cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Evaluation of the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patient

Most patients with obstructive sleep apnea present to clinical attention with symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness or poor quality sleep. A detailed history and physical examination is helpful in assessing patient risk for obstructive sleep apnea and if they require further testing for confirmation of the diagnosis. The clinical evaluation must include inquiring about common obstructive sleep apnea symptoms such as snoring, witnessed apneas, and daytime sleepiness as well as key features of other sleep disorders that can cause sleepiness. It is helpful to inquire about other medical conditions that put the patient at risk for obstructive sleep apnea. A detailed oropharyngeal, cardiopulmonary, and neurological physical examination can further assist in assessing risk of obstructive sleep apnea. The history and physical examination may also be helpful in determining other possible causes of their sleep complaints such as restless legs syndrome, insomnia, or narcolepsy. Objective testing for obstructive sleep apnea with either home sleep apnea testing or in lab polysomnography is most helpful and appropriate in patients who have been properly identified to be at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea or sleep-disordered breathing by history and physical examination.
Hypoxia Reduction Sensitizes Refractory Cancers to Immunotherapy.

In order to fuel their relentless expansion, cancers must expand their vasculature to augment delivery of oxygen and essential nutrients. The disordered web of irregular vessels that results, howev...
An Application of DSD with Recursive Partitioning Scheme to Constant Temperature Power Sensors

The DSD (Dynamic System Doctor) is system independent, stateIparameter estimation software. The DSD is based on the modeling of system evolution in terms of probability of transitions within user specified time intervals between sets of user defined parameterIstate variable magnitude intervals that partition the system state space. Recently a recursive partitioning scheme has been developed for DSD that reduces the estimation time and memory requirements, as well as making DSD more user friendly. The scheme is illustrated using a non-linear model for the constant temperature power sensor, proposed for direct core power distribution monitoring in Generation 4 nuclear power reactors
Child Nurturing and Television in the 1980s

Television in the early 1980s is a focal point of parental concern. Surveys of adults reflect several principal concerns. For one, there is guilt which emanates from the belief that one’s children spend too much time watching television. There is anxiety that some kinds of content, notably violent and sex-oriented content, are likely to induce unacceptable behaviors or dispositions. There is uneasiness in dealing with children’s demands for advertised products without an accompanying expectation of fiscal responsibility from the child. Overarching these issues is the growing realization that the television phenomenon may be spiraling out of parental control. Direct access, without parental intervention, is easier to obtain, e.g., the home has more sets, there are more channels available, single parent households or two parents working make monitoring more difficult. All these concerns generate some very common questions from parents: How much should my child watch? What’s good to watch? What’s bad to watch? Am I depriving my child by not permitting him/her to watch? How come they like to watch such dumb things?
von Frey anesthesiometry to assess sensory impairment after acute spinal cord injury caused by thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion in dogs.

Sensory threshold (ST) was measured using an electric von Frey anesthesiometer (VFA) in all limbs of 20 normal dogs and 29 dogs with acute thoracolumbar spinal cord injury (SCI) caused by spontaneous intervertebral disc extrusion. ST values were measured at three separate time points in normal dogs and on days 3, 10 and 30 following decompressive surgery in dogs with SCI. ST values were compared between groups and correlated with locomotor recovery in SCI-affected dogs. ST values were significantly higher (consistent with hypoalgesia) in the pelvic limbs of SCI-affected dogs at day 3, day 10 and day 30 when compared to normal dogs (P <0.05), while no significant difference in thoracic limb ST values was observed between groups. A progressive decrease in pelvic limb ST values occurred in SCI-affected dogs over time, consistent with improvement toward normal sensation or development of allodynia. This finding correlated inversely with locomotor score at 3 and 10 days after surgery. A significant decline in ST values across testing sessions was observed for all limbs of normal and SCI-affected dogs and may be related to patient acclimation, operator training effect, or effect of analgesic medications. This study supports the feasibility of VFA to assess differences in ST between normal and SCI-affected dogs. However, future studies must focus on techniques to minimize or compensate for clinical, environmental and behavioral factors which may impact ST values in the clinical setting.
The renal nerves in chronic heart failure: efferent and afferent mechanisms

The function of the renal nerves has been an area of scientific and medical interest for many years. The recent advent of a minimally invasive catheter-based method of renal denervation has renewed excitement in understanding the afferent and efferent actions of the renal nerves in multiple diseases. While hypertension has been the focus of much this work, less attention has been given to the role of the renal nerves in the development of chronic heart failure (CHF). Recent studies from our laboratory and those of others implicate an essential role for the renal nerves in the development and progression of CHF. Using a rabbit tachycardia model of CHF and surgical unilateral renal denervation, we provide evidence for both renal efferent and afferent mechanisms in the pathogenesis of CHF. Renal denervation prevented the decrease in renal blood flow observed in CHF while also preventing increases in Angiotensin-II receptor protein in the microvasculature of the renal cortex. Renal denervation in CHF also reduced physiological markers of autonomic dysfunction including an improvement in arterial baroreflex function, heart rate variability, and decreased resting cardiac sympathetic tone. Taken together, the renal sympathetic nerves are necessary in the pathogenesis of CHF via both efferent and afferent mechanisms. Additional investigation is warranted to fully understand the role of these nerves and their role as a therapeutic target in CHF.
Specific labeling of beef heart mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier with N-(3-iodo-4-azidophenylpropionamido)cysteinyl- 5-(2'-thiopyridyl)cysteine-coenzyme A (ACT-CoA), a newly synthesized 125I-coenzyme A derivative photolabel.

