cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Combined photoacoustic microscopy and optical coherence tomography can measure metabolic rate of oxygen.

We proposed to measure the metabolic rate of oxygen (MRO2) in small animals in vivo using a multimodal imaging system that combines laser-scanning optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (LSOR-PAM) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). We first tested the capability of the multimodal system to measure flow rate in a phantom made of two capillary tubes of different diameters. We then demonstrated the capability of measuring MRO2 by imaging two parallel vessels selected from the ear of a Swiss Webster mouse. The hemoglobin oxygen saturation (sO2) and the vessel diameter were measured by the LSOR-PAM and the blood flow velocity was measured by the SD-OCT, from which blood flow rate and MRO2 were further calculated. The measured blood flow rates in the two vessels agreed with each other.
Use of SDRC I-DEAS in Teaching Computer Aided Engineering

In recent years the author has been developing and teaching computer aided engineering courses using the Pro/ENGINEER and I-DEAS software systems. This has been a very demanding yet highly rewarding endeavor. The paper discusses one such CAE course. In a semester long I-DEAS-based course the students are brought from the basics to a level where they are comfortable tackling typical real life engineering, both design and analysis, projects which require use of high end software for computer aided engineering. The benefits to the students of taking such a CAE I-DEAS-based course are discussed.© 2002 ASME
Emergency services in Costa Rica

Visitors to Costa Rica found a country with high priority for health care, community volunteerism, and a low incidence of motor vehicle trauma. They were also able to observe the impact of socialized medicine, public intoxication, and sanctioned social events on the needs of the community.
Applications of adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy.

Adaptive optics (AO) describes a set of tools to correct or control aberrations in any optical system. In the eye, AO allows for precise control of the ocular aberrations. If used to correct aberrations over a large pupil, for example, cellular level resolution in retinal images can be achieved. AO systems have been demonstrated for advanced ophthalmoscopy as well as for testing and/or improving vision. In fact, AO can be integrated to any ophthalmic instrument where the optics of the eye is involved, with a scope of applications ranging from phoropters to optical coherence tomography systems. In this paper, I discuss the applications and advantages of using AO in a specific system, the adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope, or AOSLO. Since the Borish award was, in part, awarded to me because of this effort, I felt it appropriate to select this as the topic for this paper. Furthermore, users of AOSLO continue to appreciate the benefits of the technology, some of which were not anticipated at the time of development, and so it is time to revisit this topic and summarize them in a single paper.
Tortuosity as an index of the age and diameter increase of coronary collateral vessels in patients after acute myocardial infarction

A possible correlation among increase in diameter, lengthening or tortuosity and age of bypassed obstruction was investigated in coronary arterial collateral vessels. In 35 autopsy patients with a myocardial infarct of known age, as determined from clinical history and pathologic demonstration of an infarct of consistent age in the distribution of an obstructed vessel, 140 collateral vessels were identified in postmortem arteriograms and measurements made of their diameter and tortuosity. Multivariable regression analyses showed that collateral diameter and tortuosity increase with greater time after the infarction. It is suggested that identification of tortuosity in a coronary vessel may provide an indication that it functions as a collateral channel and of the degree of its dilatation and the time it has been a collateral channel. The lengthening that produces tortuosity probably arises from the same relaxation of medial tension that induces dilatation as a result of increased blood flow.
Setting Boundaries: Can International Society Exclude “Rogue States”?1

This essay addresses a prominent post-Cold War issue to which political scientists have paid relatively little attention: the status of so-called rogue states in international politics. The war in Iraq crystallized transatlantic disagreement over whether “rogue states” exist and how they should be treated, but the debate raged throughout the 1990s. This essay brings international relations theory to bear on the issue of “rogue states,” but it does so with a theoretical twist. It argues that we must first identify the entity from which these states are allegedly excluded as well as who gets to set the membership criteria. If we stipulate that the international system includes all states, then international society can be defined according to various shared ideas and many realizations of international society are possible. Powerful states may try to act as “norm entrepreneurs,” promoting their ideas as the basis of international society. But states, including great powers , may genuinely disagree over the basis and boundaries of this society. It is thus vital not only to take both power and shared ideas seriously, but also to describe the origins and limits of shared ideas. The limits to shared ideas can be termed “bounded intersubjectivity.” This essay uses the debate over “rogue states” and the transatlantic crisis over confronting Iraq to underscore these theoretical issues.
Exploring Student-Teacher Interactions in Longitudinal Achievement Data

