cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CEREBRAL ENERGY METABOLISM DURING THE ONSET AND RECOVERY FROM HALOTHANE ANESTHESIA

Halothane (1%) was administered to twenty-two gram female Swiss-Albino mice which were sacrificed at times of 15 seconds, 45 seconds, 79 seconds and 5 minutes. Additional animals were exposed for 5 minutes and sacrificed 10 minutes after removal from halothane (recovery). Selected energy metabolites were measured in 100-500 nanogram samples from the inferior colliculus and the ascending reticular activating system. Results from this study showed an increase in glucose levels at 79 seconds, when the animals first lost their righting response. The glucose increase was similar in the inferior colliculus and reticular formation. ATP and phosphocreatine were increased at 45 seconds, and during the sleep period in the ascending reticular activating system, and returned to normal during the recovery period. In the inferior colliculus. ATP was similarly increased from 45 seconds throughout the time course, whereas phosphocreatine was elevated at 79 seconds, and during recovery only. These data suggest a decrease in utilization of energy metabolites during halothane anesthesia, both in cells of the inferior colliculus and ascending reticular activating system.
Arthroscopic surgery for treatment of closed lock

This study evaluates the first 51 consecutive cases treated for limitation of mandibular movement due to closed lock. Eighty joints (22 unilateral, 29 bilateral) were treated with arthroscopic surgery. The mean follow-up was 29.4 weeks, with a range of 6 to 77 weeks. These results showed an immediate improvement after arthroscopy followed by a more gradual improvement during the next 6 months, with a plateau in improvement thereafter. All cases, unilateral and bilateral, generally reached the same level of opening.
Improving understanding of early behavioral indicators of lumbosacral disease in working dogs using 3D visualization of skeletal movements during working tasks: Feasibility study

Abstract An improved understanding of the early behavioral indicators of lumbosacral disease in working dogs may allow earlier interventions and help reduce premature retirement because of disability. However, recognition of early behavioral indicators can be challenging in stoic, high-drive working dogs because they often mask clinical signs. The purpose of this feasibility study was to develop a technique for visualizing canine skeletal movements during working tasks and to describe veterinary clinical specialist opinions on the utility of the visualization technique. Three detection-trained police dogs with a recent history of working task deficits and suspected lumbosacral disease were recruited for the study. Conventional and motion capture video recordings were acquired as dogs performed walking and search high working tasks. Whole-body computed tomography (CT) scans were acquired using clinical multislice CT scanners. Image data from motion capture recordings and whole-body CT scans were analyzed and merged. Three-dimensional (3D) computer animation video clips of skeletal movements were created for each dog and each task, using multiple viewing angle perspectives. Interactive meetings with veterinary clinical specialist reviewers were used to refine point placements for the final renderings. Veterinary clinical specialists reviewed final 3D animation movie clips and recorded their opinions on the utility for the visualization technique. Veterinary clinical specialists reported that the computer animations helped them recognize behavioral characteristics that they had not initially noticed in physical examinations. Potential applications for this visualization technique include creating educational training aids for veterinary students, owners, and handlers; assisting veterinarians in planning rehabilitative treatments; and assisting researchers in developing computer models for biomechanical analyses. Future controlled prospective studies are needed in a large number of normal and affected working dogs to improve accuracy of the visualization technique and test the effect of the technique on observer performance.
Tunnelling in difficult ground — Swelling behaviour and identification of swelling rocks

This brief review first describes typical swelling phenomena in underground openings and then discusses in detail the underlying swelling mechanisms. Mechanical, osmotic and intracrystalline swelling in argillaceous ground, as well as hydration of anhydrite are described. The fact that many of these mechanisms interact and, particularly, that swelling and squeezing may occur simultaneously is emphasized. The paper concludes with a few comments on implications on analysis, design and construction.
Quantifying the potential impact of land cover changes due to sea-level rise on storm surge on lower Texas coast bays

Abstract In this study we investigated the impacts of potential changes of land cover due to sea-level rise (SLR) on storm surge (i.e., the rise of water above normal sea level, namely mean-sea level and the astronomical tide, caused by hurricane winds and pressure) response inside bays on the lower Texas coast. We applied a hydrodynamic and wave model (ADCIRC + SWAN) forced by hurricane wind and pressure fields to quantify the importance of SLR-induced land cover changes, considering its impacts by changing bottom friction and the transfer of wind momentum to the water column, on the peak surge inside coastal bays. The SLR increments considered, 0.5 m to 2.0 m, significantly impacted the surge response inside the bays. The contribution of land cover changes due to SLR to the surge response, on average, ranged from a mean surge increase of 2% (SLR of 0.5 m) to 15% (SLR of 2.0 m), in addition to the SLR increments. The increase in surge response strongly depended on storm condition, with larger increases for more intense storms, and geographical location. Although land cover changes had little impact on the surge increase for SLR increments lower than 1.0 m, intense storms resulted in surge increase of up to 10% even for SLR below 1.0 m, but in most cases, the geometry changes were the major factor impacting the surge response due to SLR. We also found a strong relationship between changes in bottom friction and the surge response intensification; demonstrating the importance of considering land cover changes in coastal regions that are highly susceptible to SLR when planning for climate change.
Moving: Its Impact on the Child

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - Vol. 53 - N° 2 - p. 138-140
Customer focused health-care performance instruments: making a case for local measures.

