cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dyspnea as an independent predictor of mortality.

Background and Aim Dyspnea is a common and easily elicited presenting complaint in patients seen by physicians who evaluate and take care of chronic respiratory disorders. Although dyspnea is subjective and tends to increase with age or reduced lung function, it appears to be reproducible as a symptom and often signifies serious underlying disease. Methods Systematic review of longitudinal studies with dyspnea as the exposure and mortality as the outcome; age, smoking and lung function had to be controlled for to be included in the review. In addition, a minimum sample size at baseline of 500 subjects was required for each study. Results From over 3000 potential references, 10 longitudinal studies met all criteria and were included. All 10 studies suggested that dyspnea was an independent predictor of mortality with point estimates by odds ratio, rate ratio or hazard ratios ranging from 1.3 up to 2.9-fold greater than baseline. All 10 studies had actual or implied 95% confidence interval bands greater than the null value of one. Conclusion Dyspnea, a symptom, predicts mortality and is a proxy for underlying diseases, most often of heart and lung. Therefore, chronic dyspnea needs to be evaluated as to etiology to allow for treatment to minimize morbidity and mortality when possible.
Chapter 8 Provenance and Diagenesis of Heavy Minerals, Cenozoic Units of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Sedimentary Basin

Abstract Heavy mineral studies in the post-Mesozoic units of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) passive margin basin include numerous classic applications for deciphering sediment provenance and for stratigraphic correlation. Because of the well-documented provenance and simple burial history, this basin has also served as a natural laboratory for research into processes by which provenance information is ‘erased’ and otherwise complicated by diagenesis. Based on observations in the GOM, a generalised model for basinal diagenesis of heavy minerals is proposed. From the surface to depths corresponding to around 80–100 °C, diagenesis of the heavy mineral assemblage is dominated by dissolution that is best characterised as an acid hydrolysis or weathering process. At depths that overlap the ultimate completion of the subsurface weathering process, precipitates, including a number of high-density phases, form by reactions that can be described as acid-releasing or reverse-weathering. At depths near the limit of coring (>5 km), the surviving ultrastable detrital heavy mineral assemblage (mostly zircon, tourmaline, and rutile) is accompanied by an intriguing variety of high-density authigenic minerals (including anatase and titanite). The provenance interpretation of heavy mineral extracts from rocks that have had a protracted history of burial must be evaluated cautiously and with an emphasis on the use of ultrastable species.
Nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States Part II-back injuries

Abstract This is the second of the three-part paper on nonfatal occupational injuries in the United States. This part focuses on injuries to the back. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are used to examine injury statistics to different regions of the back including the spine and spinal column, the lumbar region, and injuries to multiple back regions. Injuries to these different regions of the back are categorized by common measures of magnitude such as the number and the incidence rates; by major US industrial classifications; by different types of events or exposures such as contact with objects, slip and fall accidents, overexertion injuries, etc.; by different natures of injuries such as sprains and strains, fractures, bruises, etc.; by different sources of injuries such as parts or materials, worker motion, healthcare patient, etc.; by different US occupations such as service, technical, sales and administrative support, etc.; by age of the injured; by ethnic origin of the injured; by gender of the injured; by length of service of the injured with the employer; and by the number of lost workdays. Relevance to industry This paper provides focused and specific information on injuries in the United States. Knowledge of back injury trends is essential for instituting efforts to control them.
Effects of sodium bisulfate on the bacterial population structure of dairy cow waste.

Aims: To determine the effects of sodium bisulfate (SBS) on the bacterial populations in cattle waste. Methods and Results: We applied SBS at 0, 60, 70 or 100 kg week−1 to cattle waste as it accumulated on the floors of four cattle pens, housing eight cattle each. We observed significant pH decreases in all of the treated wastes on day one; however, the 60 kg week−1 treatment returned to control levels by day four, while the others remained significantly lower. Heterotrophic plate counts of the waste revealed that all treatments reduced the bacterial populations in the wastes on day one; however, all returned to control levels by day four. The 16S rRNA gene libraries derived from the wastes revealed significant reductions in sequences associated with the phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes and increases in the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Spirochaetes on day one, but resembled the control by day seven. Sequences associated with Escherichia coli increased significantly after SBS application, but became undetectable by day seven. Conclusions: SBS application significantly alters the bacterial population structure of waste during the first few days of application, but the populations return to almost normal after 7 days. Significance and Impact of the Study: Application of SBS to animal waste can reduce emissions; however, biosecurity precautions must be rigorously maintained during the initial application to ensure that pathogenic E. coli is not released into the environment.
Suspension-Expansion of Bone Marrow Results in Small Mesenchymal Stem Cells Exhibiting Increased Transpulmonary Passage Following Intravenous Administration

