cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early-Life Adversity and Physical and Emotional Health Across the Lifespan: A Neuroimmune Network Hypothesis

Children who experience chronic stressors are vulnerable to emotional and physical health problems across the lifespan. This phenomenon raises questions for scientists and clinicians alike. How does adversity get under the skin of the developing child? Through what mechanisms does it confer vulnerability to a heterogeneous set of mental and physical illnesses? And how does it instantiate risk across different life stages, engendering vulnerability to conditions that develop shortly after stressor exposure—like depression—and conditions that manifest decades later, like heart disease? Although answers to these questions have started to emerge, research has typically focused on single diseases or organ systems. To understand the plethora of health problems associated with childhood adversity, we argue that the field needs a second generation of research that recognizes multidirectional transactions among biological systems. To help facilitate this process, we propose a neuroimmune network hypothesis as a heuristic framework for organizing knowledge from disparate literatures and as a springboard for generating integrative research. Drawing on existing data, we argue that early-life adversity amplifies crosstalk between peripheral inflammation and neural circuitries subserving threat-related, reward-related, and executive control-related processes. This crosstalk results in chronic low-grade inflammation, thereby contributing to adiposity, insulin resistance, and other predisease states. In the brain, inflammatory mediators act on cortico-amygdala threat and cortico-basal ganglia reward, circuitries in a manner that predisposes individuals to self-medicating behaviors like smoking, drug use, and consumption of high-fat diets. Acting in concert with inflammation, these behaviors accelerate the pathogenesis of emotional and physical health problems.
Tracheal agenesis: Respiratory distress, aphonia and emergency airway management

Tracheal agenesis is an extremely rare, usually fatal, congenital anomaly presenting with respiratory distress and aphonia. We present a case of tracheoesophageal fistula, in which an endotracheal tube failed to be placed; alternatively the infant was partially venitlated via an endoesophageal tube. A delayed transfer of the infant and inability to perform an urgent tracheostomy led to the infant's demise. Floyd described 3 different phenotypes of tracheal agenesis. The anomaly is thought to be due to errors in development occurring during the division of the foregut into the esophagus and the trachea. Affected neonates uniformly present in the immediate postnatal period with severe respiratory distress and aphonia. Endotracheal intubation is difficult, often with multiple failed attempts and inability to advance the tube below the vocal cords. Ventilation with a tube placed in the esophagus can temporarily sustain life in the presence of a fistula as in this case. The condition can occur in isolation or in association with malformations in organ systems other than the lungs, airway and esophagus. New approaches for reconstruction of the trachea have been reported and regenerative medicine may have a future role.
Introduction to the Theory and Instrumentation for Vibrational Spectroscopy

The theory of infrared and Raman spectroscopy is introduced, including factors that control the frequency, intensity, and shape of bands in these spectra. Factors that determine the quantitative aspects of vibrational spectroscopy, including Beer's law, the complex refractive index, and the effect of polarized radiation, are discussed. Finally, the instrumentation for mid-infrared, near-infrared, and Raman spectroscopy is discussed. Keywords: vibrational spectroscopy; mid-infrared; near-infrared; Raman; intensities; refractive index; polarization; Fourier transform infrared; band intensity; band width
Recursive Individually Distributed Object

Distributed Objects (DO) as defined by OMG’s CORBA architecture provide a model for object-oriented parallel distributed computing. The parallelism in this model however is limited in that the distribution refers to the mappings of different objects to different hosts, and not to the distribution of any individual object. We propose in this paper an alternative model called Individually Distributed Object (IDO) which allows a single large object to be distributed over a network, thus providing a high level interface for the exploitation of parallelism inside the computation of each object which was left out of the distributed objects model. Moreover, we propose a set of functionally orthogonal operations for the objects which allow the objects to be recursively divided, combined, and communicate over recursively divided address space. Programming by divide-and-conquer is therefore effectively supported under this framework. The Recursive Individually Distributed Object (RIDO) has been adopted as the primary parallel programming model in the Brokered Objects for Ragged-network Gigaflops (BORG) project at the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, and applied to large-scale real-world problems.
Gene Knockouts in Cancer Research

Understanding genetic pathways is a prerequisite for the development of molecular and pharmacological therapies in order to treat and prevent cancer effectively. Transgenic approaches and mouse modelling have been developed as standard techniques for gene targeting that enables the dissection of cancer-related cellular mechanisms. The possibility of manipulating and culturing pluripotent mouse embryonic stem cells has allowed for the generation of mice with a specific alteration in a chosen target gene. Transgenic mice harbouring activated forms of proto-oncogenes or dominant negative forms of tumour-suppressor genes have been generated in order to test the causal relationship between their expression and tumour development. In order to circumvent certain limitations of unspecific genetic alterations, conditional targeting strategies and tissue-specific expression methods have been created, making it possible to introduce more subtle gene alterations and identify tumour modifiers and cancer-related signaling networks. This chapter describes basic techniques for the generation of gene alterations in mice, their usefullness, and their limitations. Keywords: gene knockout; embryonic stem cells; heterozygous; hemizygous; gene targeting; cre–loxP system; chimaera; Li–Fraumeni syndrome; Cowden syndrome; retinoblastoma; acute promyelocytic leukaemia
Discovery of Oxygen in the DQ White Dwarf Star G 227-5 (PG 1727+560): A Progress Report

