cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity Acutely Decreases in Newborns Who Respond to Inhaled Nitric Oxide

Regional cerebral blood flow is directly proportional to the Doppler velocity time integral of flow in corresponding cerebral arteries. This study was performed to determine whether an acute change in the velocity time integral of cerebral blood flow occurs in newborns with pulmonary hypertension who experience an acute improvement in pulmonary hemodynamics and gas exchange at the onset of inhaled nitric oxide therapy. Twenty-two newborns with lung disease and an oxygenation index >25 were treated with 10 to 20 parts per million inhaled nitric oxide. Measurements of heart rate, blood pressure, arterial blood gases, right and left ventricular planimetry, and Doppler ultrasonography were performed before and after 30 to 60 minutes of therapy. Nitric oxide inhalation was associated with a significant acute change in arterial blood pressure, pH, arterial carbon dioxide tension, arterial oxygen tension, proportion of right-to-left ductal shunt, estimated systolic pulmonary arterial pressure, and right ventricular diastolic and systolic areas. In the middle cerebral artery, peak systolic flow velocity (49+/-5 vs. 41+/-4, cm/sec), diastolic flow velocity (21+/-3 vs. 14+/-3, cm/sec), and the velocity time integral (10.3+/-1.1 vs. 7.9+/-1.1, cm) all decreased (p or =10 mm Hg. The velocity time integral of flow in the middle cerebral artery is acutely decreased in newborns with pulmonary hypertension who experience an acute increase in oxygenation after the onset of inhaled nitric oxide.
Effects of “Finiteness” on Wave Propagation and Vibration in Elastic Periodic Structures

The dynamics of finite elastic periodically layered structures is compared to that of the constituent periodic media. The focus is on both the frequency behavior and the spatial response. Through simulations of harmonically induced wave motion within a finite number of unit cells, the frequency band structure and attenuation characteristics of infinite and finite periodic systems are shown to conform under certain conditions. It is concluded that only one or two unit cells of a periodic material are required for “frequency bandness” to carry through to a finite structure, and only three to four unit cells are necessary for significant wave attenuation to take place when the structure is excited at a stop-band frequency. Furthermore, vibration analyses are conducted on a bounded fully periodic structure. The natural frequency spread is shown to conform with the frequency band layout of the infinite periodic material, and the steady-state forced response is observed to exhibit mode localization patterns that resemble those of the infinite periodic medium. These results could be used for setting guidelines for the design of periodic structures for vibration isolation and frequency filtering.© 2004 ASME
Mary Dewson and the American minimum wage movement

(1964). Mary Dewson and the American minimum wage movement. Labor History: Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 134-152.
Multiple region MRI.

Traditional Fourier MR imaging (FT MRI) utilizes the Whittaker-Kotel'nikov-Shannon (WKS) sampling theorem. This theorem specifies the spatial frequency components which need to be measured to reconstruct an image with a known field of view (FOV). In this paper, we generalize this result in order to find the optimal k-space sampling for images that vanish except in multiple, possibly non-adjacent regions within the FOV. This provides the basis for "multiple region MRI" (mrMRI), a method of producing such images from a traction of the k-space samples required by the WKS theorem. Image reconstruction does not suffer from noise amplification and can be performed rapidly with fast Fourier transforms, just as in conventional FT MRI. The mrMRI method can also be used to reconstruct images that have low spatial-frequency components throughout the entire FOV and high spatial frequencies (i.e. edges) confined to multiple small regions. The greater efficiency of mrMRI sampling can be parlayed into increased temporal or spatial resolution whenever the imaged objects have signal or "edge" intensity confined to multiple small portions of the FOV. Possible areas of application include MR angiography (MRA), interventional MRI, functional MRI, and spectroscopic MRI. The technique is demonstrated by using it to acquire Gd-enhanced first-pass 3D MRA images of the carotid arteries without the use of bolus-timing techniques.
Antibody to human leukocyte antigen triggers endothelial exocytosis

Although antibodies to HLA play a role in the pathogenesis of diseases processes such as rejection of transplanted organs, the precise mechanisms by which antibodies cause tissue injury are not completely understood. We hypothesized that antibodies to host tissues cause inflammation in part by activating endothelial exocytosis of granules that contain prothrombotic mediators such as von Willebrand Factor (VWF) and proinflammatory mediators such as P-selectin. To test this hypothesis, we treated human endothelial cells with murine monoclonal antibody W6/32 to HLA class I and then measured exocytosis by the release of VWF and the externalization of P-selectin. Antibody to HLA activates endothelial exocytosis in a dose-dependent manner over time. The biologically active complement split product, C5a, adds a slight but significant increase to antibody induction of exocytosis. Antibody to HLA alone or with C5a did not damage the cells. Cross-linking of HLA appears to play a role in the ability of antibody to activate exocytosis, because the W6/32 monovalent Fab fragment did not activate VWF release, but the bivalent F(ab′)2 was effective in triggering exocytosis. To explore the in vivo effects of antibody upon graft injury, we infused W6/32 F(ab′)2 antibody to human HLA into severe combined immunodeficient/beige mice that had been transplanted with human skin grafts. Antibody to HLA activated exocytosis and inflammation in human skin grafts. Our data show that antibody to host antigens can activate human endothelial cell exocytosis and leukocyte trafficking. By triggering vascular inflammation, antibody activation of exocytosis may play a role in transplant rejection.
Advances in cancer biology and therapy

