cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dipole energy dissipation and nuclear spin diffusion in mixed-state superconducting vanadium

The decay of nuclear spin-spin energy has been studied in the mixed state of vanadium and anomalously rapid relaxation rates are found as compared to the rates for spin-lattice relaxation of Zeeman energy. The experiment was performed by adiabatically demagnetizing the spins in the rotating frame at a field larger than H/subc/$sub 2$ and then cycling the field to bring the sample into the mixed state for a variable time. The residual dipolar energy is detected, once the field is raised, by adiabatically remagnetizing the sample on resonance. I show that the relaxation observed, after the vortices are pinned, is due to a cross relaxation of a spin energy associated with the magnetic field gradients in the mixed state and the dipolar energy which is in semiequilibrium with the quadrupole energy. This process is mediated by a current of magnetization, proportional to the diffusion coefficient D, which is driven by the field gradients and uses dipolar energy as a heat sink. Using a field distribution in the mixed state calculated by Marcus, I find D = 2.8 +- 0.9 x 10$sup -12$ cm$sup 2$ sec$sup -1$ from the measurements of the relaxation rate of dipolar energy and of the quadrupolemore » system heat capacity. This measurement of D is the first for a metal or for nuclei with I > 1/2 and is twice the value predicted by the moment-moment calculation of Redfield and Yu. In the presence of large field gradien-ts, dynamic quenching of the diffusion is observed. (AIP)« less
Major groove width variations in RNA structures determined by NMR and impact of 13C residual chemical shift anisotropy and 1H–13C residual dipolar coupling on refinement

Ribonucleic acid structure determination by NMR spectroscopy relies primarily on local structural restraints provided by 1H– 1H NOEs and J-couplings. When employed loosely, these restraints are broadly compatible with A- and B-like helical geometries and give rise to calculated structures that are highly sensitive to the force fields employed during refinement. A survey of recently reported NMR structures reveals significant variations in helical parameters, particularly the major groove width. Although helical parameters observed in high-resolution X-ray crystal structures of isolated A-form RNA helices are sensitive to crystal packing effects, variations among the published X-ray structures are significantly smaller than those observed in NMR structures. Here we show that restraints derived from aromatic 1H– 13C residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) and residual chemical shift anisotropies (RCSAs) can overcome NMR restraint and force field deficiencies and afford structures with helical properties similar to those observed in high-resolution X-ray structures.
Output saturation in a 980-nm pumped erbium-doped fiber amplifier

A fiber amplifier model is developed which includes a finite lifetime for the pumped level. Pump excited state absorption (ESA) from the pumped level is also included. The model is solved numerically for a erbiumdoped fiber amplifier pumped at 980 nm. The signal output power at 1.5 microm is found to be limited by the finite lifetime of the (4)I(11/2); ESA of the pump from the (4)I(11/2) further limits the signal output. Lifetimes of the (4)I(11/2) were measured for Er(3+) in a series of oxide and fluoride glasses. Output saturation is most important in the fluoride based glasses, where the (4)I(11/2) lifetime is longest.
Extensions and Refinements of the Equipoise Concept in International Clinical Research: Would Benjamin Freedman Approve?

In his article “The Real Problem of Equipoise,” Chiong (2006) advances arguments that culminate in an assertion that the equipoise requirement “must be given uP′ if international clinical research ...
Improved postoperative pain control in pediatric adenotonsillectomy with dextromethorphan

Design A prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled protocol. Setting An academic, tertiary care referral center. Patients Forty randomly selected children, ages 3 to 13 years, scheduled for adenotonsillectomy without other simultaneous procedures. Intervention A single, oral dose of dextromethorphan pediatric cough syrup (1 mg/kg) or placebo given 30 minutes before surgery. Main Outcome Measure Total dose requirement of intravenous morphine within a 6-hour postoperative observation period. Results During routine postoperative observation, significantly fewer patients in the dextromethorphan group required no intravenous morphine compared with the placebo group (P = .03). Of those children requiring morphine, the mean dose requirement was significantly lower in the dextromethorphan group (P = .02). There was no known drug-related morbidity. Conclusion Dextromethorphan syrup is a safe, non-narcotic medication that significantly reduced the requirement of intravenous morphine after pediatric adenotonsillectomy. Its routine use in this manner is recommended.
Join strategies using data space partitioning

In the recent investigations of reducing the relational join operation complexity several hash-based partitioned-join stategies have been introduced. All of these strategies depend upon the costly operation of data space partitioning before the join can be carried out. We had previously introduced a partitioned-join based on a dynamic and order preserving multidimensional data organization called DYOP. The present study extends the earlier research on DYOP and constructs a simulation model. The simulation studies on DYOP and subsequent comparisons of all the partitioned-join methodologies including DYOP have proven that space utilization of DYOP improves with the increasing number of attributes. Furthermore, the DYOP based join outperforms all the hash-based methodologies by greatly reducing the total I/O bandwidth required for the entire partitioned-join operation. The comparison model is independent of the architectural issues such as multiprocessing, multiple disk usage, and large memory availability all of which help to further increase the efficiency of the operation.
Deceptive message processing: The role of attachment style and verbal intimacy markers in deceptive message judgments

