cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Value Stream Mapping for Make-to-Order Products in a Job Shop Environment

This paper investigates the use of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) for make-to-order products in a job shop environment, specifically the fabrication of Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) sheet metal ductwork. The use of VSM for analyzing the production of repetitive units has proven to be successful in different industries. The use of VSM for studying the production of non-repetitive units requires some adaptation from repetitive-unit uses in order to successfully capture the attributes of multiple product families required at different frequencies and volumes. The VSM for a job shop environment has to be flexible to deal with the dynamic nature of job shops, e.g., maps may change daily according to the products scheduled for fabrication. Other aspects of the production system for sheet metal ducts that should be captured in the maps include the availability of a multi-skilled workforce for shop and site work, single flow of product and worker, and development of forecasts and capacity allocation to deal with frequent changes on incoming orders from project sites. Besides discussing the peculiarities of this job shop environment and their representation in a VSM, the authors discuss the process for elaborating VSMs for this production system and the definition of data used to develop them. Finally, the authors present a VSM for the fabrication of sheet metal d ucts and discuss it using Lean Production concepts and recommend systematic data collection to reveal current practices and opportunities for improvement.
The Cultural Politics of Aerial Vision: Le Corbusier in Brazil (1929)

Abstract The early twentieth-century invention of the airplane brought on a cultural euphoria that influenced the works and writings of urbanists, architects, artists, and science-fiction writers during the 1920s and 1930s. Le Corbusier's urban design for Rio de Janeiro—which he sketched, so he claimed, from an airplane—offers a visual basis to study how the aesthetic experience of flight was translated spatially, visually, and politically into his design of the future city. The polemics informing Le Corbusier's aerial “discovery” of South American geography revealed that there was a new empowerment in the act of looking from above, and that the spatial characteristics of his subsequent design interventions evoked that empowerment.
Gold passivated mechanically flexible interconnects (MFIs) with high elastic deformation

This paper reports the fabrication and testing of gold passivated mechanically flexible interconnects (MFIs) with elastic deformation of 65 μm. It is shown that the gold passivation plays a critical role in preserving the lifetime of the flexible interconnects. The gold-passivated MFIs exhibit an unchanged force-displacement characteristic after being vertically indented 100 cycles.
Trypanosoma brucei: a fluorescence and spin label study of the membranes of the bloodstream form.

Abstract Fluidity of the plasma membrane of Trypanosoma brucei brucei has been examined with fluorescence and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Fluorescent probes 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene and 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate and the spin label probe 5-doxyl stearate have been employed to examine fluidity under a variety of conditions. The temperature dependence of 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonate polarization and of the order parameter S for 5-doxyl stearate reveals phase alterations near 30 C. 1,6-Diphenyl-1, 3,5-hexatriene polarization shows that proteolysis of the surface glycoprotein with trypsin increases fluidity but treatment with human serum which is trypanocidal produces no detectable change in membrane fluidity.
Asymptotic analysis of toric ideals

This partially expository note extends and refines our earlier work on Grobner bases of toric varieties [14]. It is closely related to the theory of A-hypergeometric functions due to Gel′fand Graev, Kapranov and Zelevinsky (see § 6). The main new result in this note is the characterization of the universal Grobner basis of a unimodular toric ideal (see § 5).
HEAT DISSIPATION IN MICROELECTRONIC SYSTEMS USING PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS WITH NATURAL CONVECTION

The present study is an initial investigation of the use of phase change materials with natural convection for the dissipation of thermal energy in a model of an integrated circuit (IC) acting as a heat source. A 1.91cm diameter long copper cylinder filled with a phase change material (PCM), P-116 Sunoco wax, was used as the heat exchange structure. The effectiveness of the PCM cylinder was found to be a strong function of the geometrical arrangement. With the cylinder of PCM positioned on top of the heating cartridge (which simulated the IC heat source), the gravitationally induced natural convection currents are shown to play a significant role in dissipating the heat generated by the cartridge. In an inverted position the effects of natural convection currents were not apparent. The effective thermal conductivity of the cylinder containing the melted wax was at least an order of magnitude higher when positioned above the heating cartridge than when positioned below. Pictures of the melting process were...
Attraction to monoterpenes and beetle‐produced compounds by syntopic Ips and Dendroctonus bark beetles and their predators

