cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Akt inhibitor Akt-IV blocks virus replication through an Akt-independent mechanism.

Many viruses activate the phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase (PI3k)/Akt intracellular signaling pathway to promote viral replication. We have analyzed whether a rapidly replicating rhabdovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), requires the PI3k/Akt signaling pathway for its replication. Through the use of chemical inhibitors of PI3k and Akt, we show that VSV replication and cytopathic effects do not require activation of these kinases. Inhibitors that block the activating phosphorylations of Akt at threonine 308 (Thr308) and serine 473 (Ser473) did not inhibit VSV protein expression or the induction of the cytopathic effects of VSV. One compound, Akt inhibitor Akt-IV, inhibited the replication of VSV, respiratory syncytial virus, and vaccinia virus but increased the phosphorylation of Akt at positions Thr308 and Ser473 and did not inhibit Akt kinase activity in vitro. Together, our data suggest that the PI3k/Akt pathway is of limited relevance to the replication of VSV but that Akt inhibitor Akt-IV is a novel broad-spectrum antiviral compound with a mechanism differing from that of its previously reported effect on the PI3k/Akt pathway. Identification of other targets for this compound may define a new approach for blocking virus replication.
Innovation: The winning formula to regain profitability in aviation?

Abstract Most airlines have overcome the immediate effects of the recent global aviation crisis partly because of economic upturn and partly because of massive restructuring. Legacy network carriers had to take on the challenge of low-cost carriers, and regain competitiveness in short- and mid-haul business through considerable cost cutting and more flexible pricing models and are now profitable. On the other hand, many airlines do not make a reasonable profit, and the majority of carriers do not earn their capital cost. Airlines claim that they are still squeezed between their neighbors in the aviation value chain that leverage local monopolies (such as airports) or oligopolies (such as aircraft equipment manufacturers). Many legacy carriers, however, have not properly prepared for an era of deregulated and changing markets. They have not yet taken appropriate steps to escape from there positions between the few successful premium carriers and low-cost carriers. This middle position has little differentiation potential, an unsatisfactory growth perspective, and poor profitability prospects. Further, despite ongoing liberalization, the regulatory framework still does not enforce far-reaching consolidation, leaving the industry in a fragmented status with massive overcapacities. Consequently, the industry needs to further leverage external deregulation as well as internal restructuring to establish more efficient and competitive business models. Aside from basic cost cutting, innovation may become the decisive driver of progress, comprising advanced business models, customer segmentation, and technologies (Franke, M., 2006. Innovation: the winning formula to regain profitability in aviation? Speech at the Hamburg Aviation Conference, Hamburg).
Nervous Control of Ciliary Activity

Electrical stimulation of the visceral ganglion of the mussel Mytilus edulis caused cilia on the lateral epithelium of the gill to beat faster. This effect was blocked by cocaine, physostigmine, hyoscyamine, and acetylcholine but not by tubocurarine. These agents did not block the cilioexcitatory effect of serotonin.
Tritium transport and retention in SiC

Abstract A theoretical framework describing trapping, diffusion, and desorption of tritium from vapor-deposited β-silicon carbide has been proposed and an analytical version of this model was derived. This analytical model was used to extract trapping, diffusion, and desorption parameters from a limited part of the experimental data set. The predictive capability of the resulting parameter-free model was then tested by calculating the time-dependent release behavior for the high-temperature regimes. These results generally agreed with the release data, supporting the suitability of that approach. Tritium trapping was found to be strong. Both bulk diffusion and surface desorption make comparable contributions to tritium release from the silicon carbide. Improvements beyond the present analytical model, such as dynamical detrapping, can be achieved with the proposed framework.
Linking context and proximity through web corpus

Proximity, a vague spatial relationship between a reference object (RO) and a located object (LO), has been shown to be influenced by many contextual factors rather than determined solely by the Euclidean distance between RO and LO. In this paper, a list of potential contextual factors that may influence how human conceptualize proximity was reviewed. Focusing on RO, LO, and geographical context we adopted a web-based corpus method by crawling the Web to build a spatial language corpus on linguistically specified proximity relationships. Spatial named entity recognition and entity resolution were used to extract RO, LO, and contextual factors out from the corpus. By mapping and analyzing the correlation between distance and contextual factors, this study provides insights on how different contextual factors influence the conceptualization of spatial proximity.
Computational and experimental investigation of the drag reduction and the components of pressure drop in horizontal slug flow using liquids of different viscosities