Abstract This article develops a model for longitudinal student achievement data designed to estimate heterogeneity in teacher effects across students of different achievement levels. The model specifies interactions between teacher effects and students' predicted scores on a test, estimating both average effects of individual teachers and interaction terms indicating whether individual teachers are differentially effective with students of different predicted scores. Using various longitudinal data sources, we find evidence of these interactions that is of relatively consistent but modest magnitude across different contexts, accounting for about 10 percent of the total variation in teacher effects across all students. However, the amount that the interactions matter in practice depends on the heterogeneity of the groups of students taught by different teachers. Using empirical estimates of the heterogeneity of students across teachers, we find that the interactions account for about 3–4 percent of total ...
Target error for image-to-physical space registration: preliminary clinical results using laser range scanning

In this paper, preliminary results from an image-to-physical space registration platform are presented. The current platform employs traditional and novel methods of registration which use a variety of data sources to include: traditional synthetic skin-fiducial point-based registration, surface registration based on facial contours, brain feature point-based registration, brain vessel-to-vessel registration, and a more comprehensive cortical surface registration method that utilizes both geometric and intensity information from both the image volume and physical patient. The intraoperative face and cortical surfaces were digitized using a laser range scanner (LRS) capable of producing highly resolved textured point clouds. In two in vivo cases, a series of registrations were performed using these techniques and compared within the context of a true target error. One of the advantages of using a textured point cloud data stream is that true targets among the physical cortical surface and the preoperative image volume can be identified and used to assess image-to-physical registration methods. The results suggest that iterative closest point (ICP) method for intraoperative face surface registration is equivalent to point-based registration (PBR) method of skin fiducial markers. With regard to the initial image and physical space registration, for patient 1, mean target registration error (TRE) were 3.1±0.4 mm and 3.6 ±0.9 mm for face ICP and skin fiducial PBR, respectively. For patient 2, the mean TRE were 5.7 ±1.3 mm, and 6.6 ±0.9 mm for face ICP and skin fiducial PBR, respectively. With regard to intraoperative cortical surface registration, SurfaceMI outperformed feature based PBR and vessel ICP with 1.7±1.8 mm for patient 1. For patient 2, the best result was achieved by using vessel ICP with 1.9±0.5 mm.
Development of antimicrobial peptide defenses of southern leopard frogs, Rana sphenocephala , against the pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Amphibian species face the growing threat of extinction due to the emerging fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which causes the disease chytridiomycosis. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced in granular glands of the skin are an important defense against this pathogen. Little is known about the ontogeny of AMP production or the impact of AMPs on potentially beneficial symbiotic skin bacteria. We show here that Rana (Lithobates) sphenocephala produces a mixture of four AMPs with activity against B. dendrobatidis, and we report the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of synthesized replicates of these four AMPs tested against B. dendrobatidis. Using mass spectrometry and protein quantification assays, we observed that R. sphenocephala does not secrete a mature suite of AMPs until approximately 12 weeks post-metamorphosis, and geographically disparate populations produce a different suite of peptides. Use of norepinephrine to induce maximal secretion significantly reduced levels of culturable skin bacteria.
Prolonged ganglionic facilitation and the positive afterpotential.

A study was made of the relationship between the prolonged changes of the positive afterpotential and ganglionic responses evoked by cholinomimetic agents which followed repetitive preganglionic stimulation. Preganglionic stimulation markedly enhanced postganglionic discharges evoked by ACh and other cholinomimetic agents. The enhancement of discharges which were sensitive to blockade by C6 occurred only following parameters of preganglionic stimulation which reduced the positive afterpotential. The degree of enhancement of C6-sensitive discharges evoked by ACh paralleled the degree of depression of the positive afterpotential. The time course of depression of the positive afterpotential compared well with that of the enhancement of C6-sensitive discharges. By contrast, post-tetanic enhancement of postganglionic firing evoked by ACh, which was sensitive to blockade by atropine, was not dependent upon alterations in the positive afterpotential. These results suggest a role for the positive afterpotential in the genesis of prolonged ganglionic facilitation.
Increased fatalities after motorcycle helmet law repeal: is it all because of lack of helmets?

BACKGROUND: During the last 10 years, the number of motorcycle riders in the United States has risen sharply. The corresponding increase in fatalities observed during this time may be because of the increase in riders, or because the number of states that mandate universal helmet use has decreased. We examined the effect of the repeal of Florida's helmet law in July 2000 to test the hypothesis that the increase in fatalities observed after repeal resulted from an increase in the number of motorcycle riders. METHODS: We identified all motorcycle fatalities (N = 197) in Miami-Dade county for a 3.5-year period before repeal (prelaw), and a similar period after repeal (postlaw), using police crash reports and medical examiner records. We compared the number of fatalities, frequency of helmet use in fatal crashes, and number of registered motorcycles in the two time periods. RESULTS: There was a decrease in helmet use from 80% to 33%, and an increase in motorcycle fatalities after repeal: 72 to 125. However, repeal was also associated with a rise in annual motorcycle registrations from 17,270 to 39,043. Fatality rates adjusted for numbers of registered motorcycles did not change significantly; 11.6 deaths per 10,000 motorcycles prelaw, and 12.5 deaths postlaw. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant rise in motorcycle fatalities after Florida's helmet law repeal, which appears to be associated with an increase in the number of motorcycle riders. Injury prevention efforts focusing on factors other than helmet use should be developed in light of continuing repeal of universal motorcycle helmet laws across the nation. Language: en
Postnatal increase in histone H1a in the rat pancreas.

