cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is improved high speed performance following frusemide administration due to diuresis‐induced weight loss or reduced severity of exercise‐induced pulmonary haemorrhage?

Summary Reasons for performing study: Prerace administration of frusemide to horses has been linked with a significant improvement in racing performance, but the basis for this improvement is unclear. Objective: To test whether improved performance with prerace administration of frusemide is due to the drug's diuresis-induced weight loss rather than its apparent alleviation of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH). Methods: Eight thoroughbred horses underwent 3 trials in a random order, 2 or 3 weeks apart: control (C), frusemide/unburdened (FU), and frusemide/burdened (FB). None of the horses were known to have exhibited post-exercise epistaxis or endoscopic evidence of EIPH. Endoscope-guided bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs) were performed before and after each horse completed a standardised exercise test (SET) on an inclined treadmill to assess semi-quantitatively the volume of EIPH. For C, horses received an i.v. saline placebo injection (5 ml) and were unburdened while performing the SET. With FU, horses received frusemide (0.5 mg/kg) and were also unburdened. For FB, horses received frusemide and were burdened with weight equal to that lost during the 4 h post frusemide injection period. Erythrocyte number in BAL fluid, mass specific VO2max, time and distance for the entire SET as well as at maximum speed were recorded. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted on all results. Results: Mass specific VO2max was significantly higher for the FU than for FB or C. Mass specific VO2max for FB and C were not different. More RBCs were found in BAL samples after C runs than after both FU and FB trial runs. Horses with the frusemide treatment (either burdened or unburdened) produced less EIPH than in the C trial, but their mass specific VO2max values were higher on the FU trial alone. For FU, horses ran longer at 115% VO2max than under C or FB conditions. Conclusion and potential relevance: Improvement of performance in the furosemide trials was due more to the weight-loss related effects of the drug than its apparent alleviation of EIPH. Further research is warranted with the same or similar project design, but with a larger sample size and with horses known to have more severe EIPH.
Deterministic chaos and historical geomorphology: A review and look forward

The study of nonlinear dynamics in geomorphology has been dominated by analytical techniques derived largely from other fields. Ultimately, however, confronting nonlinear complexity requires problematizing from within a geomorphological context. This paper focuses on deterministic chaos. The major classes of techniques for detecting chaos in geomorphic systems are reviewed. While the long time series most amenable to traditional methods of chaos detection are only occasionally available to geomorphologists, there are methods for detecting chaos in spatial data, including qualitative and categorical data. Many of these are similar to, or are adaptations of, familiar techniques for partitioning within- and between-unit variation, and for identifying elementary uniform landscape units. The manifestations of chaos in landforms and landscapes take the form of divergent vs. convergent evolution (increasing vs. decreasing irregularity), disproportionality vs. proportionality of response to perturbations or initial variations, and the (lack of) geographical consistency or commonality of response. These also serve as criteria for distinguishing between achievement of a new steady-state and unstable divergence in interpreting geomorphic changes. Study of nonlinear dynamics in earth science need not be dominated by theoreticians and modellers, as complex nonlinear behaviors can be identified and diagnosed using the types of data, observations, and methods typically available to geomorphologists. Even more important is the need to further inform the study of nonlinear dynamics on the basis of field-based geomorphology.
An Experimental Test of “The Mozart Effect”: Does Listening to His Music Improve Spatial Ability?:

This experiment was designed as a test of the 1993 findings of Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky who reported a positive effect of listening to classical music on spatial reasoning. Present results do not demonstrate the "Mozart effect." In our study, 114 students were pretested on items from the Raven's Progressive Matrices--Advanced Form, then instructed to listen to either 8 min. of Mozart's music, relaxation instructions, or silence. Then subjects were posttested on an equivalent set of Raven's items. The subjects were also asked to provide information about their musical background and preferences. All instructions and treatments were audiotaped and played to individual subjects through earphones in the university language laboratory, ensuring standardization of procedures. Subjects in all 3 treatment groups showed a practice effect, but this improvement in Raven's scores was not dependent on the type of treatment received. There were no differences in Raven's scores among groups before or after treatment so our results do not confirm the prior ones. There was no evidence that the brief music had a different effect on subsequent problem solving according to listeners' musical background and training.
Noise in passively mode-locked lasers

For the first time, phase fluctuations in the spectral intensity of the pulse train generated by passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers have been measured. The results reveal diffusion-like fluctuations of this phase. The timing jitter fluctuations were also measured, and, in contrast, have a correlation time which is much longer than the repetition time.
Aromatase inhibition depresses ultrasound production and copulation in male hamsters.

