cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Penile fracture with isolated corpus spongiosum injury

Penile fractures are classically described as presenting with rapid detumescence of an erection associated with blunt trauma. This clinical finding is due to a tear in the tunica albuginea surrounding the corpora cavernosum. We, however, present the case of a patient who presented with a 'classical' penile fracture but was found on surgical exploration to only have an isolated corpus spongiosum injury.
Workshop — Understanding qualitative research

This workshop is designed for those who already have some understanding of educational research methods who want to gain a deeper understanding of qualitative research. Participants will work in small groups to co-construct their understanding of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms and epistemology. At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to (1) compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research paradigms, (2) compare epistemological perspectives in qualitative research, and (3), describe five research strategies commonly used in qualitative research. This knowledge can be later applied by participants to better understand engineering education research articles and proposals that use qualitative methodologies. An approximately 60-page handbook entitled Qualitative research basics: A guide for engineering educators by Nancy Van Note Chism, Elliot Douglas, and Wayne J. Hilson, Jr. will be distributed to attendees. Completion of Fundamentals of Educational Research or other workshop or course which discusses the basics of educational research is considered a prerequisite for attending this session. This workshop is sponsored by the National Science foundation through Expanding and sustaining research capacity in engineering and technology education: Building on successful programs for faculty and graduate students (DUE — 0817461).
Hepatitis C infection in potential recipients with normal liver biochemistry does not preclude renal transplantation.

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) may be an important cause of chronic liver disease in renal transplant recipients. We investigated retrospectively the incidence and outcome of HCV infection in long-term renal transplant recipients and patients on hemodialysis. Stored, pretransplant sera of transplant recipients with normal liver biochemistry at surgery were tested for hepatitis C by a second-generation enzyme immunoassay. Hemodialysis patients were tested by a first-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against c100-3. We studied 252 renal transplant recipients and 58 hemodialysis patients followed for 65±10 months and 26±6 months, respectively. Fifteen percent (38/252) of the transplant recipients were HCV positive as were 3/58 (5%) of the hemodialysis patients. Over liver disease occurred in 22/252 (8.7%) transplant recipients and none in the hemodialysis group. Thirty-six percent (8/22) of transplant recipients with overt liver disease were HCV positive. No HCV-positive patients died of liver failure. Of six biopsies in the HCV-positive transplant group, two had histological evidence of CAH. CAH was seen in six of eight biopsies in the HCV-negative transplants and two of these latter patients progressed to cirrhosis. No hemodialysis patients had clinical or histological evidence of chronic liver disease. Two HCV-negative transplant patients died of liver failure, while no deaths related to liver disease occurred in hemodialysis patients regardless of HCV status. We conclude that hepatitis C may cause chronic hepatitis in renal transplant patients. However, chronic liver disease in HCV-positive renal transplant recipients appears to be a clinically and histologically benign entity. HCV-positive potential renal allograft recipients with normal liver biochemistry should not be excluded from renal transplantation.
Improved decision support system (IDSS) transforming the smart network-edge

This paper suggests an optimized approach to a network centric solutions involving “Sensor Web Enablement”. Sensors are becoming an integral part of the IP network. The numbers of IP enabled sensors are already exceeding the number of computers or hosts on networks. Improved Decision Support System (IDSS) is introduced as a bridging-solution to overcome the IP connectivity issues caused by certain IP network topology and mobile IP networking architectures. IDSS provides a distributed approach to sensor integration and informationnormalization, as compared to only using centralized SWE Architecture to monitor remote sensors. IDSS is positioned as a layer between the remote-sensors and the centralized data-center based Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) architectural components. IDSS enables policy based interoperability for local sensors, actuators and systems. OGC SWE is positioned as an overarching topmost layer that is extremely valuable for global sensor dataaggregation, tracking trends and analysis of the overall big-picture. This paper also suggests leveraging the Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) components at “regional” or “global” levels as overlay architecture. OGC SWE architecture can provide better situational awareness by aggregating information from multiple remote sensing resources. IDSS provides local sensor monitoring and response, and also serves a proxy for multiple remote sensors feeding into the global sensor web. IDSS is implemented on embedded-systems platforms and tightly integrates into the next-generation integrated IP networks.
The Overwintering of Aphids and Viruses on Sugar Beet Seed Crops in England, 1963‐1966

SUMMARY Samples of leaves and shoots from approximately one third of all English sugar beet seed crops were checked for infesting aphids in late May, June or early July, from 1963 to 1966. Sixty-eight per cent of all samples contained no aphids, 25 per cent were infested, if lightly, with Aphis fabae and seven per cent with Myzus persicae. M. persicae, the main vector of beet viruses, overwintered on beet seed crops in appreciable numbers only in Kent in 1966; these infested crops were sprayed with insecticide once the aphids were discovered. Sugar beet seed crops in Britain are small and widely scattered, and so they represent a considerable hazard to the sugar beet root crop if they are diseased, although only about 3,000 acres are grown. Producers of sugar beet seed take adequate precautions to prevent virus disease from spreading, but should be encouraged to grow these crops away from sugar beet root crops.
Modified linear discriminant analysis approaches for classification of high-dimensional microarray data

Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is one of the most popular methods of classification. For high-dimensional microarray data classification, due to the small number of samples and large number of features, classical LDA has sub-optimal performance corresponding to the singularity and instability of the within-group covariance matrix. Two modified LDA approaches (MLDA and NLDA) were applied for microarray classification and their performance criteria were compared with other popular classification algorithms across a range of feature set sizes (number of genes) using both simulated and real datasets. The results showed that the overall performance of the two modified LDA approaches was as competitive as support vector machines and other regularized LDA approaches and better than diagonal linear discriminant analysis, k-nearest neighbor, and classical LDA. It was concluded that the modified LDA approaches can be used as an effective classification tool in limited sample size and high-dimensional microarray classification problems.
Sulfide derivatives of cysteine.

Several new amide derivatives of L-3-carboxymethyIthioalanine were prepared as possible antiviral agents by the alkylation of cysteine. None of these was found to be effective, however. Unrelated to this group, but nonetheless sulfides of cysteine, are L-3-(2-hydroxyethylthio)-alanine and L-3-benzhydrylthioalanine, which were also prepared and tested. The former showed slight activities against a poliomyelitis virus and against a Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in Swiss mice. The latter compound was found to be helpful in treating a trichomonas infection in hamsters.
Looking beyond overnutrition for causes of epidemic metabolic disease

In 1500 B.C., when the author of the Egyptian papyrus Ebers first described an obscure illness that later became known as diabetes mellitus (from Greek diabetes meaning siphon and Latin or Greek mel meaning honey) (1), he could hardly have envisioned the pandemic of metabolic disease that would take place at the end of the 20th century through the beginning of the 21st century. According to the International Diabetes Federation, diabetes affects ∼366 million people worldwide (2). This number is projected to rise to 552 million by 2030 (2). Additionally, there were 280 million people with impaired glucose tolerance in 2011 (2); this number is projected to increase to 398 million in 2030 (2). Thus, by 2030, close to 1 billion people are expected to have abnormal glucose tolerance. The epidemic of diabetes is accompanied by epidemics of obesity and atherosclerotic heart disease and may have at its roots an insulin-resistant state called the metabolic syndrome (3). Why is this epidemic of metabolic disease taking place now? In PNAS, Cai et al. (4) propose one possible explanation.
Three tricks for simulating the scalar sector of the Weinberg-Salam model

Abstract The following topics are discussed: (1) F 4 lattices and their importance for the simulation of heavy Higgs systems, (2) a soft-pion finite-size theorem and the measurement of f π and (3) Adler's Overrelaxation Algorithm and critical slowing down. Several general comments are also given.
Intractable Epistaxis with Febuxostat

Objective: To report a case of serious, intractable epistaxis warranting an emergency department (ED) visit and hospital admission for transfusion following initiation of febuxostat.Case Summary: An 86-year-old female presented to the ED after onset of intractable epistaxis for the previous 24 hours. Medications included aspirin, clopidogrel, metoprolol tartrate, valsartan, rosuvastatin, levothyroxine, esomeprazole, and febuxostat. She was treated with prednisone in the ED for a gout flare 3 weeks prior to the current visit, then was started on febuxostat at her follow-up primary care visit. Ten days after starting febuxostat therapy, she had onset of epistaxis. Initial treatment did not provide hemostasis and hemoglobin, and hematocrit values decreased. She was admitted and transfused. Aspirin, clopidogrel, and febuxostat were held during hospitalization. Bleeding subsided following bedside cautery. On hospital day 3, she restarted aspirin and clopidogrel and was discharged with no recurrence of bleeding...
Overnight 5% Lidocaine Ointment for Treatment of Vulvar Vestibulitis

Objective To assess the effectiveness of nightly application of 5% lidocaine ointment for treatment of vulvar vestibulitis. Methods Over 17 months, we assessed women presenting to our pain clinic for evaluation of introital pain; 61 women met the criteria for vulvar vestibulitis and participated in a treatment trial. We measured daily pain and intercourse-related pain using a 100-mm visual analog scale. We compared ability to have intercourse and pain ratings before and after treatment, and investigated whether prior treatment or gynecologic comorbidities predicted response to treatment. Results After a mean of 7 weeks of nightly treatment, 76% of women reported ability to have intercourse, compared with 36% before treatment (P =.002). Intercourse-related pain score was 39.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 30.39, 47.83) points lower after treatment (P Conclusion Long-term, nightly application of 5% lidocaine ointment shows promise as a treatment for management of vulvar vestibulitis; a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial is warranted.
Optional Shift Behavior of Children as a Function of Age, Type of Pretraining and Stimulus Salience.