Accuracy in detecting deception has been the focus of much research, and arguably this work has produced few firm conclusions about factors that increase or reduce detection accuracy. Consequently, this research explores factors that influence judgments about message deceptiveness. Results indicate that secure and anxious‐ambivalent respondents rated messages as more truthful in the presence of intimacy markers, whereas avoidant‐fearful and dismissing respondents were relatively likely to perceive the same messages as deceptive. Various consequences of this outcome are discussed, including implications for research on the truth‐bias heuristic.
Fuzzy clustering of CPP family in plants with evolution and interaction analyses

Transcription factors have been studied intensively because they play an important role in gene expression regulation. However, the transcription factors in the CPP family (cystein-rich polycomb-like protein), compared with other transcription factor families, have not received sufficient attention, despite their wide prevalence in a broad spectrum of species, from plants to animals. The total number of known CPP transcription factors in plants is 111 from 16 plants, but only 2 of them have been studied so far, namely TSO1 and CPP1 in Arabidopsis thaliana and soybean, respectively. In this work, to study their functions, we applied the fuzzy clustering method to all plant CPP transcription factors. The feature vector of each protein sequence for the fuzzy clustering method is encoded by the short length peptides and the combination of functional domain models. With the fuzzy clustering method, all plant CPP transcription factors are grouped into two subfamilies. A systems approach, including Expressed Sequence Tag analysis, evolutionary analysis, protein-protein interaction network analysis and co-expression analysis, is employed to validate the clustering results, the results of which also indicates that the transcription factors from different subfamilies show uncorrelated responses.
Stretched-exponential relaxation in the three-dimensional short-range Ising spin-glass Cu 0.5 Co 0.5 Cl 2 -FeCl 3 graphite bi-intercalation compound

${\text{Cu}}_{0.5}{\text{Co}}_{0.5}{\text{Cl}}_{2}{\text{-FeCl}}_{3}$ graphite bi-intercalation compound is a three-dimensional short-range spin glass with a spin freezing temperature ${T}_{\text{SG}}$ $(=3.92\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.11\text{ }\text{K})$. The time evolution of the zero-field-cooled magnetization ${M}_{\text{ZFC}}(t)$ has been measured under various combinations of wait time $({t}_{w})$, temperature $(T)$, temperature shift $(\ensuremath{\Delta}T)$, and magnetic field $(H)$. The relaxation rate ${S}_{\text{ZFC}}(t)$ $[=(1/H)d{M}_{\text{ZFC}}(t)/d\text{ }\text{ln}\text{ }t]$ shows a peak at a peak time ${t}_{\text{cr}}$. The shape of ${S}_{\text{ZFC}}(t)$ in the vicinity of ${t}_{\text{cr}}$ is well described by stretched exponential relaxation (SER). The SER exponent $b$ and the SER relaxation time ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\text{SER}}$ are determined as a function of ${t}_{w}$, $T$, $H$, and $\ensuremath{\Delta}T$. The value of $b$ at $T={T}_{\text{SG}}$ is nearly equal to 0.3. There is a correlation between ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{\text{SER}}$ and $1/b$, irrespective of the values of ${t}_{w}$, $T$, $H$, and $\ensuremath{\Delta}T$. These features can be well explained in terms of a simple relaxation model for glassy dynamics.
Enhancing Vehicle Stability Through Model Predictive Control

Vehicle stability control systems have been widely and accurately cited as a significant influence in reducing the rate of severe injuries and fatalities in automotive crashes. However, these systems are purely reactive, providing additional control input only after undesired vehicle behavior is sensed. This paper presents a new approach to controlling the motion of a vehicle in highly dynamic situations. This approach solves a convex optimization problem over a finite time horizon to predict and prevent these hazardous situations. Thus, the controller determines input that simultaneously tracks the driver’s intended trajectory while preventing tire saturation. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of this control approach.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Coordinated awareness of situation by teams (CAST): Measuring team situation awareness of a communication glitch

A coordination-based measure of team situation awareness is presented and contrasted with knowledge-based measurement. The measure is applied to team awareness of a communication channel failure (g...
Specific Immunosuppression in Cardiac Allografting Using Antithymocyte Sera and Soluble Transplantation Antigen

Abstract Two techniques of specific immunosuppression, using antithymocyte globulin (ATG) alone and in combination with soluble transplantation antigen (STA) prior to treatment, were studied in heterotopic outbred canine cardiac allografts. Both techniques resulted in prolonged survival of dogs having cardiac allografts with a low incidence of infections and drug toxicity complications as compared to animals treated with Prednisone and Imuran. This study demonstrates the ability of short-course ATG treatment to produce long-term (greater than 2 to 3 months) cardiac allograft survival without chronic immunosuppression. Combined ATG and STA pretreatment gave the longest allograft survival (mean, 93 days) in a small group of animals. This improved allograft survival, associated with a reduction in infections and drug toxicity complications, suggests that these techniques of specific immunosuppression may have the potential for improving survival and reducing the complications of immunosuppressive therapy following cardiac transplantation.
Diagnostic performance of MRI and MR myelography in infants with a brachial plexus birth injury.