This issue of the Journal ofMolecularMedicine contains three outstanding review articles that summarize recent advances in cancer metastasis and anti-angiogenic therapy by leaders in the field. Interactions between cancer cells and stromal cells play critical roles in the metastatic process, which in turn is the major cause of cancer mortality. Among the stromal cell types that are discussed in these review articles are cancer-associated fibroblasts, inflammatory cells, and endothelial cells. Smith and Kang review the rapidly growing body of data regarding the mechanisms by which many different inflammatory cell types, including macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, neutrophils, regulatory T cells, and suppressive dendritic cells, are recruited to primary tumors and promote metastasis [1]. In addition, factors secreted by primary tumors also recruit bone marrow-derived cells to future sites of metastasis in the lungs and other organs, as part of the process known as pre-metastatic niche formation. Kahlert and Kalluri review the role of exosomes in cancer progression and metastasis [2]. Exosomes are membrane vesicle nanoparticles containing proteins, mRNAs, and microRNAs that are released by cancer cells and change the biological properties of stromal cells to support cancer progression. The potential use of exosomes as biomarkers in cancer diagnosis and therapy is also discussed. One of the unfulfilled promises of cancer research over the last decade has been the targeting of tumor angiogenesis for cancer therapy. Verma and colleagues review the multiple mechanisms by which glioblastoma multiforme, which is a highly vascularized and invasive brain cancer, becomes resistant to anti-angiogenic therapy [3]. They also discuss the mechanisms by which treatment with angiogenesis inhibitors may promote invasive properties of cancer cells. Taken together, these three reviews highlight the increasing complexity of cancer biology. One consequence of this complexity is an appreciation that successful therapy will require combinations of drugs that reduce the probability of resistance or counter-therapeutic effects and that target both cancer and stromal cell populations.
Understanding of hydraulic properties from configurations of stochastically distributed fracture networks

A systematic investigation of the effect of configurations of stochastically distributed fracture networks on hydraulic behaviour for fractured rock masses could provide either quantitative or qualitative correlation between the structural configuration of the fracture network and its corresponding hydraulic behaviour, and enhance our understanding of appropriate application of groundwater flow and contaminant transport modelling in fractured rock masses. In this study, the effect of block sizes, intersection angles of fracture sets, standard deviations of fracture orientation, and fracture densities on directional block hydraulic conductivity and representative elementary volume is systematically investigated in two dimensions by implementing a numerical discrete fracture fluid flow model and incorporating stochastically distributed fracture configurations. It is shown from this investigation that the configuration of a stochastically distributed fracture network has a significant quantitative or qualitative effect on the hydraulic behaviour of fractured rock masses. Compared with the deterministic fracture configurations that have been extensively dealt with in a previous study, this investigation is expected to be more practical and adequate, since fracture geometry parameters are inherently stochastically distributed in the field. Moreover, the methodology and approach presented in this study may be generally applied to any fracture system in investigating the hydraulic behaviours from configurations of the fracture system while establishing a ‘bridge’ from the discrete fracture network flow modelling to equivalent continuum modelling in fractured rock masses. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dendrimer Templates for the Formation of Gold Nanoclusters

Charged poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are used to create organic−inorganic hybrid colloids in aqueous solution. The formation of gold colloids upon reduction of a gold salt precursor serves as a model reaction to study the influence of reaction conditions and dendrimer generation on the resulting nanostructures. Characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) show that the gold particles are formed inside the dendrimer and located offset from the center. Although lower generation dendrimers aggregate when stabilizing the metal particles formed, dendrimers of generation 6−9 can template one gold colloid per dendrimer molecule, the size of which is well-controlled by the number of gold atoms added per dendrimer. For generation 10, multiple smaller gold particles per dendrimer are observed. The effectiveness of PAMAM dendrimers as templates in the host−guest nanoscale synthesis is confirmed for different chemical...
The role of discrete structures & operations research in a computer science curriculum

The purpose of this paper is to present a description and rationale for the latter two courses, as well as a recommendation for their placement within the curriculum. It is the author's belief that both courses should be seriously considered as required courses in an ACM type recommendation for the reasons which will be outlined.
The Formalization of Informal/Precarious Labor in Contemporary Argentina