Abstract An azido-125I-CoA photolabel was synthesized from N-(3-iodo-[125I]4-azidophenylpropionamido)cysteinyl- 5-(2'thiopyridyl) cysteine ([125I]ACTP) and CoASH, separated by chromatography on a silica gel TLC, and identified by autoradiography. Synthesis of [125I]ACT-CoA from [125I]ACTP and CoA was further confirmed by monitoring the release of one of the products, thiopyridone, at 343 nm and concurrent formation of [125I] ACT-CoA. Beef heart mitochondria were incubated in the presence of the 125I-CoA derivative with or without specific inhibitors and/or substrates of the ADP/ATP carrier, and immediately photolyzed for 5 s. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis and autoradiography of the separated proteins revealed exclusive photolabeling of a 30-kDa protein in the absence of inhibitors of the carrier. This specific photolabeling of the 30-kDa protein was prevented in a concentration-dependent manner by either carboxyatractylate or palmitoyl-CoA (0.1-5 microM), two known inhibitors of the ADP/ATP carrier. ADP reduced the extent of photolabeling of the 30-kDa protein, but palmitic acid, free CoASH, and dinitrophenol were ineffective, indicating the specificity of the reaction. CoA photolabels may be useful in probing ligand and/or substrate binding sites and in determining the structure-function relationship of the ADP/ATP carrier.
Inferences about Breeding Values

Statistical methods that have been applied for inferring breeding values in animal breeding are reviewed. Landmarks include statistical genetic models; best linear unbiased prediction; Henderson's mixed model equations and associated computing techniques; variance and covariance component estimation, with emphasis on likelihood-based methods; Bayesian procedures; methods for categorical responses, longitudinal data and survival analysis. The problem caused by the effects of selection on inferences is discussed. An inventory of some available computing software is presented. Finally, some areas for future development are discussed. Keywords: animal breeding; breeding values; quantitative genetics; best linear unbiased prediction; mixed models; Bayesian inference; variance components
Tumor cell killing by macrophages activated in vitro with lymphocyte mediators: III. Inhibition by cytochalasins, colchicine, and vinblastine

Abstract The effect of cytochalasin A and B, colchicine and vinblastine on tumor cell killing by macrophages activated in vitro with lymphocyte mediators was examined. Both cytochalasins reversibly inhibited the killing of tumor cells by activated macrophages. Kinetic studies with cytochalasin B suggested that this drug exerts its effect on an early step of the cytotoxic process. Additional studies revealed that the drug inhibited the binding of tumor cells by activated macrophages. Colchicine inhibited both the binding and the killing of tumor cells by activated macrophages, whereas its structural analogue, lumicolchicine, had no effect on either macrophage function. Vinblastine also inhibited the binding and killing of tumor cells. However, this drug no longer inhibited tumor cell binding at low concentrations ( −6 M ) that still inhibited tumor cell killing. Further, vinblastine inhibited tumor cell killing when added late to an ongoing cytolytic reaction. These results suggest that the cytochalasins, colchicine and vinblastine inhibit macrophage mediated cytotoxicity by preventing intimate contact between the effector macrophages and their targets. In addition, vinblastine also appears to inhibit a later step of the cytolytic process, possibly the secretion of a cytotoxic macrophage product.
Characterization and modeling of cables for high-speed data communications applications

Designers of data communications systems continue to push the limits of copper cable to achieve higher speeds and longer cable lengths. At the same time, shortened product schedules due to competition often prevent the use of prototyping in early system architecture. These developments mandate the use of simulation in early system feasibility and design. Simulation has been used in the design of VLSI ICs for many years, and has been adopted at the card and board level in recent years as the speed of digital systems increases. However, modeling of cables has not been widespread due to the difficulty in obtaining the physical data necessary for the task, as well as the inadequacy of many simulators to properly simulate the skin and other effects encountered when using cables in high-speed systems. This paper will present hardware measurement data for some types of shielded parallel and twisted pair cable typically used for the interconnection of high-speed digital systems, and outline some of the problems encountered in the electrical characterization and modeling of those cables. Selected simulation models will be presented, with comparisons of the measured and simulated results obtained using those models.
Assembling International Competitiveness: The Republic of Georgia, USAID, and the Doing Business Project