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively explored in a variety of regenerative medicine applications. The relatively large size of MSCs expanded in tissue culture flasks leads to retention in the microcirculation of the lungs following intravenous delivery, reducing their capacity to reach target sites. We explored whether the expansion of whole marrow in suspension cultures would yield smaller MSCs with increased capacity to traverse the pulmonary microcirculation compared with traditional monolayer cultures. We tested this hypothesis using rat marrow in a suspension bioreactor culture with fibronectin-coated microcarriers, leading to sustained expansion of both the microbead-adherent cells, as well as of a nonadherent cell fraction. Magnetic depletion of CD45+ cells from the bioreactor cultures after 5 weeks led to a highly enriched CD73+/CD90+/CD105+ MSC population. The bioreactor-grown MSCs were significantly smaller than parallel monolayer MSCs (15.1±0.9 μm vs. 18.5±2.3 μm diameter, p<0.05...
High-dose multimodality therapy with autologous stem-cell support for stage IIIB breast carcinoma.

PURPOSEWomen with locally unresectable and inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC) have an approximately 30% 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rate with conventional multimodality therapy. A short but dose-intensive multimodality phase II trial was designed in an attempt to improve outcome in stage IIIB disease. Mastectomy was performed after high-dose therapy to evaluate pathologic response to treatment.METHODSWomen with newly diagnosed disease received four 2-week cycles of doxorubicin 90 mg/m2 with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), followed by cyclophosphamide 6,000 mg/m2, thiotepa 500 mg/m2, and carboplatin 800 mg/m2 (CTCb) with marrow and peripheral-blood progenitor cell (PBPC) support. Local therapy consisted of mastectomy and radiotherapy. Tamoxifen (5 years) was begun if the patient was estrogen receptor-positive (ER+).RESULTSFifty women (46 stage IIIB [91% IBC], four stage IIIA) entered the study and 47 are assessable. Ten had mastectomy before any systemic therapy (seven with pathologi...
Half standard deviation estimate of the minimally important difference in HRQOL scores

In addition to statistical significance, it is important to evaluate the magnitude of differences in health-related quality of life over time. Interest in establishing the minimal difference that is clinically important or the minimally important difference has burgeoned over the last few years. This review summarizes some of the leading approaches to estimating the minimally important difference, offers caveats on the minimally important difference estimation based on existing literature and provides recommendations for future work. The authors recommend using multiple anchors to estimate the minimally important difference, using only anchors that correspond to minimal change in health-related quality of life, reporting information about the variation around the estimates, and providing bounded estimates to reflect the uncertainty.
Are subsidies for biodiesel economically efficient

Abstract Biodiesel produces less pollution than petrodiesel; however, it is more expensive and will only be a viable alternative if market prices of the products are comparable. This paper examines whether the external benefits from biodiesel use justify subsidies required for adoption outside of niche alternative fuel markets. The authors establish a range of subsidies required to make biodiesel a viable substitute for petrodiesel. Published estimates of the emissions reductions from biodiesel and the dollar benefits of unit reductions in emissions are used to compute a per-gallon external benefit from use of biodiesel, versus petrodiesel. Under conservative estimates of the benefits from biodiesel use in non-road equipment, the external benefits outweigh the required subsidies.(JEL Q48, Q42, H2)
A decision-theoretic approach to subset selection

The multiple decision problem of selecting a random non-empty subset of populations, out of k populations, that are close in some sense to the best population is considered in a decision-theoretic framework. Uniformly optimal procedures for non-negative semi-additive loss are derived. A class of likelihood-ratio type of procedures is shown to be admissible for monotone additive loss.
Atrial Fibrillation-Atrial Flutter Interactions Clinical Implications for Ablation

An appreciation of the article by Moreira et al in the current issue of Circulation 1 requires an understanding of the close interrelationship between atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL). These authors have understood this interrelationship and applied it to their data to advance the approach to both AF and AFL ablation. Key to this understanding is the recognition that cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI)–dependent AFL almost always develops from antecedent AF of variable duration.2–5 This is because in almost all instances, it is during the AF that a functional line of block (LoB) necessary for the development of AFL forms between the superior and inferior vena cavae. This LoB acts as a critical lateral boundary that prevents short-circuiting of the AFL reentrant circuit. Thus, in the vast majority of instances, without preceding AF, there can be no AFL. The most recent additional support of this concept comes from the report by Ellis et al,6 which found that of 363 patients who presented with only CTI-dependent AFL and who underwent CTI ablation, long-term follow-up (mean of 39±11 months) demonstrated newly recognized AF in 82%. It also should be noted that, as Moreira et al1 recognize, in some patients, a LoB between the vena cavae may be fixed (ie, anatomic) rather than functional. In such patients, AF may not be required for AFL to develop. Article p 2786 As Moreira et al1 further recognize, their report does not answer all the questions about the interrelationships of AF and AFL as they relate to AF ablation, …
Visual illusion in virtual world alters women's target-directed walking.

