cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resin flow through fiber beds during composite manufacturing processes. Part I: Review of newtonian flow through fiber beds

A critical part of any master model used to simulate or control a composite material manufacturing process is the description of resin flow through the fiber bed. We present here a review of both theoretical and experimental studies of fluid flow through porous media, including fiber beds. For the practical porosity range of interest in continuous fiber composites processing (0.3< ϵ < 0.6), the permeability cannot be accurately described using the Blake-Kozeny-Carman equation, even though the flow is Newtonian at very low Reynold's number. For aligned fiber situations, the Kozeny constant, k, deviates radically from theory, depends on bed nonuniformities, and is only constant over very narrow porosity ranges. Thus, one cannot experimentally determine k at high porosities and use this value to describe low porosity situations. Theoretical attempts, based on perfectly spaced and aligned arrays of cylinders, adequately describe the transverse permeability of ideal fiber beds in the high porosity range, but do not succeed at porosities below 0.6. For axial flow through aligned fiber beds, the theory yields permeabilities much lower than are experimentally observed throughout the entire porosity range. For randomly arranged fibers, random cylinder theory also predicts permeabilities that are significantly lower than are measured.
Romantic relationships and eating regulation: An investigation of partners' attempts to control each others' eating behaviors

The current study examines eating regulation in the context of romantic relationships. One hundred and four heterosexual couples provided information about their weight, satisfaction with their partners' bodies, weight concerns, healthy dieting behaviors, and attempts to regulate their partners' eating behaviors. Results indicated that women were more likely to monitor their partners' eating behaviors than were men. Both men and women who attempted to regulate their partners' eating behaviors tended to have relatively heavy partners and tended to be dissatisfied with their partners' bodies. However, only women's attempts to regulate men's eating behaviors were associated with men's weight concerns and healthy dieting behaviors.
Toward Less Dependence on Platinum Group Metal Catalysts: The Merits of Utilizing Tin

Minute stoichiometric bimetallic clusters rich in tin (PtSn2, RhSn2, and RuSn2) are powerful selective hydrogenation catalysts: these “molecular metallic” entities, supported on mesoporous silica and characterized by aberration-corrected electron microscopy, yield high percentages of cyclododecene (CDE) at fractional conversions ranging from 0.45 to 0.70 of the parent cyclododecatriene (CDT) at modest temperatures and under solvent-free conditions.
Cross-Species Transmission of PERV Appears Unlikely.

Abstract Pig organs may offer a solution to the shortage of humandonor organs for transplantation, but concerns remain about possible cross-species transmission of porcine endogenousretrovirus (PERV). Samples were collected from 160 patients who had been treated with various living pig tissues up to 12 years earlier. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) and protein immunoblot analyses were performed on serum from all 160 patients. No viremia was detected in any patient. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 159 of the patients were analyzed by PCR using PERV specific primers. No PERV infection was detected in any of the patients from whom sufficient DNA was extracted to allow complete PCR analysis (97 percent of the patients). Persistent microchimerism (presence of donor cells in the recipient) was observed in 23 patients for up to 8.5 years.
Abundant empty class II MHC molecules on the surface of immature dendritic cells

A monoclonal antibody specific for the empty conformation of class II MHC molecules revealed the presence of abundant empty molecules on the surface of spleen- and bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DC) among various types of antigen-presenting cells. The empty class II MHC molecules are developmentally regulated and expressed predominantly on immature DC. They can capture peptide antigens directly from the extracellular medium and present bound peptides to antigen-specific T lymphocytes. The ability of the empty cell-surface class II MHC proteins to bind peptides and present them to T cells without intracellular processing can serve to extend the spectrum of antigens able to be presented by DC, consistent with their role as sentinels in the immune system.
A database encryption system with subkeys

A new cryptosystem that is suitable for database encryption is presented. The system has the important property of having subkeys that allow the encryption and decryption of fields within a record. The system is based on the Chinese Remainder Theorem.
Fractures in an Aging Population of Poliomyelitis Survivors: A Community-Based Study in Olmsted County, Minnesota

Objective To determine the incidence of fractures in a cohort of survivors of paralytic poliomyelitis ("polio"). Design We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota, who had an initial diagnosis of polio between 1935 and 1959 and survived the acute illness. Material and Methods A comprehensive medical records-linkage system was used to retrieve all diagnoses of poliomyelitis in residents of the county for the specified 25-year period. For the 277 study subjects, the medical records were searched for the occurrence of fracture from the time of initial diagnosis of polio until death or the most recent clinical contact. All fractures were classified on the basis of type of associated injury and skeletal site of involvement. The influence of polio on the incidence of fractures was evaluated by estimating the cumulative incidence of new fractures after the diagnosis of polio and the standardized morbidity ratio. The relative influence of various factors on the risk of fracture was determined. Results Of the 277 Olmsted County residents with polio, 87 experienced 161 fractures, and the estimated cumulative incidence of any fracture after 40 years was 48%. The cumulative incidence of any limb fracture was 41% and was less than the expected value of 44% ( P = 0.001). Only the risk of distal femoral and proximal humeral fractures was significantly higher than that among Olmsted County residents in general. The increased risk seemed to be associated with weakness and disuse of the involved limbs rather than with generalized osteoporosis. Theoretically, a greater capacity for bone remodeling in response to changes in muscle use might have protected patients with polio in childhood, but such persons were as likely to sustain a fracture as those with adult-onset poliomyelitis. Conclusion These data indicate that survivors of paralytic poliomyelitis do not have an unusual risk of fracture except in affected limbs.
Liquid-gas phase instabilities in nuclear systems☆

