cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Interactive Digital Image Processing System

A mini-computer system has been implemented to perform interactive image processing. The computer system presents an in-tegrated modular approach to hardware development as well as software development. Digitally controlled scanners are interfaced with the system and are treated as extensions of core memory. This technique alleviates a mmajor constraint on the total amount of core memory that may be required for image processing. Scanning and processing may be accomplished simultaneously on a line-by-line basis. An image dissector scanner is the primary digitizer at this time. Several displays are interfaced to the mini-computer for on-line image output. Program, or algorithm, analysis is provided by image displays at various stages of the processing. A high contrast interactive Digital Disc Display serves as the primary image out-put at this time. Applications of the system include on-line analysis of chest radiographs for the detection of heart disease, feasible detection of increased or decreased vascularity in the lung fields, and automatic area measurements on cells from pathological slides.© (1974) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Induction of ovulation by electrochemical stimulation in androgenized and spontaneously constant-estrous rats.

Comparison of thresholds and responsiveness of androgen-sterilized rats spontaneously constant-estrous rats and of cyclic rats to electrical and electrochemical stimulation applied directly to the brain is presented. Electrochemical stimulation of the medial preoptic area in androgen-sterilized rats was highly effective in causing ovulation. Ovulation was also induced by electrochemical stimulation of the arcuate nucleus and median eminence in androgen-sterilized rats. Electrical stimulation of the medial preoptic area and the arcuate nucleus-median eminence region also caused ovulation in a limited number of androgenized rats although its effectiveness was less than that of electrochemical stimulation. In spontaneously constant-estrous rats electrochemical stimulation of the above regions induced ovulation but the dc threshold in the preoptic area was considerably higher than that of either controls or androgen-sterilized rats. The androgen-sterilized rats were resistant to progesterone a hormonal stimulus which induced ovulation in the spontaneously constant-estrous rat. None of the androgenized rats ovulated even when the progesterone dosage was raised to twice the level effective in the spontaneously constant-estrous group.
Large-eddy simulation of mixing in a recirculating shear flow

The flow field and mixing in an expansion-ramp geometry is studied using large-eddy simulation (LES) with subgrid scale (SGS) modelling. The expansion-ramp geometry was developed to investigate enhanced mixing and flameholding characteristics while maintaining low total-pressure losses. Passive mixing was considered without taking into account the effects of chemical reactions and heat release, an approximation that is adequate for experiments conducted in parallel. The primary objective of the current work is to validate the LES–SGS closure in the case of passive turbulent mixing in a complex configuration and, if successful, to rely on numerical simulation results for flow details unavailable via experiment. Total (resolved-scale plus subgrid contribution) probability density functions (p.d.f.s) of the mixture fraction are estimated using a presumed beta-distribution model for the subgrid field. Flow and mixing statistics are in good agreement with the experimental measurements, indicating that the mixing on a molecular scale is correctly predicted by the LES– SGS model. Finally, statistics are shown to be resolution-independent by computing the flow for three resolutions, at twice and four times the resolution of the coarsest simulation.
Immunosuppression following 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene exposure in B6C3F1 mice. I. Effects on humoral immunity and host resistance.

It has previously been demonstrated that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P), suppresses the terminal step in B-cell differentiation, resulting in a decrease in antibody production to T-dependent and B-2 T-independent antigens. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if this effect was common to carcinogenic PAHs or specific for B[a]P. The PAH 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) was administered to B6C3F1 female mice by ten sc injections of 0.5, 5, or 10 micrograms/g over a 2-week period (i.e., total dose of 5, 50, and 100 micrograms/g). Immune function and host resistance assays were performed 3 to 5 days following the last injection. The 10 micrograms/g dosage resulted in a marked decrease in spleen weights and spleen and bone marrow cellularity, while thymus and body weights were not significantly altered. The ability to generate B-lymphocyte colonies in vitro from spleen precursor cells was also suppressed at the 10 micrograms/g dose. Exposure to DMBA at 5 micrograms/g or greater resulted in a reduction of up to 97% in the number of IgM plaque-forming cells in response to the T-dependent antigen sheep red blood cells (SRBC). The IgG response to SRBC was similarly depressed. The IgM response to the hapten-conjugated T-independent antigens trinitrophenyl-lipopolysaccharide (TNP-LPS) (specific for B-1 cells) and trinitrophenyl (TNP)-Ficoll (specific for B-2 cells) was also depressed (88 and 97%, respectively) at 10 micrograms/g. DMBA exposure resulted in an increased susceptibility to challenge with the PYB6 transplantable sarcoma and the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, in contrast to B[a]P exposure, which had no effect on host resistance assays. Thus, DMBA, a more potent carcinogen than B[a]P, produces a more extensive B-cell suppression than B[a]P as well as alters host resistance to tumor and bacterial challenge.
Increasing Fluorous Partition Coefficients by Solvent Tuning.