In the face of increasing pressure to improve patient satisfaction, the health‐care industry must continue to seek improved methods to measure the effects of its continuous improvement efforts. While measurement instruments in this area abound, most are global in perspective and inflexible in form, sometimes leading to less than optimally germane outputs. Patient satisfaction information is critically important to the health‐care provider, and this paper presents the results provided by an instrument that was locally designed to provide the most utile aggregation and presentation of patient satisfaction information for individual health‐care providers. These results provide substantial evidence to support the notion that local, rather than global, measurement instruments are needed to provide the most relevant and useful results when assessing patient satisfaction as part of a continuous improvement effort.
Assisted Performance and Teacher Preparation in an Urban School

(1997). Assisted Performance and Teacher Preparation in an Urban School. Action in Teacher Education: Vol. 18, Current Issues in Teacher Education: Learning to Teach, pp. 83-87.
High-density lipoprotein binding to guinea-pig hepatic membranes. Comparison of guinea-pig and human ligands

Abstract Human and guinea-pig apo-E-free HDL were incubated with isolated guinea-pig hepatic membranes at 4 and 37 °C to determine the effects of temperature and heterologous systems on the equilibrium parameters of HDL binding. Receptor mediated HDL binding was highest at 37°C for both lipoproteins. At 4°C, a higher affinity constant ( K d ) was observed when guinea-pig HDL was the ligand relative to human HDL; in contrast, both HDL preparations had similar K d values at 37°C. Calculated binding and receptor number ( B max ) were higher at both temperatures when guinea-pig HDL was the ligand. These results demonstrate a significant species difference in HDL binding to hepatic membrane which is partially temperature-dependent.
A computational model of fibroblast and macrophage spatial/temporal dynamics in foreign body reactions

The implantation of medical devices often triggers several immune responses, one kind of which is categorized as foreign body reactions. It is well established that macrophages and many other cells participate in the complex processes of foreign body reactions, and cause severe inflammations and fibrotic capsule formation in surrounding tissues. However, the detailed mechanisms of macrophage responses, recruitment and activation, in foreign body reactions are not totally understood. In the meantime, mathematical models have been proposed to systematically decipher the behavior of this complex system of multiple cells, proteins and biochemical processes in wound healing responses. Based on these early works, this study introduces a mathematical model in two spatial dimensions to investigate the transient behavior of macrophages, fibroblasts and their interactions during the formation of fibrotic tissue. We find that the simulation results are consistent with the experimental observations. These findings support that the model can reveal quantitative insights for studying foreign body reaction processes.
A semi-classical trace formula for Schrödinger operators

LetSℏ=−ℏΔ+V, withV smooth. If 0<E2<lim infV(x), the spectrum ofSℏ nearE2 consists (for ℏ small) of finitely-many eigenvalues,λj(ℏ). We study the asymptotic distribution of these eigenvalues aboutE2 as ℏ→0; we obtain semi-classical asymptotics for $$\sum\limits_j {f\left( {\frac{{\sqrt {\lambda _j (\hbar )} - E}}{\hbar }} \right)} $$ with\(\hat f \in C_0^\infty \), in terms of the periodic classical trajectories on the energy surface\(B_E = \left\{ {\left| \xi \right|^2 + V(x) = E^2 } \right\}\). This in turn gives Weyl-type estimates for the counting function\(\# \left\{ {j;\left| {\sqrt {\lambda _j (\hbar )} - E} \right| \leqq c\hbar } \right\}\). We make a detailed analysis of the case when the flow onBE is periodic.
Retrospective Evaluation of the Clinical and Radiographic Risk Factors Associated With Severe Pulmonary Hemorrhage in First-Line Advanced, Unresectable Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Carboplatin and Paclitaxel Plus Bevacizumab

Purpose Severe (grade ≥ 3) pulmonary hemorrhage (PH) in advanced non–small-cell lung cancer was observed in two prospective, randomized, phase II (N = 99) and phase III (N = 878) trials of bevacizumab plus carboplatin and paclitaxel. Retrospective case-control and cohort analyses were conducted to identify associated radiographic and clinical risk factors for PH. Patients and Methods Six patients with PH from the phase II trial, 15 potential PH patients with hemorrhage at any site from the phase III trial, and their matched controls were evaluated with review of baseline and on-treatment radiographs by an independent radiology facility, blinded to patient/control status. Patients with severe (grade ≥ 3) PH from each trial were matched with up to three controls based on sex, age group, histology (phase II), or sex and age group (phase III). Results Seven PH patients in the phase III trial were identified as severe PH. Six of the patients were early onset (occurred < 150 days of initiating bevacizumab) and ...
Contingencies of environmental justice: the case of individual mobility and Grenoble’s Low-Emission Zone