Abstract The conventional approach to composite fragment production in heavy ion collisions from a single gaseous phase may require modification at temperatures below 20 MeV due to the onset of a liquid-gas phase instability. Clusters heavier than the α-particle are necessary for an unambigous experimental signature.
Agricultural use of organic amendments: A historical perspective

Agricultural research conducted in the United States since establishment of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and Land-Grant University System in 1862 has shown that regular and proper additions of organic materials are very important for maintaining the tilth, fertility, and productivity of agricultural soils, protecting them from wind and water erosion, and preventing nutrient losses by runoff and leaching. Several millennia earlier, Roman agriculturists were advocating crop rotations, green manuring, composts, legumes, farmyard manures, crop residues, wood ashes, seaweed, and sewage wastes for supplying humus and nutrients to restore or enhance soil productivity. Even earlier, Asian farmers also used these practices to maintain healthy and productive soils. Today the most serious problem in U.S. agriculture and agriculture worldwide is the widespread degradation of agricultural soils through erosion and the consequential decline in productivity. In view of how much information is available on the benefits of organic recycling on agricultural lands, one wonders why we aren't doing a better job of protecting and conserving our land resource base. We discuss strategies for using organic resources more effectively to achieve a more sustainable agriculture for the future.
An application of magnetic amplifier circuits to perform multiplication and other analytical operations

Circuits are described which yield an output voltage proportional to the product or quotient of any number of input voltages. The components used are magnetic cores of grain-oriented nickel alloys, half-wave rectifiers, and linear resistors. Experimental results and some design considerations are given. Circuits of the same kind are also suggested for performing indefinite integration and other analytical operations upon signal voltages which are functions of time.
Numerical simulation of mass transfer for bubbles in water

Abstract This paper presents results for the effect of surfactants on the dissolution rate of bubbles. Most of the results to be presented are for carbon dioxide bubbles. However, a few results will be presented for ethane and helium bubbles. Surfactants have a strong effect on bubble motion. As the dissolution process of bubbles is predominantly convective in nature, the mass transfer is also influenced by surfactant adsorbed onto the bubble interface. Two techniques are used to compute the dissolution rate of bubbles in the presence of surfactants. One technique uses a finite difference method while the other uses a stochastic Lagrangian approach. The results of the computations are used to develop a correlation that relates the Sherwood number of a bubble to its Reynolds number and size.
Differential up-regulation of microsomal and synaptic membrane μ opioid receptors

Naltrexone was administered to rats for 7 days by osmotic minipump (5 mg/kg/day) and thereupon, forebrain mu opioid receptor levels in subcellular fractions were monitored by homologous displacement of [3H]D-ala2-mePhe4-gly-ol5 enkephalin binding. Microsomes displayed increases in mu receptor concentrations that were twofold greater than those associated with synaptic plasma membrane fractions (92 vs. 51%). Levels in crude membranes rose 77%. Binding affinities were unchanged.
Observations on the clinical characteristics of oral lesions showing histologic epithelial dysplasia.

Abstract There have been few published studies concerned with the clinical behavior and natural history of oral dyskeratotic lesions. In the present investigation, fifty-six patients with sixty-seven oral lesions biopsied and diagnosed as showing moderate or marked epithelial dysplasia were studied with regard to age at which original lesion occurred, use of tobacco, site of lesion, and sex of the patient. Follow-up study of forty-five of these patients for periods of 1 to 8 years showed that these lesions may be cured surgically, may recur after removal, may increase in size or severity, may regress or disappear without surgical treatment, may remain static, or may undergo malignant transformation.
Highly Concentrated Graphene Solutions via Polymer Enhanced Solvent Exfoliation and Iterative Solvent Exchange

Efficient graphene exfoliation in a nontraditional solvent, ethanol, is achieved through the addition of a stabilizing polymer, ethyl cellulose. Iterative solvent exchange is further demonstrated as a rapid, room-temperature, ultracentrifugation-free approach to concentrate the graphene solution to a level exceeding 1 mg/mL. The outstanding processability and electrical properties of these graphene inks are verified through the realization of aligned graphene-polymer nanocomposites and transparent conductive graphene thin films.
Neuronal cell death and population dynamics in the developing rat geniculate ganglion.