abstractGlobal indices of economic competitiveness, such as the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index (EDBI), score and rank states according to the quality of local business regulations. Quantifying and indexing regulatory quality to a singular ranking constructs a “best practice” model that characterizes regulation in the highest-ranked states. States that outcompete others in transferring regulatory best practices from higher-ranked states are rewarded with an improved international reputation for having investor-friendly policies. By helping to attract the interest of foreign investors, the production of higher competitiveness rankings serves as an extraterritorial state strategy for gaining from globalization. This article details the reform strategy that was used to produce the (post-Soviet) Republic of Georgia’s 2006–2009 vault up the EDBI rankings. These higher rankings were the centerpiece of an investment-promotion campaign that accompanied strong inflows of foreign direct investment. Making...
THE MIGRATION OF QUALIFIED LEBANESE WOMEN TO FRANCE

Lebanon is defined as a country of emigration and immigration. Whereas previously, emigration was considered a male migration. Gradually, in recent years emigration has evolved and is becoming feminine also. Independent female migration is a growing phenomenon in the Lebanese society although men still play an important role in the migration project. In the past, women were emigrating most often in the context of family reunification, accompanying their husbands to join a member of their families. The majority of migrant women today are leaving the country for so many reasons (further education, work, etc.) and not only to join their husbands. This article examines highly skilled female migration from Lebanon. In France, the migration of skilled workers from Lebanon has experienced very rapid growth in the last decade. However, female migration does not seem to have been the subject of a sociological reading. The study includes qualitative analysis of twenty five cases studied of Lebanese skilled migrant women in France, especially a university degree or equivalent (nurses, architects, teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, researchers ...) who were not married or go join their family when they have emigrated, and they have a good command of French language, and who were not dual nationality holders. This article aims to fill some gaps in this area, examining the reasons for change: migration path, the link with the country of origin, the impact of female migration on their personal, social, cultural and family, their return project, exchanges on the remittances levels, career transition path and entrepreneurship, adaptations, their social networks, their identity reconstruction, etc. Besides, there are also non-measurable aspects noted as the autonomy of women to discuss.
Adjective Classes and Syntactic Ordering Restrictions

I argue there are four classes of adjectives relevant to syntactic ordering: predicative/intersective, predicative/non-intersective, non-predicative, classifying (Svenonius 2008, Alexiadou et al 2007), and previous proposals have not identified the relevant semantic dimensions. Among the properties of gradability, mass/count, and intersectivity, only intersectivity is syntactically relevant. The four classes of adjectives are motivated by the distribution of ordered/non-ordered adjectives, scope effects with certain adjective-pairs, PP-modification, N-dropping and comparatives (Bouchard 2002, Higginbotham 1985, Kennedy 1999). DP structure involves 1) merging the classifying adjective with pronounced N, 2) merging intersective adjectives with N, 3) merging non-intersective adjectives with a silent copy of N.
Characterization of an ATP-dependent DNA strand transferase from human cells.

Abstract We have characterized an enzymatic activity from human cell nuclei which is capable of catalyzing strand exchange between homologous DNA sequences. The strand exchange activity was Mg2+ dependent and required ATP hydrolysis. In addition, it was capable of promoting reannealing of homologous DNA sequences and could form nucleoprotein networks in a fashion reminiscent of purified bacterial RecA protein. Using an in vitro recombination assay, we also showed that the strand exchange activity was biologically important. The factor(s) responsible for the activity has been partially purified.
Management of marine resources as a binding force in the Eastern Caribbean

Abstract The history of the Commonwealth Caribbean is replete with failed attempts at various degrees of economic and political integration. The Caribbean Sea itself is rather poor in both living and non-living resources, and the entire region—land and water—is suffering from varying degrees of environmental degradation. This article suggests that regional co-operation in the management of marine resources, particularly in the Anglophone islands of the Eastern Caribbean, could serve as an ‘engine of integration’—something previous attempts lacked. There is no assurance that such an effort would be successful, however, despite good intentions, co-operation in many areas at present and some real cultural affinities. The centrifugal forces at work here are still very powerful, including parochialism and the scarcity of resources other than sun, sand and sea.
On-line dynamic optimization of olefins plants

Abstract Over the years, olefins plants have evolved into highly integrated, highly flexible processing systems that can profitably adjust to ever changing landscape of raw material availability and market demand for high purity olefins products. Advanced process control technologies such as model predictive control (MPC) are commonplace in olefins plants and have greatly improved the consistency of product quality and constraint protection, and have typically resulted in quick payback on investment. Another advanced technology, that of on-line optimization promises even greater benefits. Application of traditional on-line optimization technology however remains a challenging task primarily because of long process dead times, mixed process dynamics and frequent disturbances. The steady state models used in traditional optimization are inadequate representation of the on-line behavior of most commercial olefins plants. A unique approach to on-line optimization of dynamic processes is presented in this paper. In this approach plant steady state is not a requirement for on-line optimization. This approach fully utilizes the MPC dynamic models for optimization. Application of this on-line optimization technology has resulted in continuous savings for some very dynamic olefins plants. This paper briefly describes this dynamic optimization technology and summarizes experiences from several completed and in-progress olefins plant optimization projects.
Mira’s Apparent Size Variations due to a Surrounding Semiopaque H2O Layer