Abstract Rates of ultrasound production and copulatory behavior were observed in castrated male hamsters maintained on 100 μg/day of injected testosterone propionate (TP). Groups matched on their initial levels of behavior received either continued treatment with TP alone, or TP together with 6 mg/day injections of the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD). Testing at 11–15 days after the start of these treatments revealed deficits in the sexual behaviors of the subjects in the latter group. Specifically, these males showed lower rates of ultrasound production and intromission during, as opposed to before, treatment with ATD. These results support previous work suggesting that aromatization plays significant roles in the mediation of androgenic effects on both the courtship and copulatory behaviors of male hamsters.
Biomechanical and haptic factors in the temporal patterning of limb and speech activity

Abstract This paper describes two ways in which events occuring in the peripheral musculoskeletal apparatus can shape or alter the temporal structure of ongoing movements. First, the biomechanical properties of a simulated, two-joint arm are shown to play a formative role in the creation of rhythmic, modal movement patterns. These patterns are interpreted as mutual entrainment phenomena between a pair of (highly) nonlinear oscillators. Second, peripheral haptic information has been shown in preliminary phase-resetting analyses to modulate the timing structure of rhythmic speech sequences. Implications of both sets of results for understanding the acquisition and performance of skilled movements are discussed briefly.
Structural and enzymatic characterization of a purified prohormone-processing enzyme: secreted, soluble Kex2 protease.

Abstract The prohormone-processing Kex2 protease of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be converted from an intracellular membrane protein to a soluble, secreted, and active form by deletion of the transmembrane domain and C-terminal tail. One such molecule was purified to near homogeneity from the culture medium of an overexpressing yeast strain. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the N terminus of mature Kex2 protease is created by a potentially autoproteolytic cleavage at Lys108-Arg109, prior to the domain homologous to subtilisin, followed by trimming of Leu-Pro and Val-Pro dipeptides by the Ste13 dipeptidyl aminopeptidase. Kinetic parameters were examined using fluorogenic peptidyl-methylcoumarin amide substrates. Initial burst titration indicated that the preparation was entirely active. Measurements of dependence of activity on pH yielded a simple curve suggesting titration of a single ionizable group. Activity was half-maximal at pH 5.7 and nearly constant from pH 6.5 to 9.5. Discrimination between substrates was as great as 360-fold in Km and 130-fold in kcat. Substrates with a Lys-Arg dipeptide preceding the cleaved bond were preferred, having kcat/Km values up to 1.1 x 10(7) sec-1.M-1. The enzyme cleaved substrates having Arg-Arg, Pro-Arg, Ala-Arg, and Thr-Arg with increased Km but with unchanged kcat. In contrast, the enzyme displayed a dramatically lower kcat for a Lys-Lys substrate with a smaller increase in Km. Thus the two residues preceding the cleaved bond may play distinct roles in the selectivity of binding and cleavage of prohormone substrates.
Visualizing Demographic Trajectories with Self-Organizing Maps

In recent years, the proliferation of multi-temporal census data products and the increased capabilities of geospatial analysis and visualization techniques have encouraged longitudinal analyses of socioeconomic census data. Traditional cartographic methods for illustrating socioeconomic change tend to rely either on comparison of multiple temporal snapshots or on explicit representation of the magnitude of change occurring between different time periods. This paper proposes to add another perspective to the visualization of temporal change, by linking multi-temporal observations to a geometric configuration that is not based on geographic space, but on a spatialized representation of n-dimensional attribute space. The presented methodology aims at providing a cognitively plausible representation of changes occurring inside census areas by representing their attribute space trajectories as line features traversing a two-dimensional display space. First, the self-organizing map (SOM) method is used to transform n-dimensional data such that the resulting two-dimensional configuration can be represented with standard GIS data structures. Then, individual census observations are mapped onto the neural network and linked as temporal vertices to represent attribute space trajectories as directed graphs. This method is demonstrated for a data set containing 254 counties and 32 demographic variables. Various transformations and visual results are presented and discussed in the paper, from the visualization of individual component planes and trajectory clusters to the mapping of different attributes onto temporal trajectories.
Effects of the nonionic surfactant tween 80 on microbial reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes.

Recent field studies have indicated synergistic effects of coupling microbial reductive dechlorination with physico chemical remediation (e.g., surfactant flushing) of dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zones. This study explored chlorinated ethene (e.g., tetrachloroethene [PCE]) dechlorination in the presence of 50−5000 mg/L Tween 80, a nonionic surfactant employed in source zone remediation. Tween 80 did not inhibit dechlorination by four pure PCE-to-cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) or PCE-to-trichloroethene (TCE) dechlorinating cultures. In contrast, cis-DCE-dechlorinating Dehalococcoides isolates (strain BAV1 and strain FL2) failed to dechlorinate in the presence of Tween 80. Bio-Dechlor INOCULUM (BDI), a PCE-to-ethene dechlorinating consortium, produced cis-DCE in the presence of Tween 80, further suggesting that Tween 80 inhibits dechlorination by Dehalococcoides organisms. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis applied to BDI revealed that the number of Dehalococcoides cells decayed exponent...
The ocular impression: A review of the literature and presentation of an alternate technique

Improved fit is one advantage of a custom ocular prosthesis. Numerous methods exist to gain intimate tissue adaptation. This article reviews the literature concerning such methods and presents an improved technique for fabrication of a custom ocular impression tray.
Exactly what does the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale measure