Abstract In contrast to many neuronal systems, the pattern of developmental neuronal degeneration in the rat geniculate ganglion has remained undefined. To address this issue sectioned geniculate ganglia from embryonic day 13 to postnatal day 3 have been examined using standard histological techniques, TdT-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick end labeling to verify apoptotic activity, bromo-deoxyuridine incorporation to monitor neuronal precursor proliferation, and anti-β-neurotubulin III to verify the neuronal identity of pycnotic cells. Results summed from alternate (embryonic day 13) or every third (embryonic day 14–postnatal day 3) section show that neuronal degeneration occurs as early as embryonic day 13 (6.8% of neurons counted), well before geniculate innervation of lingual taste buds at embryonic day 16. A degenerative peak occurs at embryonic day 17 (9.5%) followed by a decline (1.7% at embryonic day 18) and leveling off (0.1%–0.2% at embryonic day 22–postnatal day 3). Thus, geniculate neuronal degenerative pattern includes both innervation-associated histogenetic and morphogenetic cell death. Corresponding counts of mean neuronal numbers in the sections showed a continual rise from embryonic day 13 through embryonic day 18 (approx. 330–760) followed by a slight decline at embryonic day 19 (to approx. 630) and then a final leveling off at 800–825 by embryonic day 20. This pattern differs from many other developing neural systems which show a major population crash during initial target contact. It likely reflects different but slightly overlapping neuronal precursor proliferation and degeneration patterns in multiple geniculate neuronal subpopulations.
Single-spin asymmetry in inclusive reactions p+X, +X, and p+X at 13.3 and 18.5 GeV/c

Data are presented for the left-right asymmetry in inclusive production of {pi}{sup +}, {pi}{sup {minus}}, and {ital p} with proton beams (polarized normal to the scattering plane) of 13.3 and 18.5 GeV/{ital c} incident on a LH{sub 2} target. At both energies the asymmetry in {pi}{sup +} production grows steadily to about 25% near the kinematic limit, whereas the {pi}{sup {minus}} and {ital p} asymmetries are consistent with zero over the measured range of {ital p}{sub {ital t}}, 1.1--2.2 GeV/{ital c}.
Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection in High-Throughput Screening of Heterogeneous Catalysts

In the discovery of new materials with useful properties, combinatorial chemistry has established itself as one of the most important methodologies because it is capable of speeding up the discovery process hundreds to thousands of times. The application of combinatorial chemistry in solid state heterogeneous catalysis is a relatively young research area compared with its application in the pharmaceutical industry. There are three aspects of equal importance in solid state combinatorial chemistry: (1) combinatorial synthesis, (2) high-throughput screening, and (3) effective compositional analysis of library components. Success has been achieved in the combinatorial synthesis of a solid state catalyst library by thin-film deposition and liquid-dosing techniques. However, more effort is needed in developing high-throughput screening techniques as well as fast and effective approaches for compositional analysis of solid catalysts in the libraries.
Monocular dot-density cues in random-dot stereograms.

In the original random-dot stereograms (RDSs) invented by Julesz, binocular disparity could only take on values that were integral multiples of dot width. The other common method for constructing RDSs (the projection method) relaxes this restriction. However, the projection method can introduce dot-density cues into the monocular images. When polar projection is employed, density variation is introduced as an expression of perspective cues; when parallel projection is employed, there are no perspective cues, but density variation is nonetheless introduced whenever disparity varies as a function of horizontal position. de Vries, Kappers, and Koenderink [(1994) Vision Research, 34, 2409–2423] proposed to minimize the density cues by selecting half of the random dots from a uniform random distribution in the right-eye image, projecting them onto the cyclopean surface, and then projecting them back to the left eye image and vice versa. In this paper the precise nature of the density cues introduced by the projection method, and by de Vries et al.'s modification of that method, are derived. It is also shown that the projection method and its modification have very similar density cues near the medial sagittal plane when polar proejction is employed, and that they have identical density cues over the entire random-dot field when parallel projection is employed.
EFFECTS OF CALCIUM-CONTAINING FIXATION SOLUTIONS ON CHOLINERGIC SYNAPTIC VESICLES