Detailed evaluation of a brachial plexus birth injury is important for treatment planning. To determine the diagnostic performance of MRI and MR myelography in infants with a brachial plexus birth injury. Included in the study were 31 children with perinatal brachial plexus injury who underwent surgical intervention. All patients had cervical and brachial plexus MRI. The standard of reference was the combination of intraoperative (1) surgical evaluation and (2) electrophysiological studies (motor evoked potentials, MEP, and somatosensory evoked potentials, SSEP), and (3) the evaluation of histopathological neuronal loss. MRI findings of cord lesion, pseudomeningocele, and post-traumatic neuroma were correlated with the standard of reference. Diagnostic performance characteristics including sensitivity and specificity were determined. From June 2001 to March 2004, 31 children (mean age 7.3 months, standard deviation 1.6 months, range 4.8–12.1 months; 19 male, 12 female) with a brachial plexus birth injury who underwent surgical intervention were enrolled. Sensitivity and specificity of an MRI finding of post-traumatic neuroma were 97% (30/31) and 100% (31/31), respectively, using the contralateral normal brachial plexus as the control. However, MRI could not determine the exact anatomic area (i.e. trunk or division) of the post-traumatic brachial plexus neuroma injury. Sensitivity and specificity for an MRI finding of pseudomeningocele in determining exiting nerve injury were 50% and 100%, respectively, using MEP, and 44% and 80%, respectively, using SSEP as the standard of reference. MRI in infants could not image well the exiting nerve roots to determine consistently the presence or absence of definite avulsion. In children younger than 18 months with brachial plexus injury, the MRI finding of pseudomeningocele has a low sensitivity and a high specificity for nerve root avulsion. MRI and MR myelography cannot image well the exiting nerve roots to determine consistently the presence or absence of avulsion of nerve roots. The MRI finding of post-traumatic neuroma has a high sensitivity and specificity in determining the side of the brachial plexus injury but cannot reveal the exact anatomic area (i.e. trunk or division) involved. The information obtained is, however, useful to the surgeon during intraoperative evaluation of spinal nerve integrity for reconstruction.
The Mind's Ear

Abstract Pongioli's blowing, and the scraping of the anonymous fiddlers had shaken the air in the great hall. This moved the air in Lord Edward's membrana tympani; the interlocked malleus, incus, and stirrup bones were set in motion so as to agitate the membrana of the oval window and raise an infinitesimal storm in the fluid of the labyrinth. The hairy endings of the auditory nerve shuddered like weeds in a rough sea; a vast number of obscure miracles were performed in the brain, and Lord Edward ecstatically whispered ‘Bach!’—Aldous Huxley, Point Counterpoint Music is the supreme mystery of human knowledge.—Claude Levi-Strauss
Copper deficiency after gastric surgery: a reason for caution.

Abstract Background Acquired copper deficiency in adults leads to hematological and neurological manifestations that mimic vitamin B12 deficiency. A significant number of patients with copper deficiency syndrome have a history of gastric surgery, often remote. We sought to determine whether copper deficiency is present in a population of individuals with longstanding partial gastric resection. Methods Serum copper, ceruloplasmin, and zinc levels were determined in 20 patients with a history of partial gastric resection and 50 controls, randomly selected from the Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center electronic database. Results Hypocupremia and symptoms of copper deficiency were detected in patients with partial gastric resection in contrast to controls (3/20 versus 0/50, P = 0.02). Serum copper and ceruloplasmin levels were significantly lower in individuals with partial gastric resection than in controls ( P = 0.04 and P = 0.001, respectively). The mean interval between gastric surgery and testing was 20.7 years. Conclusions Our results indicate that a significant number of individuals with longstanding history of partial gastric resection have undiagnosed hypocupremia. Screening for copper deficiency after gastric surgery may prevent the development of hematological and neurological complications in these patients.
Natural and synthetic intense sweeteners

Abstract Two types of intense sweeteners are available: natural sweeteners of plant origin and artificial or synthetic sweeteners. The sweeteners from natural sources with potential for commercial use include perillaldehyde, stevioside, rabaudioside, glycyrrhizin, osladin, thaumatins, and monellin. The compound miraculin, although not sweet, has the property of modifying the taste of sour food into a delightfully sweet taste. The artificial sweeteners currently in use in this country are saccharin, aspartame, and acesulfame K. In addition, sucralose, alitame, and several other sugar substitutes are in various stages of development. Although these compounds provide sweetness with minimal or no calories, some studies suggest that they may induce insulin secretion and a rise in appetite. The long-term effect of these sweeteners on weight gain and insulin secretion among various groups of the population needs to be studied.
Subwavelength silicon microcavities.