For many years it has been common knowledge that white dwarf stars have “carbon-oxygen” cores. But for equally many years, the ratio of carbon to oxygen in these cores has been essentially unknown. In recent years, the question of the interior chemical composition of white dwarf stars has become of interest for a variety of reasons that extend beyond our intrinsic interest in any accessible property of the stars which interests the community of people who do research on white dwarf stars:
Effects of Dietary Fibers on Mineral Status of Chicks

We investigated the effects of replacing dietary starch with dietary fibers of various types and particle sizes on utilization of bivalent cations by chicks. Inclusion of polyethylene powder, alfalfa cell walls, corn bran, oat bran and wheat bran into diets resulted in lower serum and tibia Zn levels. However, addition of pectin, cellulose and a xylose:gum arabic (50:50) mixture did not affect tissue Zn levels, whereas addition of 4% lignin increased serum Zn level from 2.50 to 3.44 micrograms/ml. Ingestion of fibers with particle sizes less than 300 micrometers resulted in higher serum Zn levels compared with those of particle sizes greater than 300 micrometers. Incorporation of 4 and 8% pectin decreased (P less than 0.05) serum and tibia Mg levels. When brans were fed, kidney Mg levels were lower due to fiber additions. Inclusion of lignin, the xylose:gum arabic mixture and alfalfa cell walls resulted in lower liver Cu levels; polyethylene and solka floc had no effect on liver Cu status. Fiber did not affect tissue Ca or Fe status. Each mineral influenced by fiber type, level or particle size appeared to be affected through different mechanisms.
A low impedance VHF micromechanical filter using coupled-array composite resonators

By using mechanically-coupled flexural-mode square resonator arrays as "composite" resonators, the impedance of a 68.1-MHz (VHF), capacitively-transduced micromechanical filter has been lowered to point of allowing L-network-aided matching to 50/spl Omega/ termination impedances, while also exhibiting less than 2.7dB insertion loss (IL) for a 190kHz passband width (0.28% bandwidth). The use of composite arrays to replace previous single resonators in a series filter topology not only allows a reduction in filter termination resistance by a factor ideally equal to the number of resonators in the array, but also a reduction in filter bandwidth by this same factor $an important feature for channel-select applications. Although array Q values are smaller than the Q of a stand-alone square resonator, they are still sufficient for excellent filter performance.
Mechanisms for the Association between Traditional Masculine Ideologies and Rape Myth Acceptance among College Men

We explored mechanisms for the relationship between traditional masculine ideologies and rape myth acceptance. We hypothesized that locus of control would serve as a mediator for victim precipitation rape myths, and negative attitudes toward women would serve as a mediator for victim masochism and victim fabrication rape myths. Using a sample of 100 male college students, the results indicated that negative attitudes toward women mediated the relationship between traditional masculine ideologies and all 3 types of rape myths, but locus of control did not serve as a mediator for any. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
A Linear Risk Model

A special structure optimization model is presented which includes many of the single variable risk problems that are encountered in operational problems. A risk function is assumed which is a piece-wise linear function of some random variable whose distribution is known; one seeks the value of the decision variable which minimizes expected risk. In this paper are presented the necessary and sufficient conditions for this optimization for random variables which are either continuously or discretely distributed. The important special case of a continuous risk function is discussed; multiple risk problems with a joint constraint are analyzed; and the change in policy for a small change in the distribution of the random variable is investigated. Examples illustrate the application of the model.
Structure and specification of iron complexes in aqueous solutions determined by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Abstract X-ray absorption spectroscopy, including extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) techniques, have been used to determine the structure and speciation of complexes for Fe2+ and Fe3+ chloride solutions at a variety of pH's, ionic strengths, and chloride/iron ratios. Low intensity K-edge transition features and analysis of modified pair correlation functions, derived from Fourier transformation of EXAFS spectra, show a regular octahedral coordination of Fe(II) by water molecules with a first-shell Fe2+-O bond distance, closely matching octahedral Fe2+-O bonds obtained from solid oxide model compounds. Solution Fe2+-O bond distances decrease with chloride/iron ratio, pH, and total FeCl2 concentration. A slight intensification of the 1s → 3d transition with increasing FeCl2 concentration suggests that chloride may begin to mix with water as a nearest-neighbor octahedral ligand. Fe3+ solutions show a pronounced increase in the 1s → 3d transition intensities between 1.0 M FeCl3/7.8 M Cl− to 1.0 M FeCl3/ 15 M Cl−, indicating a coordination change from octahedral to tetrahedral complexes. EXAFS analyses of these solutions show an increase in first-shell Fe3+-ligand distances despite this apparent reduction in coordination number. This can be best explained by a change from regular octahedral complexes of ferric iron (either Fe(H2O)63+ or trans-Fe(H2O)4Cl2 or both; Fe3+-O bond distances of 2.10 A) to tetra-chloro complexes [Fe3+-Cl bond distances of 2.25 A].
Surface plasmon polaritons in VO 2 thin films for tunable low-loss plasmonic applications

