cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Imitators of Infantile Spasms

We report 53 infants who by clinical history were thought to have infantile spasms but who video-electroencephalograms showed were having other episodes that closely mimicked infantile spasms. Nine patients had other types of seizures. Forty-five patients had episodic symptoms that were not seizures: 11 patients had spasticity, four had gastroesophageal reflux, and the other patients had nonepileptic myoclonus, including 19 patients with benign neonatal sleep myoclonus. Three patients had more than one type of symptom. Infantile spasms imitators occurred in neurologically normal or abnormal infants, in patients with normal or abnormal interictal electroencephalograms, and in patients who also had previous or current infantile spasms. Differentiation of these episodes from infantile spasms prevented the initiation or continuation of anticonvulsant treatment appropriate for infantile spasms but inappropriate for these other behaviors. (J Child Neurol 1992;7:395-399).
Precalculus Algebra: Original Purpose - Its Relevancy to Stu- dents' Needs - and Some Suggestions

Our purpose of this paper is to discuss who should take Precalculus Algebra, not the content of the course. Precalculus Algebra was originally intended for students who would progress to Calculus. However, many non-technical degree programs now require their majors to take it, even though it may be a terminal math course for these students. A review of the mathematics curriculum at various universities was conducted in order to identify similarities and differences regarding this particular course. In addition, a student survey was conducted at Alabama A&M University (AAMU) to determine students’ majors, their motivation for taking Precalculus Algebra, their attitude toward it, and the number of times they had taken it, reflecting their long-term success or failure with the course and its concepts. The curriculum reviews and the student surveys led us to question whether we, in the education community, are providing math skills that are relevant to the future careers of the students who are taking this as a terminal course. We propose alternative solutions and content for the different tracks of students taking Precalculus Algebra.
Textured Communication Systems for Individuals With Severe Intellectual and Dual Sensory Impairments

This article presents the development of texture communication systems for use by individuals with severe intellectual and dual sensory impairments. The systems consist of tactually salient materia...
Forging a Key, Turning a Lock: Counterinsurgency Theory in Iraq 2006–2008

Counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine is designed to combat a defined insurgency. In the present situation in Iraq, COIN's definition has been radically extended to include nation-building as well. This additional function has expanded the scope of the role of the Coalition Forces in Iraq. Yet COIN in its present incarnation may not be enough to finalize the implementation of the strategy of nation-building. This article finds three main criticisms/limitations of contemporary COIN strategy: (1) It is predicated on a classic notion of insurgency that looks very different from present conflicts. (2) Although COIN advocates a political solution to a political problem, it uses (by default) mainly military mechanisms to carry it out. (3) Completion of the intricate and ambitious tasks necessary to defeat insurgencies in foreign lands may lie outside the direct control of the United States.
Carbon Nanotubes Based Devices and Sensors

Abstract The dimensionality of a system has a profound influence on its physical behavior, especially for nanostructured materials where at least one of the dimensions is less than 100 nm and, in many instances, the size is comparable with the size of many fundamental physical quantities. Carbon-based nanostructured materials exhibit unique mechanical, electrical, and optical characteristics that may result in many unique device designs. The materials are biocompatible, chemically inert, yet capable of altering electronic properties in presence of some chemical species, dimensionally compatible with bio-molecules, and have interesting electronic characteristics; hence, rendering them as potential chemical and biosensors. A recent heightened awareness of the potential for inadvertent or deliberate contamination of environment and food and agricultural products has made decentralized sensing an important issue for several federal agencies. Recent progress in nanostructured materials and its possible applica...
Hydra viridis: Inhibition by the Basal Disk of Basal Disk Differentiation

When the basal dist of Hydra viridis is excised, a new disk is regenerated. A basal disk grafted on an animal regenerating its own disk can suppress this regeneration. The effect is reversed if the grafted basal disk is subsequently excised. For inhibition to occur, the grafted disk must be present for at least 3 hours, beginning no later than 2 hours after amputation. The results indicate that the basal disk participated in the control of its own differentiation.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Diagnosis and Treatment

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic bone fragility disorder characterized by low bone mass, skeletal deformity, and variable short stature. OI is predominantly caused by dominant mutations affecting type 1 collagen synthesis, with a number of other genes implicated in OI over recent years. The clinical severity of OI can vary greatly, even within families who share a common mutation. Optimal management of OI requires a multidisciplinary approach involving pediatrician, endocrinologist (bone and mineral physician), rehabilitation specialist, orthopedic surgeon, dentist, geneticist, social worker/psychologist, physiotherapist, and occupational therapist. Bisphosphonate therapy remains the mainstay of medical treatment in OI and has been shown to decrease bone pain, enhance well-being, improve muscle strength and mobility and decrease fracture incidence. Novel therapies are beginning to emerge as more is understood about the signaling pathways involved in bone formation. The following summarizes the diagnosis, genetic heterogeneity and management of OI in pediatric practice.
Identification of Variables Most Influential in Determining Interviewers' Evaluations of Applicants in a College Placement Center:

170 applicants being interviewed by representatives of 17 different industrial and academic agencies participated. Interviewers evaluated applicants on three dimensions: over-all general impression...
Comparison of Neck Tension Palpation Rating Systems With Surface Electromyographic and Acoustic Measures in Vocal Hyperfunction

The purpose of this study was to evaluate current neck tension palpation rating systems to determine interrater reliability and possible correlation with necksurface electromyography (sEMG, collected from three electrode recording locations) and to measure the third formant for /a/ during various vocal behaviors. This prospective study examined the neck muscle tension of 16 participants before and after a single session of voice therapy. Interrater reliability and relationships between palpation ratings and objective measures of sEMG (anterior neck) and the third formant for /a/ were assessed using Pearson's correlations (r). Interrater reliability was relatively low as measured by Pearson's correlations, although Wilcoxon signed-rank test results were similar as those in a previous study. Correlations between palpation ratings and sEMG and between ratings of laryngeal height and the third formant for /a/ were generally low. Correlations increased between anterior neck sEMG and ratings of suprahyoid muscle tension when examined in a reduced set of individuals with higher interrater reliability. Palpation rating scales do not reliably capture changes that may occur in neck muscle tension of typical voice therapy patients over one session. Consequently, little can be concluded from correlations between sEMG and palpation ratings.
Notched Fatigue Behavior of PEEK

Poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) has been used as a load bearing orthopaedic implant material with clinical success. All of the orthopaedic applications contain stress concentrations (notches) in their design; however, little work has been done to examine the fatigue behavior of PEEK in the presence of a notch. This work examines both stress-life (S-N) fatigue behavior and the fracture behavior of unfilled PEEK under tension-tension loading in circumferentially grooved round bar specimens with different elastic stress concentration factors. It was found that the majority of the loading was elastic in nature, and that there was only a small portion on the lifetime where there was a detectable change in structural behavior prior to gross fracture. Fractographic analysis via SEM further elucidated the potential fracture micromechanisms. Additional analysis was conducted to estimate the percent of the lifetime spent in crack initiation vs. propagation, and it was found that the specimens spent the majority of the time in the crack initiation phase.
Optimal data augmentation strategies for additive models

Abstract Consider an experiment where the factors are measured on a continuous scale, and suppose that the experimenter is permitted to augment the existing observations with one or more new data points. Bondar's universal optimality criterion (U optimality) suggests that the problem is best studied in the eigenvector coordinate system. We proceed by showing how to construct new points that first equate and then jointly increase the smaller eigenvalues of the crossproduct of the independent variables. We discuss the limitations of design augmentation strategies based solely on the crossproduct matrix. Our goals are to equate and minimize the variances of the estimated regression coefficients, keep the new points constrained in a prespecified experimental region, use as much of the information in the original points as possible, and keep the number of required new points as small as possible. We offer several data augmentation strategies to meet these requirements. As U optimality subsumes each of the D, A...
On Characteristics and Modeling of P2P Resources with Correlated Static and Dynamic Attributes

Modeling and simulation of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) resources with correlated static and dynamic attributes is essential in application design, validation, and performance analysis. A novel mechanism is presented to generate realistic synthetic traces of multivariate static and dynamic attributes of P2P resources. The methodology is demonstrated using characteristics of PlanetLab node traces. First, a multi-attribute resource model is defined using a selected set of static and dynamic attributes. Second, characteristics of resources are presented. We observe that attribute values are correlated, follow a mixture of probability distributions, and time series of some of the dynamic attributes are nonstationary. Third, random vectors of static attributes are generated using empirical copulas that capture the entire dependence structure of multivariate distribution of attributes. Finally, time series of dynamic attributes are randomly drawn from a library of multivariate-time-series segments extracted from PlanetLab traces. These segments are identified by detecting the structural changes in time series corresponding to a selected attribute. Time series corresponding to rest of the attributes are split at the same breakpoints and randomly drawn together to preserve their contemporaneous correlation. Furthermore, a tool is developed to automate the synthetic data generation process and its output is validated using statistical tests.
GODIVA II. AN UNMODERATED PULSE-IRRADIATION REACTOR

Design features of Godiva II, the improved pulsed-reactor successor to Lady Godiva, are discussed together with characteristics of power excursions, and performance is compared with that of the ori...
Salient points from N.R.C. insulation papers

AUTHORS' abstracts of papers presented at the sessions of the committee on electrical insulation of the National Research Council held in Baltimore, Md., October 11 and 12, 1932, follow. Requests for additional information should be addressed to National Research Council, 29 West 39th Street, New York, N. Y.
Perception of random dot interference patterns.