In this article we argue that the Argentinian state is legalizing or formalizing informal/precarious labor. In the actual context of employment crisis in Argentina, the state intervenes in the labor market through a legislation that promotes low wages and unstable and unprotected work. Paradoxically, these precarious conditions are associated with informal labor, where the established theory does not recognize the power of regulation of the state. The new labor legislation in contemporary Argentina challenges the established division between formal-regulated vs informal-unregulated labor, at the same time that it contradicts the neoliberal/anti-state intervention discourses.
Correlated spin and orbital dimerizations in spin-orbital models

We study a one-dimensional spin-orbital model with Heisenberg symmetry for spins and $\mathrm{XY}$ symmetry for orbital degrees of freedom. We establish the ground-state phase diagram of this model. The gapless phases of the model consist of fully polarized ferromagnetic spin states together with the filled Jordan-Wigner Fermi sea for the orbitals. Two such phases, with ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic $\mathrm{XY}$ correlations for the orbitals, are found. All other phases are found to have a spin gap with degenerate ground states. Two types of correlated spin and orbital dimerizations are observed: (i) spin singlet with orbital singlet in alternating rungs and (ii) spin singlet with orbital triplet in the same rung. The phase boundaries, energy gaps, and order parameters are evaluated using the density matrix renormalization group method.
On-line studies of activation events in primary human T lymphocytes.

In this paper, we review our NMR studies of human peripheral blood T lymphocytes. These studies focus on the physiological and biochemical alterations accompanying cell cycle progression. In particular, we have characterized phosphorus metabolism, glucose utilization and lactate production, and pH regulation using 31P, 13C, and 19F NMR, respectively. These studies required developing new methods for monitoring on-line stimulation of quiescent T cells under sterile, physiological conditions (i.e., CO2/HCO3- buffer, 37 degrees C) for prolonged periods of time. A perfusion system optimized for T lymphocytes inside agarose beads is described. In addition, custom-designed 19F NMR pH indicators were synthesized, characterized, and used to determine intracellular pH in quiescent lymphocytes, stimulated lymphocytes, and lymphocytes undergoing the G0-G1 transition. These unique molecular probes are described in detail. Finally, the physiological relevance of our findings regarding carbon metabolism and pH regulation is considered in the context of mitogenesis.
Optical properties of poly(N-vinylcarbazole)-based guest-host photorefractive polymer systems.

The photorefractive properties of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) doped with a variety of nonlinear optical chromophores and sensitizing agents are surveyed. Steady-state diffraction efficiencies of greater than 10−3 and two-beam coupling gain exceeding the absorption loss are found in six materials combinations. The effect of the structure of the nonlinear optical chromophore on the photorefractive properties is discussed.
Enzyme activity and sulfhydryl status in rat renal cortex following mercuric chloride and dithiothreitol administration

Abstract Previous experiments indicated that the partial reversal of mercuric chloride-induced renal dysfunction in rats by subsequent dithiothreitol (DTT) administration was not related to increased mercury excretion, decreased renal mercury concentration, a change in renal cortical subcellular mercury distribution, or the formation of a Hg-DTT complex. The present studies investigated whether DTT, a sulfhydryl reducing agent, protected renal cortical sulfhydryl status in general, or the activity of various renal enzymes (Mg-and Na,K-ATPases, alkaline phosphatase, and glutathione peroxidase) in particular. Additionally, the occurrence of conjugated dienes was used to assess the degree of lipid peroxidation. HgCl2 produced significant decreases in renal cortical protein-bound sulfhydryl concentration, alkaline phosphatase activity, and ATPase activity within 2.5 h of administration, with no effect observed on glutathione peroxidase activity or the levels of conjugated dienes in rat renal cortex. Administration of DTT 60 min after mercury neither provided protection from inhibition nor promoted restoration of the affected enzymes or sulfhydryl status. It is concluded that the partial protection of renal function offered by DTT in the early stages of mercury toxicity does not result from maintaining the integrity of renal cortical sulfhydryl
9H-Pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diones. The acid-catalyzed cyclization of 6-(phenylhydrazino)uracils

6-(Phenylhydrazino)uracils undergo facile Fischer-type cyclization in both N hydrochloric acid and in formic acid at reflux to give 9H-pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diones. Yields appear to be related to substituent effects and side reactions, and these are discussed in light of the mechanism of this reaction. In the reaction of 6-(phenylhydrazino)uracil itself with hydrochloric acid, the major competing reaction is hydrolysis to barbituric acid and phenylhydrazine, whereas in formic acid a novel cyclization occurs to give I-phenyl-3-carboxamidomethyl-1,2,4-triazole as the major product. Nmr spectra of pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diones provide interesting examples of peri effects on proton chemical shifts.
Some Steps Needed to Ensure the Health of America’s Children: Lessons Learned From 50 Years in Pediatrics