We report on the first observation of optically excited surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the conducting phase of vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films. VO2 is low-loss optical material that undergoes an insulator-metal transition (IMT) under suitable thermal, optical, or electrical stimulation, thus enabling tunable SPP excitation of the conducting phase. Here we applied IR light (1520 nm) to excite SPPs while thermally inducing the IMT by changing the VO2 temperature, and observed a clear trend from nonabsorption in the insulator phase to high absorption in the conducting phase due to SPP excitation in the latter phase. Tunable SPPs in VO2 enable a range of opportunities for low-loss optoplasmonic applications since the rate of the IMT excitation can also be tailored.
Nuclear magnetic resonance studies in normal and edematous brain tissue.

The nmr relaxation rate results show unequivocally that there are at least two fractions of tissue water in both normal and edematous white matter which do not exchange on an nmr time scale (i.e. at times of the order of milliseconds to fraction of a second). In conjunction with the electron microscopic determination of the extracellular volumes of normal and edematous white matter, the relaxation results can be interpreted in terms of the following model. The two slowly-exchanging water components giving rise to the non-exponential relaxation correspond to cellular and extracellular water; edema changes the relaxation rate of the extracellular component much more than that of the cellular component (the extracellular component becoming more “liquid-like” in its relaxation). Such behavior is consistent with the properties of the extracellular water being due to rapid exchange between motionally restricted water adsorbed at the surface of myelin sheaths, and relatively unrestricted, bulk water. Edema presumably increases the relative amount of the “bulk” water between the axons.
Psychological determinants of fibromyalgia and related syndromes

Fibromyalgia and other chronic pain and fatigue syndromes constitute an increasingly greater societal burden that currently is not being approached effectively by traditional Western medicine. Although the hallmarks of fibromyalgia—chronic widespread pain, fatigue, and multiple other somatic symptoms—have neurophysiologic and endocrinologic underpinnings, these biological aspects derive primarily from psychological variables. Female gender, adverse experiences during childhood, psychological vulnerability to stress, and a stressful, often frightening environment and culture are important antecedents of fibromyalgia. To understand fibromyalgia and related syndromes and to provide optimum care requires a biopsychosocial, not a biomedical, viewpoint.
Anisotropy of Galactic Cosmic Rays and the Interplanetary Magnetic Field

IT has been demonstrated1,2, using data from high counting rate instruments, that the daily variation of secondary cosmic ray intensity measured on the ground can in general be related on each day to an anisotropy of primary galactic cosmic rays. The anisotropy can vary from day to day in magnitude, in the directions with respect to the Earth–Sun line of maximum intensity Tmax and of minimum intensity Tmin outside the influence of the geomagnetic field, and in the energy spectrum of variation. Tmax and Tmin are usually separated by 8–10 h. This has led Rao and Sarabhai to suggest that the anisotropy appears generally to be due to two principal processes, one a modulation equivalent to a pair of oppositely directed positive and negative sources, and the other a negative virtual source approximately oriented along the garden hose direction towards the Sun.
IPC incorporated: a student-run IT services company for experiential learning

The Informatics Professional Corporation (IPC) is a C-corporation staffed and managed by undergraduate students in the Information Management & Systems (IMS) program at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Service in IPC satisfies an internship requirement in the curriculum and gives students real-world experience and a head start in making personal contacts in the local business environment. Many internship jobs are menial and unpaid positions. Last year, one of us (Routh) hit upon the idea of giving students a real-world opportunity by creating a real company incorporated in the state of South Carolina complete with a board of directors, stock issues, and an executive management team staffed solely by students. This paper describes the genesis of IPC, lessons learned, and the experiences of the inaugural class of interns at IPC. IPC has become a great source of pride among the students and students have shown an unexpected level of maturity. Many students are remaining associated with the company even though the internship is complete and intend to make it their permanent job after graduation. IPC represents an interesting new model for learning and is worthy of consideration as a vehicle for experiential learning in other information technology programs.
A three-dimensional tubular scaffold that modulates the osteogenic and vasculogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow stromal cells.

