cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Search for antibodies to neutral glycolipids in sera of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Sera from 54 patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), 34 patients with other neurological diseases (OND) and 32 healthy controls were tested for antibodies to total lipid fractions and higher neutral glycolipid fractions isolated from human and dog nerves, purified Forssman glycolipid and a panel of purified neutral glycolipids by both an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a thin-layer chromatogram (TLC)-overlay technique. IgM and IgG antibodies to total lipid fractions, as well as to galactocerebroside, ceramide dihexoside, ceramide trihexoside, and globoside were not significantly elevated in the sera of GBS patients as compared to controls. High levels of anti-asialo-GM1 IgG antibodies, however, were detected in 6 of 54 (11%) GBS patients and 1 of 30 (3%) OND patients. Intense reactivity with purified Forssman glycolipid and a number of glycolipid antigens in higher neutral glycolipid enriched fractions of human cauda equina and dog sciatic nerves was noted by TLC-immunostaining in many GBS and control sera. Although the levels of anti-Forssman IgM were significantly decreased in GBS sera compared with normal sera (P less than 0.05) and OND sera (P less than 0.02), the levels of anti-Forssman IgG antibodies were not significantly different. With the possible exception of IgG antibodies to asialo-GM1, our results suggest that serum antibodies against Forssman glycolipid and neutral glycolipids are not significantly elevated in GBS patients and, thus, are unlikely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Dynamic core partitioning for energy efficiency

Chip multiprocessors (CMPs) are expected to dominate the landscape of computer architecture in the near future. The potential performance gains that can be achieved by the use of CMPs depend, to a large extent, on how much parallelism can be extracted from applications. One effective way of utilizing CMP architectures is to execute multiple (potentially multi-threaded) applications at the same time. In this work, we propose and evaluate a dynamic (runtime) core partitioning scheme for CMPs that exploits application level information. Focusing on an optimization metric called the weighted energy-delay product gain (W-EDPG), we dynamically partition available cores across competing applications during the course of execution. This dynamic partitioning uses input from a curve fitting model to predict the best operating points for an application at runtime. It can generate nonuniform core allocations across applications (i.e., some applications may have more or fewer cores than others) if doing so increases the value of the W-EDPG metric. We compare this approach against several alternative schemes (including equal partitioning of cores and standard operating system based scheduling). Our experiments indicate that the proposed core partitioning scheme improves the W-EDPG metric significantly (e.g., 14.0% on average over the equal partitioning scheme on a 16-core CMP when four multi-threaded applications are executing concurrently).
Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Cancer Biology: Current Status and Future Prospects

Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the most rapidly growing areas of medical imaging, with many applications in the clinical management of patients with cancer. The principal goal of PET imaging is to visualize, characterize, and measure biological processes at the cellular, subcellular, and molecular levels in living subjects using noninvasive procedures. PET imaging takes advantage of the traditional diagnostic imaging techniques and introduces positron-emitting probes to determine the expression of indicative molecular targets at different stages of cancer progression. Although [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG)-PET has been widely utilized for staging and restaging of cancer, evaluation of response to treatment, differentiation of post-therapy alterations from residual or recurrent tumor, and assessment of prognosis, [18F]FDG is not a target-specific PET tracer. Over the last decade, numerous target-specific PET tracers have been developed and evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies. This review provides an overview of the current status and trends in the development of non-[18F]FDG PET probes in oncology and their application in the investigation of cancer biology.
Paroid search: generic local combinatorial optimization

Abstract Hill climbing, or local search , has proved to be one of the most successful approaches to nonexact solution of combinatorial optimization problems. However, such methods usually depend on highly problem-specific notions of neighborhoods, and are thus not easily transferred to new models. The goal of this paper is to evolve a more generic approach — one that can give the same conceptual unity to local combinatorial optimization that branch and bound does for exact methods. In Rardin and Sudit (1992) we introduced a new paroid structure designed to provide a canonical format for formulating combinatorial problems so that a neighborhood structure would be implied. In this paper we introduce a new generic local optimization scheme we term paroid search addressing combinatorial optimization problems modeled over the bases of a paroid. Paroid search begins from an initial feasible solution provided as part of the input. The broad “expand and prune” format of paroid search is detailed and a number of properties analyzed. Under quite general conditions paroid search is seen to require only polynomial time to explore the neighborhood of a current solution and to be complete for models with this complexity-theoretic property. Beyond this theoretical completeness, we also demonstrate how paroid search unifies some familiar combinatorial heuristics. Various versions are seen to recover (or dominate) a scheme for vertex packing, the greedy algorithm for independence systems (with its associated performance guarantees), and the famous Lin-Kernighan heuristic for Traveling Salesman.
Facile template free method for textural property modulation that enhances adsorption and photocatalytic activity of aperiodic titania supported silica materials