The variations in Mira's apparent size across the near- and mid-infrared are explained in terms of a single H2O shell surrounding the star. This simple model, consisting of a 2200 K H2O shell of column density 7 × 1019 cm-2 and radius 30.3 mas surrounding a 2700 K star of radius 12.8 mas, successfully reproduces a wide variety of interferometric and photometric observations that have been made near maximum phase.
Eve’s Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body – Lilian Calles Barger

Book reviewed: Eve’s Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body, Lilian Calles Barger, Brazos Press 2003 (ISBN 1-58743-040-1), 224 pp., pb $14.99
Cultural Perceptions of Finnish Nursing Students Regarding People and Nurses of the United States: A Pilot Study

This pilot study measures cultural awareness through perceptions of 139 Finnish nursing students regarding American people and nurses. Inquiry was guided by cultural dimensions depicted in Leininger’s Sunrise Model. Statements of highest agreement were that: U.S. citizens frequently initiate lawsuits, have strong national identity, eagerly try new technological equipment, U.S. nurses have less authority than physicians, the U.S. shares technological advances with Third World countries. Statements of lowest agreement were that health care is available to all U.S. citizens, U.S. people live healthy lifestyles, U.S. nurses have knowledge of other cultures and knowledge of international health care issues, and U.S. citizens are law abiding. Almost half of the responses indicated neither agree nor disagree, with means between 2.7 and 3.3. Responses of Finnish students indicated stereotypical views of U.S. citizens and nurses.
Vascular disease among hospitalized multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: We examined the prevalence of cardiac and cerebrovascular disease among hospitalized patients with and without multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: This
An NSF Proposal

The objectives of this research are to improve software productivity, reliability, and performance of complex systems. The approach combines program transformations, sometimes in reflective ways, to turn very high level perspicuous specifications into efficient implementations. These transformations will be implemented in a meta-transformational system, which itself will be transformed from an executable specification into efficient code. Experiments will be conducted to assess the research objectives in scaled up applications targetted to systems that perform complex program analysis and translation. The transformations to be used include dominated convergence (for implementing fixed points efficiently), finite differencing (for replacing costly repeated calculations by less expensive incremental counterparts), data structure selection (for simulating associative access on a RAM in real time), and partial evaluation (for eliminating interpretive overhead and simplification). Correctness of these transformations, of user-defined transformations, and of the transformational system itself will be addressed in part. Both the partial evaluator and components of the transformational system that perform inference and conditional rewriting will be derived by transformation from high level specifications. Other transformations will be specified in terms of Datalog-like inference and conditional rewriting rules that should be amenable to various forms of rule induction. Previously, Cai and Paige in [12] used an ideal model of productivity free from all human factors in order to demonstrate experimentally how a transformation from a low level specification language into C could be used to obtain a five-fold increase in the productivity of efficient algorithm implementation in C in comparison to hand-coded C. However, only small-scale examples were considered. The proposed research includes a plan to expand this model of productivity to involve other specification languages (and their transformation to C), and to conduct experiments to demonstrate how to obtain a similar five-fold improvement in productivity for large-scale examples of C programs that might exceed 100,000 lines. The proposal lays out extensive evidence to support the approach, which will be evaluated together with its theoretical underpinnings through substantial experiments. If successful, the results are expected to have important scientific and economic impact. They are also expected to make interesting, new pedagogical connections between the areas of programming languages, software engineering, databases, artificial intelligence, and algorithms.
Build It and They Will Come

With collaborative web technologies such as wikis becoming increasingly popular in the workplace, this case study examined how workers at an education research unit within a graduate school of education perceive the wiki as a platform for communication and collaboration, and the extent to which they actually use a workplace wiki for that purpose. Twenty staff members, for whom a wiki was built, were surveyed, while records of their activities on the wiki over a 6-month period were retrieved and analyzed. Findings reveal that though most of these staff members have positive views towards the wiki as a space that can effectively promote information sharing and collaboration, they are not quite as enthusiastic about engaging the wiki as a medium for their daily collaborative work activities. The possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed together with recommendations on the strategies similar organizations can adopt to help encourage and maximize wiki usage in the workplace.
Planar laser induced fluorescence in aqueous flows

Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) is a non-intrusive technique for measuring scalar concentrations in fluid flows. A fluorescent dye is used as a scalar proxy, and local fluorescence caused by excitation from a thin laser sheet can be related to dye concentration. This review covers quantitative PLIF in aqueous flows, with discussions of fluorescence theory, experimental methods and equipment, image processing and calibration, and applications of the technique.
Treatment of gram‐positive septicemia in cancer patients