Low partition coefficients of fluorous components have been a persistent problem in liquid−liquid separations using perfluoroalkanes as the fluorous phase. Solvent tuning of both the nonfluorous and the fluorous phase dramatically enhances the partitioning of light or polar fluorous molecules into the fluorous liquid phase, while minimally effecting partition coefficients of nonfluorous molecules. These findings suggest an expanded scope for liquid-based separations in fluorous biphasic catalysis, fluorous-tagged reagents, fluorous-supported oligomer synthesis, and related areas.
Ultrafast excitation energy transfer and exciton-exciton annihilation processes in isolated light harvesting complexes of photosystem II (LHC II) from spinach

Excitation energy transfer and exciton-exciton annihilation in the isolated light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein complex of spinach photosystem II (LHC II) has been studied by two-color absorption difference spectroscopy with femtosecond time resolution. After selectively exciting Chl b at 645 nm, the transient absorption changes were monitored at wavelengths where either Chl b (655 nm) or Chl a (680 nm) dominates the absorption of LHC II. From the good correspondence of the lifetimes obtained from a numerical analysis of the very fast relaxation in the Chl b absorption band (160 [+-] 20 fs) and the rise kinetics in the Chl a absorption band (145 [+-] 20 fs), it is suggested that the Chl b [yields] Chl a excitation energy transfer occurs on a time scale of about 150 fs. In addition, at both probe wavelengths (655 and 680 nm) lifetimes of 3-7 ps were observed which likely arise from excitation energy transfer processes connected with spectral shifting. The kinetic curves of the transient absorption changes at 680 nm show a remarkable intensity dependence which is ascribed to exciton-exciton annihilation. Since at a probe wavelength of 655 nm no intensity effect on the kinetics was observed, it is concluded that annihilation processesmore » preferably occur among excited singlet states of Chl a molecules. 28 refs., 6 figs.« less
microRNAs in cardiovascular development

Heart development requires precise temporal-spatial regulation of gene expression, in which the highly conserved modulation networks of transcription factors accurately control the signaling pathways required for normal cardiovascular development. Even slight perturbation of such programming during cardiogenesis can cause congenital heart defects and late neonatal or adult heart disease. microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of “small” non-coding RNAs, have recently drawn a lot of attention for their “big” impact on cardiovascular development and diseases. miRNAs negatively regulate the expression of their target genes in most biological organisms through post-transcriptional processes. Here, we review the roles of miRNAs in cardiovascular development and function, looking inside the molecular mechanisms by which miRNAs act as “fine tuners” and/or “safeguards” to maintain the homeostasis of cardiovascular system. We also propose new directions for therapeutic potential of these tiny molecules.
Surface layer formation on corroded nuclear waste glasses

Abstract The corrosion of a borosilicate nuclear waste glass is accompanied by the formation of an altered layer on the glass surface. This layer has a chemical composition that is radically different from that of the bulk glass and can be many microns thick. In this study, the combined techniques of Rutherford backscattering depth profile analysis, Raman scattering, quantitative solution analysis, and solution conductivity measurements have been used to investigate the elemental distribution, chemical stability, chemical composition, and protective ability of the altered surface layers formed on several simulated nuclear waste glasses that were corroded in aqueous media. The properties of altered glass surface layers formed by exposure to distilled H 2 O, acidic, basic, and brine solutions were investigated. Exposure to the different solutions resulted in significant variations in the characteristics of the corroded surface layer. In particular, the surface layers formed in one solution were frequently unstable when the glass was re-exposed to different corrosion conditions. Raman spectroscopy was employed in establishing that for glasses corroded in distilled H 2 O, strontium is present in the altered surface layer in the form of SrCO 3 .
Enzymatic methylation of protein fractions from calf thymus nuclei.

Abstract It was previously reported that among the various histone fractions of calf thymus only arginine-rich histone contained e-N-methyllysine, as determined by ninhydrin color ( 1 ). Findings in our laboratory have demonstrated that arginine-rich histone contained not only e-N-methyllysine, but also e-N-dimethyllysine ( 2 ). On the other hand, Comb et al . ( 3 ) demonstrated that lysine-rich histone from the nuclei of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells also serves as a methyl acceptor in the crude cell-free system. We report in this paper that, with isolated calf thymus nuclei labeled with S-adenosyl-L-methionine-methyl-14C, methyl-14C was distributed in all the protein fractions; H2SO4-insoluble protein, lysine-rich histone, slightly lysine-rich histone and arginine-rich histone. However, lysine-rich histone incorporated radioactivity most actively, forming e-N-methyllysine.
Motivating adolescents: high school teachers’ perceptions and classroom practices

This study investigated high school teachers’ perceptions of the motivational needs of their students and the strategies they used to address those needs. Participants were 96 teachers in 15 high schools in a Southwestern state in the USA. Data were collected via paper‐based questionnaires addressing teachers’ perceptions of: supportive classroom environment, students’ general motivation, causes of student lack of motivation, teachers’ self‐efficacy for motivating students, interpersonal style, and motivating strategies. Quantitative data were analyzed by correlation and multiple regressions. Teachers’ efficacy for diagnosing and intervening for students’ motivation, and their interpersonal motivating styles, predicted their strategy use. Both internal and external causal perceptions explained important parts of variance in teachers’ perceptions of students’ overall motivation. Strategies that teachers use, in turn, predicted the supportiveness of their classroom environments. Surprisingly, teachers’ perc...
Identification of multilocus genetic heterogeneity in Anaplasma marginale subsp. centrale and its restriction following tick-borne transmission.