Low-emission zones (LEZs) are core urban areas where vehicles that are deemed especially polluting are prohibited, in the hope of reducing the population’s exposure to outdoor air pollution. LEZs have proliferated in Europe during the past decade. While an emerging body of literature considers LEZs’ impacts on pollution, studies thus far have not tackled LEZs’ impacts on mobility. This article uses household-travel survey data to assess how a projected LEZ in Grenoble, France could affect individuals’ mobility, specifically enquiring whether or not the impact would be socially differentiated and might constitute a social injustice. Four likely scenarios are considered and logistic regressions show that, indeed, the probability that people will be affected by the LEZ is related to their social group. However, interpretations in terms of social justice may vary, depending on the reference population considered and hypotheses regarding the reduction of pollution exposure.
Facilitated phosphatidylserine (PS) flip-flop and thrombin activation using a synthetic PS scramblase

A cationic steroid with a hydrogen-bonding pocket that has an affinity for anionic phospholipid headgroups was synthesized and shown to strongly promote the translocation or flip-flop of a fluorescent, C(6)NBD-labeled phosphatidylserine probe (C(6)NBD-PS) across vesicle membranes. In addition, the synthetic PS scramblase increases the levels of endogenous PS on the surface of erythrocytes as monitored by flow cytometry analysis of annexin V-FITC binding. The PS scrambling effect is enhanced when the cells are pretreated with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), an inhibitor of the endogenous aminophospholipid flippase. The combination of NEM and synthetic PS scramblase enhances the ability of erythrocytes to promote the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin by a factor of 4. An analogous cationic steroid with a smaller binding pocket has no measurable PS translocation activity, a result that is attributed to its inability to sufficiently diminish the hydrophilicity of the multiply charged PS headgroup.
Technology and ocean-scape: Defining the deep sea in mid-nineteenth century

The ocean's profound inaccessibility makes it impossible to comprehend except through the mediation of technology. The first investigators to explore the great depths were hydrographers whose work was animated by mid‐nineteenth century growth of political, economic, and cultural interest in the oceans. While submarine telegraphy certainly boosted ocean science, interest in this field derived first from commercial concerns related to whaling and shipping as well as the intellectual pursuits of physical geography and questions about the existence of life at great depths. Hydrographers’ developing conception of the oceanic environment never represented a clear translation from technology. Dramatic changes in the understanding of the shape of the deep‐sea floor testified to the complexity of interaction between sounding machines, methods, and interpretations of depth. The shifting image of the sea floor not only reflected increasingly accurate measurements, but also mirrored shifting human motivations for stu...
Realia Found in Certain Spanish Textbooks Used in Massachusetts' High Schools

Author's Summary.— This study aims to discover what realia concerning Hispanic culture are found in several Spanish textbooks frequently used in high school classes. The character of these realia determines what supplementary material needs to be presented in class so as to offer a balanced picture of Hispanic culture.)
Two issues in using mixtures of polynomials for inference in hybrid Bayesian networks

We discuss two issues in using mixtures of polynomials (MOPs) for inference in hybrid Bayesian networks. MOPs were proposed by Shenoy and West for mitigating the problem of integration in inference in hybrid Bayesian networks. First, in defining MOP for multi-dimensional functions, one requirement is that the pieces where the polynomials are defined are hypercubes. In this paper, we discuss relaxing this condition so that each piece is defined on regions called hyper-rhombuses. This relaxation means that MOPs are closed under transformations required for multi-dimensional linear deterministic conditionals, such as Z=X+Y, etc. Also, this relaxation allows us to construct MOP approximations of the probability density functions (PDFs) of the multi-dimensional conditional linear Gaussian distributions using a MOP approximation of the PDF of the univariate standard normal distribution. Second, Shenoy and West suggest using the Taylor series expansion of differentiable functions for finding MOP approximations of PDFs. In this paper, we describe a new method for finding MOP approximations based on Lagrange interpolating polynomials (LIP) with Chebyshev points. We describe how the LIP method can be used to find efficient MOP approximations of PDFs. We illustrate our methods using conditional linear Gaussian PDFs in one, two, and three dimensions, and conditional log-normal PDFs in one and two dimensions. We compare the efficiencies of the hyper-rhombus condition with the hypercube condition. Also, we compare the LIP method with the Taylor series method.
Exacerbation of hereditary hepatic porphyria by surreptitious ingestion of an unusual provacative agent--a mouthwash preparation.