Abstract Optional shift behavior was studied within a factorial design involving four levels of age (nursery school children, first-, third-, and fifth-grade children), three types of pretraining (perceptual training, perceptual plus verbal labeling training, and a control condition), and two degrees of stimulus salience (objects vs. patterned stimulation). The perceptual and perceptual plus verbal pretraining procedures significantly and equally facilitated selection of optional reversal shift, and nursery children made fewer optional reversals than older S s. Degree of stimulus salience as manipulated here had no effect on shift behavior. The findings are discussed in relation to perceptual, attentional, and verbal mediation theories of learning.
Oil and Gas Developments in West Virginia in 1958

The total number of wells drilled in West Virginia in 1958, reported to January 31, 1959, was 838, an increase of 6, or 0.7%. Permits to drill or deepen totaled 913, an increase of 14, or 1.56%. Abandoned during the year were 116 gas wells and 83 oil wells, or a total of 199 wells. These abandonments are all wells drilled before permits were required (May, 1929). No information on exact number of abandonments of wells drilled since May, 1929, is available as these wells are abandoned under original drilling permit numbers. Wells completed were: gas, 485; oil, 64; oil and gas, 111; storage, water-injection, brine, and pressure wells, 58; dry holes, 120; total, 838. Compared with 1957, gas wells decreased 19, or 3.77%; oil wells increased 1, or 1.6%; oil and gas wells incre sed 37, or 50%; storage and other wells increased 12, or 20%; dry holes decreased 25, or 17.3% Depth of wells ranged from 200 to 8,410 ft., compared with 281 to 7,391 ft. in 1957. Total footage drilled (2,260,030) increased 22,603 ft., or 1.01% over 1957 (2,237,427 ft.). The average depth of wells (2,697 ft.) decreased 20 ft. under the 1957 average (2,717 ft.), or 0.7%. The total initial daily open flow of the gas wells was 338,819 MCF, a decrease of 248,146 MCF, or 42.64% under the 1957 total (581,965 MCF). The size of the gas wells ranged from 2 to 17,250 MCF, compared with 5 to 34,500 MCF in 1957. The total daily initial oil was 4,494 bbls., an increase of 905 bbls. over 1957 (3,589 bbls.), or 25.22%. The size of the oil wells ranged from 0½ bbl. to 550 bbls. daily, compared with ½ bbl. to 340 bbls. in 1957. The number of wells drilling, or unreported if completed, at the end of the year, was 353, 33 more than in 1957, an increase of 10.31%. Letters were sent to 58 operators regarding 77 wells not reported. Replies were received from 24 operators (41%) regarding 37 wells (48%), leaving 34 operators (59%) unheard from regarding 40 wells (51%). The average size of gas wells was 627 MCF, compared with 1,076 MCF in 1957, a decrease of 449 MCF, or 41.7%. The average size of the oil wells was 37.5 bbls., compared with 32.6 bbls. in 1957, an increase of 4.9 bbls., or 15%. Preliminary estimates of production for 1958: gas, 197,250,000 MCF, compared with 189,000,000 MCF in 1957, or 8,250,000 MCF, an increase of 4.36%; oil, 2,186,500 bls., a decrease of 38,500 bbls. u der the 1957 estimate (2,225,000 bbls.), or 1.73%. The estimated number of producing wells at the end of 1958: gas, 15,403; oil, 12,808. The table of operations gives statistics by counties. We had drilling or scout reports on the other 276 wells reported as drilling or uncompleted at the end of the year.
Influence of Sex and Hormone Status on Circulating Natriuretic Peptides

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between sex hormones and natriuretic peptide levels in community-based adults. Background Women have higher circulating natriuretic peptide concentrations than men, but the mechanisms for these sex-related differences and the impact of hormone therapy are unclear. Experimental studies suggest that androgens may suppress natriuretic peptide secretion. Methods We measured N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), total testosterone, and sex hormone–binding globulin plasma levels in 4,056 men and women (mean age 40 ± 9 years) from the Framingham Heart Study Third-Generation cohort. Sex/hormone status was grouped as: 1) men; 2) post-menopausal women not receiving hormone replacement therapy; 3) pre-menopausal women not receiving hormonal contraceptives; 4) post-menopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy; and 5) pre-menopausal women receiving hormonal contraceptives. Results Circulating NT-proBNP levels were associated with sex/hormone status (overall p Conclusions These findings suggest that lower levels of circulating androgens and the potentiating effect of exogenous female hormone therapy contribute to the higher circulating NT-proBNP concentrations in women.
Predicting the acquisition of parenting skills via four training methods

This study compared the effectiveness of four training methods designed to improve parents' reinforcement skills and assessed the relationship between acquisition of skills and parent characteristics. One hundred parents were randomly assigned to either a minimal instructions control group or training via one of four methods: written manual, audiotape, videotaped modeling, or live modeling and rehearsal with the parent's child. Outcome was assessed via an in-home observation of the parent's reinforcement skills with his or her child. All training methods were superior to minimal instructions. The audiotaped manual was significantly less effective than the written manual or the live modeling with rehearsal. There were no significant differences among the written, videotaped, or live modeling with rehearsal training methods. Parent demographic characteristics and reading level were significantly related to outcome in the control group and in the groups receiving written or live modeling with rehearsal training but not in the videotape group. The videotape training appeared to train more consistently a wider range of parents.
The Effect of Respiratory Viral Infections on Patients With Cystic Fibrosis

