cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The use of drains for outpatient orthopaedic surgeries: Safety and efficacy

Abstract While drains have been routinely used in orthopaedic surgery for postoperative wound drainage following inpatient surgical procedures, there are no published reports on the safety or efficacy of drains for outpatient orthopaedic surgeries. This review reports our experience between July 1995 and January 1996 with the use of drains for 35 patients having outpatient orthopaedic surgery. Consequences of drain usage were determined by medical chart review and a follow-up telephone survey in which patients were asked a series of questions regarding the drains used for their operation. None of the patients had an infection or any other medical problem as a result of drain usage and there were no problems with wound healing. Patients were quite capable of managing and removing their own drains. We conclude that drains are effective and can be used safely for outpatient orthopaedic surgical procedures.
Characterization of fullerenes and doped fullerenes

Abstract The results of a variety of experiments used to characterize fullerenes, metallofullerenes and alkali-metal intercalated C60 are reported. It is shown that differential scanning calorimetry and NMR characterization of the orientational phase transition in C60 provide sensitive means to assess the purity and crystallinity of fullerene samples. The results of a mass-spectrometric investigation of metallofullerene samples produced by co-vaporization of carbon and metals are described. An account is given of some electron paramagnetic resonance results obtained for LaC82 and solid-state NMR results obtained on an alkali-intercalated fullerite, Rb3C60, which show for the first time the presence of magnetically inequivalent carbons in underivatized C60. Together these experiments yield a great deal of information about the phase purity, molecular dynamics and structure of a variety of fullerene materials.
X-Ray Emission from Dust in Hot Plasmas

Energetic (few keV) thermal electrons easily penetrate interstellar dust grains immersed in hot plasmas. These electrons create K-shell vacancies in atoms locked in dust grains through the K-shell collisional ionization process. Heavy elements such as Fe and Ca produce fluorescent Kα emission in the subsequent decay of the inner shell vacancy. We predict that this emission from Fe atoms in dust grains should be present in X-ray spectra emitted by dusty plasma, in addition to Kα emission from highly ionized Fe ions. This affects the strength and shape of the Fe Kα complex. We also predict a low ratio of L-shell/Kα emission for dust grains, because of low fluorescent yields for L-shell transitions. These effects should be most pronounced in young supernova remnants (SNRs). We discuss observational evidence for the fluorescent Fe Kα emission from dust in X-ray spectra of Tycho's, Kepler's, and Cassiopeia A SNRs, the three youngest remnants in our Galaxy.
Packing and compositional disorder with MoO2Cl2(OPMePh2)2, MoOCl3(OPMePh2)2 and MoCl4(OPMePh2)2 as assessed by single crystal X-ray diffraction

Abstract The structures as determined by single crystal X-ray determinations of MoO2Cl2(OPMePh2)2 and various mixtures of MoO2Cl2(OPMePh2)2 (A), MoOCl3(OPMePh2)2 (B) and MoCl4(OPMePh2)2 (C) specifically in ratios 40.2/59.8; 30.8/69.2; 14/86; 4/96 in A/B, 100% B and 82/18 in B/C are reported. The structural data illustrate that both compositional and packing disorder afford mechanisms by which apparent long and different MoO bond distances can be obtained.
The Impact of Cell Culture on Stem Cell Research

Induced pluripotent stem cell research has broadened possibilities for regenerative medicine and captured the world's attention in a way that science rarely does. However, clinical applications utilizing cultured stem cells have existed for >30 years and can assist benchers and bedsiders in identifying and expediting promising avenues for future therapies.
Results of meniscal repair using a bioabsorbable screw.

Purpose With most all-inside arthroscopic meniscal repair devices, the surgeon has no need for additional incisions or arthroscopic knot tying, and surgical time is decreased compared with traditional suture repair. Although previous studies have examined the pullout strength of various all-inside devices, clinical data is lacking and has been presented for only a few implants. This study evaluates the clinical results of meniscal repair using a bioabsorbable screw. Type of study Retrospective case series. Methods Twenty-five patients underwent 26 all-inside meniscal repairs using this device. Patient interviews were performed as was retrospective evaluation of patient records. Complications and repeat surgeries were noted. Results The average age of the patients was 28.8 years (range, 15 to 44). The surgeries included 19 medial meniscus repairs and 7 lateral meniscus repairs; 12 patients underwent concomitant anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. We found 11 isolated meniscal repairs in stable knees and 2 isolated meniscal repairs in ACL-deficient knees. An average of 3.6 screws (range, 1 to 6) were used during the meniscal repairs. Eighteen of 25 patients were contacted at an average of 106 weeks (range, 70 to 189) postoperatively. The mean Tegner score was 5, and the mean modified Lysholm score was 84. Three repeat surgeries were performed for failure of meniscal healing, and one repeat surgery was performed for migration of an implant. An additional patient who underwent medial meniscal repair noted a painless mild prominence on the medial aspect of the knee approximately 8 weeks after surgery. This prominence resolved completely over 6 months and did not require a second surgery. Conclusions The bioabsorbable screw appears to be a safe and effective device for meniscal repair. Rare complications occurred that involved implant migration and transient inflammatory responses. Clinical success appears comparable to reported results with other methods of meniscal repair. Level of evidence Level IV, case series.
The mental illness defense in the capital penalty hearing

Several defense strategies are available to the capital defendant who is arguing for life in the penalty phase, including a mental illness (MI) defense. An MI defense presents psychiatric testimony to the effect that the defendant was mentally disturbed at the time of the offense and, therefore, should not be held completely responsible. The few studies available suggest that an MI defense will be ineffective because (1) death-qualified jurors do not respond favorably to purely psychological explanations of criminal behavior and (2) an MI defense may erroneously mislead the jury regarding the defendant's unpredictability and dangerousness. Analagous studies of insanity acquittals suggest certain factors that may be associated with a succesful MI defense. Language: en
Overview of a Proposed Flight Validation of Aerocapture System Technology for Planetary Missions

Aerocapture System Technology for Planetary Missions is being proposed to NASA's New Millennium Program for flight aboard the Space Technology 9 (ST9) flight opportunity. The proposed ST9 aerocapture mission is a system-level flight validation of the aerocapture maneuver as performed by an instrumented, high-fidelity flight vehicle within a true in-space and atmospheric environment. Successful validation of the aerocapture maneuver will be enabled through the flight validation of an advanced guidance, navigation, and control system as developed by Ball Aerospace and two advanced Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials, Silicon Refined Ablative Material-20 (SRAM-20) and SRAM-14, as developed by Applied Research Associates (ARA) Ablatives Laboratory. The ST9 aerocapture flight validation will be sufficient for immediate infusion of these technologies into NASA science missions being proposed for flight to a variety of Solar System destinations possessing a significant planetary atmosphere.
Role of the endothelium in placental dysfunction after fetal cardiac bypass

Abstract Background: Fetal cardiac bypass causes placental dysfunction, characterized by increased placental vascular resistance, decreased placental blood flow, hypoxia, and acidosis. Vasoactive factors produced by the vascular endothelium, such as nitric oxide and endothelin 1, are important regulators of placental vascular tone and may contribute to this placental dysfunction. Methods: To investigate the role of the vascular endothelium in placental dysfunction related to fetal cardiac bypass, we studied 3 groups of fetal sheep. In the first group (n = 7) we determined placental hemodynamic responses before and after bypass to an endothelium-dependent vasodilator (acetylcholine), an endothelium-independent vasodilator (nitroprusside), and endothelin 1. In the second group (n = 8) a nonspecific endothelin receptor blocker (PD 145065) was administered and placental hemodynamic values were measured before and after bypass. In the third group (n = 5) endothelin 1 levels were measured before and after bypass. Results: Before fetal cardiac bypass exogenous endothelin 1 decreased placental blood flow by 9% and increased placental resistance by 9%. After bypass endothelin 1 decreased placental flow by 47% and increased resistance by 106%. There was also a significant attenuation of the placental vascular relaxation response to acetylcholine after bypass, whereas the response to nitroprusside was not significantly altered. In fetuses that received the PD 145065, placental vascular resistance increased significantly less than in control fetuses (28% versus 62%). Similarly, placental blood flow decreased significantly more (from 6.3 ± 3.1 to 28.3 ± 10.4 pg/mL; P = .01) in control fetuses than in fetuses receiving PD 145065 (33% versus 20%). Umbilical venous endothelin 1 levels increased significantly in fetuses exposed to fetal bypass but did not change in control fetuses. Conclusions: The basal endothelial regulatory mechanisms of placental vascular tone were deranged after fetal cardiac bypass. Endothelin receptor blockade, which substantially reduced postbypass placental dysfunction, and other interventions aimed at preserving endothelial function may be effective means of optimizing fetal outcome after cardiac bypass. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;117:343-51)
The Putative Heparin-specific N-AcetylglucosaminylN-Deacetylase/N-Sulfotransferase Also Occurs in Non-heparin-producing Cells

Abstract N-Deacetylation andN-sulfation of N-acetylglucosamine of heparin and heparan sulfate are hypothesized to be mediated by different tissue-specific N-acetylglucosaminylN-deacetylases/N-sulfotransferases, which in turn lead to the higher l-iduronic acid and sulfate content of heparin versus heparan sulfate. Furthermore, the putative heparin-specificN-acetylglucosaminylN-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase has been reported to require auxiliary proteins for itsN-acetylglucosaminyl N-deacetylase activityin vivo based on its requirement of polycations in vitro. We have now found that cells derived from embryonic bovine trachea, a tissue that does not synthesize heparin, has aN-acetylglucosaminylN-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase, which has 95% amino acid sequence identity to the above enzyme postulated to be involved in the biosynthesis of heparin. Both enzymes also have very similar affinity for their substrates. The trachea enzyme does not require additional effectors for its N-acetylglucosaminylN-deacetylase activity in vitro even though its biochemical characteristics are virtually the same as the enzyme previously isolated from cells of a heparin-producing mastocytoma tumor. The trachea enzyme, which is encoded by an abundant 4.6-kilobase mRNA, like mastocytoma cells, has 70% amino acid sequence identity with the corresponding enzyme from rat liver postulated to participate in the biosynthesis of heparan sulfate. Heparan sulfate synthesized by trachea cells has a higher content of sulfated iduronic acid than from other tissues. Together, the above results strongly suggest that the above enzymes from mastocytoma, liver, and trachea, per se, are not solely responsible for the selective tissue-specific synthesis of heparin or heparan sulfate; more likely cellular factors, additional enzymes, and availability of substrates in the Golgi lumen also play important roles in the differential synthesis of the above proteoglycans.
PersonalityViz: a visualization tool to analyze people's personality with social media

This paper presents an interactive visualization tool, PersonalityViz, to help people understand their personality traits derived from social media. The system uses the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) text analysis tool and LIWC/Big Five personality correlations to compute a person's Big Five personality from one's tweets. It provides an interactive visual interface that allows a user to explore her personality traits over time, and examine the visual evidence to understand how the personality traits are derived from the relevant tweets.
Disease Prevention and Wellness in the Twenty-first Century

Primary care physicians should continue their efforts in disease prevention and also should expand their scope of service to support patients' interests in wellness and health optimization. Taking on this role will require additional time and continuing education, but by knowledgeably helping patients to maximize their health, physicians will provide a needed service, contribute to the health of their patients, and reap the rewards of a stronger doctor-patient bond.
Size-selective fractionation of nanoparticles at an application scale using CO2 gas-expanded liquids

Size-based fractionation of nanoparticles remains a non-trivial task for the preparation of well-defined nanomaterials for certain applications and fundamental studies. Typical fractionation techniques prove to be inefficient for large nanoparticle quantities due to several factors including the expense of equipment, throughput constraints, and the amount of organic solvent waste produced. Through the use of the pressure-tunable physico-chemical properties of CO2-expanded liquids, a rapid, precise, and environmentally sustainable size-selective fractionation of ligand-stabilized nanoparticles is possible through simple variations in applied CO2 pressure. An apparatus capable of fractionating large quantities of nanoparticles into distinct fractions with the ability to control mean diameters and size distributions has been developed. This apparatus consists of three vertically mounted pressure vessels connected in series with needle valves. This process, at current design scales, operated at room temperature, and CO2 pressures between 0 and 50 bar, results in a batch size-selective fractionation of a concentrated nanoparticle dispersion. This paper presents this new apparatus and the separation results of various single pass fractionations as well as recursive fractionations.
Vision-aided inertial navigation for resource-constrained systems

In this paper we present a resource-adaptive framework for real-time vision-aided inertial navigation. Specifically, we focus on the problem of visual-inertial odometry (VIO), in which the objective is to track the motion of a mobile platform in an unknown environment. Our primary interest is navigation using miniature devices with limited computational resources, similar for example to a mobile phone. Our proposed estimation framework consists of two main components: (i) a hybrid EKF estimator that integrates two algorithms with complementary computational characteristics, namely a sliding-window EKF and EKF-based SLAM, and (ii) an adaptive image-processing module that adjusts the number of detected image features based on the availability of resources. By combining the hybrid EKF estimator, which optimally utilizes the feature measurements, with the adaptive image-processing algorithm, the proposed estimation architecture fully utilizes the system's computational resources. We present experimental results showing that the proposed estimation framework is capable of real-time processing of image and inertial data on the processor of a mobile phone.
The Christo-Centrism of Faith in Christ: Martin Luther's Reading of Galatians 2.16, 19–20

It is regularly suggested that the great weakness of reformational orderings of ‘faith’ and ‘justification’ is that they fail to coordinate Christology and the doctrine of justification. Behind this assertion is a particular construal of the pistis Christou debate: the interpretative decision to read Christ as the object of faith contributes to an anthropocentric account of justification whereas a ‘subjective’ interpretative of the genitive phrase restores the (Pauline) relationship between Jesus and justification. This article will argue that this is a misreading of Protestant theology, at least as it comes to expression in Martin Luther's exegesis of Galatians 2.16, 19-20 which presents a radically Christocentric account of ‘faith in Christ’. For Luther, the sola fide , as an interpretation of a Pauline antithesis—‘not by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ’—, is an anthropological negation and a christological confession: it excludes the human as the subject of salvation and confesses Christ, who is present in faith, as the one by, in, and on the basis of whom God justifies the ungodly.
A comparison of the performance of microvessels in the hamster cheek pouch during exposure to tris and bicarbonate buffers.

Abstract Cheek pouches of golden hamsters were suffused with either a Tris or bicarbonate-buffered physiological salt solution for a 3-hr period. During the course of this exposure, small arteriolar tone and capillary density decreased more rapidly in tissues exposed to the Tris-buffered solutions. Therefore, under the experimental conditions used here, bicarbonate buffer appears to be superior to Tris buffer.
PAR-1 Deficiency Protects against Neuronal Damage and Neurologic Deficits after Unilateral Cerebral Hypoxia/Ischemia:

Cardiovascular and neurologic surgeries often involve a temporary reduction in cerebral blood flow. In these conditions, as well as during cerebral ischemia and traumatic brain injury, the temporary loss of oxygen and glucose initiates a cascade of cellular events that culminate in neuronal death and damage. Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to neuronal death after hypoxia/ischemia is critically important for treatment of such brain injury. Here, we use a model of combined cerebral hypoxia/ischemia (H/I) to examine the role of protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) in hypoxic/ischemic neuronal damage. Our data show that PAR-1-deficient mice have smaller lesion volumes than wild-type controls after 45 minutes of H/I. The results of the genetic block of PAR-1 were corroborated using a PAR-1 antagonist, which decreased infarct volume in wild-type C57Bl6 mice. Examination of cellular responses to H/I reveals that PAR-1 -/- animals have less cellular death and diminished glial fibrillary acidic prote...
Process monitoring and quality assurance of polymeric materials by computerized pyrolysis mass spectrometry

Abstract The potentialities of computerized pyrolysis mass spectrometry (m.s.) are discussed for applications in process monitoring and quality assurance involving nonvolatile materials such as polymers. The traditional obstacles to more widespread acceptance of pyrolysis m.s. for industrial applications are reviewed in the light of recent developments which provide a major reduction in the cost, size and complexity of the equipment. Rapid advances in computerized data reduction, evaluation and interpretation methods for complex mass-spectral patterns are also transforming the classical “fingerprinting” concept of pyrolysis m.s. into a much more detailed compositional and structural characterization approach. These new developments are illustrated by means of several practial examples ranging from quality control of clinically important polyurethanes to monitoring of wood pulping processes and of growth phenomena in microbial cultures.
Magnetocapacitance as a sensitive probe of magnetostructural changes in NiCr 2 O 4

The spinel NiCr$_2$O$_4$ is characterized using dielectric and high magnetic field measurements. The trends in the magnetodielectric response fall into three clear temperature regimes corresponding to known magnetic and structural transitions. Above 65\,K, weak magnetic field dependence of the dielectric constant is observed with no hysteresis. When 30\,K\,$\leq\,T\,\leq$\,65\,K, a strong dependence of the dielectric constant on the magnetic field is observed and hysteresis develops resulting in so called butterfly loops. Below 30\,K, magnetodielectric hysteresis is enhanced. Magnetodielectric hysteresis mirrors magnetic hysteresis suggesting that spin-spin interactions are the mechanism for the magnetoelectric effect in NiCr$_2$O$_4$. At high fields however, the magnetization continues to increase while the dielectric constant saturates. Magnetodielectric measurements of NiCr$_2$O$_4$ suggest an additional, previously unobserved transition at 20\,K. Subtle changes in magnetism and structure suggest that this 20\,K anomaly corresponds to the completion of ferrimagnetic ordering and the spin driven structural distortion. We demonstrate that magnetocapacitance is a sensitive probe of magnetostructural distortion.
Notes on Same-Sex Marriage: Concerns for Feminist Social Workers

Using a critical feminist and social work lens, this article argues that the mainstream gay rights movement and its singular focus on marriage has consistently neglected the most marginal among les...
Recursive function theory and numerical analysis

We consider the role of subclasses of the recursive functions in proving nonexistence of certain numerical methods. In particular, an initial value problem is treated.
Event‐related neural activity associated with prospective remembering

This article reviews the findings of recent work investigating the neural correlates of prospective remembering conducted within the context of the noticing+search model using event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The presentation of a PM cue was associated with a phasic negativity (N320)—whose topography may be modulated by the nature of the cue—and two sustained modulations of the ERPs. The first of these modulations reflected a parietal positivity–right frontal negativity that differentiated PM cue trials from ongoing activity trials independent of whether or not a prospective response was made. The second of these modulations reflected a frontal–central positivity that differentiated PM cue trials which elicited a prospective response from PM cue trials that failed to elicit a prospective response and ongoing activity trials. Together these findings indicate that successful prospective remembering arises from the activity of distinct neural processes that may support detection of the PM cue, recovery of the intention from memory, and the timely realization of the intention. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Browsing the WWW by interacting with a textual virtual environment—a framework for experimenting with navigational metaphors

This paper describes a system that combines a textual virtual environment (MOO -MUD Object Oriented) and a WWW browser. The MOO provides a text-only but information-rich spatial user interface in which objects and locations can be associated with pointers to WWW pages. When using a specialized MOO client, navigation in the MOO causes the corresponding Web pages to be loaded. The overall effect is the possibility to navigate the Web using spatial navigational metaphors. Textual virtual environments support the creation of diverse navigation tools and metaphors. The Juggler system we describe can thus serve as an experimental tool to explore diverse navigational metaphors for the WWW. The system uses references to Web pages which can be arranged in any possible way and allows users to overlay a new secondary structure on existing Web structures, even using Web pages not on one's own Web server. Textual virtual environments further support almost real time communication and interaction between several users. Because of the extensive interaction possibilities, the Juggler system can be used to discuss material on the Web, conduct guided tours through the Web or give presentations using material available on the Web.
Analytical solution for estimating storage efficiency of geologic sequestration of CO2

Abstract During injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into deep saline aquifers, the available pore volume of the aquifer may be used inefficiently, thereby decreasing the effective capacity of the repository for CO2 storage. Storage efficiency is the fraction of the available pore space that is utilized for CO2 storage, or, in other words, it is the ratio between the volume of stored CO2 and the maximum available pore volume. In this note, we derive and present simple analytical expressions for estimating CO2 storage efficiency under the scenario of a constant-rate injection of CO2 into a confined, homogeneous, isotropic, saline aquifer. The expressions for storage efficiency are derived from models developed previously by other researchers describing the shape of the CO2-brine interface. The storage efficiency of CO2 is found to depend on three dimensionless groups, namely: (1) the residual saturation of brine after displacement by CO2; (2) the ratio of CO2 mobility to brine mobility; (3) a dimensionless group (which we call a “gravity factor”) that quantifies the importance of CO2 buoyancy relative to CO2 injection rate. In the particular case of negligible residual brine saturation and negligible buoyancy effects, the storage efficiency is approximately equal to the ratio of the CO2 viscosity to the brine viscosity. Storage efficiency decreases as the gravity factor increases, because the buoyancy of the CO2 causes it to occupy a thin layer at the top of the confined formation, while leaving the lower part of the aquifer under-utilized. Estimates of storage efficiency from our simple analytical expressions are in reasonable agreement with values calculated from simulations performed with more complicated multi-phase-flow simulation software. Therefore, we suggest that the analytical expressions presented herein could be used as a simple and rapid tool to screen the technical or economic feasibility of a proposed CO2 injection scenario.
Nasal absorption of 17α-ethinyloestradiol in the rat

The bioavailability of 17 alpha-ethinyloestradiol was determined after intravenous, nasal, and intraduodenal, administration in the rat. The results showed that the bioavailability of nasally-administered and intraduodenally-administered drug was 80-85, and 15-25%, respectively, of that following intravenous administration. The study demonstrates that the nasal route for the administration of 17 alpha-ethinyloestradiol is superior to the oral route in this species, and may thus provide an alternative for the administration of this drug at lower doses.
The M RNA of impatiens necrotic spot Tospovirus (Bunyaviridae) has an ambisense genomic organization.

Abstract The nucleotide sequence of Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) M RNA was determined from cDNA clones. The INSV M RNA was 4972 nucleotides in length with two open reading frames (ORFs) in an ambisense genomic organization. The larger ORF near the 3′ end of the viral RNA, coding for a protein with a predicted molecular weight of 124.9 kDa, was in the viral complementary sense and produced the G2 and G1 proteins. A smaller ORF in the viral sense was capable of coding for a 34.1-kDa polypeptide, designated the NSm protein. Two subgenomic RNA species were detected in INSV-infected tissue that corresponded to the predicted sizes (3.3 and 1.0 kb) of the G2-G1 and NSm mRNAs. The ORFs were separated by a 478 nucleotide A-U-rich intergenic region similar to the regions found in other viral RNAs with ambisense ORFs. The intergenic region was predicted to form a stable stem-loop structure (-81.2 kcal/mole). The ambisense genomic organization is characteristic of the S RNA for members of the Phlebovirus, Uukuvirus , and Tospovirus genera in the Bunyaviridae family. This is the first report of an ambisense Bunyaviridae M RNA.
Bentham's auto‐icon: Utilitarianism and the evisceration of the common body

The auto‐icon — the stuffed corpse of Jeremy Bentham — exemplifies the logic of both utilitarian reformism and its failure. Like Bentham's reforms of penal law, it attempts to undo older cultural forms of theatricalized power, punishment, or collective representation, which are often dependent on the metaphor of the social body, with a form of power that seems irreversible, uniform, and literal. But instead it makes unusually visible the necessary impasses of such an attempt, showing how some element even in Bentham's corpus resists functionalization, escapes the calculus of utility, and speaks of the ineradicable alterity of death.
Abstract 5488: Merging structure-activity relationship and nanotechnology to re-engineer cisplatin

The use of nanovectors holds the potential to revolutionize cancer chemotherapy by specifically targeting tumor. A number of polymeric nanovectors are currently in development or in clinics, and are dramatically altering the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics profile of the active agent. However, most of these polymeric constructs decrease the potency of the conjugated active agent, relying on increased uptake into the tumor for the improved therapeutic index. Furthermore, the nanovector formulation of small molecules such as cisplatin, which is a first-line therapy for multiple cancers, has been a challenge. So there is an urgent need to design a nanoparticle which will release a drug at its target site without decreasing efficacy of cisplatin. In the present study, we synthesized cisplatin-poly-isobutylene-maleic acid modified with glucosamine conjugate, which self assembles into nanoparticles with unique size depending on cisplatin to polymer ratio. The poly-isobutylene-maleic acid modification with glucosamine, mimicking glycans, not only increases hydrophilicity but also gives unique structural facilitation to polymer backbone so it can hold cisplatin by caboxylato and coordinate bond. The release kinetics of these nanoparticles reveals that the cisplatin release is pH dependent, and is released faster in lower pH than neutral or basic condition. We found that the these nanoparticles were taken up by cancer cells within 6 hours and inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in lung and breast cancer cells in vitro. In an in vivo lung and breast cancer models, the nanoparticles reduce tumor growth significantly with reduced systemic toxicity as compared to free cisplatin. In conclusion we have demonstrated that rationally re-engineered cisplatin nanoparticles improved therapeutic index for lung, breast and transgenic ovarian murine cancer models, which can be harnessed in the clinical management of cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5488.
Quartz dissolution: Theory of rough and smooth surfaces

Abstract The mathematics of step motion are developed for quartz dissolution and compared with rough-face behavior using two different models. According to these models, bonds are broken sequentially and interconversion of doubly and singly attached silica tetrahedra provides for surface diffusion. Rate equations applicable to smooth-face dissolution are derived and shown to agree with observations. The model predicts small but important (~6 kJ/mol) differences in activation energy between smooth and rough faces, and roughly an order of magnitude range in pre-exponential constants. It further shows an almost insignificant energy can have profound effects on the crystal surface, including enhanced dissolution rate anisotropy, organization of the surface into steps, and straightening of steps.
HYDROMAGNETIC STABILITY OF A DIFFUSE LINEAR PINCH

Abstract The hydromagnetic energy principle is applied to the derivation of necessary and sufficient conditions for the hydromagnetic stability of a linear pinch with distributed plasma current (a diffuse linear pinch). The results are quite general in that the axial and azimuthal components of the magnetic field, which determine the structure of the pinch completely, are treated as arbitrary functions of distance from the axis. For purposes of illustration, the general results are applied to the limiting case of a pinch with the plasma current confined to an infinitely thin layer (a sharp pinch).
FoodSIS: a text mining system to improve the state of food safety in singapore

Food safety is an important health issue in Singapore as the number of food poisoning cases have increased significantly over the past few decades. The National Environment Agency of Singapore (NEA) is the primary government agency responsible for monitoring and mitigating the food safety risks. In an effort to pro-actively monitor emerging food safety issues and to stay abreast with developments related to food safety in the world, NEA tracks the World Wide Web as a source of news feeds to identify food safety related articles. However, such information gathering is a difficult and time consuming process due to information overload. In this paper, we present FoodSIS, a system for end-to-end web information gathering for food safety. FoodSIS improves efficiency of such focused information gathering process with the use of machine learning techniques to identify and rank relevant content. We discuss the challenges in building such a system and describe how thoughtful system design and recent advances in machine learning provide a framework that synthesizes interactive learning with classification to provide a system that is used in daily operations. We conduct experiments and demonstrate that our classification approach results in improving the efficiency by average 35% compared to a conventional approach and the ranking approach leads to average 16% improvement in elevating the ranks of relevant articles.
Autosomal dominant inheritance of hypothalamic hamartoma associated with polysyndactyly: Heterogeneity or variable expressivity?

We report on a two-generation family exhibiting dominant inheritance of complex polysyndactyly associated with hypothalamic hamartoma. These individuals have some manifestations of Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS), but their phenotype is milder. The proposita is a 16-year-old girl with polysyndactyly of the hands and feet, short stature, and a large hypothalamic hamartoma. Her brother and father also have polysyndactyly and a hypothalamic mass on MRI scan. All three have normal appearance and intelligence, with normal pituitary function. Several other paternal relatives have polysyndactyly as well. We propose that this family may represent a clinically and perhaps genetically distinct entity from PHS, based on normal survival, normal intelligence, lack of endocrine dysfunction or facial anomalies, and few other structural malformations. Linkage analysis is in progress to determine whether this represents a benign form of PHS or a genetically separate condition. The phenotypic differences between these cases and classic PHS have important prognostic and recurrence risk implications.
Rf breakdown with external magnetic fields in 201 and 805 MHz cavities

Neutrino factory and muon collider cooling lattices require both high gradient rf cavities and strong focusing solenoids. Experiments have shown that there may be serious problems operating rf in the required magnetic fields. Experimental observations using vacuum rf cavities in magnetic fields are discussed, current published models of breakdown with and without magnetic fields are briefly summarized, and some of their predictions compared with observations. A new theory of magnetic field dependent breakdown is presented. It is proposed that electrons emitted by field emission on asperities on one side of a cavity are focused by the magnetic field to the other side where they induce mechanical fatigue leading to cavity surface damage in small spots. Metal is then electrostatically drawn from the molten spots, becomes vaporized and ionized by field emission from the remaining damage, and causes breakdown. The theory is fitted to existing 805 MHz data and predictions are made for performance at 201 MHz. The model predicts breakdown gradients significantly below those specified for either the International Scoping Study neutrino factory or a muon collider. Possible solutions to these problems are discussed, including designs for magnetically insulated rf in which the cavity walls are designed to be parallel to chosen magnetic field contour lines and consequently damage from field emission is expected to be suppressed. An experimental program that could study these problems and their possible solution is outlined. We also mention the use of high pressure gas as an alternative possible solution.
Evidence for feedback mediated reduction of glomerular filtration rate during infusion of acetazolamide

Systemic administration of acetazolamide (ACZ) causes glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to fall. Clearance and micropuncture experiments were done to define the mechanism of this drug effect. When rats were infused with ACZ intravenously, kidney GFR fell by 30% and single nephron (SN) GFR (measured by collecting distal tubule fluid) fell by 23%. Changes in arterial blood pressure, arterial pH, extracellular fluid volume, and proximal tubule pressure were not sufficient to account for the decrease in GFR. When SNGFR was measured by collecting proximal tubule fluid, with the loop of Henle having been blocked for 2-5 min, SNGFR was higher than the distally measured value and was not different than control. The results are consistent with the fall in GFR being caused by activation of the tubulo-glomerular feedback mechanism.
Harmonic force field for glycine oligopeptides

The need for much more useful molecular dynamics simulations of nanosized system requires precise and unambiguous methods to determine force field parameters avoiding fitting procedures in favor of first principles ones. We use a procedure FUERZA to calculate force constant parameters for glycine oligopeptides using as an input the Hessian tensor from an ab initio calculation. For a molecular system having n atoms, The FUERZA procedure reduces the 3n × 3n problem to 3n 3 × 3 matrices representing atom-atom interactions. The procedure reproduces quite well most of the frequencies and as expected, it overestimates somehow stretching frequencies of bonds with terminal atoms such as hydrogens but it yields precise results for all other frequencies. A harmonic force field is reported for glycine oligopeptides. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008
Bayesian Tests and Model Diagnostics in Conditionally Independent Hierarchical Models

Abstract Consider the conditionally independent hierarchical model (CIHM) in which observations yi are independently distributed from f(yi /Θ i )the parameters Θ i are independently distributed from distributions g(Θ|λ), and the hyperparameters λ are distributed according to a distribution h(λ). The posterior distribution of all parameters of the CIHM can be efficiently simulated by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms. Although these simulation algorithms have facilitated the application of CIHMs, they generally have not addressed the problem of computing quantities useful in model selection. This article explores how MCMC simulation algorithms and other related computational algorithms can be used to compute Bayes factors that are useful in criticizing a particular CIHM. In the case where the CIHM models a belief that the parameters are exchangeable or lie on a regression surface, the Bayes factor can measure the consistency of the data with the structural prior belief. Bayes factors can also be u...
PUPIL: A systematic approach to software integration in multi-scale simulations

Abstract We present a relatively straightforward way to integrate existing software packages into a full multi-scale simulation package in which each application runs in its own address space and there is no run-time intervention by the researcher. The PUPIL (Program for User Package Interfacing and Linking) architectural concept is to provide a simulation Supervisor, implemented as a Manager and various Workers which involve small wrapper interfaces written and installed within each application package and various communication services. The different, autonomous packages (“Calculation Units”) are plugged into the PUPIL system which one then operates as a software driver for them. Well-defined protocols are provided for communication between the different Calculation Units and the PUPIL system. The CORBA communication protocol is used to exchange information between running processes. All simulation directives from the user are stored in an XML file that is interpreted by the PUPIL Manager and Workers. An initial version has been designed using the Object Oriented (OO) paradigm and implemented in Java as a fast prototyping language. Tests of implementation ease and of operational correctness (on toy physical systems) have been carried out. In the former category, we document how interfaces to both DL_POLY and SIESTA were done relatively straightforwardly. In the latter category, the most demanding test was the joining of three different packages to do a MD calculation with pattern recognition to identify the QM-forces region and an external QM force calculation. The results show that PUPIL provides ease of operation and maintenance with little overhead.
Pricing Computer Services Under Alternative Control Structures: Tradeoffs and Trends

This paper extends the analysis of the long-run pricing and capacity decision problem for shared computer services by Dewan and Mendelson 1990 and makes two further contributions. First, we show that simple marginal capacity cost pricing is often optimal in the absence of private user information, and it outperforms cost recovery and profit center pricing methods. Second, we provide insights into the implications of declining computing costs on the tradeoff between capacity costs and user time. In equilibrium, expected user delay costs are bounded by capacity costs due to the substitution of cheaper information processing capacity for valuable user time.
Factors Influencing Methane Distribution in Texas Ground Water

To determine the factors that influence the distribution of methane in Texas ground water, water samples were collected from 40 wells in east-central and central Texas aquifers. Among the chemical parameters examined, sulfate is most important in controlling methane distribution. Methane occurs in high concentration in east-central Texas only where sulfate concentration is low, supporting the hypothesis that abundant microbial methane production does not begin until sulfate is depleted. Because water samples from central Texas are high in either oxygen or sulfate, methane concentrations are low in these waters. A positive correlation between methane and sulfate in these waters indicates a different, perhaps thermogenic, origin for the trace methane. The {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C ratios of dissolved methane ranged from {minus}80{per_thousand} to {minus}21{per_thousand} in east-central Texas and {minus}41.2{per_thousand} to {minus}8.5{per_thousand} in central Texas. Low values of {minus}31{per_thousand} likely result from bacterial methane oxidation. Similarly, methane with high {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C ratios in central Texas may reflect partial oxidation of the methane pool. Overall, water samples from both regions show a positive correlationmore » between sulfate concentration and the {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C ratio of methane, suggesting that methane oxidation may be associated with sulfate reduction in Texas ground water.« less
Vertebral Artery Occlusion Following Hyperextension and Rotation of the Head

This is a case report of a lateral medullary syndrome of Wallenberg following occlusion of one vertebral artery and stenosis of the opposite artery precipitated by combined motion of hyperextension, rotation, and lateral flexion of the head within physiological limits. Sufficient duration of such head position appeared to initiate thrombus formation following stenosis or occlusion of the vertebral artery at the level of the atlanto-occipital joint. Propagation of this thrombus obstructed the posterior inferior cerebellar artery causing infarction of the lateral medullary region. The pathogenesis of this mechanism is discussed.
T Regulatory Cells Control Antigen-Induced Recruitment of Mast Cell Progenitors to the Lungs of C57BL/6 Mice

In C57BL/6 mice, the recruitment of mast cell progenitors (MCps) to the lung is a feature of Ag-induced pulmonary inflammation that requires sensitization and challenge and is totally inhibited by the administration of anti-CD4 at the time of challenge. When mAb to TGFβ1 or to IL-10R was administered at the time of challenge, the recruitment of MCp/10 6 mononuclear cells (MNCs) to the lung was inhibited by 56.3 and 69.6%, respectively, whereas mAb to IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17A, and IL-17F had no effect. In sensitized and challenged C57BL/6 mice lacking TGFβRII on CD4 + cells, the recruitment of MCp/10 6 MNCs was reduced by 67.8%. The requirement for TGFβ1 and IL-10 suggested a role for CD4 + CD25 + T regulatory cells. Mice treated with anti-CD25 at the time of Ag-challenge showed a reduction in the recruitment of MCp/10 6 MNCs by 77.2% without any reduction in MNC influx. These results reveal an unexpected role for T regulatory cells in promoting the recruitment of MCps to the lungs of C57BL/6 mice with Ag-induced pulmonary inflammation.
New insights into solvolysis and reorganization energy from gas-phase, electrochemical, and theoretical studies of Oxo-Tp Mov molecules

Molecules of the general form Tp*MoO(OR)(2) [where Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazolyl)borate and (OR)(2) = (OMe)(2), (OEt)(2), and (O(n)Pr)(2) for alkoxide ligands and (OR)(2) = O(CH(2))(3)O, O(CH(2))(4)O, and O[CH(CH(3))CH(2)CH(CH(3))]O for diolato ligands] were studied using gas-phase photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to examine the effect of increasing ligand size and structure on the oxomolybdenum core. Oxidation potentials and first ionization energies are shown to be sensitive to the character of the diolato and alkoxide ligands. A linear correlation between the solution-phase oxidation potentials and the gas-phase ionization energies resulted in an unexpected slope of greater than unity. DFT calculations indicated that this unique example of a system in which oxidation potentials are more sensitive to substitution than vertical ionization energies is due to the large differences in the cation reorganization energies, which range from 0.2 eV or less for the molecules with diolato ligands to around 0.5 eV for the molecules with alkoxide ligands.
Global error bounds for the Petrov–Galerkin discretization of the neutron transport equation

In this paper, we prove that the numerical solution of the mono-directional neutron transport equation by the Petrov-Galerkin method converges to the true solution in the L{sup 2} norm at the rate of h{sup 2}. Since consistency has been shown elsewhere, the focus here is on stability. We prove that the system of Petrov-Galerkin equations is stable by showing that the 2-norm of the inverse of the matrix for the system of equations is bounded by a number that is independent of the order of the matrix. This bound is equal to the length of the longest path that it takes a neutron to cross the domain in a straight line. A consequence of this bound is that the global error of the Petrov-Galerkin approximation is of the same order of h as the local truncation error. We use this result to explain the widely held observation that the solution of the Petrov-Galerkin method is second accurate for one class of problems, but is only first order accurate for another class of problems.