EXACERBATIONS of acute intermittent porphyria are provoked by many commonly used drugs known to stimulate hepatic porphyrin-heme synthesis. In the patient described below, surreptitious ingestion of a seemingly innocuous agent — a mouthwash preparation — appeared to precipitate acute attacks of this disease. Case Report A 48-year-old woman known to have acute intermittent porphyria was admitted to the Rockefeller University Hospital in severe clinical crisis in 1970. Urinary δ-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen levels were highly elevated, and erythrocyte uroporphyrinogen synthetase activity was diagnostic for this genetic disease.1 , 2 She responded to therapy and was discharged within a month. A series of . . .
Enhancing The Performance of Membrane Introduction Mass Spectrometry by Organic Carrier and Liquid Chromatographic Separation

Abstract A method of membrane introduction mass spectrometry with liquid chromatographic separation (LC/MIMS) for the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water has been developed. The method not only inherited all the advantages of membrane introduction mass spectrometry by flow-injection analysis (FIA/MIMS), but also expanded the application of MIMS to the determination of compounds with identical quantitation ions. Because the quantitation by LC/MIMS is based on two-dimensional identification (retention time (tr) and mass-to-charge ratio ( m z )), it provides a tangible approach to the analysis of VOCs in complex aqueous samples. In this work, a C18 column and a mobile phase (methanol/water) were used for chromatographic separation. A mixture of eighteen VOCs was determined within 28 min. The method has linear dynamic ranges of 3–4 orders of magnitude and sub-ppb-level detection limits. In comparison with the EPA method 524.2 (a purge-and-trap GC/MS method), it requires less analysis time and no sample pretreatment.
The relationship of glial fibrillary acidic protein to the shape, motility, and differentiation of human astrocytoma cells

Abstract Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a protein largely limited to astrocytes, was studied in relation to the shape, motility, and differentiation and malignancy of astrocytoma cells in tissue culture by use of time-lapse photography and the immunoperoxidase method. A relationship was observed between the shape of astrocytes and the distribution of GFAP. Spindle-shaped cells showed abundant GFAP in the cell body and processes. In round or polyhedral cells without well developed processes the GFAP was largely perinuclear. As processes developed, GFAP extended out from the nucleus iri dense parallel arrays that radiated into the developing processes. Fully differentiated cells with stellate shape had abundant GFAP throughout. A relationship was also observed between the motility of astrocytes and GFAP. Stellate-shaped cells, showing paucity of locomotion and relatively rigid postures of processes, contained an abundance of GFAP which tended to form dense parallel arrays extending into the processes during their development. Spindle-shaped cells with extending and retracting processes and active migration also contained an abundance of GFAP but not organized into parallel arrays. Bulbous dilatations at the tips of processes (growth cones) contained abundant GFAP. There was also abundant GFAP in the intermittent dilatations along the processes of stellate cells. In contrast to these observations, a retraction of processes, a high degree of plasticity (undulating motion) and multidirectional locomotion were often associated with a paucity of GFAP in less differentiated cells. We hypothesize that GFAP filaments may be inhibitory to great plasticity of motion but not to extension-retraction movements. During mitosis GFAP was sparse at the spindle and in intercellular bridges. Colcemid caused GFAP to disappear from processes and peripheral parts of the cell and to become concentrated near the nucleus. In cultures derived from malignant tumors, undifferentiated and large multinucleated cells usually showed sparsity of GFAP, but occasional well differentiated stellate or spindle-shaped cells containing abundant GFAP were seen. Conversely, although cultures derived from benign tumors may have scattered less well differentiated cells, the differentiated cells with well developed processes were most densely stained and account for the high concentration of GFAP in tissue from these tumors.
Prosopis pubescens (Screw Bean Mesquite) Seedlings are Hyperaccumulators of Copper

Due to health reasons, toxic metals must be removed from soils contaminated by mine tailings and smelter activities. The phytoremediation potential of Prosopis pubescens (screw bean mesquite) was examined by use of inductively-coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe ultrastructural changes of parenchymal cells of leaves in the presence of copper. Elemental analysis was used to localize copper within leaves. A 600-ppm copper sulfate exposure to seedlings for 24 days resulted in 31,000 ppm copper in roots, 17,000 ppm in stems, 11,000 in cotyledons and 20 ppm in the true leaves. For a plant to be considered a hyperaccumulator, the plant must accumulate a leaf-to-root ratio <1. Screw bean mesquite exposed to copper had a leaf-to-root ratio of 0.355 when cotyledons were included. We showed that P. pubescens grown in soil is a hyperaccumulator of copper. We recommend that this plant should be field tested.
Cystoscopy at the time of ureteral reimplantation for primary vesicoureteral reflux: is it necessary? Incidence of undetected anomalies and cost.