Abstract A series of aperiodic titania–silica photocatalysts were prepared in ethanolic solutions of co-solvents such as ethyl acetate (EtOAc), acetonitrile (ACN), acetone (ACT), and N , N ′-dimethylformamide (DMF) using a combination of sol–gel chemistry and mild hydrothermal conditions. Extensive structural characterization emerged critical in demonstrating that the incorporation of such polar aprotic solvents is a viable approach for the enhancement and modulation of textural properties such as surface areas and pore sizes without the use of expensive templates. These studies revealed that the dark adsorption capacities of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye were dependent on the pore volume, and had minimal role on the photocatalytic degradation of the dye molecules. However, photocatalysts with large pore diameters exhibited improved initial degradation rates, suggesting that the sizes of the pores through which organics can diffuse in and out of the mesostructure are vital for their effective photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation. This work provides an insight into the use of facile preparation methods for the design of photocatalysts of desired porosities that are optimal for application in areas such as persistent organic pollutant remediation in waste water management.
Genetic liability for autism: the behavioural expression in relatives

Twin and family studies have suggested that, in addition to causing the full syndrome of autism, the genetic liability for autism may also cause milder, but qualitatively similar behavioural characteristics in non-autistic relatives. Together these characteristics have been referred to as constituting a broad autism phenotype and include such phenomena as rigid and aloof personality and language abnormalities. Clarification of the type and range of characteristics that make up the broad autism phenotype are important for studies aimed at elucidating the biological basis of autism. In particular further defining the full phenotypic expression of the genes that cause autism may aid in teasing apart gene-behaviour relationships as well as brain-behaviour relationships. In this paper the pattern of behaviours which define the broad autism phenotype is reviewed, as well as the potential importance of further characterizing this phenotype for future studies of the biological basis of this disorder.
Gain and threshold current density characteristics of 2-μm GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb MQW lasers with increased valence band offset

Compressively strained 2 micrometer GaInAsSb quantum well lasers with large valence band offsets and broadened waveguides display a record characteristic temperature, T 0 equals 140 degrees Kelvin for a 4-QW laser and a differential efficiency of 0.74 for a pulsed 2-QW device. The T 0 of these antimonide lasers is 65% more than that reported for phosphide-based lasers operating at 2 micrometer wavelength. A room-temperature threshold current density as low as 173 A/cm 2 has been observed for a 2-QW device and 225 A/cm 2 for the 4-QW laser.
EVALUATION OF APICAL POUCHES IN HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY USING CARDIAC MRI

Presence of an apical pouch in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) carries increased cardiovascular risk. Apical pouches are often challenging to visualize by echocardiography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) may be better suited for identifying apical pouches in HCM. This
Nonlinear dynamics of flux creep in underdoped cuprates

Abstract We give a brief overview of transport and magnetic relaxation measurements in the mixed state of strongly underdoped Y 1−χ Pr χ Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ crystals. Two phenomena are especially interesting from the point of view of both fundamental physics of “vortex matter” and power applications of high- T c superconductors. First is the transition from thermally activated flux creep to temperature independent quantum flux creep which is observed in both transport and magnetic relaxation measurements at temperatures T ≤ 5 K . Flux transformer measurements indicate that the crossover to quantum creep is preceded by a coupling transition. Second, in the mixed state below the coupling transition, the dissipation is non-ohmic, and we speculate that, as a result, the current distribution may be unstable with respect to self-channeling, resulting in the formation of thin current-carrying layers.
Quantifying Delay in Access to New Medical Treatment: An Application of Risk Advancement Period Methodology

BACKGROUND We present a novel application of the concept of risk or rate advancement to compute the extent of delay in adoption of an effective new drug in 2 German health insurance systems. METHODS We identified individuals with migraines, age 18 to 65 years, in 371 primary care practices in Germany in 1994 (MediPlus, IMS Health database). These included 8173 persons covered under the statutory health insurance system and 503 persons covered by private health insurance. We derived risk and population risk advancement periods for sumatriptan compared with nonserotoninergic acute migraine therapy using multiplicative risk regression and generalized estimating equations, adjusted for patient, physician, and practice cofactors. RESULTS For patients at the mean age of the cohort, 43 years of age, sumatriptan was prescribed 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.3-2.0) years later among those in the statutory health insurance system compared with those who had private insurance. The lag increased by 0.6 (-0.1 to 1.3) years for every 10 years of patient age. In the age-mix of our sample, access to the health benefits of sumatriptan therapy lagged nearly 1.5 years behind in the statutory health insurance system and for Germany as a whole. CONCLUSIONS Migraine patients' access to sumatriptan therapy lagged substantially in the statutory health insurance system and in the country as a whole. Risk advancement periods provide a useful methodology for communicating major healthcare issues in a meaningful way to society and policymakers.
Exponential bounds on the number of designs with affine parameters