In 1975, while I was at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences, three of us wrote a paper (never published) titled “After National Health Insurance, What?” Our opening sentence read, “Now that some form of National Health Insurance seems imminent, there will be a number of problems that providing universal health insurance to ensure access to health care will not solve.” Having established my failure as a prognosticator of the imminence of national health insurance, you may wonder why I should have any more credibility in outlining some other steps I think are needed to improve the health of America’s children, beyond access to quality health care. In spite of some gains in access to care for children, the result of expanded Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, 30 years later, we are not much closer to achieving universal access to health care for all children. Therefore, it seems to me even more important to implement changes in health services and deal with the other factors that will improve the health of children with, or without, universal access. It would certainly help if we had universal access, but at best that will be a floor upon which we will need to build a better house to improve the health of America’s children. In the unpublished paper noted above, we listed some of the other problems that need to be solved: lack of humane care, overuse of some costly technology with little benefit or even harm, and lack of delivery of services of proven efficacy while curtailing use of services now being given that have been proven to be of little or no value. These points are still valid. I can only speculate as to the reasons for this failure. Certainly the energy that has been put into the struggle to
Ozone and air ions accompanying biological applications of electric fields

Abstract It is demonstrated that near the pointed leaf tips of vegetation, electrical fields may be intensified to a degree easily sufficient to produce corona. Using barley leaf tips and steel needles measurements were made of ozone, air ions, and corona current, over a range of electrical fields including the space fields experienced in the atmosphere. In many previous investigations, biological effects have been attributed to electrostatic fields without taking into account these accompanying phenomena.
Dietary arachidonic and linoleic acids: comparative effects on tissue lipids.

The effects of preformed dietary arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4n-6) on murine phospholipid fatty acid composition in tissues capable (liver) and incapable (peritoneal exudate cells, PEC) of desaturating and elongating linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) to AA were investigated. The results were compared with those obtained on matched animals on LA diets by either substituting or supplementing dietary LA with AA. Modest amounts of AA ethyl ester (0.5 wt%) included in the diet significantly increased tissue phospholipid AA levels by 39% and 57% in the liver and in PEC, respectively. The changes were further enhanced when dietary LA and AA intakes were equivalent, i.e., 57% and 68% in liver and PEC, respectively. This enrichment was observed in all phospholipid classes analyzed, with the greatest impact on phosphatidylcholine. In addition, the doubling of dietary LA had little effect on tissue phospholipid AA levels. The data suggest that while the level of n-6 PUFA may have an important effect on tissue fatty acid composition, the type of n-6 PUFA in the diet could be of greater significance.
Echelle grating WDM (de-)multiplexers in SOI technology, based on a design with two stigmatic points

We present ultra-compact integrated optical echelle grating WDM (de-)multiplexers for on-chip optical networks. These devices are based on a design with two stigmatic points. The devices were fabricated using Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) photonic waveguide technology thus the smallest version of the (de-)multiplexer occupies an area of only 250x200 μm. We will show measurement results on different variations of the echelle grating devices. In the measurements, we found a channel to channel isolation of 19 dB. The minimum insertion loss, relative to a straight waveguide, is only 3 dB with a channel to channel variation of 0.5 dB.nefit of the numerical reconstruction properties of DH in combination with diffraction grating to get super-resolution. Various attempts have been performed and results are presented and discussed. The approaches could be used for metrology and imaging application in various fields of engineering and biology.
Normalization of plasma arginine vasopressin concentrations when children with meningitis are given maintenance plus replacement fluid therapy

We hypothesized that plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) concentrations in children with meningitis are appropriate for the children's degree of hypovolemia, even though the concentrations were higher than expected for the serum osmolality. A randomized study was conducted to compare the effect on plasma AVP concentrations of giving maintenance fluid requirements plus replacement of any deficit versus restricting fluids to two thirds of maintenance requirements for 24 hours. Plasma AVP concentrations and serum osmolality were measured before fluid therapy was begun and again after 24 hours. Nineteen children, 2 months to 17 years of age, were studied; 13 had bacterial meningitis (12 with Haemophilus influenzae type b). Ten children (seven with bacterial meningitis) recelved a mean of 1.42 times the calculated maintenance fluid requirements, and nine (six with bacterial meningitis) were restricted to a mean of 0.65 times maintenance. Children in the maintenance group also received significantly more sodium (mean=6.3 mEq/kg/24 hr) than children in the fluidrestricted group (mean=2.0 mEq/kg/24 hr). The two groups were comparable for plasma AVP concentration and serum osmolality before fluid therapy was begun. The plasma AVP concentration was significantly lower after 24 hours of maintenance plus replacement fluids than after fluid restriction ( p =0.005), and the change in AVP concentration correlated with the amount of sodium given ( p
Acupressure: An Overview of Theory and Application

Treatment of pain is common to all nurse practitioners' practices. One treatment method appropriate for use by the nurse practitioner is acupressure. Upon reviewing the professional literature, a paucity of information on acupressure was discovered. This article uses acupuncture theory and research to provide a theoretical basis for the use and study of acupressure. A description of how to locate and stimulate an acupoint useful for the treatment of headaches resulting from shoulder muscle tension is presented.
Fetal pulmonary maturity in isoimmunized pregnancies.