Seventy-eight pediatric cancer patients were treated for gram-positive bacterial septicemia during a 10-year period (1968-1977). Sixty-one (78%) of the patients were granulocytopenic (PMNs less than 500/mm3) at the onset of the septic episode. All the patients whose granulocytopenia resolved (PMNs greater than 500/mm3) within one week of therapy recovered without sequelae. However, 7 of 15 patients (47%) who remained granulocytopenic for more than 7 days and who were treated with a single antibiotic developed a second sepsis with a gram-negative organism. In contrast, second infections were not observed in 24 patients with PMNs less than 500/mm3 for more than 7 days who were treated with broad spectrum antibiotics (p less than 0.002), suggesting that a broad-spectrum antibiotic regimen may be preferable when a cancer patient has prolonged granulocytopenia.
Electron-Hydrogen Phase Shifts Just Below the Inelastic Threshold

byAaron TemkinGoddard Space Flight CenterSUMMARYThe singlet S-wave phase shifts for the scattering of electronsby atomic hydrogen just below the inelastic threshold (10.2 ev)are calculated by using a recently developed nonadiabatic theory.Previous calculations of Burke and Schey based on the nmch morerestricted close-coupling approximation yielded a resonancecharacterized by the phase shift going through _, radians. In viewof a theorem of Wigner and a calculation of Hol¢ien this result isindicative of a bound state of the compound system near the energy9.4 ev. It is argued on the basis of a previous calculation thatthisresonance must be distinct from another resonance near 10.1 ev.And on this basis it is concluded that this partial cross-sectionmust exhibit two resonances below threshold.
New Forms of High Energy Density Matter

I will discuss new forms of matter that might be seen in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. The Quark Gluon Plasma is matter in thermal equilibrium at very high temperature and low to intermediate baryon density. This is a deconfined plasma of quarks and gluons. At high baryon density and low to moderate temperature, there are a number of different possible phases of Quarkyonic Matter. Quarkyonic matter is at energy densities large compared to the natural scale of strong interactions \((200~\mathrm{{MeV}})^4\). The quarks in the Fermi sea behave as quasi free quarks, but Fermi surface and thermal excitations are confined into baryons and mesons. Chiral symmetry is broken in a translational invariant way. In the wave function of a high energy hadron, the states that control the high energy limit of scattering are highly coherent and very dense gluons. This is the Color Glass Condensate. A short time after the collision of two high energy hadrons, very strong longitudinal color electric and color magnetic fields are formed. This is the Glasma. At later times the Glasma fields evaporate into gluons and thermalize. During this thermalization, gluon Bose condensates might be formed. Thermalization might occur through coherent effects. Although the intrinsic strength of interaction might be weak, the Glasma may be a realization of a strongly interacting Quark Gluon Plasma.
Sterigmatocystin production on complex and defined substrates

In this study we attempt to produce 14 C ST on a chemically defined low salts liquid medium containing asparagine. In addition, two other chemically defined liquid media, a semisynthetic liquid medium, and five complex solid substrates are tested
Validation of a thirty year wave hindcast using the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis winds

Abstract A thirty one year wave hindcast (1979–2009) using NCEP’s latest high resolution Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) wind and ice database has been developed and is presented here. The hindcast has been generated using the third generation wind wave model WAVEWATCH III® with a mosaic of 16 two-way nested grids. The resolution of the grids ranged from 1/2° to 1/15°. Validation results for bulk significant wave height H s and 10 m (above Mean Sea Level) wind speeds U 10 have been presented using both altimeter records and NDBC buoys. In general the database does a good job of representing the wave climate. At most buoys there is excellent agreement between model and data out to the 99.9th percentile. The agreement at coastal buoys is not as good as the offshore buoys due to unresolved coastal features (topographic/bathymetric) as well as issues related to interpolating wind fields at the land-sea margins. There are some concerns about the wave climate in the Southern Hemisphere due to the over prediction of winds (early part of the database) as well as the lack of wave blocking due to icebergs (in the model).
Ultrasonic measurement of scleral cross-sectional strains during elevations of intraocular pressure: method validation and initial results in posterior porcine sclera.