Objectives. To evaluate the impact on the planned procedure and associated cost of cystoscopy performed immediately before the surgical repair of vesicoureteral reflux. Cystoscopy is commonly performed at the time of ureteroneocystostomy to rule out a previously unsuspected anomaly such as ureterocele or ureteral duplication. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the results of preoperative voiding cystourethrograms and ultrasound studies performed on 128 patients who underwent ureteral reimplantation for primary vesicoureteral reflux between 1994 and 2000. Radiographic findings were compared with observations made at cystoscopy and reimplantation to determine the rate of unsuspected ureterocele or duplication in the presence of a radiologic evaluation considered adequate by the operating surgeon and/or radiologist. We then performed an itemized analysis to determine the cost cystoscopy contributed to the procedure. Results. Of the 128 patients, 1 (0.7%) was found to have a small, undiagnosed ureterocele at cystoscopy. A review of this patient’s preoperative evaluation revealed that her ultrasound examination was incomplete, lacking views of the bladder. At our institution, cystoscopy increased the total direct and indirect operating room costs of this procedure by 16.2%, adding $123.77 to the original cost of $762.97. Conclusions. Routine cystoscopic examination before ureteral reimplantation in the setting of an adequate preoperative radiologic evaluation yields little diagnostic information. In this series, it did not have an impact on the surgical procedure to be performed but did add significantly to the cost. Cystoscopy before ureteral reimplantation for primary reflux should only be considered in those children with suspicious or inadequate radiologic studies.
Categorical perception of nonspeech sounds by 2-month-old infants

According to recent investigations, adult listeners perceive rise-time differences in both speech and nonspeech stimuli in a categorical manner (Cutting & Rosner, 1974). Adults labeled sawtooth-wave stimuli as either plucked or bowed. The present study uses the high-amplitude sucking technique to explore the 2-month-old infant’s perception of rise-time differences for sawtooth stimuli. Infants discriminated rise-time differences which marked off the different nonspeech categories, but did not discriminate equal differences within either category. Thus, the present study shows that infants, like adults, can perceive nonspeech stimuli in a categorical manner.
Presidential address: Thirty years of progress and problems in clinical neurology

Research has transformed clinical neurology in the past thirty years, but we are faced with a paradox. Advances in basic sciences and better training for clinical investigators have accelerated the practical application of new knowledge. Now, just when neurological sciences are moving so rapidly, economic and other problems have threatened clinical investigation. It will take ingenuity and steadfast effort to continue research that is directly related to neurological diseases.
On the metabolism of quinoline and isoquinoline: possible molecular basis for differences in biological activities

Quinoline is a hepatocarcinogen in mice and rats, a mutagen in Salmonella typhimurium, and induces unscheduled DNA synthesis in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes. In contrast, isoquinoline has not been shown to be genotoxic. The metabolites of quinoline and isoquinoline, as formed in vitro with rat liver homogenate, were identified to investigate possible molecular bases for the differences in their biological activity. The ethyl acetate extractable metabolites of quinoline and isoquinoline were analyzed directly by high pressure liquid chromatography and, after silylation, by capillary gas chromatography. The major metabolite of quinoline was 5,6-dihydroxy-5,6-dihydroquinoline. Lesser amounts of 2- and 3-hydroxyquinoline and quinoline-N-oxide were also identified as metabolites. 1-, 4- and 5-Hydroxyiso-quinoline and isoquinoline-N-oxide were detected as metabolites of isoquinoline. 5,6-Dihydroxy-5,6-dihydroiso-quinoline was detected as only a minor metabolite. This difference in the extent to which these isomers are ultimately metabolized to dihydrodiols may be associated with their differences in biological activity. Quinoline, 4-methylquinoline and 7-methylquinoline were bioassayed as tumor initiators on the skin of Sencar mice. While 4-methylquinoline was at least as potent a tumor initiator as quinoline, 7-methylquinoline was not significantly tumorigenic in this assay. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that formation of the 5,6-epoxide of quinoline is associated with its metabolic activation to a tumorigen.
Carbonic anhydrase induction in euryhaline crustaceans is rate-limited at the post-transcriptional level

The transfer of euryhaline crustaceans from full-strength seawater to low salinity results in both a rapid up-regulation of carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1) mRNA and a slow induction of CA activity. There is a delay of several days between the two processes, which is attributed to the time required to synthesize new enzyme. These delays may also be due to limitations in the cellular uptake of Zn, which is a required post-translational active site modification to CA. To investigate these processes, the euryhaline crabs, Callinectes sapidus and Carcinus maenas, were acclimated to salinities below their isosmotic points (22.5 and 25 ppt, respectively) for 7 days to activate the physiological and molecular mechanisms of osmoregulation. CA mRNA increased 90-fold in C. sapidus and 2-fold in C. maenas within 6h; whereas it took 48 h for the initial increases in CA activity (120% and 31%), and 4 to 7 days for new acclimated levels (300% and 100%, respectively). Crabs were then transferred to lower salinities (10 and 15 ppt) to induce further CA activity and to determine if previous increases in CA mRNA reduced the time required for subsequent CA induction. Additionally, the expression of the Zn transporter ZIP1 was examined in C. sapidus at 35 and 22.5 ppt. In both species, prior CA mRNA elevation failed to accelerate the rate of CA induction. Levels of CA mRNA did not change in either crab following transfer from intermediate to low salinity. Taken together, these results show that the timecourse of CA induction at low salinity is not limited by the expression of CA mRNA, but by the synthesis of new enzyme from an existing pool of mRNA. No increases in ZIP1 expression occurred at low salinity, therefore these delays may be due to the limits of cellular Zn uptake.
The Effectiveness of Parent-Implemented Language Interventions: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this meta-analysis was to systematically evaluate the effects of parent-implemented language interventions on the language skills of children between 18 and 60 months of age ...
Magnetocentrifugally Driven Flows from Young Stars and Disks. V. Asymptotic Collimation into Jets