Abstract Computational and experimental investigation in 10-cm ID horizontal pipes have been carried out utilizing carbon dioxide as the gas phase and two types of oil with different viscosities; namely 0.0025 Pa s and 0.05 Pa s, as the liquid phase. The influence of oil viscosity on the magnitude of total pressure drop and each of its components as well as the effectiveness of a drag reducing additive (DRA, CDR WS 500 M flow improver) in decreasing the pressure loss was investigated in two-phase oil–gas slug flow. The effects of changing oil viscosity on the contribution of frictional and accelerational components to total pressure drop in slug flow were also examined and analyzed. Computations of accelerational and frictional components of pressure drop were performed. The accelerational component of pressure drop was dominant in the 0.0025 Pa s oil while the frictional component had significant contributions in the 0.05 Pa s oil. Despite the fact that the magnitude of drag reduction was higher in the 0.05 Pa s oil, the DRA was more effective in reducing the total pressure drop and its components in the 0.0025 Pa s oil.
Opportunistic mass measurements at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility

Abstract A technique for measuring mass differences has been developed at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) that requires no specialized equipment. Mass differences are measured as position differences between known and unknown-mass isobars, dispersed at the image of the energy-analyzing magnet following the 25 MV tandem post-accelerator, and identified by an energy-loss measurement. The technique has been demonstrated on neutron-rich 77–79Cu and 83–86Ge isotopes produced using the isotope separator online (ISOL) method with the 238U(p,fission) reaction, where a mass accuracy of 500 keV was achieved. These nuclides are well suited to the measurement technique, as they readily migrate out of the production target and to the ion source and comprise the most neutron-rich elements of the isobarically mixed beam. Because modest precision mass values can be obtained with only a few tens of counts of the nuclide of interest among orders of magnitude more of the isobaric neighbors closer to stability, the sensitivity of this technique makes it appropriate for initial mass measurements far from stability.
Interfacial gradient plasticity governs scale-dependent yield strength and strain hardening rates in micro/nano structured metals

Abstract The effect of the material microstructural interfaces increases as the surface-to-volume ratio increases. It is shown in this work that interfacial effects have a profound impact on the scale-dependent yield strength and strain hardening of micro/nano-systems even under uniform stressing. This is achieved by adopting a higher-order gradient-dependent plasticity theory [Abu Al-Rub, R.K., Voyiadjis, G.Z., Bammann, D.J., 2007. A thermodynamic based higher-order gradient theory for size dependent plasticity. Int. J. Solids Struct. 44, 2888–2923] that enforces microscopic boundary conditions at interfaces and free surfaces. Those nonstandard boundary conditions relate a microtraction stress to the interfacial energy at the interface. In addition to the nonlocal yield condition for the material’s bulk, a microscopic yield condition for the interface is presented, which determines the stress at which the interface begins to deform plastically and harden. Hence, two material length scales are incorporated: one for the bulk and the other for the interface. Different expressions for the interfacial energy are investigated. The effect of the interfacial yield strength and interfacial hardening are studied by analytically solving a one-dimensional Hall–Petch-type size effect problem. It is found that when assuming compliant interfaces the interface properties control both the material’s global yield strength and rates of strain hardening such that the interfacial strength controls the global yield strength whereas the interfacial hardening controls both the global yield strength and strain hardening rates. On the other hand, when assuming a stiff interface, the bulk length scale controls both the global yield strength and strain hardening rates. Moreover, it is found that in order to correctly predict the increase in the yield strength with decreasing size, the interfacial length scale should scale the magnitude of both the interfacial yield strength and interfacial hardening.
Configuration Interaction in the Gd ii Spectrum

The observed terms of Gd ii can be accounted for by considering the addition of two electrons to just the 8S7/2 ground state of the 4f7 core. With the use of matrices containing both electrostatic and spin-orbit interactions we have derived parameters that yield a good least-squares fit to the experimental levels. Our results reveal extensive intermediate coupling within the configurations and strong electrostatic interactions between 4f7(8S)5d6s, 4f7(8S)5d2, and between 4f7(8S)6p6s, 4f7(8S)5d6p. Tables of observed and calculated energy levels, calculated gJ values, and percentage compositions of eigenstates are presented. The significance of the configuration interaction is discussed and attention is drawn to an indeterminacy in the over-all phase of the configuration interaction parameters.
Expression of Neutrophil Gelatinase-associated Lipocalin Regulates Epithelial Morphogenesis in Vitro

Growth factors such as hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) are highly up-regulated during development and following renal injury and are known to induce marked morphogenic actions in cultured tubular epithelial cells, including scattering, migration, single cell branching morphogenesis, and multicellular branching tubulogenesis. In the present study, we demonstrate that HGF stimulates epithelial cells to express neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (Ngal), a member of the lipocalin family of secreted proteins that has recently been shown to participate in mesenchymal-epithelial transformation via its ability to augment cellular iron uptake. At concentrations below those found to mediate iron transport, purified Ngal can induce a promigratory and probranching effect that is dependent on ERK activation. The suppression of Ngal expression using short hairpin RNA results in increased cyst formation by tubular cells. However, the simultaneous addition of Ngal and HGF leads to direct association of the two proteins, and results in a partial inhibition of HGF-mediated activation of c-Met and the downstream MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathways. This inhibitory effect down-regulates HGF-stimulated single cell migration, and limits branching morphogenesis at both the single cell and multicellular level. These experiments demonstrate that the local expression of Ngal can play a regulatory role in epithelial morphogenesis by promoting the organization of cells into tubular structures while simultaneously negatively modulating the branching effects of HGF.
Learning in a consortium: a longitudinal case study

