cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Telehealth service delivery for persons with alcoholism

Videoconferencing at a bandwidth of 384 kbit/s was used in open sessions for subjects with alcohol use disorders (AUD). Study participants received eight sessions of group therapy over a four-week period from an accredited addictions counsellor. Outcome assessment included self-report measures, a qualitative interview and a chart review. Of the 18 subjects who started the study, 14 attended at least four sessions of therapy, completed self-report assessments and the thematic interview. The participants reported high levels of satisfaction with telepsychiatry, found the intervention to be highly credible, had good session attendance and attrition comparable to that expected with conventional same-room treatment. In all, 82% of subjects reported that they would recommend the service to a friend or family member. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using videoconferencing for service delivery to adults with AUD, and encourage the future performance of randomized controlled trials.
Three Lysine Residues in the Common β Chain of the Interleukin-5 Receptor Are Required for Janus Kinase (JAK)-dependent Receptor Ubiquitination, Endocytosis, and Signaling

Eosinophils are multifunctional leukocytes implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous inflammatory diseases including allergic asthma and hypereosinophilic syndrome. Eosinophil physiology is critically dependent on IL-5 and the IL-5 receptor (IL-5R), composed of a ligand binding α chain (IL-5Rα), and a common β chain, βc. Previously, we demonstrated that the βc cytoplasmic tail is ubiquitinated and degraded by proteasomes following IL-5 stimulation. However, a complete understanding of the role of βc ubiquitination in IL-5R biology is currently lacking. By using a well established, stably transduced HEK293 cell model system, we show here that in the absence of ubiquitination, βc subcellular localization, IL-5-induced endocytosis, turnover, and IL-5R signaling were significantly impaired. Whereas ubiquitinated IL-5Rs internalized into trafficking endosomes for their degradation, ubiquitination-deficient IL-5Rs accumulated on the cell surface and displayed blunted signaling even after IL-5 stimulation. Importantly, we identified a cluster of three membrane-proximal βc lysine residues (Lys457, Lys461, and Lys467) whose presence was required for both JAK1/2 binding to βc and receptor ubiquitination. These findings establish that JAK kinase binding to βc requires the presence of three critical βc lysine residues, and this binding event is essential for receptor ubiquitination, endocytosis, and signaling.
Immunohistochemical localization of choline acetyltransferase in rabbit forebrain.

Abstract Guinea pig antiserum specific to the purified bovine choline acetyltransferase was used to demonstrate the localization of this enzyme in rabbit forebrain by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical method. Choline acetyltransferase was localized in olfactory bulb, olfactory tract, olfactory tubercle, piriform cortex, septum, diagonal band, basal ganglia, thalamus, hypothalamus, subthalamus, habenula, cerebral cortex, hippocampal region, corpus callosum, internal capsule, fornix, longitudinal striae and other areas. The findings reflect the distribution of cholinergic axons and, possibly, their terminals. These observations correlate well with biochemical determinations of choline acetyltransferase and with previously proposed cholinergic pathways.
Are we moving towards concordance on the principle that lipid discordance matters

In this issue of Circulation , Samia Mora, Julie Buring, and Paul Ridker publish an elegant and clinically-relevant analysis examining discordance of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with related laboratory measures and the risk implications.1 The article should attract attention from a diverse set of contingents, such as those based in preventive cardiology, clinical lipidology, and laboratory medicine, to name just a few. The study addresses the underappreciated concept of discordance between different lipid and lipoprotein measures in individual patients. The investigators address the prevalence of such discordance and its association with long-term incidence of coronary events. Article see p 553 Dr Mora and colleagues analyze participants in the prospective Women’s Health Study. With necessary lipid measurements captured on nearly all of the women, the analysis is large, involving 27 533 women aged ≥45 years. This is a primary prevention population—these women were all free of self-reported cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline. After baseline risk factor measurements, the women underwent follow-up over a median of 17.2 years for incident coronary events, including nonfatal myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting, and coronary death. An Endpoints Committee adjudicated events, which occurred in 1070 women. A unique aspect of this analysis is the simultaneous availability of directly measured LDL-C, Friedewald-estimated LDL-C, nonhigh-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non– HDL-C), apolipoprotein B (apoB), and low-density lipoprotein particle concentration (LDL-P). Essentially, these are related, but distinct, measures of the atherogenic lipid burden. Given that LDL-C is commonly the first parameter considered in clinical practice, in line with international guidelines,2–4 having this study center its primary analyses on LDL-C makes the results particularly relevant to daily practice. Another strength of the study is that the laboratory performing the measurements participates in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Lipid Standardization Program. Ultimately, …
EPR of copper tetrakis(cumylphenoxy)phthalocyanine Langmuir-Blodgett films