We present a study of the first silicon microdisk resonators which are smaller than the free-space resonant wavelength in all spatial dimensions. Spectral details of whispering gallery modes with azimuthal mode number m = 4-7 are measured in microdisks with diameters between 1.35 and 1.89μm and are studied at wavelengths from 1.52 to 1.62μm. For the structures considered here, m = 5 is the highest azimuthal mode order in a subwavelength cavity and has measured Q = 1250. These results agree well with theoretical calculations using a finite difference frequency domain method and fit an exponential scaling law relating Q to disk radius via m.
Nature of interfacial interaction mechanisms between polyacrylic acid macromolecules and oxide metal surfaces

The mechanism for the adhesion of polyacrylic acid (PAA) coatings to oxidized metal surfaces has been studied. The work entailed studies of the mechanical and chemical interactions occurring at the interfaces between PAA polyelectrolyte macromolecules and iron (III) orthophosphate dihydrate or zinc phosphate hydrate (hopeite) crystalline films that were deposited on the metal surfaces. With respect to mechanical interactions, it was determined that the surface topography of the highly crystallized hopeite layers consisted of an open microstructure. This resulted in enhanced wettability of the oxide film by the polyelectrolyte macromolecules, thereby increasing the mechanical interlocking bond forces. Studies of the interfacial chemical reactions indicated that the conformation changes in the PAA macromolecules relate directly to the frequency of the magnitude of acid-base and divalent metallic ion crosslinking interactions between the proton-donating pendent COOH groups in PAA molecules and polar OH groups at hydrated oxide surface sites. Namely, the presence of numerous free nucleophilic ions existing on the deposited oxide film leads to a substantial increase in the coil-up and entanglement macromolecule density. These entangled complex macromolecules at the interfaces result in a decrease in the degree of chemisorption at the oxide film surfaces, whereas regularly oriented COOH groups produce strong interfacial chemisorption with the polar OH groups. Since the polyelectrolyte macromolecules have hydrophilic pendent COOH groups, the polymer structure which appears best for use as an adhesive and coating should have only enough hydrophilic COOH groups to occupy all available polar OH groups at the oxide metal surface sites.
Universal pinch off of rods by capillarity-driven surface diffusion

Interfacial energy is a central factor in setting the morphology of phases and in determining the stability of equilibrium morphologies. here the authors examine the morphological evolution of a rod via capillary-driven surface diffusion as it both approaches and departs the topological singularity of pinch off. During the final stages of pinching the neck radius approaches zero, and self-similar solutions are sought. The authors have derived local similarity solutions for the axisymmetric pinch off of rods when the morphological evolution is by capillarity-driven surface diffusion. These local solutions describe the approach to and departure from the topological singularity where a rod pinches into two separate bodies. During pinching, the self-similar surface profile far away from the neck approaches two opposing cones with a unique half-cone angle of 46.04{degree}. It is thus likely that all rods must pinch off with this cone angle. This assertion is supported by several numerical simulations. After pinch off, the smoothening of the cone tip is again self-similar. The results obtained here for rods also apply to the pinch off of cylindrical pore channels.
Modeling the kinetics of cooking and precooking potatoes

This research investigated the kinetics of cooking potatoes over the temperature range in which starch gelatinizes. A back extrusion texture test was used to measure cookedness. By correlating the data with that of other researchers using different texture tests and potato varieties, we present a unified model of cooking which is first order, independent of variety, and applies to both cooking and gelatinization over the temperature range of 74°C to 100°C.
Evidence for a phase transition in Bis(tetrathiotetracene) triiodide

Abstract The specific heat of bis(tetrathiotetracene) triiodide has been measured from 20 to 65 K using thermal relaxation methods. An anomaly is observed at 50 K which is consistent with a mean field theory for a Peierls transition.
The impact of exposure categorisation for grouped analyses of cohort data.