The purpose of this study is to evaluate empirical criticism of the psychometric properties of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) by undertaking an "internal construct validity" evaluation. Individual symptom responses for the HDRS were obtained from 370 patients meeting Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depression. A multidimensional normal item response theory (IRT) model was used to assess the dimensionality of the HDRS and estimate corresponding item parameters which were then expressed as factor loadings and item thresholds. The analysis yielded a five-dimensional solution. The first dimension (depressed mood, guilt, suicide, work and interests, agitation, psychic anxiety, somatic anxiety, and loss of libido) appeared to define global depression severity. These results are consistent with other published factor analytic studies and provide further justification for thinking that the HDRS total score is a weak index of depressive syndrome severity. The findings provide a benchmark by which the adequacy of future results may be judged, because the multidimensional IRT model does not suffer from the statistical limitations that arise when applying traditional factor analytic methods to discrete symptom ratings.
CtIP, a BRCA1 binding protein, is a transcriptional corepressor of estrogen receptor α.

CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2008 Abstracts Abstract #606 The role of estrogen and estrogen receptor (ER) transcriptional regulation in breast carcinogenesis is indisputable. In the last few years there has been dramatic progress in understanding how receptor transcriptional coactivator and corepressor complexes operate. We demonstrated that CtIP (CtBP interacting protein) is downregulated in tamoxifen resistant breast cancer lines. Furthermore, CtIP protein expression correlates with response to neo-adjuvant endocrine therapy and patients with progressive disease express lower CtIP protein in their primary breast carcinomas than those who respond. CtIP expression directly correlates with ER alpha expression, and inversely correlates with disease free survival and breast cancer metastasis. Importantly, silencing endogenous CtIP confers tamoxifen resistance in tamoxifen sensitive breast cancer cells and re-expression restored tamoxifen sensitivity in resistant breast cancer cells (Wu et al. Molec. Cancer Res. 2007; 5: 1285-1295). Our findings indicate that CtIP silencing is a novel mechanism for the development of tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer. CtIP interacts with the BRCT domains of BRCA1 where most mutations occur in familial BRCA1 breast cancers. CtIP also interacts with the transcriptional corepressor CtBP. Emerging evidence suggests that CtIP is involved in transcriptional repression and may be a tumor suppressor gene. We hypothesize that CtIP plays a key role in repression of ER transcription and such repressive function is linked to the inhibitory growth effects exerted by tamoxifen. We further speculate that CtIP inhibition of ER transcription is mediated by its ability to bridge BRCA1 with CtBP to form a transcriptional corepressor complex able to modulate ER activity via the interaction between BRCA1 and ER and that CtIP is in fact required for BRCA1 to exert its transcriptional repression activity on ER. We will present our work showing that CtIP, BRCA1 and CtBP form a multiprotein complex, that requires CtIP, and associates with ER in breast cancer cells. More importantly, we will show that BRCA1, CtIP and CtBP associate with ER on the ER-dependent promoter of the pS2 gene in the absence of ligand. Stimulation by ligand leads to dissociation of the complex and ER-dependent gene expression. Furthermore, silencing CtIP expression using RNAi in E2-starved MCF-7 cells led to an increase of basal transcription of the pS2 gene. CtIP was also observed to repress E2 stimulation of ERE-luciferase in transfected MCF-7 cells. We are currently characterizing the role of the CtIP corepressor complex in ER-transcriptional activity. We will present the results of our efforts to identify specific ER-dependent promoters repressed by the CtIP corepressor. In addition, we will present results of studies aimed at characterizing CtIP-specific changes in chromatin remodeling and ER-cofactor recruitment at ER-dependent promoters. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 606.
Quantitative relation of EDTA to availability of zinc for turkey poults.

SummaryVarious levels of EDTA and zinc were added to the poult diet containing isolated soybean protein. One hundred mg of EDTA/kg were equivalent to approximately 8 mg/kg zinc in supplementing the basal diet. When 7 or 10 mg of zinc/kg were added to the diet, 100 mg of EDTA/kg were equivalent to approximately 19 mg of zinc/kg. The data indicate that EDTA improves the effectiveness of added zinc as well as increasing the utilization of zinc already present in the basal diet. Perosis increased as the zinc level of the diet increased to approximately 30 mg/kg and decreased as zinc was added above this level.
Adenosine triphosphate breakdown in frozen rat brain

Abstract 1. 1. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in rat brain breaks down at a slow but appreciable rate during storage at −25 °C. No breakdown occurs, however, at −80 °C. 2. 2. The rate of disappearance at −25 °C. is described by a first-order reaction with a constant of 1.1 × 10 −3 /hr. 3. 3. The breakdown appears to be enzymic in nature, and the ATP is probably bound to the enzymes involved. 4. 4. The decrease in ATP may be a problem in preserving nervous tissue with refrigeration.
Religion and the DSM: From Pathology to Possibilities

Many individuals seeking psychological services refer to their religious or spiritual beliefs during treatment (Shafranske and Maloney in Psychotherapy 27: 72–78, 1990). Although psychology has consistently pathologized religion and/or spirituality in the past, it is vital that clinicians understand their impact on diagnosis and treatment. The evolution of the DSM, as explored in this manuscript, is evidence of continued attempts to expand clinicians’ religious and/or spiritual sensitivity. In order for religion to be incorporated as a cultural component, psychologists need appropriate training. The author concludes with a case illustration and recommendations for continued development of religion as a cultural factor in the DSM-V.
Telementoring: an application whose time has come.