THE observation that circular patterns are immediately perceived if a random dot pattern (Fig. 1a) is superimposed on itself and rotated slightly (Fig. 2a) indicates that the visual system detects local autocorrelations and integrates these to form a global circular percept1. By varying both the local and global parameters describing the interference patterns, the functional organisation of the visual system can be probed and new perceptual effects discovered.
Impact of a Required Pharmaceutical Calculations Course on Mathematics Ability and Knowledge Retention

Objective. To assess doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students’ mathematics ability by content area before and after completing a required pharmaceutical calculations course and to analyze changes in scores. Methods. A mathematics skills assessment was administered to 2 cohorts of pharmacy students (class of 2013 and 2014) before and after completing a pharmaceutical calculations course. The posttest was administered to the second cohort 6 months after completing the course to assess knowledge retention. Results. Both cohorts performed significantly better on the posttest (cohort 1, 13% higher scores; cohort 2, 15.9% higher scores). Significant improvement on posttest scores was observed in 6 of the 10 content areas for cohorts 1 and 2. Both cohorts scored lower in percentage calculations on the posttest than on the pretest. Conclusions. A required, 1-credit-hour pharmaceutical calculations course improved PharmD students’ overall ability to perform fundamental and application-based calculations.
Atherosclerotic plaque regression in rhesus monkeys induced by bile acid sequestrant.

Abstract This study in 10 rhesus monkeys was made to determine whether the bile acid sequestrant, cholestyramine (CST), when added to an atherogenic diet would cause regression of atherosclerotic plaques induced by dietary means. Sequential plaque changes were evaluated by serial angiography, surgical exploration, biopsy, and autopsy. After 23 months on atherogenic diet (Period I) all animals developed fatty fibrous plaques. CST was then added to the diet of eight animals over the following 11 months (Period II) and at the end of this interval seven showed plaque regression. One animal appeared to show regression of atherosclerosis in abdominal aortic branches and progression in the internal carotid artery. Atherosclerotic disease progressed in two control animals which were continued on the atherogenic diet alone during Period II. Overall, CST was effective in lowering cholesterol level sufficiently to induce plaque regression. During Period II, fecal bile acid excretion increased eight fold while average serum cholesterol fell from 400 ± 13 to 237 ± 70 mg/dl. Plaque regression appeared related to level of serum cholesterol during Period II rather than to the magnitude of increase of fecal bile excretion.
Nephrogenic adenoma arising from a urethral diverticulum: Magnetic resonance features

Abstract Nephrogenic adenoma is a rare benign tumor of the urinary tract. Although it most commonly arises within the urinary bladder, this tumor may also occur within a urethral diverticulum. We report the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of a nephrogenic adenoma arising within a urethral diverticulum in a 43-year-old woman. MRI appears to be helpful in showing the anatomic extent of the lesion as well as differentiating it from other anterior vaginal wall masses.
Redundancy in the control of robots with highly coupled mechanical structures

This paper investigates the hypothesis that robots based on highly coupled mechanical structures can give rise to redundancy in control. Highly coupled mechanical structures have the property that actuation at one location can translate into movement at multiple locations, and conversely, movement at one location can be caused by multiple actuators. Due to this property, multiple control strategies may exist for a single behavior. Tensegrity structures which have recently been shown to form the basis for successful locomotor robots (Paul et al., 2005), have highly coupled mechanical structures. Thus, as a case study, it was of interest to investigate whether these new tensegrity based robots could offer a high degree of redundancy of control. This was investigated on two robots, based on three and four strut tensegrity prisms. Control strategies for locomotion were evolved using a genetic algorithm in simulation, and the evolved behaviors were compared. It was found that multiple control strategies existed for forward locomotion in both structures, and that qualitatively similar behavior could be obtained with significantly different control strategies. This indicated that a considerable degree of redundancy could exist in the control of robots based on highly coupled mechanical structures.
Diamondlike Carbon Thin Films From Ion Activated Techniques

Diamondlike carbon thin films can be made by several different processes. We discuss two methods we have used to produce these films: deposition by low energy carbon ion beam and rf decomposition of hydrocarbon gases. In many ways, the films made by the two methods are similar, but there are some slight differences. The films have been characterized by electron spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and these measurements will be discussed. The films are mechanically hard, resist abrasion, transparent in the infrared and less so in the visible with a refractive index that can be varied between 1.8 and 2.3. Very efficient single layer quarterwave AR coatings have been produced on silicon solar cells. Other applications will be discussed.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Effect of Purines and Pyrimidines on Survival and Composition of Residual Muscle of Mice with Hereditary Muscular Dystrophy.