It is well-known that the number of designs with the parameters of a classical design having as blocks the hyperplanes in PG(n, q) or AG(n, q), n≥3, grows exponentially. This result was extended recently [D. Jungnickel, V. D. Tonchev, Des Codes Cryptogr, published online: 23 May, 2009] to designs having the same parameters as a projective geometry design whose blocks are the d-subspaces of PG(n, q), for any 2≤d≤n−1. In this paper, exponential lower bounds are proved on the number of non-isomorphic designs having the same parameters as an affine geometry design whose blocks are the d-subspaces of AG(n, q), for any 2≤d≤n−1, as well as resolvable designs with these parameters. An exponential lower bound is also proved for the number of non-isomorphic resolvable 3-designs with the same parameters as an affine geometry design whose blocks are the d-subspaces of AG(n, 2), for any 2≤d≤n−1. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 18: 475–487, 2010
A bitmask-based code compression technique for embedded systems

Embedded systems are constrained by the available memory. Code compression techniques address this issue by reducing the code size of application programs. Dictionary-based code compression techniques are popular because they offer both good compression ratio and fast decompression scheme. Recently proposed techniques by J. Prakash et al. (2003) improve standard dictionary-based compression by considering mismatches. This paper makes two important contributions: i) it provides a cost-benefit analysis framework for improving the compression ratio by creating more matching patterns, and ii) it develops an efficient code compression technique using bitmasks to improve the compression ratio without introducing any decompression penalty. To demonstrate the usefulness of our approach we have used applications from various domains and compiled for a wide variety of architectures. Our approach outperforms the existing dictionary-based techniques by an average of 15%, giving a compression ratio of 55% - 65%
Female bowel function: the real story

There has been minimal research done on normal female bowel habits. Because we do not know what is normal, this affects counseling of patients and research. The aim of this study was to conduct a survey of females with no bowel pathology to obtain a baseline of normal bowel function and examine any normal changes that occur during a woman’s lifetime. Females accompanying patients to our hospital and clinic were invited to fill out an IRB-approved questionnaire after excluding those with current bowel pathology, depression, a stoma, or were wheelchair bound. Four hundred twenty-five of 528 questionnaires of females who reported they had normal bowel habits were evaluated. The age range was from 18 to 80 years and comparison was according to age, race, and parity. Fifty-one percent had one bowel movement daily while 30 percent reported fewer. Overall, 15 percent reported constipation, which was higher in African-American females (26 percent) vs. Caucasian females (14 percent), P = 0.08. The average time for a bowel movement was 5–6 minutes, which was longer in African-American females (7.7 min) vs. Caucasian (5.0 min), P = 0.002. Younger females had changes in their bowel pattern reported as soft stool usually associated with their menstrual cycle; this was seen mostly in single females. Menopause did not affect bowels. Thirty-six percent of parous females reported occasional stool incontinence. Flatal incontinence was seen occasionally in over 50 percent of females, more frequently in those over 35 years old. Seventy-four percent of parous females reported incontinence to gas. One-third of females read on the toilet, with a majority doing so to relax or to be distracted and with African-American females reading more (54 percent) vs. Caucasian (32 percent), P = 0.004. Interestingly, Caucasian females read to conserve time (26 percent) vs. African-Americans (4 percent), P = 0.02. Fiber as a supplement was taken by only 8 percent. Foods affected bowel function in all age groups, while travel and exercise did not. Stress affected a change in 35 percent in the 18 to 50-year group. There is a vast diversity in what is considered normal female bowel habits. One daily bowel movement is not the norm. Normal older females and those who have had children report more flatal incontinence. One-third experience some element of fecal incontinence. Foods most commonly caused a change in bowel pattern, followed by menstruation, stress, and childbirth. A vast majority do not take fiber as a supplement.
Image approximation and modeling via least statistically dependent bases

Abstract Statistical independence is one of the most desirable properties of a coordinate system for representing and modeling images. In reality, however, truly independent coordinates may not exist for a given set of images, or it may be too difficult to compute them in practice. Therefore, we propose a new method to rapidly compute the least statistically dependent basis (LSDB) from a basis dictionary (e.g., the local cosine or wavelet packet dictionaries) containing a huge number of orthonormal (or biorthogonal) bases. Our new basis selection criterion is minimization of the mutual information of the distributions of the basis coefficients as a measure of statistical dependence, which in turn is equivalent to minimization of the sum of the differential entropy of each coordinate in the basis dictionary. In this sense, we can view this LSDB algorithm as the best-basis version of the Independent Component Analysis (ICA), which is increasingly gaining popularity. This criterion is different from that of the Joint Best Basis (JBB) proposed by Wickerhauser, which can be viewed as the best-basis version of the Karhunen–Loeve basis (KLB). We demonstrate the usefulness of the LSDB for image approximation and modeling and compare its performance with that of KLB and JBB using a collection of real geophysical acoustic waveforms and an image database of human faces.
The inheritance of palmar and hallucal dermatoglyphic patterns in fifty‐four American Caucasian families