ABSTRACT Anaplasma marginale subsp. centrale was the first vaccine used to protect against a rickettsial disease and is still in widespread use a century later. As its use preceded development of either cryopreservation or cell culture, the vaccine strain was maintained for decades by sequential passage among donor animals, excluding the natural tick-borne transmission cycle that provides a selective pressure or population “bottleneck.” We demonstrated that the vaccine strain is genetically heterogeneous at 46 chromosomal loci and that heterogeneity was maintained upon inoculation into recipient animals. The number of variants per site ranged from 2 to 11 with a mean of 2.8/locus and a mode and median of 2/locus; variants included single-nucleotide polymorphisms, insertions/deletions, polynucleotide tracts, and different numbers of perfect repeats. The genetic heterogeneity is highly unlikely to be a result of strain contamination based on analysis using a panel of eight gene markers with a high power for strain discrimination. In contrast, heterogeneity appears to be a result of genetic drift in the absence of the restriction of tick passage. Heterogeneity could be reduced following tick passage, and the reduced heterogeneity could be maintained in sequential intravenous and tick-borne passages. The reduction in vaccine strain heterogeneity following tick passage did not confer an enhanced transmission phenotype, indicating that a stochastically determined population bottleneck was likely responsible as opposed to a positive selective pressure. These findings demonstrate the plasticity of an otherwise highly constrained genome and highlight the role of natural transmission cycles in shaping and maintaining the bacterial genome.
Tuned with a Tune: Talker Normalization via General Auditory Processes.

Voices have unique acoustic signatures, contributing to the acoustic variability listeners must contend with in perceiving speech, and it has long been proposed that listeners normalize speech perception to information extracted from a talker’s speech. Initial attempts to explain talker normalization relied on extraction of articulatory referents, but recent studies of context-dependent auditory perception suggest that general auditory referents such as the long-term average spectrum (LTAS) of a talker’s speech similarly affect speech perception. The present study aimed to differentiate the contributions of articulatory/linguistic versus auditory referents for context-driven talker normalization effects and, more specifically, to identify the specific constraints under which such contexts impact speech perception. Synthesized sentences manipulated to sound like different talkers influenced categorization of a subsequent speech target only when differences in the sentences’ LTAS were in the frequency range of the acoustic cues relevant for the target phonemic contrast. This effect was true both for speech targets preceded by spoken sentence contexts and for targets preceded by non-speech tone sequences that were LTAS-matched to the spoken sentence contexts. Specific LTAS characteristics, rather than perceived talker, predicted the results suggesting that general auditory mechanisms play an important role in effects considered to be instances of perceptual talker normalization.
Statistical analysis of aerosol species, trace gasses, and meteorology in Chicago

Both canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to atmospheric aerosol and trace gas concentrations and meteorological data collected in Chicago during the summer months of 2002, 2003, and 2004. Concentrations of ammonium, calcium, nitrate, sulfate, and oxalate particulate matter, as well as, meteorological parameters temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and humidity were subjected to CCA and PCA. Ozone and nitrogen oxide mixing ratios were also included in the data set. The purpose of statistical analysis was to determine the extent of existing linear relationship(s), or lack thereof, between meteorological parameters and pollutant concentrations in addition to reducing dimensionality of the original data to determine sources of pollutants. In CCA, the first three canonical variate pairs derived were statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Canonical correlation between the first canonical variate pair was 0.821, while correlations of the second and third canonical variate pairs were 0.562 and 0.461, respectively. The first canonical variate pair indicated that increasing temperatures resulted in high ozone mixing ratios, while the second canonical variate pair showed wind speed and humidity’s influence on local ammonium concentrations. No new information was uncovered in the third variate pair. Canonical loadings were also interpreted for information regarding relationships between data sets. Four principal components (PCs), expressing 77.0 % of original data variance, were derived in PCA. Interpretation of PCs suggested significant production and/or transport of secondary aerosols in the region (PC1). Furthermore, photochemical production of ozone and wind speed’s influence on pollutants were expressed (PC2) along with overall measure of local meteorology (PC3). In summary, CCA and PCA results combined were successful in uncovering linear relationships between meteorology and air pollutants in Chicago and aided in determining possible pollutant sources.
Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of ethylene over palladium at positive potentials