SummaryAdministration of hypoxanthine, adenine, uracil and inosine to dystrophic mice resulted in a significant prolongation of the mean attained age compared to untreated controls, while deoxyadenosine resulted in a significant shortening of life span. Nicotinamide mononucleotide, disphosphopyridine nucleotide and 3′, 5′-cyclic adenylic acid also increased the mean attained age of dystrophic mice significantly. A number of other purine and pyrimidine compounds were only slightly effective or not at all. The low muscle potassium, high sodium and high chloride of dystrophic muscle were partially reversed in dystrophic animals given inosine or a combination of hypoxanthine, uracil and adenosine. In the latter group, the ATP and PC content of muscle was between that of untreated dystrophic mice and normal animals.
Dynamic and Structural Properties of the Skeleton in Hypoparathyroidism

Hypoparathyroidism, a disorder in which PTH is absent, is associated with BMD that is above average. We studied associated structural and dynamic properties of the skeleton in hypoparathyroidism. Thirty-three subjects with hypoparathyroidism and 33 age- and sex-matched control subjects with no known metabolic diseases underwent percutaneous iliac crest bone biopsies after double-labeling with tetracycline. The main outcome was histomorphometric assessment of structural and dynamic skeletal parameters. Subjects with hypoparathyroidism had greater cancellous bone volume (mean ± SD; BV/TV: 23.5 ± 8 versus 19.7 ± 5%, p = 0.02), trabecular width (Tb.Wi: 136.1 ± 37 versus 119.3 ± 21 μm, p = 0.03), and cortical width (Ct.Wi: 923.4 ± 420 versus 753.5 ± 246 μm, p = 0.05) than control subjects. Dynamic skeletal indices, including mineralizing surface (MS: 0.85 ± 1.58 versus 4.27 ± 3.32%, p < 0.0001) and bone formation rate (BFR/BS: 0.006 ± 0.014 versus 0.032 ± 0.028 μm3/μm2/d, p < 0.0001), were profoundly suppressed in the hypoparathyroid subjects. We conclude that hypoparathyroidism is characterized by markedly unusual structural and dynamic properties of bone.
Coronary vascular reserve in the greyhound with left ventricular hypertrophy.

The effects of physiological left ventricular hypertrophy on coronary reactivity and reserve were examined by comparing greyhounds with their remarkable myocardial hypertrophy with mongrel dogs (left ventricular body weight ratios 7.7(0.1) and 4.4(0.1) g·kg−1 respectively). Peak reactive hyperaemia and flow debt repayment after 15 s coronary occlusions were virtually identical in both groups at baseline heart rates and paced atrial rates up to 270 beats·min−1. Furthermore, the changes in myocardial blood flow and its transmural distribution after release of a 45 s coronary occlusion both at baseline heart rate and during atrial pacing at 210 beats·min−1 were similar in both greyhounds and mongrel dogs. Collateral flow during a 1 min coronary occlusion in conscious animals and myocardial flows and distribution during treadmill exercise were also similar. To determine minimal coronary vascular resistance intracoronary adenosine (400-600 μ g·min−1) was infused to dilate maximally the coronary vasculature without having appreciable systemic effects. In both groups of dogs adenosine increased coronary flow six to seven fold. Coronary vascular resistance per gram of left ventricle decreased equally, and the minimal resistance was 2200(147) kPa·litre−1·min-g (RU·g−1) in greyhounds and 2360(453) RU·g−1 in mongrels, thus indicating similar maximal vascularity in each gram of the hypertrophied and mongrel left ventricles. Because of the larger greyhound heart, the minimal coronary vascular resistance for the entire left ventricle (1 1.7(0.7)RU) was 50% of that in mongrel dogs (24.1(0.7)RU). Thus all forms of left ventricular hypertrophy cannot be assumed to have similar effects on the coronary vasculature. Whereas the pathological hypertrophy associated with renovascular hypertension and aortic banding is accompanied by decreased coronary vascularity, the myocardial hypertrophy of the greyhound is accompanied by increased total vascularity and preserved coronary reserve.
Solutions with spikes for quasilinear boundary value problems

In recent years there has been some progress in the study of spike layer solutions for semilinear singular perturbation problems. Spike layer behavior can be described as nonuniform limiting behavior of a solution in which the solution has an interior maximum or minimum inside the layer. One of the first rigorous studies was made by O’Malley [lo], who used phase plane analysis for the autonomous semilinear Dirichlet problem and showed that solutions exist with increasing numbers of spikes as the small parameter approaches zero and that the spikes occur at equally spaced points in the interval. More recently, various results for nonautonomous ordinary differential equations with Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions have been obtained by Kath [4], Lange [7], Butuzov and Vasil’eva [ 11, and Kurland [6]. Spike layer solutions for semilinear elliptic partial differential equations have been treated by Lin, Ni, and Takagi [8] for Neumann boundary conditions and by Kelley and Ko [S] for Dirichlet boundary conditions. We consider in this paper the quasilinear problem
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF DISPERSION PROCESS FOR SINGLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBE BUCKY PAPER

This paper presents a new processing method to produce nanotube reinforced composites by using single-walled nanotube (SWNT) bucky paper as reinforcement. The SWNT bucky paper is an entangled mat of SWNTs, which is a highly porous mesh structure. To successfully produce SWNT bucky paper reinforced composites, it is essentially important to prepare a high-quality bucky paper. In this study, the quality of the bucky paper related to the dispersion of nanotubes within the bucky paper, which was quantitatively-characterized with rope size distribution and pore size distribution. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of various process parameters on the dispersion of nanotubes using design of experiments (DOEs) approach. Based on the experimental analysis, the dispersion process of nanotubes within the bucky paper was optimized by selecting appropriate process parameters.
GMR in DC magnetron sputtered Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19//Cu multilayers