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous population of cells that are multipotent. When rat BMSCs were seeded onto a 3-dimensional (3-D) tubular scaffo...
Intraseasonal-to-Interannual Variability of South Indian Ocean Sea Level and Thermocline: Remote versus Local Forcing

AbstractThe relative importance of local versus remote forcing on intraseasonal-to-interannual sea level and thermocline variability of the tropical south Indian Ocean (SIO) is systematically examined by performing a suite of controlled experiments using an ocean general circulation model and a linear ocean model. Particular emphasis is placed on the thermocline ridge of the Indian Ocean (TRIO; 5°–12°S, 50°–80°E). On interannual and seasonal time scales, sea level and thermocline variability within the TRIO region is primarily forced by winds over the Indian Ocean. Interannual variability is largely caused by westward propagating Rossby waves forced by Ekman pumping velocities east of the region. Seasonally, thermocline variability over the TRIO region is induced by a combination of local Ekman pumping and Rossby waves generated by winds from the east. Adjustment of the tropical SIO at both time scales generally follows linear theory and is captured by the first two baroclinic modes. Remote forcing from t...
Marketing artistic careers: Pablo Picasso as brand manager

Purpose – In recent years, scholars have begun suggesting that marketing can learn a lot from art and art history. This paper aims to build on that work by developing the proposition that successful artists are powerful brands. Design/methodology/approach – Using archival data and biographies, this paper explores the branding acumen of Pablo Picasso. Findings – Picasso maneuvered with consummate skill to assure his position in the art world. By mid-career, he had established his brand so successfully that he had the upper hand over the dealers who represented him, and his work was so sought-after that he could count on selling whatever proportion of it he chose to allow to leave his studio. In order to achieve this level of success, Picasso had to read the culture in which he operated and manage the efforts of a complex system of different intermediaries and stakeholders that was not unlike an organization. Based on an analysis of Picasso's career, the authors assert that in their management of these powe...
SU-FF-I-27: Can a Flat Panel Cone Beam CT Imager Pass the American College of Radiology CT Accreditation Requirements for Head Scans?

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of a flat panel cone‐beam CT system with the American College of Radiology (ACR) CT Accreditation Program. Methods and Materials: A bench‐top flat panel (FP) cone‐beam CT system using the Varian Medical Systems 4030CB panel and G424/B130 x‐ray tube with a rotating stage were used. The FP was operated in the dynamic gain mode with a frame rate of 15 fps and a scan time of 42 seconds and 625 views. The source and detector geometry were such that a full‐fan head size 25 cm field‐of‐view was reconstructed. The Gammex Inc. 464 ACR accreditation phantom and ACT automated evaluation software were used to form an unbiased pass/fail determination of the ACR head scan criteria. Standard CTDIdosimetry measurements were performed with a 16 cm diameter PMMA phantom and Victoreen 660 survey meter with 10 cm ionization chamber.Results: The ACR phantom has 4 sections, which are to evaluate a number of performance criteria. The scans were performed at a measured CTDI100 of 45 mGy absorbed dose in air. These results are from the first attempt at using the ACR phantom on the FP CBCT system. The image quality was sufficient to pass the majority of the criteria, but failed to pass the CT number accuracy by 1 HU on the acrylic sample and by 1–2 HU on the CT number uniformity test. Conclusion: The results indicate that the CT number accuracy and uniformity are areas that can be improved with better software beam hardening and scatter corrections. Also these scans were taken without an anti scatter grid, which if used should improve CT number uniformity. Therefore, there are significant indications that we can pass all categories of the ACR head accreditation tests. Additional test are then to be performed on a C‐arm based system.
Relationship between the outcomes of assisted reproductive techniques and sperm DNA fragmentation as measured by the sperm chromatin structure assay

Abstract Objective To investigate how moderate and/or high levels of DNA fragmentation (DFI), as measured by the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), affect either IVF or IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) fertilization, cleavage, blastulation, implantation, and pregnancy. Design: Retrospective clinical study. Setting: Academic human reproduction laboratory. Patient(s): Eighty-nine couples undergoing IVF with conventional fertilization or ICSI. Intervention(s): Sperm chromatin structure assay testing (SCSA) of semen aliquot taken from ejaculate used for assisted reproductive technology (ART). Main outcome measure(s): Related DFI to conventional semen parameters and cycle-specific outcomes after ART. Result(s): No patients achieved clinical pregnancy if SCSA values exceeded the DFI (27%, P P P r 2 ) between SCSA parameters and conventional parameters exceeded 0.29. Conclusion(s): Sperm chromatin structure assay identified thresholds for negative pregnancy outcome after ART not identified using conventional semen parameters. This is the first study analyzing the clinical value of sperm DFI to [1] include a large number of ART patients (n = 89), [2] perform SCSA analysis on a semen aliquot from the ejaculate used for ART, and [3] examine how the extent (moderate and high DFI) of DFI influenced ART outcomes.
Ionizing collisions of two metastable helium atoms (2$sup 3$S)