Abstract Adult rat pancreas contains an unusually high amount of histone H1a; H1a H1 ratio = 0.27. Histone H1a is not detectable in embryonic or newborn rat pancreas. This histone begins to appear at about 1 week postnatally and reaches the adult level about 5 weeks after birth. There is an inverse relationship between the appearance of histone H1a and DNA synthesis, as indicated by the nuclear labeling index after [ 3 H]thymidine autoradiography.
Using electronically available inpatient hospital data for research.

Despite a push to create electronic health records and a plethora of healthcare data from disparate sources, there are no data from a single electronic source that provide a full picture of a patient’s hospital course. This paper describes a process to utilize electronically available inpatient hospital data for research. We linked several different sources of extracted data, including clinical, procedural, administrative, and accounting data, using patients’ medical record numbers to compile a cohesive, comprehensive account of patient encounters. Challenges encountered included (1) interacting with distinct administrative units to locate data elements; (2) finding a secure, central location to house the data; (3) appropriately defining health measures of interest; (4) obtaining and linking these data to create a usable format for conducting research; and (5) dealing with missing data. Although the resulting data set is incredibly rich and likely to prove useful for a wide range of clinical and comparative effectiveness research questions, there are multiple challenges associated with linking hospital data to improve the quality of patient care.
The Foundation-Institution Partnership: The Role of Institutionally Related Foundations in Public Higher Education.

Institutionally related foundations play an important role in helping public colleges and universities realize their aspirations to receive private philanthropic dollars. This chapter contains practical advice for maintaining a successful foundation and fostering a positive relationship between that organization and its host institution.
Induction and development of somatic embryos from cell suspension cultures of soybean

Glycine max (L.) Merr. (soybean) andGlycine soja Sieb. and Zucc. cell suspension cultures were grown and used as inoculum sources for growing callus on agar-solidified nutrient media. Concentrations and chemical forms of the growth regulators in liquid and solidified media were altered in an attempt to achieve in vitro plant regeneration. Numerous embryoids, particularly ofG. soja, were produced on basal nutrient media supplemented with 100 ppm casein hydrolysate, 0.1 μM abscisic acid, 2.25 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and 15 μM adenine or 0.46 μM kinetin. Often the roots of the embryoids elongated. This was enhanced in the presence of an inhibitor of gibberellin synthesis (1 to 20 μM Amo 1618). Callus recovered from aG. soja suspension culture produced one shoot structure when grown on a solid medium containing 0.2 μM Amo 1618 and 80 μM glutathione. The shoot structure consisted of two distinct buds, one producing two leaves. The shoot did not develop into a plant. Although regeneration of soybean plants was not achieved, these observations suggest that it may be achievable.
A LEADERSHIP STRATEGY FOR CHANGE: ATTRACTING AND RETAINING NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND UNIQUE STUDENT SERVICES

Northwestern Michigan College (NMC), Traverse City, MI, has an answer to the question, “How do we deal with the growing numbers of nontraditional adult learners returning to school?” An aging popul...
EVALUATION OF I-STAT PORTABLE CLINICAL ANALYZER IN A NEONATAL AND PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the Point-of-Care (POC) i-STAT system for measuring blood gases (pH, pC0 2 , p0 2 ) and whole blood electrolytes (sodium, Na + ; potassium, K + and ionized calcium, iCa 2+ ) in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Design and Methods: The i-STAT system was evaluated for imprecision, necessity of running quality control and accuracy. Comparison of patients' samples analyzed by the i-STAT system and the Ciba Corning 288 blood gas analyzer were performed. The reliability of the i-STAT system when performed by non-laboratory personnel was assessed. Results: The system was evaluated for imprecision and linearity using three concentrations of aqueous standards. Except for p0 2 , the %CVs were 2 , Na + ; K + and iCa 2+ ) at all the three concentrations. Using whole blood studies the precision data gave %CVs that were r = 0.99 for pH, pC0 2 , and p0 2 and 0.95 to 0.99 for Na + ; and K + ) with the exception of iCa 2+ ) ( r = 0.73). There was no significant difference in the results when operated by PICU/NICU nurses or laboratory personnel. A further study was made to assess whether routine quality control (QC) samples are necessary when using the i-STAT system. The regression analysis (slope and correlation coefficient) of the results from instruments run with and without QC samples gave results close to 1, indicating that there is no need to run additional quality control (QC). Conclusion: The POC testing analyzer i-STAT is a reliable alternative to the traditional blood gas analyzers and provides marginal improvement in turnaround time when compared with the service received from the PICU/NICU laboratory. Costs need to be carefully controlled.
Hemodynamic changes at the onset of spontaneous versus pacing-induced angina