We searched for single gene effects determining certain palmar and plantar patterns — two interdigital and the hypothenar areas, palmar main line sequence, and hallucal pattern. Our subjects were 108 parents from central Louisiana and 123 of their offspring; there were 127 females and 104 males. For the third and fourth interdigital areas, we classified for presence of a pattern (+) or no pattern (−). For the hypothenar area, we classified arch, anteform, and open field as no pattern (−) and other configurations as a pattern (+). Main line sequence we determined by the distal to proximal ordering of the five main lines. We analyzed the hallucal area by combining three loop patterns. Segregational analyses followed. For the third interdigital area, the frequency of + was 51%. For the fourth interdigital area, the frequency of + was 51%. In the hypothenar area, the frequency of + was 45%. We set out the six mating types by the bilateral occurrence of pattern in each area and found similar results. The proportion of + + offspring was highest with both + + parents and diminished as the parents became increasingly more − −. Evidence for genetic determination of six different main line sequences consisted of the proportion of related/(related + unrelated) which averaged 0.48. Parent-offspring occurrence of an accessory triradius and absence of the c triradius suggested monogenic control. Segregation of the hallucal patterns was less suggestive. We conclude that the results offer evidence for substantial genetic determination of palmar dermatoglyphics, and for some patterns possible monogenic determination.
When women speak of Indians and other minor themes. . . Clorinda matto's aves sin nido: An early Peruvian feminist voice

(1992). When women speak of Indians and other minor themes. . . Clorinda matto's aves sin nido: An early Peruvian feminist voice. Renaissance and Modern Studies: Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 75-94.
High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of the ν4 + ν8 − ν8 Band of CH3NC

Abstract The vibration-rotation spectrum of the ν4 + ν8 − ν8 band for CH3NC has been observed and measured with an interferometric spectrometer with a spectral resolution of 0.004 cm−1; 175 transitions were assigned to the P( J, k, l) branches spanning J = 5-29 and k = 3-8. Spectroscopic constants for the ν4 + ν8 state were obtained through a least-squares fit by explicitly taking account of the l-resonance. The validity of the additivity rule of molecular constants is discussed. Small anomalies detected in the K = 3 and 4 subbands of the ν4 + ν8 − ν8 band were ascribed to a rotational resonance (Δl = ∓1, Δk = ±2) between the ν4 + ν8 and 4ν−28 states.
Hyperpaths in Network Based on Transit Schedules

The concept of a hyperpath was introduced for handling passenger strategies in route choice behavior for public transit, especially in a frequency-based transit service environment. This model for handling route choice behavior has been widely used for planning transit services, and hyperpaths are now applied in areas beyond public transit. A hyperpath representing more specific passenger behaviors on a network based on transit schedules is proposed. A link-based time-expanded (LBTE) network for transit schedules is introduced; in the network each link represents a scheduled vehicle trip (or trip segment) with departure time and travel time (or arrival time) between two consecutive stops. The proposed LBTE network reduces the effort to build a network based on transit schedules because the network is expanded with scheduled links. A link-based representation of a hypergraph with existing hyperpath model properties that is directly integrated with the LBTE network is also proposed. Transit passenger behavi...
Indomethacin-associated bowel perforations: a study of possible risk factors.

Abstract Background: The association between indomethacin administration and bowel perforation in premature infants is well known. The goal of this study was to examine possible risk factors for this complication. Methods: Fifteen cases of indomethacin-associated bowel perforation occurred from 1993 to 1996. All had a birth weight ≤1,100 g. These patients were compared with a control group of 51 infants who were cared for contemporaneously, had birth weights ≤ 1,100 g and received indomethacin. Results: Survival rate in the control group was 96%. For the group with perforations, it was 53%. Two types of perforation were seen, one occurring in the setting of necrotizing enterocolitis, and the other, a simple perforation in an otherwise normal-appearing bowel. For the latter group, the survival rate was 86%, and, when possible, primary repair was the procedure of choice. Use of aminophylline was greater in the control group. Otherwise, there were no significant differences between the two groups in any of the variables observed. However, when the simple perforations were observed separately, these patients had, on average, received indomethacin at a younger age than the controls ( P Conclusions: Earlier administration of indomethacin correlates with an increased risk of focal perforation. It is unclear, however, whether the risk factor is the drug itself or the earlier need for it. Aminophylline use was somewhat more in the control group, but this is not likely to reflect a protective role for that drug. The possible involvement of an infectious agent should be considered.
Oscar Wilde's The Disciple: A Reflection

(2009). Oscar Wilde's The Disciple: A Reflection. The Explicator: Vol. 67, No. 2, pp. 133-135.
Estrogen receptor mediates a distinct mitochondrial unfolded protein response

