cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extensions of the relative risk concept

Seit 25 Jahren hat sich der Begriff «relatives Risiko» bewahrt, um die auf Umweltbelastungen zuruckgehenden gesundheitlichen Schaden quantitativ zu erfassen. In diesem Beitrag werden die mathematischen Grundlagen dargelegt und die Beziehungen zwischen dem berechneten und dem tatsachlichen Risiko untersucht. Bei kleinem Risiko wird der Fehler geschatzt. Beziehungen zwischen dem relativen Risiko und dem Verhaltnis der Haufigkeit aller Erkrankungen zu der Haufigkeit der durch Umweltbelastung hervorgerufenen Erkrankungen werden algebraisch und graphisch dargestellt. Ein dynamisches Populationsmodell erlaubt, die Unterschiede des relativen Risikos innerhalb der Population zu studieren, im Gegensatz zum bisher benutzten uniformen Risiko. Dieses Modell ist flexibler und hat sich bei immunologischen Studien als realistischer erwiesen.
A specialized architecture for textual information retrieval

Retrieval of information from the complete text of large document collections cannot be performed efficiently or rapidly by current general purpose digital computers or by most special purpose rotating memory associative processors frequently proposed for efficient processing of relational databases. Characteristics which distinguish text retrieval from retrieval of formatted files are discussed, and a computer configuration employing for special purpose processors is described.
First Report of Sudden Death Syndrome of Soybean Caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. glycines in Nebraska

During August of 2004, soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plants exhibiting symptoms typical of sudden death syndrome (SDS) caused by Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc. f. sp. glycines (= Fusarium virguliforme Akoi, O'Donnell, Homma, & Lattanzi) (1) were observed in Nemaha and Pierce counties in eastern Nebraska. Leaf symptoms ranged from small chlorotic spots to prominent interveinal necrosis on plants at R5-R6 growth stages. Taproots of symptomatic plants were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with hymexazol, ampicillin, and rifampicin (HAR). Resulting fungal isolates grew slowly and developed masses of blue macroconidia, characteristic of F. solani f. sp. glycines. Sorghum seed infested with the isolates were placed 1.5 cm below soybean seeds of the susceptible cv. Sloan planted in clay pots (3). Noninfested sorghum seed and sorghum seed infested with F. oxysporum were controls. Plants were maintained for 32 days at 27.5 ± 2.5°C in the greenhouse. Small cholorotic spots were observed on leaves of F. solani f. sp. glycines-inoculated plants within 21 days followed by the development of interveinal chlorosis. Roots of symptomatic plants were plated on PDA with HAR and F. solani f. sp. glycines was recovered. Identification of the fungal cultures was further confirmed as F. solani f. sp. glycines by a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay described by Gao et al. (2). During 2005, SDS symptoms were also reported in early planted soybeans from Jefferson and Seward counties and the presence of SDS was confirmed by qPCR. The confirmation of SDS at multiple locations suggests that the pathogen is widely distributed in the eastern one-third of Nebraska. SDS could be a serious threat to soybean production in this area since spring weather conditions favor SDS infection and many producers plant soybean early in cool soils. References: (1) T. Akoi et al. Mycologia 95:660, 2003. (2) X. Gao et al. Plant Dis. 88:1372, 2004. (3) K. W. Roy et al. Plant Dis. 81:259, 1997.
Effect of Different Extrusion Temperatures and Moisture Content on Lipoxygenase Inactivation and Protein Solubility in Soybeans

Inactivation of lipoxygenase-1, -2, and -3 and changes in protein dispersibility index (PDI) during extrusion of soybeans at different temperatures and moisture levels were studied. Soybeans were extruded at six different temperatures, ranging from 77 to 121 °C, with or without holding for 30 min immediately after extrusion. Inactivation by extrusion was in the order of lipoxygenase-2 > -1 > -3. Holding for 30 min immediately after extrusion had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on inactivation of lipoxygenase-3. Essentially 100% inactivation of all three lipoxygenase enzymes in extruded soybeans resulted with a PDI of about 22. Extrusion of soybeans with different moisture contents showed a rapid decrease in PDI from 68.4 to 24.2 as soybean moisture content increased from 9.2% to 16.3%. Keywords: Extrusion; lipoxygenase; protein dispersibility; soybean
Sequential synchronization of two Lorenz systems using active control

Abstract Using techniques from active control theory, we demonstrate that a coupled Lorenz system can be synchronized. The application of the control elements is sequentially applied and the ensuing synchronization is displayed.
Scattering of a surface wave by a submerged sphere

The problem of the scattering of a surface wave in a nonviscous, incompressible fluid of infinite depth by a fully submerged, rigid, stationary sphere has been reduced to the solution of an infinite set of linear algebraic equations for the expansion coefficients in spherical harmonics of the velocity potential. These equations are easily solved numerically, so long as the sphere is not too close to the surface. The approach has been to formulate the problem as an integral equation, expand the Green's function, the velocity potential of the incident wave, and the total velocity potential in spherical harmonics, impose the boundary condition at the surface of the sphere, and carry out the integrations. The scattering cross section has been evaluated numerically and is shown to peak for values of the product of radius and wave number somewhat less than unity. Also, the Born approximation to the cross section is obtained in closed form.
Dioxinlike properties of a trichloroethylene combustion-generated aerosol