Abstract Copper teuukis(cumylphenoxy)phthalocyanine, CuPcX4, is a “building-block” molecule of LB (Langmuir-Blodgett) multilayer films. The EPR spectrum of the polycrystalline CuPcX4 compound and orientation-dependent EPR spectra of the CuPcX4 LB films were studied to determine the order parameter of the films. The polycrystalline spectrum shows a unique signal intensity pattern which differs from the EPR spectrum of copper phthalocyanine. This difference is attributed to an orthorhombic g tensor having g1=2.157, g2=2.040, g3=2.034. The 63Cu hyperfine coupling is assigned an axial tensor with A( 63 Cu )=0.02008 cm −1 (215 G ) and B( 63 Cu )=0.00273 cm −1 (29.2 G ) . Resolved transitions of 65Cu are observed in the polycrystalline spectrum. The 14N superhyperfine coupling is assigned an axial tensor with A( 14 N )=0.00146 cm −1 (15.6 G ) and B( 14 N )=0.00175 cm −1 (18.7 G ) . A structural model of the LB film was developed by computing EPR spectra of different orientation distributions of the CuPcX4 molecules with respect to the film surface. An order parameter of the CuPcX4 molecule directrix with respect to the substrate directrix was assigned a value of S = −0.45 based upon a comparison between experimental spectra and computed spectra.
Communitarian Citizenship and Civil Disobedience

Perhaps the most frequent criticism of communitarianism is that it is too sympathetic to community, and too hostile to individualism. It is alleged that the community and its agent, the state, are given too much power, and hence the important role of dissent is dangerously marginalized. To evaluate and respond to this criticism, this paper expounds the communitarian understanding of citizenship and addresses communitarians' critics, in part through a close reading of Charles Taylor's essay, “Atomism”. Some forms of communitarianism, especially those that put an emphasis upon citizen participation, have an adequate response to the critics. Moreover, in some ways communitarianism has a better understanding of, and a more central role for, dissent and civil disobedience.
Thinking Outside the Box: A Modern Approach to Treatment

Mark Ylvisaker paved the cognitive rehabilitation pathway for generations to follow. Many of us who have come after are driving the avenues he worked so hard to create. His work was seminal in the fact that he blended disciplines, seamlessly creating a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. Incorporating ideas founded in psychology into standard speech therapy had not been successfully implemented prior to Dr. Ylvisaker. He brought credibility and recognition to the role a speech-language pathologist (SLP) must play in cognitive rehabilitation. This article highlights Dr. Ylvisaker's influence on the development of my programmatic research on the treatment of individuals with brain injury.
Changes in forest soil organic matter pools after a decade of elevated CO2 and O3

Abstract The impact of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) may be mitigated, in part, by enhanced rates of net primary production and greater C storage in plant biomass and soil organic matter (SOM). However, C sequestration in forest soils may be offset by other environmental changes such as increasing tropospheric ozone (O3) or vary based on species-specific growth responses to elevated CO2. To understand how projected increases in atmospheric CO2 and O3 alter SOM formation, we used physical fractionation to characterize soil C and N at the Rhinelander Free Air CO2–O3 Enrichment (FACE) experiment. Tracer amounts of 15NH4+ were applied to the forest floor of Populus tremuloides, P. tremuloides–Betula papyrifera and P. tremuloides–Acer saccharum communities exposed to factorial CO2 and O3 treatments. The 15N tracer and strongly depleted 13C–CO2 were traced into SOM fractions over four years. Over time, C and N increased in coarse particulate organic matter (cPOM) and decreased in mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) under elevated CO2 relative to ambient CO2. As main effects, neither CO2 nor O3 significantly altered 15N recovery in SOM. Elevated CO2 significantly increased new C in all SOM fractions, and significantly decreased old C in fine POM (fPOM) and MAOM over the duration of our study. Overall, our observations indicate that elevated CO2 has altered SOM cycling at this site to favor C and N accumulation in less stable pools, with more rapid turnover. Elevated O3 had the opposite effect, significantly reducing cPOM N by 15% and significantly increasing the C:N ratio by 7%. Our results demonstrate that CO2 can enhance SOM turnover, potentially limiting long-term C sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems; plant community composition is an important determinant of the magnitude of this response.
Krebs cycle function is required for activation of the Spo0A transcription factor in Bacillus subtilis.

Abstract Expression of genes early during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis requires the activity of the transcription factor encoded by spo0A. The active, phosphorylated form of Spo0A is produced through the action of a multicomponent pathway, the phosphorelay. A mutant defective in the first three enzymes of the Krebs citric acid cycle was unable to express early sporulation genes, apparently because of a failure to activate the phosphorelay. Cells that produce an altered Spo0A protein that can be phosphorylated by an alternative pathway were not dependent on Krebs cycle function for early sporulation gene expression. These findings suggest that Krebs cycle enzymes transmit a signal to activate the phosphorelay and that B. subtilis monitors its metabolic potential before committing itself to spore formation.
Pulsed brachytherapy: a formalism to account for the variation in dose rate of the stepping source.