Background: Poisson regression is routinely used in occupational and environmental epidemiology. For typical Poisson regression analyses, person-time and events are tabulated by categorising predictor variables that were originally measured on a continuous scale. In order to estimate a dose-response trend, a researcher must decide how to categorise exposures and how to assign scores to exposure groups. Aims: To investigate the impact on regression results of decisions about exposure categorisation and score assignment. Methods: Cohort data were generated by Monte Carlo simulation methods. Exposure categories were defined by quintiles or deciles of the exposure distribution. Scores were assigned to exposure groups based on category midpoint and mean exposure levels. Estimated exposure-disease trends derived via Poisson regression were compared to the “true” association specified for the simulation. Results: Under the assumption that exposures conform to a lognormal or exponential distribution, trend estimates tend to be negatively biased when scores are assigned based on category midpoints and positively biased when scores are assigned based on cell specific mean values. The degree of bias was greater when exposure categories were defined by quintiles of the exposure distribution than when categories were defined by deciles of the exposure distribution. Conclusions: The routine practice of exposure categorisation and score assignment introduces exposure misclassification that may be differential with respect to disease status and, consequently, lead to biased exposure-disease trend estimates. When using the Poisson regression method to evaluate exposure-disease trends, such problems can be minimised (but not necessarily eliminated) by forming relatively refined exposure categories based on percentiles of the exposure distribution among cases, and by assigning scores to exposure categories that reflect person-time weighted mean exposure levels.
Equipment for Inhalant Anesthesia

When used properly, anesthesia machines, breathing systems, anesthesia ventilators, and ancillary equipment allow the safe and efficient use of the inhalant anesthetics. Several veterinary anesthesia machines and ventilators have been introduced over the last few years. This article includes a discussion of some of these new pieces of anesthesia equipment, with particular emphasis on changes and innovations in the design of the equipment. In addition, principles of use and care of various anesthetic equipment is included where appropriate.
Study on evolution of gases from fluoropolymer films bombarded with heavy ions

Ion beam bombardment provides a unique way of material modification by inducing a high degree of localized electronic excitation. The ion track, or affected volume along the ion path through the material is related to the total damage and possible structural changes. Here we study the evolution of gases emitted by poly(tetrafluorethylene-co-perfluoro-(propyl vinyl ether)) (PFA) fluoropolymer bombarded with MeV gold ions. The gas was monitored by a residual gas analyzer (RGA), as a function of the ion fluence. Micro-Raman, atomic force microscopy and optical absorption were used to analyze the chemical structure changes and sputtering yield.
Bulk versus boundary dynamics in anti–de Sitter spacetime

We investigate the details of the bulk-boundary correspondence in Lorentzian signature anti--de Sitter space. Operators in the boundary theory couple to sources identified with the boundary values of non-normalizable bulk modes. Such modes do not fluctuate and provide classical backgrounds on which bulk excitations propagate. Normalizable modes in the bulk arise as a set of saddlepoints of the action for a fixed boundary condition. They fluctuate and describe the Hilbert space of physical states. We provide an explicit, complete set of both types of modes for free scalar fields in global and Poincar\'e coordinates. For ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{3},$ the normalizable and non-normalizable modes originate in the possible representations of the isometry group $\mathrm{SL}(2,R{)}_{L}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathrm{SL}(2,R{)}_{R}$ for a field of given mass. We discuss the group properties of mode solutions in both global and Poincar\'e coordinates and their relation to different expansions of operators on the cylinder and on the plane. Finally, we discuss the extent to which the boundary theory is a useful description of the bulk spacetime.
Proximal probe characterization of nanoscale charge transport properties in Co/SiO 2 multilayer structures

We have used scanning force microscopy to study localized charge injection and subsequent charge transport in discontinuous Co/SiO2 multilayer structures. Charge was injected by applying a bias voltage pulse between a conductive proximal probe tip and the sample. Electrostatic force microscopy was used to image charged areas, to determine quantitatively the amount of stored charge, and to characterize charge transport. Charge was deposited controllably and reproducibly within areas ∼20–50 nm in radius and an exponential decay in the peak charge was observed. The decay times were observed to be dependent on the nominal Co film thickness and on the sign of the deposited charge, with longer decay times for positive charge than for negative charge. These results are interpreted as a consequence of Coulomb-blockade effects, considering charge transport both within the Co layer as well as from the Co layer into the Si substrate.
Random matrix model for chiral symmetry breaking.

We formulate a random matrix model which mimics the chiral phase transition in QCD with two light flavors. Two critical exponents are calculated. We obtain the mean-field values {beta}=1/2 and {delta}=3. We also find that the chiral phase transition can be characterized by the dynamics of the smallest eigenvalue of the Dirac operator. This suggests an alternative order parameter which may be of relevance for lattice QCD simulations. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
The effect of finite‐amplitude baroclinic waves on passive, low‐level, atmospheric constituents, with applications to comma cloud evolution

The redistribution of a low-level, passive constituent of the atmosphere under the influence of a growing baroclinic wave is examined by a series of analytical calculations based on a two-level, highly truncated model. It is shown that a constituent confined to the lower half of the atmosphere, and initially homogeneous in the horizontal, will tend to achieve maximum concentration in the low pressure/warm sector portion of the wave and minimum concentration in the high pressure/cold outbreak region with sharpest gradient between the maxima and minima roughly coinciding with the cold front. This distribution is further accentuated if an initial meridional gradient of the constituent exists. If we assume, as a rough first approximation, that water vapor can be considered to be such a passive constituent, it is shown that the implied relative humidity field and cloud distribution will tend to evolve into the comma-type form commonly observed on satellite images of mid-latitude cyclone waves. Moreover, the solution is shown to replicate the complex flow regime associated with the comma formation, elucidating the dynamical roles of vertical motion and advection in the cloud evolution.DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0870.1985.tb00269.x
A new treatment for patients with short-bowel syndrome. Growth hormone, glutamine, and a modified diet

