genic elements in our understanding of the world, everyday and meditative.
Analysis of variance for correlated observations

Two different linear models are presented for the four-dimensional classification system in which correlations exist between certain pairs of observations. Except for the assumption of correlated observations, classical assumptions associated with classification systems are made. The models considered are modifications of those which underlie the split-plot design and the split-split-plot design. In the first model the correlations between observations of the levels of one dimension are all set equal toρ. In the second model the observations of the levels of one dimension are assumed correlated to degreeρ1, whereas the observations of a second dimension are correlated to degreeρ2. Analyses for the two models and tests of hypotheses for various parameters are indicated.
Chromosome numbers of some new world species of Thelypteris

Chromosome numbers of 19 species ofThelypteris from Florida, California, Mexico, and Costa Rica are reported. First counts are given for two species belonging to sect.Goniopteris (x = 36), one species of sect.Leptogramma (x = 36) and seven species of the Opposita group (x = 29). The last named group is remarkable for the relatively low number of diploid taxa so far known. The base numbers 36, 35, 34, 32, 31, 30, 29, and 27 are known in the Thelypteridaceae, with 36 being the most common number throughout the tropics, and perhaps the ancestral base number. The temperate American species ofThelypteris are probably more closely allied toParathelypteris H. Ito, from Asia, than to the Neotropical species of the Opposita group.
John C. Lawrence, Jr. (1949–2006)

John C. Lawrence, Jr., Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Virginia, succumbed to a heart attack in Charlottesville on December 19, 2006, just days short of his 57th birthday.
Accumulation of 2-micron latex particles in mouse Peyer's patches during chronic latex feeding.

2-μm latex particles accumulated in macrophages in intestinal Peyer's patches of mice given latex suspensions as drinking fluid for 2 months. The number of particles accumulating was a direct (but nonlinear) function of the number ingested. Some of the latex particles were still present in Peyer's patches 6 weeks after the cessation of latex feeding.
Optimizing antithrombotic therapy in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.

Purpose. Considerations in selecting antithrombotic and antiplatelet therapy for patients with non-ST-segment elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), are discussed, and case studies are used to illustrate. Summary. Patients with NSTE ACS for whom a conservative treatment strategy is selected should receive enoxaparin, fondaparinux, or unfractionated heparin (UFH) as anticoagulant therapy. In high-risk patients with NSTE ACS for whom an early invasive strategy is planned, enoxaparin and UFH are the agents with the highest level of evidence (evidence level A). Fondaparinux and bivalirudin can also be used, but they have a lower level of evidence (evidence level B). Since fondaparinux use in patients undergoing PCI has been associated with an increased risk for catheter-related thrombosis, the use of fondaparinux in PCI patients should be limited. The use of bivalirudin alone is as effective and has been associated with less bleeding than the use of UFH or enoxaparin plus a glycoprotein (GP) IIb/ IIIa inhibitor in patients with NSTE ACS who undergo PCI. No benefit has been shown from adding bivalirudin to a GP IIb/ IIIa inhibitor. The role of GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors in patients with NSTE ACS and elevated troponin levels who are undergoing PCI has been well established, even for patients receiving high-dose clopidogrel. Anti-platelet therapy with clopidogrel has been shown to reduce both acute and chronic events in patients with NSTE ACS, including patients undergoing PCI. A conventional 300-mg clopidogrel loading dose needs to be administered at least six hours before PCI to achieve an adequate antiplatelet effect. A 600-mg loading dose appears to shorten the time to achieve an adequate antiplatelet effect to about two hours. Conclusion. The choice of anticoagulant and antiplatelet agents, dose, and timing of administration can affect outcomes in patients with NSTE ACS.
Response of CdS/CdTe devices to Te exposure of back contact