Pulsed brachytherapy is an endeavor to mimic low dose rate (LDR) treatments using a single higher activity source (a medium dose rate) that is periodically introduced into the patient (i.e., pulsed) using a remote afterloader. It has been reported that by a careful choice of pulse length and frequency and using the ERD bioeffect dose model, therapeutic advantage (TA) values slightly less than unity can be achieved where TA has been defined as the ratio of tumor ERD for PB to tumor ERD for LDR treatments for constant late-reacting normal tissue ERD. These calculations are based upon a uniform average dose rate in each pulse and equal repair rate constants for both tumor and normal tissue. In this paper, it is demonstrated that TAs of greater than 1 might be possible, depending upon the repair rate constants assumed for the tissues involved. Furthermore, for PB treatments the dose rate at a point of interest during each pulse is not uniform, since the treatment involves a single stepping source. A generalized ERD equation based on the linear quadratic model has been developed to account for the variation in the dose rate and, subsequently, to maximize the TA. Our calculations indicate that PB performed with 40 pulses in 120 hours with an irradiation time of 30 minutes per pulse with a delay time of two and a half hours is the best replacement for a LDR treatment that delivers 60 Gy in 120 hours.
Evaluation of assays for the detection of autoantibodies to the ribosomal P proteins.

Sera from systemic lupus erythematosus patients that had antibodies to the ribosomal P proteins were compared in several different assays. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was compared to the Western immunoblotting method using either affinity purified human or bovine ribosomal P proteins. All 30 normal sera had no significant reactivity with these antigens. The most sensitive test was the ELISA using the human P protein, where 31/32 patients were positive (97%). The assay with bovine proteins in ELISA yielded 28/32 (88%) positive results. Immunoblotting with either bovine or human P protein was equally effective with 30/32 (94%) positive. An ELISA incorporating human P proteins is a more sensitive assay for clinical diagnosis than an ELISA with the bovine protein. Immunoblotting is a sensitive method, but is less convenient and is not quantitative. The ELISA with the human protein appears to be the method of choice.
Human CD34+ cells expressing the inv(16) fusion protein exhibit a myelomonocytic phenotype with greatly enhanced proliferative ability

The t(16:16) and inv(16) are associated with FAB M4Eo myeloid leukemias and result in fusion of the CBFB gene to the MYH11 gene (encoding smooth muscle myosin heavy chain [SMMHC]). Knockout of CBFβ causes embryonic lethality due to lack of definitive hematopoiesis. Although knock-in of CBFB-MYH11 is not sufficient to cause disease, expression increases the incidence of leukemia when combined with cooperating events. Although mouse models are valuable tools in the study of leukemogenesis, little is known about the contribution of CBFβ-SMMHC to human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell self-renewal. We introduced the CBFβ-MYH11 cDNA into human CD34+ cells via retroviral transduction. Transduced cells displayed an initial repression of progenitor activity but eventually dominated the culture, resulting in the proliferation of clonal populations for up to 7 months. Long-term cultures displayed a myelomonocytic morphology while retaining multilineage progenitor activity and engraftment in NOD/SCID-B2M-/- mice. Progenitor cells from long-term cultures showed altered expression of genes defining inv(16) identified in microarray studies of human patient samples. This system will be useful in examining the effects of CBFβ-SMMHC on gene expression in the human preleukemic cell, in characterizing the effect of this oncogene on human stem cell biology, and in defining its contribution to the development of leukemia.
Personality types, learning styles, and an agile approach to software engineering education

This paper describes an initiative at North Carolina State University in which the undergraduate software engineering class was restructured in layout and in presentation. The change was made from a lecture-based coursed that followed the waterfall method to a lab-oriented course emphasizing practical tools and agile processes. We examine the new course layout from the perspective of Myers-Briggs personality types and Felder-Silverman learning styles to discuss how the new software engineering class format appeals to a wide variety of students. The new course format resulted in some of the highest student evaluations in recent course history. It is now the standard for the undergraduate software engineering course at the university and has since been used in other North Carolina institutions.
Frequency dependence of the double-layer differential capacity resulting from shielding

Abstract The frequency dependence of the double-layer differential capacity, caused by shielding by the capillary, is calculated approximately. The error is negligible for the usual conditions of measurement but becomes significant above 10 kc/sec.
3-D image-enhancement technique for volumetric cardiac images

In our efforts to devise a semi-automated technique for extracting the left ventricular (LV) chamber from a stack of cardiac X-ray CT images, we found that individual regions within the imagery contained blurred surfaces and were corrupted by noise and other small artifacts. To reduce these degradations, we explored image enhancement techniques. While many nonlinear edge-preserving smoothing filters have been proposed for such situations in two dimensions, we have found that the most suitable technique for our three-dimensional application is the maximum homogeneity filter. Unfortunately, previous implementations of the maximum-homogeneity filter used fixed ad hoc implementations, thereby limiting their utility. We have developed a three-dimensional generalization of the maximum homogeneity filter. This filter preserves and sharpens region surfaces. It also reduces random noise and small artifacts within uniform regions. We compare this method to 3-D versions of other popular edge-preserving smoothing filters.
A new axial smoothing method based on elastic mapping