Background: Telementoring offers the possibility of making extended education oversight available on a cost-effective, large-scale basis. It expands the mentor/ proctor pool and makes these educational assets more widely available to assist in protecting the public. However, it is an application that if haphazardly implemented rapidly losses its effectiveness and is more dangerous to the patient. Like all programs that can cite demonstrable outcome consistency, telementoring should be established on a foundation of sound training methodology. This article discusses the history of telementoring and where this modality stands today and outlines a validated methodology for successful telementoring missions. Methods: This algorithm includes preprocedural assessment and enhancement of laparoscopic surgical skills, establishment of a standardized approach to the procedure, tactical information deployment, telementoring simulation laboratories, and establishment of the doctor/patient relationship. Results: Telementoring can make cost-effective extended education oversight available on a large-scale basis. Discussion: Because of an overwhelming need for mentors/proctors and supporting evidence in the literature, telementoring is an application whose time has come.
Two phase convective cooling for ultra-high power dissipation in microprocessors

We present results of modeling for the design of microgaps for the removal of high heat fluxes, i.e., 1 kW/cm 2 , at low wall temperature (~ 85°C) via a strategy of very high mass flux (>1000 kg/m 2 s), high quality (outlet vapor mass quality >90%), two-phase forced convection. Modeling includes (1) thermodynamic analysis to obtain performance trends across a wide range of candidate coolants, (2) evaluation of worst-case pressure drop due to contraction and expansion in inlet/outlet manifolds, and (3) 1-D reduced order simulations to obtain realistic estimates of different contributions to the pressure drops. The main result is the identification of a general trend of improved heat transfer performance at higher system pressure at the cost of reduced achievable system efficiency (COP), with important implications for coolant selection and system design.
The field of social investment

Preface Part I. The Idea of Social Investment: 1. The meaning of social investment 2. The activity of social investment 3. A theory of social investment Part II. Social Criteria and Research: 4. Social investment in business corporations 5. Social investment in industry: a new social policy 6. Social research on industrial policy 7. Investment in community development Part III. Global Social Investment: 8. International investment 9. Social development in the Third World Epilogue: social investment as a self-correcting movement in the market system Notes Bibliography Name index Subject index.
High Contrast Ratio and Fast-Switching Dual Polymer Electrochromic Devices

A series of dual polymer electrochromic devices (ECDs) based on 12 complementary pairs of conducting polymer films have been constructed using 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-containing conducting polymers. Poly[3,6-bis(2-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene))-N-methylcarbazole] (PBEDOT-NCH3Cz), poly[3,6-bis(2-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene))-N-eicosylcarbazole] (PBEDOT-NC20H41Cz), and poly[4,4‘-bis(2-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene))biphenyl] (PBEDOT-BP) were utilized as anodically coloring polymers that electrochemically switch between an oxidized deep blue absorptive state and a transmissive (orange or yellow) reduced state. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and its alkyl derivatives (PEDOT-C14H29 and PEDOT-C16H33) have been used as high-contrast cathodically coloring polymers that switch between a deep blue absorptive state in the reduced form and a sky blue, highly transmissive state in the oxidized form. The dual polymer ECDs were constructed by separating complementary pairs of EC polymer films, deposited on ITO...
MP3: Minimizing performance penalty for power-gating of Clos network-on-chip

Power-gating is a promising technique to mitigate the increasing static power of on-chip routers. Clos networks are potentially good targets for power-gating because of their path diversity and decoupling between processing elements and most of the routers. While power-gated Clos networks can perform better than power-gated direct networks such as meshes, a significant performance penalty exists when conventional power-gating techniques are used. In this paper, we propose an effective power-gating scheme, called MP3 (Minimal Performance Penalty Power-gating), which is able to achieve minimal (i.e., near-zero) performance penalty and save more static energy than conventional power-gating applied to Clos networks. MP3 is able to completely remove the wakeup latency from the critical path, reduce long-term and transient contention, and actively steer network traffic to create increased power-gating opportunities. Full system evaluation using PARSEC benchmarks shows that the proposed approach can significantly reduce the performance penalty to less than 1% (as opposed to 38% with conventional power-gating) while saving more than 47% of router static energy, with only 2.5% additional area overhead.
Insulin activates a 70-kDa S6 kinase through serine/threonine-specific phosphorylation of the enzyme polypeptide.