Abstract The palladium-black-catalyzed electrogenerative hydrogenation of ethylene was investigated over partially wettable, porous, commercial electrodes between +0.6 and 0 V. In perchloric acid electrolyte, hydrogen ion transport in the catalyst pores was rapid, but ethylene pore diffusion became rate limiting below 0.3 atm partial pressure. A simple pore model treatment allows the incorporation of an electrochemical Thiele modulus. With this treatment, the evaluation of intrinsic electrode kinetic parameters from apparent ones is demonstrated. A mechanistic model is proposed involving the surface insertion of ethylene to adsorbed hydrogen atoms followed by slow hydrogen addition to the resulting surface ethyl radicals. This model is used to explain differences in reaction rate, overpotential, and selectivity for double bond reduction on palladium and platinum.
Antithyroid antibodies and parity: Further evidence for microchimerism in autoimmune thyroid disease

Objective Fetal microchimerism may have a role in development of autoimmune thyroid disorders. Using parity as a surrogate for increasing fetal cell exposure, we analyzed its association with thyroid peroxidase antibody levels. Study Design Secondary analysis of serum thyroid analytes determined in 17,298 women from a population-based prospective study between 2001 and 2003. Sera were assayed for thyrotropin, free thyroxine, and antithyroid peroxidase antibodies. We analyzed the relationship between thyroid peroxidase antibodies and increasing parity. Results The incidence of abnormally elevated thyroid peroxidase antibody levels (>50 IU/mL) increased with advancing parity, but was not significant after adjustment for maternal characteristics. However, at higher thyroid peroxidase antibody levels (>500 IU/mL), a significant relationship with advancing parity persisted after adjustments ( P = .002). Conclusion Advancing parity is associated with an increased risk for high serum concentrations of antithyroid peroxidase antibodies. This suggests fetal microchimerism may play a role in development of autoimmune thyroid disorders.
Impact of the Alga Cladophora on the Survival of E. coli, Salmonella, and Shigella in Laboratory Microcosm

E. coli is an indicator of recent fecal contamination of freshwater beaches around the Great Lakes region. Elevated concentrations indicate that a fecal contamination has occurred, and that the risk for contact with fecal pathogenic organisms is heightened. The green algae, Cladophora, harbors populations of E. coli and potentially allows for prolonged survival and even replication of the bacterium in the lake environment. If presence of Cladophora mats on beaches is associated with persistence of E. coli in beach water, then E. coli would be a useful indicator organism only if pathogens also were able to survive and persist in the algae. This study utilized lab microcosms to study the persistence of E. coli, and of the fecal pathogens, Salmonella and Shigella, in lake water with and without the presence of Cladophora. E. coli was able to persist for extended periods in the presence of Cladophora (attached to algal mats for 45 days). Salmonella and Shigella, however, were unable to persist for this time period while in the presence of Cladophora (Salmonella attached to Cladophora was detectable for 10 days and Shigella was detectable for only 2 days). These data imply that E. coli is able to survive in the presence of Cladophora for greater times than are the fecal pathogens and that E. coli may not be an appropriate indicator organism for beaches with accumulations of algal material.
Sodium Lactate Affects Shelf Life And Consumer Acceptance Of Fresh Catfish (Icfalurus nebulosus, marmoratus) Fillets Under Simulated Retail Conditions

Fresh Ictalurus nebulosus, marmoratus (Speckled Bullhead catfish) fillets were tumbled under vacuum (172.32 kPa for 15 min) with either 0, 1, or 2% sodium lactate solutions (w/w) adjusted to pH 5.50, and stored at 1.11 ± 1°C for 8 days. Shelf life of fillets treated with 2% sodium lactate was extended from 4 to 7 days. Aerobic plate counts and TBA values were lower (P < 0.05) for fillets treated with 2% sodium lactate, compared to controls. Total and fecal coliforms, psychrotrophs, pH, water activity, proximate composition and fatty acid profiles were not affected by sodium lactate. Cooking yields and sodium content were higher for fillets treated with sodium lactate compared to controls.
Monitoring receptor-mediated activation of heterotrimeric G-proteins by fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-centered fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) relies on a distance-dependent transfer of energy from a donor fluorophore to an acceptor fluorophore and can be used to examine protein interactions in living cells. Here we describe a method to monitor the association and disassociation of heterotrimeric GTP-binding (G-proteins) from one another before and after stimulation of coupled receptors in living Dictyostelium discoideum cells. The Ga2 and Gbc proteins were tagged with cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins and used to observe the state of the G-protein heterotrimer. Data from emission spectra were used to detect the FRET fluorescence and to determine kinetics and dose–response curves of bound ligand and analogs. Extending G-protein FRET to mammalian G-proteins should enable direct in situ mechanistic studies and applications such as drug screening and identifying ligands of new G-protein-coupled receptors. 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Accurate approximation of Green's functions in planar stratified media in terms of a finite sum of spherical and cylindrical waves