Alliances formed to investigate emerging technologies often fall short of participants' expectations. Das and Teng (2000) proposed that successful alliances (such as those undertaken by R&D consortia) hold three 'competing tensions' in balance, with varying emphasis across several stages in the life of an R&D alliance. This paper reports on a longitudinal case study of an initiative conducted by the Financial Services Technology Consortium to develop and test a new payment system, the eCheck. Consistent with the studies of Das and Teng, we found strong evidence of the stages and competing tensions. However, all three tensions were seen across the stages of the eCheck initiative. Based on these findings, we propose that all three competing tensions need to be managed throughout the life of an inter-organisational learning initiative, and that tensions accelerate (and thus need to be managed most carefully) as a project moves closer to commercial implementation.
On Parallel Machine Replacement Problems with General Replacement Cost Functions and Stochastic Deterioration

The parallel machine replacement problem consists of finding a minimum cost replacement policy for a finite population of economically interdependent machines. In this paper, we formulate a stochastic version of the problem and analyze the structure of optimal policies under general classes of replacement cost functions. We prove that for problems with arbitrary cost functions, there can be optimal policies where a machine is replaced only if all machines in worse states are replaced (Worse Cluster Replacement Rule). We then show that, for problems with replacement cost functions exhibiting nonincreasing marginal costs, there are optimal policies such that, in any stage, machines in the same state are either all kept or all replaced (No-Splitting Rule). We also present an example that shows that economies of scale in replacement costs do not guarantee optimal policies that satisfy the No-Splitting Rule. These results lead to the fundamental insight that replacement decisions are driven by marginal costs, and not by economies of scale as suggested in the literature. Finally, we describe how the optimal policy structure, i.e., the No-Splitting and Worse Cluster Replacement Rules, can be used to reduce the computational effort required to obtain optimal replacement policies. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 52: 409 - 419, 2005.
XPS, AES and friction studies of single-crystal silicon carbide

The surface chemistry and friction behavior of a single crystal silicon carbide surface parallel to the 0001 plane in sliding contact with iron at various temperatures to 1500 C in a vacuum of 3 x 10 nPa are investigated using X-ray photoelectron and Auger electron spectroscopy. Results show that graphite and carbide-type carbon are seen primarily on the silicon carbide surface in addition to silicon at temperatures to 800 C by both types of spectroscopy. The coefficients of friction for iron sliding against a silicon carbide surface parallel to the 0001 plane surface are found to be high at temperatures up to 800 C, with the silicon and carbide-type carbon at maximum intensity in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at 800 C. The concentration of the graphite increases rapidly on the surface as the temperature is increased above 800 C, while the concentrations of the carbide-type carbon and silicon decrease rapidly and this presence of graphite is accompanied by a significant decrease in friction. Preheating the surfaces to 1500 C also gives dramatically lower coefficients of friction when reheating in the sliding temperature range of from room temperature to 1200 C, with this reduction in friction due to the graphite layer on the silicon carbide surface.
Toward a more just criminal code in pre-revolutionary France: J.-P. Brissot (1754–1793)

Abstract Jacques-Pierre Brissot, a controversial and often ignored journalist and politician of the French Revolution, began his career as a serious publicist by concentrating on criminal code reform. Among his early efforts is a lengthy pamphlet investigating the problem of the innocent falsely accused, Le Sang innocent venge, ou Discours sur les reparations dues aux accuses innocens (1781), awarded a prize by the Academy of Châlons-sur-Marne. The Criminal Ordinance of 1670, still in effect at that time, was the object of Brissot's attack. Although a number of scholars of the Ancien Regime have indicated that the police force of the period was totally inadequate and that a severe penal code may have been one of the only ways to deter crime, these were not Brissot's main concerns. He, like his mentors the philosophes , and particularly Voltaire, chose legal institutions as an indication and illustration of problems and abuses in the existing system. Brissot's insight, however, was his perception of harsh and unnecessarily cruel punishments as a threat to the life and liberty of the individual. His concern was the damage done by legal proceedings to the individual rather than swift retribution for the damage done by the individual to society. He contended that reforms were needed to create a criminal justice system more responsive to individual rights. This article examines Brissot's pamphlet and demonstrates that he should be granted a prominent place among the advocates of reform.
Prospective Randomized Control Trial of Intermittent Versus Continuous Gastric Feeds for Critically Ill Trauma Patients