Abstract The dominant insulin-stimulated ribosomal protein S6 kinase activity was purified to near homogeneity from insulin-treated 32P-labeled rat H4 hepatoma cells and found to copurify with a 70-kDa 32P-labeled polypeptide. The dominant S6 kinase purified from livers of cycloheximide-treated rats is also a 70-kDa polypeptide. Antiserum raised against rat liver S6 kinase specifically immunoprecipitates the purified 32P-labeled H4 hepatoma insulin-stimulated S6 kinase. This antiserum also specifically precipitates insulin-stimulated S6 kinase activity directly from cytosolic extracts of H4 cells. Immune complexes prepared from the cytosol of 32P-labeled H4 cells contain several 32P-labeled polypeptides; only a 70-kDA 32P-labeled peptide, however, is specifically displaced by preadsorption of the antiserum with nonradioactive rat liver S6 kinase. Insulin treatment increases the 32P content of the immunoprecipitated 70-kDa S6 kinase polypeptide 3- to 4-fold over basal levels; 32P-labeled serine, some 32P-labeled threonine, but no 32P-labeled tyrosine are detected after partial acid hydrolysis. Tryptic peptide maps indicate that the insulin-stimulated S6 kinase purified from 32P-labeled H4 cells is phosphorylated at multiple sites distinct from those which participate in autophosphorylation in vitro. Autophosphorylation of rat liver S6 kinase in vitro does not modify S6 kinase activity. The S6 kinases purified from liver of cycloheximide-treated rat and H4 hepatoma insulin-stimulated enzyme are each completely deactivated by incubation with protein phosphatase type 2A in both autophosphorylating and 40S S6 phosphorylating activities. The phosphatase 2A-deactivated 70-kDa S6 kinase is neither reactivated nor phosphorylated by partially purified insulin-stimulated microtubule-associated protein 2 kinase, in experiments where Xenopus S6 kinase II undergoes phosphorylation and partial reactivation. Thus insulin activates the 70-kDa S6 kinase by promoting phosphorylation of specific serine/threonine residues on the enzyme polypeptide, probably through activating an as-yet-unidentified serine/threonine protein kinase distinct from microtubule-associated protein 2 kinase.
Hormonal modulation of pineal melatonin synthesis in rats and Syrian hamsters: effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes and insulin injections.

Abstract 1. 1. Pineal levels of tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan, serotonin, N-acetylserotonin, melatonin, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and the enzyme activities of N-acetyltransferase and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase were determined in male albino rats and Syrian hamsters that were injected with insulin twice daily for three days, or injected with streptozotocin to induce diabetes. 2. 2. Neither insulin injections nor streptozotocin diabetes had any effect on pineal melatonin production in rats. 3. 3. In hamsters, diabetes reduced the nocturnal peak of pineal melatonin content by approximately one half, while insulin injections had no effect on pineal melatonin levels; however, insulin injections did cause a slight increase in pineal N-acetyltransferase activity. 4. 4. These findings indicate that the pineal gland of the hamster may be more sensitive to alterations in plasma insulin levels than the same organ in rats.
Web accessibility on campus: social issues in practice

A number of universities have long-established and highly-regarded research programs in adaptation of information technology (IT) for disabled persons. Some universities have also instituted successful programs to apply accessible IT in various areas of their campuses. But it is safe to claim that no 23-campus university system, with 450,000 students and 46,000 faculty and staff, has ever before attempted to make its entire IT presence---web, instructional materials, and procurement---fully accessible within five years. Since February 2007, the California State University (CSU) system has been doing exactly that, through its ground-breaking Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI).
Seismicity, secular strain, and maximum magnitude in the Excelsior Mountains area, western Nevada and eastern California

Seismicity in the Excelsior Mountains area appears to have been an order of magnitude higher for at least several decades than that which preceded great earthquakes in central Nevada in 1915 and 1954. A high degree of crustal fracturing is indicated for this area by complex geology and by a scattered distribution of epicenters. A composite fault-plane solution is similar to those for large shocks at Fairview Peak and Rainbow Mountain in 1954, which shows that the same regional stress field is acting to produce earthquakes in both areas. The slope of the recurrence curve, or b value, is higher than average for the Nevada region. Crustal strains recorded at Mina indicate that periods of strain build-up alternate with periods of strain release. Comparison of these characteristics with results of laboratory experiments and observations in other regions suggests that the area is one in which a moderate level of tectonic stress combined with a high degree of crustal fracturing leads to strain release by a continuing series of small-to-moderate earthquakes and fault creep. If so, the magnitude of 6¼ for the 1934 Excelsior Mountains earthquake may represent a maximum magnitude for this area.
Boundary-conformed toolpath generation for trimmed free-form surfaces