New PET scanners have higher axial and in-plane spatial resolutions but at the expense of reduced per plane sensitivity, which prevents the higher resolution to be fully realized. Normally, Gaussian weighted interplane axial smoothing is used to reduce noise. In this study, the authors developed a new algorithm to first elastically map from adjacent planes to an expected plane location, then by simple averaging with the measured image at the corresponding axial plane location to reduce the image noise level. Compared with those images obtained by conventional axial-directional smoothing method, the images of the new method which are based on matching image features of adjacent planes have improved signal-to-noise ratio. To quantify the observation, both simulated cardiac images and real cardiac PET images were studied. The effective in-plane resolution loss was measured by the "effective global Gaussian resolution" and the noise reduction was evaluated by the cross-correlation coefficient. Various Hanning reconstruction filters with cutoff frequency=0.5, 0.7, 1.0/spl times/Nyquist frequency and Ramp 1.0 filter were tested on simulated images. Results showed that the new method was robust to various noise levels and indicated larger noise reduction or better image feature preservation than by the conventional method.
Pollination and Seed Dispersal in the Endangered Succulent Euphorbia brevitorta

ABSTRACT The dwarf succulent euphorbia Euphorbia brevitorta (Euphorbiaceae) is a localized and potentially threatened endemic species with limited distributed across rocky grasslands in central and southern Kenya. The pollination ecology and seed dispersal of E. brevitorta was investigated by direct observation. Euphorbia brevitorta relies on pollinators for fruit-set as it bears separate male and female flowers on the same plant, but appears to be self-compatible. Euphorbia brevitorta was found to have a generalist pollination system, with insects being the main pollinators. Pollinators of E. brevitorta comprise a wide range of insects from three different orders: true flies (Diptera), ants, bees and wasps (Hymenoptera) and beetles (Coleoptera). Flies, wasps and honeybees were found to be the most efficient transporters of pollen between different individual plants and carried the highest volumes of pollen. Observations of pollinators revealed adequate pollination and high visitation rates by pollinators...
Aedes aegypti densonucleosis virus amplifies, spreads, and reduces host populations in laboratory cage studies.

ABSTRACT Aedes densonucleosis virus (family Parvoviridae, genus Brevidensovirus, AeDNV) is a mosquito pathogen that increases Aedes aegypti larval mortality and reduces adult life span. We conducted three laboratory population cage trials, each lasting 16–25 wk. We tested two broad hypotheses. First, Ae. aegypti raised in containers seeded with 108 AeDNV genome equivaIents/ml (geq/ml), a concentration feasible for field application, increase AeDNV to concentrations that cause significant adult and larval mortality. Second, infected female mosquitoes disperse AeDNV to uninfected larval habitats. In hypothesis 1, we addressed the rate at which infected larvae secrete virus, how AeDNV titers change in seeded containers over time, whether AeDNV decays over time, and whether AeDNV exposed populations are reduced. In hypothesis 2, we monitored AeDNV concentrations in novel containers after oviposition by infected females. Both hypotheses were supported. Larvae increased AeDNV, secreting virus at a rate of 2.14 ...
Chs5/6 Complex: A Multiprotein Complex That Interacts with and Conveys Chitin Synthase III from the Trans-Golgi Network to the Cell Surface

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the polysaccharide chitin is deposited at the mother bud junction by an integral membrane enzyme, chitin synthase 3 (Chs3p). The traffic of Chs3p to the cell surface from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) depends on two proteins, Chs5p and Chs6p, which sort selected cargo proteins into secretory vesicles. We have found that Chs5p forms a large higher-order complex of around 1 MDa with Chs6p and three Chs6 paralogs: Bch1p, Bud7p, and Bch2p. The Chs5/6 complex transiently interacts with its cargo, Chs3p, and the presence of Chs3p in the complex is dependent on every subunit. Chs5p and Chs6p have unique and crucial roles in Chs3p transport because either a chs5Δ or chs6Δ mutant drastically reduces the level of Chs3p bound to the remaining subunits of the complex. Bch1p and Bud7p appear to have a redundant function in Chs3p transport because deletion of both is necessary to displace Chs3p from the complex. The role of Bch2p in Chs3p binding is the least important. Chs5p is essential for structural integrity of the Chs5/6 complex and may act as a scaffold through which the other subunits assemble. Our results suggest a model of protein sorting at the TGN that involves a peripheral, possibly coat, complex that includes multiple related copies of a specificity determining subunit.
Reduction of the magnetic sensitivity of an atomic clock against the non-uniformity and variations of the C-field