BACKGROUND Scleral biomechanical properties may be important in the pathogenesis and progression of glaucoma. The goal of this study is to develop and validate an ultrasound method for measuring cross-sectional distributive strains in the sclera during elevations of intraocular pressure (IOP). METHOD OF APPROACH Porcine globes (n = 5) were tested within 24 hs postmortem. The posterior scleral shells were dissected and mounted onto a custom-built pressurization chamber. A high-frequency (55-MHz) ultrasound system (Vevo660, VisualSonics Inc., Toronto) was employed to acquire the radio frequency data during scans of the posterior pole along both circumferential and meridian directions. The IOP was gradually increased from 5 to 45 mmHg. The displacement fields were obtained from correlation-based ultrasound speckle tracking. A least-square strain estimator was used to calculate the strains in both axial and lateral directions. Experimental validation was performed by comparing tissue displacements calculated from ultrasound speckle tracking with those induced by an actuator. Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments were performed to optimize the ultrasound speckle tracking method and evaluate the accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in strain estimation. RESULTS Porcine sclera exhibited significantly larger axial strains (e.g., -5.1 ± 1.5% at 45 mmHg, meridian direction) than lateral strains (e.g., 2.2 ± 0.7% at 45 mmHg, meridian direction) during IOP elevations (P's < 0.01). The strain magnitudes increased nonlinearly with pressure increase. The strain maps displayed heterogeneity through the thickness. The lateral strains were significantly smaller in the circumferential direction than the meridian direction at 45 mmHg (P < 0.05). Experimental validation showed that the ultrasound speckle tracking method was capable of tracking displacements at the accuracy of sub-micron to micron. Theoretical analysis predicted the dependence of the strain estimation SNR on the strain level, as well as signal processing parameters such as kernel size. Simulation results showed that ultrasound speckle tracking had a high accuracy for estimating strains of 1-5% and a high SNR for strains of 0.5-5%. CONCLUSIONS A new experimental method based on ultrasound speckle tracking has been developed for obtaining cross-sectional strain maps of the posterior sclera. This method provides a useful tool to examine distributive strains through the thickness of the sclera during elevations of IOP.
Analysis of operational filtration data part I. Ideal candle filter behavior

Operating data for the hot-gas filtration system of the Integrated Gasification and Cleanup Facility (IGCF) at the Federal Energy Technology Center are carefully analyzed. A model for candle filters is developed and used to describe the ideal filtration process. The parameters of the model are evaluated with a least-square error fit procedure. It is shown that the model predicts the time variation of the pressure drop with reasonable accuracy. The model is used to evaluate the buildup of filter-cake thickness and the filter-cake permeability.
Enlarged Sylvian fissures in infants with interstitial deletion of chromosome 22q11

Two infants with chromosome 22q11 deletion syndrome were noted to have symmetrically enlarged Sylvian fissures on cranial MRI. We compared the size of the Sylvian fissures in neuroimaging studies from 17 other subjects with del 22q11 to age-matched disease controls. The mean anterior interopercular distance was used as an index of Sylvian fissure enlargement. Symmetric enlargement of the Sylvian fissures was present in 10 of 17 subjects with del 22q11. The age-incidence pattern, as well as follow-up scans in 2 patients, suggests delayed growth of the opercular region in these patients. Subjects with del 22q11 consistently had disproportionate enlargement of the left Sylvian fissure compared to the right. This observation suggests that a gene (or genes) in the deleted region affects the development of the left and right perisylvian cortex in different ways. Abnormal development of the operculum may explain some of the neurodevelopmental features that are common among individuals with 22q11 deletion syndrome.
Systemic Therapy for Inoperable and Metastatic Basal Cell Cancer

Cutaneous basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common human malignancy. The majority of cases are cured with local therapies and advanced disease is quite rare. However, locally advanced (inoperable) and metastatic basal cell carcinoma may occur more often than previously thought. Surgery, and other local therapies, is the primary treatment for BCC. However, some resections can be extensive and carry significant morbidity or disfigurement. The prognosis for locally advanced and metastatic BCC is quite poor, and cytotoxic chemotherapies offer limited benefit. Aberrations in the sonic hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway are common in BCC. Novel molecular therapies targeted against this pathway, such as vismodegib (GDC-0449), have shown dramatic activity in advanced basal cell carcinoma. The role of these in nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (Gorlin) syndrome is still under investigation. However, systemic therapies are not curative and require long-term treatment and should not be used in place of curative procedures. Evaluation by experienced physicians and/or by a multidisciplinary tumor board for possible curative/definitive surgery with or without radiation is recommended before initiation of systemic therapy. Clinical trial enrollment also is recommended. Comorbid conditions as well as social circumstances may be factors when deciding on an optimal therapy, in particular with oral agents. Patients treated with HH pathway inhibitors require regular physician monitoring to assess for side effects, benefit, and compliance. Patients of child-bearing potential must be strongly counseled regarding the risk of birth defects and need for birth control. Primary and secondary resistance to HH pathway inhibitors is only beginning to be described.
Associative representational plasticity in the auditory cortex: A synthesis of two disciplines