We consider the asymptotic behavior of magnetocentrifugally driven X-winds, taking into proper account the pressure balance across the interface between the open stellar field lines of the dead zone devoid of matter and the open field lines of the wind. At large distances from the source the outflow collimates into jets along the rotation axis. Being almost cylindrically symmetric even close to the source of the outflow, the density distribution appears more jetlike than the collection of streamlines, which always contains a few members that skim over the surface of the disk.
Gender differences in the accuracy of self-evaluations of performance

Research has shown that gender differences in self-perceptions exist. However, interpretational ambiguities make it impossible to determine whether these gender differences are due to the operation of biases. The present research investigated whether gender differences in biased selfperceptions exist by assessing the accuracy of posttask self-evaluations of performance. In accordance with self-consistency theory, it was hypothesized that Ss' expectancies affect their posttask self-evaluations. For example, men who generally have high expectancies on masculine-gendertyped tasks were hypothesized to evidence overly positive self-evaluations. Women, who generally hold low expectancies on masculine tasks, were hypothesized to hold overly negative self-evaluations. The results confirmed that self-consistency tendencies can partially explain self-perception biases. The implications of these findings for women's achievement behavior and self-confidence are discussed.
Sympatric Relationships of the Kangaroo Rats, Dipodomys merriami and Dipodomys agilis

Dipodomys merriami collinus and Dipodomys agilis cabezonae are two heteromyid rodents that occur in partial sympatry on the western edge of the Colorado Desert in California. Activity patterns, interspecific behavior and water requirements were investigated in the laboratory and correlated with the relative distributions of these species in the field. D. m. collinus and D. a. cabezonae were trapped in a vegetation cline along an altitudinal topographic gradient. There was a reversal of relative abundance of these two species along this cline. This study revealed apparent subspecific differences in the ability of D. agilis to produce concentrated urine, but no apparent differences under the midly stressful environmental conditions were noted between D. agilis and D. merriami .
Insights from community ecology into the role of enemy release in causing invasion success: the importance of native enemy effects

The enemy release hypothesis (ERH) predicts that the success of invasive species is caused by reduced enemy pressure in species’ introduced ranges. The ERH is a highly-cited explanation for invasion success, yet rigorous evidence is lacking for most species and ecosystems. Most evidence comes from observations of enemies in native and introduced ranges. These studies assess one aspect of the ERH—“enemy loss.” They do not provide a direct test of the ERH and overlook the assumption of “native enemy effects.” This is a critical limitation as enemy release will not occur if enemies do not affect species in their native ranges, even if enemy loss occurs. Biogeographical experiments, providing a direct test of the ERH, are largely restricted to terrestrial plants. We present a synthesis of community ecology and invasion biology studies, including a novel meta-analysis of native enemy effects, to assess the potential for release for species in different taxonomic groups and ecosystems. We suggest that species that are subject to strong enemy effects in their native range will have a high potential for enemy release. We found that native enemy effects were stronger in aquatic systems than in terrestrial systems. They were particularly weak for terrestrial plants; and strong for marine organisms, and freshwater plants. Studies are needed for species that have strong potential for release, such as for aquatic invasive species. Alternative explanations should be explored for invasive species that are not affected by enemies in their native range, and future studies should emphasize native enemy effects rather than only enemy loss.
Proadrenomedullin-Derived Peptides

Posttranslational processing of the adrenomedullin gene product results in the formation of at least two biologically active peptides, adrenomedullin (AM) and proadrenomedullin N-20 terminal peptide (PAMP). Produced predominantly in the vasculature, both peptides are potent hypotensive agents, albeit via unique mechanisms of action. The gene is transcribed in a variety of other tissues including brain, pituitary, and kidney. Numerous actions have been reported most related to the physiologic control of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. In the kidney, AM is diuretic and natriuretic, and both AM and PAMP inhibit aldosterone secretion by direct adrenal actions. In pituitary gland, both peptides at physiologically relevant doses inhibit basal ACTH secretion, again by apparently differing mechanisms. Additionally, AM antagonizes CRH-stimulated ACTH release. The peptides are produced in numerous brain sites, including hypothalamus and brainstem. Inhibition of AVP release has been reported and the physiologic significance of AM's ability to inhibit water drinking and salt appetite has been established. Thus the peptides appear to act in brain and pituitary gland to facilitate the loss of plasma volume, actions which complement their hypotensive effects in the blood vessel. Interestingly, direct cardiac effects (positive inotropism and chronotropism) and CNS actions (sympathostimulation) have been reported, leading to the hypothesis that these peptides also can exert important cardioprotective effects, helping to prevent vascular collapse during states of high AM secretion such as sepsis.
Correlation length and its critical exponent for percolation processes