Abstract That the lecithin/sphingomyelin ( L S ) ratio correlates very closely with fetal gestational age in the uncomplicated pregnancy is well accepted. The presence of fetal or maternal disease has been found to accelerate or retard the development of fetal lung maturity in certain pregnancies. Although only a very small number of isoimmunized pregnancies has been evaluated in the obstetric literature, there is general acceptance that most isoimmunized pregnancies have delayed pulmonary maturation. Our observation has been that, in mild to moderately severe isoimmunized pregnancies, fetal lung maturation is not delayed. This study was designed to compare fetal pulmonary maturation in pregnancies affected by isoimmunization to that in a control group of unaffected but sensitized pregnancies. The results of this study suggest that pulmonary in the mild to moderately affected pregnancy as measured by the L S ratio is neither delayed nor accelerated but unchanged when comparison is made to the control group.
Reduction of cytochrome c by fragments of heat shock protein 70

Abstract Using absorption spectroscopy, we have found that two highly conserved fragments of heat shock protein 70 reduce cytochrome c. The fragments are SCV and YSCVGVF. YSCVGVF was more potent than SCV at low concentrations (10 −6 − 10 −4 M). At high concentrations (5×10 −4 − 10 −3 M) SCV was more potent than YSCVGVF. Reduction of CC by YSCVGVF was reversed by cytochrome c oxidase. These findings show that heat shock protein 70 and/or small intracellular peptides could carry electrons to cytochromes.
Interaction of the Bovine Papillomavirus E2 Protein with Brd4 Tethers the Viral DNA to Host Mitotic Chromosomes

The papillomavirus E2 protein tethers viral genomes to host mitotic chromosomes to ensure genome maintenance. We have identified the bromodomain protein Brd4 as a major cellular interacting partner of the bovine papillomavirus E2. Brd4 associates with mitotic chromosomes and colocalizes with E2 on mitotic chromosomes. The site of E2 binding maps to the C-terminal domain of Brd4. Expression of this C-terminal Brd4 domain functions in a dominant-negative manner to abrogate the colocalization of E2 with Brd4 on mitotic chromosomes, to block association of the viral episomes with Brd4, and to inhibit BPV-1 DNA-mediated cellular transformation. Brd4 also associates with HPV16 E2, indicating that Brd4 binding may be a shared property of all papillomavirus E2 proteins. The interaction of E2 with Brd4 is required to ensure the tethering of viral genomes to the host mitotic chromosomes for persistence of viral episomes in PV-infected cells.
CONSTRUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OFF-GRID ZERO EMISSIONS BUILDING

This paper deals with the construction and implementation of the Off-Grid Zero Emissions Building (OGZEB), a project undertaken by the Energy Sustainability Center (ESC), formally the Sustainable Energy Science and Engineering Center (SESEC), at the Florida State University (FSU). The project involves the design, construction and operation of a completely solar-powered building that achieves LEED-NC (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design-New Construction) platinum certification. The 1064 square foot building is partitioned such that 800 square feet is a two bedroom, graduate student style flat with the remaining 264 square feet serving as office space. This arrangement allows the building to serve as an energy efficient model for campus designers in student living and office space. The building also serves as a prototype for developing and implementing cutting edge, alternative energy technologies in both residential and commercial settings. For example, hydrogen is used extensively in meeting the energy needs of the OGZEB. In lieu of high efficiency batteries, the excess electricity produced by the buildings photovoltaic (PV) panels is used to generate hydrogen via water electrolysis for long term energy storage. The hydrogen is stored on-site until needed for either generating electricity in a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack or combusted in natural gas appliances that have been modified for hydrogen use. The use of hydrogen in modified natural gas appliances, such as an on-demand hot water heater and cook top, is unique to the OGZEB. This paper discusses the problems and solutions that arose during construction and includes detailed schematics of the OGZEBs energy system.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Towards a simple and accurate statistical approach to learning translation relationships among words

We report on a project to derive word translation relationships automatically from parallel corpora. Our effort is distinguished by the use of simpler, faster models than those used in previous high-accuracy approaches. Our methods achieve accuracy on single-word translations that seems comparable to any work previously reported, up to nearly 60% coverage of word types, and they perform particularly well on a class of multi-word compounds of special interest to our translation effort.
Patient Directed Termination of Cardiac Mechanical Support: Is This Assisted Suicide?