In this paper, we present results of a study on Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19/Cu MLs deposited using a four-source DC magnetron sputtering system operated in planetary mode. A significant change of GMR value with deposition conditions, especially base pressure and deposition pressure, has been observed for Ni/sub 18/Fe/sub 19//Cu MLs. With an optimized process, we have obtained a GMR response of 9.5% with a field sensitivity of 0.44%/Oe for Si/[(Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19/)17 /spl Aring//Cu20 /spl Aring/]/sub 20/ MLs without an Fe buffer layer. The insertion of a very thin layer of a second magnetic species at nonmagnetic/magnetic interfaces in the ML stack makes GMR response either sensitive or less sensitive to deposition conditions depending on the species selected. We believe that the key to obtaining large GMR values in Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19//Cu MLs lies in the control of layered structure and interfacial chemistry. In addition, these Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19//Cu MLs survive high temperature annealing up to 250/spl deg/C, retaining a GMR value of 8.5%. The thermal stability exhibited by these MLs over the temperature range for device fabrication makes them valuable for high density recording head sensor applications.
An assessment of two-phase pressure drop correlations for steam-water systems

Abstract Eighteen two-phase friction pressure drop models and correlations were tested against about 2220 experimental steam-water pressure drop measurements under adiabatic conditions and about 1230 in diabatic flow conditions. The data represented several geometries and had the following property ranges: Pressure 1.7–10.3 MN/m2 (250–1500 psia); Mass velocity 270–4340 kg/m2sec (0.2–3.2 Mlb/ft2hr); Quality Subcooled to 100%; Equivalent diameters 2.3–33.0 mm (0.09–1.3 in.). The four models and correlations which were found to have the best performance were the Baroczy correlation, the Thom correlation and the homogeneous model two-phase friction multipliers, φ 2 fo = 1+X V fg V f and φ 2 fo = 1+X V fg V f 1+X μ g μ f −1 0.25 The correlations were also evaluated with the data being sub-divided into sets which were based on properties and flow conditions.
CHARACTERIZATION OF FULLERENE MATERIALS AND THEIR OXIDATIVE STABILITY USING DIFFUSE REFLECTANCE INFRARED FOURIER TRANSFORM SPECTROSCOPY

Since the generation and IR spectral detection of C60 in laboratory-produced carbon soot a few years ago, the constituents of the raw fullerene soot have been intensely investigated. The soot, which is prepared by vaporization of graphite with resistive heating under an inert gas, typically contains <20% fullerene by mass. With the recent interest in the reactivity of both the raw soot and purified fullerene products, new techniques are needed which can quickly identify changes in composition of these materials. Diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform specsoot, evident at 2335 cm-1, has been reported in other studies.
Effect of cis-platinum on kidney cytochrome P-450 and heme metabolism: Evidence for the regulatory role of the pituitary hormones

A novel action of the gonadotropic hormones of the adenohypophysis on the regulation of kidney heme metabolism and cytochrome P-450 concentrations is described. The treatment of rats with cis-platinum for 7 days caused a greater than twofold increase in the microsomal cytochrome P-450 and heme concentrations in the kidney. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis of the microsomal preparation revealed increased levels of both apocytochrome P-450 and heme in the molecular weight region corresponding to cytochrome P-450. In hypophysectomized rats, similar increases in heme and the cytochrome contents in the kidney were observed. Conversely, the treatment of rats with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) fully reversed the effect of cis-platinum on heme and cytochrome P-450 concentrations. The cellular basis of increases in concentrations of heme and the hemoprotein was explored by measuring the incorporation of [14C]glycine-labeled hemoglobin heme into the kidney microsomal heme fractions. In comparison with the control rats, the specific 14C activity of heme in microsomal fraction was not increased. Moreover, the effect of cis-platinum on kidney cytochrome P-450 appeared to be unrelated to alterations in the activities of the rate-limiting enzymes of heme biosynthesis and degradation pathways, delta-aminolevulinate synthetase, and heme oxygenase, respectively. On the other hand, ferrochelatase activity and the concentration of total porphyrins in the kidney were profoundly altered by cis-platinum treatment; a twofold increase in ferrochelatase activity and a marked reduction (40%) in the total porphyrin concentration were observed. Also, the activities of uroporphyrinogen-I synthetase and delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase were decreased in cis-platinum-treated animals. The latter effects reflect a direct inhibitory action of cis-platinum. It appears that the cis-platinum-mediated increase in the microsomal heme concentrations involves an accelerated rate of heme production as a consequence of increased ferrochelatase activity. This, in turn, could increase the production of cytochrome P-450. It is suggested that the anterior pituitary hormones control the concentration of the cytochrome P-450 in the kidney, and this process may be interrupted by cis-platinum.
Placenta of the Indian Elephant, Elephas indicus

