cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diurnal rhythms in cocaine sensitization and in Period1 levels are common across rodent species.

Circadian and seasonal rhythms in psychostimulant-induced behaviors have been reported in different species including humans. Using inbred mice, we recently reported that both cocaine sensitization and striatal “clock” gene Period1 (PER1 for protein) levels demonstrate a diurnal pattern that is maintained by the rhythm of pineal products N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and melatonin. It is well known that genetic background differences in inbred mice affect their behavioral traits. Therefore, to test whether our initial observations were limited to these mouse strains or whether these traits are common across rodent species we have tested additional strains of mice (CBA/J and AKR/J) and rats (Sprague–Dawley). We found that regardless of the species/strains, subjects with regular NAS and melatonin rhythms present diurnal cocaine sensitization and striatal PER1 rhythm. Since there is a growing interest in clock gene–mediated circadian mechanisms, these results may be important in designing experiments (e.g., time of day and subject strain) to study the role of these genes in psychiatric disorders such as addiction and depression.
Clinical and dietary indicators associated with uremic status in hospitalized dialysis patients.

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether any differences existed between specific admission variables and uremic status in patients with chronic renal failure receiving dialysis. Design and Setting: This was a prospective, observational study conducted at BryanLGH Medical Center East Campus in Lincoln, Nebraska. Patients: The subjects were hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients admitted to an acute care facility, who met the following inclusion criteria: (1) they had a primary or secondary underlying diagnosis of chronic renal failure, and (2) they were not receiving parenteral or enteral tube feeding nutritional support on admission. Intervention: The patients were separated into 2 groups by their blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations. Group 1 had a BUN concentration less than 50 and group 2 had a BUN concentration greater than or equal to 50. Admission data (age, sex, percentage of ideal body weight, reported retrospective weight loss over time, type of dialysis, gastrointestinal history, BUN and creatinine concentrations, and dietary prescription) were collected from patient medical records. Two-day kilocalorie and protein counts were conducted on the patients within 24 hours of admission to the acute care facility. Chi-square and 1-way analysis of variance were performed to compare the groups. Results: The total number of participants in the study was 42, with 21 in each BUN group. The mean age was 60 years, and the dietary intake was a mean of 10 kcal/kg and 0.4 g protein/kg. Only 14.3% and 7.1% of the patients met their kcal and protein needs, respectively. The mean percentage ideal body weight was 125 and the mean reported weight loss per week was 2.6 pounds. Gastrointestinal symptoms, specifically nausea and a kilocalorie-restricted diet prescription, were significantly different between the 2 groups. Patients in group 2 were more likely to have gastrointestinal symptoms overall ( P P P Conclusions: A BUN concentration between 50 and 110 has been shown to be associated with a lower risk of death and a better nutritional status. These findings indicate symptoms commonly associated with uremia, such as nausea, may be associated with the dialysis patient's nutritional status when BUN concentrations are greater than 50. These dialysis patients were not receiving sufficient kilocalories and protein on admission into the hospital, and this can affect their nutritional and, eventually, survival status. © 2002 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.
Sparsity vs. statistical independence from a best-basis viewpoint

We examine the similarity and difference between sparsity and statistical independence in image representations in a very concrete setting: use the best basis algorithm to select the sparsest basis and the least statistically- dependent basis from basis dictionaries for a given dataset. In order to understand their relationship, we use synthetic stochastic processes as well as the image patches of natural scene. Our experiments and analysis so far suggest the following: 1) Both sparsity and statistical independence criteria selected similar bases for most of our examples with minor differences; 2) Sparsity is more computationally and conceptually feasible as a basis selection criterion than the statistical independence, particularly for dat compression; 3) The sparsity criterion can and should be adapted to individual realization rather than for the whole collection of the realizations to achieve the maximum performance; 4) The importance of orientation selectivity of the local Fourier and brushlet dictionaries was not clearly demonstrated due to the boundary effect caused by the folding and local periodization.
Dietary Biotin and Turkey Breeder Performance

The effect of biotin supplementation on turkey breeder hen performance was examined in two experiments. A corn-soybean meal-based breeder diet was supplemented with biotin to provide a low (.178 mg/kg) and high (.75 mg/kg) level of dietary biotin. The diets were fed to female-line hens (Nicholas strain) starting at time of light stimulation (31 and 30 wk of age for Experiments 1 and 2, respectively) for 27 wk. Each diet was fed to four replicate pens of 25 hens each. In Experiment 1, egg production and hatchability of fertile eggs from hens fed the high level of biotin was significantly greater (P < .05) during 50 to 54 wk of age. Egg production and hatchability were improved by 22 and 10%, respectively, from 50 to 54 wk of age. In Experiment 2, reproductive performance was unaffected by biotin level during 33 to 57 wk of age. The higher level of dietary biotin seemed beneficial in supporting later reproductive performance in one of two experiments.
The cost-effectiveness of screening men for Chlamydia trachomatis: a review of the literature.