1 Bark beetles are significant mortality agents of conifers. Four beetle species, the pine engraver Ips pini, the six-spined pine engraver Ips calligraphus sub. ponderosae, the southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis, and the western pine beetle Dendroctonus brevicomis, cohabitate pines in Arizona. 2 A pheromone trapping study in ponderosa forests of Arizona determined the attraction of beetles to conspecific and heterospecific pheromone components in the presence and absence of host volatiles, and tested whether predators differ in their attraction to combinations of pheromone components and tree monoterpenes. 3 All four bark beetle species differed in their responses to heterospecific lures and monoterpenes. Ips calligraphus was the only species that increased in trap catches when heterospecific lures were added. Heterospecific lures did not inhibit the attraction of either Dendroctonus or Ips species. The replacement of myrcene with α-pinene increased the attraction of Dendroctonus, whereas the addition of α-pinene had mixed results for Ips. The prominent predators Temnochila chlorodia and Enoclerus lecontei were more attracted to the I. pini lure than the D. brevicomis lure, and the combination of the two lures with α-pinene was most attractive to both predator species. 4 Cross attraction and limited inhibition of bark beetles to heterospecific pheromones suggest that some of these species might use heterospecific compounds to increase successful location and colonization of trees. Predator responses to treatments suggest that tree volatiles are used to locate potential prey and predators are more responsive to Ips than to Dendroctonus pheromone components in Arizona.
Characterization testing of a 40 ampere hour bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery

Extensive characterization testing has been done on a second 40-ampere hour (A h), 10-cell, bipolar nickel-hydrogen (Ni-H2) battery, to study the effects of operating parameters such as charge and discharge rates, temperature, and pressure on capacity, A h and watt hour (W h) efficiencies, and end-of-charge and midpoint discharge voltages. Testing to date has produced many interesting results, with the battery performing well throughout the test matrix except during the high-rate (5 C and 10 C) discharges, where poorer than expected results were observed. The exact cause of this poor performance is, as yet, unknown. Small scale 2 in. x 2 in. battery tests are to be used in studying this problem. Low earth orbit cycle life testing at a 40-percent depth of discharge and 10 C is scheduled to follow the characterization testing.
Intraatrial conduction disturbances: Vectorcardiographic patterns

Abstract Frank P loop vectorcardiograms were recorded in 30 normal subjects and in 40 patients who had intraatrial conduction disturbances alone or in association with cardiac disease. High magnification of the P loop (0.1 mv = 3 cm) permitted accurate measurement of the P loop duration, magnitude and direction. High-frequency recordings allowed optimal evaluation of the notches, bites and conduction delays in the PsE loop. Four vectorcardiographic patterns have been selected as counterparts of the four types of enlarged P waves seen in electrocardiograms of patients with atrial conduction disturbances. When intraatrial conduction disturbances coexisted with left atrial enlargement, the PsE loop was larger and smoother. The role of partial or complete block in the specific internodal or interatrial pathways is discussed. High magnification, high-frequency vectorcardiography of the P loop seems to be the best available method for determining a specific pattern of intraatrial conduction disturbance.
An Evolution Equation for Plant Growth

In a recent paper [1], plant growth and branching were modeled using a rod-based theory featuring Euler’s elastica. This work extended the works of Goreily et al. [2] and Silk et al. [3] on this topic. Special features of the model developed in [1] included an evolution equation for the flexural rigidity EI and intrinsic curvature νo and the use of an intermediate (growth) configuration.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
The New British History in Atlantic Perspective: An Antipodean Commentary

THIS FORUM PROPOSES TO BRING TOGETHER two historiographic enterprises closely but not necessarily connected: the "new British history," by which appears to be denoted the enterprise of writing the history of "the Atlantic archipelago"1 as that of a changing population of interacting state-forms, nationalities, and indeed histories; and an "Atlantic history" pursuing not dissimilar objectives with regard to the North Atlantic region, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the interactions being (at a minimum) those of the English and British kingdoms with a North America in time divided into the United States, the Caribbean, and Canada. In both scenarios, it appears to be "British history" that plays the role of protagonist; it is both enlarged and diversified, and in certain respects contextualized and diminished, by being viewed in these changing perspectives, and we find ourselves asking whether it can continue to be written, or even to be lived and exist. United States history is not thus contextualized, perhaps because it possesses a continental and a Pacific as well as an Atlantic dimension, but we end by asking whether British history is to be absorbed into that of the adjacent subcontinent of Europe. These geo-political and macro-historical concerns do not dominate either the "new British" or the "new Atlantic" history-both of these do their proper and valuable work of illuminating the several histories of which their respective universes are composed-but they recur in each, and may be found doing so at various points in the contributions to this Forum. The present writer played some role-that of a voice crying in the wilderness, and pointing out that there was a wilderness to cry in-at the inception of the "new British" history, if not of the "new Atlantic" with which the former has nevertheless intersected, and this role has been, if anything over-generously, acknowledged in the numerous symposia-including this one-to which the enterprise has given
Accumulation of neoplastic traits prior to spontaneous in vitro transformation of rat cholangiocytes determines susceptibility to activated ErbB-2/Neu