The placenta of the Indian elephant is incompletely annular and zonary macroscopically and occupies the equator of an ovoid chorioallantoic sac. The amnion is fused with the chorion over the zone. Microscopically, the placenta is labyrinthine and endotheliochorial with a rudimentary marginal hematoma. Both macroscopically and microscopically it resembles the placentas of thecarnivores, particularly the racoon, the cat, and the dog.
Effects of Copper Source on Phosphorus Retention in Broiler Chicks and Laying Hens

Abstract Copper sulfate is often added to broiler and laying hen diets at prophylactic dosages due to its antimicrobial and growth promoting effects despite reduced P digestibility, whereas P use from other Cu sources is unknown. Therefore, male broiler chicks were fed diets containing 0 or 250 ppm Cu from Cu sulfate (Cu SUL), Cu citrate (Cu CIT), Cu lysinate (Cu LYS), or CuCl from 9 to 22 d of age (8 cages/diet, 6 birds/cage) to determine the effect of each Cu source on performance characteristics, bone mineralization, and P retention. Body weight gain was not different among treatments (P > 0.05). Supplementation with 250 ppm Cu from Cu LYS resulted in chicks having greater toe and tibia ash weights as compared with chicks fed Cu SUL (P ≤ 0.05) but was not significantly different from those of birds fed Cu CL, Cu CIT, and 0 ppm Cu diets. Supplementation with Cu LYS resulted in birds with greater toe ash percentage as compared with birds fed Cu CIT, Cu SUL, and the 0 ppm Cu diets (P ≤ 0.05) but was not significantly different than those of birds fed the CuCl diet. Birds fed the Cu LYS diet had greater tibia ash percentage as compared with birds fed Cu SUL and 0 ppm Cu diets (P ≤ 0.05) but were not significantly different than birds fed the Cu CL or Cu CIT diet. Supplementation with 250 ppm Cu SUL or Cu CIT reduced apparent P retention by 0.029 and 0.053 percentage-units of the diet, respectively (P ≤ 0.05) as compared with the 0 ppm diet; whereas the apparent P retention when 250 ppm Cu LYS or Cu CL was fed was not different from the 0 ppm Cu diet (P > 0.05). Feeding of different Cu sources in a subsequent experiment had no influence on P retention in laying hens (P > 0.05). In conclusion, supplementation with 250 ppm Cu from Cu CIT or Cu SUL resulted in decreased apparent P retention. Supplementation with 250 ppm Cu CL or Cu LYS, however, improved apparent P retentions as compared with Cu CIT or Cu SUL.
The ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey

The ISO-IRAS Faint Galaxy Survey will obtain comprehensive space- and ground-based observations of the most distant and luminous galaxies in the IRAS Faint Source Survey. ISO observations are obtained by filling short gaps in the ISO observing schedule with pairs of 11.5μm ISOCAM and 90μm ISOPHOT observations. As of the October 1997 date of this Conference, over 500 sources have been observed by ISO with an ISOCAM detection rate exceeding 803. Ground-based spectrophotometry confirms that the IIFGS efficiently detects moderateredshift, strong emission line Luminous Infrared Galaxies. Spectrophotometry is currently available for 67 galaxies with 0.07 < z < 0. 7 and L_(fir) > 10^(11) L_☉. The galaxies are comparable to nearby LIGs, showing HII/Liner excitation; about 10% exhibit strong AGN characteristics. As a part of this survey we will cover over 1.25 square degrees of sky to an 11.5μm limit of approximately l.0mJy, allowing a sensitive estimate of the 11.5μm logN-logS Relationship. Preliminary ll.5μm source counts suggest substantial evolution in the mid-infrared galaxy population.
Gag-Processing Defect of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Integrase E246 and G247 Mutants Is Caused by Activation of an Overlapping 5′ Splice Site

We have previously described several human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) mutants that are characterized by an excessive-RNA-splicing phenotype and reduced virus particle production. In one of these mutants (NLD2up), the sequence of 5′ splice site D2 was changed to a consensus splice donor site. This splice site overlaps the HIV-1 integrase reading frame, and thus, the NLD2up mutant also bears a G-to-W change at amino acid 247 of the integrase. A previously described E-to-K mutant at position 246 of the C-terminal domain of the integrase, which resulted in a G-to-A mutation at the +3 position of overlapping splice donor D2 (NLD2A3), was also shown to affect virus particle production and Gag protein processing. By using second-site mutations to revert the excessive-splicing phenotype, we show that the effects on Gag protein processing and virus particle production of both the NLD2up and NLD2A3 mutants are caused by excessive viral RNA splicing due to the activation of the overlapping 5′ splice site and not to the changes in the integrase protein. Both integrase protein mutations, however, are lethal for virus infectivity. These studies suggest that changes in the usage of overlapping splice sites may be a possible alternative explanation for a defective virus phenotype resulting from changes in protein-coding sequences or in the nucleotide sequence during codon optimization.
Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for monitoring minimal residual disease in patients with advanced indolent lymphomas treated with rituximab, fludarabine, mitoxantrone, and dexamethasone.