Background: An important consideration in determining whether to implement or continue a program to screen men for chlamydia is its cost-effectiveness. A review of the literature on the cost-effectiveness of screening men for chlamydia could potentially provide guidance. Methods: An Ovid Medline search was conducted for articles published between 1990 and July 2007 using terms for cost, chlamydia, and male. This search returned 175 articles; 25 were retained after eliminating those not relevant to cost-effectiveness studies of male chlamydia screening. We added 4 articles that were in-press or are published in this issue, for a total of 29. These articles were examined for common themes and their results summarized. Results: The reviewed studies examined both proactive and opportunistic screening and included screening of risk groups and of the general population. Some older studies included enzyme immunoassays; more recent studies featured nucleic acid amplification assays. Six studies used dynamic transmission models. Fourteen studies analyzed male and female chlamydia screening interventions. Several contained sufficient data to examine the cost-effectiveness of male screening compared with female screening. Male screening was preferred to expanded female screening in 1 study. In other studies, combined male and female screening programs were cost-saving. Conclusions: Studies comparing chlamydia screening in men with chlamydia screening in women may be the most useful for guidance to programs. The studies which compare the 2 generally have found that screening men from the general population is not preferred to screening women from the general population, although 1 study found that screening of men from risk groups can be cost-effective compared with screening women from the general population.
A high level flexible framework for building multi-platform multi-media streaming applications

In this paper we use multi-media streaming as a practical example of how one could design a system for maximum re-use and present the implications of using this approach. While the idea of re-use is of course widely used, we found that many multi-media applications are dedicated to the specific task it was designed for and only the components of the application seem to get re-used in other applications. A lot of effort is expended over and over again to re-use just those components in building new applications. To address this problem, we have developed a high level software framework for building multi-media applications, which makes it easy to build, maintain, and extend a variety of multi-media and emerging collaboration applications. One reason for the ease-of-use is that the framework is at such a level that the intricacies and details of multi-media streaming and processing need not be explicitly known to the integrator, who does not have to worry about how to connect the components, control the timing and threading, and such. Examples of possible applications that can be built using this new framework include a player, a Video-on-Demand server, a video conferencing client, a multi-media presentation recorder, a trans-coder, a protocol translator, etc. For maximum applicability the software is platform independent, has pluggable components such as encoders and decoders, and most modules adhere to multi-media standards from the IETF and MPEG. We will show the ease of integration and maintenance and give demonstrations of some of the projects and products in our company that use this framework, such as collaboration recording, audio/visual help desk support, one-to-many presentations of audio/video with synchronized slides, peer-to-peer video conferencing and collaboration, and speech-to-text as a remote real-time service.
Development of standards material: A discussion of the responsibility of AIEE committees in aiding the development of electrical standards

FOR an industry that manufactures and uses as large a variety of apparatus as the electrical industry, the problem of the development of standards is a tremendously important one. The purposes of standards are 2-fold: In the first place, they aid in the manufacture of products that are more uniform; in the second place, they form a basis that enables purchasers to orjtain bids for new apparatus on a comparable basis.
Effect of two inhibitors of dopamine β-hydroxylase on maturation of memory in mice

Bitemporal injections of puromycin that primarily affect the hippocampal-enthorhinal cortical areas suppress memory of maze-learning in mice for 3 days after training but are ineffective 6 or more days after training. At these later times, injections affecting widespread areas of the brain in addition to the hippocampal-entorhinal area are necessary for amnesia. These observations are interpreted to indicate that the locus of the memory trace has enlarged at 6 days to include other parts of the central nervous system in addition to the hippocampal-entorhinal area. To produce an imbalance of neurotransmitters and so to test their importance in enlargement of the memory trace's locus, we treated mice for 7 days after training with inhibitors of dopamine beta-hydroxylase. These mice, unlike untreated controls, developed amnesia after bitemporal injections of puromycin. In view of additional control experiments, we interpret these results to suggest that an imbalance of transmitters suppresses the normal enlargement of the locus of the memory trace.
High-Power RF Controls for the NBS-Los Alamos Racetrack Microtron

The high-power rf system for the National Bureau of Standards (NBS)-Los Alamos racetrack microtron (RIM)l uses waveguide power splitters2 and waveguide phase shifters to distribute rf power from a single 500-kW cw klystron to four side-coupled accelerating structures. The amplitude and phase of each structure is controlled by a feedback system that uses the waveguide variable power splitters, waveguide phase shifters, and klystron drive as the active control elements. A block diagram of this system is shown in Fig. 1. Figure 2 shows a subset of the complete system on which the measurements reported in this paper were performed. The feedback controls on the capture section use low-level rf amplitude and phase controls on the rf drive to the klystron. These controls are very fast with an open loop gain bandwidth of approximately 40 kHz. The feedback loop is identical to the feedback loop used in the chopper/buncher system described in another paper at this conference. 3
Role of Borrelia burgdorferi Linear Plasmid 25 in Infection of Ixodes scapularis Ticks