In this study we investigated whether a visual illusion located in far space alters a person’s open-loop, target-directed walking path in the same manner as it alters the perception of the target’s position. Through the use of immersive VR the subject was able to walk physically to the location of a target embedded in a scene that was manipulated to create a visual illusion, known as the induced Roelofs effect. This illusion has been shown to alter the perception of a target’s position. The experiment consisted of two tasks: a perception task and an action task. In the perception task, subjects viewed the scene for 1 s, it disappeared, and they were to report the target’s location verbally. The results showed that the visual illusion altered the reported positions in all but one subject. In the action task, subjects viewed the scene for 1 s, it disappeared, and the subjects were asked to walk to the target’s location. The results showed that the illusion significantly altered the walking paths of most of the women and less than half of the men. A significant gender effect was observed; women’s walking paths deviated, on average, by 7.1° and men’s, by only 2.0°. These results indicate that action tasks in far space are susceptible to the effects of visual illusions, unlike the action tasks in near space that reportedly have been resistant to them. Furthermore, the significant gender effect suggests that men and women either have different strategies and/or employ different mechanisms when executing a visually guided task in far space.
Repair of thoracic aortic aneurysms in the elderly: are shunts necessary?

Abstract Thoracic aortic aneurysms in elderly patients are being recognized with increasing frequency. A review of 12 patients 70 years of age or older who underwent repair of aneurysms of the descending thoracic aorta without the use of shunts or bypass revealed that this operation could be performed with acceptable morbidity and mortality. The two deaths in this series were patients who were operated on emergently, whereas all patients operated on electively or urgently survived to leave the hospital. (J VASC SURG 1987;6:553-4.)
Transferring FEA results to optics codes with Zernikes : a review of techniques

The detailed displacement data provided by finite element analysis (FEA) tools must be translated into forms acceptable by most optical ray tracing tools (CODE V specifically). A useful medium for transferring FEA data is the Zernike circular polynomials that many optical ray tracing tools will readily accept as input. However, the translation process is nontrivial, and two specific difficulties are explored in this paper. The first issue involves a coordinate space transformation that is required because the optically relevant coordinate system is not the same as the Cartesian coordinate system typically used in the finite element model. Several algorithms are described to perform this transformation and their pros and cons enumerated. Specifically, comparisons are made between sag based and surface normal (wavefront) based coordinate systems, and it is found that by using the sag equation of the original surface, the accuracy of the data translation can be improved. The second issue discussed is the accuracy of the polynomial fitting process. The loss of orthogonality stemming from undersampling, nonuniform mesh density, and annular surfaces are discussed with potential work-arounds.
Midazolam attenuates ketamine-induced abnormal perception and thought process but not mood changes

Purpose: To determine the effects of midazolam, 30 ng·mL−1, on altered perception, mood, and cognition induced by ketamine. Methods: After ketamine was administered to achieve target concentrations of 50, 100, or 150 ng·mL−1 in 11 volunteers, perception, mood, and thought process were assessed by a visual analog scale. Mini-Mental State examination (MMSE) assessed cognition. Boluses of midazolam, 30, 14.5, and 12µg·kg−1, were injected every 30 min to maintain the plasma concentration at 30 ng·mL−1, which was reached 30 min after each injection. Results: Ketamine produced changes in perception about the body (P<0.01, 0.001, and 0.001 at 30, 60, and 90 min), surroundings (P<0.01 and 0.0001 at 60 and 90 min), time (P<0.002 and 0.0001 at 60 and 90 min), reality (P<0.001 and 0.0001 at 60 and 90 min), sounds (P<0.002 at 90 min), and meaning (P<0.05 at 90 min). Subjects felt less energetic and clearheaded (P<0.02 and 0.05) during ketamine, midazolam, and their co-administration. Ketamine impaired thought process (P<0.003 and 0.0001 and 60 and 90 min). Ketamine and midazolam decreased mean total MMSE and recall scores (P<0.001 for both). Co-administraion reduced the number of subjects with perceptual (body,P<0.01 and 0.001 at 30 and 60 min) and thought process abnormalities. Within the range of observation, co-administration did not affect the changes in mood or recall. Conclusion: Midazolam attenuates ketamine-induced changes in perception and thought process.
Impact of Line Width Roughness on Intel's 65 nm process devices