• We examined, in a 2-year prospective study, the frequency of respiratory viral infections in 19 school-age patients with cystic fibrosis and their unaffected siblings. At 2-month intervals throughout the study period, pulmonary function tests, oropharyngeal cultures, and serologic tests for respiratory viruses were performed in all subjects. Quantitative sputum cultures for bacteria were performed in subjects with cystic fibrosis. The same laboratory specimens were also collected at the time of all acute respiratory illnesses. Over the 2-year period, 398 viral cultures and serum samples were collected, 210 from patients with cystic fibrosis and 188 from their siblings. The frequency of culture-documented and seropositive viral infections was not significantly different between patients with cystic fibrosis and their siblings. The patients with the highest frequency of viral infection were younger and had the lowest rate of decline in lung function and severity score. We conclude that school-age patients with cystic fibrosis are no more susceptible to viral infections than their unaffected siblings. We were unable to demonstrate any significant adverse effect of respiratory viral infections on pulmonary function in 19 patients with cystic fibrosis aged 5 to 21 years. ( AJDC . 1989;143:662-668)
The NMR chemical shift pH measurement revisited: Analysis of error and modeling of a pH dependent reference

A standard differential calculus-based propagation of error treatment is applied to the traditional chemical-exchange Henderson-Hasselbalch NMR pH model in which the reference shift is pH independent. It is seen naturally from this analysis that (i) the error minimum in derived pH occurs in the region where pH and indicator pK a are equal and that (ii) the dynamic range, or difference between the limiting chemical shifts of acid and base forms of indicator species, determines the insensitivity of the technique to propagation of errors. To extend the useful pH range and utility of NMR pH determination methodology, a more general model is developed in which the internal reference species is also considered as having a pH-dependent chemical shift. Data from standard solution pH titrations are fitted to both models and parameters are estimated for the normally observed family of ionizable phosphorus metabolites (ATP, inorganic phosphate, phosphoethanolamine and phosphocholine) and the xenometabolite 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate with either phosphocreatine, the α-phosphate of ATP, or H 2 O taken as the 31 P or 1 H chemical shift internal reference species as well as with an external reference.
Dynamic Traffic Grooming in Elastic Optical Networks

Spectrum elastic optical networks support flexible central frequency and spectrum assignment for lightpaths. When provisioning a new connection in an elastic optical network that allows traffic grooming, the control plane has to solve two problems: the electrical-layer routing and optical-layer routing and spectrum assignment (RSA). The electrical-layer routing determines how to route the new connection through a combination of new and existing lightpaths, while the optical-layer RSA decides how to establish new lightpaths under the spectrum-continuity constraint. The flexibility (e.g., bandwidth variability of lightpaths) provided by elastic optical networks makes it suitable for accommodating dynamic traffic. It is important and challenging to exploit the full potential of the flexibility when dealing with the above two problems. In this study, we propose a multi-layer auxiliary graph to jointly solve the electrical-layer routing and optical-layer RSA. Various traffic-grooming policies (objectives) can be achieved by properly adjusting the edge weights in the auxiliary graph. Also, we propose a spectrum reservation scheme that can efficiently utilize the bandwidth variability of lightpaths by reserving bandwidth for non-fully utilized lightpaths and grooming future connections onto them. We show that there is a tradeoff among different traffic-grooming policies, and the spectrum reservation scheme can be easily incorporated into various traffic-grooming policies and lead to a significant reduction in operational expenditure (OPEX) and better spectrum efficiency.
Confirmation for a Modest Realism

In the nineteenth century, William Whewell claimed that his confirmation criterion of consilience was a truth‐guarantor: we could, he believed, be certain that a consilient theory was true. Since that time Whewell has been much ridiculed for this claim by critics such as J. S. Mill and Bas van Fraassen. I have argued elsewhere that, while Whewell’s claim that consilience can guarantee the truth of a theory is clearly wrong, consilience is indeed quite useful as a confirmation criterion (Snyder 2005). Here I will show that, even when consilience gives evidence for a theory that turns out to be false, there is an important sense in which consilience shows that the theory has captured something correct about the natural‐kind structure of the physical world. Whewell was therefore correct to claim that consilience provides a “criterion of reality” (Whewell [1847] 1967, vol. 2, 68). Consilience provides this by giving justification for the claim that we have really ‘cut nature at its causal joints’, to adapt Pl...
IMMUNOLOGICAL RECONSTITUTION AFTER UNRELATED CORD BLOOD (CB) TRANSPLANTATION.† 953