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to initially determine if growth hormone or nutrients, given alone or together, could enhance absorption from the remnant small bowel after massive intestinal resection. If clinical improvement were observed, this therapy would then be used to treat patients with the short-bowel syndrome over the long term. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Patients who undergo extensive resection of the gastrointestinal tract frequently develop malabsorption and require long-term parenteral nutrition. The authors hypothesized that the administration of growth factors and/or nutrients could enhance further compensation of the remnant intestine and thereby improve absorption. Specifically, animal studies have shown that there is enhanced cellularity with the administration of growth hormone (GH) or glutamine (GLN), or a fiber-containing diet. METHODS: Initially, 17 studies were performed in 15 total parenteral nutrition (TPN)-dependent short-bowel patients over 3 to 4 weeks in the clinical research center; the first week served as a control period, and during the next 1 to 3 weeks, the specific treatment was administered and evaluated. Throughout the study, food of known composition was provided and all stool was collected and analyzed to determine absorption across the remaining bowel. The effect of a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet (DIET), the amino acid glutamine (GLN) and growth hormone (GH) administered alone or in combination with the other therapies (GH + GLN + DIET) was evaluated. The treatment was expanded to 47 adults (25 men, 22 women) with the short-bowel syndrome, dependent on TPN for 6 +/- 1 years. The average age was 46 +/- 2 years, and the average jejunal-ileal length was 50 +/- 7 cm (median 35 cm) in those with all or a portion of colon and 102 +/- 24 cm (median 102 cm) in those with no colon. After 28 days of therapy, the patients were discharged on only GLN + DIET. RESULTS: The initial balance studies indicated improvement in absorption of protein by 39% accompanied by a 33% decrease in stool output with the GH + GLN + DIET. In the long-term study, 40% of the group remain off TPN and an additional 40% have reduced their TPN requirements, with follow-up averaging a year and the longest being over 5 years. CONCLUSION: GH + GLN + DIET offers a potential method for providing cost-effective rehabilitation of surgical patients who have the short-bowel syndrome or other complex problems of the gastrointestinal tract. This therapeutic combination also may be useful to enhance bowel function in patients with other gastrointestinal diseases and those requiring extensive intestinal operations, including transplantation.
Weak and strong interaction in the standing wave model

Young's modulusE of the particle material in the standing wave model of the stable elementary particles has been investigated using an exact analogy to Born's model of cubic crystals. The potential of the weak neutral force which holds the particles together has been determined using the known compression modulus of the nucleon and the known range of the weak nuclear force. It has been found that the attractive and repulsive terms in the potential are very nearly equal. From the size of the nucleon and the range of the weak force follows the number of lattice points in the particle, and consequently the mass of the lattice points. It appears that the lattice is made up of neutrinos and antineutrinos. The strong force that acts over short distances between two separate particles has been studied in analogy to the investigation of Born and Stern of the surface energy of crystals. It follows that Young's modulusE of the particle material is proportional to the strong force that emanates from the surface of cubic crystals. In our model the strong attractive force between two particles results from all unsaturated weak forces at the surface of the crystal lattice.
Skeletal aging and the adipocyte program: New insights from an "old" molecule.

Aging is associated with profound changes in bone mass and body composition. Emerging evidence supports the hypothesis that alterations in mesenchymal stromal cell fate are a critical etiologic factor. In addition, timekeeping at the cellular level is affected as aging progresses, particularly in the adipocyte. In this Extra View we discuss the interactive role of three molecules, PPARγ, nocturnin and IGF-I, in regulating stem cell fate in the marrow and the potential implications of this network for understanding cellular aging.
Stoichiometry of Heparin Binding to Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) strongly bind to heparin and are thereby stabilized against deactivation and proteolytic cleavage. We have investigated the interactions of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) with low- and high-molecular-weight heparin using size exclusion chromatography with on-line light scattering, absorbance, and refractive index detection. When heparin-bFGF mixtures with excess heparin are chromatographed using eluant that does not contain heparin, essentially all the protein is seen to elute as a complex with the heparin, indicating strong binding such that the complex does not dissociate significantly during chromatography (approximately 20 min). Combining the data from the light scattering, absorbance, and refractive index chromatograms allows us to determine the molecular weight of the protein component of the complex, and therefore to measure the number of bFGF molecules bound per heparin. A series of samples were prepared with a constant concentration of bFGF and variable amounts of a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH, M(r) = approximately 5000). At bFGF: heparin ratios above 1.5, a mix of complexes containing 3, 2, and 1 bFGF molecules is observed, with an average of 2.2 bFGF molecules per complex. Since the amount of bFGF incorporated into complexes implies an average of 2.5 +/- 0.3 bFGF molecules per heparin, there is only one heparin molecule per complex. The coexistence of complexes of different size when bFGF is in excess implies that the LMWH molecules are heterogeneous with respect to their ability to bind bFGF. When a high-molecular-weight heparin (HMWH, M(r) = 15,000) is used, complexes averaging 6.3 bFGF molecules per HMWH molecule are seen, while the overall amount of bFGF appearing in complexes implies six to seven sites per HMWH. These data show that the protein molecules can be packed very closely together. Both types of heparin give a heparin mass of 2300 Da per bFGF binding site, which corresponds approximately to an octasaccharide.
Goals and Trade-offs in Foreign Policy Decision Making