A robust and computationally-expedient methodology is presented for accurate, closed-form approximation of the Green's functions used in the mixed-potential integral equation statement of the electromagnetic boundary value problem in planar stratified media. The proposed methodology is based on the fitting of the spectrum of the Green's function, after the extraction of the quasistatic part, making use of rational functions. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed methodology rely upon the proper sampling of the spectrum in order to improve the accuracy of the rational function fit. The resulting closed-form approximation is in terms of both spherical and cylindrical waves. Thus, high accuracy is obtained in the approximation of the Green's function irrespective of the distance of the observation point from the source. The methodology is validated through its application to the approximation of the Green's function for a multi-layered, planar dielectric stack
A mechanistic study of H2S decomposition on Ni- and Cu-based anode surfaces in a solid oxide fuel cell

Abstract The mechanisms of interaction between H2S and Ni- or Cu-based anode surfaces in a solid oxide fuel cell were elucidated by density functional slab model calculations. Two reaction pathways via molecular and dissociative adsorption processes were mapped out following minimum energy paths. The energy for H2S adsorption at the atop site of Ni(1 1 1) lying parallel to the surface is predicted to be −0.55 eV, while that for the dissociative adsorption is −1.75 eV. In contrast, the formation of initial molecular complexes on a Cu surface is energetically unfavorable (Ead ∼ 0.0 eV), suggesting that Cu is more sulfur-tolerant than Ni.
On the Economic Impact of Modeling Non-Linearities: The Asset Pricing Example

We investigate the economic importance of modeling non-linearities in the dynamics of exogenous processes on the implied moments of endogenous variables in the context of the consumption-based asset pricing model. For this purpose, we model the endowment process alternatively as a linear autoregression and as a non-linear threshold autoregression. The asset pricing model with non-linear endowment is solved using quadrature techniques. A comparison of the moments of the model-implied rates of return in the two cases suggests that the economic impact of modeling non-linearities is small.
Characterizing and improving HIV and hepatitis knowledge among primary prescription opioid abusers.

Abstract Background The high rates of HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) infection among opioid abusers is a serious public health problem, and efforts to enhance knowledge regarding risks for HIV/hepatitis infection in this population are important. Abuse of prescription opioids (POs), in particular, has increased substantially in the past decade and is associated with increasing rates of injection drug use and HCV infection. Methods This study describes the effects of a brief HIV/HCV educational intervention delivered in the context of a larger randomized, double-blind clinical trial evaluating the relative efficacy of 1-, 2-, and 4-week outpatient buprenorphine tapers and subsequent oral naltrexone maintenance for treating PO dependence. HIV- and HCV-related knowledge and risk behaviors were characterized pre- and post-intervention in 54 primary PO abusers. Results The educational intervention was associated with significant improvements in HIV ( p p p p Conclusion These results suggest that a brief, easy-to-administer intervention is associated with substantial gains in HIV and HCV knowledge among PO abusers and represents the necessary first step toward the dissemination of a structured prevention HIV and HCV intervention for PO abusers.
Involving the Parents of English Language Learners in a Rural Area: Focus on the Dynamics of Teacher-Parent Interactions.

In this study, the author suggests that the current ELL parental involvement model often overlooks the structural aspects and power asymmetry of parent-teacher relationships that can hinder productive collaboration. In doing so, the author uses postcolonial theory as a conceptual lens to investigate the dynamics of ELL parent-teacher interactions from rural ELL parent perspectives by looking at those interactions as intercultural relations. The study uses a general qualitative methodology to explore the dynamics of ELL parent-teacher interactions. Three broad themes that emerged as obstacles that inhibit productive ELL parent-teacher interactions were (1) teachers’judgments toward ELL students and their parents, (2) ELL parents’ frustration about their inability to influence a teacher’s decision making, and (3) ELL parents’ fear of repercussions for speaking up. The paper concludes with important implications for teachers working with ELL students in rural areas.
Glomerulonephritis Induced by Recombinant Collagen IVα3 Chain Noncollagen Domain 1 Is Not Associated with Glomerular Basement Membrane Antibody: A Potential T Cell-Mediated Mechanism

Glomerulonephritis is believed to result commonly from Ab-mediated glomerular injury. However, Ab-associated mechanisms alone cannot explain many cases of human glomerulonephritis. We developed a rat model of human anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease to investigate T cell and Ab response, and their associations with the disease. A single immunization of highly denatured recombinant mouse collagen IV alpha3 chain noncollagen domain 1 (rCol4alpha3NC1) induced severe glomerulonephritis in 100% of Wistar Kyoto rats, 33% of which died of this disease around day 35 postimmunization. The renal pathology demonstrated widespread glomerular damage and a mononuclear cell infiltration within the interstitial tissue. T cells from immunized rats responded not only to rCol4alpha3NC1, but also to isolated rat GBM. Sera Abs to rCol4alpha3NC1 were detectable in 100% of the rats, but only 20% of the rats had low levels of Ab to isolated rat GBM by Western blot, and none by immunofluorescence. Furthermore, IgG/M binding to or C3 deposition on endogenous GBM in immunized rats were not detected in most of the experimental rats, and showed no statistical correlation with disease severity. Additionally, no electronic dense deposition in the glomeruli was detected in all rats. Those data revealed a disassociation between the disease and anti-GBM Ab. T cell-mediated mechanisms, which are currently under our investigation, may be responsible for the glomerular disease.
EPIZOOTIOLOGY OF CRANIAL ABSCESS DISEASE IN WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) OF GEORGIA, USA