Theoretical predictions of thin-film CdS/CdTe photovoltaic (PV) devices have suggested performance may be improved by reducing recombination due to Te-vacancy (V Te ) or Te-interstitial (Te i ) defects. Although formation of these intrinsic defects is likely influenced by CdTe deposition parameters, it also may be coupled to formation of beneficial cadmium vacancy (V Cd ) defects. If this is true, reducing potential effects of V Te or Te i may be difficult without also reducing the density of V Cd . In contrast, post-deposition processes can sometimes afford a greater degree of defect control. Here we explore a post-deposition process that appears to influence the Te-related defects in polycrystalline CdTe. Specifically, we have exposed the CdTe surface to Te prior to ZnTe:Cu/Ti contact-interface formation with the goal of reducing V Te but without significantly reducing V Cd . Initial results show that when this modified contact is used on a CdCl 2 -treated CdS/CdTe device, significantly poorer device performance results. This suggests two things: First, the amount of free-Te available during contact formation (either from chemical etching or CuTe or ZnTe deposition) may be a more important parameter to device performance than previously appreciated. Second, if processes have been used to reduce the effect of V Te (e.g., oxygen and chlorine additions to the CdTe), adding even a small amount of Te may produce detrimental defects.
Stoichiometric carbon–carbon bond formation mediated by well defined Nb(III) complexes

Abstract The discovery of a Nb-mediated double coupling of terminal alkynes and carbon monoxide is reported. The Nb(III) complex (BDI)Nb(NtBu)(CO)2 reacts with two equivalents of t-butylacetylene to form a metal-bound yne-one-ene moiety resulting from coupling of CO to two equivalents of the terminal alkyne. Additionally, Z-alkene and α,β-unsaturated imine formation from hydrogenolysis of an internal alkyne bound complex in the presence of an isocyanide ligand is described. 1H NMR spectroscopy and synthesis of a bromide analog support the involvement of an alkenyl iminyl ligand intermediate.
Pseudomonas seleniipraecipitans Proteins Potentially Involved in Selenite Reduction

Pseudomonas seleniipraecipitans grows in the presence of high levels of selenite and selenate and reduces both oxyanions to elemental selenium (Se(0)), a property that may make P. seleniipraecipitans useful as an inoculant for biobarriers designed to remove selenite or selenate from ground or surface waters. An earlier study showed that P. seleniipraecipitans nitrate reductase reduced selenate to Se(0), but failed to identify the protein(s) involved in selenite reduction. This study used ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and native PAGE to isolate two electrophoretic gel regions, identified as bands A and B that showed selenite-reductase-activity. Proteomics was used to identify the proteins present in those regions. Glutathione reductase (GR) was detected in the A-band; based on this information, Saccharomyces cerevisiae GR, obtained from a commercial source, was evaluated and found to have selenite-reductase-activity, confirming that GR can reduce selenite to Se(0). Proteomics was also used to detect the proteins present in the B-band and thioredoxin reductase (ThxR) was detected as a B-band protein; based on this information, E. coli ThxR, obtained from a commercial source, was evaluated and found to have selenite-reductase-activity, confirming that ThxR can reduce selenite to elemental selenium. Thus, evidence presented in this study shows that S. cerevisiae GR and E. coli ThxR can reduce SeO3 (2-) to Se(0) and strongly suggests that P. seleniipraecipitans GR and ThxR can also reduce SeO3 (2-) to Se(0).
Demand and supply of ductility in steel shear connections

Abstract Major response characteristics of shear connections are discussed. Interactions of the shear force, bending moment and rotation are discussed. The beam line concept is refined to include the inelastic range of behavior of the beam. The refined inelastic beam lines are recommended to be used in predicting rotational ductility demand of steel connections under service as well as ultimate load conditions. Inelastic responses of a large number of simply supported beams were analyzed and by using the results, a mathematical model was developed to predict rotational ductility demand of the steel shear connections. Some common test procedures which have been used by several investigators in the past to measure strength or stiffness were evaluated. It is shown that these procedures do not properly simulate the actual conditions in a shear connection. A new test procedure is proposed and was used to measure response characteristics of single-plate, tee and double-angle shear connections more realistically than current procedures.
Biocavity laser spectroscopy of genetically altered yeast cells and isolated yeast mitochondria

Plgourl@sandia.gov and Robert K. Naviaux Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics University of California, San Diego, CA 92103-2071 Michael P. Yaffe Section of Cell and Developmental Biology Division of Biological Sciences University of California, San Diego, 92093-0347 Abstract We report an analysis of 2 yeast cell mutants using biocavity laser spectroscopy. The two yeast strains differed only by the presence or absence of m itochondrial DNA. Strain 104 is a wild-type ( !
Some command problems and decisions