Background: This study compared an intermittent feeding regimen (one-sixth of daily needs infused every 4 hours) with a continuous (drip) feeding regimen for critically ill trauma patients. There were two outcome variables: time to reach goal volume and the days on 100% of caloric needs via an enteral route in the first 10 days of the intensive care unit stay. Adverse events were also tallied. Methods: A prospective randomized trial was conducted in the trauma intensive care unit in a university Level I trauma center. A total of 164 trauma patients, 18 years of age and older were admitted to the trauma intensive care unit with a noninjured gastrointestinal tract and required more than 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. Patients were randomized to receive enteral nutrition via an intermittent feeding regimen versus a continuous feeding regimen. A single nutritionist calculated caloric and protein goals. A strict protocol was followed where hourly enteral intake, interruptions and their causes, diarrhea, a...
The animal continuum in A Midsummer Night's Dream

I make this allusion to Hamlet in order to recall in passing that that play is an extraordinary zoology: its animal figures are innumerable, which is somewhat the case all through Shakespeare–more ...
String duality and black holes

Abstract In the context of (semi) classical general relativity, the physics of black holes poses many unanswered and unsettling questions. Notable among them are the loss of quantum coherence, which casts doubts on the basic foundations of quantum mechanics, and the understanding of the enormous entropy carried by black holes which is at odds with strong “no hair” theorems. We point out that in string theory, black-hole type solutions ( S -black holes) carry local discrete charges inherited from the duality symmetries of the string, which allow S -black holes to carry “quantum hair”. It is further noted that the conservation of the discrete charges and the presence of quantum hair precludes the information about a quantum state from being completely lost in the black hole thus rescuing quantum coherence. We also note that a large number of quantum hair carried by S -black holes may explain their enormous entropy, i.e. it is the duality symmetry of the string theory which redeems outstanding problems of black-hole dynamics. We also discuss a possible description of black holes as solitons of string theory.
Incidence of complications with mini vaginal culpostats in carcinoma of the uterine cervix

Between 1980 and 1987, 298 patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated at the University of Louisville Department of Radiation Oncology. Of these, 197 (66.1%) were treated for cure by radiotherapy alone: 36 by external beam alone and 161 by external beam and tandem and ovoid applications. The F.I.G.O. staging of the 161 patients was 82 (50.1%) Stage IB, 9 (5.6%) Stage IIA, 40 (24.9%) Stage IIB, and 30 (18.6%) Stage III. The usual treatment was whole pelvis irradiation followed by two intracavitary applications using the Fletcher Suit Applicators of tandem and ovoids in 79/161 patients (49%), a 3-M Mini Applicator (Fletcher Suit Delcos Applicator) in 52/161 patients (32.3%), and a 3-M Mini Applicator with Caps in 30/161 patients (18.6%). The incidence of grade 3-4 gastrointestinal or genitourinary complications as defined by the RTOG was 19.3% (31/161). Various treatment parameters were analyzed to define possible contributing factors. Grade 3-4 complications were seen in 7.6% (6/79) of patients treated with the standard ovoid Fletcher system, 26.9% (14/52) treated with the mini-ovoid system, and 36.6% (11/30) treated with the mini-ovoid system with caps (p = .0006). Although trends were noted, neither the vaginal surface dose (VSD) from the ovoids nor the addition of the external beam dose to the VSD (total vaginal surface dose = TVSD) were significant independent variables (p = 0.19 and = 0.133, respectively). The TVSD was significant when comparisons were made between different ovoid systems (p = 0.05 for less than 12,000 cGy and p = 0.004 for greater than 12,000 cGy). In this study, the 3-M mini applicator was associated with a significant increase in grade 3-4 complications as compared to the Standard Fletcher Suit Applicator.
The effects of microcosm size and substrate type on aquatic microcosm behavior and arsenic transport

The chemical and biological characteristics of 12 freshwater microcosms of two different sizes (7-L and 70-L) and substrate types (sand and lake mud), and the fate of an introduced test contaminant (74As) were explored as part of a larger study of the feasibility of using microcosms for assessing the probable fate and effects of contaminants in natural ecosystems. An inoculum of local pond algae with attendant organisms was introduced into each microcosm. Substrate type influenced chemical and biological conditions and arsenic distribution profoundly, while size had lesser effects which were probably due to differences in surface area to volume ratio. Lake sediment contributed to significantly greater algal productivity as reflected by biomass, pH, dissolved oxygen, dissolved nutrients, and chlorophyll-a. Most of the arsenic moved into the mud of the lake sediment microcosms, but remained in the water of the sand microcosms. Bioaccumulation ratios for algae ranged from 370 for 7-L sand microcosms to 4300 for lake mud microcosms. Arsenic concentrations in snails were directly proportional to substrate arsenic concentrations. Transport of arsenic in the microcosms was in good agreement with published field data. The results of the experiment emphasized the importance of selecting components for test microcosms from the specific environments most likely to incur introduction of a particular contaminant.
Infectivity, growth, development and pathology of Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda) in the golden hamster.