Conventional chemical analyses of incineration by-products identify compounds of known toxicity but often fail to indicate the presence of other chemicals that may pose health risks. In a previous report, extracts from soot aerosols formed during incomplete combustion of trichloroethylene (TCE) and pyrolysis of plastics exhibited a dioxinlike response when subjected to a keratinocyte assay. To verify this dioxinlike effect, the complete extract, its polar and nonpolar fractions, some containing primarily halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, were evaluated for toxicity using an embryo assay, for antiestrogenicity using primary liver cell cultures, and for the ability to transform the aryl hydrocarbon receptor into its DNA binding form using liver cytosol in a gel retardation assay. Each of these assays detect dioxinlike effects. Medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos and primary liver cell cultures of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to concentrations of extract ranging from 0.05 to 45 micrograms/l. Cardiotoxicity with pericardial, yolk sac, and adjacent peritoneal edema occurred after exposure of embryos to concentrations of 7 micrograms/l or greater. These same exposure levels were associated with abnormal embryo development and, at the higher concentrations, death. Some of the fractions were toxic but none was as toxic as the whole extract. In liver cells, total cellular protein and cellular lactate dehydrogenase activity were not altered by in vitro exposure to whole extract (0.05-25 micrograms/l). However, induction of cytochrome P4501A1 protein and ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity occurred. In the presence of whole extract, estradiol-dependent vitellogenin synthesis was reduced. Of the fractions, only fraction 1 (nonpolar) showed a similar trend, although vitellogenin synthesis inhibition was not significant. The soot extract and fractions bound to the Ah receptor and showed a significantly positive result in the gel retardation/DNA binding test. Chemical analyses using GC-MS with detection limits for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran in the picomole range did not show presence of these compounds. Our results indicate that other chemicals associated with TCE combustion and not originally targeted for analysis may also pose health risks through dioxinlike mechanisms.
3D Effects in DIC Images of Extended Objects

ABSTRACT Phase microscopy has been widely used to acquire information about unstained transparent biological objects.These objects are well visualized by techniques such as Di e rential Interference Contrast (DIC) microscopy,but standard DIC systems dont provide quantitative phase information. Quantitative analysis is limited bythe nonlinear relation between the i ntensity image and the object phase. In this work we combine nonlinearityconcepts of the image formation process to model 3D DIC images, specically the point spread function (PSF)formulation; capturing behavior of measured images along the optical axis that are not obtained when usingother models. We verify our model by comparing simulated images to real measured images. This model isdesigned so that the reconstruction of the 3D properties of imaged specimens can be done in a simple form.Keywords: Die rential Interference Contrast(DIC), thick objects, coherentmicroscopy, image formationtheory 1. INTRODUCTION Dierential interference contrast microscopy is widely used to acquire information about the optical propertiesof unstained transparent biological samples.
Mechanism of Acid-Catalyzed Epoxidation of Alkenes with Peroxy Acids

A 6.8 fold increase in the rate of epoxidation of (Z)-cyclooctene with m-chloroperbenzoic acid is observed upon addition of the catalyst trifluoroacetic acid. Kinetic and theoretical studies suggest that this increase in rate is due to complexation of the peroxy acid with the undissociated acid catalyst (HA) rather then protonation of the peroxy acid. The transition structure for oxidation of ethylene with protonated peroxyformic acid exhibits a spiro orientation of the electrophilic oxygen at the QCISD/6-31G(d) level and the complexed peroxy acid (HCO3H·HA) transition state is also essentially spiro at the ab initio and density functional levels. At the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level the protonated transition structure exhibits a more planar approach where the O3−H9 of the peroxy acid lies in the plane of the π-system of ethylene, and the barrier for formation of protonated oxirane is only 4.4 kcal mol-1. Epoxidation with neutral and complexed peroxyformic acid also involves a symmetrical spiro orientation affo...
Infrared Study of Factors Affecting the Emissivity of Aluminum

Temperature measurement of aluminum surfaces by remote sensing of infrared radiation (pyrometry) is difficult due to the low and varying emissivity of aluminum. The emissivity of 1199 aluminum and 3004 and 5182 alloys was studied as a function of oxide level, surface roughness, temperature, and wavelength. Factorial analysis showed that oxide level and temperature were the major effects for the 1199 aluminum and 3004 alloy, while surface roughness and temperature were the major effects for the 5182 alloy. The emissivity curves indicated that the samples behave as grey bodies, except for samples with thick, high-temperature oxides, which exhibit metal oxide absorption bands in the 10–20 μm region of the emissivity curves. Repeatability in temperature measurement by pyrometry as a function of alloy was also studied. Alloy 5182 showed the greatest variability, followed by 3004 and 1199.
Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive somata within the primate subfornical organ: species specificity.