Historically, sensory systems have been largely ignored as potential loci of information storage in the neurobiology of learning and memory. They continued to be relegated to the role of "sensory analyzers" despite consistent findings of associatively induced enhancement of responses in primary sensory cortices to behaviorally important signal stimuli, such as conditioned stimuli (CS), during classical conditioning. This disregard may have been promoted by the fact that the brain was interrogated using only one or two stimuli, e.g., a CS(+) sometimes with a CS(-), providing little insight into the specificity of neural plasticity. This review describes a novel approach that synthesizes the basic experimental designs of the experimental psychology of learning with that of sensory neurophysiology. By probing the brain with a large stimulus set before and after learning, this unified method has revealed that associative processes produce highly specific changes in the receptive fields of cells in the primary auditory cortex (A1). This associative representational plasticity (ARP) selectively facilitates responses to tonal CSs at the expense of other frequencies, producing tuning shifts toward and to the CS and expanded representation of CS frequencies in the tonotopic map of A1. ARPs have the major characteristics of associative memory: They are highly specific, discriminative, rapidly acquired, exhibit consolidation over hours and days, and can be retained indefinitely. Evidence to date suggests that ARPs encode the level of acquired behavioral importance of stimuli. The nucleus basalis cholinergic system is sufficient both for the induction of ARPs and the induction of specific auditory memory. Investigation of ARPs has attracted workers with diverse backgrounds, often resulting in behavioral approaches that yield data that are difficult to interpret. The advantages of studying associative representational plasticity are emphasized, as is the need for greater behavioral sophistication.
Diclofenac hydroxylation in monkeys: Efficiency, regioselectivity, and response to inhibitors

Abstract The catalytic efficiency, regioselectivity, and response to chemical inhibitors of diclofenac (DF) hydroxylation in three Old World monkey liver microsomes (rhesus, cynomolgus, and African green monkey) are different from those determined with human liver microsomes. In contrast to the high affinity–high capacity (low K m –high V max ) characteristics of DF 4′-hydroxylation in humans, this reaction proceeded in all monkey species with catalytic efficiencies >20-fold lower. However, DF 5-hydroxylation, a negligible reaction in human liver microsomes, was kinetically favored in monkeys mainly due to the increased V max values. Chemical inhibitors (reversible or mechanism-based) selective to human CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 failed to differentiate monkey orthologs involved in DF hydroxylation. Immunoinhibition studies with monoclonal antibodies against human CYPs revealed the major contribution of CYP2C and CYP3A to 4′- and to 5-hydroxylation, respectively, in rhesus and cynomolgus liver microsomes. However, in African green monkeys, in addition to CYP2C, CYP3A also appeared to be involved in 4′-hydroxylation. Further studies with recombinant rhesus and African green monkey CYP2C and CYP3A enzymes (rhesus CYP2C75, 2C74, and 3A64; African green monkey CYP2C9agm and CYP3A4agm) confirmed the major role of CYP enzymes of these two subfamilies in DF 4′- and 5-hydroxylation. Clearly, while monkey CYP2C and 3A enzymes retain the same substrate selectivity towards DF hydroxylation as their human orthologs, their altered catalytic efficiency and response to chemical inhibitors may indicate different structural features of active sites as opposed to human orthologs.
Avalanche luminescence in CdS-Te heterojunctions

Edge luminescence has been observed at 77 K in CdS-Te heterojunctions. Emission spectra, I-V curves, barrier heights, luminescent threshold, and saturation values are reported.
Effect of pressure and temperature on the lifetime of Cr 3 + in yttrium aluminum garnet

We have measured the room temperature (RT) and 20 K luminescence lifetime of ${\mathrm{Cr}}^{3+}$ in yttrium aluminum garnet as a function of pressure up to 240 kbar. The RT lifetime changed from 1.7(1) ms at ambient pressure to 42(2) ms at 220 kbar and the 20 K lifetime from 8.8(1) ms at ambient pressure to 67(2) ms at 240 kbar, the largest value ever observed for a ${\mathrm{Cr}}^{3+}$-doped material. The distinct pressure dependences of the RT and 20 K lifetimes allowed us to clearly distinguish the contributions of electronic radiative decay, ${}^{2}E{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{4}{A}_{2}$ vibronic transitions, and the thermal population of the ${}^{4}{T}_{2}$ state to the ${}^{2}E{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{4}{A}_{2}$ transition of ${\mathrm{Cr}}^{3+}.$ Analysis of the temperature dependence of the ambient-pressure lifetime showed that both the ${}^{2}E{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{4}{A}_{2}$ and ${}^{4}{T}_{2}{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{4}{A}_{2}$ vibronic transitions have a significant effect on the ${}^{2}E{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}^{4}{A}_{2}$ luminescence lifetime. Within the context of the single configurational coordinate model, the coupling of the ${}^{2}E$ and ${}^{4}{T}_{2}$ states via the spin-orbit coupling $({\mathcal{H}}_{\mathrm{SO}})$ and the electron-phonon coupling $({\mathcal{H}}_{\mathrm{EP}})$ mechanisms was considered in describing the observed lifetime as a function of pressure. Models formulated in either the ${\mathcal{H}}_{\mathrm{EP}}g{\mathcal{H}}_{\mathrm{SO}}$ or ${\mathcal{H}}_{\mathrm{SO}}g{\mathcal{H}}_{\mathrm{EP}}$ perturbation schemes agreed well with the lifetime data.
Minimax estimation of continuous time deterministic signals in colored noise