Abstract Laboratory hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus ) were experimentally infected with 75 ± 15 metacercarial cysts of Echinostoma caproni . Worms were recovered from days 7 to 89 post-infection with eight to 90 (average 37) parasites in the small intestine. Worm wet weights averaged 0.85 mg at 10 days, 1.8 mg at 17 days, 3.4 mg at 45 days, and 7.7 mg at 89 days; average dry weights for the identical days were, 0.15, 0.30, 0.70 and 2.2 mg, respectively. The average body area of worms fixed in hot (80°C) alcohol-formalin-acetic acid was 0.21 mm 2 on day 3, 4.9 mm 2 on day 10, and 17.7 mm 2 on day 42. Clinical signs in some hamsters included progressive unthriftiness and watery diarrhea. Gross examination revealed enlarged lymphatic nodules along the length of the small intestine. The histopathological responses of hamsters to the parasite showed erosion of the intestinal villi with lymphocytic infiltration being the primary response; hemorrhagic areas were also observed in the villi.
Diagnosing Units of Conservation Management

Species-oriented conservation programs attempt to analyze and maintain intra-specific variation in order to maximally preserve biological diversity. The "evolutionarily significant unit" has become an operational term for a group of organisms that should be the minimial unit for conservation management No generally accepted definition for this term exists that would be the basis for the evaluation of these units in practical conservation situations. Currently, taxonomic decisions in species conservation are mostly based on the biological species concept But the universal application of criteria of reproductive isolation orphenetic similarity to delimit conservation units is problematical. We favor a definition for evolutionarily significant units based on patterns of variation. In the theoreticalframework of the phylogenetic species concept, conservation units are delim- ited by characters that diagnose clusters of individuals or populations to the exclusion of other such clusters. Charac- ters are used for cladistic analysis to infer hypotheses of the phylogenetic relationships of individuals, and differentiated populations are diagnosed using population aggregation
Sub-Harmonic Problem in Multi-Converter Vehicular Power Systems

Power electronics is an inevitable part of vehicular multi-converter power systems. In a multi-converter power system, various buses and loads are connected through different power electronic converters and inverters. These systems consist of a few to tens of converters in electric and hybrid electric vehicles to hundreds of converters in more electric aircraft, sea vehicles, and international space station. A phenomenon that can occur in cascaded converters and multi-converter systems is sub-harmonic production. The problem with sub-harmonics is that they could not be easily cancelled out by filters. In this paper, this issue is addressed. Furthermore, some precautions to prevent the problem are introduced. Simulation and experimental results confirm the addressed concept.
Spectral methods for linear inverse problems with unbounded operators

Abstract Spectral theory for bounded linear operators is used to develop a general class of approximation methods for the Moore-Penrose generalized inverse of a closed, densely defined linear operator. Issues of convergence and stability are addressed and the methods are modified to provide a stable class of methods for evaluation of unbounded linear operators.
Knee implants – Review of models and biomechanics

Since the 1950s, knee implants have been designed to replace damaged cartilage and bone of the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints. At least 150 implants exist today, with advancements by physicians and engineers that simulate the geometry and behavior of a healthy knee joint. Various researchers have evaluated the biomechanics of knee implant components to assess the performance of some of the knee implant models. Many authors have investigated biomechanical factors such as contact stresses, kinematics and fatigue to validate the quality of knee implants under specific loading conditions. Materials used for knee implants are selected to balance strength requirements with biocompatibility needs. While use of materials such as titanium (Ti) alloys, cobalt chrome and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene have led to improved implant designs, wear, loosening and other factors continue to limit the performance of knee implants. Two- and three-dimensional finite element models (FEMs) have been developed which include the artificial knee and portions of the surrounding biological materials to investigate this interaction. Finite element analysis (FEA) has been used to predict implant biomechanical behavior under various static and dynamic loading conditions. This paper reviews FEA studies as well as the biomechanical behavior of knee implants.
The contributions of sympathetic tone and the renin-angiotensin system to severe chronic congestive heart failure: Response to specific inhibitors (prazosin and captopril)

The contribution of sympathetic tone and the renin-angiotensin system to the pathogenesis of chronic heart failure was evaluated. In 20 paired studies of the same 10 patients, the baseline hemodynamic and humoral correlates of congestive heart failure, and the response to alpha adrenergic blockade (prazosin) and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition (captopril) were assessed. Despite the extent of failure, baseline plasma renin activity ranged from normal to very high. In contrast, baseline plasma catecholamine levels were always elevated. Baseline plasma norepinephrine reflected the severity of heart failure, correlating inversely with baseline cardiac index before administration of both drugs. Comparable improvement in left ventricular function was noted after acute therapy. Baseline renin and norepinephrine did not predict the response to prazosin, but baseline renin did predict the response to captopril: pulmonary wedge pressure (r=-0.776, p less than 0.01), stroke index (r=0.752, p less than 0.02), systemic vascular resistance (r=-0.673, p less than 0.05). In summary, elevated levels of plasma norepinephrine were inversely correlated with baseline cardiac function but norepinephrine levels did not change despite improved hemodynamics with specific prazosin therapy. The renin-angiotensin system exhibited a wide spectrum of activity and hemodynamic improvement with captopril was related to this activity. Absence of a correlation between plasma norepinephrine and plasma renin activity suggested that their contributions to vasoconstriction were not interdependent. Increased sympathetic tone was consistent in severe heart failure, whereas renin-angiotensin activity differed widely. The response to captopril can be used to identify a subset of patients with severe heart failure and adverse angiotensin-mediated vasoconstriction.
Functional Evaluation of Coronary Bypass Surgery by Exercise Testing and Oxygen Consumption