Purpose As functionality improves for mechanical support, the ethical challenges are becoming more complex. In the case of assist devices, this clinical-ethical complexity can primarily be attributed to the increase in number of DT patients. One major clinical-ethical challenge for these devices involves patients’ and surrogates’ requests for deactivation of the device at a time clinicians feel is premature. Methods and Materials 4 patients underwent device implant for severe heart failure and eventually recovered but requested discontinuation of device support: 3 patients with LVADs and 1 with a Syncardia TAH. Surrogates made these requests on behalf of incapacitated patients in two cases, whereas awake, alert patients made the request in the other two cases. Results In our approach to these four patients, we addressed two main ethical and practical issues. The first is whether it is ethically permissible to deactivate the device. In consultation with our hospital’s ethics consultants, we concluded that, while there are ethically relevant distinctions between the two types of devices, it was ethically permissible to deactivate both types based on the ethical precept allowing informed refusal of life-sustaining therapies. The second is whether there are countervailing ethical considerations that suggest that it should not be performed in a given case (e.g., depression, surrogate motives, or inconsistencies in patient preferences). In consultation with ancillary services Psychiatry, Ethics, and Palliative Care, we determined there were none and all patients’ devices were deactivated. Conclusions Using the collaboration of various ancillary services, we ensured a compassionate and respectful implementation process. From these experiences, we learned preventive ethics strategies, including how and when to involve ancillary services pre-implantation for the purpose of elucidating goals, expectations, and preferences, managing the complexities associated with surrogate decision making, and facilitating advance care planning.
An Efficient Text Summarizer using Lexical Chains

We present a system which uses lexical chains as an intermediate representation for automatic text summarization. This system builds on previous research by implementing a lexical chain extraction algorithm in linear time. The system is reasonably domain independent and takes as input any text or HTML document. The system outputs a short summary based on the most salient concepts from the original document. The length of the extracted summary can be either controlled automatically, or manually based on length or percentage of compression. While still under development, the system provides useful summaries which compare well in information content to human generated summaries. Additionally, the system provides a robust test bed for future summary generation research.
Quantity and Quality Components for Income Elasticities of Demand for Food

NCREASES in food expenditure can be devoted to increasing the quantity of food consumed, increasing the quality of the diet, or more generally some combination of the two [3, p. 538]. The fact that individuals can increase expenditures on food by increasing both the quality and the quantity of food consumed results in sharp contrasts in the food expenditures between highand low-income countries. Kuznets, for instance, found that per capita expenditures for food in countries with per capita incomes above $1700 were more than five times as high as in countries with per capita incomes below $200 [5, p. 27]. These differences in food expenditures suggest that as incomes increase above subsistence, individuals begin to include items of higher quality in the bundles of goods which they purchase. If this observation is true, then it would be quite important for both highand low-income countries to know how the quantity and quality of the food consumed is reflected in expenditures. That is to say, a knowledge of the quantity and quality components of the income elasticity would be helpful in anticipating and adjusting to changes in the level and composition of demand for food that occur in the course of economic development. The purpose of this paper is to present a simplified model for determining the makeup of income elasticities in terms of quantity and quality components. Once the proposed model is set out, a procedure is developed for estimating the associated parameters, using cross-sectional data from the national accounts of a sample of countries with per capita incomes ranging from $150 to $2,000. Resulting estimates are then assessed for their implication in connection with policies for countries with differing levels of per capita income.
Improved laser-assisted vascular tissue fusion using solder-doped polymer membranes on a canine model

Newly developed light-activated surgical adhesives have been investigated as a substitute to traditional protein solders for vascular tissue fusion without the need for sutures. Canine femoral arteries (n equals 14), femoral veins (n equals 14) and carotid arteries (n equals 10) were exposed, and a 0.3 to 0.6 cm longitudinal incision was made in the vessel walls. The surgical adhesive, composed of a poly(L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold doped with the traditional protein solder mix of bovine serum albumin and indocyanine green dye, was used to close the incisions in conjunction with an 805 nm diode laser. Blood flow was restored to the vessels immediately after the procedure and the incision sites were checked for patency. The new adhesives were flexible enough to be wrapped around the vessels while their solid nature avoided the problems associated with 'runaway' of the less viscous liquid protein solders widely used by researchers. Assessment parameters included measurement of the ex vivo intraluminal bursting pressure one to two hours after surgery, as well as histology. The acute intraluminal bursting pressures were significantly higher in the laser-solder group (greater than 300 mmHg) compared to the suture control group (less than 150 mmHg) where four evenly spaced sutures were used to repair the vessel (n equals 4). Histological analysis showed negligible evidence of collateral thermal damage to the underlying tissue in the laser-solder repair group. These initial results indicated that laser-assisted vascular repair using the new adhesives is safe, easy to perform, and contrary to conventional suturing, provides an immediate leak-free closure. In addition, the flexible and moldable nature of the new adhesives should allow them to be tailored to a wide range of tissue geometries, thus greatly improving the clinical applicability of laser-assisted tissue repair.
Reactivity of triosmium and triruthenium carbon radicals toward fluoro- and hexafluorobenzen