In this paper, we adopt a 2D reparameterization procedure to regenerate boundary-conformed toolpaths. Three methods for the 2D reparameterization of trimmed boundaries in parametric space are examined and compared. They are the Coons method, the Laplace method, and a newly developed boundary-blending method. These three methods represent three different approaches to 2D surface parameterization, namely, the algebraic interpolation approach, the partial differential equation approach, and a geometric offsetting approach, respectively. Complete algorithms for surface reparameterization and toolpath generation are developed and implemented. The results showed that the Coons method is relatively simple yet might cause anomalies when the complexities of the boundary are high. The Laplace method is robust but takes relatively more computational time and also has the problem of uneven distribution of iso-parametrics. For the newly developed boundary-blending method, both the computational efficiency and parameterization robustness are quite good, in addition, it alleviates the uneven distribution problem appeared in the Laplace results.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of (Tl0.5Pb0.5)Sr2(Ca1-xThx)Cu2Oy system for x = 0.0 − 0.3

Abstract To reveal the correlation between the Tc temperatures and the hole concentration in p-type cuprates superconductors, a series of samples of (Tl0.5Pb0.5)Sr2(Ca1-xThx)Cu2Oy (x = 0.0 − 0.3) were prepared and investigated by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The core-level of Cu did not show consistent variation while a slight shifting of Tl 4f 7 2 , 5 2 peaked up to high binding energy as Th dopant increased. This might be resulted from the decrease of the hole concentration in Tl-O layer. The Sr core-level spectra demonstrated an evident and consistent variation which could be attributed to two lattice sites available for Sr atoms and the decrease of Ca atoms. Our results indicated that the Tl-O layer might act as “hole reservoir”, which had been already suggested by the band structure calculation.
Family Matters: Integrating Trauma Treatment into Functional Family Therapy for Traumatized Delinquent Youth

This article describes an innovative family systems approach to the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among traumatized youth involved with the juvenile justice system. The first section presents the rationale for taking a family systems approach to respond to this problem and describes the ways in which family processes and parent–child relationships reciprocally affect one another in the aftermath of traumatic events. The second section outlines the key features of Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and makes the case for why this evidence-based intervention provides a firm bedrock upon which to build a targeted trauma-focused adaptation. The third section of the article outlines the FFT-Trauma Focused model and describes the methods of its flexible and individualized implementation with families of traumatized delinquent youth.
Passive coolers for pre-cooling of JT loops for deep space infrared imaging applications

Abstract Infrared instruments (IR) for deep space imaging missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Planck, require cryogenic cooling for proper operation of their focal plane arrays (FPA) in far infrared and sub-millimeter wavelength ranges. The FPA is sometimes located meters away from the spacecraft. To meet such remote cooling requirement, a Joule–Thomson (J–T) loop becomes a convenient choice for either direct cooling for the FPA or for serving as a heat sink for a cascade cooling system. The refrigerant lines of the JT loop inevitably suffer parasitic heat leak primarily due to IR backload as they traverse from the spacecraft to the FPA. An actively cooled JT loop using a mechanical pre-cooler located at the spacecraft will experience the highest parasitic heat leak since the lines are cold through the entire length whereas a passively cooled JT loop can utilize a number of radiators to cool the lines down gradually in stages and hence reduce the heat leak. In addition to savings in power and mass, a passive cooler offers consistent and predictable performance with practically no performance degradation in a thermally stable orbit, such as one around the Sun–Earth L2 point. Passive coolers are less popular in low temperature applications when their cooling capacity diminishes rapidly in proportion to T4 until the temperature reaches a point where either the parasitic heat leak becomes so significant or its size becomes so excessive that the passive cooling scheme becomes impractical. Despite the limited capacity, passive cooling may still prove to be a viable alternative to active cooling depending on the operating temperature and heat dissipation rate of the FPA. The current effort aims at evaluating the merit of using passive coolers as an alternative to using a mechanical cooler for pre-cooling of a JT loop for remote IR instrument cooling. A parametric study is conducted to explore the merits of passive cooling of a JT loop in a temperature range below 30 K. Correlations between cooling capacity, heat leak from supporting structure, and the operating temperature are investigated to provide design guidelines. Radiator staging options will also be presented and discussed.
Tendon ruptures and median nerve damage after Hamas total wrist arthroplasty

This article describes complications due to an incorrectly positioned Hamas-designed total wrist prosthesis in a 68-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis. At operation the median nerve was found to be directly impinged upon by the rim of the distal portion of the prosthesis. There were divisions of the superficialis tendon to all four fingers, the profundus tendon to the index finger, and partial division of the profundus to the long finger. The prosthesis was removed, and the wrist stabilized with a Steinmann pin in the radius and the second metacarpal.
Rat pituitary tumor cells in serum-free culture.I: Selection of thyroid hormone-responsive and autonomous cells