The short-term effects of coronary bypass surgery were evaluated in 40 male anginal patients with 100% follow-up. Bicycle ergometry was performed pre- and postoperatively (three to eight months). The rate-pressure product (RPP) at angina and 1.0 mm ST segment change was recorded as well as oxygen consumption at the end of each three-minute work load. All but three survivors (92%) reported symptomatic improvement. Mortality was 5% (2/40). Among survivors morbidity included 29% (11/38) with apparent intra- or perioperative infarctions (new Q waves). In 20 postoperative patients (50%) neither angina nor ST changes could be elicited when exercised to fatigue. RPP at fatigue was increased an average of 48%. The highest measured oxygen consumption increased an average of 61%. Ten patients (25%) developed angina or ST changes at a higher RPP. O 2 consumption in this group was unchanged (–3%). Five patients (12.5%) had no change or lower RPP at angina or ischemia. Their oxygen consumption was uniformly worse. Three patients (7.5%) were unable to exercise to preoperative RPP levels and could not be assessed. While the majority of revascularized patients are improved, the disparity between symptomatic and functional improvement reinforces the need for objective testing to determine the true effects of bypass surgery.
An internal cysteine plays a role in the maintenance of the latency of human fibroblast collagenase

The cDNA that encodes the proenzyme form of human fibroblast collagenase has been expressed in Escherichia coli. It has been shown by a number of criteria to be functionally identical with the enzyme isolated from human sources. Mutations of each of three cysteine residues found in procollagenase were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis of the cDNA. The relative activities of these mutants were compared to the wild-type enzyme. All of the mutants retained proteolytic activity, but not necessarily on collagen. Mutations that interfere with the formation of the sulfhydryl bridge in the carboxy-terminal domain in some cases increased and in other cases decreased the rate of casein cleavage. On the basis of extensive autolysis within E. coli of a mutant with a replacement of cysteine-73, the procollagenase molecule produced appeared to be either spontaneously active or perhaps more susceptible to autolytic activation, despite the continued presence of the propeptide. Experiments designed to capture the active forms of the mutant by use of the irreversible inhibitor alpha 2-macroglobulin showed that some degree of latency still persisted in the autolytic mutant. These findings suggest that the cysteine at position 73 is important for maintaining the proenzyme in an inactive state but that the maintenance of latency in MMPs may be a complex process, involving a number of interactions between the propeptide domain and the remainder of the collagenase molecule.
Palynology and age of the lower cretaceous basal kurnub group from the coastal plain to the northern Negev of Israel

Abstract The spores and pollen from the basal Cretaceous Helez Formation in the Kokhav 2 well from the coastal plain of Israel have been studied and compared with those from the basal Cretaceous in the Zeweira Formation of the Zohar 1 well from the northern Negev of Israel. All sediments in the Early Cretaceous are within the Kurnub Group. The spores and pollen from the Oxfordian‐Callovian Kidod Formation in the Zohar 1 well were also studied and compared with the above Cretaceous assemblages. Thirty‐five core samples from four wells have yielded 91 distinct sporomorphae. One new form genus, Retimonoporites, and three new species ‐ Retimonoporites operculatus, Bullasporites bifidum, and Cicatricosisporites negevus ‐ are erected. The palynological data were analyzed and assemblage differences between the Kidod, Helez, and Zeweira formations presented. The microflora from cores in the Helez 1 and 3 wells that had previously been dated with marine microfauna is compared with the microflora from the basal Cre...
Postmodern feminist reflections on reading Wolff