To determine the origin of angina pectoris at rest hemodynamic monitoring was performed for 24 to 72 hours in 25 patients with unstable angina who had pacing-induced angina during cardiac catheterization. During the monitoring period, seven patients had spontaneous epidsodes of angina at rest that could be compared with the pain-free periods and periods of pacing-induced angina. At the onset of spontaneous angina, the patients had a significantly lower mean double product (P is less than 0.005) and triple product (P is less than 0.025) than at the onset of pacing-induced angina. The mean double product (heart rate x systolic blood pressure) was 9,411 +/- 2,815 mm Hg/min during pain-free rest, 10,635 +/- 2,587 at the onset of spontaneous angina and 16,623 +/- 3,904 during pacing-induced angina. The mean resting pain-free triple product (heart rate x systolic blood pressure x ejection time) was 3,023 +/- 703 and 3,536 +/- 931 mm Hg/sec per min during, respectively, pain-free rest and spontaneous angina, and 4,350 +/- 938 mm Hg/sec per min during pacing-induced angina. These marked differences in the double and triple products were associated with a mean increase in pulmonary arterial diastolic pressure (from 10.7 mm Hg at rest to 14 mm Hg) at the onset of both spontaneous and pacing-induced angina. Although indirect, these data suggest that transient changes in coronary blood flow, rather than changes in myocardial work, may be primarily responsible for spontaneous angina at rest in certain patients with the syndrome of unstable angina.
THE INTRINSIC QUALITATIVE PROPERTIES OF THE CLASSICAL OPTIMAL STOPPING PROBLEM ARE INVARIANT TO THE FUNCTIONAL FORM OF THE DISCOUNT FUNCTION

The intrinsic qualitative properties of a generic optimal stopping model are shown to be invariant to the functional form of the discount function. If the discount function is assumed to be a member of particular infinite parametric family—a family that includes the exponential and classical hyperbolic discount functions as special cases—an additional refutable comparative statics result is produced that holds for the entire family. Consequently, if one limits econometric tests of the model to its qualitative properties, one cannot determine the form of the discount function used by the decision maker. It is also shown that the only discount function that yields a time-consistent stopping rule is the exponential function with a constant rate of discount.
Self-Reported Seat Belt Use in Four Countries: A Telephone Survey

A telephone survey was conducted in four countries in November 1998 to compare drivers in the United States with those in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom regarding their attitudes toward seat belts and belt use laws. More than 90 percent of the 2251 respondents said they thought seat belts are effective, but self-reported belt use was significantly lower in the United States than in the other countries. Respondents in Australia and the United Kingdom had similar views about what they thought were important reasons for using seat belts and had the highest self-reported use. Reasons given for using belts by Canadian and US respondents were quite similar to one another, yet US respondents had significantly lower self-reported use rates, a difference thought to be due to vigorous enforcement of the law in Canada. US drivers were less likely than Australian and UK drivers to say they used belts out of habit, to avoid a ticket, or because it is required by law and more likely to say they used belts fo...
Consumer religious commitment's influence on ecocentric attitudes and behavior☆

Abstract A host of environmental issues are now of concern to many consumers, though efforts by marketing practitioners, researchers, and public policy officials to affect behavioral change among consumers have been marginal. Further, research investigating the influence of consumers' general religiosity as an antecedent to ecocentric attitudes and behaviors yields mixed results. In this study, the authors examine the antecedent role of a specific form of religiosity, intrapersonal religious commitment, on a specific environmental worldview, ecocentric attitude, and six wide-ranging environmental consumer behaviors from a socio-psychological viewpoint. Findings negate the long standing notion of a strictly negative relationship between the Judeo-Christian faith and disregard for the environment. Among Judeo-Christians, when age, gender, and urban/rural profile are controlled, intrapersonal religious commitment has no impact on ecocentric attitudes and behaviors. Thus, highly religious consumers appear to be no less receptive to pro-environmental messages or less likely to engage in environmentally friendly behaviors than other consumers. Consistent with prior research, ecocentric attitudes evidence a relatively weak link with various pro-environmental behaviors. This research has implications for marketing researchers and practitioners. Directions for future research are also provided.
Remote sensing the spatial distribution of crop residues

