cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness analysis of nocturnal oximetry as a method of screening for sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Study objective Determine the utility of nocturnal oximetry as a screening tool for sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) compared with polysomnography (PSG). Design Cost-effectiveness analysis based on retrospective review of overnight sleep studies. Setting United States Air Force tertiary teaching hospital. Patients One hundred consecutive patients evaluated for SAHS by overnight sleep study. Intervention Participants underwent PSG and oximetry on the same night. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea had a continuous positive airway pressure trial. Measurements Oximetry was abnormal when ≥10 events per hour occurred. Two criteria were evaluated. A “deep” pattern of >4% change in oxyhemoglobin saturation to ≤90%, and a “fluctuating” pattern of repetitive short-duration fluctuations in saturation. The diagnostic accuracy of both methods was compared with PSG. Cost-effectiveness of screening oximetry was compared with PSG alone and use of split-night studies. Results The fluctuating pattern had a greater sensitivity and negative predictive value, while the deep pattern had a greater specificity and positive predictive value. Oximetry screening using the fluctuating pattern was not as sensitive as PSG for detecting patients with mild disease; 17 of 28 patients (61%) with normal oximetry results had treatable conditions detected by PSG. Cost analysis showed that screening oximetry would save $4,290/100 patients but with considerable loss of diagnostic accuracy. Conclusion Screening oximetry is not cost-effective because of poor diagnostic accuracy despite increased sensitivity using the fluctuating pattern. Greater savings, without loss of diagnostic accuracy, may be achieved through increased utilization of split-night PSGs.
Search for substrate rearrangement in barium adsorption on tungsten.

W substrate rearrangement upon Ba adsorption and thermal equilibration measured for thermally annealed and field evaporated surfaces
Energy metabolism in the reversible and irreversible phases of severe myocardial ischemia.

High energy phosphate (HEP) utilization and depletion as well as the production and distribution of catabolic products of adenine nucleotides were studied in ischemic dog hearts in order to characterize the transition from reversible to irreversible cell injury. Severe ischemia, induced by coronary occlusion in vivo was compared to total ischemia, in vitro. Much of the creatine phosphate (CP) was lost within the first one to three minutes. During severe ischemia in vivo, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was depleted to only 35% of control by 15 minutes (when myocytes are still reversibly injured) and to less than 10% by 40 minutes (at which time irreversible injury has occurred). HEP production from anaerobic glycolysis was estimated from the rate of accumulation of myocardial lactate. HEP production ceased when the ATP was less than 0.4 μmol/g wet weight (control = 5–6). Prior to this time, 80% of the HEP which had been utilized in ischemia had been derived from anaerobic glycolysis whereas 20% came from pre-existing stores of CP and ATP. ATP depletion was paralleled by dephosphorylation of adenine nucleotides. The lost nucleotides were recovered stoichiometrically as adenosine, inosine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine in both models of ischemia. When myocardium was reperfused after 15 minutes of ischemia, these nucleosides and bases were lost to the systemic circulation, and repletion of adenine nucleotides was incomplete for as long as four days, apparently because both de novo and salvage pathways of adenine nucleotide synthesis are slow in myocardium. Further studies were done to assess the nature of the associations between the decreasing ATP of the ischemic tissue and the onset of defects in high energy phosphate regeneration, cell volume and ion regulation, and/or membrane permeability. Slices of control tissue from tissue injured by various periods of total ischemia were incubated in oxygenated Krebs Ringer's phosphate medium containing 14 C-inulin. As long as the ATP of the tissue was not depleted below 5 μmoles/g dry weight prior to incubation, no cellular abnormalities were detected. However, lower ATP levels were associated with depressed high energy phosphate resynthesis and failure of cell volume regulation. Overt membrane damage, as measured by an increased inulin diffusible space, was detected after the tissue ATP content decreased to less than 2.0 μmoles/g dry weight. Thus, cellular viability (reversible injury) was retained despite a modest and persistent ATP depletion, but there was a close assocation between marked ATP depletion and the failure of the damaged tissue to regenerate high energy phosphates and to preserve cell volume and ionic regulation (irreversible injury).
Ecology and habitat utilisation of blue sheep Pseudois nayaur in nepal

Abstract Observations of blue sheep Pseudois nayaur habitat utilisation are described with regard to habitat type, slope, aspect, altitude, human land-use practices, and predators. An increasing population of 800–900 sheep was observed in a 960 km2 hunting reserve southwest of the Dhaulagiri Range. Blue sheep show a year-long preference for gently sloping, grass-covered amphitheatre basins and show no changes in seasonal use of habitat type or slope steepness. In the autumn sheep prefer slopes with southerly aspects, but shift to east-and southeast-facing slopes in response to spring snowstorms. Autumn observations indicate a trend in movement to higher altitudes as a response to courting rams or the burning of high altitude pastures. Heavy spring snowstorms force the sheep to significantly lower altitudes. Scat analyses suggest an absence of resident snow leopards in the reserve, but common leopards occasionally prey on blue sheep. Recommendations for multiple land-use of the reserve are proposed.
Systematic determination of order parameters for chain dynamics using diffusion maps