Cholangiocarcinoma, a severe form of biliary cancer, has a high mortality rate resulting partially from the advanced stage of disease at earliest diagnosis. A better understanding of the progressive molecular and cellular changes occurring during spontaneous cholangiocarcinogenesis is needed to identify potential biomarkers for diagnosis/prognosis or targets for novel therapeutics. Here, we show that with continued passage (p) in vitro, rat bile duct epithelial cells (BDEC) accumulated neoplastic characteristics that by mid-passage (p31-85) included alterations in morphology, increased growth rate, growth factor independence, decreased cell adhesion, loss of cholangiocyte markers expressed at low passage (p 85), BDEC cultures showed increasing numbers of cells expressing activated, tyrosine phosphorylated ErbB-2/Neu, a receptor tyrosine kinase previously reported to be at elevated levels in cholangiocarcinomas. Enrichment for high passage ErbB-2/Neu-positive cells yielded several anchorage-independent sub-lines with elevated levels of activated ErbB-2/Neu and increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). When injected into immunodeficient beige/nude/xid mice, these sub-lines formed poorly differentiated cystic tumors strongly positive for rat cholangiocyte markers, a finding consistent with a previous report showing the susceptibility of high passage, non-tumorigenic BDEC to transformation by activated ErbB-2/Neu. Mid passage BDEC, in contrast, were resistant to the transforming activity of activated ErbB-2/Neu and remained anchorage dependent in vitro and non-tumorigenic in vivo following stable transfection. Based on these findings, we concluded that during progression to high passage, cultured BDEC undergo preneoplastic changes that enhance their susceptibility to transformation by ErbB-2/Neu. The ability to generate cells at different points in the process of spontaneous neoplastic transformation offers a valuable model system for identifying molecular features that determine whether over-expression of activated ErbB-2/Neu is necessary and sufficient to induce neoplastic conversion.
Range gated echo-Dopplervelocity and turbulence mapping in patients with valvular aortic stenosis

Abstract Flow beyond a stenotic aortic valve (AS) is dynamically complex. Numerous hydraulic studies have demonstrated that at least four well-known major flow areas occur distal to a stenotic valve. These include a jet, an area alongside the jet (the parajet), an area of flow disturbance, and an area in which disturbed flow again becomes laminar downstream. Of these, only the flow disturbance area has markedly turbulent flow, although some turbulence can be at times detected in the area beside the jet. The purpose of this investigation was to test a technique of patient examination that might allow a range-gated pulsed Doppler to detect each of these known areas in the aorta (Ao) of valvular AS patients. A method for mapping flow in the lumen of the Ao root and ascending Ao is detailed. The transverse Ao arch was studied in the standard manner. With this mapping method, 14 patients with AS were studied. We were able to identify the jet in 13 of 14 as a high velocity, narrow-width signal in the Ao root. The parajet area was characterized by no detectable or low flow in 12 of 14, but two patients had late systolic flow disturbance in the parajet area. All patients ahd a strong flow disturbance detected; 3 of 14 were first detected in the Ao root and the remainder were first detected higher in the ascending Ao. The area of relaminarization was not addressed in this study. This investigation demonstrates that a proper interpretation of range-gated pulsed Doppler recordings from areas distal to AS requires knowledge of flow dynamics beyond an obstruction and a methodical range-gated pulsed Doppler examination technique.
Multilocation teleradiology system for emergency triage consultation

A remote consultation system is available at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) which links four outlying hospitals in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. This system has the potential to improve short and long term clinical outcomes and to reduce overall medical care cost by establishing improved emergency triage capability. An EMED, Inc. teleradiology system permits rapid, high-quality transfer of digitized film and CT images from the remote sites to the tertiary care center (UPMC). The images are sent over dial-on- demand ISDN and SW56 lines from the remote hospitals to a central server where they are transmitted to a dual 2K monitor workstation in the Emergency Department, thirteen Eastman Kodak PDS workstations within UPMC, and to three physician homes. Transmission to a workstation at each of the physician homes over ISDN lines enables `after hours' consultation. The radiographic images along with voice and fax communications provide a technique where physicians in outlying hospitals will be able to consult with specialists at any time. A study is in progress to evaluate the effectiveness of this system in terms of perception of utility and its potential to improve emergency triage capability, as well as selection of the appropriate transportation mode (helicopter versus ambulance).© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Chromosome organization by a nucleoid-associated protein in live bacteria

Bacterial chromosomes are confined in submicrometer-sized nucleoids. Chromosome organization is facilitated by nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs), but the mechanisms of action remain elusive. In this work, we used super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, in combination with a chromosome-conformation capture assay, to study the distributions of major NAPs in live Escherichia coli cells. Four NAPs—HU, Fis, IHF, and StpA—were largely scattered throughout the nucleoid. In contrast, H-NS, a global transcriptional silencer, formed two compact clusters per chromosome, driven by oligomerization of DNA-bound H-NS through interactions mediated by the amino-terminal domain of the protein. H-NS sequestered the regulated operons into these clusters and juxtaposed numerous DNA segments broadly distributed throughout the chromosome. Deleting H-NS led to substantial chromosome reorganization. These observations demonstrate that H-NS plays a key role in global chromosome organization in bacteria.
A Transient Vanadium(III) Neopentylidene Complex. Redox Chemistry and Reactivity of the V═CHtBu Functionality