The frequency of an atomic clock may be stabilized against C-field variations by applying weak magnetic pulses tuned to the Larmor frequency. The small signal produced by these pulses is a Ramsey spectrum of the Zeeman transitions which, when added to the microwave Ramsey signal, may be adjusted to compensate exactly for the quadratic frequency shift of clock transition at a given value of the C-field. The cancellation is provided by a feed-forward mechanism which modifies the error signal without the need to adjust the C-field. This can be implemented in most atomic clocks by generating the required audio-frequency pulses on wires producing a magnetic field perpendicular to the C-field.
Potent and selective inhibitors of the TASK-1 potassium channel through chemical optimization of a bis-amide scaffold

TASK-1 is a two-pore domain potassium channel that is important to modulating cell excitability, most notably in the context of neuronal pathways. In order to leverage TASK-1 for therapeutic benefit, its physiological role needs better characterization; however, designing selective inhibitors that avoid the closely related TASK-3 channel has been challenging. In this study, a series of bis-amide derived compounds were found to demonstrate improved TASK-1 selectivity over TASK-3 compared to reported inhibitors. Optimization of a marginally selective hit led to analog 35 which displays a TASK-1 IC50=16 nM with 62-fold selectivity over TASK-3 in an orthogonal electrophysiology assay.
Modeling Isomorphism on Policing Innovation The Role of Institutional Pressures in Adopting Community-Oriented Policing

Recent research on innovation diffusion points to a number of key factors that stimulate the need for change or facilitate the adoption of innovations. Empirical studies examining the process of innovation—that is, how ideas are spread—are less common and often lack a theoretical foundation. The present study uses institutional theory to develop a model of community-policing adoption in municipal law enforcement agencies. The fit of the institutional model is assessed using secondary data and structural equation modeling. The results show that centrist forces—including publications, the professionalization of law enforcement, and other law enforcement agencies—shape the organizational adoption of community-policing reforms. The implications of the research for communicating innovations are addressed.
The impact of computed tomography on pretherapeutic staging in patients with laryngeal cancer: Demonstration of the Will Rogers' phenomenon

Background. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that pretherapeutic CT of patients with primary laryngeal cancer results in stage migration, therefore affecting laryngeal cancer outcome data. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 90 patients with primary laryngeal cancer diagnosed between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 1997, at a university hospital. Results. The disease in 15 (17%) of 90 patients was reclassified into a new TNM stage after pretherapeutic CT. As a result, stage-specific survival rates improved in three of four TNM stages, even though average survival for the entire cohort did not change. Conclusions. The TNM staging system is not a temporally stable classification and prediction system, because TNM assignment varies on the basis of the type of pretherapeutic evaluation. Outcome data for patients with laryngeal cancer must account for the introduction of new technologies that affect our ability to diagnose and stage this disease. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 26: 972–976, 2004
Properties and microstructure of tungsten films deposited by ion-assisted evaporation

The modification of film properties in evaporated tungsten was studied as a function of deposition environment. Using concurrent argon ion bombardment of the growing film, the stress varied in the same manner at all ion energies and substrate temperatures. Initial increases in tensile stress are followed by a monotonic trend toward compressive stress, for all sets of films. On the other hand, the qualitative changes in film resistivity with concurrent bombardment were dependent on the ion energy and substrate temperature, showing increases at high temperature and energy and decreases at low temperature and energy. Changes in the microstructure and impurity content in deposited films were found to be strongly linked to stress and resistivity changes. The trend toward compressive stress induced by high levels of ion bombardment is primarily reflected in an increase in (110) orientation. Increased resistivity is related to decreased grain size, increased (110) texture, and increased levels of film argon and oxygen content. By choice of deposition conditions, both the resistivity and stress can be minimized.
Cholesterol Intake as Measured by Unquantified and Quantified Food Frequency Interviews: Implications for Epidemiological Research

A number of dietary assessment methods have been developed for epidemiological investigations. The general tendency has been to strive for methods that are sufficiently simple to implement in a fairly large sample of respondents and yet are able to measure dietary intakes with an acceptable degree of reliability. Concomitantly, methodological studies are needed to determine whether the various methods can be used interchangeably. This study compares the unquantified and quantified food frequency interview methods for measuring cholesterol intake on 4638 subjects from a multi-ethnic population in Hawaii. The methods were only modestly related, with product-moment correlation of 0.36 for men and 0.30 for women. The unquantified frequency method tended to yield a higher cholesterol value than did the quantified frequency method among lower level consumers, whereas the opposite was true for higher level consumers. These findings suggest that unquantified frequency methods cannot be used interchangeably with corresponding quantified frequency methods in studies of association between dietary cholesterol and disease occurrence.
A multiple modulator fractional divider