We employ the diffusion map approach as a nonlinear dimensionality reduction technique to extract a dynamically relevant, low-dimensional description of n-alkane chains in the ideal-gas phase and in aqueous solution. In the case of C8 we find the dynamics to be governed by torsional motions. For C16 and C24 we extract three global order parameters with which we characterize the fundamental dynamics, and determine that the low free-energy pathway of globular collapse proceeds by a “kink and slide” mechanism, whereby a bend near the end of the linear chain migrates toward the middle to form a hairpin and, ultimately, a coiled helix. The low-dimensional representation is subtly perturbed in the solvated phase relative to the ideal gas, and its geometric structure is conserved between C16 and C24. The methodology is directly extensible to biomolecular self-assembly processes, such as protein folding.
Biomechanics of the Bat Limb Skeleton: Scaling, Material Properties and Mechanics

Background/Aims: Wing skeletons of bats are uniquely specialized for flight, reflecting both evolutionary history and the need to maintain structural integrity while generating aerodynamic forces. Methods: We analyzed the anatomical structure of bat wing skeletons in the context of scaling patterns relative to other mammals, material properties and the mechanical function of the wing bones during flight. Results: Compared with nonvolant mammals, the bones of the bat forelimb are elongated, even after correcting for shared phylogenetic history. Bats have consistently larger-diameter bones in the forelimb than do nonvolant mammals but significantly narrower hindlimb bones. Mineralization in the cortical bone of wings is lower than in the long bones of other adult mammals, with a proximodistal gradient of decreasing mineralization. The distal phalanges have only a small amount of mineralized tissue underlying the articular cartilage. Loads required to elicit a 10% length deflection in the wing bones of Glossophaga soricina varied approximately 50-fold along the wing and flexural stiffness nearly 200-fold. Commensurate with low mineralization and flexural stiffness, bat bones experience extraordinarily high bending strains during flight. Conclusion: Bat limb skeletons share features with other mammals and possess specialized characteristics, mostly related to the mechanical demands of flight.
High magnetic field thermal-expansion and elastic properties of CeRhIn5

We report high-magnetic-field thermal expansion and magnetostriction results on $\mathrm{Ce}\mathrm{Rh}{\mathrm{In}}_{5}$ single crystals. Several phase transitions, both first and second order, are observed when the field is applied perpendicular to the crystallographic $c$ axis. The magnetic field dependence of the thermal-expansion coefficient above $15\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, where the magnetic correlations are negligible, can be explained supposing an almost pure $\ensuremath{\mid}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5∕2⟩$ ground state doublet, in apparent contradiction with neutron scattering experiments. Although the spin-lattice interaction is relevant in this compound, the effect of the magnetic correlations on the elastic properties is relatively weak, as revealed by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy experiments.
Annotations of research and clinical perspectives on cluttering since 1964

In 1964, Deso Weiss published his landmark text Cluttering, after much persuasion by Charles Van Riper to put his thoughts in writing regarding this enigmatic speech and language disorder (Van Riper, personal communication, 1992). To our knowledge, Weiss's book was the only book in English devoted entirely to cluttering. Nearly 30 years later, a second text entitled Cluttering: A Clinical Perspective was published (Myers & St. Louis, 1992). The following annotations summarize nearly all that has been written on cluttering since Weiss's classic publication in 1964.
Catabolism of taurine in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Abstract Cell-free extracts of taurine-grown Pseudomonas aeruginosa catalyze the transamination of taurine and pyruvate resulting in the formation of l -alanine and sulfoacetaldehyde. The enzyme responsible for this activity has been partially purified in order to demonstrate its participation in a pathway of taurine degradation. Ethyl methane sulfonate treatment of Ps. aeruginosa yielded a mutant deficient in taurine transaminase and incapable of growing on taurine indicating that the enzyme is of physiological significance in this organism.
Reid's Dilemma and the uses of Pragmatism

Peter Baumann offers the tantalizing suggestion that Thomas Reid is almost, but not quite, a pragmatist. He motivates this claim by posing a dilemma for common sense philosophy: Will it be dogmatism or scepticism? Baumann claims that Reid points to but does not embrace a pragmatist third way between these unsavory options. If we understand ‘pragmatism’ differently than Baumann does, however, we need not be so equivocal in attributing it to Reid. Reid makes what we could call an argument from practical commitment, and this is plausibly an instance of what William James calls the pragmatic method.
Problem‐Dependence of Ground‐Water Model Identification: Significance, Extent, and Treatment