This paper presents illustrations of some consequences of command decisions which are made without adequate regard to their logistic consequencea. It was written as part of two compilations “Principles of Logistics” and “Notes on Logistic Aepecte of Command” prepared for the Naval War College in 1954.
ETHNIC SHOPKEEPERS IN U.S. CITIES IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The literature on retail entrepreneurship makes an important distinction between shopkeeping and petty trading. Building on this literature, the present study addresses two questions about retail enterprise in U.S. cities in the late nineteenth century: To what extent were retail entrepreneurs from the Southern, Central, and Eastern (SCE) European groups shopkeepers rather than petty traders? And which region of the country offered the best opportunities for retail entrepreneurs from these groups to become shopkeepers? Census data from 1900 show that: (1) retail entrepreneurs from these immigrant groups were more likely to be petty traders than shopkeepers; and (2) the opportunities for these entrepreneurs to become shopkeepers were greatest in the South, an emerging peripheral region with relatively small immigrant communities. These findings cast doubt on the conventional view that conditions in major northern cities bolstered shopkeeping among entrepreneurial groups, such as Russian and Polish Jews, in...
Factors Affecting Pelleting Response.1. Influence of Dietary Energy in Broiler Starter Diets

Abstract Commercial day-old broiler cockerels were fed to 28 days of age to study the influence of dietary energy level on the effectiveness of the pelletized-crumbled process. Corn-soybean meal-meat protein diets were formulated to contain calculated levels of either 3100, 3150, or 3200 kcal metabolizable energy (ME)/kg of diet and fed in mash or crumbled form in three separate experiments. Dietary energy fed at 3100 to 3200 kcal ME/kg of diet, irrespective of feed form, resulted in no differences in mean body weight and feed consumption. Heavier body weights resulted from feeding a crumbled diet compared to an all-mash diet when the dietary energy level was 3150 kcal ME/kg of diet. Body weights were similar among feed forms when dietary energy levels were 3100 and 3200 kcal ME/kg of diet. The feed:gain was reduced .088, .078, and .042 in diets that contained 3100, 3150, and 3200 kcal ME/kg of diet, respectively, by feeding crumbled pellets as compared to all-mash diets. Toxic factors, such as soybean meal trypsin inhibitor, were not excessive.
Potential Biomass Reductions to Miscanthus × giganteus by Stem-Boring Caterpillars

ABSTRACT Injury from stem-boring caterpillars has been observed on the perennial grass Miscanthus × giganteus Greef and Deuter ex Hodkinson and Renvoize in both its native and introduced ranges. Because some species causing stem injury in the United States have not been identified, potential biomass reductions to M. × giganteus were measured using southwestern corn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar (Crambidae), an insect pest of several related crops within the Andropogoneae. Results indicate D. grandiosella is capable of survival on whorl and stem tissue from hatch to 21 d in the laboratory, and field infestations with third instars support adult development, as exuviae were found during dissection of injured tillers. Relative to uninfested controls, M. × giganteus tillers with stem injury yielded 12–30% less dry mass in four infestations over 2009–2010. As in some D. grandiosella hosts, data indicate decreased susceptibility to stem-boring as tillers increase in size or age. Regressions of residuals (ob...
Vision Friend or Foe During Change

Vision has been traditionally regarded as an asset to the success of organizational change. However, based on the results of a case study, Landau, Drori, and Porras propose that vision may also be a hindrance to the change process. The authors disagree. The authors contend that Landau et al. has collapsed the effects of psychological ownership and attachment to organizational identity with vision and as a result has misattributed the source of hindrance. Furthermore, the authors disagree with Landau et al.’s assertion that conflict during change is necessarily dysfunctional and thus a hindrance to change. In fact, the authors contend that such conflict may be functional.
Estimation of rigid-body and respiratory motion of the heart for SPECT motion correction

Motion of patients undergoing cardiac SPECT perfusion imaging causes artifacts in the acquired images which may lead to difficulty in interpretation. Our work investigates the technique of obtaining patient motion estimates from retro-reflective markers on stretchy bands wrapped around the chest and abdomen of subjects when they are imaged. Motion signals obtained from the markers consist of at least two components, rigid body motion (RBM) and respiratory motion (RM). In this paper an improved method of separation of the marker motion signals into the two components, RBM and RM is reported. Motion studies of rigid-tool, volunteers and patients are used to evaluate the method and preliminary estimates of the motion of the heart due to patient movement and respiration are obtained.
Remote estimation of canopy chlorophyll content in crops