Calcium (Ca)-containing fixation solutions applied to slices of electric organ of the electric ray, Narcine brasiliensis , have been shown to have three distinct ultrastructural effects on cholinergic synaptic vesicles of the nerve terminals. ( a ) An electron-dense particle (EDS) is observed within the vesicle; the particle is seen in unosmicated, unstained tissues and can be removed from thin sections by Ca-chelating agents. It is concluded that the EDS represents Ca bound by the vesicle. It is suggested that the bound ATP of the vesicle provides anionic Ca binding sites. ( b ) The vesicle membrane tends to ‘crinkle’ or collapse depending on the concentration of the other components of the fixative solution. The ‘crinkling’ or collapse are largely reversed by a wash step in the absence of Ca. ( c ) The presence of Ca results in the appearance of a population of vesicles which form characteristic fusions or ‘tight’ junctions with the terminal membrane. This appears to be morphological evidence for the proposal, which has been frequently put forward, that Ca facilitates such a fusion before discharge of vesicle-bound transmitter. With the discovery that the use of Ca-containing fixatives leads to the demonstration of a subpopulation of synaptic vesicles fused to the terminal membrane, we are led to propose that this is the ultrastructural location of the newly synthesized acetylcholine which has been shown by others to be preferentially released by stimulation.
Effect of parity on periparturient neutrophil function in dairy cows

Impairment of periparturient neutrophil function in dairy cows has been described. This may contribute to increased susceptibility of cows to bacterial infections during the periparturient period. Susceptibility to many complications of the postpartum period is influenced by parity. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether parity influenced periparturient neutrophil function in Holstein cows. Cows (n = 46, of which 26 were calving for the first, second or third time, and 20 were of more advanced parity) were sampled during the last prepartum week, the first postpartum week, 3 weeks postpartum and 6 weeks postpartum. Neutrophils were isolated by centrifugation and hypotonic lysis of erythrocytes. Neutrophil superoxide anion production was determined by the superoxide dismutase inhibitable reduction of ferricytochrome c, and stimulus-induced shape change was determined at 0, 30, 60 and 120 s after exposure to zymosan activated bovine plasma. Superoxide anion production was significantly depressed in the first postpartum week in all cows. At this time, superoxide anion production was significantly lower in cows in their fourth or greater lactation than in cows in the first three lactations. Neutrophil shape change responsiveness was also influenced by parity; immediately prepartum, the shape change responsiveness differed between groups at 120 s after application of the stimulus, and during the first postpartum week shape change responsiveness was less in cows of advanced parity at 30, 60 and 120 s after application of the stimulus. We concluded that cows in the fourth or greater lactation suffered more profound periparturient impairment of neutrophil function than younger cows and that this may be a factor mediating their increased susceptibility to some postpartum complications.
Public Relations Adding to Businesses' Bottom Line

Businesses are realizing public relations services cost less than advertising and marketing services combined. The challenge for today's public relations practitioners is to show businesses how public relations services add to, rather than subtract from, the bottom line. This article discusses how public relations activities add to a company's prosperity and offers a “calculus” for calculating the dollars saved by using these services.
Transesophageal echocardiography and unexplained cerebral ischemia: A multicenter follow-up study

Background Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) continues to play a prominent role in the evaluation of patients with unexplained cerebral ischemia. The STEPS Study Group (Significance of Transesophageal Echocardiography in the Prevention of Recurrent Stroke) was established to further examine the clinical significance of TEE findings in patients with suspected cardiac source of embolus and to assess the impact of these findings with respect to specific therapy and the prevention of recurrent events. Methods A total of 242 patients from 15 institutions within the United States underwent TEE study for evaluation of unexplained cerebral ischemia. Over a 1-year period, detailed follow-up was obtained with respect to recurrent stroke, transient ischemia attacks, or documented embolic events as well as detailed information concerning nonrandomized antithrombotic therapy. Results Recurrent stroke occurred in 17 of 132 (13%) of the patients in the aspirin group versus 5 of 110 (5%) of the patients receiving warfarin therapy (P < .02). This decrease in cerebral ischemic events in the warfarin group was noted, despite the higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation and impaired ventricular function in the warfarin group. The selection of antithrombotic therapy appears, at least in part, to have been influenced by the TEE findings. Among patients receiving aspirin, a higher recurrent stroke rate was noted in those with left ventricular enlargement and atherosclerotic aortic plaque. Conclusion Abnormalities are commonly found by TEE in patients with unexplained cerebral ischemia. Patients with left ventricular enlargement and demonstrable aortic plaque on TEE study are at increased risk for recurrent stroke when receiving aspirin therapy alone. Empiric therapy with systemic anticoagulation may be indicated in patients with stroke unexplained by carotid atherosclerotic disease. (Am Heart J 1999;137:1082-7.)
s, S Policies for a Dynamic Inventory Model with Stochastic Lead Times

This study analyzes a stochastic lead time inventory model under the assumptions that a replenishment orders do not cross in time and b the lead time distribution for a given order is independent of the number and sizes of outstanding orders. The study extends the existing literature on the finite-horizon version of the model and yields an intuitively appealing dynamic program that is nearly identical to one that would apply in a transformed model with all lead times fixed at zero. Hence, many results that have been derived for fixed lead time models generalize easily. Conditions for the optimality of myopic base-stock policies, and for the optimality of s, S policies are established for both finite and infinite planning horizons. The infinite-horizon model analysis is extended by adapting the fixed lead time results for the efficient computation of optimal and approximately optimal s, S policies.
Gated Radionuclide Angiographic Evaluation of Valve Regurgitation