The growth of GH4C1, GH3, GH1, and GH3C15 rat pituitary tumor cell lines was studied in a serum-free medium (designated TRM-1) formulated with 1∶1 (vol/vol) mixture of Ham's F12 nutrient mixture and Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (F12-DME) containing 15 mM 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES), 50 μg/ml gentamicin supplemented with 10 μg/ml bovine insulin, 10 μg/ml human transferrin (Tf), 10 ng/ml selenous acid, 10 nM 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3), 50 μM ethanolamine (Etn), and 500 μg/ml bovine serum albumin. Of the lines evaluated, only the GH1 failed to grow in TRM-1. Passage of the GH4C1 and GH3 lines from serum-containing medium into TRM-1 caused an initial selection resulting in cells that grew progressively at higher rates and finally were maintained indefinitely in TRM-1. These populations showed a requirement for supraphysiologic concentrations of T3 (1.0 to 10 nM). After adaptation of the GH4C1 line in TRM-1 for ≤20 generations, removal of components gave a less complex mixture containing 15 mM HEPES, 50 μ/ml gentamicin, 10 μg/ml Tf, 10 nM T3, and 50 μM Etn (designated TRM-2) that supported serial passage of the cells. Under these conditions, thyroid hormone dependence was lost progressively. When T3 was removed from TRM-2 adapted cells, a third population was selected that no longer required thyroid hormones and was only slightly stimulated by T3. These studies demonstrated that the combination of serum-containing and serum-free conditions can be used to select pituitary cell populations that a) required both serum-factor(s) and T3 for optimum growth, b) required supraphysiologic concentrations of T3 without serum proteins other than Tf and albumin, and c) were completely autonomous in that they proliferated in medium supplemented only with Tf and nutrients without necessity of other serum factor(s) or T3.
Corticospinal tract transection prevents operantly conditioned H-reflex increase in rats

Operant conditioning of the H-reflex, the electrical analog of the spinal stretch reflex, in freely moving rats is a relatively simple model for studying long-term supraspinal control over spinal cord function. Motivated by food reward, rats can gradually increase (i.e., up-condition) or decrease (i.e., down-condition) the soleus H-reflex. Earlier work showed that corticospinal tract transection prevents acquisition and maintenance of H-reflex down-conditioning while transection of other major spinal cord tracts does not. This study explores the effects on acquisition of up-conditioning of the right soleus H-reflex of mid-thoracic transection of: the right lateral column (LC, five rats) (containing the rubrospinal, vestibulospinal, and reticulospinal tracts); the entire dorsal column (DC, six rats) [containing the main corticospinal tract (CST) and the dorsal ascending tract (DA)]; the CST alone (five rats); or the DA alone (seven rats). After initial (i.e., control) H-reflex amplitude was determined, the rat was exposed for 50 days to the up-conditioning mode in which reward was given when the H-reflex was above a criterion value. H-reflex amplitude at the end of up-conditioning was compared to initial H-reflex amplitude. An increase ≥20% was defined as successful up-conditioning. In intact rats, H-reflex amplitude at the end of up-conditioning averaged 164% (±10%, SE), and 81% were successful. In the present study, LC and DA rats were similar to intact rats in final H-reflex amplitude and percent successful. In contrast, results for DC and CST rats were significantly different from those of intact rats. In the six DC rats, final H-reflex amplitude averaged 105% (±3)% of control and none was successful; and in the five CST rats, final H-reflex amplitude averaged 94% (±3)% and none was successful. The results indicate that the main CST, located in the dorsal column, is essential for H-reflex up-conditioning as it is for down-conditioning, while the dorsal column ascending tract and the ipsilateral lateral column (containing the main rubrospinal, vestibulospinal, and reticulospinal tracts) do not appear to be essential.
The dynamic behavior of a fixed earth scene as viewed by a satellite-borne staring mosaic sensor

A satellite-borne staring mosaic sensor has a line-of-sight that is stabilized on a fixed earth point. As the satellite passes near this point, detectors not on the line of sight are subjected to noise produced by apparent background motion. This motion is produced by footprint shrinkage, change in aspect angle, and earth rotation. The motion is affected by satellite orbit parameters, earth location of the observed scene, and detector location in the sensor focal plane. Additional motion produced by satellite instability may increase these effects or negate them depending on random direction. Equations are presented which enable the instantaneous description of the complete state of the focal plane scene. Samples of dynamic detector footprints, views of changing earth scenes, and graphs of background velocities are included. Effect of spacecraft instability is presented in terms of upper and lower bounds on the velocity magnitudes.© (1977) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Long-term outcome of alternate list heart transplant patients

graft failure were excluded from statistical analysis. Results: Survival analysis revealed a statistically significant impact of HLA-DR MM on survival. 5-year survival in patients without HLA-DR MM (n 9) was 100%, in patients with one HLA-DR MM (n 102) 82% and 75% in patients with two HLA-DR MM (n 104; log rank 1MM vs. 2MM p 0.05). Freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy after 5 years was 89% in HLA-DR identical recipients (n 9), 61% in patients with one HLA-DR MM (n 93) and 54% in patients with two HLA-DR MM (n 92). Conventional matching with 6 missmatches over the 3 major HLA loci revealed a trend towards a higher relative risk for adverse outcome in patients with increased MM. Conclusion: HLA-DR matching had a significant impact on survival after HTx in our centre. In our efforts to achieve the best comparative use of scarce donor organs the inclusion of HLA-DR matching into allocation policies might improve long-term outcome after HTx.
On the theory of a new maximum observed in dc transport in modulated quantum hall systems near ν=1/2