Umbilical CB from term neonates contains increased numbers of committed progenitor cells compared to adult peripheral blood (Broxmeyer, et al,Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86:3828, 1989). However, the neonatal immune system is developmentally immature at birth. Since 1988, CB has been used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells in young patients with sibling donors(Gluckman, et al, N Engl J Med 321:1174, 1989). Recently, we have demonstrated the feasibility of unrelated HLA-identical or 1 or 2 antigen mismatched cord blood transplantation (CBT) (Sweetman, et al, Blood 86:388a, 1995). We evaluated immune reconstitution following unrelated CBT. Five patients (median 4 years, range 0.9-21 years) received unrelated CBT for malignant (n=4, 1 ANLL, 2 ALL, 1 MDS in transformation) or non-malignant (n=1) conditions. Evaluation of immune reconstitution included the following: 1) B-cells (CD19), T cells (CD3), T-helper cells (CD3/CD4), T-suppressor cells(CD5/CD8) and natural killer (NK) cells (CD56); 2) mitogen responses to PHA, Con A, and PWM;3) quantitative immune globulin levels; 4) expression of C3bi. Three patients are alive (306, 260, and 159 days post transplant), one patient died of multi-organ failure on day + 19, and one pt died of grade IV GvHD. The number of B cells (CD19+) exceeded normal levels after day +75, with a mean at day +90 of 321/mm3 and 718/mm3 at day +120. T-helper and T-suppressor cells remained low even at day +180 with mean values of 414/mm3 and 256/mm3 respectively. The number of natural killer cells were within normal range throughout the first 180 days with day +30 -+180 means ranging from 252-518/mm3. Mean IgG levels were normal throughout the study period with mean day +120 levels of 845 mg/dl. IgA levels revealed a decreasing trend and most patients had low levels at day +120. IgM showed a similar trend but levels at day +120 were in the low normal range with a mean level of 44mg/dl. Mitogen response studies revealed low blastogenesis to PHA, Con A, and PWM from day of transplant through day +180. C3bi expression (CD11b) was within normal range throughout the study period with 70-96% of neutrophils and monocytes demonstrating C3bi expression. While reconstitution of B cells and NK cells is not impaired, recovery of both helper and cytotoxic T cell subpopulations is delayed in patients receiving CBT. This delay may play a role in reducing the incidence of GvHD as well as attenuating graft-versus-leukemia effect in patients undergoing CBT.
The Use of Procaine Amide in Cardiac Arrhythmias

Procaine amide, a new synthetic analogue of procaine, has marked antiarrythmic activity and is relatively stable in the body. It is effective when administered orally or intravenously, and has few toxic effects in therapeutic doses. The drug has been used successfully in the suppression of ventricular premature contractions and in the interruption of ventricular tachycardia. Some patients treated successfully with procaine amide had been given quinidine to the point of toxicity without affecting the aberrant rhythm. Procaine amide appears to be less effective in interrupting auricular than ventricular arrhythmias.
Optimal design of systems that evolve over time using neural networks

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, September 2005.
Field evaporation experiments with a magnetic sector atom-probe FIM

Abstract A magnetic sector atom-probe FIM has been successfully operated for dc field evaporation of tip materials such as Rh, W, Ir, Mo and Ti. A limited number of evaporated metal ions were clearly identified forming a line spectrum. Field evaporation of Rh in the presence of 3 He and 4 He gases showed that the formation of the helium compound (RhHe) 2+ is quite sensitive to He gas pressure; no helium compound were observed below 5 × 10 −7 Torr and all ions detected as helium compound above 5 × 10 −5 Torr at 78 K.
Nightly increase in visual sensitivity correlated with bioluminescent flashing activity in the firefly Photuris versicolor (Coleoptera: Lampyridae)

Changes in visual sensitivity as a function of time-of-day were studied in the firefly Photuris versicolor. The electroretinograms (ERGs) elicited by photic stimuli of constant intensity and duration were recorded over long periods (18–52 h) while the insect was in constant darkness. The amplitudes of the ERGs elicited by the standard flash were small and remained constant during the daytime hours and increased on average sixfold during the evening hours, reaching a maximum at the onset of darkness and remaining at that high level until the morning hours. The amplitude of the standard response again was reduced in the morning hours to a daytime low value which again persisted until the following evening (Fig. 1). In addition, a series of flashes of varying intensity were administered periodically and logV/logI curves as a function of time-of-day were obtained. Compared to the daytime logV/logI curves, the nighttime curves were shifted about 4 log units towards the left on the intensity axis (Fig. 2). This period of high visual sensitivity was correlated with the species' flashing activity period, which occurs during the night hours (Fig. 1). © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Xanthohumol improved cognitive flexibility in young mice