[1] Accurate estimation of spatially distributed chlorophyll content (Chl) in crops is of great importance for regional and global studies of carbon balance and responses to fertilizer (e.g., nitrogen) application. In this paper a recently developed conceptual model was applied for remotely estimating Chl in maize and soybean canopies. We tuned the spectral regions to be included in the model, according to the optical characteristics of the crops studied, and showed that the developed technique allowed accurate estimation of total Chl in both crops, explaining more than 92% of Chl variation. This new technique shows great potential for remotely tracking the physiological status of crops, with contrasting canopy architectures, and their responses to environmental changes.
Flying through the genome: a comprehensive study of functional genomics using RNAi in Drosophila.

Sequencing the DNA of an entire mammalian genome now seems routine. The human sequence along with the mouse – the model for mammalian genetics – and the rat – the model for mammalian physiology – are now part of the data archive. However, the real challenges for the 21 st century are what to do with this information and how to test the function of so many different genes in so many different cellular contexts. The potential payoffs are enormous. Examples include a better understanding of disease pathologies with effective strategies for therapeutic interventions that cause few, if any, side effects.
The role of the locus coeruleus in mediating the attentional blink: a neurocomputational theory.

The attentional blink refers to the transient impairment in perceiving the 2nd of 2 targets presented in close temporal proximity. In this article, the authors propose a neurobiological mechanism for this effect. The authors extend a recently developed computational model of the potentiating influence of the locus coeruleus–norepinephrine system on information processing and hypothesize that a refractoriness in the function of this system may account for the attentional blink. The model accurately simulates the time course of the attentional blink, including Lag 1 sparing. The theory also offers an account of the close relationship of the attentional blink to the electrophysiological P3 component. The authors report results from two behavioral experiments that support a critical prediction of their theory regarding the time course of Lag 1 sparing. Finally, the relationship between the authors’ neurocomputational theory and existing cognitive theories of the attentional blink is discussed.
Using paramedics to identify at-risk elderly

Objectives: To evaluate paramedics' ability to identify elderly at risk and refer them for assessment and service. Design: A prospective nonrandomized open trial. Setting: Akron, Ohio, a midsize city with a well-developed advanced life support emergency medical services system. Type of participants: One hundred thirty firefighter paramedics evaluated 6,000 elderly patients. Assessments were performed by trained geriatric assessors. Intervention: Regardless of the reason for the call, paramedics screened all emergency medical services users age 60 and older for medical, mental health, social, and environmental problems. Identified cases were referred to the Area Agency on Aging for assessment and follow-up. Main results: Paramedics identified 197 people with possible problems, 124 of whom received an assessment. The remainder could not be assessed due to death, moving, referral, or transfer to a long-term care facility. Assessors confirmed the presence of a problem in 121 of 124 assessed cases, a positive predictive value of 98%. The program was useful for 94 people, 48% of those identified and assessed. Conclusion: Paramedics can serve as case finders for at-risk elderly, and effective linkage to service agencies can occur.
Direct gray-scale extraction of features for character recognition

A method for feature extraction directly from gray-scale images of scanned documents without the usual step of binarization is presented. This approach eliminates binarization by extracting features directly from gray-scale images. In this method, a digitized gray-scale image is treated as a noisy sampling of the underlying continuous surface and desired features are obtained by extracting and assembling topographic characteristics of this surface. The advantages and effectiveness of the approach are both shown theoretically and demonstrated through preliminary experiments of the proposed method. >
Reconsidering the Effects of Marital Disruption What Happens to Children of Divorce in Early Adulthood

This article identifies predivorce individual and family characteristics that explain a portion of the effect of parental separation on the long-term well-being of children. Using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Children (NSC), the authors discuss how much of the relationship between a separation and measures of adult well-being (including educational and economic attainment, patterns of family formation, delinquency, and psychological well-being) is due to selectivity of parents into more fragile marriages and to family conflict that often precedes the physical departure of a parent from the household. The results of the study indicate that divorce is associated with some outcomes, although much of its putative effect diminishes when predivorce factors are accounted for. The authors suggest that researchers give more careful consideration to the processes leading up to a separation as part of the divorce experience of children.
Insomnia Secondary to Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders

Patients with sleep-disordered breathing, particularly obstructive sleep apnea, may present with insomnia-predominant symptoms rather than classic sleep apnea symptoms. As polysomnography is not typically performed in the evaluation of insomnia, it is the challenge of the clinician to obtain a thorough history to determine if there are other signs or symptoms that may lead one to consider the diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing in this group of patients. Treatment of concurrent sleep-disordered breathing and insomnia may also pose a challenge, as both disorders may need to be addressed for successful resolution of symptoms.
Ethnic advantages in kidney transplant outcomes: the Hispanic Paradox at work?

79. Gutierrez-Dalmau A, Campistol JM. Immunosuppressive therapy and malignancy in organ transplant recipients: a systematic review. Drugs 2007; 67: 1167–1198 80. Cherikh WS, Kauffman HM, McBride MA et al. Association of the type of induction immunosuppression with posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder, graft survival, and patient survival after primary kidney transplantation. Transplantation 2003; 76: 1289– 1293 81. Opelz G, Dohler B. Lymphomas after solid organ transplantation: a collaborative transplant study report. Am J Transplant 2004; 4: 222– 230 82. Opelz G, Naujokat C, Daniel V et al. Disassociation between risk of graft loss and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with induction agents in renal transplant recipients. Transplantation 2006; 81: 1227–1233 83. Yabu JM, Vincenti F. Novel immunosuppression: small molecules and biologics. Semin Nephrol 2007; 27: 479–486
A Mediator of Rho-dependent Invasion Moonlights as a Methionine Salvage Enzyme

RhoA controls changes in cell morphology and invasion associated with cancer phenotypes. Cell lines derived from melanoma tumors at varying stages revealed that RhoA is selectively activated in cells of metastatic origin. We describe a functional proteomics strategy to identify proteins regulated by RhoA and report a previously uncharacterized human protein, named “mediator of RhoA-dependent invasion (MRDI),” that is induced in metastatic cells by constitutive RhoA activation and promotes cell invasion. In human melanomas, MRDI localization correlated with stage, showing nuclear localization in nevi and early stage tumors and cytoplasmic localization with plasma membrane accentuation in late stage tumors. Consistent with its role in promoting cell invasion, MRDI localized to cell protrusions and leading edge membranes in cultured cells and was required for cell motility, tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, and modulation of actin stress fibers. Unexpectedly MRDI had enzymatic function as an isomerase that converts the S-adenosylmethionine catabolite 5-methylribose 1-phosphate into 5-methylribulose 1-phosphate. The enzymatic function of MRDI was required for methionine salvage from S-adenosylmethionine but distinct from its function in cell invasion. Thus, mechanisms used by signal transduction pathways to control cell movement have evolved from proteins with ancient function in amino acid metabolism.
Mandatory rules and default rules in insurance contracts

The economic analysis of contract law can be organized around two general questions: (1) what are the efficient or welfare-maximizing substantive rules of contract law; and (2) once those rules have been identified, when if ever should they be made mandatory and when should they be merely “default rules” that the parties can contract around if they wish? Much of contract theory over the past twenty years has been devoted to developing answers to those two questions. The same two questions can be posed with respect to the rules of insurance law. Although previous scholars have examined particular substantive doctrines of insurance law (such as contra proferentem and the “duty to settle”), insurance law scholars as well as courts and legislatures have largely ignored whether and under what circumstances rules of insurance law generally should be mandatory. This article begins to fill that gap in the literature. The article articulates a straightforward efficiency-based approach to drawing the line between which rules in insurance law should be considered mandatory and which should be changeable by agreement of the parties. Specifically, the article suggests drawing the line in a way that is consistent with the market-failure rationale that justifies making contract rules mandatory in the first place. This same principle would apply to all contracts, not only insurance contracts. The article describes how insurance law currently draws the line between mandatory rules and default rules and evaluates whether those boundaries are consistent with the applicable market failure rationales. In addition, the article takes into account the unique role that state insurance regulators can play in helping courts decide which rules of insurance law, or terms in insurance contracts, are mandatory and which are defaults. Finally, the article explains how the rules/standards distinction must be considered in the design of the optimal mandatory/default-rule boundary.
Understanding a semiconductor process using a full-scale model