The topic This paper is about the social practices of the wording of the world?a phrase I borrow from Edward Rose (The Werald). As social theorists committed to postmodernism have recently again reminded us, it is we who engage in wording the world by our practices of naming, interrogating, and interpret? ing. Admittedly, this admission is not sudden or new; within sociology and the social sciences generally there is a long and rich tradition celebrating this practice, including the sociology of knowledge, the social construction of reality, symbolic interactionism, and the study of propaganda and public opinion. But it is a tradition that has seldom been center stage. What has recently changed with respect to the wording of the world is the prioritizing of situated knowledges over abstract knowledge such as philoso? phies of history and the entrusting of legitimation and validity to the actual participants, the subjects, and the researchers. As Hillary Clinton expressed this in a television interview recently, "Knowledge from a distance is not knowledge of experience!" Because of these epistemological changes, postmodern feminism encourages dialogical interviewing strategies in eth? nographic and other qualitative research, (Reinharz, 1992) and centers much of its attention on individual and personal narrative, as for instance Carolyn Heilbrun's Writing a Woman's Life (1988). Whatever the epistemological reasons for this turn to the personal, its consequences for the questions and issues in the social sciences are multiple and far reaching. Although Kurt Wolff is neither a self-declared postmodernist nor a femi? nist, but nevertheless appears in his recent work to engage in many of the practices and strategies endorsed by postmodern feminism, I want to exam? ine some of his recent writings within this broader context. I am particularly 'Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and the Human
Impact of Sildenafil on Echocardiographic Indices of Myocardial Performance After the Fontan Operation

The objective of this study was describe the impact of sildenafil on echocardiographic measures of myocardial performance in children and young adults with a functional single-ventricle physiology late after Fontan surgery. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial was conducted in children and young adults after the Fontan operation at a single pediatric center. Subjects were randomized to receive placebo or sildenafil (20 mg tid) for 6 weeks. After a 6-week washout period, subjects were crossed for an additional 6 weeks. Each subject underwent an echocardiogram at the start and finish of each phase. A total of 27 subjects completed study testing at a mean age of 14.9 years and a mean time from Fontan surgery of 11.3 years. After sildenafil, subjects demonstrated improvement in their myocardial performance index (MPI; −0.051; 95% CI −0.095, −0.0077; p 0.02) and in the product of the velocity time integral (VTI) of the dominant outflow tract and the heart rate (HR; 110 cm × bpm; 95% CI 7.5, 220; p = 0.04). Measures of diastolic performance, including inflow velocities, myocardial velocities, and the ratio of blood pool velocity to myocardial velocity during passive inflow, did not change. In this cohort, there were significant improvements in both the MPI and the product of the VTI × HR after 6 weeks of treatment with sildenafil. These findings suggest that sildenafil may be a useful therapy to improve or maintain ventricular performance in select patients after the Fontan operation.
The meaning for elders of receiving family care.

Aims. This paper reports a study undertaken to broaden nurse clinicians’, policy-makers’, and researchers’ understandings of what it means to elders to receive family care. Background. The number of older people receiving assistance at home will increase tremendously in coming decades in proportion to the rapidly increasing aged population. Seventy to 80% of the care received by elders is provided by family members. As more elders with fewer family carers are predicted, nursing's insight into the family care phenomenon becomes even more important. The literature contains reports of specific aspects of family care. Most results include reports of elders dreading giving up their independence in the context of Euro-American United States society's highly valued cultural norm of independence. No studies have explored elders’ views of the meaning of receiving family care. Methods. Hermeneutic interpretive phenomenology was chosen, and a sample of nine elders (five women and four men) was interviewed. Participants were asked for descriptions of their day-to-day experiences of receiving family care in two to five interviews, and were observed interacting with their family carers in naturalistic settings. Findings. Elders living at home were found to incorporate help from family members comfortably into their lives. They viewed themselves as autonomous and able to maintain balance between autonomy and dependence on loved ones. Conclusions. Receiving family care may have positive meaning for elders, especially when the care is provided within the context of positive relationships with family carers. These findings are in contrast to previous reports. If validated in further research, they could be used to inform practice and policy in health care systems involved in collaborating with families to develop care arrangements for community-living elders.
Linearly Polarized Emission from Colloidal Semiconductor Quantum Rods

Colloidal quantum rods of cadmium selenide (CdSe) exhibit linearly polarized emission. Empirical pseudopotential calculations predict that slightly elongated CdSe nanocrystals have polarized emission along the long axis, unlike spherical dots, which emit plane-polarized light. Single-molecule luminescence spectroscopy measurements on CdSe quantum rods with an aspect ratio between 1 and 30 confirm a sharp transition from nonpolarized to purely linearly polarized emission at an aspect ratio of 2. Linearly polarized luminescent chromophores are highly desirable in a variety of applications.
Scattering of ultrashort pulses in sea water

ABSTRACTThe present work consists of two parts. In the first part the principal results of the scattering theory of ultra shortlight pulses (USLP) by a small spherical particle, are briefly outlined. In the second part, the peculiaritics of the USLPscattering by marine suspension are examined.Keywords: short light pulses, ultra short light pulses, scattering by small particle, scattering by marine suspension,optics of sea water, optics ofturbid media.1. INTRODUCTIONA number of optical phenomena occur during the propagation of light pulses in sea water. Two of them are ofspecial interest for optics of sea water: 1) the scattering of pulses by particles of marine suspension; 2) the absorption ofpulses in sea water. The combined effect of these two factors determines the picture of pulse propagation in sea water. Theanalysis of peculiarities of the absorption of light pulses is presented in '. The objective of the present work is to considerfeatures of pulse scattering by particles of marine suspension. The formulation of the problem of light pulse scattering isas follows. An emitter generates a light pulse during the time Lt .
544 – Fda approved psychotrop ic medication s listing for common psychiatri c illnesses in current us pacific military medicine and comparison with europe