Some critical exponent inequalities are given involving the correlation length of site percolation processes on ℤd. In particular, it is shown thatv⩾2/d, which implies that the critical exponentv cannot take its mean-field value for the three-dimensional percolation processes.
Determination of linear and nonlinear absorption of metallic colloids using photothermal lens spectrometry

We report on pump-probe mode-mismatched photothermal lens experiments of metallic micro- and nanoparticle water solutions. We show that metallic colloids exhibit nonlinear absorption effects related to the forces that result from the interaction with the electromagnetic radiation. The colloids show a double peak Z-scan shape that is associated with the presence of attraction forces when irradiating at 400 nm. We estimate the corresponding nonlinear absorption coefficients using a Fresnel diffraction approximation for the description of the signal.
Some aspects of the international climatology of tornadoes by damage classification

Reports of tornadoes, broken down by damage, from seven countries have been examined. In particular, the long-term relatively high-quality dataset from the US is used to develop distribu- tions which indicate that the number of tornadoes decreases log-linearly with increasing F-scale. Two distinct distributions, one apparently associated with supercell tornadogenesis processes and the other with non-supercell processes, are found in both the US data and in other countries. The similarity of the distribution in the US prior to the 1950s, when an official, organized collection effort began, and the French record, suggests that only 15% of French tornadoes are being reported currently. In addition, we can use the simple statistical distributions to estimate the return . period of violent tornadoes in France approximately one every 5-10 years and the UK .approximately one every 250-300 years . Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
Zinc release from thapsigargin/IP3-sensitive stores in cultured cortical neurons

Background: Changes in ionic concentration have a fundamental effect on numerous physiological processes. For example, IP 3 -gated thapsigargin sensitive intracellular calcium (Ca2 + ) storage provides a source of the ion for many cellular signaling events. Less is known about the dynamics of other intracellular ions. The present study investigated the intracellular source of zinc (Zn2 + ) that has been reported to play a role in cell signaling. Results: In primary cultured cortical cells (neurons) labeled with intracellular fluorescent Zn2 + indicators, we showed that intracellular regions of Zn2 + staining co-localized with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The latter was identified with ER-tracker Red, a marker for ER. The colocalization was abolished upon exposure to the Zn2 + chelator TPEN, indicating that the local Zn2 + fluorescence represented free Zn2+ localized to the ER in the basal condition. Blockade of the ER Ca2 + pump by thapsigargin produced a steady increase of intracellular Zn2 + . Furthermore, we determined that the thapsigargin-induced Zn2 + increase was not dependent on extracellular Ca2 + or extracellular Zn2 + , suggesting that it was of intracellular origin. The applications of caged IP 3 or IP 3 -3Kinase inhibitor (to increase available IP 3 ) produced a significant increase in intracellular Zn2 + . Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that Zn2 + is sequestered into thapsigargin/IP 3 -sensitive stores and is released upon agonist stimulation.
On securing privacy in composite web service transactions

Today's numerous online transactions are implemented as composite web services in various domains including business, healthcare, government and education. One important aspect of secured online transactions is privacy protection. This paper addresses privacy issues in composite web service transactions by providing an intelligent semi-automated privacy-aware approach to efficiently building an appropriate composite web service that (1) satisfies service functional requirements with (near) minimum number of services and information leakage, and (2) complies, as much as possible, with a customer's privacy preferences and trust (in service providers when available). Furthermore, we describe details of the proposed approach and illustrates its use that exploits generic knowledge about types and sensitivity levels of information, together with specific knowledge about customer privacy preferences and trusts on certain providers.
Seasonal Changes in the Effects of Auxin on Rooting in Stem Cuttings of Ficus infectoria

Ficus infectoria stem cuttings were treated with 10 and 100 μg/ml each of IAA, IBA, 2,4, -D and NAA at monthly intervals and planted to study their rooting response after recording morphophysiological status and cambial activty of the parent branches. Attempts were also made to surgically expose the cambium before auxin treatment to determine the relationship of seasonal variation in auxin effectivity to cambial activity. The results show that: (1) there are two distinct phases in the sensitivity of Ficus infectoria stem cuttings to auxin-induced rooting; (2) the high rooting phase coincides with renovation of growth and high cambial activity starting in March and lasting through August and the low rooting phase coincides with winter dormancy and low cambial activity; (3) roots emerge in longitudinal rows in slitted auxin-treated cuttings; (4) slitted auxin-treated cuttings root profusely in June when cambial activity is high but not in October when cambial activity is low suggesting a close correspondence of seasonal variation between the rooting activity of auxin and cambial activity.
Processes for ensuring quality capstone design projects