Intracranial abscess disease is a cause of natural mortality for mature male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Most cases of abscesses are associated with bacterial infection by Trueperella (Arcanobacterium) pyogenes, but a complete understanding of the epidemiology of this disease is lacking. We quantified the effects of individual characteristics, site-specific herd demographics, land cover, and soil variables in estimating the probability of this disease. We examined 7,545 white-tailed deer from 60 sites throughout Georgia US for signs of cranial abscesses, the predecessor of intracranial abscesses, and recorded the presence or absence of cranial abscesses for each individual examined. We detected no cranial abscesses in 2,562 female deer but 91 abscesses in 4,983 male deer examined (1.8%). A generalized linear mixed model, treating site as a random effect, was used to examine several potential explanatory risk factors including site-level landscape and soil characteristics (soil and forest type), demographic factors (deer density and male to female ratio), and individual host factors (deer sex and age). Model results indicated that the probability of a male having a cranial abscess increased with age and that adult sex ratio (male:female) was positively associated with this disease. Site-specific variables for land cover and soil types were not strongly associated with observations of the disease at the scale measured and a large amount of among-site variability remained. Given the demonstrated effect of age, gender, and local sex ratios but the remaining unexplained spatial variability, additional investigation into spatiotemporal variation of the presumed bacterial causative agent of cranial abscesses appears warranted.
2001 Survey of Kansas Tort Law: Part I

Part 1 of a 2-part series on changes to Kansas Tort Law including a survey of recent cases - 2001.
Criminal Justice after the Conservative Reformation

This essay is part of a symposium asking whether there has been a significant change in direction in the Supreme Court's constitutional criminal justice jurisprudence recently. There indeed is a pronounced change. The forces that drove criminal justice toward a "conservative reformation" from the 1970s into the 1990s are now spent. The Court's challenge today is to maintain criminal justice's legitimacy in an environment driven by neither an overriding fear of crime nor a strong demand for further pro-prosecution conservative reform. In this new climate, other forces more conducive to affirming liberty in the liberty-versus-order equation can flow more freely. A redirection of criminal justice naturally follows.In this new transitional period, three different dynamics operate to shape the Court's criminal justice jurisprudence. The first involves the Court's responsiveness to constitutional critiques of the justice system that have arisen from more-or-less grassroots levels. The second involves the occasional convergence of three different interpretive styles on the Supreme Court - an ecumenical internationalism reminiscent of the early 1960s, a generalizing of constitutional principles reminiscent of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and a textualist originalism popularized in the last fifteen years. The third dynamic involves the Court's effort to provide frameworks for dealing with the challenges that have arisen in the wake of the September 11 tragedies.Each dynamic represents a resource to be tapped in the waging of law reform. Each also represents a different judicial function that regularly operates to shape constitutional law: the Court's obligation to respond to public critique, its obligation to seek synthesis within and across generations, and its obligation to provide frameworks for dealing with newly emerging constitutional challenges (and thereby contribute leadership that helps the other departments of the national government and the states).
Controlling the Intellectual Property Grab: Protect Innovation, Not Innovators

Intellectual property law is out of control. For more than a decade intellectual property rights holders have successfully expanded their rights, in the courts and in Congress. Commentators and policy makers have recently expressed concern over this expansion, and the Supreme Court has begun to take a closer look at intellectual property issues, but the expansionary trend continues. This paper does not propose a grand resolution of all the current problems in intellectual property law, however. Instead, the paper proposes the use of an aphorism, one borrowed from antitrust: It is innovation, not innovators, which the Acts protect. The first part of the paper discusses how the aphorism can be used in the debate over the philosophical bases of intellectual property law, specifically, the question whether intellectual property should be viewed as property. The second part of the paper discusses how the aphorism might apply to decisions in three important areas - business method patents, upstream and research tool patents, and the first sale doctrine. The third part of the paper discusses the critical role that the antitrust enforcement agencies should be playing in restraining the growth of intellectual property rights. The paper concludes with a brief assessment of the aphorism's utility.
Courteous glass