Fludarabine and rituximab (Rituxan; Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CA, and IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA) are active against indolent lymphomas. We have previously shown the safety and efficacy of the combination of FND (fludarabine/mitoxantrone/dexamethasone) in relapsed and subsequently untreated patients with stage IV indolent lymphomas. Currently, we treat patients with stage IV indolent lymphomas who are previously untreated, younger than 60 years, human immunodeficiency virus-negative, and have adequate organ and marrow function with FND and random assignment to concurrent or delayed administration of rituximab. We have developed a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for t(14;18). With 1 μg of DNA, this assay detects 0.6 copies in 55% of reactions, as expected for the Poisson distribution. When 1μg of DNA was analyzed in duplicate, cells with the t(14;18) were detected in peripheral blood of 22% of 152 volunteer blood donors. Quantitation showed that numbers of t(14;18) cells were higher than the statistical upper normal limit (mean of all volunteer values plus standard deviations) in 2% of volunteer blood donors. By contrast, 36% of blood or marrow specimens from follicular lymphoma patients were positive, and the number of cells with t(14;18) was higher than the normal upper limit in 26%. The presence of cells with t(14;18) and their numbers are prospectively quantitated in blood and marrow of patients treated with FND plus rituximab to determine their clinical significance both at presentation and during therapy. Semin Oncol 29 (suppl 2):48-55. Copyright © 2002 by W.B. Saunders Company.
Consistent and Significant Inhibition of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Envelope-Mediated Membrane Fusion by μ-Chemokines (RANTES) in Primary Human Macrophages

Infection and entry of CD4(+) cells by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) requires a coreceptor molecule, which, in concert with CD4, interacts with the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env), leading to membrane fusion. The principal coreceptors are the CCR5 and CXCR4 chemokine receptors. The suppressive effect of beta-chemokines, principally RANTES, on certain HIV-1 isolates was established before the discovery of the CCR5 receptor, and there have since been multiple reports confirming this initial observation. However, the inhibitory effect of beta-chemokines on HIV-1 infection of macrophages has been controversial. The current study focused on this issue in detail, with a reductionist approach, using assays that measure the effect of beta-chemokines solely on Env-mediated fusion. It is shown that under a variety of culture and differentiation conditions, RANTES maintains a significant and consistent inhibitory effect on CCR5-dependent Env-mediated fusion, and the role of these findings is discussed in relation to the role of beta-chemokines in HIV pathogenesis.
Plastic Axial Load and Moment Interaction Curves for Fire-Exposed Steel Sections with Thermal Gradients

Current practice for the design of steel beam-columns (i.e., members under combined axial load and bending) subject to fire is to calculate the capacity of these members assuming a uniform temperature distribution through the depth of the section. This assumption may be acceptable for some members, but there are cases where the member will be heated nonuniformly, thereby developing a thermal gradient through its depth. This paper analyzes the effects of thermal gradients on the combined axial load (P)-moment (M) yield capacity of beam-columns and compares the yield capacity of members with temperature gradients to those with uniform temperature profiles. The prototype beam-columns used in this study are wide-flange (WF) steel sections that are part of a high-rise moment-resisting steel building. This study evaluates the effects of plate thickness, section depth, and the direction of bending (i.e., strong versus weak axis) on the plastic P-M interaction diagram of WF sections with thermal gradients. Results show that a thermal gradient may have a significant effect on the yield capacity of beam-columns, and evaluations that are made assuming a uniform temperature through the section may lead to overestimations or underestimations of the true strength of the section.
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive homosexual man.

A case of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive homosexual man is reported. The patient improved after corticosteroid and plasma exchange therapy was instituted. The case demonstrated most of the classic features of TTP, including histologic evidence of fibrin thrombi in small blood vessels. Atypical features included reduced number of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow and only partial resolution of thrombocytopenia after therapy was begun. An autoimmune thrombocytopenia has been well-characterized in HIV -antibody-seropositive homosexual men. Physicians caring for HIV-seropositive persons should also be aware of a possible association with TTP.
Spatial correlation extraction via random field simulation and production chip performance regression

Statistical timing analysis needs a priori knowledge of process variations. Lack of such a priori knowledge of process variations prevents accurate statistical timing analysis, for which foundry confidentiality policy has largely been blamed. A significant part of process variations are design specific, and can only be extracted from production chip performance statistics. In this paper, the author adopts the homogeneous isotropic random field model for intra-die random variations, apply fast Fourier transform (FFT) to simulate a homogeneous isotropic random field, obtain corners for Monte Carlo SPICE simulation of timing critical paths in a VLSI circuit, and apply regression to match production chip performance statistics. Experimental results based on a timing critical path in an industry design with 65 nm predictive technology models reveal constant mean, increased standard deviation, and decreased skewness of a signal propagation path delay as spatial correlation increases. The proposed spatial correlation extraction technique can be applied in a chip tapeout process, where process variations extracted from an early tapeout help to improve statistical timing analysis accuracy and guide engineering change order of subsequent tapeouts.
Hybrid fuzzy-neural systems in handwritten word recognition