A full-scale semiconductor manufacturing plant model was developed from a SEMATECH dataset using the computer software package EXTEND. The model was generated to study the complex interactions and characteristics of a semiconductor fabrication process. Equipment downtimes, process flow routes, and machine processing times were used to validate the model. Pilot runs of the model were used to determine simulation run times and data collection rates for the initial inventory and product cycle time measurements. The product cycle time results from the model at 95% capacity were within 63 hours (or 7%) of the SEMATECH cycle time measurements. These results demonstrate the accuracy of the simulation model built from the SEMATECH dataset. The full-scale model was set up to run special scenarios showing the effects of eliminating maintenance and changing product types. The full-scale model was compared to a small-scale model based on the same dataset to demonstrate the inadequacy of the validated small-scale model. A full-scale model is also useful for analyzing scheduling routines, detecting bottlenecks, and understanding machine relations in the semiconductor industry.
The nongroup health insurance market: short on facts, long on opinions and policy disputes.

A roadmap through the areas of agreement and disagreement in a critical debate on how to solve the problem of too many uninsured Americans. by Mark V. Pauly and Len M. Nichols ABSTRACT: Individual health insurance is more administratively costly and more prone to adverse selection (especially in the presence of community rating) than group health cover- age is. In this paper we show that the individual market has been shrinking over time but that it might be stimulated if tax credits for such insurance were made available. The pri- mary areas of factual disagreement have to do with the frequency with which individual in- surers charge some applicants higher premiums than others (based on health risk), and the effect that premiums related to risk have on the likelihood of insurance purchase at dif- ferent income levels. The primary area of policy disagreement concerns the value of offer- ing insurance at lower premiums to higher risks relative to the value of making voluntary in- surance attractive to lower risks. We argue that a major market failure for individual coverage may be caused by insurers' inability to distinguish some truly low risks. We con- clude that the individual market works acceptably well for about 80 percent of potential buyers, but its performance for the remaining 20 percent of low-income or high-risk per- sons is controversial.
Synapse loss in frontal cortex biopsies in Alzheimer's disease: Correlation with cognitive severity

Ultrastructural studies of biopsied cortical tissue from the right frontal lobe of 8 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) revealed that the number of synapses in lamina III of Brodmann's area 9 was significantly decreased when compared with the number in age-matched control brains (n = 9; postmortem time, less than 13 hours). Further decline in synaptic number was seen in age-matched autopsied AD specimens. In the AD brains there was significant enlargement of the mean apposition length, which correlated with degree of synapse loss; as synapse density declined, synapse size increased. The enlargement of synapses, coupled with the decrease in synaptic number, allowed the total synaptic contact area per unit volume to remain stable in the patients who underwent biopsy. In autopsied subjects who had AD, there was no further enlargement of mean synaptic contact area. There was a significant correlation between synapse counts and scores on the Mini-Mental State examination in the patients who underwent biopsy. Lower mental status scores were associated with greater loss of synapses. Choline acetyltransferase activity was significantly decreased in the biopsied group and declined further in the autopsied specimens of AD. There was no relationship between choline acetyltransferase activity and scores on the Mini-Mental State examination or synapse number. There is evidence of neural plasticity in the AD neuropil; synaptic contact size increased in patients who had biopsy and possibly compensated for the numerical loss of synapses. But by end stage of the disease, the ability of the cortex to compensate was exceeded and both synapse number and synaptic contact area declined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Are combined spinal-epidural catheters reliable?