Management of plant litter or crop residues in agricultural fields is an important consideration for reducing soil erosion and increasing soil organic C. Current methods of quantifying crop residue cover are inadequate for characterizing the spatial variability of residue cover within fields and across large regions. Our objectives were to evaluate several spectral indices for measuring crop residue cover using ground-based and airborne hyperspectral data and to categorize soil tillage intensity in agricultural fields based on crop residue cover. Reflectance spectra of mixtures of crop residues, green vegetation, and soil were acquired over the 400- to 2500-nm wavelength region. High-altitude AVIRIS (Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) data were also acquired near Beltsville, MD, in May 2000. Broad absorption features near 2100 and 2300 nm in the reflectance spectra of crop residues were associated with cellulose and lignin. These features were not evident in the spectra of green vegetation and soils. Crop residue cover was linearly related to the cellulose absorption index, which was defined as the relative depth of the 2100-nm absorption feature. Other spectral indices for crop residue were calculated and evaluated. The best spectral indices were based on relatively narrow (10-50 nm) bands in the 2000- to 2400-nm region, were linearly related to crop residue cover, and correctly identified tillage intensity classes in >90% of test agricultural fields. Regional surveys of soil management practices that affect soil conservation and soil C dynamics may be feasible using advanced multispectral or hyperspectral imaging systems.
Note on the asymptotic decay of the numbers of percolation clusters

Abstract Renormalization group principles are used to argue that the Kunz-Souillard exponents are valid for all concentrations away from the percolation threshold, i.e. that the average numbers n s of clusters containing s sites each decay as log n s ∝ - s ζ ( s → ∞, p fixed), with ζ = 1 for all p below p c , and ζ = 1 - 1/ d for all p above p c in d dimensions.
Prediction of Poultry Meat Tenderness Using Razor Blade Shear, Allo-Kramer Shear, and Sarcomere Length

: This study was conducted to evaluate a new shearing method for the determination of poultry meat tenderness. Breast fillets were deboned at various postmortem times (0.25 to 24 h) to yield a vast array of tenderness levels. A trained descriptive panel was used to evaluate samples for attributes including initial hardness and chewdown hardness; instrumental measurements included Allo-Kramer (AK) and razor blade (RB) shear and laser sarcomere length determination. The RB shear method exhibited a higher correlation to sensory attributes than the AK method, suggesting that the new razor blade shear method is more advantageous in predicting poultry meat tenderness than the standard AK shear method. This new method not only has a higher sensory predictive value, but also requires shorter sample preparation time than the AK shear test because it is conducted on intact fillets.
Pilot Study of the Analytical Performance of the Pulsed Hollow Cathode Discharge Emission Source

Proper conditioning of the hollow cathode by sputtering is critical to the analytical performance of the hollow cathode. A pulsed discharge procedure was developed to condition the 1.5- × 5-mm stainless steel cathode. A scanning electron microscope was used to study the surface structure resulting from the conditioning. The resulting hollow bottom was bulb-shaped and the surface was mirror-like, very smooth, and shiny. The emission intensities from smooth cathodes were greater that those from the rough ones. The precision obtained here was 3-5% for Na, 5-8% for Li, and 4-10% for K. Three working curves for each element were made on different days with different cathodes that had been conditioned in the same manner for 4 h by sputtering. The three working curves virtually coincided when plotted in the same figure, demonstrating the precision and reproducibility from day to day of the hollow cathode discharge method as developed in this laboratory. The 3-σ detection limits calculated from slopes of working curves are 0.32 pg, 0.35 pg, and 3.2 pg for Na, Li, and K, respectively.
Anopheles culicifacies: Mating Behavior and Competitiveness in Nature of Males Carrying a Complex Chromosomal Aberration

Males of Anopheles culicifacies Giles carrying a complex chromosomal rearrangement in a laboratory adapted genetic background ( In-l/T-1 ) were released at a cattle compound in rural Punjab Province, Pakistan, to test their mating competitiveness (e) against both the released virgin male progeny of wild caught females (WC) and endemic (UM) males for released laboratory-adapted (KB) and WC females. When In-l/T-1 ♂ ♂, WC ♀ ♀ and KB ♀ â♀ were entrained on an aberrant insectary photoperiod, the In-l/T-1 ♂ ♂ were supercompetitive (e>l); however, when reared under a natural photoperiod, In-l/T-1 ♂ ♂ were equally competitive (e = 1). Throughout there was no significant difference in e estimated by either WC or KB females, indicating that an aberrant mating behavior had not been selected during colonization and insectary maintenance. Most released females mated in the immediate vicinity of the diurnal resting site during or just after the crepuscular egress. Few UM ♀ ♀, or WC ♀ ♀ released as pupae at a breeding site, were inseminated by In-l/T-1 ♂ ♂ indicating that some mating must occur elsewhere or at different times of the night.
AIDS Denialism and Public Health Practice

In this paper, we respond to AIDS denialist arguments that HIV does not cause AIDS, that antiretroviral drugs are not useful, and that there is no evidence of large-scale deaths from AIDS, and discuss the key implications of the relationship between AIDS denialism and public health practice. We provide a brief history of how the cause of AIDS was investigated, of how HIV fulfills Koch's postulates and Sir Bradford Hil's criteria for causation, and of the inconsistencies in alternatives offered by denialists. We highlight clinical trials as the standard for assessing efficacy of drugs, rather than anecdotal cases or discussions of mechanism of action, and show the unanimous data demonstrating antiretroviral drug efficacy. We then show how statistics on mortality and indices such as crude death rate, life expectancy, child mortality, and population growth are consistent with the high mortality from AIDS, and expose the weakness of statistics from death notification, quoted by denialists. Last we emphasize that when denialism influences public health practice as in South Africa, the consequences are disastrous. We argue for accountability for the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, the need to reform public health practice to include standards and accountability, and the particular need for honesty and peer review in situations that impact public health policy.
A comparison of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in the Department of Veterans Affairs and in the private sector in the State of Washington.