The protein palmitoylation cycle has been shown to be important for protein signaling and synaptic plasticity. Data from our lab showed a change in the palmitoylation status of certain proteins with age. A greater percentage of the NMDA receptor subunits GluN2A and GluN2B, along with Fyn and PSD95 proteins, were palmitoylated in the old mice. The higher level of protein palmitoylation was also associated with poorer learning scores. Xanthohumol is a prenylated flavonoid that has been shown to increase beta-oxidation in the livers of rodents, decreasing circulating free fatty acids in the serum. What is not known is whether the application of xanthohumol could influence the palmitoylation status of proteins. In this study, young and old mice were fed a diet supplemented with xanthohumol for 8 weeks. Spatial memory was assessed with the Morris water maze and protein palmitoylation quantified. The young xanthohumol-treated mice showed a significant improvement in cognitive flexibility. However, this appeared to be associated with the young control mice, on a defined, phytoestrogen-deficient diet, performing as poorly as the old mice and xanthohumol reversing this effect. The old mice receiving xanthohumol did not significantly improve their learning scores. Xanthohumol treatment was unable to affect the palmitoylation of NMDA receptor subunits and associated proteins assessed in this study. This evidence suggests that xanthohumol may play a role in improving cognitive flexability in young animals, but it appears to be ineffective in adjusting the palmitoylation status of neuronal proteins in aged individuals.
A method for estimating errors in calculated strains

Abstract Accurate strain estimation requires tests to identify whether natural distributions of strain markers satisfy the assumptions of the method used. To evaluate the capabilities of different strain calculation and statistical methods for this purpose, simulated ellipse distributions of varying axial ratios and orientations are strained and analyzed. If bedding and cleavage cannot be measured, statistical tests on strained ellipse distributions do not produce useful results because of the inseparable effects of strain, initial ellipticity and initial preferred orientations. Tests on data destrained using averaged ellipse matrix values can indicate initial preferred orientations and the nature of the axial ratio distribution. The most useful tests are the chi-square tests of the ellipticity and orientation distributions of the destrained data. The Rayleigh test cannot identify initial preferred orientations in this type of destrained data.
Weighted barrier functions for computation of force distributions with friction cone constraints

We present a novel Weighted Barrier Function (WBF) method of efficiently computing optimal grasping force distributions for multifingered hands. Second-order conic friction constraints are not linearized, as in many previous works. The force distributions are smooth and rapidly computable, and they enable flexibility in selecting between firm, stable grasps or looser, more efficient grasps. Furthermore, fingers can be disengaged and re-engaged in a smooth manner, which is a critical capability for a large number of manipulation tasks. We present efficient solution methods that do not incur the increased computational complexity associated with solving the Semi-Definite Programming formulations presented in previous works. We present results from static and dynamic simulations which demonstrate the flexibility and computational efficiency associated with WBF force distributions.
Quantification of propranolol enantiomers in small blood samples from rats by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography after chiral derivatization.

Abstract A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) technique is described for quantification of R (+)- and S (−)-propranolol from 100-μl rat blood samples. The procedure involves chiral derivatization with tert. -butoxycarbonyl- l -leucine anhydride to form diastereomeric propranolol- l -leucine derivatives which are separated on a reversed-phase HPLC column. The method as previously reported has been modified for assaying serial blood microsamples obtained from the rat for pharmacokinetic studies. An internal standard, cyclopentyldesisopropylpropranolol, has been incorporated into the assay and several derivatization parameters have been altered. Standard curves for both enantiomers were linear over a 60-fold concentration range in 100-μl samples of whole rat blood (12.5–750 ng/ml; r =0.9992 for each enantiomer). Inter- and intra-assay variability was less than 12% for each enantiomer at 25 ng/ml. No enantiomeric interference or racemization was observed as a result of the derivatization. No analytical interference was noted from endogenous components in rat blood samples. Preliminary data from two male Sprague-Dawley rats given a 2.0 mg/kg intravenous dose of racemic propranolol revealed differential disposition of the two enantiomers. R (+)-Propranolol achieved higher initial concentration but was eliminated more rapidly than S (−)-propranolol. Terminal half-lives of R (+)- and S (−)-propranolol were 19.23 and 51.95 min, respectively, in one rat, and 14.50 and 52.07 min, respectively, in the other.
Backward blocking in honeybees.

Three experiments with foraging honeybees were designed to study the effect of experience with A on responding to B after AB+ training. In the first experiment, responding to B was the same whether the AB+ training was preceded or followed by A+ training. In the second experiment, responding to B after AB+ training was less in animals that also had A+ training than in control animals that were equally often reinforced in the absence of A; whether the A+ training preceded, was concurrent with, or followed the AB+ training made no difference. In the third experiment, responding to B after AB+ training was less when the AB+ training was followed by A+C– training than when it was followed by C+/A– training. These results, like those of some recent vertebrate experiments, take us beyond the traditional explanation of blocking in terms of impaired conditioning of B on AB+ trials and support the suggestion that the mechanism, still poorly understood, may nevertheless be a relatively simple one.
Sex Differences and Specificity of Anticipation of Coincidence

This investigation was conducted to determine if anticipation of coincidence as measured by the Bassin timer relates to “real world” skill of ball batting and to investigate further sex differences in perceptual-motor skills. 24 varsity athletes from a Midwest university's baseball and softball teams were tested on the Bassin timer and their batting averages were obtained from their respective coaches. A nonsignificant correlation suggests that the task on the Bassin timer is different from the anticipation of coincidence in hitting a softball or baseball. Evidence suggested that prior experience rather than sex may contribute to differences between men and women in perceptual-motor skills.
Obesity-enhanced colon cancer: functional food compounds and their mechanisms of action.