The tick-borne bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi has over 20 different circular and linear plasmids. Some B. burgdorferi plasmids are readily lost during in vitro culture or genetic manipulation. Linear plasmid 25, which is often lost in laboratory strains, is required for the infection of mice. Strains missing linear plasmid 25 (lp25−) are able to infect mice if the BBE22 gene on lp25 is provided on a shuttle vector. In this study, we examined the role of lp25 and BBE22 in tick infections. We tested the hypothesis that complementation with BBE22 in spirochetes lacking lp25 would restore the ability of spirochetes to infect ticks. A natural tick infection cycle was performed by feeding larvae on mice injected with the parental, lp25−, or lp25− BBE22-complemented spirochete strains. In addition, larvae and nymphs were artificially infected with different strains to study tick infections independent of mouse infections. B. burgdorferi missing lp25 was significantly impaired in its ability to infect larval and nymphal ticks. When an lp25− strain was complemented with BBE22, the ability to infect ticks was partially restored. Complementation with BBE22 allowed spirochetes lacking lp25 to establish short-term infections in ticks, but in most cases the infection prevalence was lower than that of the wild-type strain. In addition, the number of infected ticks decreased over time, suggesting that another gene(s) on lp25 is required for long-term persistence in ticks and completion of a natural infection cycle.
Mitral stenosis: mitral dome excursion at M1 and the mitral opening snap--the concept of reciprocal heart sounds.

Abstract The dynamics of the delayed accentuated mitral component (M 1 ) of the first heart sound and the MOS were studied in 11 patients with mitral stenosis of varying severity. Echophonocardiographic (M-mode and 2D) studies were performed with analysis of LA dimensions, dynamics, and mitral valve excursion at the time of M 1 and MOS. LA area and length, mitral annular diameter, and mitral dome area (from anulus plane to fused valve tip) and length were measured at M 1 and MOS. Significant dynamic increases in mitral dome area and length occurred from M 1 to MOS, with less striking but consistent increases in LA area, LA length, and mitral annular diameter. Conversely, mitral dome area and length decreased significantly from MOS to M 1 , with less striking but consistent decreases in LA area, LA length, and mitral annular diameter. Frame-by-frame video tape analysis showed that dome movement was separate from anulus motion. Mitral dome descent into the left ventricle terminated at MOS and reversal of dome motion terminated at M 1 . The conformational and dimensional changes that terminated abruptly at MOS reversed and terminated abruptly in a reciprocal manner at the time of the delayed, accentuated M 1 . When considered in light of known hemodynamic, pressure pulse, and imaging correlates in mitral stenosis, these observations strengthen the hypothesis that the mechanisms involved in the production of M 1 and MOS in mitral stenosis are paired or reciprocal in nature, and the delayed, accentuated M 1 and the MOS of mitral stenosis are reciprocal cardiovascular sounds.
Recent advances in laser treatment of human skin

Lasers have found many uses in dermatology for the treatment of cutaneous and superficial lesions. Moreover, lasers are now the treatment of choice for several clinical entities for which no reliable or effective modality was previously available. Laser dermatology is regarded as one of the fastest growing areas for new clinical applications in medicine today. The objectives of this presentation are to: 1) identify recent scientific and technologic advances in optical technologies as applied to human skin and explore future potential advances in optical technologies for their clinical application and or commercial development; and 2) emphasize the important contribution basic optics research in the development of clinical applications using lasers. Several laser systems have been commercially developed that produce reasonably good removal or blanching of hypervascular skin lesions due to their ability to destroy selectively cutaneous blood vessels. Light at the clinically relevant wavelengths (532-600 nm) produced by these laser systems is preferentially absorbed by hemoglobin in the upper dermis causing thermal damage and thrombosis in the targeted vessels. Moreover, the micro- and millisecond pulse durations produced by these lasers approximate the thermal relaxation time for dermal blood vessels thereby confining the energy to the target. These new lasers produce excellent lightening of port-wine stain and other hypervascular skin lesions without the adverse complications such as hypertrophic scarring, dyspigmentation, atrophy or induration.
Burst suppression or isoelectric encephalogram for cerebral protection: evidence from metabolic suppression studies.