Abstract Gated radionuclide angiography is a new noninvasive technique that can be used to calculate the ratio of left and right ventricular stroke volumes. This stroke volume ratio, which must be unity in normal subjects, increases in patients with aortic or mitral regurgitation in direct proportion to the degree of left ventricular volume overload, provided no shunts or regurgitant right heart lesions are present. In 22 patients with aortic or mitral regurgitation there was excellent correlation between the stroke volume ratio determined with gated radionuclide angiography and with standard quantitative catheterization methods (r = 0.79). Measurement of valve regurgitation with this radionuclide method also correlated well with data obtained from semiquantitative aortic root or left ventricular cineangiography (r = 0.72). Twenty-one of the 22 patients with valve regurgitation had an abnormally elevated stroke volume ratio, thereby suggesting that gated radionuclide angiography may be useful in detecting or excluding hemodynamically significant valve regurgitation.
UK dentists' experience of iatrogenic trigeminal nerve injuries in relation to routine dental procedures: why, when and how often?

Objectives To estimate the frequency of trigeminal nerve injuries associated with local anaesthetic administration, as experienced by UK dentists. Method A convenience sample of clinicians attending 12 study days over the UK was invited to complete an anonymised questionnaire exploring the nature of professional practice, dentists' practice demographics, experience of nerve injuries and related factors. Dental procedures related to reported trigeminal nerve injuries (TNIs) were divided into low risk, likely local anaesthetic (LA) related nerve injury, and high risk procedures, more likely to be direct nerve damage by the procedure (procedural related nerve injury). Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS V17. Results Overall 79% of attendees completed a questionnaire (n = 415); clinicians held an average of 19 years' clinical experience. The numbers of clinicians surveyed included general dental practitioners (n = 290; 64%) and oral surgery (OS) specialists (n = 125; 36%). The estimated incidence of TNIs for the UK GDP workforce was 3,770 TNIs per year or 0.13 TNI per dentist per year. For specialists the incidence was increased to 0.39 TNI per specialist per year. Of all injuries only half were reported, mainly to indemnity organisations. LA-related injuries were most common for GDPs and third molar surgery for OS specialists. It is estimated that TNIs will occur in 1 in 3,289 high risk procedures such as third molar surgery and 1 in 14,330 for low risk procedures, such as restorative dentistry, most likely LA-related. From 25% to 29% of these dental procedures related TNIs were permanent. Conclusions Nerve-related injuries in dentistry are not uncommon. Dental practitioners should be aware of the significant disability associated with iatrogenic nerve injuries and risk factors relating to LA-related trigeminal nerve injury. Clinicians should familiarise themselves with infiltration LA-techniques that may reduce these nerve injuries and with the Care Quality Commission regulations for reporting injuries to patients as a result of treatment.
Spatiotemporal encoding of a bar's direction of motion by neural ensembles in cat primary visual cortex.

Directionally selective neurons strongly fire when presented with a preferred direction of motion of a bar and only weakly respond otherwise. Intuition suggests these “specialist” neurons would be better suited to report this stimulus feature to higher visual centers than “generalist” neurons, neurons that broadly modulate their activity to the feature. However, as stimuli are encoded not by one cell but by large neural ensembles, we have studied the role of single-cell receptive field properties in stimulus representation. Using regression error statistics, we compared the performance of direction-of-motion estimators, using ensembles of neurons selectively responding to direction of motion and estimators using ensembles not specializing to direction. We found that direction-selective ensembles were no better at representing a bar's direction of motion than nonselective ensembles. Quite the opposite, the nonselective unit ensembles provided a better estimate of the direction (standard deviation of the error of 33°) than the direction-selective ensembles (standard deviation of the error of 42°). The nonselective neurons provided information through a latency code that is apparent only when a neuron's activity is considered in the context of the responses of neighboring neurons. These results suggest that models utilizing both generalist and specialist neurons may better reflect the encoding mechanisms that take place in sensory pathways.
Computer-aided interviewing in comprehensive behavioral assessment

A comprehensive behavioral assessment requires a vast amount of client information, but the time and effort to gather this information are major obstacles to preclude a broad-band assessment approach. The interactive computer, displaying questions by CRT video terminals to clients and accepting clients' responses or answers, is a device to save the clinician valuable time in collecting and organizing large quantities of self-report data. The present report describes a computerized problem screen to identify target behaviors in 26 life areas. Although the computer interview is lengthy, ranging from 4 to 10 hr, it is favorably received by clients and, in most instances, is preferred to the human interview.
Functional connectivity tracks clinical deterioration in Alzheimer's disease