Fractional-N frequency synthesis using a phase locked loop (PLL) is considered. Advances in oversampling A/D conversion technology are incorporated into fractional-N synthesis, allowing the spectrum of error energy to be shaped so that fractional synthesis error energy is pushed away from the carrier. Based on this new technology, a CMOS integrated fractional-N divider was successfully developed. A complete fractional-N PLL was constructed utilizing only a CMOS divider, a dual modulus prescaler, a simple loop filter, and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The resulting PLL exhibits no fractional spurs. >
Polyanhydride microspheres as drug carriers. II. Microencapsulation by solvent removal

A new method to prepare polyanhydride microspheres, namely via solvent removal, is presented. Polyanhydrides composed of the following diacids were used: sebacic acid (SA), bis(p-carboxy-phenoxy) propane (CPP), and dodecanedioic acid (DD). Polymers were characterized by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, viscosity, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Drug release was affected by polymer composition, physical properties of the microspheres, and type of drug. The potential for injectable microspheres (size range 1–300 μm) made of copolymer (CPP-SA 50:50), as biodegradable polymer carriers for the controlled release of insulin in treating diabetes mellitus, was assessed. Both 5% and 10% w/w insulin-loaded microspheres were prepared. The 10% loaded microspheres produced the best clinical response, demonstrating five days of urine glucose control and four days of serum glucose control in diabetic rats.
A knowledge-based method for engineering navigational capability into user interface software

One of the most time consuming tasks involved in the creation of user interfaces (UIs) has been the development of navigational logic to control which screens the user sees and when they are presented. The authors describe a practical, timesaving approach using knowledge engineering principles and two knowledge-based software tools which they have developed. These tools, combined with a method of representing complex navigational logic, constitute an effective approach to engineering large UI software applications. The method was tested in a complex application containing over 130 screens where this approach was estimated to be ten times more efficient than conventional techniques. >
Conceptual, Methodological, and Ethical Problems in Communicating Uncertainty in Clinical Evidence

The communication of uncertainty in clinical evidence is an important endeavor that poses difficult conceptual, methodological, and ethical problems. Conceptual problems include logical paradoxes in the meaning of probability and “ambiguity”— second-order uncertainty arising from the lack of reliability, credibility, or adequacy of probability information. Methodological problems include questions about optimal methods for representing fundamental uncertainties and for communicating these uncertainties in clinical practice. Ethical problems include questions about whether communicating uncertainty enhances or diminishes patient autonomy and produces net benefits or harms. This article reviews the limited but growing literature on these problems and efforts to address them and identifies key areas of focus for future research. It is argued that the critical need moving forward is for greater conceptual clarity and consistent representational methods that make the meaning of various uncertainties understandable, and for clinical interventions to support patients in coping with uncertainty in decision making.
Improved estimate of tidal dissipation within Mars from MOLA observations of the shadow of Phobos

[1] We report on new observations of the orbital position of Phobos, the innermost natural satellite of Mars, and show that these observations provide an improved estimate of the rate of tidal dissipation within Mars. The observations were made with the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The secular acceleration in along-track orbital motion is conventionally expressed in terms of a quadratic term in mean orbital longitude, which yields s = (dn/dt)/2 = (136.7 ± 0.6) × 10−5 deg/yr2, where n is the mean motion. The corresponding fractional rate of change in orbital angular velocity is (dn/dt)/n = (6.631 ± 0.029) × 10−9/yr, the highest measured for any natural satellite in the solar system. The energy dissipation rate is (3.34 ± 0.01) MW. Because Phobos is so close to Mars, there are nonnegligible contributions to the tidal evolution from harmonic degrees 2, 3, and 4. However, the elastic tidal Love numbers are observationally constrained only at degree two. The observed acceleration is consistent with that for a homogeneous Maxwell viscoelastic model of Mars with effective viscosity of (8.7 ± 0.6) × 1014 Pa s.
Attachment Working Models Twist Memories of Relationship Events

The information that people remember about their relationships should be affected by their attachment orientations. This study investigated changes in individuals' memories of their own behavior during conflict-resolution discussions with their romantic partners. One week after each couple engaged in two videotaped conflict discussions, each partner's memory of the discussions was assessed. Memory biases were systematically related to attachment orientations. More avoidant individuals, for example, remembered being less supportive than they reported initially if they were relatively distressed during the discussions, whereas the opposite was true of less avoidant persons. More anxious individuals remembered being less emotionally distant than they reported initially if they were relatively distressed during the discussions, whereas the opposite was true of less anxious persons. We discuss the implications of these memory changes.
Knowledge and Teaching.