A Theory of Foreign Policy. By Glenn Palmer, T. Clifton Morgan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. 224 pp., $35.00 (ISBN: 0-691-12359-4). Glenn Palmer and T. Clifton Morgan's A Theory of Foreign Policy is an ambitious work that attempts to explain not only specific state actions but also general patterns of state behavior. Palmer and Morgan frame their theory of foreign policy as an alternative to and improvement on realism, which they argue is underspecified due to its preoccupation with power. Focusing only on relative power ignores the possible trade-offs between foreign policy goals, which, Palmer and Morgan argue, drive the behavior of states. A Theory of Foreign Policy , however, makes a variety of contributions beyond the debate between grand theories. The book also makes important theoretical and empirical contributions to work on foreign policy substitution (which examines the trade-offs between different foreign policy strategies) as well as to work on particular foreign policy strategies—such as foreign aid, conflict and, in particular, alliances. Such wide applicability results from Palmer and Morgan's inclusion of a variety of foreign policy strategies within a single theoretical model of decision making. The core of A Theory of Foreign Policy is a parsimonious theoretical model that incorporates a wide variety of foreign policy behaviors. Palmer and Morgan argue that foreign policy is generally aimed at producing two distinct goods: change and maintenance. It is assumed that a variety of issues are important to states, and that states work to both alter the status quo toward their preferred policy on some issues (that is, change) and resist changes in the status quo if it reflects their preferred policy (that is, maintenance). In the …
Gender Differences in the Economic Well-Being of Nonaged Adults in the United States

SUMMARY The attainment of economic parity between men and women has been a focal point of the women's movements in many countries. How much worse off are women economically? What are the net, gender differences in economic well-being when other factors are taken into account? What factors explain the level of economic well-being of women compared to men's? This article reports the results of a study of the gender differences in the economic well-being of women and men in the United States from 1969 to 1999. The major findings are that the gender differential in economic well-being widened during these decades; women's economic well-being was more adversely affected by non-married status than men's; the increasing educational attainment of women offset the adverse effect of marital dissolution on them; and women continued to pay a higher price for caring for children than did men. Implications for policy are discussed.
Multi‐trial recognition memory: Proactive versus retroactive interferences within a single list

Both results and interpretations are conflicting concerning proactive or retroactive interferences that may be generated by individual items upon other items within a single recognition list. In an attempt to explore a factor that may assist in reconciling varied findings, each of the three present lists consisting of either CVCs, two-digits, or words, respectively, was presented via half-lists on multi-study and -test cycles. Two half-lists were given in such a way that both sublists experienced the same number of intervening events in the mean retention interval, but differing ones in the composition of mean retroactive study and test events. Sixty male and female undergraduates participated. In contrast to small proactive study event interference, both retroactive study and retroactive test events did control recognition performances in an intriguing manner: Relative interferences generated by retroactive study events were weaker early in acquisition, but gained strength as learning progressed, and at late acquisition stages became quite powerful vis-a-vis retroactive test events. Thus, the acquisition stage seems to be a relevant factor in determining recognition performance.
Business Statistics Education: Content and Software in Undergraduate Business Statistics Courses

Abstract This study surveyed 500 institutions of higher education in the United States for data on their course content and software use. In undergraduate Business Statistics I courses, the most prevalent topics covered were data analysis, probability, sampling distributions, estimation, means and hypothesis testing; the most popular software by far was Minitab. In Business Statistics II courses, regression analysis, hypothesis testing, time series, and forecasting are most important. Minitab, SAS, Execustat, and ASP were the prevailing software. Most schools of business require both Business Statistics I and II for all students. We present further findings regarding course requirements and content.
Interaction of biocontrol fungi with sublethal rates of metham sodium for control of Verticillium dahliae