While resting state functional connectivity has been shown to decrease in patients with mild and/or moderate Alzheimer's disease, it is not yet known how functional connectivity changes in patients as the disease progresses. Furthermore, it has been noted that the default mode network is not as homogenous as previously assumed and several fractionations of the network have been proposed. Here, we separately investigated the modulation of 3 default mode subnetworks, as identified with group independent component analysis, by comparing Alzheimer's disease patients to healthy controls and by assessing connectivity changes over time. Our results showed decreased connectivity at baseline in patients versus controls in the posterior default mode network, and increased connectivity in the anterior and ventral default mode networks. At follow-up, functional connectivity decreased across all default mode systems in patients. Our results suggest that earlier in the disease, regions of the posterior default mode network start to disengage whereas regions within the anterior and ventral networks enhance their connectivity. However, as the disease progresses, connectivity within all systems eventually deteriorates.
Mitral valve prolapse

Abstract Few disorders have evoked more interest and controversy over the last 3 decades than mitral valve prolapse. Mitral valve prolapse occurs more frequently in women than men, occurs at any age, and is the most common cardiac valvular abnormality. The diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse is generally made by detection of typical auscultatory or echocardiographic findings. However, many patients with mitral valve prolapse present to the physician with a variety of features that together constitute a mitral valve prolapse syndrome, thus a classification of patients with mitral valve prolapse has been proposed: Anatomic mitral valve prolapse includes patients with a wide spectrum of mitral valve abnormalities from mild to severe. Symptoms and physical findings in these patients are directly related to mitral dysfunction and progressive mitral regurgitation. Mitral valve prolapse syndrome refers to the occurrence of symptoms such as palpitations, chest pain, fatigue, exercise intolerance, dyspnea, and syncope that cannot be explained on the basis of the mitral valve abnormality alone in patients with mitral valve prolapse. The pathogenesis of these symptoms is thought to be related to metabolic neuroendocrine dysfunction. The most important therapeutic approach in patients with mitral valve prolapse relates to the identification of those patients at risk for complications and reassurance of those patients with benign disease.
The Impact of Fiscal and Other Economic Freedoms on Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis

This empirical study investigates the impacts on economic growth of reduced fiscal freedom from both the taxing and spending sides. After controlling for nominal long term interest rates, net exports, federal government budget deficits, and other factors, panel two stage least squares estimations using a 4-year panel data set for the OECD nations as a group reveals that reduced fiscal freedom leads to a reduced rate of economic growth; furthermore, it is found that reduced freedom from excessive government size also leads to a reduced rate of economic growth.
Knot and braid invariants from contact homology II

We present a topological interpretation of knot and braid contact homology in degree zero, in terms of cords and skein relations. This interpretation allows us to extend the knot invariant to embedded graphs and higher-dimensional knots. We calculate the knot invariant for two-bridge knots and relate it to double branched covers for general knots. In the appendix we show that the cord ring is determined by the fundamental group and peripheral structure of a knot and give applications.
Modeling of Plain Weave Fabric Composite Geometry

Woven unit-cell geometry functions are presented for a balanced plain weave fabric composite. Geometry models for polymer and ceramic matrix woven systems are developed. For polymer matrix woven sy...
Theoretical support for the heart phosphocreatine energy transport shuttle based on the intracellular diffusion limited mobility of ADP

Flux rates for phosphate metabolites were calculated using the equation for radial diffusion, assuming heart intracellular conditions and a 5% concentration gradient. The data show that while the flux of phosphocreatine is about 3 times faster than ATP, both are more than two orders of magnitude greater than the known maximum rate of ATP utilization. In contrast, since the concentration of free ADP is very low, its flux is below the maximum rate of ATP turnover, while the flux of creatine is almost 3 orders of magnitude greater than ADP. The data suggest that the rate of high-energy phosphate production could be limited by ADP diffusion, with creatine thus substituting as the primary cytoplasmic-mitochondrial phosphate acceptor.
Selective hydrogenation of soybean oil: X. Ultra high pressure and low pressure

Soybean oil was partially hydrogenated with copper-chromite catalyst at 170 C and up to 30,000 psig hydrogen pressure. Catalyst activity increased with increase in pressure up to 15,000 psig. The linolenate selectivity (SLn) of the reaction remained essentially unchanged over 50–1000 psig pressure range. A SLn of 5.5 to 5.6 was achieved at 15,000 to 30,000 psig pressure range. This value is somewhat lower than the selectivity at 50–1000 psig, but much higher than that obtained with nickel catalysts. Geometric isomerization increased as pressure increased up to 200 psig; above this pressure, the percenttrans remained the same up to 500 psig.trans Isomer content decreased when the pressure was increased to 30,000 psig. cis,trans Isomerization of linoleate was greater at 1000 psig and 15,000 psig than at 50 psig. At 15,000 psig, part of the linoleate in soybean oil was hydrogenated directly without prior conjugation, whereas at low pressures, all of the double bonds first conjugate prior to hydrogenation. This difference in mechanism might explain the lower selectivities obtained at high pressures. Conjugated diene isomers were found in the products up to 200 psig. Above this pressure conjugated diene was not measurable. No significant differences were found in the double bond distribution oftrans monoenes even though the amount oftrans monoene formed decreased as pressure was increased to 30,000 psig.
The Influence of Language Exposure on Lexical and Syntactic Language Processing