The vanadium(III) bis(neopentyl) complex (PNP)V(CH2tBu)2 (PNP = N[4-Me-2-(PiPr2)C6H3]2−), a complex readily prepared from alkylation of (PNP)VCl2 with 2 equiv of LiCH2tBu, serves as a precursor to ...
Characterization of partially purified (Na+ + K+)-ATPase from porcine lens

The partial purification of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase from pig lens has been achieved by treatment with deoxycholate followed by density gradient centrifugation. The specific activity of the final preparation, ranging from 300 to 500 nmol/h per mg protein, is increased approx. 100-fold compared to the homogenate. A parallel increase in rho-nitrophenylphosphatase activity is also observed. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gel electrophoresis reveals six major protein bands, one of which is the 93 kDa alpha subunit of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase which can be phosphorylated by reaction with [gamma-32P]ATP. A second band contains a glycoprotein which displays an apparent molecular weight of 51000 and thus appears to be the beta subunit of the enzyme. The enzyme is sensitive to ouabain with the I50 for (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and rho-nitrophenylphosphatase inhibition being 1.2 and 1.3 microM, respectively. Several agents which inhibit (Na+ + K+)-ATPase from other tissues such as oligomycin, Ca2+, vanadate, N-ethylmaleimide, rho-chloromercuribenzenesulfonic acid (PCMBS) and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) also inhibit the lens enzyme. Monovalent cations other than K+ are partially effective in activating the (Na+ + K+)-ATPase and rho-nitrophenylphosphatase activities. The K+ congeners were relatively more effective in supporting (Na+ + K+)-ATPase compared to rho-nitrophenylphosphatase activity. Other kinetic properties of the lens enzyme are also comparable to those of the enzyme from other tissues. Utilizing the partially purified membrane bound enzyme, discontinuities in Arrhenius plots of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity, rho-nitrophenylphosphatase activity and fluorescence polarization of the fluidity probe, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), are observed near the physiological temperature of lens. The possible significance of these observations for the mechanism of cataract formation are discussed.
Oxidation of l-Thiazolidine-4-Carboxylate by Δ1-Pyrroline-5-Carboxylate Reductase in Escherichia coli

l-Thiazolidine-4-carboxylate (T4C, thiaproline) is a sulfur-containing proline analog that stimulates the immune system in aging mice and inhibits urinary tract pathogens such as Escherichia coli. A constitutive NADP+-dependent T4C dehydrogenase activity was detected in the soluble fraction of a putA::Tn5 mutant of E. coli lacking l-proline dehydrogenase and partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, dye-affinity chromatography on Cibacron Blue 3GA agarose, and ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. At each step in the purification, T4C dehydrogenase activity copurified with Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) reductase activity. E. coli strains with greatly reduced P5C reductase activity due to a proC mutation had no detectable T4C dehydrogenase activity. Although P5C reductase did not act on proline, it also catalyzed the oxidation of 3,4-dehydroproline. These results suggest that this biosynthetic enzyme may play a role in the degradation of proline analogs and limit the clinical efficacy of these compounds.
Determination of the complex permittivity of microfluids in a microstrip geometry

A novel configuration for estimating the broadband permittivity of small fluid volumes is presented using 2-port S-parameters. Unlike previous demonstrations in coplanar technology, our proposal places the analyte under a microstrip trace where better field overlap with the fluid improves device sensitivity. Fluid parameter estimates based on simulation are presented. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:2604–2608, 2014
Application of benzyl protecting groups in the synthesis of prenylated aromatic compounds

Abstract Benzyl ethers have proven to be useful protecting groups for synthesis of phenols bearing isoprenoid chains because the benzyl groups can tolerate the conditions of halogen–metal exchange used to introduce the side chains yet are cleaved in good yields upon treatment with sodium s-butanol.
Power-Efficient Dimensionality Reduction for Distributed Channel-Aware Kalman Tracking using Wireless Sensor Networks

Estimation and tracking of nonstationary dynamical processes is of paramount importance in various applications including localization and navigation. The goal of this paper is to perform such tasks in a distributed fashion using data collected at power-limited sensors communicating with a fusion center (FC) over noisy links. For a prescribed power budget, linear dimensionality reducing operators are derived per sensor to account for the sensor-FC channel and minimize the meansquare error (MSE) of Kalman filtered state estimates formed at the FC. Using these operators and state predictions fed back from the FC online, sensors compress their local innovation sequences and communicate them to the FC where tracking estimates are corrected. Analysis and corroborating simulations confirm that the novel channel-aware distributed tracker outperforms competing alternatives.
13 Reproductive endocrinology in uraemia

Reproductive function is impaired in patients with severe renal insufficiency. In women, this is characterized by anovulation and decreased fertility; in men, by reduced testosterone production and impaired spermatogenesis. This chapter looks at the mechanisms behind these defects, and the therapeutic alterations that may ameliorate some of the problems, focusing on our own research in this area.
Spread of HIV-1 to children in Cambodia