Small and always-on, wearable video cameras disrupt social norms that have been established for traditional hand-held video cameras, which explicitly signal when and which subjects are being recorded to people around the camera-holder. We first discuss privacy-related social cues that people employ when recording other people (as a camera-holder) or when being recorded by others (as a bystander or a subject). We then discuss how low-fidelity sensors such as far-infrared imagers can be used to capture these social cues and to control video cameras accordingly in order to respect the privacy of others. We present a few initial steps toward implementing a fully functioning wearable camera that recognizes social cues related to video privacy and generates signals that can be used by others to adjust their privacy expectations.
Carrier Recombination Dynamics of InGaN/GaN LEDs and Its Applications to the Optimization of uv Generation Efficiency

To obtain small size high speed ultraviolet sources, we studied the UV generation process and efficiency of GaN Blue LEDs. The blue and UV emissions follow a 4-level recombination model. Depending on a given pump pulse amplitude the UV to blue generation ratio increases and saturates with the increasing of pump pulse duration. High efficiency, upto 450 μ W UV power at 380 nm, can be obtained from a 1.2 mW blue LED.
Combustion Timing Modeling and Control Framework for Biodiesel/Diesel Blends During Pre-Mixed Combustion

Strict emissions constraints and interest in increasing engine efficiency are causing growing attention on advanced combustion strategies such as premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) which can drastically lower particulate matter, and nitrogen oxide emissions. Control of PCCI requires an understanding of the underlying dynamics that govern the combustion process and can be challenging since there is no direct trigger for beginning the combustion process. In addition, the timing of the actual start of combustion (SOC) is affected by the in-cylinder conditions (such as temperature and pressure) as well as the fuel being utilized. This paper focuses on the development of a control-oriented physics-based model which predicts the SOC for diesel and biodiesel to within ±2°CA. Validation efforts demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in capturing SOC for multiple fuels and point to the strong role of in-cylinder oxygen content in influencing the SOC. A control framework which controls SOC through regulation of in-cylinder conditions is shown to be effective in controlling combustion phasing for both diesel and biodiesel in PCCI.© 2012 ASME
A MRI-CT prostate registration using sparse representation technique

Purpose : To develop a new MRI-CT prostate registration using patch-based deformation prediction framework to improve MRI-guided prostate radiotherapy by incorporating multiparametric MRI into planning CT images. Methods : The main contribution is to estimate the deformation between prostate MRI and CT images in a patch-wise fashion by using the sparse representation technique. We assume that two image patches should follow the same deformation if their patch-wise appearance patterns are similar. Specifically, there are two stages in our proposed framework, i.e., the training stage and the application stage. In the training stage, each prostate MR images are carefully registered to the corresponding CT images and all training MR and CT images are carefully registered to a selected CT template. Thus, we obtain the dense deformation field for each training MR and CT image. In the application stage, for registering a new subject MR image with the same subject CT image, we first select a small number of key points at the distinctive regions of this subject CT image. Then, for each key point in the subject CT image, we extract the image patch, centered at the underlying key point. Then, we adaptively construct the coupled dictionary for the underlying point where each atom in the dictionary consists of image patches and the respective deformations obtained from training pair-wise MRI-CT images. Next, the subject image patch can be sparsely represented by a linear combination of training image patches in the dictionary, where we apply the same sparse coefficients to the respective deformations in the dictionary to predict the deformation for the subject MR image patch. After we repeat the same procedure for each subject CT key point, we use B-splines to interpolate a dense deformation field, which is used as the initialization to allow the registration algorithm estimating the remaining small segment of deformations from MRI to CT image. Results : Our MRI-CT registration technique was validated with a clinical study of 10 patients. The accuracy of our approach was assessed using some identified landmarks in both MRI and CT images. Our proposed registration was compared with the current free-form-deformation (FFD)-based registration method. The accuracy of the proposed method was significantly higher than the commonly used FFD-based registration utilizing normalized mutual information (NMI). Conclusions : We have developed a new prostate MR-CT registration approach based on patch-deformation dictionary, demonstrated its clinical feasibility, and validated its accuracy with some identified landmarks. The proposed registration method may provide an accurate and robust means of estimating prostate-gland deformation between MRI and CT scans, and is therefore well-suited for a number of MR-targeted CT-based prostate radiotherapy.
The Relationship Between Polyvictimization, Emotion Dysregulation, and Social Support Among Emerging Adults Victimized During Childhood

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between childhood polyvictimization and social support from family and friends in emerging adulthood. Emotion dysregulation was also investigated as a potential mediator underlying this relationship. Results indicated that childhood polyvictimization was significantly related to lower reports of social support from both family and friends. Emotion dysregulation was positively related to childhood polyvictimization, and negatively related to social support from family only. Additionally, emotion dysregulation partially mediated the relationship between childhood polyvictimization and support from family, suggesting that the ability to regulate one’s emotions could be particularly influential in family relationships. Results underscore the pervasive nature of childhood polyvictimization, and offer directions for intervention efforts targeted at emerging adults with polyvictimization histories.
Electrostatic field of Gauss theorem proved