Metabolic suppression may have a role in cerebral protection. It is often assumed that the cerebral metabolic and protective effects of qualitative burst suppression are similar to those of the isoelectric encephalogram (EEG). We have examined the effect of different degrees of EEG suppression on blood flow and oxygen difference during general anaesthesia. We studied 11 patients undergoing general anaesthesia for resection of acoustic neuromas. The study was performed after surgery with propofol and remifentanil anaesthesia. Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and jugular bulb venous saturations were measured at values of EEG suppression: 0%, 50% and 100% (isoelectric EEG). Data from nine patients were suitable for analysis. There were no significant differences in mean arterial pressure, heart rate or PaCO2 during EEG activity, 50% burst suppression ratio or isoelectric EEG. There was a significant decrease in middle cerebral artery flow velocity (vmca) with increasing EEG suppression (0% suppression, mean 38 (SEM 4) cm s-1; 50% suppression, 29 (3) cm s-1; and 100% suppression, 24 (2) cm s-1; P
Assessing research on workplace violence, 2000–2012

Abstract Since the highly publicized U.S. Postal violence cases in the 1980s, workplace aggression and workplace violence have been the source of much public discussion and concern. Yet, the topic has only recently received sustained empirical attention—most of which has come from the organizational management and business fields. This article provides a review of the empirical research literature on workplace violence in several databases from 2000 to 2012. Our review uncovers that different occupational domains have different experiences with workplace violence, while some occupations are subject to distinct types of violence by unique aggressors. Directions for future theoretical and empirical research are highlighted.
Domain size distributions can predict domain boundaries

Motivation: The sizes of protein domains observed in the 3D-structure database follow a surprisingly narrow distribution. Structural domains are furthermore formed from a single-chain continuous segment in over 80% of instances. These observations imply that some choices of domain boundaries on an otherwise uncharacterized sequence are more likely than others, based solely on the size and segment number of predicted domains. This property might be used to guess the locations of protein domain boundaries. Results: To test this possibility we enumerate putative domain boundaries and calculate their relative likelihood under a probability model that considers only the size and segment number of predicted domains. We ask, in a cross-validated test using sequences with known 3D structure, whether the most likely guesses agree with the observed domain structure. We find that domain boundary predictions are surprisingly successful for sequences up to 400 residues long and that guessing domain boundaries in this way can improve the sensitivity of threading analysis. Availability: The DGS algorithm, for ‘Domain Guess by Size’, is available as a web service at http:// www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/ dgs. This site also provides the DGS source code.
A Photoemission Study of the Epitaxial Growth of Si on Gap(110)

We have used angular resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy to study the epitaxial growth of Si on GaP(110). Surface state emission obscures the top of the valence band (TVB). The Fermi level for the clean GaP(110) surface is 1.20±0.05eV above the TVB. 1ML (monolayer) of Si pins the Fermi level position at 1.40±0.05eV above the TVB. Further deposition of Si leads to a valence band discontinuity ΔE v =1.07 ±0.10eV.
An array control unit for high performance SIMD arrays

Although arrays of SIMD PEs can be built with very high operating frequencies, problems exist in keeping the array busy. The inherent mismatch between host and array makes it difficult to maintain high array utilization: either the rate of instruction issue is very low or PE data locality is compromised, having the same effect. Our solution is based on an array control unit (ACU) design that expands macro instructions in two stages, first by data tile and then into microinstructions. The expansion itself solves the issue problem; decoupling the expansion modalities maintains data locality. Several issues involving host/ACU interaction need to be resolved to effect this solution.
A hybrid cmos/nano fpga architecture built fromprogrammable majority logic arrays

Recent research into molecular scale electronics has led to the realization of novel nanoscale devices that can be used to implement circuits such as what we dub Programmable Majority Logic Arrays (PMLA). A PMLA leverages two characteristics found in molecular electronic devices, hysteretic switching and negative differential resistance (NDR), in the implementation of a PLA based on majority logic. This paper deals with the integration of several nanoscale PMLA units with micro scale technologies to implement a high density FPGA architecture. One of the key contributions of this work is the interface between the top nanoscale layer and a lower CMOS layer. Two approaches are considered for interfacing these two technologies: (1) direct connection and (2) connection utilizing tapered buffers between the layers for improved delay. The intermediate tapered buffers in the second approach ensure that the variation in feature size, and hence load capacitance, from one layer to the next is not too substantial. This paper also demonstrates the potential of the PMLA FPGA from a high level perspective in terms of increased density and performance for a set of applications.
Fractography and failure mechanisms of particulate‐filled thermoplastic polyester