Unfolded protein responses (UPRs) of the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial matrix have been described. Here, we show that the accumulation of proteins in the inter-membrane space (IMS) of mitochondria in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 activates a distinct UPR. Upon IMS stress, overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phosphorylation of AKT triggers estrogen receptor (ER) activity, which further upregulates the transcription of the mitochondrial regulator NRF1 and the IMS protease OMI (officially known as HTRA2). Moreover, we demonstrate that the IMS stress-induced UPR culminates in increased proteasome activity. Given our previous report on a proteasome- and OMI-dependent checkpoint that limits the import of IMS proteins, the findings presented in this study suggest that this newly discovered UPR acts as a cytoprotective response to overcome IMS stress.
Germanium segregation in the Co/SiGe/Si(001) thin film system

Cobalt disilicide contacts to silicon–germanium alloys were formed by direct deposition of pure cobalt metal onto silicon–germanium films on Si(001) substrates. Segregation of germanium was observed during the reaction of the cobalt with the silicon–germanium alloy. The nature of the Ge segregation was studied by transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. In the case of cobalt films deposited onto strained silicon–germanium films, the Ge segregation was discovered to be in the form of Ge-enriched Si1−xGex regions found at the surface of the film surrounding CoSi and CoSi2 grains. In the case of cobalt films deposited onto relaxed silicon–germanium films, the Ge segregation was dependent on formation of CoSi2. In samples annealed below 800 °C, where CoSi was the dominant silicide phase, the Ge segregation was similar in form to the strained Si1−xGex case. In samples annealed above 800 °C, where CoSi2 was the dominant silicide phase, the Ge segregation was also in the form of tetrahedron-shaped, Ge-enriched, silicon–germanium precipitates, which formed at the substrate/silicon– germanium film interface and grew into the Si substrate. A possible mechanism for the formation of these precipitates is presented based on vacancy generation during the silicidation reaction coupled with an increased driving force for Ge diffusion due to silicon depletion in the alloy layer.
Linguistic isolation in the home and community: Protection or risk for young children?

Abstract Studies of immigrant adaptation in the United States emphasize the importance of duration of residence, language use, location of schooling and other factors related to the migration process in determining outcomes for immigrants. Research also points to the variability of socioeconomic mobility among immigrants and their descendants across receiving contexts encountered in the United States. This paper extends this model to young children and examines how the linguistic environment of the family and the community interact to produce differential developmental outcomes. The analyses rely on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) and 2000 US Census. Children’s cognitive scores vary considerably by mothers’ nativity and household linguistic isolation; a result that is largely influenced by the greater likelihood of living in poverty for children in linguistically isolated homes. The level of linguistic isolation in the community is also associated with cognitive scores but the greatest variation in scores across communities occurs among children of US born mothers.
Neurobiology of sleep.

The central nervous system undergoes several dynamic changes during sleep, which are coordinated by the pons, basal forebrain areas, and other subcortical structures and are mediated by three major neurotransmitters—norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine. The neuronal populations that produce these neuromodulators constitute the central representation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic subdivisions of the autonomic nervous system. The locus coeruleus (noradrenergic) and the raphe nucleus (serotoninergic) are most active during waking and become progressively less active in the transition from non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. On the other hand, the cholinergic neurons in the dorsolateral tegmental and pedunculopontine nuclei area are active both during waking and REM sleep. Over the past decade, a number of studies have provided interesting new evidence supporting the role of sleep in sleep-dependent memory processing. These studies have been directed specifically towards the role of sleep in memory encoding, memory consolidation, brain plasticity and memory reconsolidation, and have confirmed the hypothesis that sleep contributes importantly to processes of memory and brain plasticity. It has been shown in humans that sleep triggers overnight learning on a motor-sequence memory task, while equivalent waking periods produce no such improvement. These findings have important implications for acquiring real-life skills and in clinical rehabilitation following brain trauma and sroke.
Evaluating disaster mitigations: methodology for urban infrastructure systems

This paper develops a methodology for evaluating the benefits and costs of disaster mitigation measures for urban infrastructure systems. The methodology is distinguished in three respects: first, it demonstrates how life cycle cost analysis, a method often used in infrastructure management, can be extended and applied to the disaster context. Second, it demonstrates the importance of considering changes over time, including infrastructure deterioration, future maintenance costs, and urban growth. Finally, it emphasizes evaluating societal impacts. This is particularly important for lifeline infrastructure systems, where the benefits of mitigation investments accrue broadly to users or society as a whole. The methodology is applied to a case study of seismic risk for the Portland, Oregon water delivery system. Societal losses from earthquake are found to outweigh utility agency losses by 100 times. Two mitigation alternatives are compared with the option of no mitigation. In one case, a mitigation that is not cost-effective for the utility agency is shown to be very cost-effective from a societal standpoint. Further data and research needs are also identified.
Treatment of Wegener's Granulomatosis With Immunosuppressive Agents: Description of Renal Ultrastructure