The rate coefficient ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{1}$ for the ionizing collision of two metastable helium atoms ($2^{3}S$) is evaluated from measurements in a steadily decaying helium afterglow plasma with three different techniques. The value of ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{1}$ is also determined with a perturbation technique. All the values of ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{1}$ determined by these techniques lie within the range (4.5\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.0)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ ${\mathrm{sec}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. This value is larger than that observed directly from the decay of the density of the triplet helium metastable atom because the dissociative recombination of $\mathrm{He}_{2}^{+}$ is a significantly large source of atomic metastables.
Theory of STM-induced enhancement of dynamic dipole moments on crystal surfaces

We present the theory of the enhancement of dynamic dipole moments on crystal surfaces, induced by the presence of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip placed just above the dipole. We approximate the tip by a spherical object whose radius is large compared to its distance from the surface. The tip and substrate are described within the framework of local dielectric theory, and we ignore the role of retardation in the description of the substrate/dipole/tip complex. Within this picture, through use of bispherical coordinates, one may describe the total dipole moment of the complex through use of an expansion in terms of elementary functions. We obtain explicit results for two cases: (i) the dipole moment is normal to the surface and (ii) the dipole moment is parallel to the surface. Through numerical calculations, we find very substantial enhancements for case (i), when the tip/substrate separation is in the nanometer range, while for case (ii) the enhancements are modest. We comment on the implications of these results for the study of optical interactions experienced by atoms or molecules with dipole-active transitions, for entities on metal surfaces in the vicinity of STM probes.
Individualized Instruction, Student Achievement, and Dropout in an Urban Elementary Instrumental Music Program.

In this study involving fifth- and sixth-grade students in an urban school system, both individual instruction within instrumental music classrooms and student subject variables were examined for t...
Viscoelastic free surface flows: thin film hydrodynamics of Hele-Shaw and dip coating flows

The effect of elasticity on the meniscus shape and film thickness for the free boundary creeping flow created by injecting air to a Hele-Shaw cell initially filled with a viscoelastic fluid is studied theoretically. The theory is developed with the assumptions that the displaced viscoelastic fluid wets the walls and that capillary number Ca and the local Weissenberg number We are both small. The transition region between the advancing meniscus and the entrained film is where the fluid rheology has its greatest effect. The Oldroyd-B constitutive equation is used to model the viscoelastic fluid. The theory is formulated as a double expansion in Ca13 and WeCa13. According to our asymptotic analysis, as the fluid becomes more viscoelastic, the film thickness decreases and the pressure drop at the meniscus tip increases. A detailed analysis shows that the dominant mechanisms are the resistance to stream-wise strain, tending to lower the film thickness, and the buildup of shear stress, tending to raise the film thickness, with the former being the numerically larger of the two. Our theory leads to the prediction that as viscoelasticity comes to dominate the shear resistance, the film thickness will scale with U43. The effects of shear thinning and normal stress thinning are analyzed by adapting an approximate model obtained by retaining only the dominant terms in the force balance. Our Hele-Shaw cell theory is extended to dip coating and soap film forming flows. Our theoretical results pertaining to the effects of viscoelasticity on the thickness of the film are in qualitative agreement with recent experimental data.
Linkage of the brain-skin-gut axis: Islet cells originate from dopaminergic precursors

A population of cells containing the enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopa-decarboxylase (L-AADC) but not dopamine-B-hydroxylase (DBH) nor phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT) can be detected with immunocytochemical techniques in the pancreas of mouse embryos at the 11th day of development (E 11). The presence of TH in embryonal pancreas is transient: TH is not observed after E 15. By use of a method for simultaneously detecting two antigens in the same section both TH and glucagon were visualized in the same cell on E 12. Double labelled cells comprised 10% of all stained cells. At E 14.5, some of the cells stained for TH also contained insulin. However, at the time somatostatin appeared no embryonal cells containing TH remained. We conclude that two cell types of the APUD series, i.e., the glucagon and insulin cells of pancreas, arise from transformation, in situ, of cells that transiently express a dopaminergic phenotype. These results suggest that peptide-containing cells in skin, brain and gut are linked by a common embryonic origin. They also raise the prospect that other peptidergic cells of the APUD series may have aminergic precursors.
The Syndrome of Patent Ductus Arteriosus with Pulmonary Hypertension

Eight cases of patent ductus arteriosus associated with marked pulmonary hypertension are presented with complete cardiac catheterization studies in six patients and autopsy studies in three cases. Four patients had clear evidence of a "reversed" shunt through the ductus, three presenting the clinical picture of cyanotic congenital heart disease. The authors discuss the nature of the increased resistance of the pulmonary vascular bed which is the basis of the circulatory changes in these cases.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase-signaling regulates the ability of Müller glia to proliferate and protect retinal neurons against excitotoxicity