Fractography has been used for the postfailure analysis of a filled thermoplastic polyester. The five fracture modes that were previously defined on the basis of macroscopic stress–strain behavior were distinguished by certain fractrographic features. These features were characteristic of the fracture mode and did not depend on filler type or filler content. The Mode A ductile fracture surface consisted of two regions: a pullout region of slower crack growth and a rosette region of faster crack growth. The Mode B ductile fracture surface contained only a ductile pull out texture. The Mode C quasi-brittle fracture surface exhibited secondary fracture features that sometimes included the herringbone pattern. The Mode D quasi-brittle fracture surface consisted of a stress-whitened dimple region and a brittle fracture region. The Mode E Fracture surface exhibited primarily the rough texture characteristic of brittle fracture. The failure mechanisms inferred from analysis of the fracture surfaces confirmed a microscopic failure model of the ductile-to-quasi-brittle transition in filled PETG that is based on the strain-hardening strength of the polymer ligaments between debonded filler particles. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Reaction of the copper dimer with ethylene. A theoretical study

Abstract A theoretical study of interaction of ethylene with Cu 2 is considered using SCF/CASSCF/MP2 methods. The calculated dissociation energy is in good agreement with available experimental data. Our studies reveal that the perpendicular approach of Cu 2 is more favored than the parallel approach. The strong bonding is assisted through the donation of π-electronic density from ethylene to the 4p orbital of Cu.
Is Gardening an Adaptive Strategy for Florida Family Farmers

The climatic and economic situation of the last five years has been disastrous for many of Florida's full-time farmers. As a result, more and more full-time farmers are being forced to cut back or stop farming commercially and get a higher-paying off-farm job. For these part-time farmers it makes more economic sense to secure a stable income from off-farm work and guarantee more than half the family's food supply through gardening and livestock production, than take the risk of full-time farming. Although gardening is not often considered to be as important as commercial farming, the results presented here of a gardening survey in four Florida counties show that gardening today is a key survival strategy for Florida farmers. How it became an adaptive strategy is the theoretical point of this paper. We propose that originally survival strategies are processed by the individual as sets of decision rules, which can be modeled using hierarchical decision models (HDMs). Over time, the decisions are made so fre...
CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins in normal mammary development and breast cancer

CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) are a family of leucine zipper, transcription factors that bind to DNA as homodimers and heterodimers. They regulate cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in the mammary gland. Multiple protein isoforms, including truncated, dominant negatives, are generated by translation of the C/EBPβ transcript or via proteolytic cleavage of the full-length C/EBPβ protein. Gene deletion of individual C/EBP family members has demonstrated an essential role for C/EBPβ in normal mammary development, while transgenic and overexpression studies provide evidence that the dominant-negative C/EBPβ-liver-enriched inhibitory protein isoform induces proliferation in mammary epithelial cells. Mounting evidence suggests that alterations in the ratio of the C/EBPβ-liver-enriched inhibitory protein isoform and the C/EBPβ-liver-enriched activating protein isoform may play a role in the development of breast cancer. This review will consequently focus on C/EBP actions in normal mammary development and on the emerging data that supports a role in breast cancer.
Novel Copolymers of Styrene. 6. Halogen Ring-Substituted 2-Cyano-3-phenyl-2-propenamides

Novel electrophilic trisubstituted ethylene monomers, halo ring-disubstituted 2-cyano-3-phenyl-2-propenamides, RPhCH = C(CN)CONH2, where R is 2,3-difluoro, 2,4-difluoro, 2,5-difluoro, 2,6-difluoro, 3,4-difluoro, 3,5-difluoro, 2-chloro-4-fluoro, 3-chloro-2-fluoro, 3-chloro-4-fluoro were prepared and copolymerized with styrene. The monomers were synthesized by potassium hydroxide catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation of ring-substituted benzaldehydes and cyanoacetamide, and characterized by CHN elemental analysis, IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR. Novel copolymers of the ethylenes and styrene were prepared at equimolar monomer feed composition by solution copolymerization in the presence of a radical initiator, ABCN at 70°C. The composition of the copolymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis, and the structures were analyzed by IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR, GPC, DSC, and TGA. High Tg of the copolymers in comparison with that of polystyrene indicates a substantial decrease in chain mobility of the copolymer due to the high dipol...
Associated Changes in HCN2 and HCN4 Transcripts and If Pacemaker Current in Myocytes

The time- and voltage-dependent inward current generated by the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels contributes to the tissue-specific rhythmic activities in the brain and heart. Four isoforms (HCN1-HCN4) have been identified. Previous studies showed that different HCN isoforms may form functional heteromeric channels. We report here that when HCN2 and HCN4 mRNA were injected into Xenopus oocytes with various ratios of HCN2 over HCN4 at 1:1, 10:1, and 1:10, respectively, the resultant channels showed a depolarized current activation and significantly faster activation kinetics near the midpoint of activation compared with HCN4 homomeric channels. In adult rat myocytes overexpressing HCN4, there was an associated increase in HCN2 mRNA. In neonatal rat myocytes in which HCN2 was knocked down, there was also a simultaneous decrease in HCN4 mRNA. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments showed that HCN2 and HCN4 channel proteins can associate with each other in adult rat ventricles. Finally, in adult myocytes overexpressing HCN4, the hyperpolarization-activated inward current activation, I(f), was shifted to physiological voltages from non-physiological voltages, associated with faster activation kinetics. These data suggested that different ratios of HCN2 and HCN4 transcripts overlapping in different tissues also contribute to the tissue-specific properties of I(f).
Non-lesional white matter changes in pediatric multiple sclerosis and monophasic demyelinating disorders