Line Width Roughness (LWR) is the random variation of MOS gate length along the gate width. LWR is undesirable because it degrades drive current (Ion), increases off-current (Ioff), and causes a random variation of device parameters across a die. Previously, it was determined that LWR did not impact Intel's 130 nm process devices. As device sizes shrink, the sensitivity to LWR increases, so the amount of LWR that can be tolerated in future generations needs to be re-assessed. In this paper we will present the experimental results of the effects of LWR on Intel's 65 nm process. It was found that both nominal drive current and its variation degrade with increased LWR. Additionally, Ioff increased exponentially with increased LWR. In order to maintain less than 2% degradation in Ion from LWR, the 3-Sigma % LWR should be less than 10% of the nominal final check critical dimension (FCCD). Thus, for future generations, LWR needs to scale as gate lengths decrease or else any potential benefits in increased drive current would be offset by large amounts of leakage.
Summary of: Xerostomia and chronic oral complications among patients treated with haematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Objective To assess the severity of xerostomia (subjective dry mouth) in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients and to investigate the association of xerostomia with other chronic oral complications. Design Cross-sectional study. Study participants and methods Participants were 48 patients with a history of HSCT recruited among members of the Dutch Stem Cell Transplantation Contact Group, and a comparison group of 41 age- and sex-matched individuals. Data were collected using the Xerostomia Inventory (XI score) and a seven-item oral health questionnaire. Results HSCT patients had a higher XI score than the comparison group, and a greater severity of several oral complaints: painful oral mucosa, altered taste, limited opening of the mouth and problems with tooth brushing. HSCT patients did not report greater pain during cold stimulation of teeth, chipped and cracked teeth or bleeding gums. In HSCT patients, the XI score correlated significantly with the severity of oral mucosal pain, altered taste, limited opening of the mouth, painful teeth following cold stimuli, chipped or cracked teeth, problems with tooth brushing and bleeding gums. In the comparison group, no correlations were observed between XI score and these oral problems. Conclusion HSCT patients have more severe xerostomia, which is associated with other oral complaints. Dental professionals should monitor these patients post-transplant for oral complications. Symptoms of dry mouth should be relieved and secondary complications should be prevented.
Microscopic structure of hydrogen-shallow-donor complexes in crystalline silicon.

A new low-energy structural model for interstitial hydrogen in P- and As-doped crystalline Si is proposed. The calculated H-vibrational frequencies of 1290 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ for the stretching mode and 715 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ for the wagging mode are in much closer agreement with infrared data of 1555 and 809 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, respectively, than for any previously suggested model.
Ovarian activity in the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) determined by faecal steroid analysis

Abstract Ultrasonography and radioimmunoassay (RIA) of serum oestradiol-17β, luteinizing hormone (LH) and progesterone, and faecal oestrogen and progestin was used to assess ovarian activity in the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah). Ovarian examination using ultrasonography revealed maximal follicle and corpus luteum (CL) diameters of 15 and 32 mm, respectively. Steroid hormone metabolite distribution among individual faecal pellets within the same defaecation was relatively homogeneous with coefficients of variation averaging 10.2±1.8% and 16.2±4.6% for oestrogens and progestins, respectively. Elevated faecal oestrogen concentrations were associated with large (>10 mm) antral follicles detected by ultrasonography. Periovulatory peaks in faecal oestrogen excretion, coincident with nadirs in progestin excretion, were detected in three females. Faecal progestin excretion exhibited a similar temporal pattern to serum progesterone concentrations, with a time lag of approximately 16 h. Faecal progestin concentrations corresponded with the presence of functional CL and proved useful for monitoring luteal function, spontaneous and prostaglandin-F2α analogue-induced luteolysis and anovulation. In summary, faecal steroid monitoring is a practical, noninvasive method for characterising ovarian steroid excretion and has potential for facilitating the application of assisted reproductive technologies in scimitar-horned oryx.
Aggregating rankings with positional constraints

We consider the problem of rank aggregation, where the goal is to assemble ordered lists into one consensus order. Our contributions consist of proposing a new family of distance measures that allow for incorporating practical ranking constraints into the aggregation problem formulation; showing how such distance measures arise from a generalization of Kemeny's axioms of the Kendall r distance; and proving that special classes of the proposed distances may be computed in polynomial time.
Cognitive Tendencies in Analogical Forecasting1

This article attempts to identify some cognitive tendencies involved in analogical forecasting of the outcomes of medical treatment. Sixty-one medical doctors were involved in two experimental tasks concerned with prediction of the outcomes of a new medical treatment when the result with a first patient was known to be either negative or positive. The same subjects were also tested by the Short Optimism/Pessimism Questionnaire (SO/PQ) to explore relationships between life attitude and the cognitive tendencies observed in the experiment. The following findings were reported: (1) The first step of forecasting was recognized as a Data Evaluation Process (DEP), where the physician decides if the given data are sufficient to forecast the result of the same treatment with a new patient. (2) Two cognitive tendencies were identified: non-data-suggested tendency—drawing a conclusion opposite to the data given; and data-suggested tendency—drawing an optimistic conclusion when forecasting from “positive” data and a pessimistic conclusion when forecasting from “negative” data. The second tendency appeared to be dominant; however, the “positive” data created a stronger atmosphere to draw conclusions on a negative outcome. (3) It was stated that analogical forecasting involves two integrated processes, i.e., concluding and asserting. If the integration process is not complete, the subject is drawing analogical conclusions with a low confidence. (4) An optimistic life attitude appeared to be an important factor in determining analogical forecasting.
Maturation of cortical control over superior colliculus cells in cat