Abstract Two methods were used to expose microsclerotia of V. dahliae to various rates of metham sodium ranging up to 935 l ha −1 . When microsclerotia were entrapped in a single layer of nylon mesh, buried in nonsterile soil and exposed to metham sodium, radial growth from the microsclerotia was reduced by rates as low as 93.5 l ha −1 of metham sodium. When microsclerotia were enclosed inside a nylon mesh envelope, buried in soil and exposed to metham sodium, growth rate was not affected by 1871 l ha −1 . The biocontrol fungi Gliocladium roseum and Talaromyces flavus were incorporated into alginate prill, buried in soil and exposed to metham sodium. Growth rate of G. roseum from prill was reduced by 187 and 935 l ha −1 metham sodium while growth rate of T. flavus was not affected by either rate of the fumigant. In a greenhouse test in field soil, infection of eggplant by V. dahliae was not reduced by 187 l ha −1 of metham sodium, but was reduced with 187 l ha −1 plus either biocontrol fungus. The combined effect of the sublethal rate of the fumigant with either biocontrol fungus was additive for reduction of disease incidence as was the sublethal rate of the fumigant with both biocontrol fungi together.
An Evolution-Based Approach to De Novo Protein Design and Case Study on Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Computational protein design is a reverse procedure of protein folding and structure prediction, where constructing structures from evolutionarily related proteins has been demonstrated to be the most reliable method for protein 3-dimensional structure prediction. Following this spirit, we developed a novel method to design new protein sequences based on evolutionarily related protein families. For a given target structure, a set of proteins having similar fold are identified from the PDB library by structural alignments. A structural profile is then constructed from the protein templates and used to guide the conformational search of amino acid sequence space, where physicochemical packing is accommodated by single-sequence based solvation, torsion angle, and secondary structure predictions. The method was tested on a computational folding experiment based on a large set of 87 protein structures covering different fold classes, which showed that the evolution-based design significantly enhances the foldability and biological functionality of the designed sequences compared to the traditional physics-based force field methods. Without using homologous proteins, the designed sequences can be folded with an average root-mean-square-deviation of 2.1 A to the target. As a case study, the method is extended to redesign all 243 structurally resolved proteins in the pathogenic bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is the second leading cause of death from infectious disease. On a smaller scale, five sequences were randomly selected from the design pool and subjected to experimental validation. The results showed that all the designed proteins are soluble with distinct secondary structure and three have well ordered tertiary structure, as demonstrated by circular dichroism and NMR spectroscopy. Together, these results demonstrate a new avenue in computational protein design that uses knowledge of evolutionary conservation from protein structural families to engineer new protein molecules of improved fold stability and biological functionality.
Tertiary Gleason Pattern 5 is a Powerful Predictor of Biochemical Relapse in Patients With Gleason Score 7 Prostatic Adenocarcinoma

Purpose: In radical prostatectomy specimens Gleason score 7 is among the most commonly assigned scores for prostate carcinoma accounting for 30% to 50% of cases. Gleason score 7 is different from other more differentiated prostate carcinomas (tumors of Gleason scores 5 and 6) with a significantly worse outcome and higher rate of recurrence. Nonetheless, Gleason score 7 tumors are heterogeneous. In this study we examined the differences in clinical outcome between primary Gleason grade 3 and 4 tumors in patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, and determined the influence of tertiary Gleason pattern 5 on patient outcome.Materials and Methods: A total of 504 patients underwent radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer and 228 of the patients (45%) had a Gleason score of 7. Cases were analyzed for a variety of clinical and pathological parameters. The influence of primary Gleason pattern and tertiary Gleason pattern 5 on patient outcome was assessed in the Cox regression model.Results: Among 228 patient...
Increased dosage of the MSN1 gene restores invertase expression in yeast mutants defective in the SNF1 protein kinase.

Abstract The SNF1 protein kinase is required for expression of the invertase gene in response to glucose deprivation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We selected for genes that in multicopy suppress the invertase defect of temperature-sensitive snf1 mutants. Increased dosage of the MSN1 gene restores high-level, regulated invertase expression in snf1-ts mutants, and disruption of MSN1 in the wild type reduces invertase expression a fewfold. MSN1 gene dosage does not affect SNF1 protein kinase activity in vitro. MSN1 encodes a 43-kilodalton protein, and a MSN1-beta-galactosidase fusion protein was localized in the nucleus. A LexA-MSN1 fusion protein, when bound to a lexA operator, activates transcription of an adjacent promoter. In vitro synthesized MSN1 protein exhibits weak, nonspecific DNA-binding activity.
Rate distortion in the modal estimation of switching FIR linear systems

This paper is about the mode estimation of randomly switching linear systems. We follow up on previous results, where we posed the problem in a way which is well fitted for a worst-case analysis. The aforementioned investigation relies on a divergence measure and several other quantities, such as the entropy rate of the mode switching as well as the power ratio between the system's excitation and the measurement noise. In this article we ascribe a natural interpretation to such divergence measure, while establishing a connection to rate-distortion theory. We also explore why and in what form estimation fidelity is affected by the entropy rate of the mode switching. Additionally, this analysis suggests that such entropy rate must be regarded as a fundamental quantity in the determination of the estimation fidelity.