Objective:To analyze diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) derived metrics between patients with childhood onset multiple sclerosis (MS), monophasic demyelinating illnesses, and healthy controls.Background:Monophasic demyelinating illnesses can be indistinguishable clinically and radiologically, utilizing standard MRI studies. DTI studies in adults implicate the involvement of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in MS.Methods:Subjects with DTI studies (15 directions, 1.5 Tesla (GE), 3x3x3 mm, interpolated to 1.5x1.5x3 mm) were retrospectively identified. We studied three groups: childhood onset MS (n=18), monophasic illness (eight with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), seven with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS)) and age-matched controls. DTI had been obtained within one month of symptom onset for patients with ADEM and within a median of 20 months for the MS group. DTI measures were determined using a semi-automated method from standardized regions of interest (ROI) containing central fibers of th...
Dilation of intra‐atrial baffle fenestrations: Results in vivo and in vitro

Spontaneous closure of intra-atrial baffle fenestrations occurred early postoperatively following a Fontan procedure in three patients (ages 0.8–2 yr) and were reopened using transvenous balloon dilation. Following this clinical experience with this complication we studied the effects of high pressure balloons of different sizes on fenestrations created in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) patches. The intra-atrial baffle fenestration was found closed within hours after surgery in two patients and 32 days postoperatively in the other. Increasing edema, chest tube drainage, and renal dysfunction ensued rapidly. At catheterization the balloon dilation in two patients reduced the elevated right atrial pressure, edema, and pleural effusion and allowed an acceptable arterial saturation. In the other patient, with acidosis and a low cardiac output, transient cardiac arrest occurred following passage of the catheter through the fenestration and during later unsuccessful operation the fenestration, although open, was traversed by strands of clot. In the experimental study, a total of 45 fenestrations 4 mm in diameter were dilated with 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 mm balloons. The fenestration areas remained increased significantly during the 14 days of observation in room air, with the larger balloons producing larger holes. Balloon dilation may be effective for spontaneous fenestration closure occurring in the early postoperative period after a fenestrated Fontan procedure. Our experimental data may be useful in selecting the balloon size in this setting.
Shape Evolution of SrTiO3 Crystals During Coarsening in a Titania‐Rich Liquid

To identify factors that might affect capillary driving forces and interface structure-dependent mechanisms for coarsening, we have used a stereological analysis to determine the changes in the morphology of SrTiO3 crystals in contact with a titania-rich liquid at 1500°C. A combination of flat and curved surfaces is observed in contact with the liquid. The (100) surface is the most common, followed by (110). A range of surfaces in the 〈100〉 zone are also found, but with a lower frequency. The areas of the {100} and {110} surfaces are approximately equal at the initial stage, but after 24 h of growth, the {100} surface area is more than twice as great as the {110} surface area. At this point, {100} surfaces make up more than 25% of the surface area in contact with the liquid. The results suggest that morphological changes during growth continuously reduce the average surface energy and interface mobility. This provides a plausible explanation for coarsening rates that decrease faster than predicted by the classical theory.
Interactions of oxygen and sulfhydryls with free radicals in irradiated mammalian cells.

Studies on radiosensitization by oxygen and radioprotection by sulfhydryl-containing compounds have often directed attention to the importance of interactions of those two agents — oxygen and thiols — in determining radiation response. The so-called repair-fixation theory suggests radiation response is determined by a competition between damage fixation by oxidizing agents (e.g., oxygen) and damage repair by reducing species (e.g., sulfhydryls) 1,2: Open image in new window Open image in new window where T· represents an ionizing radiation-induced organic radical on a cellular “target” molecule, TH, such as DNA, and RSH is any thiol. This competition can be clearly demonstrated in simple chemical systems and in nucleic acids such as poly(A) and transforming DNA, and it has been shown that the damage fixation reaction is over 100 times faster than the H donation, chemical repair reaction (reviewed recently3). But the occurrence of this competition in mammalian cells is more difficult to demonstrate. This paper will review the current literature indicating the involvement of this chemical competition in determining radiation response in mammalian cells.
Functionally Graded Tungsten Carbide Produced by Carburizing Method

Cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) is an indispensable material used in many manufacturing sectors including metalworking, oil and gas drilling, geothermal energy exploration, mining, construction, high-wear components, and other applications. The wide range of applications of WC-Co is because of its superior combination of high modulus, high hardness, wear resistance, and moderate fracture toughness. However, the wear resistance and fracture toughness of WC-Co composites are inversely related to each other. Wear resistance is often improved at the expense of the fracture toughness, and vice versa. This, in turn, limits the potential use of the material in manufacturing operations.
Comments: Theoretical Entities Versus Theories

Dr. Goodfield’s paper contains new and interesting ideas cast in an old and vulnerable philosophical framework. In an effort toward making a just comment on her valuable paper, I offer the following constructive criticism.
Relationships among demographic variables, organizational culture, interpersonal self-efficacy and perceived job performance.