The specialized receptive field properties of superior colliculus cells are believed to be dependent upon cortical influences. Yet despite a corticotectal projection near the time of birth and adult-like cortical cells at the beginning of the second week of life, specialized properties do not appear in many superior colliculus cells until quite late in postnatal development. We now report that this apparent conflict is due to the protracted functional maturation of the corticotectal system.
Massively parallel SIMD simulation of markovian DEDS: Event and time synchronous methods

We examine two schemes for parametric parallel simulation on SIMD supercomputers. In SIMD machines, the parallel processors execute a common instruction stream using local data-under the control of a front-end processor. In contrast to most parallel simulation approaches-which simulate a single system using multiple processors-we simulate distinct parametric variants at each processor. We extract some of the common computation embedded in these simulations and perform it on the front-end, leaving the rest to the parallel processors.
Spectral hardening as a viable alternative to disc truncation in black hole state transitions

Constraining the accretion flow geometry of black hole binaries in outburst is complicated by the inability of simplified multi-colour disc models to distinguish between changes in the inner disc radius and alterations to the emergent spectrum, parameterised by the phenomenological colour correction factor, f_col. We analyse Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations of the low mass Galactic black hole X-ray binary, GX 339-4, taken over seven epochs when the source was experiencing a state transition. The accretion disc component is isolated using a pipeline resulting in robust detections for disc luminosities, 0.001 < L_disc / L_Edd < 0.5. Assuming that the inner disc remains situated at the innermost stable circular orbit over the course of a state transition, we measure the relative degree of change in f_col required to explain the spectral evolution of the disc component. A variable f_col that increases by a factor of ~ 2.0 - 3.5 as the source transitions from the high/soft state to the low/hard state can adequately explain the observed disc spectral evolution. For the observations dominated by a disc component, the familiar scaling between the disc luminosity and effective temperature, L_disc ~ T_eff^4, is observed; however, significant deviations from this relation appear when GX 339-4 is in the hard intermediate and low/hard states. Allowing for an evolving f_col between spectral states, the L_disc-T_eff^4 law is recovered over the full range of disc luminosities, although this depends heavily on the physically conceivable range of f_col. We demonstrate that physically reasonable changes in f_col provide a viable description for multiple state transitions of a black hole binary without invoking radial motion of the inner accretion disc.
Human IL-8 Regulates Smooth Muscle Cell VCAM-1 Expression in Response to Endothelial Cells Exposed to Atheroprone Flow

Objective— Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a soluble human-specific chemokine implicated in the development of the chronic inflammatory disease atherosclerosis. Recently, we showed that atheroprone hemodynamics induced IL-8 secretion from endothelial cells (ECs) concurrent with increased EC/smooth muscle cell (SMC) VCAM-1 expression in a human hemodynamic coculture model. Despite an IL-8 association with inflammation, we show here that blocking IL-8 activity during atheroprone flow resulted in increased levels of EC/SMC VCAM-1 expression. We tested the hypothesis that IL-8 limits SMC VCAM-1 expression in response to inflammatory stimuli, either atheroprone flow or cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β) addition. Methods and Results— Atheroprone flow increased monocyte adhesion in both EC/SMCs, concurrent with the induction of VCAM-1 protein. VCAM-1 antisera attenuated this response. IL-1β upregulated VCAM-1 in SMCs by 3-fold, a response inhibited by the addition of IL-8 at 24 hours. Neither IL-1β nor IL-8 induced proliferation or migration. Neutralization of the IL-8 receptor, CXCR2, further induced VCAM-1 in the presence of IL-1β, and phospho-p38 was required for NF-κB activation and VCAM-1 expression. Additionally, IL-8 reduced p38 activation and NF-κB activity induced by IL-1β alone. Conclusions— Together, these findings provide evidence for a novel role whereby IL-8 limits the inflammatory response in ECs/SMCs via VCAM-1 modulation.
Flexural waves in beams with geometrical and material longitudinal discontinuities

Abstract The flexural wave propagation effects in a linearly elastic Timoshenko beam having both cross-sectional and material type of longitudinal discontinuities. For purposes general formulation is presented which accounts for any number of discontinuities. For purposes of solution the second order accurate explicit MacCormack's finite difference scheme is modified to account for the source term in Timoshenko beam equations and to include the effects of discontinuities. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the formulation and numerical procedure, some representative results are given for a single longitudinal discontinuity in cross-section and in material.
Endoscopic transconjunctival surgical approach to the optic nerve and medial intraconal space: a cadaver study