Because geologic settings are not fully known (data are sparse) and because geologic properties vary spatially, flow modelers resort to simplifying conceptualization (simplified geological models) of the settings to perform modeling. But as results of identification of a simplified model depend on identification problem formulation, simplification poses two issues: (1) since coupled identification and prediction problems are differently formulated problems, successful identification (calibration) of a model does not mean that the model will be good in prediction, so the goal of model identification should be the model`s parameters effective in an intended application; (2) since the identification results are problem-dependent, they may be deprived of geological meaning. Therefore, they should be interpreted in the terms of their relation to the real world: to use them without understanding their meanings is potentially damaging. The key to both issues is explicit mathematical presentation of the spatially variable geologic properties transformations to the ground-water model parameters. Canonical forms of the transformations, displaying readily inherent features of those transformations, are introduced. Two-level modeling, exploiting the canonical forms, is suggested as an approach to address the above-mentioned issues. The higher level models represent real geologic settings. The lower level model presents a conventional geological model.more » Comparison of responses to the same impact between the higher level models and the geological model should permit inference of the canonical forms for the given geological model. The forms can be used to choose predictive model effective parameters, interpret observed data, and optimize field investigation. Two simple examples illustrate the main notions of the approach.« less
Influence of Source/Drain Residual Implant Lattice Damage Traps on Silicon Carbide Metal Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor Drain I-V Characteristics

Abstract 4H-SiC n-channel power metal semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) with nitrogen n+-implanted source/drain ohmic contact regions, with and without p-buffer layer fabricated on semi-insulating substrates exhibited hysteresis in the drain I-V characteristics of both types of devices at 300 K and 480 K due to traps. However, thermal spectroscopic measurements could detect the traps only in the devices without p-buffer. Device simulation and optical admittance spectroscopy (OAS) are used to resolve the discrepancy in the initial experimental characterization results. Device simulations and OAS suggest that, in addition to the semi-insulating (SI) substrate traps, acceptor traps due to source/drain residual implant lattice damage contribute to the hysteresis observed in the drain I-V characteristics of the devices. Simulations suggest these traps are contained in the lateral straggle of the implanted source and drain regions since the drain current largely flows between the un-gated edges of the source and drain through the volume of lateral straggle traps. Since hysteresis in I-V curves is a manifestation of the presence of defects in devices and since defects degrade carrier mobility and hence device performance, efforts should be made to minimize the source/drain lateral straggle implant damage.
A New Generation of Heavy Ion Facilities

One area that was not touched on here that is highly relevant to energy boosting of tandem accelerators is that of super-conducting linacs. Although there are not yet major facility proposals based on this technique, a number of laboratories are actively pursuing development studies. A review paper appears in these preceedings as well as several contributions in the session on linear accelerators. Also not discussed was the Bevalac improvement which should provide beams in the upper portion of the region shown in Fig. 1 but with two to three orders of magnitude less intensity than the facilities that have been discussed. Even so, this will be an important member of our heavy ion accelerator arsenal for the next decade. I have tried to summarize the major heavy ion facilities that we should look for through the first of the next decade. I want to end by returning briefly to the subject of the super-tandems. There is an interesting esthetic by-product to these large electrostatic machines. For years we have built horizontal accelerators, often in rather non-descript flat buildings - even tunnels and trenches. But for structural reasons the large tandems are vertical machines and now we have the opportunity to build towers - structures that have always captured mans imagination. Certainly we had a lot of discussion about the form of our tower for Oak Ridge. (Fig. 15) One early suggestion of an architectural style most compatible with our existing buildings is shown in Fig. 16.
Gender and Its Impact on Postacute Secondary Medical Complications Following Spinal Cord Injury

This study used a case-control design to examine gender-based differences in the occurrence of postacute secondary complications following spinal cord injury (SCI). Three participant cohorts (1 year postinjury, 5 years and more postinjury, and 10 years and more postinjury) were utilized. Men with SCI were matched, case for case, to women with SCI based on age at follow-up, marital status, educational background, category of neurologic impairment at rehabilitation discharge, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale, etiology of injury, bladder management at rehabilitation discharge, and ventilator use at rehabilitation discharge. Results showed that gender was largely unrelated to subsequent development of medical complications. Study limitations and future directions are also discussed.
Bone Ingrowth in Well-Fixed Retrieved Porous Tantalum Implants

While first generation porous coatings have had clinical success, aseptic loosening remains a leading cause of revision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for revision and to assess the amount of bone ingrowth in retrieved porous tantalum components. In a prospective multicenter retrieval program, 76 porous tantalum acetabular shells, 5 femoral stems, 7 patellas and 36 tibial trays were collected from revision surgeries. A subset of the implants was analyzed for bone ingrowth. The main reason for revision was infection for acetabular shells (1.4 years implantation time) and instability for tibial trays (1.8 years implantation time). Two of the thirty primary surgery acetabular shells and one of the thirty-six primary surgery tibial trays were revised for implant loosening. We observed full depth penetration of bone into the porous tantalum layer for the acetabular shells and femoral stems.
Host Specificity of Bacterial Pathogens

Most pathogens are able to infect multiple hosts but some are highly adapted to a single-host species. A detailed understanding of the basis of host specificity can provide important insights into molecular pathogenesis, the evolution of pathogenic microbes, and the potential for pathogens to cross the species barrier to infect new hosts. Comparative genomics and the development of humanized mouse models have provided important new tools with which to explore the basis of generalism and specialism. This review will examine host specificity of bacterial pathogens with a focus on generalist and specialist serovars of Salmonella enterica.
A DNA methylation-based switch generates bistable gene expression.