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, INTERPERSONAL SELF-EFFICACY AND PERCEIVED JOB PERFORMANCE Maria D. Vasquez-Colina April 5, 2005 The goal of this study was to investigate the relationships among demographics variables (age, sex, and ethnicity), organizational culture, interpersonal self-efficacy, and perceived job performance of nonprofit human service workers. The 13 participating organizations provided services such as adoption assistance, adult daycare services, child care resource and referral help, children’s daycare services, family counseling, children and youth mentoring, residential care for elderly, residential care for persons with disabilities, and substance abuse treatment programs. Only 607 full-time workers filled in the questionnaire. The response rate was 54%. Findings in the present study found that self-efficacy is a major predictor of performance. This study found that to perform more effectively at the interpersonal level, nonprofit human service workers require expertise,
The Theory of the Impact Tube at Low Pressures

A theoretical analysis has been made for an impact tube of the relation between free-stream Mach Number and the impact and free-stream pressures and densities for extremely low pressures. I t is shown that the results differ appreciably from the corresponding continuum relations.
Serial learning in a continuous serial list

Learning of a continuous serial list with no intertriai interval (ITI) and no starting symbol was compared with learning of a standard serial list. As in a previous study by Lippman & Denny (1964), it was found that the continuous list was learned significantly more slowly and yielded a flattened serial position curve. There was a marked tendency for Ss in the continuous-list condition to respond correctly most often to the item which appeared second. When the item on which each S in this condition performed best was placed in the first serial position, a typical serial position curve was reinstated with some diminution of the recency effect. It was concluded that in the absence of explicit serial position cues Ss tend to provide their own.
EXTENSIVE ULTRAPRODUCTS AND HAAR MEASURE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses extensive ultraproducts and Haar measure. A Haar measure is one which is positive on nonempty open sets, finite on compact sets, regular, and invariant under translation. Real-valued Haar measures exist for topological groups which are locally-compact; but for the non-locally compact groups there are, in a sense, not enough real numbers for us to be able to give positive real measures to all the deserving sets. A translation invariant measure which takes values in an ultrapower of the reals is constructed. Ultrapower-bounded measures are given to sets which have compact intersections with sufficiently many locally compact subgroups of the given topological group. A preliminary section is given to the introduction of the extensive ultraproduct and to the definition of infinite sums. The real-valued Haar measure on a given locally compact group is unique only to within a multiplicative constant.
Effect of increasing work rate on metabolic responses of the donkey (Equus asinus)

Oxygen consumption (VO2) and concentration of venous blood metabolites were measured in donkeys trained to run and to pull loads on a treadmill. VO2 in two donkeys running at maximal speed on a 9.8...
Clinical Presentation and Therapy of Cardiomyopathies

There are three distinct cardiomyopathies: hypertrophic, dilated or congestive, and restrictive. Recently, the fourth type, “ventricular noncompaction,” has been described, but it is yet unclear if this truly is newly recognized cardiomyopathy or, rather, is a manifestation of dilated or congestive cardiomyopathy.
Defining a Research Agenda for Patient-Reported Outcomes in Surgery: Using a Delphi Survey of Stakeholders.

Importance Identifying timely and important research questions using relevant patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in surgery remains paramount in the current medical climate. The inaugural Patient-Reported Outcomes in Surgery (PROS) Conference brought together stakeholders in PROs research in surgery with the aim of creating a research agenda to help determine future directions and advance cross-disciplinary collaboration. Objective To create a research agenda to help determine future directions and advance cross-disciplinary collaboration on the use of PROs in surgery. Design, Setting, and Participants An iterative web-based interface was used to create a conference-based, modified Delphi survey for registrants at the PROS Conference (January 29-30, 2015), including surgeons, PRO researchers, payers, and other stakeholders. In round 1, research items were generated from qualitative review of responses to open-ended prompts. In round 2, items were ranked using a 5-point Likert scale; attendees were also asked to submit any new items. In round 3, the top 30 items and newly submitted items were redistributed for final ranking using a 3-point Likert scale. The top 20 items by mean rating were selected for the research agenda. Main Outcomes and Measures An expert-generated research agenda on PROs in surgery. Results Of the 143 people registered for the conference, 137 provided valid email addresses. There was a wide range of attendees, with the 3 most common groups being plastic surgeons (28 [19.6%]), general surgeons (19 [13.3%]), and researchers (25 [17.5%]). In round 1, participants submitted 459 items, which were reduced through qualitative review to 53 distinct items across 7 themes of PROs research. A research agenda was formulated after 2 successive rounds of ranking. The research agenda identified 3 themes important for future PROs research in surgery: (1) PROs in the decision-making process, (2) integrating PROs into the electronic health record, and (3) measuring quality in surgery with PROs. Conclusions and Relevance The PROS Conference research agenda was created using a modified Delphi survey of stakeholders that will help researchers, surgeons, and funders identify crucial areas of future PROs research in surgery.
Complements: Biotechnology and technobiology