Obesity is rapidly becoming a global phenomenon. This is more than a cosmetic issue as obesity is associated with several life-threatening diseases, including colon cancer. Insulin resistance and inflammation, underlying factors in obesity-related diseases, promote colonocyte proliferation and suppress programmed cell death, or apoptosis, by activating the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and prostaglandin pathways. These pathways converge on the Wnt pathway, which is implicated in colon carcinogenesis. Despite tremendous advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in colon carcinogenesis, mortality due to colon cancer world-wide is unacceptably high. Even though conventional therapies can prolong a patients life-span a few years, they cause serious side effects. Thus, there is growing interest in functional foods and dietary bioactive compounds with chemopreventive properties. This search is fueled by the epidemiological studies indicating that plant-based diets are protective against several types of cancers. This review provides a brief summary of the IGF and prostaglandin pathways, which are implicated in obesity-enhanced colon cancer, and some of the functional foods/dietary compounds that target these pathways. It is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in chemoprevention before providing appropriate science-based dietary recommendations to prevent colon cancer in both obese and non-obese individuals.
Bias point thermal shift growth in Z-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ Modulators

Growth of a bias point thermal shift induced by dc bias in z-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ optical intensity modulators is quantitatively discussed from the standpoint of its impact on field service. During 20 years of device operation under a worst-case dc bias condition, the thermal shift slope grows almost symmetrically with respect to a bias polarity. An initial small thermal shift of around /spl plusmn/7 mV//spl deg/C (3/spl sigma/ distribution bounds) increases continuously over time with biased operation at 55/spl deg/C and approaches /spl plusmn/70 mV//spl deg/C after 20 years. This increased temperature sensitivity would generate approximately a 2-V bias point shift toward the bias rail when modulator is exposed to temperature variation from 55/spl deg/C to 25/spl deg/C.
Staying Connected when Coming Apart: The Psychological Correlates of Contact and Sex with an Ex-Partner

Although marital separation is an inherently social experience, most research on adults' psychological adjustment following a romantic separation focuses on intrapersonal characteristics, or individual differences (e.g., attachment style, personality, longing) that condition risk for poor psychological outcomes. We know little about how these individual differences interact with interpersonal processes, such as contact between ex-partners. In the current study, we sought to understand how adults' continued attachment to (and longing for) an ex-partner, and both nonsexual and sexual contact with an ex-partner (CWE and SWE, respectively), are related to adults' post-separation psychological adjustment among 137 (n = 50 men) adults reporting recent marital separations. Data revealed that (1) less separation acceptance was associated with poorer psychological adjustment; (2) among people having CWE, those reporting less acceptance reported significantly poorer adjustment relative to those reporting more accep...
Pathologic Quiz Case: A Symptomatic Right Atrial Mass

A woman with a history of hypertension presented with acute onset of diplopia, which rapidly progressed to right facial and upper extremity paresthesia and weakness. The patient denied chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, or nausea. All vital signs were within normal limits, and no precordial murmurs, friction rubs, or thrills were present. An electrocardiogram showed normal sinus rhythm. Computed tomographic scan of the head was negative, a magnetic resonance image showed only mild small vessel ischemic changes in the brain, and a bilateral carotid Doppler examination was normal. Transthoracic echocardiogram revealed a heart of normal size, an ejection fraction of 60%, and a 1.5-cm right atrial mass that did not obstruct the tricuspid valve. Tricuspid regurgitation was not present. The patient’s symptoms resolved completely within 18 hours of presentation. Further workup via a transesophageal echocardiogram showed a 2-cm right atrial mass (Figure 1, small arrowhead), which was arising directly from the tricuspid valve (Figure 1, large arrowhead). The patient underwent an open-heart resection of this mass. Gross examination of the specimen revealed multiple fragments of a tan-yellow papillary mass measuring 3.2 3 2.8 3 1.4 cm in aggregate. Flotation of the mass in saline was reminiscent of a ‘‘sea anemone’’ with frondlike projections. Microscopic examination delineated a papillary structure with avascular cores composed of a hyalinized and focally myxoid stroma with scattered stellate fibroblasts (Figure 2). The papillary structures were lined by a simple, flattened endothelial lining in continuity with the normal valvular endothelium. An elastin stain of the papillae demonstrated a central, loosely lamellated elastic tissue core with tapering rudimentary elastin fibers located toward the periphery (Figure 3). What is your diagnosis?
Familial TAB2 microdeletion and congenital heart defects including unusual valve dysplasia and tetralogy of fallot.