Objective Surgical approaches to the orbit require great precision and care because of the functional and aesthetic importance of this region. Conventional approaches to the posterior orbit often require bone removal, may disrupt extraocular muscles, and may create external surgical scars. We conceived a transconjunctival surgical approach to the medial intraconal space that is aided by a minimally invasive endoscopic technique and avoids muscle transection. Methods Assisted by a rigid endoscope measuring 2.7 mm in diameter, with 0- and 30-degree lenses, we made a medial conjunctival incision along the limbus to approach the medial intraconal space and optic nerve in 7 fresh cadaver heads (a total of 9 procedures). Results This approach provided direct and quick access to the medial intraconal space and intraorbital optic nerve with the use of endoscopes via an aesthetically acceptable conjunctival incision, and it provided an excellent view of the operative area. Unlike conventional techniques, this approach left the anatomy relatively undisturbed and did not require detachment of the medial rectus muscle. Conclusion The endoscopic medial transconjunctival surgical approach provides minimally invasive direct access to the medial intraconal space and the intraorbital optic nerve. The approach is easy; minimally disturbs structures; and lends itself to biopsy, drainage, and even excision of selected lesions in this region without muscle transection and with aesthetically acceptable anatomic closure.
A simple model for prediction of oxygen transport rates by flowing blood in large capillaries.

A simple model has been developed for simulation of oxygen transport to and from blood flowing in conduits of the diameter of arterioles and larger (greater than or equal to 20 microns). The basis is the large capillary model (LCAP) of P.K. Nair, et al. 1989 which has been validated experimentally. Detailed calculations of the oxygen concentration distribution reveal that the dominant resistance to oxygen transport is distributed in the plasma. Relatively little resistance is present within or in the immediate vicinity of the red cells. On the basis of these findings, LCAP was simplified from four simultaneous nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) to one PDE by (1) assuming chemical equilibrium within the red blood cells, (2) neglecting intracellular and extracellular boundary layer resistances, and (3) incorporating transport in the cell-free region adjacent to the capillary wall into the boundary conditions. The simplified model is much easier to apply mathematically to new situations. A comparison between LCAP and the simpler model shows that they give virtually the same predictions, and the predictions agree well with experimental measurements. The model is predictive in that all the parameters are determined from the literature or from independent measurements. Thus it should be useful in studies of physiological significance, as well as in design and analysis of extracorporeal blood oxygenators.
A 24 position target chamber for observation of β and γ rays

Abstract A target chamber which holds 24 backed targets has been designed and constructed for observation of β and γ rays. Provision is made for efficient counting within the vacuum chamber at 90° with scintillators up to 5 cm in dia. and outside the vacuum at 45° where larger scintillators may be used. A motor rotates the targets into bombardment position where they are struck by the beam at a 45° angle. All targets are visible from the back side and the front side of the target in bombardment position may also be seen. Typical results from experiments performed with the aid of the chamber are given.
Voltage-sensitive adenylyl cyclase activity in cultured neurons. A calcium-independent phenomenon.

Catalytic subunits of mammalian adenylyl cyclases have been proposed to contain 12 transmembrane domains, a property shared with some voltage-sensitive ion channels. Here we report that adenylyl cyclase activity in cerebellar neurons is synergistically stimulated by depolarizing agents and β-adrenergic receptor activation. This phenomenon is Ca2+-independent and not attributable to Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity. Cholera toxin and forskolin also synergistically stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity in combination with depolarizing agents. We hypothesize that conformational changes in the catalytic subunit of the enzymes caused by changes in the membrane potential may enhance stimulation of adenylyl cyclases by the guanylyl nucleotide stimulatory protein. This novel mechanism for regulation of adenylyl cyclases generates robust cAMP signals that may contribute to various neuromodulatory events including some forms of neuroplasticity.
Distribution of controlled Lyapunov exponents: a statistical simulation study

Abstract A feedback control design method was proposed in Chen and Lai (1996, Internat. J. Bifur, Chaos 6, 1341–1349) towards anti-control of chaos by means of making an arbitrary discrete-time dynamical system behave chaotically, where the feedback control can force all the Lyapunov exponents of the controlled system become strictly positive. Since a control sequence so designed is not uniquely determined, random mechanism can be used to select a suitable control-gain sequence. The behavior (distribution) of the controlled Lyapunov exponents generated by the proposed method is important and hence calls for further statistical analysis. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we examine the distribution empirically in this paper.
Temporal patterns of responding in small fixed-ratio schedules

Pigeons were exposed to an ascending series of small fixed-ratio schedules from fixed-ratio 1 to 7. Two of those pigeons were later placed on a fixed-ratio 30 schedule. The two primary dependent variables were the postreinforcement pause and the interresponse time. Changes in these variables under small fixed ratios were sometimes opposite to changes reported with large fixed ratios. For example, postreinforcement pauses decreased in length as the fixed-ratio requirement increased from fixed-ratio 1 to fixed-ratio 3. Also, the interresponse times early in the small fixed-ratio schedule were shorter than those immediately preceding reinforcement. These findings question the role of interresponse-time reinforcement in determining temporal patterns of responding under small fixed-ratio schedules. They also suggest that there may be a limited region in which the independent variable, fixed-ratio size, does not operate as previously described.
Hematology: Trials and tribulations in primary CNS lymphoma.