Abstract The present study describes a collection of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) somata within the subfornical organ (SFO) of the Cebus monkey. In contrast, no cell bodies, and only sparse TH-ir fibers, were observed within the SFO in rats. In the monkey, these TH-ir neurons were observed throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the SFO, preferentially located at its lateral and dorsal aspects. These neurons were bipolar and multipolar with long, beaded, varicose fibers emanating from the cell soma. Cebus monkeys displayed dopamine beta hydroxylase andphenylethanolamine- N -methyltransferase- immunoreactive within established noradrenergic and adrenergic nuclei respectively, but not within the SFO, suggesting that the neurons which are immunoreactive for TH in this region contain dopamine.
Atheroma of the aorta and the possible role of unsaturated fatty acid deficiency in its formation.

Atheroma of the Aorta and the Possible Role of Unsaturated Fatty Acid Deficiency in its Formation
Emotional experience over time and self-reported depressive symptoms

Research on depression requires investigation of the roles played by emotions. A study of 137 college students tested hypotheses that fear and anger, as well as sadness and guilt, are associated with the symptoms of depression, and that individuals in whom these four negative emotions tend to occur on the same days are more likely to be depressed. Measures included emotion scales completed daily for 52 days, informant-reported emotion scales, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a new MMPI-derived Symptoms of Depression Scale (SDS) reflecting the nine diagnostic symptoms of major depression, and a modified version, the SDS-M, that omitted depressed mood and guilt items. All four emotions, as measured by self- and informant-reports, were correlated with depressive symptoms (P<0.05). Within-subjects correlations between sadness and anger were in turn positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Theory and clinical understanding of depressive disorders can be enlarged by further investigation of the role of emotions.
Platelet-rich plasma effects on degenerative disc disease: analysis of histology and imaging in an animal model.

IntroductionThe current conservative and surgical modalities of treating degenerative disk disease are aimed at relief of symptoms. At this time, there is no cure for the degenerative process. Plat...
Breaking Down the Resistance of Albino Mice to the Transplantation of Tumors Induced by 1:2:5:6-Dibenzanthracene in a Different Strain of Albino Mice

The difficulty encountered in transplantation of cancerous tissue, even from one strain of animals into another of the same species, has long been recognized (Loeb, 1901). Lately, the careful observations of many investigators (Strong, 1922; Wood and Curtis, 1922; Loeb, 1918; Woglom, 1929), particularly those on the transplantability of the spontaneous mouse carcinoma (Bittner, 1929, 1933, 1935) and of the induced mouse sarcoma (Andervont, 1934, 1935), have established the fact that the malignant tissues arising in mice of brother-to-sister mating strains is transplantable only into individuals of the same strain or, to a lesser degree, hybrids of that strain. Andervont (1934) showed this strain specificity for the induced 1:2:5:6-dibenzanthracene tumors in a number of strains of mice. He found that 4 tumors induced in the A strain of mice, when inoculated into 17 mice of the same strain, gave 17 tumors; but when inoculated into 23 mice of C3H strain, 25 mice of D strain, and 20 mice of stock albino strain, failed to produce a single tumor. Two tumors induced in CBA strain, inoculated into 10 mice of CBA strain, gave rise to tumors in 5 of the animals; but when inoculated into 10 mice of C3H strain and 6 mice of D strain gave completely negative results. Two tumors induced in mice of M strain, inoculated into 19 mice of M strain, resulted in the growth of a tumor in every instance, but failed to give rise to a single tumor when inoculated into 13 mice of D strain and 7 mice of C3H strain. Two tumors induced in mice of D strain, inoculated into 29 mice of D strain, resulted in 29 tumors, but failed to produce any tumor growth when inoculated into 11 mice of C3H strain and 8 mice of M strain. A tumor induced in a mouse of C3H strain gave rise to 18 tumors when inoculated into 18 mice of C3H strain, but remained negative in 8 mice of CBA strain and 6 mice of D strain. In our own experiments, using a pure inbred strain of Bagg albino mouse, we found that the tumors induced in brother-to-sister mating strains were transplantable 100 per cent into mice of the same strain, but not into mice of different inbred strains. Fragments of tumors induced in C3H, in A, in dilute brown and in C57 strains of mice, inoculated into more than 100 Bagg albino mice, in no instance gave rise to a tumor. On the other hand, fragments of these tumors never failed to grow in mice of the same strain as that in which the tumors arose. From these numerous experiments it would seem justifiable to conclude that induced 1:2:5:6-dibenzanthracene tumors are transplantable only into mice of the strain in which these tumors originate.
Age dependent NMDA contribution to impaired hypotensive cerebral hemodynamics following brain injury