Haploinsufficiency of TAB2 was recently implicated as a cause for a variety of congenital heart defects. Reported cases have genomic deletions of 2–10 Mbs including TAB2 at 6q24–25 are almost always de novo and show variable cardiac and extra cardiac phenotype. We report on an inherited, 281 kb deletion in a three generation family. This is the smallest reported deletion involving TAB2 that segregates with congenital heart defects. Three affected individuals in this family present with myxomatous cardiac valves in addition to structural heart defects commonly associated with TAB2 deletions. Findings from this family support a key role of TAB2 haploinsufficiency in congenital heart defects and expand the phenotypic spectrum of TAB2-microdeletion syndrome. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Evaluation of a GCM cirrus parameterization using satellite observations

This study applies a simple yet effective methodology to validate a general circulation model parameterization of cirrus ice water path. The methodology combines large-scale dynamic and thermodynamic fields from operational analyses with prescribed occurrence of cirrus clouds from satellite observations to simulate a global distribution of ice water path. The predicted cloud properties are then compared with the corresponding satellite measurements of visible optical depth and infrared cloud emissivity to evaluate the reliability of the parameterization. This methodology enables the validation to focus strictly on the water loading side of the parameterization by eliminating uncertainties involved in predicting the occurrence of cirrus internally within the parameterization. Overall the parameterization performs remarkably well in capturing the observed spatial patterns of cirrus optical properties. Spatial correlations between the observed and the predicted optical depths are typically greater than 0.7 for the tropics and northern hemisphere midlatitudes. The good spatial agreement largely stems from the strong dependence of the ice water path upon the temperature of the environment in which the clouds form. Poorer correlations (r approximately 0.3) are noted over the southern hemisphere midlatitudes, suggesting that additional processes not accounted for by the parameterization may be important there. Quantitative evaluation of the parameterization is hindered by the present uncertainty in the size distribution of cirrus ice particles. Consequently, it is difficult to determine if discrepancies between the observed and the predicted optical properties are attributable to errors in the parameterized ice water path or to geographic variations in effective radii.
Agrin-induced specializations contain cytoplasmic, membrane, and extracellular matrix-associated components of the postsynaptic apparatus.

The aims of the studies reported here were to determine the extent to which the specializations induced by agrin on cultured chick myotubes resemble the postsynaptic apparatus and examine how these specializations form. We found that agrin induces the formation of specializations at which at least 6 components of the postsynaptic apparatus are concentrated: one cytoplasmic component [a 43 kDa acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-associated protein], 3 membrane components [AChRs and globular forms of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE)], and 2 extracellular matrix-associated proteins (A12 asymmetric AChE and a heparan sulfate proteoglycan). The accumulation of AChE and BuChE into agrin-induced aggregates occurred in the absence of any change in the amount, rate of synthesis, accumulation, and release, or molecular forms of either enzyme. Thus, agrin affects primarily the distribution of these components of the postsynaptic apparatus and not their metabolism. Agrin-induced formation of AChR aggregates was not prevented by inhibition of protein synthesis, consistent with our previous results that agrin-induced accumulation of AChRs occurs by lateral migration. The accumulation of components of the extracellular matrix would seem less likely to occur by lateral migration and so might require release of newly synthesized proteins; indeed, formation of aggregates of heparan sulfate proteoglycan was prevented by inhibitors of protein synthesis. Thus, different components of the postsynaptic apparatus accumulate in agrin- induced specializations by different mechanisms.
THE AXIAL SKELETON OF THE DINOSAUR SUUWASSEA EMILIEAE (SAUROPODA: FLAGELLICAUDATA) FROM THE UPPER JURASSIC MORRISON FORMATION OF MONTANA, USA

Vertebrae of Suuwassea demonstrate an interest- ing combination of plesiomorphies and autapomorphies among known members of the Flagellicaudata. The cranial cervical vertebrae have proportions close to Diplodocus but resemble those of Apatosaurus except by having greatly reduced cranial and caudal spinozygapophyseal laminae. As a result, they have craniocaudally compressed, caudally positioned spinous processes excavated on all sides by fos- sae. The cranial thoracic vertebrae are again similarly pro- portioned as those of Diplodocus but are morphologically similar to those of Apatosaurus. The most distinguishing feature of Suuwassea caudal vertebrae are the short, amphi- platyan, distalmost 'whiplash' caudal vertebrae. These may be either a retention of or a reversal to the plesiomorphic sauropod condition because classic flagellicaudatan, bicon- vex distalmost caudals occur in the Middle Jurassic of England.
A non-coherent versatile DPSK receiver for high channel-density neural prosthesis

A non-coherent versatile DPSK receiver for high channel-density neural prosthesis is presented. Detailed analyses on the non-idealities in realistic DPSK demodulation require a more adaptable DPSK receiver to ensure robust data recovery. New features such as tunable threshold voltage, area-efficient switched-capacitor array and flexible digital control are incorporated into the design. At a coil separation of 16mm, the receiver achieves a bit error rate of 2e−7 at a data rate of 2Mbps with a power consumption of 5.4mW.
Detection of a general ellipse by an optical Hough transform

A method to detect five parameters of an ellipse with an optical Hough transform is described. The method employs the Hough transform for detection of a straight line and for the one-dimensional analysis of the resultant parameter domain. This technique is also applied for detection of four parameters of a straight line segment (the two coordinates of the center, the length, and the orientation) by representing it as a particular case of an ellipse with one axis of zero length.