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether insulin, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways protect retinal neurons against excitotoxicity and regulate the proliferation of Muller glia. We found that intraocular injections of insulin or FGF2 had variable effects upon the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, p38 MAPK, and CREB, and the expression of immediate early genes, cFos and Egr1. Accumulations of pERK1/2, p38 MAPK, pCREB, cFos and Egr1 in response to insulin or FGF2 were confined to Muller glia, whereas retinal neurons did not seem to respond to growth factors. Unlike FGF2, insulin stimulated microglia-like cells to upregulate the intermediate filament transitin and lysosomal membrane glycoprotein (LMG). With microglia-like cells and Muller glia stimulated by insulin or FGF2 there were profound effects upon numbers of dying neurons in response to excitotoxic damage. Although FGF2 significantly reduced numbers of dying neurons, insulin significantly increased numbers of dying neurons. In addition to neuroprotective affects, FGF2 also "primed" the Muller glia to proliferate following retinal damage, whereas insulin had no effect upon glial proliferation. Further, we found that FGF receptor isoform 1 (FGFR1) and FGFR3 were prominently expressed in the retina, whereas the insulin receptor and FGFR2 are not expressed, or are expressed at very low levels. We conclude that MAPK-signaling through FGF receptors stimulates Muller glia to become more neuroprotective and progenitor-like, whereas insulin acting on Muller and microglia-like cells through unidentified receptors had the opposite effect.
Costs and Benefits of Storm-Water Management: Case Study of the Puget Sound Region

With rising expenses and scrutiny of storm-water programs, managers need information on costs and benefits to make rational funding decisions. Most, however, lack this basic information. This study sought to identify and quantify the economic and ecological costs of storm-water-related damage and storm-water-management programs, and to understand relationships between management activities and damage reduction. Data were collected from published agency budgets, damage assessments, and structured interviews with storm-water managers. We focused on a single region, the Puget Sound region of Washington State, where storm-water issues abound and annual storm-water expenditures average about $100/capita. Benefits of storm-water management, primarily avoided damages, were presumed to exceed expenditures, but most jurisdictions have not systematically evaluated program effectiveness. Moreover, ecological damage from storm water is significant but commonly neglected in funding decisions. Results indicate the need to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of storm-water-management expenditures; (2) consider nonmonetary and ecological impacts in management and funding decisions; (3) explore preventive measures that can be less costly than remediation; and (4) increase public awareness of storm-water problems to support objective funding decisions.
Lack of effect of two oral sodium channel antagonists, lamotrigine and 4030W92, on intradermal capsaicin-induced hyperalgesia model.

Preclinical studies have emphasized that persistent small afferent input will induce a state of central facilitation, which can be regulated by systemically administered sodium channel blockers. We have extended these preclinical studies to the human volunteers by examining the effects of lamotrigine and 4030W92, two structurally related voltage-sensitive sodium channel antagonists, on acute sensory thresholds and facilitated processing induced by intradermal capsaicin. Fifteen healthy subjects received 4030W92, lamotrigine, and placebo in a randomized order using double-blinded crossover design methodology in three sessions each separated by a 7-day washout period. In each session, baseline neurosensory testing was performed on the volar aspect of the subject's left forearm. Subjects were then dosed with either lamotrigine (300 mg), 4030W92 (100 mg), or placebo, followed 2 h later by capsaicin (100 μg) injected intradermally on the volar aspect of the left forearm. Pain scores, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate were measured at the time of injection and every 5 min for 15 min. Fifteen minutes after the capsaicin injection, the hyperalgesic area was determined by von Frey hair, stroking, and heat; the flare response was outlined; and neurosensory testing again was performed halfway between the edge of the hyperalgesic area and the capsaicin injection site. While capsaicin significantly decreased the hot pain and VF pain thresholds, oral lamotrigine and 4030W92 failed to alter this response to capsaicin, relative to placebo treatment. Similarly, oral lamotrigine or 4030W92 did not alter the pain scores reported from mechanical pain stimuli at any time postcapsaicin. This study showed a lack of effect of two structurally similar sodium channel antagonists on a human experimental pain model using intradermal capsaicin, which is consistent with other studies on the effects of sodium channel antagonists of capsaicin-induced pain and hyperalgesia. This lack of effect stands in contrast to reported effects of sodium channel antagonists on preclinical models of cutaneous hyperalgesia or effects of lamotrigine on clinical neuropathic pain.
Global change and terrestrial hydrology–a review

This paper reviews the role of terrestrial hydrology in determining the coupling between the surface and atmosphere. Present experience with interactive numerical simulation is discussed and approaches to the inclusion of land hydrology in global climate models are considered. At present, a wide range of answers as to expected changes in surface hydrology is given by nominally similar models. Studies of the effects of tropical deforestation and global warming illustrate this point. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1991.00015.x
Would you like suspenders to go with that belt? An analysis of optimal combinations of cost sharing and managed care

When and why would it be efficient for a managed care insurance plan using managerial limits to add patient cost sharing? This paper uses a diagrammatic model to indicate that the use of patient point-of-service cost sharing can cause the managerial limits or guidelines to be less restrictive in limiting high value care for cases of severe illness. The model shows that cost-sharing is more likely to improve efficiency the greater the variation in illness severity and the smaller the degree of moral hazard. The model is extended to the case in which provider cost sharing is also used.
Female Juvenile Offending: A Review of Characteristics and Contexts.