A new study examines the agn43 epigenetic switch of Escherichia coli, providing an alternative to feedback regulation as a model for gene expression regulation. Through a combination of synthetic network construction and computational modeling, the authors show that the generated bistable gene expression involves transitions between several rarely occupied states between 'on' and 'off'.
Probability in lymph node sectioning.

The commonly employed methods of sectioning lymph nodes can account for a greater than 30% false pathologic interpretation when studying nodes for the presence of tumor. The failure to identify a tumor within a lymph node is related to the size of the lymph node, size of the lesion, number of sections examined, and the location of the tumor within the node. Analysis of these variables is approached by applying mathematical and computer formulation to numerous model nodes containing lesions of variable size and location. The percentage probabilities of identifying various sized lesions in different sized nodes is calculated in graphic form. These studies propose a functional method of lymph node sectioning which is applicable to improved sectioning technique.
A tentative plan for the rational sequencing of overall reform in China's economic system☆

Abstract The authors review Chinese economic reform to date, and sketch a linked sequence of reforms stretching over the coming 20 years. They argue that the logical interrelations of a market system require that markets in China be developed in a particular order: first commodity markets, then loanable funds, then capital goods, and finally labor. In addition, they argue that legal reforms, and a revival of traditional Chinese cultural values, are essential for the success of market institutions in China.
Response Sequence Differences between Preschoolers and College Students on a Stereotypy Procedure

40 preschool children and 11 college students were asked to move a marker through a computer matrix to accumulate points and hear music. An operant conditioning view suggests that each of the 252 f...
Conservation of a Tritonia Pedal peptides network in gastropods

Adults of the nudibranch mollusc Tritonia diomedea crawl using mucociliary locomotion. Crawling is controlled in part by the large Pedal 5 (Pd5) and Pedal 6 (Pd6) neurons that produce TritoniaPedal peptides (TPeps). TPeps elicit an increase in ciliary beat frequency, thereby increasing crawling speed. In adults of T. diomedea, an extensive network of TPep-containing neurites adjacent to the basement membrane of the pedal epithelium delivers TPeps to the ciliated cells. In this study, we show that diverse nudibranchs all have a pattern of TPep-like immunoreactivity similar to that of T. diomedea, with thin tracts of TPep-like immunoreactive (TPep-LIR) neurites projecting to the epithelial layer. We also show that members of two non-nudibranch gastropod species have a pattern of TPep-innervation similar to that of the nudibranchs. In addition, we characterized two pairs of motor neurons in adults of the nudibranch Armina californica that are possible homologues of the Pd5 and Pd6 cells in T. diomedea. Activity in one of these pairs, the Pedal Peptidergic Dorsal 1 (PPD1) cells, was correlated with mucociliary locomotion. The second pair, the Pedal Peptidergic Ventral 1 cells, shared synchronous synaptic input with the PPD1 cells, a pattern consistent with the shared synaptic input of the T. diomedea Pd5 and Pd6 cells. These findings suggest that the roles of the Pd5 and Pd6 cells as mucociliary motor neurons in nudibranchs are conserved evolutionarily. Additionally, the extensive network of TPep-LIR neurites seen in the foot of T. diomedea appears likely to be a common feature among gastropods.
Carboxylate Group Side-Chain Density Modulates the pH-Dependent Optical Properties of PPEs

The synthesis of two new water-soluble, carboxylate-substituted poly(p-phenyleneethynylene)s (PPE) is reported. These PPEs differ in their concentration of free carboxylate groups per repeat (two aryleneethynylenes) unit. The photophysical properties of these two polymers are compared to each other and to that of the known dicarboxylate-PPE. An increasing concentration of carboxylate groups (on a per repeat basis) makes the polymers less fluorescent but also more sensitive toward quenching by mercury ions. The least carboxylate functionalized PPE shows the highest quantum yield (0.33). All three PPEs are pH-sensitive and show dramatic changes in absorption and emission at around pH 3.5, which is the pKa of methoxyacetic acid, the common structural subunits in all of these PPEs.
Context-Driven Optimization of Mobile Service-Oriented Systems for Improving Their Resilience

Mobile software systems are characterized by their highly dynamic and unpredictable execution context. Such systems are permeating a number of domains where the systems operate in constantly changing conditions. We refer to such systems as Situated Software Systems. These systems are often deployed in mission-critical settings with stringent reliability requirements. Existing approaches to performing reliability analysis are insufficient in meeting the demands of situated software systems. We propose an approach aimed at such systems and present it in the form of a framework and tool suite known as REsilient SItuated SofTware system (RESIST). The framework utilizes information from the system’s context to produce reliability predictions, and places the system in the optimally reliable configuration with respect to other competing quality attributes.
Dopaminergic modulation of incentive motivation in adolescence: age-related changes in signaling, individual differences, and implications for the development of self-regulation.