SUMMARY. The combined spinal-epidural (CSE) technique can rapidly relieve labor pain. However, the location of the epidural catheter is initially uncertain. In an emergency, this untested catheter may fail to provide adequate anesthesia. This study compared the efficacy of catheters placed as a part of an epidural or needle-through-needle CSE technique in laboring women. Patients requesting pain relief received either epidural (n=601) or CSE (n=1061) analgesia. All patients had a 20 gauge, closed tip multi-holed polyamide catheter (B. Braun Medical, Inc.) inserted 2‐8 cm into the epidural space. Catheters were tested to rule out intrathecal and intravascular location. Then, epidural patients received 10‐20 mL local anesthetic ∠ opioid in divided doses. CSE patients received an infusion of 0.083% bupivacaine with opioid at 10‐15 mL/h. Of the 1495 catheters that were adequately tested, those inserted as part of a CSE technique were more likely to produce bilateral sensory change and adequate analgesia than were those inserted without prior spinal analgesia (98.6% vs 98.2%, P<0.02). Stand-alone epidural catheters were more likely to produce neither sensory change nor analgesia than those inserted as part of CSE technique (1.3% vs 0.2%, P<0.02). The only catheters that failed completely and were not intravascular were stand-alone epidural catheters. In this clinical setting, catheters inserted as part of a CSE technique had a high probability of being in the epidural space and functioning appropriately. © 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd
APProximate Confidence Limits for the Reliability of Series and Parallel Systems

Suppose a complex mechanism, e.g., a missile, is built up from a number of different types of components, where the reliability of each of the components has been estimated by means of separate tests on each of the components. This paper gives a method for combining such data to determine approximate confidence limits for the reliability of the complete mechanism. More precisely, a method of determining approximate confidence limits for the reliability of “series,” “parallel,” and “seriesparallel” systems is given, based on observed failures of the individual components. It is assumed that the failures are independent, and that failures of a given component follow a binomial distribution with unknown parameter, the component reliability. The large-sample properties of the likelihood-ratio test are then used to construct the appropriate confidence limits for the system reliability.
Evaluation of the Strength and Creep–Fatigue Behavior of Hot Isostatically Pressed Silicon Nitride

The strength of a commericially available hot isostatically pressed silicon nitride was measured as a function of temperature. To evaluate long-term mechanical reliability of this material, the tensile creep and fatigue behavior was measured at 1150°, 1260°, and 1370°C. The stress and temperature sensitivities of the secondary (or minimum) creep strain rate were used to estimate the stress exponent and activation energy associated with the dominant creep mechanism. The fatigue characteristics were evaluated by allowing individual creep tests to continue until specimen failure. The applicability of the four-point load geometry to the study of strength and creep behavior was also determined by conducting a limited number of flexural creep tests. The tensile fatigue data revealed two distinct failure mechanisms. At 1150°C, failure was controlled by a slow crack growth mechanism. At 1260° and 1370°C, the accumulation of creep damage in the form of grain boundary cavities and cracks dominated the fatigue behavior. In this temperature regime, the fatigue life was controlled by the secondary (or minimum) creep strain rate in accordance with the Monkman–Grant relation.
Abb and Bergmann-Borsig

Asea Brown Boveri, Mannheim, is considering the purchase of an East Berlin maufacturer of turbines from the Treuhandanstalt. It is an opportunity to start in East Germany and to work for markets in Eastern Europe. Low productivity, high pollution, potential inablity of Eastern customers to buy, and little information on the value of the company all make the opportunity very risky. Students evaluate the fit of this business within company strategy and evaluate whether the deal should proceed.
Live Attenuated Mumps Virus Vaccine. 1. Vaccine Development

SummaryThe development and testing of an attenuated live mumps virus vaccine designated Jeryl Lynn strain, level B, is described. The virus was attenuated by passage in embryonated hens' eggs and i...
Generalized theory for nanoscale voltammetric measurements of heterogeneous electron-transfer kinetics at macroscopic substrates by scanning electrochemical microscopy.

Here we report on a generalized theory for scanning electrochemical microscopy to enable the voltammetric investigation of a heterogeneous electron-transfer (ET) reaction with arbitrary reversibility and mechanism at the macroscopic substrate. In this theory, we consider comprehensive nanoscale experimental conditions where a tip is positioned at a nanometer distance from a substrate to detect the reactant or product of a substrate reaction at any potential in the feedback or substrate generation/tip collection mode, respectively. Finite element simulation with the Marcus–Hush–Chidsey formalism predicts that a substrate reaction under the nanoscale mass transport conditions can deviate from classical Butler–Volmer behavior to enable the precise determination of the standard ET rate constant and reorganization energy for a redox couple from the resulting tip current–substrate potential voltammogram as obtained at quasi-steady state. Simulated voltammograms are generalized in the form of analytical equation...