This paper concerns a puzzle about teachers’ knowledge. That special knowledge of academic subjects is an essential asset in teachers’ work, for the more they know the greater their resources for helping learners. Yet that knowledge also is a liability, for the more accomplished teachers are in a field, the more finished their knowledge is. That finished material properly represents teachers’ intellectual accomplishments, but it typically is quite remote from learners’ tentative and often puzzling formulations. How can teachers use such knowledge to help learners who are only beginners?
Overview of the voltage-gated sodium channel family

Selective permeation of sodium ions through voltage-dependent sodium channels is fundamental to the generation of action potentials in excitable cells such as neurons. These channels are large integral membrane proteins and are encoded by at least ten genes in mammals. The different sodium channels have remarkably similar functional properties, but small changes in sodium-channel function are biologically relevant, as underscored by mutations that cause several human diseases of hyperexcitability.
Class scheduling and size as correlates of learning

West Virginia University has been giving departmental final examinations in three engineering mechanics courses for almost thirty years. This paper reviews results of 118 class sections since 1989. Two significant findings were made: (1) Classes meeting three times a week outperform those meeting twice a week. (2) There are significant long-term differences between instructors.
ARE MONEY ANNOUNCEMENT FORECASTS RATIONAL

The present study performs rationality tests on the survey of money announcements. As the money announcement follows a nonstationary process, traditional tests for rationality are not applicable. A different set of procedures that incorporated this time-series property would be used to test for the rational expectations hypothesis. Results show that the survey data fails the rational expectations hypothesis. Previous research has suggested various improvements for the forecasts. The author's results show that none of them make the forecasts consistent with the rational expectations hypothesis. Copyright 1994 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Minimally invasive lumbar decompression for the treatment of spinal stenosis of the lumbar spine

SUMMARY Lumbar spinal stenosis is one of the most common degenerative diseases of the elderly population, and a major cause of debilitating pain and decreased function. Lumbar spinal stenosis is almost always associated with neurogenic claudication characterized as pain worsened by standing or walking and relieved by lumbar flexion or sitting. While initial treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis may involve conservative therapies, as patients become more symptomatic the traditional treatment path has generally led to open laminectomy and other invasive, potentially destabilizing, procedures. More recently, less invasive alternatives to wide laminectomy have been developed. This article describes a new method of percutaneous lumbar decompression for treatment of neurogenic claudication secondary to lumbar spinal stenosis, the minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedure. We review the steps of successfully decompressing the hypertrophic ligamentum flavum and lamina, thereby alleviating pressure on neural...
Merging for time inhomogeneous finite Markov chains, Part I: singular values and stability

We develop singular value techniques in the context of time inhomogeneous finite Markov chains with the goal of obtaining quantitative results concerning the asymptotic behavior of such chains. We introduce the notion of c-stability which can be viewed as a generalization of the case when a time inhomogeneous chain admits an invariant measure. We describe a number of examples where these techniques yield quantitative results concerning the merging of the distributions of the time inhomogeneous chain started at two arbitrary points.
Calibrating the Six-Port Reflectometer by Means of Sliding Terminations

The six-port technique promises to have a major impact on the next generation of automatic network analyzers because complex heterodyne methods may be replaced by simple amplitude detectors. This projection, however, is predicated upon the existence or development of calibration techniques which permit one to conveniently and accurately obtain the parameters which characterize the six-port. This paper describes a number of substantial refinements to a previously described procedure which is based upon the use of sliding terminations.
On Existence of Solutions for Non-coercive Problems

In its simplest form the model has the following form: u(x, y, z) is 2π periodic in x and z solution of $$ _{\begin{subarray}{l} \Delta u = f(x,y,z) 0 < y < 1 \\ u = 0 y = 0 \end{subarray} }^{{{U_{y}} + F{u_{{xx}}} = g(x,z) y = 1}} $$ (1) . Here F = const < 0, and f and g are given functions, 2π periodic in x and z.
DIRECT SPATIAL ASSOCIATION OF AN X-RAY FLARE WITH THE ERUPTION OF A SOLAR QUIESCENT FILAMENT

Solar flares primarily occur in active regions. Hard X-ray flares have been found to occur only in active regions. They are often associated with the eruption of active region filaments and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). CMEs can also be associated with the eruption of quiescent filaments, not located in active regions. Here we report the first identification of a solar X-ray flare outside an active region observed by the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). The X-ray emission was directly associated with the eruption of a long, quiescent filament and fast CME. Images from RHESSI show this flare emission to be located along a section of the western ribbon of the expanding, post-eruption arcade. EUV images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory Atmospheric Imaging Assembly show no connection between this location and nearby active regions. Therefore the flare emission is found not to be located in or associated with an active region. However, a nearby, small, magnetically strong dipolar region provides a likely explanation for the existence and location of the flare X-ray emission. This emerging dipolar region may have also triggered the filament eruption.
Abstract: A National Study of Incidence of Accidents in High School Wrestling, 1937–1938

This reports the results of a national survey of the incidents and causes of accidents in high school wrestling. This was done to establish procedures for lowering the accident rate. Knowledge of the causes and severity of injuries is it essential for preventing these injuries. The current survey indicates that approximately 5% of high school wrestlers received injuries....
Infrared Reflectance in Quaternary Alloys: Ga1−xAlxAs1−yPy

We report the first measurements of the infrared reflectance in a quaternary alloy system: Ga1−xAlxAs1−yPy. Studies of GaP-rich and GaAs-rich alloys yield three reflectance peaks, one associated with the respective “host” materials, and two with impurity modes. The frequencies of the impurity modes are in agreement with calculations based on mass-defect formulations. The oscillator strengths of the three modes are interpreted in terms of an alloy model based on random bonding rather than chemical clustering.
Using higher ionization states to increase Coulomb coupling in an ultracold neutral plasma.