Introduction What are the FDA and EMEA approved Psychotropic Medications for Psychiatric Illnesses? What do these approval processes mean? Objectives Describe the process for FDA/ EMEA approval of drugs used to treat psychiatric disordres, identify disorders of DSM-IV TR commonly seen in Medicine, present currently FDA/EMEA approved Psychotropic Medications for Psychiatric Illnesses in International Medicine. To identify psychiatric disorders of DSM-IV TR commonly seen in Medicine and have access to a FDA/EMEA approved Psychotropic Medications. Aims The FDA and its European Counterpart, the EMEA are recognized for enforcing two of the world's most rigorous review processes, determining what medications are safe/effective, which makes their approval a meaningful title to patients. A readily accessible list of DSM-IV TR Psychiatric disorders with the corresponding FDA and EMEA approved medications listed would help communication between providers and patients and prevent bad outcomes. Currently, no such document is readily available. Methods Review of most commonly seen psychiatric disorders in International Medicine. Review of the current FDA Orange book for current FDA approved Psychotrop Medications for Common Psychiatric Illnesses. Results A list of DSM-IV TR Psychiatric disorders commonly seen in Medicine with the corresponding FDA/EMEA approved medications listed. Conclusions To create a user friendly document listing common DSM-IV TR Psychiatric disorders seen in the US military setting with the corresponding FDA approved psychotropic medications to aid healthcare providers, and educate patients about the significance of using a medication for its FDA approved diagnoses versus “off-label” prescribing, and to compare this process to the EMEA process.
A fluid-structure finite element method for the analysis of reactor safety problems

Abstract A method is presented for the safety analysis of reactor containment structures by means of finite elements. The finite element equations of both fluid and structural elements for arbitrarily large, non-linear response are developed and the way in which they are combined is indicated. Both explicit and implicit integration of the equations in time is considered. Three examples of the application of these methods to the analyses of reactor safety problems are described.
Initiation identification in fused-silica 35-nm optics

ABSTRACT Thermo-mechanical surface damage initiation and growth in fused-silica 3w (355nm) optics are important performance andcost issues for high-power lasers (fluences of4-14 J/cm2) in the few ns pulse length regime. We are working to characterizeand identify the extrinsic origins of damage initiation; impurities, particulates, and manufacturing defects. We haveperformed a materials characterization survey approach using transmission electron microscopy to identify the chemistry andmorphology of particles, and structural defects. TEM offers high chemical or elemental specificity and small analytical spotsize yielding complementary materials characterization data and powerful clues to manufacturing improvements. We willreport on our characterization ofthe near surface of one commercially manufactures fused silica optic, where the resultsindicate both the efficacy and potential value of this approach.Keywords : Fused-silica, Transmission electron-microscopy, Cracks, Particles 1. INTRODUCTION
Superconducting and normal-state properties of the layered boride Os B 2

$\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$ crystallizes in an orthorhombic structure $(Pmmn)$ which contains alternate boron and osmium layers stacked along the $c$ axis. The boron layers consist of puckered hexagons as opposed to the flat graphite-like boron layers in $\mathrm{Mg}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$. $\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$ is reported to become superconducting below $2.1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. We report results of the dynamic and static magnetic susceptibilities, electrical resistivity, Hall effect, heat capacity, and penetration depth measurements on arc-melted polycrystalline samples of $\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$ to characterize its superconducting and normal-state properties. These measurements confirmed that $\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$ becomes a bulk superconductor below ${T}_{c}=2.1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. Our results indicate that $\mathrm{Os}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$ is a moderate-coupling type-II superconductor with an electron-phonon coupling constant ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathrm{ep}}\ensuremath{\approx}0.4--0.5$, a small Ginzburg-Landau parameter $\ensuremath{\kappa}\ensuremath{\sim}1--2$, and an upper critical magnetic field ${H}_{c2}(0.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K})\ensuremath{\sim}420\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Oe}$ for an unannealed sample and ${H}_{c2}(1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K})\ensuremath{\sim}330\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Oe}$ for an annealed sample. The temperature dependence of the superfluid density ${n}_{s}(T)$ for the unannealed sample is consistent with an $s$-wave superconductor with a slightly enhanced zero temperature gap $\ensuremath{\Delta}(0)=1.9{k}_{B}{T}_{c}$ and a zero temperature London penetration depth $\ensuremath{\lambda}(0)=0.38(2)\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$. The ${n}_{s}(T)$ data for the annealed sample show deviations from the predictions of the single-band $s$-wave BCS model. The magnetic, transport, and thermal properties in the normal state of isostructural and isoelectronic $\mathrm{Ru}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}$, which is reported to become superconducting below $1.6\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, are also reported.