Abstract This paper considers continuous time estimation of non-random data corrupted by random noise. The strategy employed is to find a linear noncausal estimator whose performance is best over a pre-designated class of signals. This estimator will minimize the maximum normalized mean square error over input signals belonging to a subset of square-integrable functions on [0, T ]. Simple suboptimal estimators are introduced and are shown to behave optimally as the observation interval becomes unbounded. An expression for the asymptotic minimax estimation error is developed.
A reliable treatment for mixed Volterra-Fredholm integral equations

The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate the use of the modified decomposition method for mixed nonlinear Volterra-Fredholm integral equations. The modified method combined with the noise terms phenomena may provide the exact solution by using two iterations only. Two numerical illustrations are given to show the pertinent features of the technique.
Changing Climatic Conditions in the Colorado River Basin: Implications for Water Resources Management

Summary This study focuses on the effects of climate variability and climate change on the Colorado River flow as well as on implications for water resources management. A system dynamics model was developed for the Colorado River Basin, operating at a monthly time scale from 1970 to 2035. Changes in streamflow were simulated with a hydrologic model that used outputs from 16 global climate models (GCMs) and 3 emission scenarios. Lake Mead levels – as well as the corresponding probabilities of supply curtailments to the Basin states dependent on the Colorado River – were evaluated based on the changes in streamflow estimated using GCM projections. Lake Mead levels were evaluated with regard to a reduction in supply to the Basin states. Ensemble averages of the GCMs for each emission scenarios indicated an increase in temperature, on average by 0.84 °C over the period of 2012–2035. The magnitude and direction of change in precipitation varied among ensemble of GCMs for different emission scenarios, with A1b showing a decrease and A2 and B1 showing an increase. Ensemble average shows a small increase in precipitation by about 0.4%. An ensemble average reduction in streamflow by about 3% was observed until 2035. This reduction resulted in significant effects on the water supply to the Basin states, with varying reliability values for water supply. Although the median of the ensemble flow resulted in no probability of Lake Mead levels dropping down below 305 m, results varied from 0% to 46% for individual GCMs for A1b scenario. This study may help water managers in long-term planning and management of water resources to meet the future water demands.
An interactive method for the selection of design criteria and the formulation of optimization problems in computer aided optimal design

This paper presents an interactive method for the selection of design criteria and the formulation of optimization problems within a computer aided optimization process of engineering systems. The key component of the proposed method is the formulation of an inverse optimization problem for the purpose of determining the design preferences of the engineer. These preferences are identified based on an interactive modification of a preliminary optimization result that is the solution of an initial problem statement. A formulation of the inverse optimization problem is presented, which is based on a weighted-sum multi-objective approach and leads to an explicit optimization problem that is computationally inexpensive to solve. Numerical studies on structural shape optimization problems show that the proposed method is able to identify the optimization criteria and the formulation of the optimization problem which drive the interactive user modifications.
A structured questionnaire predicts if convulsions are epileptic or nonepileptic

Abstract Objective Therapy for convulsive seizures is usually initiated on the basis of clinical assessment, without video/EEG confirmation, but a nonepileptic origin may eventually be demonstrated. This study evaluates the diagnostic value of a witness-questionnaire in distinguishing between convulsive epileptic seizures (CES) and convulsive nonepileptic seizures (CNES). Methods We prospectively identified all adult patients admitted for video/EEG evaluation of convulsive attacks and interviewed the “best” witness using 12 questions on ictal and postictal features. Results Video/EEG diagnosed CES in 19 and CNES in 26 patients. The predictive accuracy of the questionnaire was 84.4%. Six features were strong predictors of CNES diagnosis: ictal eye closure, presence of side-to-side movements, prolonged seizure duration, and three postictal breathing features (not loud, shallow, no snoring). Conclusion A structured witness questionnaire distinguishes CES and CNES and will help in selecting patients for early video/EEG evaluation and rapid initiation of appropriate therapy.
Tricyclic antidepressants, but not the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, bind to the S1S2 domain of AMPA receptors

The hypothesis that depression is caused solely by a decrease in synaptic availability of monoaminergic neurotransmitters has been questioned over the past two decades. Based on accumulating data, it seems more plausible that cross-talk exists between neurotransmitters in the CNS, including the glutamatergic system. Glutamate, the major fast excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS, is the natural agonist for the ionotropic glutamate receptors, a family of ligand-gated ion channels including NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate), AMPA (amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid), and kainate receptors. In this work, we show that five tricyclic antidepressants bind to the S1S2 domain of the GluR2 subunit of the AMPA receptor. A combination of fluorescence quenching, Stern-Volmer analyses, and protease protection assays differentiate the binding of each antidepressant. These analyses provide no evidence for the binding of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, to this domain. The data presented provides further support for a role of the glutamatergic system in antidepressant activity.