We reviewed current literature on female juvenile offending including the scope and nature of offending by female adolescents and the risk and protective factors across ecological contexts. We suggested that female juvenile offending is best viewed within a multidimensional framework in which female adolescent developmental characteristics as well as the ecological contexts must be considered for effective preventions and interventions. An ecological framework may assist professionals to target adolescent female offenders who are most likely to be chronic offenders. We offered both an intervention and research frame for addressing the issue of offending among our female youth and concluded that, as the incidence of female juvenile offending increases, researchers and practitioners are well advised to consider both the contexts surrounding the potential female adolescent offender as well as the contexts that contribute to her resiliency against offending.
A simple method for generating nano-pillars and uniformly separated nano-needle arrays on silicon

A simple method is presented to generate pillared and uniformly spaced nano-needle arrays formed by electrochemical modification of nano-walled, densely packed, pore structures with pore diameters that have minimum variation. Needle structures generated in a single etch procedure are between three and four micrometers tall and taper to points 10 nm or less in diameter. The tip-to-tip spacing is found to be the same as the precursor pore diameter and is nearly uniform at 1 μm. These structures may be useful for intracellular recording. The results obtained appear to be competitive with laser ablation in that a needle array structure of a more uniform height and separation can be formed with a much less complex and expensive procedure.
Time-resolved resonance Raman analysis of chromophore structural changes in the formation and decay of rhodopsin's BSI intermediate.

Time-resolved resonance Raman microchip flow experiments are performed to obtain the vibrational spectrum of the chromophore in rhodopsin's BSI intermediate and to probe structural changes in the bathorhodopsin-to-BSI and BSI-to-lumirhodopsin transitions. Kinetic Raman spectra from 250 ns to 3 μs identify the key vibrational features of BSI. BSI exhibits relatively intense HOOP modes at 886 and 945 cm-1 that are assigned to C14H and C11HC12H Au wags, respectively. This result suggests that in the bathorhodopsin-to-BSI transition the highly strained all-trans chromophore has relaxed in the C10−C11C12−C13 region, but is still distorted near C14. The low frequency of the 11,12 Au HOOP mode in BSI compared with that of lumirhodopsin and metarhodopsin I indicates weaker coupling between the 11H and 12H wags due to residual distortion of the BSI chromophore near C11C12. The CNH+ stretching mode in BSI at 1653 cm-1 exhibits a normal deuteriation induced downshift of 23 cm-1, implying that there is no significant...
Incorporating spirituality into home care at the end of life.

The home health clinician may be aware that the patient has spiritual needs, but may be unable to respond to these needs. This may be due to inadequate education or the assumption that spiritual needs should be addressed by chaplains, clergy, or other “spiritual” care providers. In reality, clinicia
Pseudomonas aeruginosa from patients with cystic fibrosis affects function of pulmonary surfactant.

Patients with cystic fibrosis are severely affected by an infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a microbe known to synthesize phospholipase C. This study was designed to determine whether that enzyme would affect the function of pulmonary surfactant phospholipids. Mucoid and nonmucoid strains of P. aeruginosa, freshly obtained from patients with cystic fibrosis, were cultured for 12 h on agar plates. The bacteria were suspended in saline solution and then pelleted by centrifugation. The supernatant was used to dilute the surfactant preparation, calf lung surfactant extract, from 35 to 2 mg/mL. Surfactant function, before and after incubation, was examined with a capillary surfactometer, an instrument specifically developed for an evaluation of the ability of surfactant to maintain patency of a narrow glass tube, simulating a terminal conducting airway. Phospholipid hydrolysis was also evaluated biochemically by determining the total content of phospholipids in surfactant before and after incubation. In five experiments, the lipids were separated with thin-layer chromatography, and the phosphorus content was determined in the diacylphosphatidylcholine band before and after incubation for 6, 24, and 48 h. Capillary openness and phospholipid concentration decreased as enzyme concentration and time of incubation increased (p < 0.0001). Linear regression showed a significant correlation between time of capillary openness and phospholipid concentration (r = 0.957;p < 0.0001). Calf lung surfactant extract hydrolysis was catalyzed by extracts of the bacteria, particularly the nonmucoid, analogous to the catalysis observed with phospholipase C. Surfactant hydrolysis catalyzed by enzymes from P. aeruginosa might severely affect surfactant function provided enzyme concentration is high and time of incubation is long.
Refining the dual-system theory of choice