Previous literature has argued that proficient bilingual speakers often demonstrate monolingual-equivalent struc- tural processing of language (e.g., the processing of structural ambiguities; Frenck-Mestre, 2002). In this paper, we explore this thesis further via on-line examination of the processing of syntactically complex structures with three populations: those who classify as monolingual native English speaker (MNES), those who classify as non-native English speakers (NNES), and those who classify as bilingual native English speakers (BNES). On-line measures of processing of object- relative constructions demonstrated that both NNES and BNES have different patterns of performance as compared to MNES. Further, NINES and BNES speakers perform differently from one another in such processing. The study also examines the activation of lexical information in biasing contexts, and suggests that different processes are at work in the different type of bilinguals examined here. The nature of these differences and the implications for developing sensitive models of on-line language comprehension are developed and discussed.
An aminotransferase specific for the d-enantiomorph of methionine

Abstract An enzyme was isolated from germinating peanut seed and shown to be an aminotransferase specific for the d -enantiomorph of methionine. The keto acid of methionine, α-keto-γ-methylthiobutyrate, was isolated from the reaction mixture and identified. Of the keto acids tested pyruvic acid was the most effective acceptor for the amino group of methionine. A small amount of enzyme was isolated which gave only one band on disc gel electrophoresis.
Problems in data registration for persistent sensing

Persistent sensing by Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAVs) has brought up challenging issues including multi-scale analysis, multi-modal sensor fusion, and scene localization. As for the first issue, the multi-scale and multi-resolution issues occur when a mobile sensor changes altitudes or two different sensors with the same camera provide any redundant images from different altitudes. To overcome these issues, we first focus on collecting invariant feature data from the multi-resolution representation of a high resolution image. Recently, an information-theoretic matching criterion has been developed for robust data registration without any knowledge of feature correspondence. This criterion is used as an intelligent computing algorithm of choosing a good scale-representation that helps to find an unknown scaling factor between two different and redundant measurements. As for the second issue of multi-modal sensor fusion, we observe that Electro-optical (EO) and Infrared (IR) images in the DARPA VIVID database have an inherent scaling-difference, even though the different modalities come from the two fixed EO and IR sensors attached on the same mobile sensor. Here we provide a new experimental result of multi-modal data fusion that successfully combines complementary information via the process of data refinement. The recovered transformation reveals one of the fundamental characteristics of the two different modalities. The last issue of scene localization is required for identifying the scene visited before. In this paper, we demonstrate the trajectory of the mobile sensor based only on the extracted transformations (not relying on any telemetric data of the mobile sensor which is not available persistently) by projecting the center locations of image measurements onto the two dimensional reference coordinate.
Biochemical Alterations Caused by Hypoxia in the Isolated Rabbit Aorta: CORRELATION WITH CHANGES IN ARTERIAL CONTRACTILITY

A graded reduction in the oxygen tension of the medium bathing aortic strips resulted in a decrease in creatine phosphate and adenosine triphosphate levels in the tissue, but only the fall in creatine phosphate could be correlated with the contractile changes observed during hypoxia. The tissue glycogen concentration was not altered at any oxygen tension, indicating that under the conditions of the experiment glycogenolysis did not contribute substrate in significant amounts. Although lactate concentrations rose as the oxygen tension was progressively lowered, changes in the concentration of this metabolite did not correlate with the contractile response to hypoxia. The reduction in contractile tone induced by lowering oxygen tension of the medium was less when the tissue was exposed to 25 mM glucose than it was with 5 mM glucose. Addition of pyruvate did not mimic this sparing effect of glucose. These results indicate that the loss of contractile tone in arterial muscle exposed to low oxygen tensions is not directly attributable to a deficit in the availability of adenosine triphosphate within the tissue but, rather, is a consequence of more subtle alterations in the energy metabolism of the muscle.
The supervisee with a thousand faces: Using stories to enhance supervision

Stories have a long and rich use helping both individuals and groups of people make meaning of experience. This powerful application of stories can also relate to clinical supervision. This article describes an international conference presentation where participants reflected upon three culturally diverse stories and then applied those stories to their experiences of supervision. The stories included How the Peasants Bought Wisdom, Kaschey the Deathless, and Momotaro. Anecdotal evidence addressing the benefits of this approach is shared along with suggestions for using stories in supervision.
The association between pelvic girdle pain and pelvic floor muscle function in pregnancy