A minority of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) achieve a complete response to therapy and most patients have a poor prognosis. A recent randomized phase II trial demonstrated that the addition of high-dose cytarabine to high-dose methotrexate increases the complete response rate and improves patient outcome.
The process group approach to reliable distributed computing

The difficulty of developing reliable distributed software is an impediment to applying distributed computing technology in many settings. Experience with the ISIS system suggests that a structured approach based on virtually synchronous process groups yields systems which are substantially easier to develop, fault-tolerance, and self-managing. Six years of research on ISIS are reviewed, describing the model, the types of applications to which ISIS was applied, and some of the reasoning that underlies a recent effort to redesign and reimplement ISIS as a much smaller, lightweight system.
Assessing the Eating Behaviors of Low-Income, Urban Adolescents.

Abstract Background: There is a need for instruments that can accurately determine the effectiveness of nutrition interventions targeting low-income, inner-city adolescents. Purpose: To examine the development of a valid and reliable eating behavior scale (EBS) for use in school-based nutrition interventions in urban, inner-city communities dominated by high poverty, food insecurity and academic underperformance with primarily minority residents. Methods: The research was conducted with 387 minority adolescents in an inner-city urban school. Reliability was determined by administering the EBS to students twice on the same day, five hours apart. Convergent validity was determined by comparing the results of the EBS with 24-hour recalls conducted by trained dietitians. Spearman correlations and kappa statistics were used. Results: The EBS produced acceptable validity and reliability indices. Discussion: The EBS, designed specifically for use with minority urban adolescents who are both economically deprived...
Estimation of vibration spectra including vibrating direction with synthetic aperture radar

ABSTRACT In this paper, we develop a method for determining the vibration spectrum and vibrating direction of a vibrat-ing object measured with Synthetic Aperture Radar. The methodology presented here is performed after thevibration history has been extracted from the SAR phase history by some other technique; then, our method isapplied. The method is tested here with simulated data to verify its performance and to determine the conditionsrequired for good vibration spectrum and direction estimates.Keywords: Synthetic Aperture Radar, Vibrometry, Damped Exponential Modeling 1. INTRODUCTION This paper develops a methodology to estimate the parameters, vibration spectrum, and vibration direction ororientation of vibrating objects measured with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) as shown in Figure 1. Observedvibrations in SAR data are caused by the Doppler phenomena as vibrations during a SAR measurement createa Doppler component and appear as a time-varying phase term in the SAR data. Previous work
The Nature of the Biochemical Lesion in Avian Renal Riboflavinuria: 6. Hormone Induction of the Riboflavin-Binding Protein in Roosters and Young Chicks

Abstract INTRODUCTION THE experiments reported in this paper are related to the study of the nature of action by the mutant gene which leads to a reduction of acid released riboflavin in the eggs of chickens. Farrell et al. (1969) isolated the specific protein which binds riboflavin in the albumen of eggs produced by homozygous normal (Rd Rd) hens. Furthermore, Farrell et al. (1970b,c) reported evidence for a similar protein in the blood of laying females; a reduced amount of the riboflavin-binding protein (RBP) was found in Rdrd and none in rdrd birds. In the same paper, the induction of this protein in the blood of normal (RdRd) adult males was reported to occur following injection of 17α estradiol dipropionate. None was found in the non-injected and injected males of the rdrd genotype. Hence the increased level of serum riboflavin following administration of estradiol dipropionate reported by Common and Bolton (1946)…
MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF A SIMPLE MODEL RELATED TO THE STRIPPING REACTION

A scattering process in which an incoming bound particle can split up into its component parts when its total energy is above a threshold is of considerable interest physically (deuteron stripping, etc.) and mathematically (analytic properties of the $S$-matrix, etc.). For such complicated problems it is obviously convenient to have a simple, analytically soluble model for reference, but although many models have been suggested in the past none have proved analytically tractable. In this paper we propose and completely solve a one-dimensional model which, although it is not very physical, has all the desired characteristics. The problem is not mathematically trivial, however, and leads to a Wiener-Hopf integral equation.
An Integrated Approach, through Linguistic and Cross‐Cultural Exercises, to Advanced Conversation*