Previous studies have observed that fluid percussion brain injury (FPI) impaired NMDA induced pial artery dilation (PAD) in an age dependent manner. Unrelated studies observed a similar age dependent impairment of hypotensive cerebral autoregulation after FPI. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that NMDA receptor activation contributes to impairment of cerebral autoregulation during hypotension after FPI in an age dependent manner. Therefore, the role of NMDA in impaired hypotensive cerebrovascular regulation after FPI was compared in newborn and juvenile pigs equipped with a closed cranial window. Ten minutes of hypotension (10-15 ml blood/kg) decreased mean arterial blood pressure uniformly in both groups (approximately 44%). In the newborn, hypotensive PAD was blunted within 1 h of FPI but partially protected by pretreatment with the NMDA antagonist MK801 (1 mg/kg i.v.) (34+/-1 vs. 8+/-1 vs. 25+/-2% for sham control, FPI, and FPI-MK801, respectively). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was reduced during normotension by FPI, further reduced by hypotension, but both were partially protected by MK801 in the newborn (56+/-5, 35+/-2, and 16+/-1 vs. 62+/-6, 45+/-3, and 30+/-2 ml/min 100 g for normotension, normotension-FPI, and hypotension-FPI in the absence and presence of MK801, respectively). In contrast, blunted hypotensive PAD was protected significantly less by MK801 in the juvenile (32+/-2 vs. 7+/-2 vs. 16+/-2% for sham control, FPI, and FPI-MK801, respectively). Similarly, MK801 had less protective effect on normotensive and hypotensive CBF values post FPI in the juvenile. These data indicate that NMDA receptor activation contributes to impaired hypotensive cerebral hemodynamics following brain injury in an age dependent manner.
A complex scaled multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree–Fock method for studying resonant states

A new complex scaled multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree–Fock (CMCTDHF) method (also called the complex scaled multiconfigurational linear response (CMCLR)) has been developed. CMCTDHF uses complex multiconfigurational Hartree–Fock states as initial states, and in real space has been successfully used to study electronic excitation energies and linear response properties. With CMCTDHF, shape and Feshbach resonances of an N-electron system can be obtained by studying the excited states of an (N + 1)-electron system with the trajectory method. Our first application of CMCTDHF has been for the beryllium doubly excited state 1Po (1s2 2p 3s) with a 14s 14p 5d Gaussian basis and a 2s 2p 3s 3p 3d complete active space (CAS). We find the resonance position and width are (11.01, 0.434) eV, which agrees very well with the experimental result (10.89, 0.531) eV. This is the first time that the complex scaling method has been successfully used to study beryllium doubly excited states. Our calculations show tha...
Mapping Hubris: Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle and Odysseus’ Apologoi

Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle is an apocalyptic story of scientific research gone awry following its divorce from ethics. John, Vonnegut’s protagonist and narrator, tells the story of how ‘pure research’ and hubristic technological development utterly destroy the world through unforeseen consequences. At its core, science fiction has always been a genre eminently concerned with the moral ambiguities created in the wake of speculative science. Even while looking temporally forward, these themes reach back to classical antiquity, and many of the genre’s formative works brim with classical allusion and intertext. In this essay, I examine a previously unexplored nexus between science fiction and the classics, which similarly summons Greek poetry in a critique of futuristic science. With this intertextual reading of Cat’s Cradle, I argue that the novel’s narrative is structured in part through the geography of Homer’s Odyssey and that Vonnegut offers a cautionary rereading of Homeric epic. Finally, I situate Vonnegut’s revaluation of the Odyssey in its broader context of post-World War II Homeric receptions, with particular attention given to Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s critical reading of Odysseus’ thirst for knowledge and enlightenment.
Effective use of loop diuretics in heart failure exacerbation: a nephrologist's view.

Abstract Unfortunately, patients with congestive heart failure suffer frequent admissions for the management of fluid overload. Loop diuretics are pivotal in the management of this common clinical problem. Although loop diuretics have been in clinical use since the 1960s, we still do not understand how to optimally administer these drugs. It is unknown why some decompensated heart failure patients exhibit improvements in renal function with diuresis, whereas others display renal function deterioration, limiting attainment of euvolemia. Here the physiologic interactions between the failing heart and kidneys are reviewed. A conceptual framework is presented that emphasizes the balance between tubuloglomerular feedback and venous congestion in determining renal function during loop diuretic use in heart failure. within this framework, guidelines are derived that seek to maximize the chance for achieving adequate volume removal while maintaining stable or improved renal function during the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure.
Guest Editors' Introduction: End-User Software Engineering

Millions of people program to support their work but don't call themselves programmers. The field of end-user software engineering is concerned with helping these people create reliable, dependable, and reusable programs, without distracting them from their primary tasks. This special issue of IEEE Software presents a selection of research from this field, providing a glimpse of some of the exciting advances made in past 10 years of research and development.
Year of maximum danger? The 1983 ‘war scare’ and US‐Soviet deterrence

The Cuban missile crisis is rightly regarded as the most dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union of the Cold War. Another less remarked but perhaps equally dangerous period preceded the ‘war scare’ of 1983. Relations between the American and Soviet governments deteriorated gradually between 1979 and 1983, on account of the cumulative disagreements and misperceptions growing out of several episodes. Some Soviet leaders convinced themselves that there was a nontrivial likelihood of a US nuclear first strike in the near future, and Soviet intelligence agencies were tasked to anticipate it. This study examines the historical, political and military‐strategic aspects of the ‘war scare’ crisis, including attributes of US and Soviet military forces in 1983 that might have contributed to higher levels of anxiety about surprise attack.
Angiogenesis as a potential biomarker in prostate cancer chemoprevention trials