Beginning November 1 1995 children under 5 years of age who were admitted to Kantha Bopha Hospitals and who were suspected tuberculosis cases were screened for human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). By January 31 1997 9026 children 83% of the under 5-year-olds admitted had been tested; 290 (3.2%) were positive. Serum samples from 205 children of the 236 seropositive children under the age of 18 months were tested for p24 antigen; 51 (25%) were positive. Mothers of 173 of the seropositive children were tested for antibodies to HIV; 170 were positive which suggests that the main mode of acquisition of HIV-1 in the children was vertical transmission. If HIV-1 infection occurred only in the 54 seropositive children older than 18 months and in the 51 children younger than 18 months with detectable p24 antigen the calculated prevalence of HIV-1 in children under 5 years old who were suspected of having tuberculosis when admitted to Kantha Bopha Childrens Hospitals would be 1.2%. If the 17% not included in the test were all negative the prevalence would be 1%. This is an underestimate because some of the children not tested could be positive and because some of the children tested had indeterminate HIV status. HIV testing was extended to all children admitted to the hospital; 715 were younger than 5 years of age 596 of whom were suspected of having tuberculosis and 119 of whom were not. The seroprevalences for the 2 subgroups were 3.2% and 0.8% respectively. None of the 369 older children was seropositive. In 1996 the World Health Organization estimated a seroprevalence of 1.97% in adults 15-49 years old in Cambodia the highest among Asian countries. The blood bank at Kantha Bopha found 211 (6.6%) HIV-1 seropositives among 3197 donors in 1995 and 211 (7.5%) among 2834 donors in 1996. Similar figures were seen at the National Transfusion Centre in Phnom Penh. A 1996 survey in Cambodia found an HIV-1 seroprevalence of 40.9% in prostitutes and 1.7% in pregnant women. The vertical transmission of HIV-1 to children may increase because the virus appears to have been introduced recently to Cambodia; this is indicated by lack of seropositivity in children older than 5 years of age.
On Not Being Her Doctor

I am a supporter of Washington Death with Dignity Act, but I had not anticipated that I would become an enactor of such a death, and not in a patient who I had come to love.
The regulation of DNA replication during senescence and rejuvenation of Dunaliella tertiolecta by factors other than available metabolic energy.

Abstract The unicellular green alga, Dunaliella tertiolecta undergoes a 4-fold reduction in DNA while progressing from early to late log phase of culture. During the period when the reduction in DNA occurs, the cells continue to divide at the maximal rate. Pulse labelling indicates little incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA during late log phase. Stationary phase cultures diluted with fresh medium undergo a lag period during which there is a 4-fold increase in DNA and a rapid incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA into DNA before division. The evidence indicates that the differences in the levels of DNA are not attributable to tetraploidy, multinucleated cells or a high level of redundancy of G-C-rich satellite DNA in early log phase cells. During stationary phase there is an increase in cellular starch and a decrease in free nucleotides. Electron microscopy reveals that stationary phase cells are distorted by many granules proven to be starch by their susceptibility to amylase treatment. The production of starch by stationary phase cells indicates that DNA replication does not cease because of a deficit of metabolic energy but because of some direct function of culture density.
Noncompliance Behavior of Risk-Averse Firms Under the Minimum Wage Law

This article is concerned with the law evasion (reduced wages) and law avoidance (modified employment) aspects of noncompliance behavior by risk-averse firms under the minimum wage law. It demonstr...
Female tactile cues maximize paternal behavior in prairie voles

Most monogamous male mammals display parental care, but the mechanism by which they become motivated to care for infants remains unknown. We used prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) as a model of biparental species to test the hypothesis that physical contact with a female enhances male parental responsiveness before the birth of offspring. We tested four groups of males: mated with physical contact with their mate, mated with only distal cues from their mate, mated with no cues, and unmated with distal cues from a female. The subjects were placed in an oversized cage divided into two compartments by a perforated barrier. At mid-gestation, the bedding and females were removed, and the males’ responses toward two infants were videotaped. Although most males behaved parentally, mated males exposed to their mate’s tactile or distal cues approached the young faster and were more likely to care for both infants than unmated males which received female distal cues. Males who had physical contact with their mate showed “kyphosis” (a crouching position over infants) and contacted infants more frequently than mated males which received no cues from their mate or unmated males which received female distal cues. Furthermore, the frequency of non-social behaviors was lowest in mated males that had physical contact with their mate. The data suggest that exposure to female distal cues after mating is sufficient to increase male parental attentiveness, but female somatosensory cues affect the male's tendency to remain in physical contact with infants.
Selectivity of calix[4]arene-bis(benzocrown-6) in the complexation and transport of francium ion.