We report measurements and simulations of the time-evolving rms velocity distribution in an ultracold neutral plasma. A strongly coupled ultracold neutral ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ plasma is generated by photoionizing laser-cooled atoms close to threshold. A fraction of these ions is then promoted to the second ionization state to form a mixed ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}$ plasma. By varying the time delay between the first and the second ionization events, a minimum in ion heating is achieved. We show that the Coulomb strong-coupling parameter $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ increases by a factor of 1.4 to a maximum value of 3.6. A pure ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}$ plasma would have $\ensuremath{\Gamma}=6.8$, moving these strongly coupled systems closer to the regime of liquid-like correlations.
Optimal non-impulsive thrust orbit transfers with large numbers of burns

This paper presents new theoretical results which lead to a new algorithm for the computation of fuel-optimal multiple-burn orbit transfers of low and medium thrust. Theoretical results show that the traditional set of necessary conditions may be replaced with a much simpler set of equations. Intuitively, one might want to think of an optimal multiple-burn transfer problem not as one large trajectory problem, but as a sequence of optimal one-burn transfers between intermediate orbits that are optimally chosen. For spherical-body gravity, a strong relationship is shown to exist between these two problems. Based on this relationship, a new numerical method is presented which iteratively computes optimal orbit transfers. Numerical results for an 11-burn transfer are presented to demonstrate the new algorithm. (Author)
Method for Reducing Therapists' Bias When Judging Clients' Improvement

Therapists are often poor judges of clients' improvement and their judgments can be biased in either direction, false positive, or false negative. This study reports a method for reducing this bias. Twenty clients being transferred from one therapist to another as part of a normal rotation were studied. Two therapists terminating treatment and two new therapists (five clients each) filled out an 80-item questionnaire on each client giving the most realistic evaluation of the client's pathology. Another two terminating and two new therapists (five clients each) completed the same questionnaire twice-once giving the most optimistic and once the most pessimistic evaluation on each client's pathology. AU 20 clients were then seen for four sessions by two (10 clients each) experienced, expert diagnosticians to determine which new therapist was appropriate. The 10 clients (Group A) had the same assessment done by the old therapist, the new therapist, and an expert. Ten clients (Group B) had the same assessment done by the expert but had both an optimistic and pessimistic evaluation done by the old therapist and the new therapist. The data for every clients' questionnaire were run through a computer program designed by the author that yields every DSM-111 diagnosis for which there is substantial evidence or some evidence. Every client was given a pathology score, generated by giving the dient two points for each diagnosis with substantial evidence and one point for every diagnosis with only some evidence. For the therapists who had made two evaluations, the pathology points assigned were based on the mean of the optimistic and pessimistic assessments. An analysis of variance was performed on the pathology scores for both groups. Old therapists gave the clients a mean pathology score of 3.3, new therapists gave a rating of 5.2, while experts gave a rating of 4.7 (F2,,B = 13.16, p<.001) A Newman-Keuls post hoc test indicated all individual comparisons were significant. In Group B, the mean of optimistic and pessimistic ratings for old therapists was 3.4, for new therapists was 3.4 and experts' ratings were 3.6 (F,,,, = 0.72, ns). Asking the more novice therapists (old or new) to give the range of pathology rather than a most accurate assessment yielded better agreement with experts.
Unsteady Breakup of a Swirl Coaxial Injector

The shedding of ligaments and droplets from swirling liquid sheets under atmospheric conditions are studied using two methods. First, photographs are taken and wavelengths are measured directly. Velocimetry data shows that droplets are moving at approximately 13 m/s at 50 mm (axially) downstream of the injector tip. Using this data, a shedding frequency of 1300 Hz is estimated at this axial location. Second, Mie scattered light is collected from a laser sheet which cuts the spray at 50 mm. Fast Fourier transform analysis is performed on the Mie signal. The FFT produced shows broad band frequency activity centered at 1300 Hz, and agrees with the photographic analysis. The frequency at which mass passes through the laser sheet is seen to diminish with increasing axial location. At 50 mm, adding coaxial airflow also decreases the frequency of mass flux. Coaxial air velocities from 25 m/s to 37.5 m/s were investigated. Below 25 m/s coaxial air was found to have very little effect on the swirling water spray.