Prostate cancer is a multistep process in which progression rather than initiation may be the rate-limiting step. A strong possibility is that prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions that switch to angiogenic phenotype eventually progress to cancer. However, it is a challenging task to quantitate angiogenesis in preneoplastic lesions. A promising approach to measuring angiogenesis involves real-time TaqMan polymerase chain reaction to quantitate mRNAs encoding a panel of angiogenesis markers. This highly sensitive molecular technique has potential for quantitating angiogenesis in clinical settings and can be used as a high-throughput screening procedure in prostate cancer clinical trials.
Anti-VEGF for treatment of macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusions

Purpose To assess efficacy and safety of intraocular injections of 0.3 mg or 0.5 mg ranibizumab in patients with macular edema following branch and central retinal vein occlusion. Methods Prospective, randomized, sham injection-controlled, double-masked, multicenter clinical trials. Six-month (monthly injections) and one year (PRN) results of the BRAVO and CRUISE studies will be presented. Results In the BRAVO study, mean change from baseline BCVA letter score at month 6 was 16.6 and 18.3 in the 0.3 mg and 0.5 mg ranibizumab groups and 7.3 in the sham group (P or =15 letters in BCVA at month 12 was 56% (0.3 mg) and 60.3% (0.5 mg) in the ranibizumab groups and 43.9% in the sham group; and CFT had decreased by a mean of 314 microm (0.3 mg) and 347 microm (0.5 mg) in the ranibizumab groups and 274 microm in the sham group). In the CRUISE study, mean change from baseline BCVA letter score at month 6 was 12.7 and 14.9 in the 0.3 mg and 0.5 mg ranibizumab groups, respectively, and 0.8 in the sham group (P or =15 letters in BCVA at month 12 was 47% (0.3 mg) and 50.8% (0.5 mg) in the ranibizumab groups and 33.1% in the sham group;CFT had decreased by a mean of 453 microm (0.3 mg) and 462 microm (0.5 mg) in the ranibizumab groups and 427 microm in the sham group). Conclusion Intraocular injections of 0.3 mg or 0.5 mg ranibizumab provid rapid, effective treatment for macular edema following BRVO and CRVO with low rates of ocular and nonocular safety events
Use of a low-cost incentive intervention to improve counseling attendance among methadone-maintained patients

Despite the importance of counseling in methadone maintenance treatment, many patients do not take advantage of these services. Incentives for attending group counseling were offered to methadone-maintained patients during an orientation phase of treatment or during required attendance at a relapse group later in treatment. Upon attending each counseling session, patients could draw for prizes under an escalating draw system with a 50% probability that draws would result in a prize. Incentives included small ($1), moderate ($5), and large ($20) prizes, with chances of winning inversely related to prize costs, and a maximum possible total of $160 per patient. It was anticipated that this policy would provide a relatively low-cost approach to improving counseling attendance in our methadone clinic. The incentive policy significantly increased the percent of counseling sessions attended (52% vs. 76%) and promoted periods of continuous attendance. These data further support the effectiveness of low-cost incentive programs in enhancing counseling attendance among methadone patients.
UXSOM: UML generated XML to software metrics

Software developers are increasingly using Unified Modeling Language (UML) tools to automate source code generation. Therefore, nowadays calculating software metrics from UML diagrams to evaluate software quality is an important trend in the software industry. However, acquisition of software metrics from Extensible Markup Language (XML) export of UML tools has been predominantly tool dependent. Moreover, each new tool may have different specifications in XML. Despite the overall need for a process to automate XML unification, no current solution has yet been proposed. Creating a framework to automate this assessment would streamline development and increase efficiency in software industry. With the aim to overcome this deficiency, we developed a parser-based framework, named UXSOM, to calculate software metrics independently from the UML tool. Particularly UXSOM is able to generate software metrics from the XML-based outputs of the tools, ArgoUML, UMLET, MagicDraw, Sparx Systems, and ESS Model. We showed a very general case of UML class diagram, in which we extracted and compared software metrics from these five different tool.
Non-nucleoside analogue polymerase inhibitors in development.

Abstract Non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors have several limitations including low to moderate potency, a low barrier to resistance, unlikely to cross genotype activity, genotype potency 1b > 1a, and hyperbilirubinemia for 2 of the drugs (tegobuvir and BI-207127). These drugs will have no role in monotherapy and may have only a limited role in triple therapy. They could be part of a quadruple therapy regimen or a triple or quadruple interferon-free regimen. Several issues remain unclear at the time of this review; the role of these compounds including minimal dosing required, safety, and cost remains to be clarified.
Soil cleanup by in-situ surfactant flushing. VIII. Reclamation of multicomponent contaminated sodium dodecylsulfate solutions in surfactant flushing

Abstract Solvent extraction with hexane has been studied for use in reclaiming contaminated surfactant solutions for reuse in remediation of hazardous sites. The hexane flow rate, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) concentration, and contaminant mixture were varied to determine their effects on the removal of multicomponent mixtures of phenanthrene, naphthalene, and biphenyl. Hexane flow rates greater than 60 mL/min were found to remove greater than 80% of phenanthrene and naphthalene after 1.5 hours of extraction time. The mass transfer rate increased until a hexane flow rate of about 60 mL/min was reached and then remained essentially constant. In experiments in which the SDS concentration was varied from 10 to 100 mM in aqueous solutions of mixtures of phenanthrene and naphthalene, the removal percentages for naphthalene were 98, 91, and 82, respectively, for 10, 50, and 100 mM SDS solutions after 2 hours of extraction, and for phenanthrene were 94, 88, and 75%. The mass transfer rates in these experiments in...
273 Use of Nesiritide and Renal Function Following Total Artificial Heart Implantation