It is shown for the first time that a representative member of the “cesium-selective” calix[4]arene-crown-6 family exhibits a high affinity for Fr+ ion. In the investigation, the transport of 221Fr+ and Cs+ ions by calix[4]arene-bis(benzocrown-6) from an aqueous sodium nitrate solution into the water-immiscible diluent 1,2-dichloroethane was measured and compared to address the question of selectivity of the calix-crown-6 cavity toward alkali metal ions of increasing size. Selective separation of 221Fr+ from its parent 225Ac and from the matrix Na+ ions was demonstrated. Higher distribution ratios were obtained than those for the Cs+ ion. The extraction equilibria were determined for the case of the Cs+ ion, and the same equilibria were shown to be applicable to the case of Fr+ with inclusion of additional competitive effects.
Mortality among Former Love Canal Residents

BackgroundThe Love Canal is a rectangular 16-acre, 10-ft deep chemical waste landfill situated in a residential neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York. This seriously contaminated site first came ...
Correlation of cell cycle analysis with Duke's staging in colon cancer patients

The biologic potential of a tumor for growth and metastasis is relatively inaccurately mirrored by the present staging system in colon cancers [29]. Except for Stage IV disease, traditional morphologic criteria approaches only 50-75% accuracy for predicting recurrent disease. Reliable staging, however, has become more critical in the light of the current thrust in adjuvant therapy research. First, the patients receive toxic and expensive therapy. Second, and of even greater importance, a central tenet of adjuvant therapy research is that treatment and control groups under study are comparable. Inadequate staging not only undermines analysis, especially when small improvements of lo-20% may be expected, but also demands very large study groups to offset this defect. A significant amount of research has attempted to quantitate the metastatic potential of a tumor. In the animal model some factors such as cell adhesiveness, tumor angiogenesis, detachability, thromboplasticity, and shedding of membrane antigen have been associated with an increased propensity of a tumor to spread [23]. In the clinical forum, analysis of factors such as tumor grade [4, 71, vascular invasion [7], host immune status [ 1, 8, 91 have not been established as having a clear-cut prognostic value. Hopefully prospective studies, objective criteria, and more sophisticated statistical analysis [6] may yield less disappointing results in the future. In this respect, accumulating evidence indicates that the analysis of tumor kinetics will be a major determinant of the metastatic potential of a tumor. It is well established that kinetic data of tumor doubling time and labeling index (LI) is associated with length of survival [ 11, 18, 21, 271, but the effect of tumor doubling time on ultimate survival was reported by Joseph et al. [12, 161. In his report, patients with resection of solitary pulmonary metastasis with doubling times less than 40 days subsequently died of metastasis whereas 60% of the patients with tumor doubling time over 40 days were cured. Other measures of tumor proliferative activity, i.e, mitotic index in sarcomas 1281 and labeling index in breast cancer patients 1151 have recently been implicated as important prognostic determinants, and in the former instance has been incorporated into the A.J.C. stating system [20] as a factor influencing tumor grading. Finally, the development of flow cytometry [24] has now made the rapid and objective analysis of cell cycle kinetics an exciting clinical reality. In this study, the predictive potential of cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry was examined by comparing the proliferative activity of colorectal adenocarcinoma with Duke’s staging and modified Broder’s grading.
A village health worker's project in the Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh

DURING an elective period in India a village health worker's project was studied.The health education of the inhabitants of 32 villages is the main function of the project, which concentrates on the prevention of malnutrition in the under-fives and their immunisation. The villages are linked to the community health centre of the hospital by a weekly village clinic held by nurses, and by the village health worker who attends training sessions at the hospital. She uses the gathering collected around the clinic as an opportunity to give health education talks. She continues the work of the clinic by treating minor illnesses and educating the villag ers in between clinics. Her duties are reported at the training session.The villagers' acceptance of the clinic services and receptivity to the messages of the village health worker increases with the length of time the project has been established in their village.The employment of nurses and health workers in primary care is a pragmatic approach to India's massi...
Hyperspectral imaging for cancer surgical margin delineation: registration of hyperspectral and histological images

The determination of tumor margins during surgical resection remains a challenging task. A complete removal of malignant tissue and conservation of healthy tissue is important for the preservation of organ function, patient satisfaction, and quality of life. Visual inspection and palpation is not sufficient for discriminating between malignant and normal tissue types. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology has the potential to noninvasively delineate surgical tumor margin and can be used as an intra-operative visual aid tool. Since histological images provide the ground truth of cancer margins, it is necessary to warp the cancer regions in ex vivo histological images back to in vivo hyperspectral images in order to validate the tumor margins detected by HSI and to optimize the imaging parameters. In this paper, principal component analysis (PCA) is utilized to extract the principle component bands of the HSI images, which is then used to register HSI images with the corresponding histological image. Affine registration is chosen to model the global transformation. A B-spline free form deformation (FFD) method is used to model the local non-rigid deformation. Registration experiment was performed on animal hyperspectral and histological images. Experimental results from animals demonstrated the feasibility of the hyperspectral imaging method for cancer margin detection.
Synergistic interaction between an adenosine antagonist and a D1 dopamine agonist on rotational behavior and striatal c-Fos induction in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats.