More than 100 cases of Wegener's granulomatosis have been described since the original reports of Klinger in 1931 and Wegener in 1936. Clinically, the disease is characterized by a severe progressive sinusitis; cough; and finally, in the majority of cases, by renal failure. 1,2 Pathologically it has been characterized by necrotizing granulomatous lesions in the upper or lower respiratory tract, focal glomerulitis, and generalized focal necrotizing vasculitis. 3-5 The prognosis in Wegener's granulomatosis has been extremely poor, despite the use of antibiotics, radiation therapy, and steroids. 2,4,6 In the last seven years, however, there have been scattered reports of its successful treatment with alkylating or immunosuppressive agents. Since there is evidence that this process may be related to an immunologic or hypersensitivity state, 1,5 the use of immunosuppression seems justified. Patient Summary A 29-year-old white man (467 044) was admitted to university hospital May 13, 1968, with a chief complaint
Comultiplications in algebra and topology

Si studiano le proprieta degli oggetti con comoltiplicazione (cioe co-H-oggetti) nelle categorie che ammettono un coprodotto e i funtori fra queste categorie. Si dimostra che questi funtori conservano le proprieta dei co-H-oggetti. Queste osservazioni generali si applicano inoltre ai seguenti esempi specifici di categorie e funtori: la categoria omotopica degli spazi puntati, la categoria delle algebre graduate commutative, la categoria delle algebre graduate associative, la categoria delle algebre di Lie graduate e la categoria dei gruppi. I funtori sono: il gruppo fondamentale, il funtore coomologia, il funtore omologia dello spazio di cammini chiusi di uno spazio e il funtore gruppo omoto pico. Si dimostra che in questi casi specifici si ottengono risultati classici ben noti.
One million time-bandwidth product full-field waveform measurement using frequency-to-time interferometry

Time-multiplexing of a single-shot interferometric measurement technique using frequency-to-time mapping and digital coherent detection characterizes the amplitude and phase of 350-GHz bandwidth waveforms with a 3-μs record length in only 113 μs.
The potential for social media use in K-12 physical and health education

Abstract This paper did a review of the literature on social interaction in education, social media and social interaction, and the use of social media in personal/community health and physical education programs in order to set a research agenda for the use of social media in K-12 physical and health education. The findings were that social interaction can positively impact education and that social media can enhance the social interaction in the educational setting. It also showed how current health/wellness programs outside of the K-12 system are already using social media. There is a need for research on social media in K-12 settings in order to find if it can have an impact in creating healthy and informed decision makers in K-12 physical and health education.
Coal tar phototoxicity: characteristics of the smarting reaction.

We examined the properties and ultraviolet exposure parameters of tar smarts in an effort to elucidate the mechanisms involved. We showed that irradiation with 1 minimal smarting dose (MSD) of UVA immediately following tar removal lowered the MSD for 6 h, demonstrated by subsequent challenge with UVA. Following 3 MSDs this "memory" effect was demonstrable for 24 h. The smarting reaction was area dependent—smaller areas of exposure require higher doses of UVA to induce smarting. Smarting followed reciprocity over a 6-fold range of irradiances (2–12.5 mW/cm2) but higher irradiances required higher doses of UVA, perhaps due to a delay in the recognition and reporting of smarting. The smarting reaction and delayed erythema due to UVA and tar were equally blocked by sunscreen.
Teaching molecular phylogenetics through investigating a real-world phylogenetic problem

A phylogenetics exercise is incorporated into the ‘Introduction to biocomputing’ course, a junior-level course at Savannah State University. This exercise is designed to help students learn important concepts and practical skills in molecular phylogenetics through solving a real-world problem. In this application, students are required to identify orthologous protein sequences of the human (Homo sapiens) cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) from other species and to reconstruct a phylogenetic tree of these species by comparing their CFTR amino acid sequences. Students are also asked to evaluate their trees critically by comparing them with published phylogenies in the literature. This exercise helps students understand the principles underlying molecular phylogenetics and gain practical skills in searching genetic databases and conducting phylogenetic analysis using computer programs. In addition, this inquiry-based exercise encourages students to develop their critical-thinking skil...
Macular Segmentation with Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose To develop a software algorithm to perform automated segmentation of retinal layer structures on linear macular optical coherence tomography (StratusOCT; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc., Dublin, CA) scan images and to test its performance in discriminating normal from glaucomatous eyes in comparison with conventional circumpapillary nerve fiber layer (cpNFL) thickness measurement.
Evidence for a Three-Stage Sequence of Hominid and Carnivore Involvement with Long Bones at FLKZinjanthropus, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

Abstract The order in which hominids and carnivores had access to Plio-Pleistocene bone assemblages has defied interpretation despite attempts to decipher their sequence from element frequencies or by comparing ancient butchery marks with modern ones. Data from two simulations in which experimental stone-tool butchery of long bones occurred after carcasses were defleshed by large free-ranging East African carnivores are here compared to data from the FLKZinjanthropusbone assemblage from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. One experimental sample simulated two stages of tissue removal; defleshing of long bones by carnivores, followed by tool-assisted flesh-scrap removal and marrow extraction. A second simulated three stages of tissue removal; the first two stages the same as the first sample, plus a third stage in which bone-crunching carnivores ravaged the remains. Carnivore ravaging is demonstrated to result in additional tooth marks on epiphyseal fragments, but does not significantly alter the incidence of defleshing tooth marks or butchery marks on midshafts. TheZinjanthropussample is similar to the three-stage simulation in its proportion of epiphyseal relative to midshaft fragments, and for the incidence of midshafts bearing tooth marks and butchery marks.
Prevalence and Neonatal Factors Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Preterm Infants

Objectives To determine the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) across gestational age, examine the risk of ASD by gestational age controlling for other risk factors, and identify potential risk factors in the neonatal intensive care unit. Study design A retrospective cohort of infants born at ≥24 weeks between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2007 at 11 Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals (n = 195 021). ASD cases were defined by a diagnosis made at a Kaiser Permanente ASD evaluation center, by a clinical specialist, or by a pediatrician. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the association between gestational age and ASD as well as potential risk factors in the neonatal intensive care unit and ASD. Results The prevalence of ASD in infants P Conclusions ASD was ∼3 times more prevalent in infants
Reducing the variance of point-to-point transfers for parallel real-time programs

Investigations that analyze the time an operating system takes to schedule, interrupt and "context-switch" to another process or job have helped developers produce highly optimized and tuned operating systems that can provide more than 99% sustained processor use for most uniprocessor applications. However, when these operating systems are installed on CPUs that are interconnected with a low-latency (user-space) communication mechanism, large variances typically occur in the time it takes to send a point-to-point message. In this article, we examine how to reduce the difference between worst-case and average-case message latency that can contribute to variance in fine-grain parallel programs. Changing how the operating system handles interrupt processing and scheduling can greatly reduce the difference between these latencies, thus increasing a program's performance. >
Improved Long Pulse Ionization Simulation Using Pulsed Reactors

Recently developed methods to improve the usefulness of pulsed nuclear reactors as sources for simulation of wide pulse ionization environments, generated by weapon produced neutrons, are described. These methods include the use of a special shield material which performs the dual role of attenuating neutrons and enhancing gamma dose rate, tailoring of pulse shapes by modifying the reactor burst characteristics through selective coupling between the reactor core and special reflector configurations, and use of special shield configurations to improve dose uniformity. Data obtained at the White Sands Missile Range Fast Burst Reactor and the Sandia Corporation SPR II for several shield configurations and reactor operating conditions are presented. Gamma radiation dose rates and 1 MeV damage equivalent neutron fluences obtained with and without use of the special shield material are compared. Dose rate enhancements of 5.2 and 3.3 times free fields were achieved behind shield thicknesses of 5 and 12 in., respectively. The respective neutron fluences were reduced by factors of 5.5 and 62. A peak dose rate enhancement of 12.4 times free field was achieved between slabs of shield material. Peak dose rates of 5 × 107, 1 × 107, and 1.2 × 106 rads(Si)/sec were achieved behind the shield material for pulse widths of 52 ?sec, 100 ?sec, and 1 msec, respectively, while limiting the neutron fluence to approximately 1 × 1011 n/cm2.
Method for determining the emitter and base series resistances of bipolar transistors

A simple method for determining both the emitter and the base series resistances of bipolar transistors from the measured I - V characteristics is described. The method is based on the observation that deviation of the base current from the ideal \exp (qV_{BE}/kT) behavior at high currents can be attributed solely and relatively simply to series resistances. Series resistances determined by this method are given for sample high-speed digital bipolar transistors.
Synthesis of size-controlled and shaped copper nanoparticles.

The synthesis of stable, monodisperse, shaped copper nanoparticles has been difficult, partially because of copper's propensity for oxidation. This article reports the findings of an investigation of a synthetic route for the synthesis of size-controllable and potentially shape-controllable molecularly capped copper nanoparticles. The approach involved the manipulation of reaction temperature for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles in organic solvents in the presence of amine and acid capping agents. By manipulating the reaction temperature, this route has been demonstrated for the production of copper nanoparticles ranging from 5 to 25 nm. The size dependence of the melting temperature of copper nanoparticles, especially for surface melting, is believed to play an important role in interparticle coalescence, leading to size growth as the reaction temperature is increased. Control of the reaction temperature and capping molecules has also been demonstrated to produce copper nanoparticles with different ...
CLASSICAL FIELD THEORY OF NUCLEAR FORCES

An attempt to explain nuclear properties with the help of a classical nuclear potential whose quanta are $\ensuremath{\pi}$ mesons leads to involved nonlinear interactions. We therefore used a potential whose quanta are neutral scalar mesons. Saturation properties, empirical binding energies, and observed nuclear densities are obtained if the potential depends on the velocity of the nucleons. This velocity dependence accounts for a number of additional nuclear properties.
A Social Marketing Approach To Increasing Breast Cancer Screening Rates.