Purpose: The effect of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) on renal function in congestive heart failure is controversial. Total Artificial Heart (TAH) patients undergo ventriculectomy removing the major endogenous source of BNP. They represent a unique population to study the effect of BNP on renal function. We hypothesize that BNP withdrawal after TAH results in renal failure. Methods and Materials: We performed a retrospective analysis of 42 patients implanted with a TAH. Early in our experience, nesiritide (NES) was not used routinely. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) before and 24 hrs after TAH implant was assessed. Based on these results, low dose NES was routinely used at TAH implant and then withdrawn following postop stabilization. GFR preceding NES withdrawal was compared to GFR 24 hrs after withdrawal. Results: 7 patients were not on NES at implant. 1 was transplanted 24 hrs following implant. 1 required hemodialysis (HD) immediately postop. In the remaining 5 patients, mean GFR decreased from 116 18.6 to 73.2 23.2 ml/min/1.73 m (p 0.15). 35 patients were on NES at implant. 2 were on HD and 1 was on pheresis at implant. 6 required HD immediately postop. 3 patients remained on nesiritide until transplant. The remaining 23 pts had NES withdrawn with a mean GFR decrease from 102.3 8.4 to 85.3 8.9 ml/min/1.73 m (p 0.001). Many patients required restarting NES. 16 patients were successfully weaned off NES. The response of GFR to NES in a representative patient is shown. Conclusions: Loss of BNP following ventriculectomy adversely affects GFR. Nesiritide and subsequent cautious withdrawal is an effective strategy to minimize renal dysfunction following TAH implant. This supports the notion that BNP has a role in renal homeostasis.
Simulation of airports/aviation systems: simulating aircraft delay absorption

An airplane's ability to absorb delay while airborne is limited and costly. Because of this, the air traffic control system anticipates and manages excessive demand for scarce shared resources, such as arrival runways or busy airspace, so that the delay necessary for buffering can be spread out over a larger distance, or taken on the ground before departure. It is difficult to model these important dynamics in a standard queue-resource simulation framework, which does not account for limited delay absorption capacity. The modeling methodology presented here captures these dynamics by employing a large number of independent threads of execution to monitor and enforce a large number of relatively simple mathematical relationships. These relationships calculate feasible time windows for each portion of each flight. The model was implemented in the SLX simulation language. The speed and scalability of SLX are essential to the approach, which would otherwise be impractical.
Further developments and applications of sensitivity analysis to collisional energy transfer

This paper considers the sensitivity of collision cross sections to the variation of intermolecular potential parameters. The study is restricted to the scattering of an atom and a linear rigid rotor, and to an atom and a breathing sphere. Attention is focused upon first order sensitivity coefficients (i.e., the gradient of cross sections with respect to potential parameters) from which an entire family of derived sensitivity coefficients may be obtained. Within this family a special class of coefficients is shown to be particularly important in determining the extent to which a set of measurements is able to define the parameters of an assumed potential. Finally, the global behavior of cross sections in parameter space is examined, and a nonlinear interpolation formula is suggested which utilizes sensitivity information.
Microscopic Folds and Macroscopic Jerks in Compressed Lipid Monolayers

We report hitherto unrecognized cooperative behavior in the stochastic collapse of certain compressed lipid monolayers implicated in pulmonary function. The cooperativity emerges from a statistical analysis of the collapse events captured using fluorescence microscopy and digital image analysis. The collapse events involve folding of the monolayer on a micron scale, yet each event produces a macroscopic jerk of the layer. The cooperative collapse is striking for its temporal sharpness and large spatial extent.
Light Chain Proximal Tubulopathy: Expanding the Pathologic Spectrum with and without Deposition of Crystalline Inclusions

Light chain proximal tubulopathy (LCPT) is an uncommon form of renal disease associated with dysproteinemias. It is characterized by intracytoplasmic deposition of crystallized mostly kappa monoclonal light chains in proximal tubules (PTs). Crystals are located within lysosomes by electron microscopy (EM). Rare lambda LCPT cases without crystals by EM were described. Retrospectively, we reviewed clinical, light microscopic (LM), immunofluorescence (IF), and EM findings in 9 cases) (8 males, 1 female; mean age 57 years (38–81)) with multiple myeloma. LM showed abundant cytoplasmic droplets in PT cells in all cases. Droplets were also present in the podocytes, endothelial and parietal cells in one case. IF revealed staining of crystals with kappa in 3 and lambda in 6. EM showed electron dense rectangular, rhomboid, or needle shaped crystals in PT cells in 3 cases (33%), one of which had crystals in podocytes and interstitial cells. Six lambda LCPT cases showed no crystals by EM (67%). This may reflect differences in the physicochemical properties of light chains. The mechanisms of crystal accumulation in these cells and the significance of this finding are unknown.
Rational choice and revealed preference without binariness