Behavioral activation that is associated with incentive-reward motivation increases in adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This quadratic developmental pattern is generally supported by behavioral and experimental neuroscience findings. We suggest that a focus on changes in dopamine neurotransmission is informative in understanding the mechanism for this adolescent increase in reward-related behavioral activation and subsequent decline into adulthood. We present evidence to indicate that incentive-reward motivation is modulated by mesoaccumbens dopamine and that it increases in adolescence before declining into adulthood due to normative developmental changes at the molecular level. Potential mechanisms of variation in functional mesoaccumbens dopamine transmission are discussed with a focus on the interplay between tonic and phasic modes of DA transmission in modulating both general incentive-motivational biases and the efficacy of reward learning during exposure to novel reward experiences. Interactions between individual difference factors and these age-related trends are discussed.
Lime Peak--An Upper Triassic Reef Complex in Yukon: ABSTRACT

End_Page 621------------------------------Upper Triassic carbonates in the Whitehorse trough, Yukon, are lenticular bodies surrounded by Triassic graywacke and volcanic-clast conglomerate derived from an arc to the west. The carbonates at Lime Peak are unusually well exposed. They show multiple stages of reef growth and a complete facies zonation from massive reefal limestone to offlapping slope and basin. The massive reefal limestones have variable lithology from peloidal mudstones to organic framestones containing spongiomorphs, tabulozoans, and calcareous sponges, with lesser contributions from corals, brachiopods, mollusks, algae, and echinoderms. Figure Slope deposits are alternations of thick beds of reef-derived debris with thinner beds containing attached spongiomorphs, thick-shelled pelecypods, large gastropods, and corals which colonized the debris beds. Basinal sediments include thin-bedded limestones and shales consisting of muddy layers rich in sponge spicules and organic matter and graded packstones containing thin-shelled bivalves and skeletal debris. The stages of growth were (1) initial development of lensoid masses each about 25 m thick (1 on sketch), (2) growth of a much larger reefal mass about 150 m thick (2 on sketch) which shed an apron of debris to the west (2a on sketch), and (3) development of a second thick buildup (3 on sketch) on the underlying forereef debris (2a) as the whole system prograded to the west. The Lime Peak reef complex is not typical of other Triassic buildups in North America which are generally low-relief, thin accumulations (less than 10 m thick) dominated by corals and spongiomorphs. The buildups at Lime Peak are much thicker, and tabuloazons and sponges are more important builders than corals. End_of_Article - Last_Page 622------------
Generalized Finite Algorithms for Constructing Hermitian Matrices with Prescribed Diagonal and Spectrum

In this paper, we present new algorithms that can replace the diagonal entries of a Hermitian matrix by any set of diagonal entries that majorize the original set without altering the eigenvalues of the matrix. They perform this feat by applying a sequence of (N-1) or fewer plane rotations, where N is the dimension of the matrix. Both the Bendel--Mickey and the Chan--Li algorithms are special cases of the proposed procedures. Using the fact that a positive semidefinite matrix can always be factored as $\mtx{X^\adj X}$, we also provide more efficient versions of the algorithms that can directly construct factors with specified singular values and column norms. We conclude with some open problems related to the construction of Hermitian matrices with joint diagonal and spectral properties.
Efficacy and safety of ibutilide for chemical cardioversion of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter in cancer patients

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter (AF/AFL) are the most common arrhythmias encountered in clinical practice. Rate versus rhythm control remains a difficult decision, especially in the acute setting. ibutilide is a class iii antiarrhythmic indicated for pharmacological cardioversion of recent-onset AF/AFL. At the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, restoration of sinus rhythm is desirable because many patients have contraindications to anticoagulation. In addition, most are on multiple medications that prolong the QT interval; therefore, the objective of this study was to establish the safety and efficacy of ibutilide. Methods This was a retrospective chart review of 81 patients who were identified via the pharmacy database as receiving ibutilide for AF/AFL from January 2002 to May 2006. Outcomes including cardioversion rates and effects on the QT interval were recorded. Results Ibutilide use was associated with successful cardioversion in 75% of patients. Out of 81 patients, 68 patients (84%) were on at least 1 medication that prolonged the QT interval at the time of ibutilide administration. However, no significant changes in the corrected QT interval pre and post ibutilide cardioversion were noted in any group of patients. Conclusions Overall, ibutilide is safe and effective in cancer patients when used for acute cardioversion of AF/AFL. Despite the use of multiple medications that can potentially prolong the QT interval, no patient experienced serious life-threatening rhythm disturbances or significant QT prolongation during ibutilide administration.
Displaced Antarctic diatoms in Vema Channel sediments: Late Pleistocene/Holocene fluctuations in AABW flow

Abstract Displaced Antarctic diatoms were identified and counted in a suite of 23 giant gravity cores from the east flank of the Vema Channel, providing a semi-quantitative index of Late Pleistocene/Holocene fluctuations in Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) flow. Twelve species of Antarctic diatoms were counted, and three of these ( Nitzschia kerguelensis, Eucampia antarctica and Coscinodiscus lentiginosus ) occur in sufficient quantity for statistically meaningful interpretations. The number of diatom specimens per gram of carbonate-free sediment was determined for core top, last glacial maximum, last interglacial, and penultimate glacial maximum intervals. Antarctic diatoms are abundant in cores from depths in excess of 4100 m and disappear abruptly in core tops between approximately 4125 and 3975 m water depth. No specimens of Antarctic diatoms are present in cores shallower than 3744 m. The top of this transition zone corresponds with the isotherms ϑ = 1.9°C and the isopycnal σ 4 = 45.93 that Hogg et al. (1982) selected as a suitable reference level between northward and southward flow in the Vema Channel axis. The sediments from the Vema Channel indicate no significant shallowing or deepening of this level during the glacial or interglacial intervals examined. Displaced Antarctic diatoms are generally less abundant during glacial maxima than during interglacials. Downcore counts of displaced Antarctic diatoms reveal two peaks of dramatically increased abundances at the isotopic stage 6 7 and 3 2 boundaries. In other cores within the Vema Channel from below 3965 m, late Pleistocene hiatuses are common.
Optimized design of an antireflection coating for textured silicon solar cells.

The short-circuit current density of a solar cell is used as a merit function to optimize solar cell antireflection coating designs. Jsc/Jmax ratios reach 99%, even with a 10-nm-thick passivation layer.
High-capacity exponential associative memories

A generalized associative memory model with potentially high capacity is presented. A memory of this kind with M stored vectors of length N, can be implemented with M nonlinear neurons, N ordinary thresholding neurons, and 2MN binary synapses. It is shown that special cases of this model include the Hopfield and high-order correlation memories. A special case of the model, based on a neuron which can implement the subthreshold region, is presented. The authors analyze the capacity of this exponentially associative memory and show that it scales exponentially with N. In any practical realization, however, the dynamic range of the exponentiators is constrained. They show that the capacity for networks with fixed dynamic range exponential circuits is proportional to the dynamic range. >
Shielded cable discharge induces current on interior signal lines

Cable discharge event (CDE) stress to interior lines for shielded cables is measured and simulated. A W-shaped induced current pulse can appear on the interior lines due to discharge of the shield. Time domain analysis of the W-pulse and related conditions are discussed.
A method for suppressing the irregular frequencies from integral equations in water wave-structure. Interaction problems

It is well known that at certain frequencies the boundary integral equation describing water wave-structure interactions does not have a unique solution. Large numerical errors occur in a frequency bandwidth close to each “irregular” frequency and the fact that these frequencies are not a priori known for a given body adds to the severity of the problem. The present work describes a new method to suppress the influence of the irregular frequencies. The boundary integral equation is supplemented with a set of moment equations—the null-field equations. The resulting overdetermined system is then solved by a least squares procedure. It is shown that this procedure will produce a unique solution. Numerical results for a circular cylinder and a box barge demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.
Anisotropic Strain Fields Enhance Matrix Remodeling Through Elevated TGF-β Signaling

In this work, we demonstrate the unique effect of controlled anisotropic strain on fibroblast behavior in 3D engineered tissue environments. Anisotropy of biaxial strain resulted in increased cellular orientation and collagen fiber alignment. Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFβ1) gene expression and pSmad2 nuclear translocation increased with biaxial directionality. Myofibroblastic alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) decreased with applied strain similar to mechanically unloaded hydrogels. Collectively, these results demonstrate a novel mechanobiological mechanism by which fibroblasts develop rapid anisotropic matrix striation while maintaining phenotype quiescence.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Polygenic case of long QT syndrome confirmed through functional characterization informs the interpretation of genetic screening results

Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is a disorder of cardiac repolarization and is characterized by a prolonged QT interval on ECG. LQTS is usually referred to as a monogenic disorder.1 QT interval in the population is variable,2 which leads to many “borderline” cases and makes definitive diagnosis difficult.1 The utility of clinical genetic screening in congenital LQTS has been demonstrated,3 though issues remain with variants of unknown significance (VUS), false positives, and false negatives.4 The study and diagnosis of LQTS is additionally complicated by a high degree of variable penetrance, making genotyping a sub-optimal predictor of clinical outcome and complicating risk stratification.5 Genetic testing companies provide some guidance about the relevance of the mutations identified. In the genetic screening performed in this study through FAMILION, mutations are classified as Class I mutations including deleterious and probable deleterious mutants. Class II are possible deleterious mutations or mutations of unknown significance (VUS) and Class III are polymorphisms. Most reported cases of congenital LQTS have a single affected allele.3 Here, we describe a family where while only the proband presents with LQTS clinically, genetic testing revealed that all 5 family members studied carried at least one of three potential LQT mutations: two LQT2 mutations in the potassium channel hERG (Class I mutation: S654G and Class II mutation: A913V) and one LQT3 in the cardiac sodium channel SCN5A (Class I mutation: Fl596I). Our objective was to use functional characterization and computational modeling to determine the contribution to the LQT phenotype of 3 potential LQT mutations identified in a single lineage. We hypothesized this family presents a polygenic case of LQTS where an additive effect of the mutations leads to the LQT phenotype.
The α- and β-tubulin folding pathways

The α—β tubulin heterodimer is the subunit from which microtubules are assembled. The pathway leading to correctly folded α- and β-tubulins is unusually complex: it involves cycles of ATP-dependent interaction of newly synthesized tubulin subunits with cytosolic chaperonin, resulting in the production of quasi-native folding intermediates, which must then be acted upon by additional protein cofactors. These cofactors form a supercomplex containing both α- and β-tubulin polypeptides, from which native heterodimer is released in a GTP-dependent reaction. Here, we discuss the current state of our understanding of the function of cytosolic chaperonin and cofactors in tubulin folding.
Psychiatric training program engagement with the pharmaceutical industry: an educational issue, not strictly an ethical one.

Objective To analyze the educational and ethical issues involved in interactions between departments of psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry.
Posts to Online News Message Boards and Public Discourse Surrounding DUI Enforcement

Objective: This study analyzes posts to online news message boards covering driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement efforts to determine their usefulness for informing traffic safety program planning and public relations efforts aimed at mainstream drinking drivers. Methods: A series of Google searches were conducted using keywords designed to capture news stories regarding impaired driving enforcement efforts. For each search, the first 100 Web pages returned were reviewed and articles were included in analysis if they were from an independent news source and contained user comments. Coders captured data on 28 fields for each post, including tone in relation to enforcement, tone of interpersonal communication with other posters, and expressed feelings regarding drinking and driving. Results: Fifty-six news articles covering DUI enforcement efforts met study criteria, with 615 posts. The majority of posts (57%) were neutral on DUI enforcement; 24 percent (148) took a negative tone and 19 percent (11...
Vacuum techniques for depositing multi-layered filters

Details are given of techniques developed for the deposition of multilayer acoustic filters consisting of alternating films of gold and aluminium and CdS input and output transducers. The filter was designed to have a 1 per cent bandwidth and to operate at 1000 MHz and is formed on top of a fused quartz substrate. The apparatus and techniques are also suitable for deposition of optical filters'.
Lower semicontinuity of L∞ functionals

We study the lower semicontinuity properties and existence of a minimizer of the functional F( u)= ess sup x∈� f (x,u(x),Du(x)) on W 1,∞ (� ; R m ). We introduce the notions of Morrey quasiconvexity, polyquasiconvexity, and rank-one quasiconvexity, all stemming from the notion of quasiconvexity (= convex level sets) of f in the last variable. We also formally derive the Aronsson-Euler equation for such problems.  2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS
Contrasting patterns in the localization of glutamic acid decarboxylase and Ca2+/calmodulin protein kinase gene expression in the rat central nervous system.

The expression of the genes encoding the alpha subunit of type II calcium calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM II kinase α) and the 67,000 mol. wt form of glutamic acid decarboxylase was examined throughout the rat centrat nervous system.In situ hybridization histochemistry, using cRNA probes, revealed a dense population of CaM II kinase α-expressing cells throughout the telencephalon and diencephalon. CaM II kinase α mRNA was also expressed in the midbrain, cerebellum and medulla oblongata, but at greatly reduced levels. No CaM II kinase α gene expression was detected in nuclei producing monoamines or acetylcholine. By contrast, the glutamic acid decarboxylase gene was moderately to highly expressed throughout the centrat nervous system. In severat regions there was a complementarity in the distributions of cells expressing the glutamic acid decarboxylase or CaM II kinase α genes. Cells in certain nuclei such as the thalamic reticular nucleus or globus pallidus showed glutamic acid decarboxylase gene expression only; others such as the majority of the dorsal thalamic nuclei showed CaM II kinase α gene expression only. Severat regions contained both glutamic acid decarboxylase and CaM II kinase α expressing cells. However, simultaneous immunostaining for both proteins revealed only two regions where CaM II kinase α and glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactivity were colocalized: the cerebellar Purkinje cells and the commissurat nucleus of the stria terminalis. The results imply that CaM II kinase α is primarily expressed in non-GABAergic neurons. In severat regions CaM II kinase α mRNA is concentrated in nuclei known to contain populations of neurons that use excitatory amino acid transmitters.
Direct Electrochemical Measurement of Nitric Oxide Released from Human Platelets

A porphyrinic microsensor has been used to investigate the release of nitric oxide (NO) from human platelets in whole blood and in washed platelet suspensions. Basal release of NO was not detectable. Aggregation of platelets by collagen (1-15 μg/ml) but not by thrombin (0.1 U/ml) resulted in a concentration-dependent release of NO. This release was prolonged and potentiated by L-arginine (100-1000 μM) and inhibited by NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (300 μM). These data support our previous findings that human platelets generate NO during aggregation.
Laminate propellant combustion (Review) 2. Theoretical investigations

A review of theoretical research of the combustion of laminate propellants is given. The purpose and description of the simplification of heterogeneous propellants through the use of constituent layers is detailed. This second of a two-part review describes: 1) the development of knowledge of the deflagration of laminates through analytical and computational descriptions of many different aspects of the overall problem; 2) the attempts to validate these theoretical descriptions by comparing their results with relevant experimental findings. While there is a wealth of two-dimensional experimental data available for validating theoretical models and an abundance of models developed, relatively little comparison has been done. As of yet, no model has made a convincing case for validation through sufficiently extensive comparisons to experimental data.
Effects of Chlorpheniramine and Pyrilamine on the Atrial Actions of Acetylcholine, Tyramine, and Ephedrine

The experiments described herein were performed on isolated, spontaneously beating rabbit atria. The muscarinic actions of acetylcholine in the presence of physostigmine were antagonized by pyrilamine, chlorpheniramine and procaine which demonstrates that these drugs have an “antimuscarinic” action. The nicotinic (positive inotropic and chronotropic) actions of acetylcholine in the presence of atropine were also antagonized by pyrilamine and chlorpheniramine. Cocaine, pyrilamine, and chlorpheniramine inhibited the atrial stimulation by tyramine and ephedrine. The fact that the antimuscarinic and antinicotinic effects of pyrilamine and chlorpheniramine show similar slopes may indicate that similar receptors are involved. Cocaine and pyrilamine also have parallel slopes indicating that pyrilamine has a cocaine-like effect which is not related to local anesthesia.
A semiparametric estimator of the distribution function of a variable measured with error

The estimation of the distribution functon of a random variable X measured with error is studied. Let the i-th observation on X be denoted by YiXi+ei where ei is the measuremen error. Let {Yi} (i=1,2,…,n) be a sample of independent observations. It is assumed that {Xi} and {∈i} are mutually independent and each is identically distributed. As is standard in the literature for this problem, the distribution of e is assumed known in the development of the methodology. In practice, the measurement error distribution is estimated from replicate observations. The proposed semiparametric estimator is derived by estimating the quantises of X on a set of n transformed V-values and smoothing the estimated quantiles using a spline function. The number of parameters of the spline function is determined by the data with a simple criterion, such as AIC. In a simulation study, the semiparametric estimator dominates an optimal kernel estimator and a normal mixture estimator for a wide class of densities. The proposed est...
Weighting factor extensions for finite multiple objective vector minimization problems

Abstract This paper develops two procedures for finding the efficient set of finite action multiple-objective problems. The first gives an exact characterization of the efficient set in terms of the weighted q -th-powers of the objective functions, for a fixed q , and gives a lower bound for q . The second gives an exact characterization of the efficient set in the t -th-order minima of the weighted objective functions. Some consideration is given to problems whose feasible action sets correspond to the vertices of certain polytopes and connectedness conjectures are given for which no counterexamples have yet been found.
Paleomagnetic evidence for Cretaceous age of two volcanoes on the south flank of the Island of Hawaii

Apuupuu and Dana seamounts are located on the south flank of the island of Hawaii, near the active submarine volcano, Loihi Though previous work suggests that they are older, inactive volcanoes, their ages and relationship to Hawaiian volcanism are uncertain. We make age estimates for these two seamounts by comparing paleomagnetic poles, derived using a magnetic inversion technique, to the Pacific apparent polar wander path. The paleopoles of Apuupuu and Dana seamounts are located at 65.8°N, 9.2°E and 66.7°N, 358.7°E, respectively. Both poles are insignificantly different and located on the Late Cretaceous part of the polar wander path, between the 82 and 72 Ma mean poles, suggesting that the seamounts formed contemporaneously long before their part of the Pacific plate drifted over the Hawaiian hot spot.
Deterministic superimposed coding with applications to pattern matching

A superimposed code is a set of binary vectors having the property that no vector is contained in a boolean sum (i.e. bitwise OR) of a small number of others. Such codes are used in information retrieval for constructing so-called signature files; they also have applications in other areas. In this paper we introduce a new notion of data-dependent superimposed codes and give a deterministic algorithm for constructing short such codes. We then show that these codes can be used to achieve an almost optimal de-randomization of several pattern matching algorithms, including the almost-linear algorithm for tree pattern matching developed recently. Thus, we give the first almost-linear time deterministic algorithms for these problems.