Abstract Coronary angioplasty is performed >1,000 times daily in a variety of health care settings in the public and private sectors in the USA. How outcomes for this procedure differ in the Department of Veterans Affairs and the private sector is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of coronary angioplasty performed in hospitals in the Department of Veterans Affairs and the State of Washington. This study used administrative data from the Department of Veterans Affairs patient treatment file (n = 8,326) and the State of Washington episode of illness file (n = 6,666) and included men who underwent coronary angioplasty in 1993 and 1994. Outcomes included (1) in-hospital mortality and mortality at 10 and 30 days after hospital admission, and (2) the use of coronary artery bypass surgery at similar intervals. Patients with a principal diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction were analyzed separately. Men in the Department of Veterans Affairs had more comorbid conditions than their counterparts in Washington State, and the length of hospital stay was longer in the former group. After using logistic regression to adjust for patient differences, mortality rates for the 2 groups of patients with acute myocardial infarction were similar, although bypass surgery was used more frequently in patients in Washington State. For patients without myocardial infarction, hospital and 10-day mortality did not differ with respect to health care system, and the use of bypass surgery subsequent to angioplasty was similar. In the Department of Veterans Affairs, most hospitals had low institutional caseloads ( 40% of Washington State hospitals performed ≥300 procedures per year. Although there were greatly differing institutional caseloads, mortality and the need for early bypass surgery were similar in the 2 systems.
Residues of Abate: analysis in mosquito larvae and larvicide suspensions by flame photometric gas chromatography.

Residues of Abate® ( O, O -dimethyl phosphorothioate O,O -diester with 4,4′-thiodiphenol) were determined in larvae of the southern house mosquito, Culex pipiens quinquefascialus Say, and in larvicide suspensions by gas chromatography at 260°C. The Melpar flame photometric detector, which responds with high specificity to phosphorus compounds, was used in conjunction with a water-cooled adapter designed by the authors to permit high-temperature operation of the detector. Recoveries of Abate from freshly prepared aqueous suspensions were essentially 100%, and those from groups of 100–500 mosquito larvae spiked with the insecticide before extraction averaged 99% Essentially no Abate « 2%) was lost from suspensions (0.10–10 ppm) after it stood for 16 days in open containers. A high proportion (42–57%) of the residue was strongly attached to the surfaces of the containers. Larvae exposed to such suspensions for 1–2 hours (100% mortality) contained 3–100 ppm of Abate. Glass beads coated with Abate and allowed to stand in water produced concentrations of 0.029±0.002 ppm in the supernatant at 1–16 days.
Flexible bacterial strains that oxidize arsenite in anoxic or aerobic conditions and utilize hydrogen or acetate as alternative electron donors.

Arsenic is a carcinogenic compound widely distributed in the groundwater around the world. The fate of arsenic in groundwater depends on the activity of microorganisms either by oxidizing arsenite (AsIII), or by reducing arsenate (AsV). Because of the higher toxicity and mobility of AsIII compared to AsV, microbial-catalyzed oxidation of AsIII to AsV can lower the environmental impact of arsenic. Although aerobic AsIII-oxidizing bacteria are well known, anoxic oxidation of AsIII with nitrate as electron acceptor has also been shown to occur. In this study, three AsIII-oxidizing bacterial strains, Azoarcus sp. strain EC1-pb1, Azoarcus sp. strain EC3-pb1 and Diaphorobacter sp. strain MC-pb1, have been characterized. Each strain was tested for its ability to oxidize AsIII with four different electron acceptors, nitrate, nitrite, chlorate and oxygen. Complete AsIII oxidation was achieved with both nitrate and oxygen, demonstrating the novel ability of these bacterial strains to oxidize AsIII in either anoxic or aerobic conditions. Nitrate was only reduced to nitrite. Different electron donors were used to study their suitability in supporting nitrate reduction. Hydrogen and acetate were readily utilized by all the cultures. The flexibility of these AsIII-oxidizing bacteria to use oxygen and nitrate to oxidize AsIII as well as organic and inorganic substrates as alternative electron donors explains their presence in non-arsenic-contaminated environments. The findings suggest that at least some AsIII-oxidizing bacteria are flexible with respect to electron-acceptors and electron-donors and that they are potentially widespread in low arsenic concentration environments.
JOINT DENSITY DEPENDENCE