Gauss theorem is an important theorem in the electromagnetic field,With the help of the concept of the electric field strength flux understanding theorem is very important to understand the proof of the Gauss theorem to the derivation of the electrostatic field of Gauss theorem.
Surgical Management of the Colorectal Cancer Patient with Simultaneous Liver and Lung Metastases

Although the liver and lung are the two most common sites of metastatic disease for colon and rectal cancer, management of simultaneous liver and lung metastases is ill-defined. The objective of this review is not only to review long-term outcomes after resection of simultaneous colorectal liver and lung metastases but also apply recent data regarding the (1) evolution of indeterminate pulmonary nodules discovered during staging evaluation of colorectal liver metastases, (2) impact of genetic mutations in colorectal cancer on disease outcomes, and (3) influence of lung metastases on overall survival outcomes to the management of patients with simultaneous colorectal liver and lung metastases.
Ceftazidime, a new cephalosporin in the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections: a comparative study with tobramycin.

Abstract: Ceftazidime is a new synthetic cephalosporin stable to beta-lactamase. In an open prospective randomized study, the safety and efficacy of ceftazidime was compared to that of tobramycin. Fifty-one patients were treated with either ceftazidime (0.5 gm. intramuscularly every 12 hours) or tobramycin (1mg. per kg. intramuscularly every 8 hours) for 7 to 10 days. Four patients were excluded from each treatment group, leaving 22 patients in the ceftazidime group and 21 in the tobramycin group. The groups were comparable in age, weight, underlying disorders of the urinary tract and distribution of bacteria. Cure was defined as sterile urine 7 to 10 days after treatment. The cure rate for ceftazidime was 73 per cent and for tobramycin, 62 per cent (0.6 <p <0.7, chisquare test with Yates correction). Both drugs were well tolerated, but serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase rose in the tobramycin group. No patients had nephrotoxic reactions. We conclude that ceftazidime is a safe and efficient treatment...
Quinidine, Hepatotoxicity: A report of a case and review of the literature

A case is described of presumed quinidine hepatotoxicity, characterized by thedevelopment of fever, abnormal serum transaminase values, which improved after cessation of the drug but recurred after a challenge dose, and centrizonal hepatocellular necrosis detected on liver biopsy. Morphological changes on electron microscopy, consistent with a drug reaction, are also described. Pertinent features of previous case reports are analyzed, and the histological findings by light microscopy of the present and past cases are discussed. It is suggested that the development of unexplained fever within 1 month of quinidine administration should lead to consideration of possible hepatotoxicity.
Treatment Outcome in Children with Astrocytomas

Of 514 patients diagnosed with brain tumor between 1972 and 2003 at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, 98 had astrocytic tumors; 56% were grade I-II and 44% were grade III-IV.
Scandinavian Crime Fiction and the Facts: Social Criticism, Epistemology, and Globalization

Rather than celebrating the success of Scandinavian crime writers as evidence of the continuing global spread of crime fiction, Nestingen’s focus is to examine how crime, and the investigation of crime, has been narrativized in contemporary Scandinavian crime fiction, and what the implications of this might be. Nestingen argues that Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” novels in general, and the figure of Lisbeth Salander, in particular, enact a new form of investigation based on positivist assumptions—a move that needs to be understood as a response to the conditions of neoliberal globalization and the orthodoxies of the free market, and as a rejoinder to the socially conscious crime fiction of Mankell, and Sjowall and Wahloo. The use of epistemological questions and problems, to give voice to social criticism, remains an enduring feature of Scandinavian crime fiction, but Nestingen argues that authors like Larsson frame such questions specifically to address the challenges of globalization and the state’s role in it, and to emphasize moral issues over explicitly political ones. This allows Nestingen to construct a new genealogy of Scandinavian crime fiction that is characterized more by disruption and discontinuity than by seamlessly integrating all writers into the same mode of narration and tradition.
Semiautomated determination of dielectric permittivity and loss in the microwave region

In a previous publication, apparatus for determination of the complex dielectric permittivity at centimeter wavelengths was described.1 The geometry used allowed acquisition of a digital record of the power reflected from a short-circuited liquid sample as a function of its length. This experimental procedure is appropriate for samples of moderate to high dielectric loss. For low loss samples, one examines instead the shape of the standing-wave pattern in the transmission line below the termination, liquid lengths corresponding to real terminating impedances being chosen.2-4 This work is concerned with a modification of the geometry and electronics of the high loss instrument to a configuration which allows a digital record of the standing-wave pattern to be obtained automatically. The system makes feasible the accumulation of large amounts of raw data which are used to average out random errors and to characterize systematic departures from the working equations resulting from nonideal instrument geometry.
Substrate Synthesis and Inhibitor Design for Synthetase DesD from Streptomyces coelicolor

The increasing incidence of drug-resistant microorganisms poses one of the most severe public health threats to modern society, sparking the need for entirely new classes of antibiotics. Because ir...