Introduction and hypothesis The aim of this study is to determine pelvic floor muscle (PFM) function in second trimester women with and without pelvic girdle pain (PGP).
Notes on communication education and social justice

(1996). Notes on communication education and social justice. Communication Studies: Vol. 47, No. 1-2, pp. 135-141.
Maps of Stiefel manifolds and a Borsuk–Ulam theorem

We are concerned with the following classical version of the Borsuk–Ulam theorem: Let f:Sn→Rk be a map and let Af = {x∈Sn|fx= f(−x)}. Then, if k≦n, Af≠φ. In fact, theorems due to Yang [17] give an estimation of the size of Af in terms of the cohomology index. This classical theorem concerns the antipodal action of the group G=ℤ2 on Sn. It has been generalized and extended in many ways (see a comprehensive expository article by Steinlein [16]). This author ([9, 10)] and Nakaoka [14] proved “continuous” or “parameterized” versions of the theorem. Analogous theorems for actions of the groups G=S1 or S3 have been proved in [11], and [12]; compare also [4, 5, 6].
Reempowering powerful ideas: designers' mission in the age of ubiquitous technology

The project of universal, highquality education is a new human endeavor. Not many decades ago, the mainstream view was that only a small elite required advanced education, and vocational training would suffice for everyone else. The need to educate all students in very different disciplinesmany of them quite complex and advancedis generating demands that the extant educational system cannot meet. Technology has been touted as one answer to these new demands, but has failed so far to escape a centuryold cycle of inflated expectations. Our mission as designers of interactive technologies and environments is crucial to move out of this cycle, but it will require our community to make a convincing argument that technologies in education are not simply delivery media, but artifacts that extend human cognition in multiple ways. The adaptivity of computational media enables an acknowledgement of epistemological diversity which enables students to concretize their ideas and projects with motivation and engagement. Thus, the goal of providing rich educational experiences for all students will depend upon our ability to design devices, environments, and activities that are accepting of children's multiple epistemological resources and heuristics.
The application of two-dimensional signal transformations to the analysis and synthesis of structural excitations observed in acoustical scattering

Acoustic scattering from air-filled, elastic shells submerged in water is an important problem in applied science. The excitations of interest yield a set of physically distinct components to the impulse response of a shell. The components form a natural basis for all signals which can be observed in acoustical scattering experiments from the shell via temporal convolution with some chosen input signal. The Fourier transform (FT) of the impulse response of a shell yields its transfer function, which is also called the form function. We study two types of shells in this paper: a spherical shell, and a finite, ribbed, cylindrical shell with endcaps. Utilizing several different two-dimensional (2-D) signal transformations, we can decompose the response of the shells. The resulting 2-D images allow for a striking visual decomposition of the responses into their distinct components. In the case of the spherical shell, a virtually exact theory exists that allows for analytic synthesis of the shell response into its components. However, for the more complex cylindrical shell, the theory for the direct scattering problem is not nearly so mature. Yet, we can still decompose experimentally-obtained shell responses into their distinct components via signal synthesis techniques applied to the 2-D transforms.
Self-Efficacy for Smoking Cessation Counseling Parents in Primary Care: An Office-Based Intervention for Pediatricians and Family Physicians

Few pediatricians or family physicians routinely counsel parental smokers to quit smoking. Poor self-efficacy in smoking cessation counseling skills may be one barrier to counseling. Analysis of self-efficacy scores of physicians participating in the Clean Air for Healthy Children program demonstrates that pediatricians had higher self-efficacy scores for explaining the health risks of environmental tobacco smoke on children (P < .05); family physicians had higher self-efficacy scores for smoking cessation counseling knowledge (P < .05). Posttraining, both pediatricians and family physicians who participated in an office-based smoking cessation counseling program had significantly higher scores in all 4 self-efficacy domains (P < .01).
A Review of: “Intellectual Property: Everything the Digital-Age Librarian Needs to Know. Wherry, Timothy Lee.”

This book on intellectual property covers patents, copyright, and trademarks (including URLs and domain names). It is a useful resource for any librarian likely to answer questions on this topic. I...
Water-based polymer/clay nanocomposite suspension for improving water and moisture barrier in coating

Abstract In this article, P olymer/ C lay N anocomposite (PCNC) suspensions were prepared via a simple mixing approach of nanoclay and polymer latexes in aqueous solutions with ultrasonification. The XRD and DSC measurements indicated that, under certain conditions, the chemically modified nanoclay could be exfoliated in the composite although no rigorous delaminating process was applied. The effects of the variables, such as clay and polymer varieties, process conditions, clay contents, etc., on the nanoclay exfoliation, were correlated. It was found that the nanoclay properties and their interactions with the polymer matrix played a vital role in determining the PCNC’s barrier performances. The possible mechanism of exfoliation of the nanoclay was discussed.