Abstract The interaction between adenosine and D 1 dopamine systems in regulating motor behavior and striatal c-Fos expression was examined in rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions. These results were compared to the synergistic interaction between D 1 and D 2 dopamine systems in 6-OHDA rats. Coadministration of the adenosine antagonist 3,7-dimethyl-1-propargylxanthine (DMPX: 10 mg/kg) and the D 1 dopamine agonist SKF38393 (0.5 mg/kg) to 6-OHDA-lesioned rats produced significant contralateral rotation and c-Fos expression in the ipsilateral striatum compared to 6-OHDA rats treated with either drug alone. However, the regional pattern of striatal c-Fos activation following treatment of 6-OHDA rats with SKF38393 and DMPX was different from the dorsolateral pattern of striatal c-Fos induction observed after coadministration of D 1 and D 2 dopamine agonists (SKF38393: 0.5 mg/kg+quinpirole: 0.05 mg/kg). These data are consistent with a functional interaction between D 1 dopamine and adenosine systems in the striatum, but suggest that activation of different subsets of striatal neurons underlie the behavioral synergy observed following combined adenosine antagonist-D 1 dopamine agonist and combined D 1 dopamine agonist–D 2 dopamine agonist treatment.
Mitral Value Replacement Using the Konsari Procedure: Unusual Two-Dimensional Echocardiography Findings

A 49-year-old woman with myxomatous mitral valve degeneration complicated by severe mitral regurgitation caused by endocarditis and left ventricular dilatation underwent successful mitral valve replacement using the Khonsari technique. Preoperative two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography showed severe mitral regurgitation, progressive left ventricular dilatation, left atrial enlargement, and marked calcification of the posterior anulus. Color-flow imaging revealed severe mitral regurgitation. Cardiac catheterization revealed normal coronary arteries. Postoperative findings detected by transthoracic two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography are shown and a review of the procedure used in conjunction with mitral valve replacement is presented.
The Packed Cell Volume and Differential Leucocyte Count of Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus)

Abstract THE Bobwhite quail is a useful avian species for research due to its adaptability to life in confinement and its identity as a wild species. Although much information is available concerning this species, only two published reports could be found describing the hematology of Bobwhite quail. Nice et al. (1935) reported a mean erythrocyte count of 3.5 mill./mm3. in a group of three female Bobwhite quail. Bond and Gilbert (1958) reported a mean packed cell volume of 38% with a mean erythrocyte count of 3.4 mill./mm3. in a group of four quail. This report describes the packed cell volume and differential leucocyte count of Bobwhite quail from 15 hours post-hatching to 50 weeks of age. MATERIALS AND METHODS Except for data collected at 15 hours and at one week post-hatching, all measurements herein reported were made on 24 Bobwhite quail chicks (17 females and 7 males). The birds were reared…
Intraindividual Variability in Basic Reaction Time Predicts Middle-Aged and Older Pilots’ Flight Simulator Performance

Objectives. Intraindi vidual variability (IIV) is negatively associated with cognitive test performance and is positively associated with age and some neurological disorders. We aimed to extend these findings to a real-world task, flight simulator performance. We hypothesized that IIV predicts poorer initial flight performance and increased rate of decline in performance among middle-aged and older pilots. Method. T wo-hundred and thirty-six pilots (40–69 years) completed annual assessments comprising a cognitive battery and two 75-min simulated flights in a flight simulator. Basic and complex IIV composite variables were created from measures of basic reaction time and shifting and divided attention tasks. Flight simulator performance was characterized by an overall summary score and scores on communication, emergencies, approach, and traffic avoidance components. Results. Although basic IIV did not predict rate of decline in fl ight performance, it had a negative association with initial performance for most flight measures. After taking into account processing speed, basic IIV explained an additional 8%–12% of the negative age effect on initial flight performance. Discussion. IIV plays an important role in real-w orld tasks and is another aspect of cognition that underlies age-related differences in cognitive performance.
p53, proto-oncogene and rheumatoid arthritis.

Abstract Objective: To review the literature published in the past 6 years concerning the role of p53 tumor-suppressor protein in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A MEDLINE search was performed to identify all publications that covered the role of p53 in RA. In addition, selected articles related to proto-oncogenes and matrix metalloproteinases were included in this review. Results: p53 protein is expressed in RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), and its overexpression is a characteristic feature of RA. The overexpression of p53 is probably induced by DNA strand breaks caused by the genotoxic environment of RA joints, in some cases because of p53 mutations. Independent studies from 3 groups indicated that p53 mutations can and do occur in RA synovial tissue samples derived from a subset of RA patients. Inactivation of p53 may contribute to the invasiveness of FLSs and to the high-level expression of cartilage degradation enzymes as well. Gene transfer or gene knockout studies using a collagen-II–induced RA animal model to examine the role of p53 in RA have been reported. Initial results are positive and indicate that gene transfer of p53 may be clinically useful for the management of RA. Conclusions: p53 protein is expressed in RA FLSs, and its overexpression is a characteristic feature of RA. p53 mutations occur in the synovial tissues derived from a subset of RA patients. The clinical implications of p53 expression and the functional importance of somatic mutations in RA, however, are still unclear. Further research is needed to fully understand the implications of these findings and develop corresponding new therapeutic strategies. Semin Arthritis Rheum 31:299-310. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
The influence of exercise and BMI on injuries and illnesses in overweight and obese individuals: a randomized control trial