We present a new multivariate model for describing jointly fluctuating, density-dependent populations. The model is a stochastic, multivariate version of a discrete-time logistic model that explicitly accounts for spatial variation of growth rate parameters and covariances of fluctuations between populations. Statistical methods for applying the model to time series data on population abundances are described in detail. We derive formulas for maximum-likelihood estimates of model parameters, and we develop hypothesis tests for various reduced model structures, such as density independence or zero covariance. The applicability of the model to any given data set can be thoroughly evaluated with diagnostic procedures. As examples, we apply the model to two population systems: rangeland grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in three physiographic regions of Montana, USA, and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in four tributaries of the Flathead River in Montana. The model and associated statistical methods have potentially important applications in conservation biology for describing metapopulations and for assessing joint jeopardy of multiple populations.
Linking calcineurin activity to leukemogenesis

Aberrant activation of the protein phosphatase calcineurin is found in various cancer types. Inhibition of calcineurin leads to a rapid clearance of leukemic cells and significantly improves animal survival in two mouse models of acute T lymphoblastic leukemia.
Image Processing Operations And Systems For Legal Applications: Part I

The requirements imposed upon image processing systems vary significantly as a function of the application. Imagery generated and used for legal purposes imposes needs for processing which typically are different from other disciplines where imagery is applied to the solution of problems. The basic operations by which imagery is manipulated are more similar than different from field-to-field; however, the combinations of functions applied to the imagery, and the purpose of the processed data or image, are what set each complete processing system apart. This series of papers will illustrate, by example and description of dedicated facilities, the most effective image processing operations used by the legal and law enforcement communities. The community's influence on system design has led to unique image processing operations; however, a combination of multivaried needs and a relatively limited application of image processing to "legal" problems place the state of this technology in an evolving mode. Feedback from the evolution has led to our prescription for the design of a digital image processing system for legal applications.
Ion-ion interactions in a polarized electron gas

Abstract Formally exact expressions have been derived for the response to a spin-dependent non-local pseudopotential and for the ion-ion interaction in a spin-polarized electron gas. These expressions have been compared to previously used expressions for these quantities and have been found to differ in several important ways. The improved expressions will make possible a quantitative investigation of the influence of a magnetic field on lattice properties of simple metals.
Inefficient Labor of Inefficient Capital? Corporate Diversification and Productivity Around the World

I study the relation between corporate diversification and labor productivity in a sample of over 600,000 firms from 89 countries. Across the entire sample, greater diversification is associated with significantly lower labor productivity. Contrary to theories emphasizing the inefficient use of labor in diversified firms, the negative relation between diversification and labor productivity is not stronger in countries with more-burdensome employment regulation. On the other hand, consistent with theories emphasizing the inefficient use of capital in diversified firms, the negative relation between diversification and productivity is significantly stronger in countries with better financial development.
Thoughts on embryo culture conditions.

This review discusses three topics: (i) the ‘back to nature’ and empirical optimization approaches to the design of chemically defined media for the culture of preimplantation embryos, (ii) the evolution of the simplex optimized family of media, and (iii) adaptation and stress in preimplantation embryos when placed in chemically defined media.
Biomedical Questions on Water Pollution Databases

A recent question on acid rain toxicity motivated this informal look at SDC's WATERLIT and DIALOG'S Water Resources Abstracts. Thc same question was Iormulated for comparison on BIOSIS. The data bases were examined for ease of access to the indexing through key citations. The scope of the two water databases is discussed from the perspective of biomedical queries.
5'-Methylthioadenosine phosphorylase-L. Substrate activity of 5'-deoxyadenosine with the enzyme from Sarcoma 180 cells.