A great variety of authentic cultural elements may be introduced in the foreign language classroom. The study of such elements must be carefully integrated with the study of language. Cultural content ought not to be presented at the expense of language learning but as an interrelated system. To illustrate, four detailed assignments and follow-up classroom activities are outlined. They deal with two separate socio-cultural aspects concerning French white-collar workers and small shopkeepers. This demonstration in French presents various techniques designed to help the students first comprehend the material, then interact among themselves, using the language within an accurate cultural context. Despite lengthy preparation by the teacher, such structured techniques allow more time for conversation in the classroom and prevent many interferences of both the native language and the native cultural attitudes.
Differential requirement for EGF-like ligands in Drosophila wing development

Signaling through the Drosophila EGF receptor (DER) is important for the growth and differentiation of the wing. These processes may be mediated by different DER ligands including Spitz (Spi) and Vein (Vn). Here I investigate the roles of these ligands and other DER pathway components in wing disc development using in vivo culture to produce mutant discs from genotypes which are normally embryonic lethal. I find no role for spi in wing disc growth, whereas vn is essential. spi mutant wing discs are morphologically normal as judged by expression of the vein marker rhomboid (rho) and analysis of the differentiated wing tissue. rho, Star (S) and argos (aos) which are known to be involved in Spi/DER signaling are likewise not required for wing growth, whereas pointed (pnt), which acts at the end of the intracellular pathway, is required. The results suggest different ligands and molecular mechanisms control DER signaling in wing growth and differentiation.
Physical Activity, Social Support, and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Persons With HIV Disease

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 800,000 to 900,000 Americans live with HIV disease (HIVD) and that it is transmitted to 40,000 others annually. Biomedical research has focused on finding a cause and cure, including early detection techniques and pharmacologic therapies to extend life. Meanwhile, persons with HIVD continue to face multiple challenges as they live with symptoms and the effects of treatment modalities that affect their quality of life. The purpose of this investigation was to identify and explore relations among physical activity (PA), social support, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in persons with HIVD who were living in community settings. Findings indicated a significant inverse correlation between participant's HRQOL and meeting moderate or vigorous PA recommendations from Healthy People 2010, but weekly frequency of participating in at least 30 min of moderate or vigorous PA was significantly (r = .49, p < . 01) correlated with HRQOL. Friend socia...
Total selenium and selenium (IV) in the James River estuary and southern Chesapeake Bay

Abstract The concentrations of total selenium (Se) and Se (IV) were determined in the surface waters of 30 stations located in the James River and southern Chesapeake Bay. The concentrations of total Se and Se (IV) ranged from 0·28 to 1·91 nM and from 0·07 to 1·36 nM, respectively, between salinities of 31·78 and 0·06‰. The concentration of Se (VI), calculated as the difference between the concentrations of total Se and Se (IV), ranged from 0·08 to 0·67 nM. While total Se seemed to be conservative in this study area at salinities above 0·36‰, Se (IV) might have been removed during estuarine mixing. The removal of Se (IV) occurred primarily at salinities below 4‰ possibly via the oxidation of Se (IV) to Se (VI).
Nondegenerate curves on S 2 and orbit classification of the Zamolodchikov algebra

The Zamolodchikov algebra is the next case after the Virasoro algebra in the natural hierarchy of the Poisson structures on linear differential equations. We describe here the complete classification of the symplectic leaves of this algebra. It turns out that each symplectic leaf is uniquely defined by the conjugacy class of the monodromy operator and one discrete (2- and 3-valued) invariant arising from the homotopy classes of nondegenerate curves.
Shaping the Internet

Recently libraries and librarians have been introduced to the Internet. The following article hopes to offer suggestions for shaping the Internet in the future. The two suggestions are: to name the library machines on the Internet “library,” and to begin housing all locally uncopyrighted, published material produced by university employees on a machine called “archive.”
Titanium dioxide films as selective reflectors of the near-infrared

Owing to the high refractive index of TiO2, films of this material show a great difference in reflection between the spectral regions of constructive and destructive interference. A glass slide coated on one side with a film of such thickness as to give its first order reflection maximum at 11 000A and its reflection minimum at 5500A, will reflect approximately 30 percent at 11 000A and 8 percent at 5500A. If the glass is coated on both sides, it will reflect in the neighborhood of 40 percent of the integrated infrared from a tungsten lamp operated at 2700°K, while it reflects only 8 percent at 5500A. A series of experiments with incandescent lamps was undertaken to determine the effect of such coatings applied to the bulbs. Uniform TiO2 coatings of the proper thickness were deposited on the inside and outside of clear spherical bulbs, and the light output measured from compact filaments when carefully centered inside a coated bulb and when centered in an uncoated bulb. It was found that, for a given power input, the light output from the coated bulb was as much as 20 percent higher than from the uncoated bulb. For the same light output, 10 percent less power input was required in the coated bulb. Because this result was obtained only when spherical nonfrosted bulbs with accurately centered small filaments were used, it is questionable whether this process will have any practical applications in connection with incandescent lamps.