This paper attempts to provide a unified account of the rationalization of possibly non-binary choice-functions by “Extended Preference Relations” (relations between sets and elements). The analysis focuses on transitive EPRs for which three choice-functional characterizations are given, two of them based on novel axioms. Transitive EPRs are shown to be rationalizable by sets of orderings that are “closed under compromise”; this novel requirement is argued to be the key to establish a canonical relationship between sets of orderings and choice-functions. The traditional assumption of “binariness” on preference relations or choice functions is shown to be analytically unhelpful and normatively unfounded; non-binariness may arise from “unresolvedness of preference”, a previously unrecognized aspect of preference incompleteness.
A Major Pitfall in the Interpretation of "Central Blood Volume"

During reactive hyperemia of the legs of normal subjects, the "central blood volume" increased 569 ml. when measured from a hrachial arterial sampling site but decreased 144 ml. when measured from the femoral artery. This study demonstrates that changes occurring within the peripheral arterial system can profoundly influence "central blood volume" measurements which are made from a peripheral arterial sampling site. Failure to recognize the inconstancy and the potential magnitude of the arterial contribution is a major pitfall in the interpretation of the calculated "central blood volume." It is suggested that changes in either arterial volume or arterial flow distribution may alter the "central blood volume" but that the distribution effect is the more probable cause of the changes seen in this study. Alterations in "central blood volume," which result from changes within the peripheral vasculature, cannot be readily distinguished from those caused by changes in the volume of blood in the heart and lungs. Peripheral effects can be avoided if the indicator is injected into the right auricle and sampling is done from the root of the aorta.
Gastric angiomyolipoma: a previously undescribed cause of upper GI hemorrhage

Angiomyolipomas are rare lesions often arising in the kidney. We describe the first documented case of symptomatic gastric angiomyolipoma.
TWO-PHOTON LASER-ASSISTED REACTIONS OF Xe WITH HALOGEN CONTAINING MOLECULES

The two-photon, laser-assisted reactions between Xe (or Kr) and several halogen containing molecules have been observed by focusing the output of a pulsed dye-laser into dilute gas mixtures of Xe and the reagent. The occurrence of the reaction is detected from the B-X fluorescence of the XeCl*, XeBr* and XeI* products. Results from studies with SOCl2, CCl4, CCl3Br, CCl2Br2, Br2 and I2 are emphasized. In some instances the utilization of laser pulses of different frequency to drive the reaction enhanced the two-photon cross section, relative to one-color experiments, because of a more favorable energy resonance with the one-photon RX* intermediate state. Direct excitation from bound and free Xe/RX pairs on the van der Waals potential to the ion-pair, Xe+RX-, reactive potential explains most aspects of these laser-assisted reactions. One application of these laser-assisted reactions is as a very rapid generation source for XeCl* and KrF* molecules in order to study their quenching and relaxation kinetics.
Mutagenic activity of methyl-substituted tri-and tetracyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles

Abstract A number of polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles have been identified in coal-derived products and in shale oils. The mutagenic activity of some of these compounds, including dibenzothiophene, benzo[b]naphtho[1,2-d]thiophene, benzo[b]naphtho[2,1-d]thiophene and benzo[b]naphtho[2,3-d]thiophene have been determined using the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test. These compounds demonstrated either very weak or no mutagenic activity. The methyl derivatives of each of these four compounds were assayed for mutagenic activity. Salmonella typhimurium TA98 was used as the tester strain. All assays required a rat-liver homogenate metabolic activator. Five of the methylated derivatives, 1-methylbenzo[b]naphtho[1,2-d]thiophene, 3-methylbenzo[b]naphtho[1,2,-d]thiophene, 1-methylbenzo[b]-naphtho[2,1-d]thiophene, 6-methylbenzo[b]naphtho[2,1-d]thiophene and 4-methylbenzo[b]naphtho[2,3-[d]thiophene demonstrated mutagenic activity. However, activity was observed only at high concentrations of the metabolic activator.
Physical Attractiveness of an Animal Species as a Decision Factor for its Preservation

ABSTRACTThis experimental study examines how framing an animal species as endangered affects its perceived attractiveness and how an animal's perceived attractiveness affects support for its conservation. Undergraduate students were shown a flyer from a fictitious environmental organization pleading for the protection of either a bat or an ape. The flyer contained either no picture, a picture of an attractive member of its species, or a picture of an unattractive member of its species. For both species, an animal's attractiveness substantially increased support for its protection. There was also more support for saving the species that was larger in size and more resembled humans. In a second experiment, participants rated an unattractive animal as more attractive if it was framed as endangered. There was no such effect for an animal originally perceived as attractive. The implications of the results for environmental policy and conservation support are discussed.
Measurement of the resonant third-order nonlinear susceptibility of C60 by nondegenerate four-wave mixing