Abstract 5′-Deoxy-5′-methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTA phosphorylase), an enzyme involved in the salvage of adenine moieties from 5′-deoxy-5′-methylthioadenosine (MTA) produced primarily during polyamine biosynthesis, is present in Sarcoma 180 cells (0.0026 ± 0.0002 μ M units/mg cytosol protein). 5′-Deoxyadenosine (5′-dAdo), an adenosine analog previously thought not to be metabolizable, has been shown [D. Hunting and J.F. Henderson, Biochem . Pharmac . 27 , 2163 (1978)] to have a number of biochemical effects on Ehrlich ascites cells. We have now found that 5′-dAdo is a substrate for the MTA phosphorylase from Sarcoma 180 cells, yielding free adenine and 5-deoxyribose-1-phosphate. The reaction was reversible and totally dependent upon phosphate. Evidence that MTA phosphorylase is responsible for 5′-dAdo phosphorylase activity includes the following: (1) Sarcoma 180 MTA phosphorylase preparations did not show additive rates of adenine production in the presence of saturating concentrations of both 5′-dAdo and MTA; (2) double-reciprocal plots of the rates of adenine formation from 5′-dAdo by Sarcoma 180 enzyme preparations in the presence of MTA displayed a pattern characteristic of alternative, competing substrates; (3) the rate of depletion of 5′-dAdo by Sarcoma 180 preparations was inhibited by the presence of MTA; (4) the K i value of a competitive inhibitor of Sarcoma 180 MTA phosphorylase, 5′-deoxy-5′-chloroformycin, was the same when either MTA or 5′-dAdo was employed as substrate; and (5) the apparent K m values of phosphate for both MTA and 5′-dAdo phosphorylase activities were identical (3.5mM). The K m of Sarcoma 180 MTA phosphorylase for MTA is 4 μM; the K m for 5′-dAdo is 23 μM ( V max relative to MTA = 180 per cent). Incubation of Sarcoma 180 cells with either 5′-dAdo or MTA caused profound elevations of adenine nucleotides, as well as an inhibition of 5-phosphoribosyl-l-pyrophosphate (PRPP) accumulation. The reaction of 5′-dAdo with MTA phosphorylase to yield free adenine, which is then salvaged to adenine nucleotides, can account for many of the previously reported biochemical effects of 5′-dAdo, such as inhibitions of PRPP accumulation, purine de novo synthesis, and glycolysis that have previously been attributed to the unmetabolized nucleoside. The other product of this reaction, 5-deoxyribose-l-phosphate, may also contribute to these effects.
Neurogenic hypercholesterolemia: influence of autonomic drugs.

Abstract Eleven substances capable of either augmenting or depleting the α- and β-adrenergic capacities of the autonomic nervous system were administered to rats exhibiting hypothalamic hypercholesterolemia and to normal controls. Only the β-adrenergic blocking agents propranolol and possibly 6-OH dopamine were observed to alter (raise) the serum cholesterol concentration, and this occurred in both experimental and control animals. Neither atropine, nor the serotonin-depleting agent, p -chlorophenylalanine, nor the serotonin-antagonist cyproheptadine, were observed to alter serum cholesterol level. Such absence of effect was also noted with metaraminol, phenoxybenzamine, isoproterenol, epinephrine, reserpine, and a-methyl tyrosine.
POLICY MOTIVATION AND PARTY DIFFERENCES IN A DYNAMIC SPATIAL MODEL OF PARTY COMPETITION

We present a model of party competition that produces more realistic patterns of results than those often emphasized in the literature. Reversing Downs (1957), we assume that parties win elections in order to formulate policies, rather than formulate policies in order to win elections. Voters are modeled first as having perfect information about candidate positions, and then under conditions of uncertainty. In simulation experiments we show that policy motivation and voter uncertainty can bring about persistent and predictable party differences in sequential majority rule elections. As the degree of voter certainty decreases, parties diverge towards their optima, whereas increases in voter certainty draw parties towards cycles in which party positions vary, but predictable issue stances are maintained on the average.
Rationale and design of a randomized controlled, clinical trial investigating a comprehensive exercise stimulus for improving mobility disability outcomes in persons with multiple sclerosis

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examines the effect of a comprehensive exercise training stimulus on physiological function and mobility disability (i.e., problems walking) in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have walking impairment. This trial will recruit 30 persons with MS across central Illinois who have an Expanded Disability Status Scale score between 4.0 and 6.0, and those persons will be randomized into either the intervention or control arm of the study; the participants will not be blinded regarding group assignment. The intervention will incorporate equal amounts of aerobic, resistance, and balance modes of training delivered 3 times/week with a gradual progression of duration and intensity across a 6-month period. The control will involve stretching along with minimal muscle strengthening stimuli and will be delivered on the same frequency and duration. The primary outcomes will be clinical, kinematic, patient-rated, and physiological measures of mobility disability. The secondary outcomes will be measures of physiological function including aerobic capacity, muscle strength, and balance. This study will lay the foundation for the design of a subsequent Phase II or Phase III RCT by (a) providing effect sizes that can be included in a power analysis for sample size estimation and (b) investigating whether aerobic capacity, muscle strength, and balance are possible factors associated with the beneficial effect of exercise training on walking outcomes. Taken as a whole, the proposed study and our subsequent research agenda has the potential for advancing the management of mobility disability using exercise training in the 2nd stage of MS.
Aperture modeling using a hybrid method for RFI analysis

A hybrid method is proposed for radio frequency interference (RFI) prediction of a metal enclosure with an aperture on the top wall. The structure is divided into several segments. While the fields in rectangular segments are described by cavity model, the segments with apertures are modeled by the commercial finite element solver (HFSS). Tangential field continuities along the common boundaries of different segments are enforced by the voltages and currents of boundary ports. Good agreement has been achieved between the hybrid method and full wave simulation.