Abstract The radicals H 3 M 3 (CO) 9 (μ 3 -C·), generated by photolyzing a mixture of Re 2 (CO) 10 and H 3 M 3 (CO) 9 (η 3 -CBr) (M = Ru, Os), are found to add to C 6 F 6 and C 6 H 5 F. With C 6 F 6 the major products are the pentafluorophenyl derivatives H 3 M 3 (CO) 9 (μ 3 -CC 6 F 5 ), whereas with C 6 H 5 F the major products are the phenyl derivatives H 3 M 3 (CO) 9 (ν 3 -CC 6 H 5 ).
Anisotropy of UV-reflectivity in wurtzite crystals: a comparison between GaN and CdSe

Abstract The imaginary parts of the dielectric functions ϵ 2 ( ω ) are calculated for wurtzite CdSe and GaN within the one-electron approximation using the linear muffin-tin-orbital method and analyzed in terms of separate band-to-band contributions and critical points. Differences and similarities are pointed out. The effects of excitonic enhancement at critical points are discussed.
Current drive by spheromak injection into a tokamak.

We report the first observation of current drive by injection of a spheromak plasma into a tokamak (Caltech ENCORE small reasearch tokamak) due to the process of helicity injection. After an abrupt 30% increase, the tokamak current decays by a factor of 3 due to plasma cooling caused by the merging of the relatively cold spheromak with the tokamak. The tokamak density profile peaks sharply due to the injected spheromak plasma (n¯3 increases by a factor of 6) then becomes hollow, suggestive of an interchange instability.
Generalized treatment of neutron-proton pairing in N = Z nuclei

Abstract It is shown that under certain assumptions the problem of the simultaneous treatment of J = 0 and T = 0 pairing also can be reduced to the solution of gap equations of the usual form.
Surgical treatment of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas

Abstract Increased understanding of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and anatomy of vascular lesions affecting the spinal cord over the past 2 decades has permitted identification of subdivisions based on distinct biological features. The dural arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the most common type of spinal vascular malformation and the most amenable to treatment. Venous congestion, the cause of myelopathy in these lesions, is effectively treated by interruption of the medullary vein as it enters the subarachnoid space between the dural nidus and the coronal venous plexus. Embolization of an untreated dural AVF in an acutely deteriorating patient stabilizes the neurological deficit and provides adequate time for definitive surgical treatment. The outcome after treatment of dural AVFs depends not only on the type and location of the lesion but also on the preoperative neurologic function. Patients who are ambulatory before treatment are usually ambulatory after treatment. Optimal outcome depends on early diagnosis and intervention.
Lithification of deep sea sediments by pyrite.

UNIQUE pyrite-cemented silty sand layers have been found in three piston cores taken from the North Carolina lower continental rise at depths from 4,770 to 4,950 m (Fig. 1). The layers are approximately 0.5 cm thick and consist mainly of terrigenous grains in a cement identified as pyrite by X-ray diffraction analysis. None of the precursor iron sulphides commonly associated with sedimentary pyrite1 were found. Single layers at core depths of 530 and 870 cm were noted in cores B and C respectively (Fig. 1). In core A, two pyritized silty sand layers occur at depths in the sediment of 540 and 560 cm. Fig. 2 is a photograph of a fragment of one of the lithified sand layers. The rock has approximately the same 6 cm diameter as the piston core cutter, suggesting strongly that the rock was punched out of a pyritized sheet of unknown lateral extent by the core tube.
Cell-surface modulation and marker multiplicity in neural patterning

In the course of the neural development of higher vertebrates, patterns are established that are amongst the most complex known for any physical system. These patterns, which arise mainly during embryogenesis, are the result of cellular and molecular interactions that are just beginning to be understood. Recently, it has been shown that molecules mediating cell-cell adhesion play a central role in these interactions (for a review, see Ref. 6). A critical issue in understanding the function of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) concerns the number of different molecular specificities that are required to determine the connectivity of neural circuits. This aspect of neural morphogenesis may be framed in two related questions. (1) How many different specific molecules are necessary during very early development to distinguish neural cells as a collection (for example, the neural plate) from other kinds of cells? (2) How many different kinds of molecules are necessary later in development to link differentiating neurons into complex neural networks of a particular pattern? This second question will be considered first because it forces attention upon the issue of specificity in a particularly compelling way.
The response of clamped–clamped microbeams under mechanical shock