Abstract Ten orders of magnitude discrepancy exists in the literature for the third-order nonlinear susceptibilities of C 60 . To elucidate the problem, we used four-wave mixing to measure the resonant nonlinear optical response to C 60 by fitting the line-shapes resulting from interference between a standard and sample. High accuracy is achieved because absolute intensity measurements are not necessary. The measurements show the nonlinearity is much lower and can only constrain the C 60 second-order molecular hyperpolarizability to 3.7 × 10 −35 esu. This limit is only 57× as high as that of benzene and is lower than any value reported in the literature.
A Cystine-Rich Whey Supplement (Immunocal ® ) Delays Disease Onset and Prevents Spinal Cord Glutathione Depletion in the hSOD1 G93A Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Depletion of the endogenous antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), underlies progression of the devastating neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Thus, strategies aimed at elevating GSH may yield new therapeutics for ALS. Here, we investigated the effects of a unique non-denatured whey protein supplement, Immunocal(®), in the transgenic Gly position 93 to Ala (G93A) mutant hSOD1 (hSOD1(G93A)) mouse model of ALS. Immunocal(®) is rich in the GSH precursor, cystine, and is therefore capable of bolstering GSH content. Transgenic hSOD1(G93A) mice receiving Immunocal(®) displayed a significant delay in disease onset compared to untreated hSOD1(G93A) controls. Additionally, Immunocal(®) treatment significantly decreased the rate of decline in grip strength and prevented disease-associated reductions in whole blood and spinal cord tissue GSH levels in end-stage hSOD1(G93A) mice. However, Immunocal(®) did not extend survival, likely due to its inability to preserve the mitochondrial GSH pool in spinal cord. Combination treatment with Immunocal(®) and the anti-glutamatergic compound, riluzole, delayed disease onset and extended survival in hSOD1(G93A) mice. These findings demonstrate that sustaining tissue GSH with Immunocal(®) only modestly delays disease onset and slows the loss of skeletal muscle strength in hSOD1(G93A) mice. Moreover, the inability of Immunocal(®) to rescue mitochondrial GSH in spinal cord provides a possible mechanism for its lack of effect on survival and is a limiting factor in the potential utility of this supplement as a therapeutic for ALS.
Nonlinear optical processing with halftones: accurate predictions for degradation and compensation

A general analysis of the halftone process for nonlinear transformations in optical signal processing is presented. The analysis considers the effects of the nonideal characteristics of the recording medium. The results predict output errors due to different parts of the recording medium characteristic curve for any nonlinear transformation. A synthesis method for a discrete halftone screen density profile is also described. This produces an optimum halftone screen density profile for any form of recording medium characteristic curve and any type of nonlinearity in the sense that it minimizes the mean-square difference between desired and degraded outputs. The results of a computer simulation for logarithmic and level slice functions are given.
TGMS: an object-oriented system for programming geometry

TGMS (tiered geometric modelling system) is an experimental system intended to reduce the difficulty and cost of developing new solid modelling applications while preserving investment in an existing, time-tested, solid modeller. The application developer writes programs in the TGMS language, which consists of a base language augmented by data types (classes) for geometry. The base programming language is AML/X, an object-oriented language intended for use in design and manufacturing applications. Solid modelling is done using an interface to GDP (geometric design processor), an existing, production-quality solid modelling system. TGMS shows how a system written in a non-object-oriented language can be used as a base for an object-oriented application programming environment. This paper presents the design of TGMS and discusses important aspects of its implementation. The TGMS language defines classes and methods that provide an interface to functions and data represented in a non-object-oriented language. To implement TGMS, issues related to communication, storage management and consistency were addressed. These, and other, implementation issues are discussed. The paper includes sample programs and a summary of feedback from TGMS users. It concludes that the use of object-oriented programming for geometry has many benefits, and that an object-oriented system can be built on top of a non-object-oriented system at less cost than building the equivalent object-oriented system from scratch.
The Isomerization Kinetics of Lactose to Lactulose in the Presence of Borate

The kinetics of the isomerization of lactose to lactulose in the presence of boric acid and NaOH was studied. A first order equation fits the data for the rate controlling reaction—the formation of a boric acid–lactulose complex. Since the reaction is optimum at a molar ratio of boric acid to lactose of 1·0 and pH 11, a model was developed for application at these reaction conditions.
A new, soft-switched, high-power-factor boost converter with IGBTs

A new soft-switching technique that improves performance of the high-power-factor boost rectifier by reducing switching losses is introduced. The losses are reduced by an active snubber which consists of an inductor, a capacitor, a rectifier, and an auxiliary switch. Since the boost switch turns off with zero current, this technique is well suited for implementations with insulated-gate bipolar transistors. The reverse-recovery-related losses of the rectifier are also reduced by the snubber inductor which is connected in series with the boost switch and the boost rectifier. In addition, the auxiliary switch operates with zero-voltage switching. A complete design procedure and extensive performance evaluation of the proposed active snubber using a 1.2 kW high-power-factor boost rectifier operating from a 90 V/sub rms/-256 V/sub rms/ input are also presented.
Nondestructive, room temperature analysis/qualification of wafer-sized semiconductor device structures using contactless electromodulation spectroscopy

Abstract This paper reviews the use of the contactless, and hence nondestructive, electromodulation methods of photoreflectance and contactless electroreflectance for the room temperature characterization and qualification of semiconductor device structures. These include heterojunction bipolar transistors, pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors, quantum well lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, multiple quantum well infrared detectors and solar cells.