A series of processes to ensure high quality capstone design projects have been developed. They address several aspects of the capstone design experience, including project selection, problem definition, ABET (accreditation board for engineering and technology) accreditation requirements, teamwork, program outcome evaluation and assessment, and relationships with industrial sponsors. The processes were developed and implemented over a period of 12 years, and the results have been positive. Project quality has continually improved, and difficulties associated with poorly performing teams have been reduced.
Fabrication of magnetic thin film structures for control of electromagnetic interference

We are concerned with methods for the absorption of unwanted electromagnetic energy, which is commonly referred to as electromagnetic interference or EMI. High permeability magnetic metals used for the control of EMI have high conductivities and hence support eddy currents, which act to reflect the incident wave before it can be absorbed. Eddy currents can be reduced by fabricating the film in a multilayer design, with the magnetic layers separated by electrically insulating dielectric layers, and also by sectioning the film into electrically isolated regions. However magnetic properties are significantly affected by sample shape. In order to find high performance EMI absorbers, we examine the low frequency BH loop, magnetic flux density B versus applied magnetic field H, and complex permeability spectra of multilayer permalloy films laser processed to define stripes geometries upon the samples. The stripes are defined parallel to the as-deposited magnetic hard axis (perpendicular to the direction of magnetization). We begin by examining different laser energy densities for groove definition in films of different thicknesses. We find the sample geometry can compensate for the inherent anisotropy field of the as-deposited film, resulting in fabrication of films with precisely controlled permeabilities. We find that for multilayer thin films the demagnetizing field, which is a function of groove depth, is able to reorient the easy and hard axes from the initial orientation. At the point of re-orientation, the samples become isotropic with large permeabilities. As the groove becomes more clearly defined the hard axis permeability increases, while the easy axis permeability decreases. The role of stripe width and ambient processing atmosphere have been investigated and are reported.
Estimating Substandard Housing for Planning Purposes

This paper explores the use of administra tive records from tax assessments, combined with the hedonic price technique to estimate a housing quality index This, in turn, is used to estimate substandard housing and established need levels for housing programs Verification of the housing quality index is made by compar ing housing units with code violation inspections
Image registration and mosaicing for dynamic In vivo fibered confocal microscopy

Classical confocal microscopy can be used to obtain high-resolution images of cells in tissue samples or cell cultures. Translation of this technology for in vivo applications can be achieved by using optical fibers and miniature optics. Ultimately, fibered confocal microscopy should enable clinicians and biologists to perform what can be referred to as an optical biopsy: a real-time histological examination of biological tissues in the living organism directly onto the region of interest. The main goal of this thesis is to move beyond current hardware limitations of these imaging devices by developing specific innovative image registration schemes. In particular, this manuscript is framed by the goal of providing, through video sequence mosaicing tools, wide field-of-view optical biopsies to the clinicians. This targeted application is seen as a pipeline that takes raw data as input and provides wide field-of-view image mosaics as output. We detail the critical building blocks of this pipeline, namely real-time image reconstruction, linear image registration and non-rigid registration, before presenting our mosaicing framework. The raw data that fibered confocal microscopy produces is difficult to use as it is modulated by a fiber optics bundle pattern and distorted by geometric artifacts. In this context, we show that real-time image reconstruction can be used as a preprocessing step to get readily interpretable video sequences. Since fibered confocal microscopy is a contact imaging modality, the combined movement of the imaged tissues and the flexible optical microprobe makes it sometimes difficult to get robust and accurate measurements of parameters of interest. To address this problem, we investigated efficient and robust registration of pairs of images. We show that registration tools recently developed in the field of vision-based robot control can outperform classical image registration solutions used in biomedical image analysis. The adequacy of these tools for linear image registration led us to revisit non-rigid registration. By casting the non-rigid registration problem as an optimization problem on a Lie group, we develop a fast non-parametric diffeomorphic image registration scheme. In addition to being diffeomorphic, our algorithm provides results that are similar to the ones from Thirion's demons algorithm but with transformations that are smoother and closer to the true ones. Finally, we use these image reconstruction and registration building blocks to propose a robust mosaicing algorithm that is able to recover a globally consistent alignment of the input frames, to compensate for the motion distortions and to capture the non-rigid deformations. Moreover, our mosaicing algorithm has recently been incorporated within a multicenter clinical trial. This trial illustrates the clinical value of our tools in the particular application of Barrett's esophagus surveillance.
Opportunities to Improve Quality in Laboratory Medicine

Modern laboratories offer cost-effective and precise analysis of specimens. Unfortunately, accurate laboratory tests still can result in bad outcomes because of errors in the pre- and postanalytic phases of testing. Important sources of error in the preanalytic phase include errors in test ordering, patient identification, specimen collection, transport, and accessioning. Errors in the postanalytic phase often relate to turn-around time, delivery of reports, or interpretation of results. This article focuses on the key opportunities for improvement in quality.