Abstract This study used a social marketing approach to identify factors that influence women's breast cancer screening behaviors and to guide the development of strategies to increase breast cancer screening utilization rates among underserved women in Florida. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather data regarding women's perceptions of breast cancer screening, frequency of mammography use, screening motivations and barriers, and recommendations for screening promotion. Thirteen percent of women surveyed had never had a mammogram, whereas 26% were irregular users and 51 % were regular users of mammography. Factors significantly associated with mammography use included frequency of clinical breast examinations, insurance coverage, physician referral, knowledge of American Cancer Society recommendations for annual screening, and misperceptions of the potential for mammography usage to cause cancer. Results were used to develop a comprehensive social marketing plan that would motivate irre...
Studies With Corn-Soya Laying Diets 5. Seasonal Patterns of Performance at Marginal Levels of Dietary Protein

Abstract NUMEROUS workers have reported acceptable levels of egg production from pullets fed corn-soya type laying diets containing less than the 15 percent of protein recommended by the National Research Council (1960); Thornton et al. (1957), Waibel and Johnson (1961), and Bray and Gesell (1961). An appraisal of the above reports indicated that corn-soya type diets formulated to contain 12 percent of protein were marginal for meeting the amino acid needs of laying pullets. With the exception of the recent reports of Johnson and Fisher (1959) and Waibel and Johnson (1961), few data are available concerning the comparative performance of pullets at successive intervals during the laying year when fed diets containing marginal and adequate levels of protein. The findings of Bray and Gesell (1961) suggest that seasonal trends in temperature, as they affect feed consumption and, hence, protein intake, may influence the relative performance of pullets fed diets containing marginal …
Anti-oligomeric Aβ Single-chain Variable Domain Antibody Blocks Aβ-induced Toxicity Against Human Neuroblastoma Cells

Abstract The Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide is a major component of the amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies suggest that the most toxic forms of Aβ are small, soluble oligomeric aggregates. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a single-chain variable domain (scFv) antibody isolated against oligomeric Aβ using a protocol developed in our laboratory that combines phage display technology and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Starting with a randomized, single framework phage display library, after three rounds of selection against oligomeric Aβ, we identified an scFv that bound oligomeric Aβ specifically, but not monomeric or fibrillar forms. The anti-oligomeric scFv inhibits Aβ aggregation and toxicity, and reduces the toxicity of preformed oligomeric Aβ towards human neuroblastoma cells. When used to probe samples of human brain tissue, the scFv reacted with AD tissue but not a healthy control or Parkinson's disease brain samples. The anti-oligomeric Aβ scFv therefore has potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications in specifically targeting or identifying the toxic morphologies of Aβ in AD brains.
On a simplified strain energy function for geometrically nonlinear behaviour of anisotropic beams

Abstract An asymptotically exact methodology, based on geometrically nonlinear, three-dimensional elasticity, is presented for analysis of prismatic, nonhomogeneous, anisotropic beams. The analysis is subject only to the restrictions that the strain is small relative to unity and that the maximum dimension of the cross-section is small relative to a length parameter which is characteristic of the rapidity with which the deformation varies along the beam; thus, restrained warping effects are not considered. A two-dimensional function is derived which enables the determination of sectional elastic constants, as well as relations between the beam (i.e. one-dimensional) displacement and generalized strain measures and the three-dimensional displacement and strain fields. Since the three-dimensional foundation of the formulation allows for all possible deformations, the complex coupling phenomena associated with shear deformation are correctly accounted for. The final form of the strain energy contains only extensional, bending and torsional deformation measures—identical to the form of classical theory, but with stiffness constants that are numerically quite different from those of a purely classical theory. Indeed, the stiffnesses obtained from classical theory may, in certain extreme cases, be more than twice as stiff in bending as they should be. Stiffness constants which arise from these various models are used to predict beam deformation for different types of composite beams. Predictions from the present reduced stiffness model are essentially identical to those of more sophisticated models and agree very well with experimental data for large deformation.
The ranks of extremal positive semidefinite matrices with given sparsity pattern

Let P be a symmetric set of ordered pairs of integers from 1 to n, and define $M^ + (P)$ to be the closed cone of all positive semidefinite Hermitian matrices whose $(i,j)$ entry is zero whenever $i \ne j$ and $(i,j)$ is not in P. The extreme points of $M^ + (P)$ are considered. In some special cases, the maximum rank that such an extreme point can have is calculated.