Engineering has and will continue to have a critical impact on healthcare; the application of technology-based techniques to biological problems can be defined to be technobiology - thus, it can be considered to be the complement to biotechnology, an all too encompassing and overused term. In addition to detailing the scope of technobiology, this paper expands on the technobiology approach of service systems engineering to the development of a healthcare service system that is integrated, adaptive and evidence-based; focuses on a range of example applications in regard to the technobiology areas of information, instrumentation, and insertion; underscores, as an example, the collaborative technobiology efforts between the College of Engineering and the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami; and concludes with some additional insights.
Enhancement of field emission of carbon nanotubes arrays formed by self-assembled microspheres

Due to their extraordinary thermal conductivity, mechanical and electrical properties, and especially high aspect ratio with narrow diameters, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown promising field emission performance, which can be used as cold cathode for vacuum electronic devices such as field emission display, X-ray tubes, and e-beam lithography [1]. One of the challenges that limit the field emission performance for CNTs is the screening effect [2]. Essentially, the local electric field on CNTs is screened from the surrounding nanotubes, which leads to significant reduction of the field emission current density from these CNTs.
Treatment of alpha and beta herpesvirus infections in solid organ transplant recipients.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Human herpesviruses frequently cause infections in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients.Areas covered: We provide an overview of the clinical impact of alpha and beta herpesviruses and highlight the mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, clinical indications, and adverse effects of antiviral drugs for the management of herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus and cytomegalovirus. We comprehensively evaluated key clinical trials that led to drug approval, and served as the foundation for management guidelines. We further provide an update on investigational antiviral agents for alpha and beta herpesvirus infections after SOT.Expert commentary: The therapeutic armamentarium for herpes infections is limited by the emergence of drug resistance. There have been major efforts for discovery of new drugs against these viruses, but the results of early-phase clinical trials have been less than encouraging. We believe, however, that more antiviral drug options are needed given the adve...
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Prevalence and Care of Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Ferdinand KC, Nasser SA. Racial/ethnic disparities in prevalence and care of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Curr Med Res Opin 2015;31:913–923 This article is a narrative review of the epidemiological data available on diabetes prevalence and care and of studies indexed in PubMed involving trials that evaluated treatments for type 2 diabetes in racial minority populations. The authors examined data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Table 1 provides a summary of demographic data (1–7). Because of the difficulties in gathering data for all three large racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, disparities are presented solely for African Americans compared to whites and for Hispanics compared to whites. The prevalence of diagnosed type 2 diabetes by racial/ethnic group is as follows: Asians 9.0%, African Americans 13.2%, Hispanic 12.8%, and non-Hispanic whites 7.6%. There is a wide variation in prevalance in the Native American population (e.g., 6.0% in Alaskan Natives and 24.1% in southern Arizona Native American groups) and among Hispanics (e.g., 8.5% in Central/South Americans, 9.3% in Cubans, 13.9% in Mexican Americans, and 14.8% in Puerto Ricans) (8). View this table: TABLE 1. Summary of Disparities Data Presented in the Article Reviewed (1–7) Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe all clinical drug trials for type 2 diabetes that included Asians, African Americans, or Hispanics. Design. The authors conducted a literature review of studies indexed in MEDLINE and accessed through PubMed. Methods. The authors searched …
Topological value iteration algorithm for Markov decision processes

Value Iteration is an inefficient algorithm for Markov decision processes (MDPs) because it puts the majority of its effort into backing up the entire state space, which turns out to be unnecessary in many cases. In order to overcome this problem, many approaches have been proposed. Among them, LAO, LRTDP and HDP are state-of-theart ones. All of these use reachability analysis and heuristics to avoid some unnecessary backups. However, none of these approaches fully exploit the graphical features of the MDPs or use these features to yield the best backup sequence of the state space. We introduce an algorithm named Topological Value Iteration (TVI) that can circumvent the problem of unnecessary backups by detecting the structure of MDPs and backing up states based on topological sequences. We prove that the backup sequence TVI applies is optimal. Our experimental results show that TVI outperforms VI, LAO, LRTDP and HDP on our benchmark MDPs.