We are highly sympathetic to Dhar and Gorlin's goal of developing a dual system theory of choice. But we do feel that the proposal could be changed and clarified in a few ways. Specifically, we believe that the evidence suggests that the systems operate in parallel, not sequentially. In addition, the relation between intuitive/associative processing and affect remains unresolved, a vagueness that is especially troublesome for the problem of choice. Relatedly, the description of System I as perceptual requires further explanation and refinement. Finally, we reconsider the attribution of the compromise effect to deliberative processing and propose an alternative explanation, one that reveals one aspect of the interaction between intuitive and deliberative processes. While further specification and testing of predictions are necessary, the proposal by Dhar and Gorlin makes a substantive contribution toward understanding how choices are made.
DISCRIMINATION OF CHARACTERS BY A MULTI-STAGE RECOGNITION PROCESS

Abstract This paper proposes a hierarchical character recognition scheme. The recognition process is divided into several stages. An aggressive graph-matching procedure first attempts to recognize various broad character classes. It then triggers a set of highly specific routines suitable for the recognition of particular characters or classes of characters. Two techniques are employed in dealing with the ambiguity of interpretation: one technique is to seek further constraints in the way character images are interpreted; the other is to use additional measurements to curtail the ambiguity of subsequent interpretations.
Medical genetics on the cleft palate-craniofacial team: understanding parental preference.

Abstract Objective: This study examined health care professionals' perceptions of parental preferences and preferences of parents of affected children (cleft lip, cleft palate, both, or other craniofacial anomaly) for prenatal testing with respect to oral-facial clefts and craniofacial anomalies. Design: This was a descriptive study assessing and comparing questionnaire responses of two independent groups. Participants: Healthcare professional participants comprised 570 U.S. members of the American Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Association. Parent participants comprised 97 parents of children seen at the University of Pittsburgh Cleft Palate–Craniofacial Center. Main Outcome Measures: A practitioner survey was developed to examine practitioner perception of parental desire for involvement, desire for knowledge, and reaction to learning of a birth defect. A parent survey was developed to correspond with the practitioner survey. Results: Health professionals' perceptions of parental preferences often paralleled...
Waves in Tires Part II : Traveling-Wave Analysis

Bias-ply tires; tires. Traveling waves; tire dynamics. Theoretical analysis; basic equations; stresses under rotation; shape equilibrium equation.
Barrier crossing with concentration boundary conditions in biological channels and chemical reactions

Ions move into biological cells through pores in proteins called ionic channels, driven by gradients of potential and concentration imposed across the channel, impeded by potential barriers and friction within the pore. It is tempting to apply to channels the chemical theory of barrier crossing, but important issues must first be solved: Concentration boundary conditions must be used and flux must be predicted for applied potentials of all sizes and for barriers of all shapes, in particular, for low barriers. We use a macroscopic analysis to describe the flux as a convolution integral of a mathematically defined adjoint function, a Green’s function. It so happens that the adjoint function also describes the first‐passage time of a single particle moving between boundary conditions independent of concentration. The (experimentally observable) flux is computed from analytical formulas, from simulations of discrete random walks, and from simulations of the Langevin or reduced Langevin equations, with indistinguishable results. If the potential barrier has a single, large, parabolic peak, away from either boundary, an approximate expression reminiscent of Kramers’ formula can be used to determine the flux. The fluxes predicted can be compared with measurements of current through single channels under a wide range of experimental conditions.
Surrogate Measures of Visual Demand while Driving

A driving simulator study involving a total of 40 participants was conducted in one dynamic and two static data collection environments: driving in the simulator, parked in the simulator and in a s...
A Glimpse in the Rearview Mirror

Words cannot begin to describe how honored I am to receive this award. Not only is it being presented by the organization I consider my primary professional home, but it is named for my mentor, colleague, and good friend, Dr. Rich Helms. Like many of you, I learned as a child that when you see a turtle atop a fencepost, you know that it didn’t get there by itself. That is certainly true today, as this recognition is one that I share with many. Over the years, I have been fortunate to work with over 60 residents and 5 fellows. Many days I was not sure who was in training, the resident, the fellow, or I. I will be forever grateful for the lessons I learned from these individuals. Early in my career, I was also blessed to have been influenced by George Saunders, PharmD; Bill Evans, PharmD; Rich Helms, PharmD; and Barbara Wells, PharmD. Likewise, I had the privilege of working with many outstanding individuals, like Bert Price, BSPharm; Emily Hak, PharmD; Cathy Crill, PharmD; Mike Christensen, PharmD; Kelley Lee, PharmD; Debra Chyka, DNP, MSN; Stephanie Storgion, MD; and Bill May, MD. Finally my parents, Plenn and Norma Phelps, who taught me from a very early age the value of hard work, integrity, and the need to give back to your community. There is little doubt in my mind that my life would be the less had these individuals not been part of my personal and professional development. In preparing for this lecture, I found myself frequently reflecting on my 25 years in practice. In lieu of a therapeutics presentation this morning, I have been encouraged to share some of the lessons I learned along the way; hence, the title of my presentation today: A Glimpse in the Rearview Mirror. LESSON 1—TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE