cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of continuous-infusion loop diuretics in critically ill children.

Loop diuretics are commonly used in critically ill children to achieve appropriate fluid balance. They are often administered as a continuous intravenous infusion (CI) in hemodynamically unstable children because of fewer alterations in central venous pressure, oxygen saturation, and heart rate compared with scheduled intermittent dosing. During the past few years, however, drug shortages have been reported for bumetanide, torsemide, and furosemide. Therefore, to explore the use of alternative agents for CI, we performed a literature search to identify articles evaluating the use of furosemide, bumetanide, ethacrynic acid, and torsemide CI in critically ill children. The search was limited to English-language articles in the MEDLINE (1946-December 2013), EMBASE (1980-December 2013), and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-December 2013) databases and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2005-December 2013). Reference citations from relevant articles were also reviewed. A total of 10 reports representing 173 pediatric patients were included in the analysis. Most of the reports provided evidence for furosemide, and no reports with torsemide were identified. Wide variability in CI dosing was reported in these studies. When selecting the loop diuretic CI for critically ill patients, clinicians should consider their adverse-event profiles, compatibility with other concomitant intravenous infusions, and pharmacoeconomics. Fluid balance and urine output should be monitored routinely to ensure appropriate response. The lowest initial dose should be used to achieve an appropriate fluid balance and target urine output of 1-3 ml/kg/hour while limiting the likelihood of toxicity.
Use of absorbable poly (d,l) lactic acid plates in cranial-vault remodeling: presentation of the first case and lessons learned about its use.

Abstract Objective: To present the first clinical use of a new bioabsorbable material, poly (D,L) lactic acid (PDLLA), in pediatric cranial-vault remodeling procedures. This discussion will highlight the benefits and detriments of PDLLA in comparison with currently used absorbable plating systems. Design: This was a case study documenting the first North American case in which PDLLA was used to treat craniosynostosis. Materials and Methods: Evaluation of pure PDLLA, a copolymer product of the mixture of poly L-lactic acid and its D-isomer, was used in an 8-month-old boy with a severe phenotypic expression of sagittal craniosynostosis. No signs of elevated intracranial pressure were present, and the neurological examination did not show impairments. Total cranial-vault remodeling with the “hung-span” technique was performed. The Resorb X system, containing 2.2-mm screws and 0.6- to 1-mm-thick plates, was used to stabilize the reconstructed cranial vault. Results: No surgical complications occurred. The pre...
Interaction of sulindac and metabolite with human serum albumin.

The binding of the newly developed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent sulindac and its principal active metabolite, sulindac sulfide, to human serum albumin was investigated. With the methods of dialysis, fluorescence quenching, and difference spectrophotometry, it was found that both agents were extensively bound to albumin. The binding affinity of the metabolite was considerably higher than that of sulindac and this effect may be related to its prolonged plasma half-life versus the parent drug. Sulindac binding was albumin concentration dependent, which gave rise to an unfamiliar Scatchard analysis of the dialysis data.
REACTION OF SINGLET OXYGEN WITH CHOLESTEROL IN LIPOSOMAL MEMBRANES. EFFECT OF MEMBRANE FLUIDITY ON THE PHOTOOXIDATION OF CHOLESTEROL

Abstract— The photosensitized oxygenation of cholesterol in liposomal membranes results in the formation of the characteristic singlet oxygen product, 3β-hydroxy-5α-cholest-6-ene-5-hydroperoxide. The yield of this product was found to be strongly temperature dependent with 6- to 7-fold increase above the transition temperature of the membrane using 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine or 1.2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine. In contrast, the formation of the radical autoxidation products of cholesterol was not significantly enhanced in these systems by higher temperatures. We conclude from the results that the oxidation of cholesterol by singlet oxygen in the artificial membranes is affected by both membrane fluidity and amount of hematoporphyrin incorporated into the membrane. The ratio of cholesterol to phospholipid which affects the morphology of membranes is a crucial factor in determining the yield of the singlet oxygen product.
Independent Category and Spatial Encoding in Parietal Cortex

Summary The posterior parietal cortex plays a central role in spatial functions, such as spatial attention and saccadic eye movements. However, recent work has increasingly focused on the role of parietal cortex in encoding nonspatial cognitive factors such as visual categories, learned stimulus associations, and task rules. The relationship between spatial encoding and nonspatial cognitive signals in parietal cortex, and whether cognitive signals are robustly encoded in the presence of strong spatial neuronal responses, is unknown. We directly compared nonspatial cognitive and spatial encoding in the lateral intraparietal (LIP) area by training monkeys to perform a visual categorization task during which they made saccades toward or away from LIP response fields (RFs). Here we show that strong saccade-related responses minimally influence robustly encoded category signals in LIP. This suggests that cognitive and spatial signals are encoded independently in LIP and underscores the role of parietal cortex in nonspatial cognitive functions. Video Abstract
Concealed ventricular extrasystoles.

Evidence is presented for the new concept that ventricular extrasystoles can be "concealed," i.e., that the extrasystolic focus may be discharged without its impulse invading the surrounding myocardium, as in the "exit block" of parasystole. Concealed bigeminy is recognized when only odd numbers of sinus beats intervene between consecutive extrasystoles. Concealed trigeminy is recognizable when a multiple of 3 plus 2, i.e., 5, 8, 11, 14, etc., sinus beats invariably occupy the interectopic intervals. These concealed extrasystolic rhythms are illustrated and discussed. A genetic relationship between ventricular bigeminy and parasystole is reaffirmed.
Postnatally induced formation of the corpus callosum in acallosal mice on glia-coated cellulose bridges

Developing axons of the corpus callosum of mice are guided across the cerebral midline by a slinglike glial structure that forms transiently between the hemispheres. If the "sling" is cut at precallosal stages, the would-be callosal fibers whirl into paired neuromas adjacent to the longitudinal cerebral fissure. In experiments on such surgically acallosal animals, the aberrant commissural axons maintained a potential to regrow across the hemispheres at prenatal and early postnatal stages if they were presented with a properly aligned, glia-covered scaffold spanning the hemispheres.
Mechanical and morphological investigations of reactive polysulfone toughened epoxy networks

The diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin was toughened by aminophenyl functional reactive polyethersulfones (R-PES) or by t-butyl terminated non-reactive polyethersulfones (T-PES). The molecular weights of PES were controlled to afford 5,000 to 20,000 g/mole and loadings were also varied from 5 to 30 wt.%. Epoxy networks cured with 4, 4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) were subjected to Tg determinations, plane strain fracture toughness (K1C) measurements, chemical resistance tests and morphological studies by SEM. Very significantly improved K1C fracture toughness was obtained with reactive PES toughening without loss of chemical resistance, while non-reactive PES blended epoxy resins exhibited only slightly improved fracture toughness but poor chemical resistance. It was possible to load up to 30 wt.% of PES without utilizing solvent and the maximum K1C fracture toughness with R-PES was around 2.2 MPa-m 0.5, which was equivalent to the neat thermoplastic resin. Ductile fracture of the PES phase is suggested as a major toughening mechanism and this is highly dependent of the excellent adhesion developed between the PES and epoxy phases due to the chemical bonds. The systems demonstrated that chemical resistance of thermosets can be combined with the tough characteristics of thermoplastics.
LINEAR DEPENDENCE OF THE BULK VISCOSITY ON SHOCK WAVE THICKNESS

Currently, the bulk viscosity μb of a gas can only be obtained with an acoustic absorption experiment. A method is proposed that is primarily applicable to a dense polyatomic gas. In this circumstance, the density‐based thickness Λρ is large, consisting of many thousands of mean‐free paths. Moreover, the ratio μb/μ (μ is the shear viscosity) is linear with this thickness. Consequently, shock measurements of Λρ can be used to evaluate μb. The approach is illustrated using sulfur hexaflouride.
Hoop conjecture for black-hole horizon formation.

The hoop conjecture was proposed by Thorne in 1972 as a loosely formulated, necessary, and sufficient condition for the formation of a horizon in nonspherical gravitational collapse. In this paper we discuss some issues that arise in formulating various precise interpretations of the conjecture, and review some of the small amount of literature that has appeared on this subject. We further specialize the conjecture to static, vacuum, axisymmetric spacetimes and show that it is satisfied in three particular cases of such spacetimes. We also prove a theorem for oblate geometries giving a sufficient condition for the conjecture to be satisfied.
Cumulative Adversity and Smaller Gray Matter Volume in Medial Prefrontal, Anterior Cingulate, and Insula Regions

Background Cumulative adversity and stress are associated with risk of psychiatric disorders. While basic science studies show repeated and chronic stress effects on prefrontal and limbic neurons, human studies examining cumulative stress and effects on brain morphology are rare. Thus, we assessed whether cumulative adversity is associated with differences in gray matter volume, particularly in regions regulating emotion, self-control, and top-down processing in a community sample. Methods One hundred three healthy community participants, aged 18 to 48 and 68% male, completed interview assessment of cumulative adversity and a structural magnetic resonance imaging protocol. Whole-brain voxel-based-morphometry analysis was performed adjusting for age, gender, and total intracranial volume. Results Cumulative adversity was associated with smaller volume in medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), insular cortex, and subgenual anterior cingulate regions (familywise error corrected, p Conclusions Current results demonstrate that increasing cumulative exposure to adverse life events is associated with smaller gray matter volume in key prefrontal and limbic regions involved in stress, emotion and reward regulation, and impulse control. These differences found in community participants may serve to mediate vulnerability to depression, addiction, and other stress-related psychopathology.
Identification of regions essential for extrachromosomal replication and maintenance of an endogenous plasmid in Dictyostelium

Initial experiments with the endogenous 12.3 kb Dictyostelium discoideum plasmid Ddp1 led to the generation of a large shuttle vector, Ddp1-20. In addition to Ddp1, this vector contains pBR322 and a gene fusion that confers G418 resistance in Dictyostelium cells. We have shown that Ddp1-20 replicates extrachromosomally in Dictyostelium cells and can be grown in Escherichia coli cells (1). We have now examined deletions within this vector to identify the elements essential for extrachromosomal replication and stable maintenance of the plasmid. We find that a 2.2 kb fragment is sufficient to confer stable, extrachromosomal replication with a reduction in copy number from about 40 to approximately 10-15 copies per cell. Vectors containing additional Ddp1 sequences have a higher copy number. The 2.2 kb region contains none of the complete, previously identified transcription units on Ddp1 expressed during vegetative growth or development. These results suggest that gene products expressed by Ddp1 are not essential for replication, stability, or partitioning of the plasmid between daughter cells. Vectors carrying only the 2.2 kb fragment plus the gene fusion conferring G418 resistance transform Dictyostelium cells with high efficiency using either calcium phosphate mediated transformation or electroporation. Finally, we have examined the relative levels of expression of actin promoters driving neoR genes when in extrachromosomal or integrating vectors.
Body Sensor Network Based Context-Aware QRS Detection

In this paper, a body sensor network (BSN) based context-aware QRS detection scheme is proposed. The algorithm uses the context information provided by the body sensor network to improve the QRS detection performance by dynamically selecting those leads with the best SNR and taking advantage of the best features of two complementary detection algorithms. The accelerometer data from the BSN are used to classify the daily activities of patients and provide context information. The classification results indicate the types of activities that were engaged in. They also indicate their corresponding intensity, which is related to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the ECG recordings. Activity intensity is first fed to the lead selector to eliminate those leads with low SNR, and then is fed to a selector to select a proper QRS detector according to the noise level. An MIT-BIH noise stress test database is used to evaluate the algorithms.
A cohort-sequential latent growth model of physical activity from ages 12 to 17 years.

Background: Despite serious public health implications of decreased physical activity during adolescence, few longitudinal studies have been conducted to determine the trajectory and important correlates of physical activity change during this period.Purpose: This study examines change in physical activity from ages 12 to 17 years and the influences of personal, family, peer, and demographic factors on activity patterns.Methods: Data were from 371 youth. The sample was 50.1% female, 76% White, 12% African American, 4% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% American Indian, and 4% other or mixed races. Mean age was 12.05 years (SD=1.63) at Time 1. Multivariate latent growth curve modeling (LGM), a cohort-sequential design, and a multiple-group design by sex were employed.Results: Youth physical activity declined significantly from ages 12 to 17. Boys had higher initial levels of physical activity than girls. Efficacy to overcome barriers, physically active friends, and friend social support all played roles in reducing the decline in physical activity. Early maturing boys, although more physically active initially, experienced a greater decline in physical activity compared to later maturing boys.Conclusions: These findings encourage further research on the etiology and development of youth physical activity using procedures such as LGM to better understand the risk and protective factors associated with youth physical activity decline.
Sensor tricorder: what does that sensor know about me?

As rich sensing applications become pervasive, people increasingly find themselves with limited ability to determine what sensor data the applications are collecting about them and how the applications are using the sensor data. Openness and transparency serve as our guiding principles in designing the Sensor Tricorder, a system that enables people to query third party sensors with their smartphones in order to learn about the data collection activities and privacy policies of the applications using the sensors. We leverage the increasing ubiquity of QR Codes in mobile applications and utilize them in a novel way. Our prototype system uses active QR Codes to visually communicate dynamic data such as the sensor activities and application privacy policies to smartphone users. Based on our experiences in building this prototype, we identify the key properties that sensor platforms must provide to support transparency and openness and highlight the main challenges involved in realizing these properties.
Track fast-moving tiny flies by adaptive LBP feature and cascaded data association

Studying the behavior of fruit flies that mimic normal animal motivations can inform us about the molecular mechanisms and biochemical pathways. We build a glass chamber to house flies and record their behaviors in video frame sequences. Due to the challenges of low image contrast, small object size and fast object motion, we propose an adaptive Local Binary Pattern (LBP) feature to detect flies and develop a cascaded data association approach with fine-to-coarse gating region control to track flies in the spatio-temporal domain. Our approach is validated on two long video sequences with very good performance, showing its potential to enable automated characterization of biological processes.
Fundamentals of Numerical Computing

Errors and Floating Point Arithmetic. Systems of Linear Equations. Interpolation. Roots of Nonlinear Equations. Numerical Integration. Ordinary Differential Equations. Appendix. Answers to Selected Exercises. Index.
Making 'wreaders' our of students: some strategies for using technology to teach the humanities

L'A. relate sa propre experience d'enseignant de la litterature medievale utilisant les possibilites de l'informatique et du cyberespace. Il insiste sur l'apport de ce type d'enseignement a l'etudiant, faisant appel a sa participation active pour utiliser de maniere avantageuse l'outil informatique
Self and Directed Colloidal Assembly on Patterned Electrodes

Clustering of colloidal particles near an electrode surface during and after electrophoretic deposition has been reported in the literature [1, 2, 3, 4]. The aggregation of colloidal particles has made the precise assembly of two and three dimensional colloidal crystals possible. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of external electric fields to sensitively tune the interactions between colloidal particles to form ordered structures. The directed assembly of colloidal particles on patterned electrode surfaces is also investigated as a means of building three-dimensional nanostructures. Finally, a new method to map potential energy landscapes of templated substrates using a diffusing colloidal particle as a sensitive local energy probe is described.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
The SIGMAP-UW nonlinear programming symposium

BALAS, GON: INTERSECTION CUTS FOR NONCONVEX PROGRAMMING. MONDAY, P.M.: A new class of intersection cuts is discussed, which is applicable to a large variety of nonconvex programming problems, like linearly constrained quadratic programs, separable programs, linear programs with disjunctive or other logical constraints, and of course integer programs. These cutting planes subsume or dominate many of those proposed earlier, and are easier to generate. When used in a branch and bound context, they yield stronger bounds than the ones currently in use.
The complexity of finding two disjoint paths with min-max objective function

Abstract Given a network G = ( V , E ) and two vertices s and t , we consider the problem of finding two disjoint paths from s to t such that the length of the longer path is minimized. The problem has several variants: The paths may be vertex-disjoint or arc-disjoint and the network may be directed or undirected. We show that all four versions as well as some related problems are strongly NP-complete. We also give a pseudo-polynomial-time algorithm for the acyclic directed case.
Status of R&D on mitigating the effects of pressure waves for the Spallation Neutron Source mercury target

Abstract The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been conducting RD and protective gas walls that isolate the vessel from the damaging effects of collapsing cavitation bubbles. The latter has demonstrated good damage mitigation during in-beam testing with limited pulses, and adequate gas wall coverage at the beam entrance window has been demonstrated with the SNS mercury target flow configuration using a full scale mercury test loop. A question on the required area coverage remains which depends on results from SNS target post irradiation examination. The small gas bubble technique has been less effective during past in-beam tests but those results were with un-optimized and un-verified bubble populations. Another round of in-beam tests with small gas bubbles is planned for 2011. The first SNS target was removed from service in mid 2009 and samples were cut from two locations at the target’s beam entrance window. Through-wall damage was observed at the innermost mercury vessel wall (not a containment wall). The damage pattern suggested correlation with the local mercury flow condition which is nearly stagnant at the peak damage location. Detailed post irradiation examination of the samples is under way that will assess the erosion and measure irradiation-induced changes in mechanical properties. Similar samples were cut from the second SNS target after it was removed from service in mid 2010. More extensive damage was observed on the target inner wall but damage to the containment wall was minimal.
Perinatal stroke and the risk of developing childhood epilepsy

Objectives To describe the prevalence of epilepsy after 6 months of age in children with perinatal stroke and examine whether perinatal data predict epilepsy onset and resolution. Study design A retrospective review of 64 children with perinatal stroke. In children with at least 6 months of follow-up data, Kaplan-Meier curves, univariate log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine predictors of time to development of seizures, and time to resolution of seizures in children with epilepsy. The association of risk factors with the presence of epilepsy at any time after 6 months of age was examined using Fisher’s exact test. Results Forty-one of the 61 children with at least 6 months of follow-up data (67%) had epilepsy between 6 months of age and last follow-up, but in 13 of 41, seizures eventually resolved and anticonvulsants were discontinued. Infarct on prenatal ultrasonography ( P = .0065) and family history of epilepsy ( P = .0093) were significantly associated with time to development of seizures after 6 months of age in the univariate analysis. No assessed variables were associated with time to resolution of epilepsy or with the presence of epilepsy after 6 months of age. Conclusions Childhood epilepsy is frequent after perinatal stroke. Evidence of infarction on prenatal ultrasonography and a family history of epilepsy predict earlier onset of active seizures.
Sprawl Retrofit: Sustainable Urban Form in Unsustainable Places

This paper makes a contribution to the suburban retrofit/sprawl repair literature by suggesting a method that planners can use to evaluate the potential of some places to be catalysts for an improved—more sustainable—urban form. The strategy is aimed at evaluating and then promoting sustainable urban form in unsustainable places. The method puts sprawl retrofit projects into a larger planning framework, suggesting ways to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of places in relative terms, taking into account how different kinds of nodes—from light rail stops to parking lots—varying with respect to sustainable urban form characteristics. Overlaying data on accessibility, density, diversity, and connectivity reveals areas with varying levels of sustainable urban form. Intervention in potential retrofit locations consists of neighborhood and site-scale design, including suggestions for code reform, intensification of land use around nodes, public investment in civic space, traffic calming, and incentives for ...
Dynamical tunneling in optical cavities

The lifetime of whispering gallery modes in a dielectric cavity with a metallic inclusion is shown to fluctuate by orders of magnitude when size and location of the inclusion are varied. We ascribe these fluctuations to tunneling transitions between resonances quantized in different regions of phase space. This interpretation is confirmed by a comparison of the classical phase space structure with the Husimi distribution of the resonant modes. A model Hamiltonian is introduced that describes the phenomenon and shows that it can be expected in a more general class of systems.
Pharmacologic treatment options for hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder is the most common cause of sexual dysfunction in women. According to a national survey, approximately a third of all women experience low sexual desire. The etiology of the disorder is often multifactorial. Research in treatment options for hypoactive sexual desire disorder is limited. In this article, treatment options including sex therapy, hormone therapy (estrogen, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, tibolone), non-hormonal medical therapies (buproprion, buspirone, phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, amantadine and apomorphine) and herbal therapies (Avlimil®, Arginmax®, Zestra®, yohimbine and Ginkgo biloba) are reviewed.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach: A study of four patients with comments on histogenesis

The histogenic origin of squamous carcinoma of the stomach (SCS) is controversial. We report the case of a 55-year-old man who developed SCS following successful chemotherapy for generalized well-differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma. The patient's stomach contained both squamous carcinoma arising in squamous metaplasia and chronic atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia. This case is compared to three additional cases of SCS where no such antecedent mucosal changes were evident. The SCS literature is reviewed and the histogenesis regarding the development of pure squamous tumors of the stomach is discussed.
Parathyroid conservation and the viscerovertebral angle: A downsized view

Abstract Within the subject content of parathyroid conservation that comprises this article, no attempt has been made to be encyclopedic, scholarly, or comprehensive. The subject is too vast to presume such and, moreover, it has been addressed thoroughly and competently by distinguished colleagues in diverse publications. Rather, the attempt here is to present a scaled down, low-fat-content version of the barest anatomicosurgical concepts on which to build the theoretical clinical and surgical appreciation of parathyroid conservation. A listing, which can only be partial, of suggested reading material is included at the end and the reader is urged to peruse those writings as well as taking advantage of the worthwhile bibliographic references appended to those works.
Leadership emergence in task groups with egalitarian gender-role expectations

Although they differ in their explanations of the antecedents of gender-role expectations, gender role and expectation states theories agree that mixed-sex and initially leaderless task groups will confirm these expectations by selectively reinforcing male task participation and leadership emergence. Based upon this assumption held in common by the two theories, we hypothesized that groups whose members expressed significantly egalitarian gender-role expectations would reinforce male and female task participation and leadership emergence impartially. Analysis of data from 31 mixed-sex groups whose members expressed significantly egalitarian gender-role expectations, and who were racially and ethnically homogeneous, found that males participated more in group discussions and were more likely to be selected as task leaders. Male advantages were explained only partly by token effects and their advantages in task resources. Implications are suggested for theories of male and female role performance in initially leaderless groups.
Non-pathogenic Sindbis virus causes hemorrhagic fever in the absence of alpha/beta and gamma interferons.

The role of interferon-gamma (IFNγ) in antiviral innate immune responses during acute alphavirus infection is not well defined. We examined the contribution of IFNγ to the protection of adult mice from Sindbis virus (SB)-induced disease by comparing subcutaneous infection of mice lacking receptors for either IFNα/β (A129), IFNγ (G129) or both (AG129) to normal mice (WT129). While neither G129 nor WT129 mice exhibited clinical signs of disease, infection of A129 or AG129 mice was fatal with AG129 mice succumbing more rapidly. Furthermore, AG129 mice developed signs of viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF), including extensive hepatocellular damage, inflammatory infiltrates in multiple organs and vascular leakage, which were significantly delayed and/or partially ameliorated during fatal A129 infections. We conclude that: (i) IFNα/β is the primary mediator of innate immunity to SB infection, however; (ii) IFNγ is directly antiviral in vivo, acting before the adaptive immune response appears and; (iii) development of VHF may involve viral suppression of both IFNα/β and IFNγ responses.
Uniqueness for ordinary differential equations

Various criteria are known for assuring uniqueness of the solution of a system ofn ordinary differential equations,x′ = f(t, x), with initial conditionx(t0) = x0. Most of these involve some sort of relaxed Lipschitz condition onf(t, x), with respect tox, valid on an open setD ⊂ R1+n which contains the point (t0, x0). The present paper generalizes (and unifies) a number of known uniqueness criteria to cover cases when (t0, x0) lies on the boundary ofD.
"Whistleblower" or "Renegade" : Definitional Contests in an Official Inquiry

This paper addresses the interpretive dynamics of official inquiries. Beginning with an ideal-typical sketch of congressional investigations, the discussion traces a portrayal of public problems by a committee of the House of Representatives. This leads to the analysis of a hearing in which committee factions struggled to define an Air Force administrator as a “whistleblower” or a ”renegade.” The hearing is understood as a “certification ceremony” that rhetorically transformed staff discoveries into allegedly definitive evidence. It is concluded that the paper’s conceptual approach can be applied to diverse inquiries that combine documentary research with interrogation of witnesses to generate authoritative findings. Interpretive work on social issues is often accomplished through official inquiries in which researches by investigative staffs are combined with formal interrogation of witnesses. Such investigations generate texts through which inquisitors claim both to articulate authoritative versions of events and to provide authoritative guidance on policy options. For these purposes, public hearings are routinely held, sometimes in an open-ended sequence that facilitates continual redefinition of focal concerns. The products of such hearings are often widely disseminated through mass media. These processes are naturally of interest to symbolic interactionists. The present study sheds light on official inquiries through analysis of definitional contests in one congressional hearing. Conducted by Representative John Dingell’s powerful House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Walczak 1985; Noah 1987; Cigot 1989), this hearing ad
Cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and platinum chemotherapy in treatment of advanced and recurrent cervical carcinoma

The chemotherapeutic combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum was used in the treatment of women with metastatic or recurrent cervical carcinomas not amenable to surgery or radiotherapy. A total of 20 patients with evaluable parameters were treated. Three partial remissions and one complete remission were obtained, giving an overall response rate of 20%.
Testing the reliability of old and new features of a new electronic monitor for metered dose inhalers

Background Poor adherence to treatment regimens is hypothesized to be, in part, responsible for the extensive morbidity and mortality associated with asthma. Electronic monitors are the most accurate means available for measuring adherence, but their use has been limited by reports questioning the reliability and validity of their data. Objective To test the reliability and accuracy of the MDILog (Medtrac Technologies, Lakewood, CO), a new electronic monitor of metered dose inhalers (MDIs), and to test its unique features. Methods Brief experiments were performed comparing a written diary to the electronic record using three MDILogs. The following features were studied: reporting of time and date of an actuation, recording of the occurrence of an actuation of the MDI, sensing and timing of inhalations, sensing of shaking of the MDI canister, and recording of multiple actuations. Results Clocking was accurate 100% of the time. Actuation agreed with the paper record 97% to 100%, inhalation 82% to 100%, shaking 86% to 95%. Agreement of late inhalations and multiple actuations with paper records was at least 98%. Conclusions The MDILog yields accurate information and is more reliable than previously described monitors. Its new features allow more detailed study of how patients use inhalers by allowing evaluation of how patients inhale and whether they shake the inhaler canister before use.
A comparison of two model-based performance-prediction techniques for message-passing parallel programs

This paper describes our experience in modeling two significant parallel applications: ARC2D, a 2-dimensional Euler solver; and, Xtrid, a tridiagonal linear solver. Both of these models were expressed in BDL (Behavior Description language) and simulated on an iPSC/860 Hypercube modeled using Axe (Abstract eXecution Environment). BDL models consist of abstract communicating objects: blocks of sequential code are modeled by single RUN statements; all communication operations in the original code are mirrored by corresponding BDL operations in the model. Our ARC2D model was built by first profiling the program to locate the significant loops and then timing the basic blocks within those loops. Simulated completion times were (except in one case) within 8% of measured execution times. Lengthy simulations were necessary for predicting the performance of large-scale runs. For Xtrid, only the loops surrounding communications were modeled; other loops were absorbed into large sequential blocks whose complexity was estimated using statistical regression. This approach yielded a much smaller model whose computation and communication complexities were clearly manifest. Analysis of complexity allowed rapid prediction of large-scale performance without lengthy simulations! Analytically predicted speed-ups were within 7% of those predicted by simulation. Simulated completion times were within 5% of measured execution times. The second approach provides a more effective methodology for simulation-based performance-tuning.
Research to protect water infrastructure: EPA's water security research program

As the federal lead for water infrastructure security, EPA draws upon its long history of environmental protection to develop new tools and technologies that address potential attacks on drinking water and wastewater systems. The critical research described is improving awareness, preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery from threats or attacks against water systems.
Non-invasive 3D optical imaging of tissue microstructure and microcirculations in vivo

We present the ability of OCT microangiography to visualize tissue blood flow at capillary level for a variety of biomedical applications, some of which (along with the OCT basics and the enabling technologies) will be highlighted
Opioid equianalgesic conversions.

To the Editor:The study by O'Bryant et al.1 describes inconsistencies in published opioid equianalgesic conversion ratios and how these variations can have implications for both research and clinic...
Relationship between commercially available DNA analysis and phenotypic observations on beef quality and tenderness.

article i nfo Warner-Bratzler shear force values from 560 mixed breed heifers and steers were used to determine esti- mates of genetic selection. Cattle were marketed from 2008 to 2011, and included five feedlot based research projects at the North Dakota State University-Carrington Research Extension Center. Samples were collected for IGENITY® analysis providing information that included selection indices and estimated breeding values for carcass traits. DNA-based test results were compared with actual carcass measurements. Marbling accounted for over 10% of the variation in WBSF while hot carcass weight was the second most influential carcass trait accounting for 4% (P b 0.01). Regression coefficients of IGENITY® molecular breeding value on phenotype for WBSF, marbling, ribeye area, yield grade, and fat thickness were low (R 2 = 0.14, 0.02, 0.03, 0.03, and 0.02, respectively). Therefore selecting cattle for a higher degree of marbling and feeding a diet that meets or exceeds recommended nutrients for growth are the most important factors influencing beef tenderness and acceptability.
Democratic principles and judging tree and fair

Abstract This paper draws attention to the many variants of democracy established over the centuries, arguing that any definition of ‘free and fair’ is dependent on the democratic values that emerge from these different traditions. While some instances of election‐related improprieties very clearly violate any conception of ‘free and fair’, problems arise when different conceptions of democracy are combined with the nuances of the electoral process (such as the benefits and drawbacks of different electoral systems). Moreover, a question arises as to how and to what extent individual standards for ‘freeness’ and ‘fairness’ are compatible. It is argued here that a balance must be struck between them; few, if any, decisions made to strike this equilibrium are politically neutral.
Ionosphere-thermosphere space weather issues

Abstract Weather disturbances in the ionosphere-thermosphere system can have a detrimental effect on both ground-based and space-based systems. Because of this impact and because our field has matured, it is now appropriate to develop specification and forecast models, with the aim of eventually predicting the occurrence, duration, and intensity of weather effects. As part of the new National Space Weather Program, the CEDAR community will focus on science issues concerning space weather, and this tutorial/review is an expanded version of a tutorial presentation given at the recent CEDAR annual meeting. The tutorial/review provides a brief discussion of weather disturbances and features, the causes of weather, and the status of weather modeling. The features and disturbances discussed include plasma patches, boundary and auroral blobs, sun-aligned polar cap arcs, the effects of traveling convection vortices and SAID events, the lifetime of density structures, sporadic E and intermediate layers, spread F and equatorial plasma bubbles, geomagnetic storms and substorms, traveling ionospheric disturbances (TID's), and the effects of tides and gravity waves propagating from the lower atmosphere. The tutorial/review is only intended to provide an overview of some of the important scientific issues concerning ionospheric-thermospheric weather, with the emphasis on the ionosphere. Tutorials on thermospheric and magnetospheric weather issues are given in companion papers.
Multiobjective decision making in a fuzzy environment with applications to helicopter design

Much decision making in the real world takes place in an environment in which the goals, constraints, and consequences of possible actions are not known precisely. The tools of fuzzy set theory can be used to deal with such imprecision in a quantitative manner. This use and effectiveness of fuzzy theories in the formulation and solution of design problems are developed and described herein through application to two types of helicopter design problems involving multiple objectives. The first problem deals with the determination of optimum flight parameters to accomplish a specified mission in the presence of three competing objectives. The second problem addresses the optimum design of the main rotor of a helicopter involving eight objective functions. The tools of fuzzy set theory have been used to model the vague and imprecise information in the formulation of these problems. A method for solving the resulting fuzzy multiobjective problem using nonlinear programming techniques is presented. Results obtained using fuzzy formulation are compared with those obtained using crisp optimization techniques. The outlined procedure should be useful in engineering design situations in which uncertainty arises about the preciseness of permissible parameters, degree of credibility, and correctness of statements and judgments.
LXXVIII. Line spectrum from uncharged molecules

The vapour passing from the mercury arc in a vacuum to a condensing chamber is luminous and has a line spectrum similar to the spectrum of the are. This luminosity can be destroyed by an electric f...
Fluorescence enhancement in rare earth doped sol-gel glass by N,N dimethylformamide as a drying control chemical additive

Abstract Studies of terbium fluorescence intensity as a function of annealing temperature reveal the cause of increased fluorescence yields observed in rare earth doped sol-gel silicates prepared using N , N -dimethylformamide (DMF) as a drying control chemical additive (DCCA). While gels prepared with DMF actually have lower fluorescence yields than gels prepared without DMF at lower annealing temperatures, DMF gels can be annealed at much higher temperatures while retaining high optical quality. At these higher temperatures, terbium fluorescence yields increase dramatically as the sol-gel network undergoes densification, closing the pores of the network and eliminating the fluorescence quenching silanols on pore surfaces. DMF is therefore found to enhance the fluorescence properties of rare earth sol-gel glasses by reducing micro-fracturing and facilitating network densification. Further investigations are underway to determine the effectiveness of other promising DCCAs, such as glycerol, and to explore the possibility of exploiting the solubility properties of DCCAs to improve rare earth dopant dispersion.
Are Emerging Market Equities a Separate Asset Class

Historically, fund managers and investors making portfolio allocation decisions have considered emerging market equities a separate asset class. More recently, a number of economic, legal, accounting, and financial developments have eroded the root differences between emerging and developed country financial markets. These liberalizations include capital market reforms that have reduced the constraints and limits on foreign portfolio investment. The authors find that empirical evidence strongly supports the view that the world9s financial markets are becoming increasingly integrated, and that the integration process encompasses emerging markets. As a result, the idea of a rigid separation between emerging market and developed market pools of investible funds (and adoption of separate performance benchmarks) seems no longer appropriate. Indeed, recent moves by international investors to benchmark their portfolios to MSCI9s all–country world index and related world indexes, which include both emerging market and developed market securities, seem a step in this direction.
Cross-linking of iodine-125-labeled, calcium-dependent regulatory protein to the Ca2+-sensitive phosphodiesterase purified from bovine heart.

The calcium-dependent regulatory protein (CDR).Ca2+ sensitive cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase was purified to apparent homogeneity from bovine heart by using ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-ceelulose chromatography, and CDR-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The enzyme was purifed 13 750-fold with a 10% yield and a specific activity of 275 mumol of cAMP min-1 mg-1. The purified enzyme ran as a single band during sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with an apparent molecular weight of 57 000. Phosphodiesterase activity was stimulated 10-fold by Ca2+ and CDR with half-maximal activation occurring at 9 ng/assay. [125I]CDR was cross-linked to the purified phosphodiesterase by using dimethyl suberimidate Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the cross-linked products revealed a number of discrete 125I-labeled bands. The molecular weights of the cross-linked products indicate that the stoichiometry of the phosphodiesterase complex is A2C2, where A is the phosphodiesterase catalytic subunit and C is the calcium-dependent regulatory protein.
Hydroxylation as a factor in resistance in house flies and blow flies.

The hydroxylation of napthalene by microsomes prepared from the house fly, Musca domestica L., and the black blow fly, Phormia regina .(Meigen), has been measured in search of differences related to sex, age, insecticide susceptibility, and species. The results of these tests have been compared further with those obtained when the 2 species were exposed to naphthalene vapors. Correlation between in vitro hydroxylation and in vivo resistance has been found. P. regina is more susceptible to naphthalene vapors than M. domestica , while microsomes from P. regina are only % as active in the hydroxylation of naphthalene as those prepared from M. domestica . Older house flies contain microsomes of greater hydroxylating capacity than younger insects. House flies highly resistant to DDT and dieldrin are approximately twice as active in the in vitro hydroxylation of naphthalene as a strain only moderately resistant to these insecticides. A house fly strain, selected for resistance to naphthalene, is shown to have a correspondingly high capacity to hydroxylate naphthalene in vitro.
More than just a pretty face: affordances of embodiment

Prior research into embodied interface agents has found that users like them and find them engaging. In this paper, we argue that embodiment can serve an even stronger function if system designers use actual human conversational protocols in the design of the interface. Communicative behaviors such as salutations and farewells, conversational turn-taking with interruptions, and referring to objects using pointing gestures are examples of protocols that all native speakers of a language already know how to perform and that can thus be leveraged in an intelligent interface. We discuss how these protocols are integrated into Rea, an embodied, multi-modal conversational interface agent who acts as a real-estate salesperson, and we show why embodiment is required for their successful implementation.
Big "R",little "c",Integrated Data Annotation And Sensor Control For Long Range Oblique Photography (LOROP)

Increase the reliability of the LOROP system and decrease its complexity by combining electronic functions to minimize interfaces. Integrating sensor controls with the Data Annotation function increases system reliability through utilization of a single unit. Single computer interface or data transfer from the aircraft to control sensor operation and annotation of photography reduces circuitry required. ADAS (Airborne Data Annotation Systems) have kept pace with the improvements in other reconnaissance systems. Microprocessors, digital multiplexing techniques and other advances in avionic components and techniques have been incorporated into recent Sensor Control/Data Display Set designs. A serial computer interface can be used to link the aircraft computer with multi-sensor, multi-purpose reconnaissance systems through a single unit. System designs in the future can utilize the ADAS as the programmable center-of-information link to the aircraft for annota-tion while performing other reconnaissance system control functions specifically required in LOROP systems. This paper addresses ADAS system functions which have been incorporated into a single unit in present reconnaissance systems and which are to be incorporated in future reconnaissance systems for LOROP.