Abstract We present modeling, simulation, and characterization for the dynamic response of clamped–clamped microbeams under mechanical shock. A Galerkin-based reduced-order model is utilized and its results are verified by comparing to finite-element results. The results indicate that the response of a microbeam to mechanical shock is inherently non-linear because of the dominating effect of mid-plane stretching. The effect of the shock pulse shape is investigated. It is concluded that the shape of the shock pulse can result in significant dynamic amplification in the response of the microbeam even in cases where the shock load is considered quasi-static. The combined effect of the electrostatic force and mechanical shock is investigated. The results show that this combined effect can lead to early instability in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices through dynamic pull-in. This could explain some of the reported experimental evidences for the existence of strange modes of failure of MEMS devices under mechanical shock and impact. These failures are characterized by overlaps between moving microstructures and stationary electrodes, which cause electrical shorts. The shock-electrostatic interaction is shown to be promising to design smart MEMS switches triggered at predetermined level of shock and acceleration. Finally, the mechanical shock combined with the packaging effect of MEMS devices is analyzed. A single-degree-of-freedom model representing the motion of the package, which is mounted over a printed circuit board, coupled with the continuous beam model is utilized. Our results reveal that neglecting the effect of the package motion on the response of microbeams can overestimate or underestimate their response. It is concluded that a poor design of the package may result in severe amplification of the shock effect leading to a device failure.
Low-Gas-Pressure Cable

DURING the past several years the company with which the writer is associated has been conducting an extensive research and engineering study of the possibilities of high-voltage cable utilizing gas as a pressure medium. The purpose has been to develop a practical cable system of this type and determine its best field of usefulness from an engineering and economic standpoint. The results of this work to date will be outlined in the present paper.
Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy may improve the therapeutic ratio of high dose radiation therapy for lung cancer

Abstract Purpose : The specific aim of 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy is to improve the target dose distribution while concomitantly reducing normal tissue dose. Such an approach should permit dose escalation until the limits of acceptable normal tissue toxicity are reached. To evaluate the feasibility of tumor dose escalation for nine patients with lung cancer, we determined the dose distribution to the target and normal tissues with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy and conventional planning. Methods and Materials : Plans were compared to assess adequacy of dose delivery to target volumes, dose-volume histograms for normal tissue, and normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) for nine patients with lung tumors. Results : The mean percentage of gross disease which received ≤ 70.2 Gy with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (31)CRT) was 40% of the mean percentage of gross disease which received ≤ 70.2 Gy with conventional treatment planning (CTP). The mean NTCP for lung parenchyma with 3DCRT was 36% of the mean NTCP with CTP. The mean esophageal NTCP with 3DCRT was 88% of the mean NTCP with CTP. Conclusion : This preliminary analysis suggests that three dimensional conformal radiation therapy may provide superior delivery of high dose radiation with reduced risk to normal tissue, suggesting that this approach may have the potential to improve the therapeutic ratio of high dose radiation therapy for lung cancer.
Impact of soil microstructure on the molecular transport dynamics of 1,2-dichloroethane

DRIFT spectroscopic experiments are described here that build on our previous time-resolved in situ experiments using dihaloethanes as molecular probes. The earlier studies produced the first molecular level evidence for differences between clay minerals, humic substances, and lysimeter soils as sorbents for these chemicals. In the current study, spectroscopic experiments with several established field soils are combined with porosity characterizations derived from both N2 and CO2 isotherms. Density functional theory is used to generate porosity distributions from both types of isotherms which, in turn, are used here to define the microstructural character of the soil. Results from the combined techniques strongly suggest that sorption/desorption behavior of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) can be understood in the context of soil particle architecture. The porosimetry provides evidence that the microstructural array in particles of three of the soils investigated is determined primarily by the platelet character of quasicrystalline clay minerals while that of another one of the soils, an Oxisol, appears to be dominated by its high iron oxide content. With all the soils, curve-fitting of the time-resolved DRIFT spectra indicates the presence of both a sorbed liquid and a persistently sorbed species that accumulate at different rates: band areas for the persistent species continue to increase during desorption. For the soils whose microstructure is dominated by clay minerals, rates of accumulation for both species increase and desorption of the sorbed liquid is facilitated after treatment with hypochlorite to partially remove organic matter. The treatment has little effect, however, on the sorption behavior observed with the Oxisol. The changes in sorption/desorption behavior correlate well with the differences in porosity distributions determined using N2. In contrast, CO2 determined microporosity (<2 nm), while related to the organic matter content of the untreated soils, was not a good predictor of any of the observed effects. These results are entirely consistent with those obtained using lysimeter soils as sorbents and support our earlier hypothesis that the persistent species band can be attributed to vapor phase chemical entrapped within the pore network of the sorbent particles. Soil organic matter again appears to impact the retention process primarily by impeding the flow of both liquid and vapor phase chemical into and out of that pore network rather than by associating with the chemical itself. The implications of these results for other volatile organic pollutants and the potential role of surface tension forces within mesopores (2–50 nm) in promoting the formation of persistently sorbed chemical are also explored.