Medically treated injuries have been shown to increase with increasing body mass index (BMI). Information is lacking on the frequency and type of injuries and illnesses among overweight and obese adults who engage in regular physical activities as part of weight loss or weight gain prevention programs. Sedentary adults with BMIs between 25 and 40 kg/m2 (n = 397) enrolled in one of two randomized clinical trials that emphasized exercise as part of a weight loss or weight gain prevention program. Interventions differed by duration of the exercise goal (150, 200, or 300 minutes/week or control group). Walking was prescribed as the primary mode of exercise. At six month intervals, participants were asked, "During the past six months, did you have any injury or illness that affected your ability to exercise?" Longitudinal models were used to assess the effects of exercise and BMI on the pattern of injuries/illnesses attributed to exercise over time; censored linear regression was used to identify predictors of time to first injury/illness attributed to exercise. During the 18-month study, 46% reported at least one injury/illness, and 32% reported at least one injury that was attributed to exercise. Lower-body musculoskeletal injuries (21%) were the most commonly reported injury followed by cold/flu/respiratory infections (18%) and back pain/injury (10%). Knee injuries comprised one-third of the lower-body musculoskeletal injuries. Only 7% of the injuries were attributed to exercise alone, and 59% of the injuries did not involve exercise. BMI (p ≤ 0.01) but not exercise (p ≥ 0.41) was significantly associated with time to first injury and injuries over time. Participants with higher BMIs were injured earlier or had increased odds of injury over time than participants with lower BMIs. Due to the linear dose-response relationship between BMI and injury/illness, any weight loss and reduction in BMI was associated with a decrease risk of injury/illness and delay in time to injury/illness. Overweight and obese adults who were prescribed exercise as part of weight loss or weight gain prevention intervention were not at increased risk of injury compared to overweight adults randomized not to participate in prescribed exercise. Since onset of injury/illness and pattern of injuries over time in overweight and obese individuals were attributed to BMI, weight reduction may be an avenue to reduce the risk of injury/illness in sedentary and previously sedentary overweight and obese adults. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00177502 and NCT00177476
The miR-310/13 cluster antagonizes β-catenin function in the regulation of germ and somatic cell differentiation in the Drosophila testis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulators of global gene expression and function in a broad range of biological processes. Recent studies have suggested that miRNAs can function as tumor suppressors or oncogenes by modulating the activities of evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways that are commonly dysregulated in cancer. We report the identification of the miR-310 to miR-313 (miR-310/13) cluster as a novel antagonist of Wingless (Drosophila Wnt) pathway activity in a functional screen for Drosophila miRNAs. We demonstrate that miR-310/13 can modulate Armadillo (Arm; Drosophila β-catenin) expression and activity by directly targeting the 3′-UTRs of arm and pangolin (Drosophila TCF) in vivo. Notably, the miR-310/13-deficient flies exhibit abnormal germ and somatic cell differentiation in the male gonad, which can be rescued by reducing Arm protein levels or activity. Our results implicate a previously unrecognized function for miR-310/13 in dampening the activity of Arm in early somatic and germline progenitor cells, whereby inappropriate/sustained activation of Arm-mediated signaling or cell adhesion may impact normal differentiation in the Drosophila male gonad.
Monitoring diabetes in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis: a Medicare study

Diabetes mellitus is a key predictor of mortality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Both RA and diabetes increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet understanding of how comorbid RA impacts the receipt of guideline-based diabetes care is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine how the presence of RA affected hemoglobin A1C (A1c) and lipid measurement in older adults with diabetes. Using a retrospective cohort approach, we identified beneficiaries ≥65 years old with diabetes from a 5% random national sample of 2004 to 2005 Medicare patients (N = 256,331), then examined whether these patients had comorbid RA and whether they received guideline recommended A1c and lipid testing in 2006. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the effect of RA on receiving guideline recommended testing, adjusting for baseline sociodemographics, comorbidities and health care utilization. Two percent of diabetes patients had comorbid RA (N = 5,572). Diabetes patients with comorbid RA were more likely than those without RA to have baseline cardiovascular disease (such as 17% more congestive heart failure), diabetes-related complications including kidney disease (19% higher), lower extremity ulcers (77% higher) and peripheral vascular disease (32% higher). In adjusted models, diabetes patients with RA were less likely to receive recommended A1c testing (odds ratio (OR) 0.84, CI 0.80 to 0.89) than those without RA, but were slightly more likely to receive lipid testing (OR 1.08, CI 1.01 to 1.16). In older adults with diabetes, the presence of comorbid RA predicted lower rates of A1c testing but slightly improved lipid testing. Future research should examine strategies to improve A1c testing in patients with diabetes and RA, in light of increased CVD and microvascular risks in patients with both conditions.