Two hybrid fuzzy neural systems are developed and applied to handwritten word recognition. The word recognition system requires a module that assigns character class membership values to segments of images of handwritten words. The module must accurately represent ambiguities between character classes and assign low membership values to a wide variety of noncharacter segments resulting from erroneous segmentations. Each hybrid is a cascaded system. The first stage of both is a self-organizing feature map (SOFM). The second stages map distances into membership values. The third stage of one system is a multilayer perceptron (MLP). The third stage of the other is a bank of Choquet fuzzy integrals (FI). The two systems are compared individually and as a combination to the baseline system. The new systems each perform better than the baseline system. The MLP system slightly outperforms the FI system, but the combination of the two outperforms the individual systems with a small increase in computational cost over the MLP system. Recognition rates of over 92% are achieved with a lexicon set having average size of 100. Experiments were performed on a standard test set from the SUNY/USPS CD-ROM database.
Damage Detection on Structures Using Texture Mapped Laser Point Clouds

Damage due to age or accumulated damage from hazards on existing structures poses a worldwide problem. In order to evaluate the current status of aging, deteriorating and damaged structures, it is vital to accurately assess the present conditions. It is possible to capture the in situ condition of structures by using laser scanners that create dense 3D point clouds. However, extracting meaningful information from point clouds automatically is challenging, and the current state-of-the-art requires a certain amount of user-interaction. Previously in our research, widely accepted point cloud processing steps were used to divide laser scanner data into meaningful object clusters, on which several damage detection methods were applied. Our current focus is on combining useful information extracted from laser scanner data with color information since novel laser scanners are capable of recording color data mapped on 3D point clouds. The color data provides additional information in the 4 th dimension, which makes it possible to detect damage types such as cracks, corrosion, and related surface defects that are generally difficult to detect by using only laser scanner data, and also helps to track volumetric changes on structures such as spalling. Even though crack and corrosion detection from images with varying resolution are extensively researched topics, damage detection by using laser scanners with and without images is a new research area that holds many opportunities for enhancing current practice in structural health monitoring. The aim of our research is to benefit from the best features of both laser scans and images, and combine them to create an automatic and effective damage detection method, which will complement the need for skilled labor during visual inspections of damaged structures and allow documenting related information automatically. This work is of interest to researchers who are focused on structural health monitoring and interested in the use of new laser scanners and damage detection algorithms for structures, as well as practitioners, who will benefit exploring new methods for improving their understanding of laser scanning technology and its capabilities for robust damage detection and documentation.
Gold nanoparticle-enhanced and size-dependent generation of reactive oxygen species from protoporphyrin IX

Photosensitizer, protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), was conjugated with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) of 19, 66, and 106 nm diameter to study the size-dependent enhancement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation enabled by Au NPs. The ROS enhancement ratio is determined to be 1:2.56:4.72 in order of increasing Au NP size, in general agreement with theoretically calculated field enhancement to the fourth power. The convergence of the experimental and simulated results suggests that Au NP-enhanced and size-dependent ROS formation can be attributed directly to the localized electromagnetic field as a result of surface plasmonic resonance of Au NPs under light irradiation. In vitro study on the ROS formation enabled by PpIX-conjugated Au NPs in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) revealed the similar size-dependent enhancement of intracellular ROS formation, while the enhancement greatly depended on cellular uptake of Au NPs. Cellular photodynamic therapy revealed that cell destruction significantly increased in the presence of Au NPs. Compared to the untreated control (0% destruction), 22.6% cell destruction was seen in the PpIX alone group and more than 50% cell destruction was obtained for all PpIX-conjugated Au NPs. The 66 nm Au NPs yielded the highest cell destruction, consistent with the highest cellular uptake and highest ROS formation. Clearly, the complex cellular environment, size-dependent cellular uptake of Au NPs, and ROS generations are vital contributors to the overall cellular PDT efficacy.
Geographic information science: emerging research on the societal implications of the geospatial web:

This review examines emerging research on the geoweb, particularly recent efforts to assess the social, political and disciplinary shifts associated with it. The rise of the geoweb is associated with shifts in the processes and power relations of spatial data creation and use, reconfi gurations in previously bounded disciplinary knowledge sets, and shifts in the subjectivities and social relations that are produced through the geoweb's technologies, data, and practices. This early research on the societal implications of the geoweb is drawing productively upon conceptual frameworks from critical GIS, public participation GIS, and spatial data infrastructure research, but must also theorize beyond these existing bodies of work.