Abstract We propose a theory for the new maximum recently observed by Willett et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett., 83 (1999) 2624] in the longitudinal magnetoresistance of a weakly modulated two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) near filling factor ν =1/2 for the current driven along the modulation lines. The maximum is superimposed upon a new resonance structure. This occurs due to the geometric resonance of composite fermion cyclotron orbits with the period of modulation of the effective magnetic field. We propose here a semiquantitative theory of the dc magnetotransport in a modulated 2DEG near one half filling. Our analysis is based on the Boltzmann transport equation and it enables us to obtain this maximum which was neither observed nor predicted previously.
Endothelin A Receptor Antagonism in Experimental Congestive Heart Failure Results in Augmentation of the Renin-Angiotensin System and Sustained Sodium Retention

Background— While both the endothelin-1 (ET-1) and renin-angiotensin systems (RAS) are activated in congestive heart failure (CHF), the temporal sequence of this activation remains unclear. Understanding this pattern of neurohumoral activation may aid in understanding the significance of ET-1 in CHF and provide strategies for ET-1 antagonism. Although acute endothelin (ET) receptor antagonism improves systemic hemodynamics in CHF, clinical trials with chronic ET receptor antagonism report worsening CHF symptoms. Methods and Results— In a canine model of progressive left ventricular dysfunction, we demonstrated activation of myocardial and plasma ET-1 without activation of the RAS during transition to overt CHF, suggesting that ET-1 contributes to this transition. We next evaluated the effects of chronic oral ET-A receptor antagonism on neurohumoral function, renal hemodynamics, and sodium excretion in pacing-induced CHF. After 7 days of treatment (n=7) with ET-A receptor antagonism (with LU135252), sodium...
Large‐Order perturbation theory

The original motivation for studying the asymptotic behavior of the coefficients of perturbation series came from quantum field theory. An overview is given of some of the attempts to understand quantum field theory beyond finite-order perturbation series. At least in the case of the Thirring model and probably in general, the full content of a relativistic quantum field theory cannot be recovered from its perturbation series. This difficulty, however, does not occur in quantum mechanics, and the anharmonic oscillator is used to illustrate the methods used in large-order perturbation theory. Two completely different methods are discussed, the first one using the WKB approximation, and a second one involving the statistical analysis of Feynman diagrams. The first one is well developed and gives detailed information about the desired asymptotic behavior, while the second one is still in its infancy and gives instead information about the distribution of vertices of the Feynman diagrams.
Custom NMOS LSI Channel Vocoder

An advanced implementation of a full duplex, multiple transmission rate, high performance channel vocoder is described which draws upon charge coupled device (CCD), switched capacitor, and digital microprocessor NMOS LSI technologies. The heart of the transmitter is a 19 channel spectrum analyzer chip realized via FIR non-recursive filter design methods. Pitch and voicing are determined with a modified Gold type of algorithm requiring very few components to implement. The receiver consists mainly of a 19 channel synthesis filter bank, including exciter, realized via switched capacitor recursive filtering techniques. Transmit and receive control functions are implemented in an 8 bit microprocessor and rates of 1.2, 2.4, 3.6, 4.8 kbs are supported. The design requires 30 integrated circuits, dissipates 5 W, weighs 6.25 lbs, and occupies .12 cu. ft.
Oceanographic inverse problems

Abstract Oceanographic inverse problems are generalizations of the concept of linear regression to encompass the fitting of numerical models based on the partial-diffential equations of fluid dynamics to oceanic data by adjusting surface fluxes, initial conditions, and/or transport parameters. The limited resolution of the data requires some sort of regularizing assumptions similar to those needed for spatial interpolation. Computationally, they are nonlinear-least-squares problems involving very many variables. These problems can be ill-conditioned due to the indirect nature of the observations, to the way the dynamics enter, and to the effect of the regularizing assumptions. Solving such large optimization problems requires efficient computation of derivatives of functions defined by computational codes. The adjoint method provides derivatives with respect to all the code's many adjustable inputs for roughly the same cost as computing a single model simulation. Although computationally difficult, model fitting offers the promise of dynamically consistent multivariate analyses of oceanographic data.
Electrochemical cells for voltammetry, coulometry, and protein activity assays of small-volume biological samples.

Abstract Cell designs, experimental protocols, and results for electrochemical investigation of small quantities of biological materials under anaerobic conditions are reported. Three types of electrochemical experiments are considered: (i) cyclic voltammetry of 20- to 100-μl samples; (ii) direct coulometry of 0.5- to 1.5-ml samples; and (iii) an electrochemically initiated protein activity assay which includes provision for analysis of gaseous reaction products and correlation with electron flux. The first two procedures are illustrated by measurement of the formal electrode potential ( E o′ ) and number of electrons transferred ( n ) in redox reactions of small quantities of biological and inorganic materials. The third procedure is illustrated by assaying the activity of the MoFe protein plus Fe protein complex from Azotobacter vinelandii nitrogenase for reduction of C 2 H 2 to C 2 H 4 .