cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PRESSURE BREATHING IN NEWBORN PIGS

It has been assumed that the hemodynamic effects of continuous positive airway pressure(CPAP) and continuous negative pressure(CNP) are similar. Cardiac output(CO) utilizing dye dilution curves, heart rate(HR), arterial blood pressure(BP) and central venous pressure(CVP) were measured in 5 normal newborn pigs subjected to different levels of CPAP and CNP. CPAP was supplied with a head box whereas CNP was applied with a box enclosing the chest and upper abdomen. No significant differences were found in HR and BP between CPAP and CNP. Results of CVP and CO were: CVP increased as CPAP increased while the opposite occurred on CNP. CO decreased in 4/5 animals with +10CPAP and in all animals with +15CPAP. With CNP results were less consistent. CO increased on -5CNP but showed an overall tendency to decrease on -10 and -15CNP. However, this drop was smaller than the decrease which occurred on CPAP. The better CO during CNP compared to CPAP can be due in part to the decrease in CVP improving venous return from the body portions not subjected to CNP. The fall in CO above -5CNP may be due to either pooling of blood in body portions subjected to CNP or to increased pulmonary vascular resistance due to alveolar overdistension.
Evaluation of Damage Evolution in Ceramic‐Matrix Composites Using Thermoelastic Stress Analysis

Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) has been used to monitor damage evolution in several composite systems. The method is used to measure full-field hydrostatic stress maps across the entire visible surface of a sample, to quantify the stress redistribution that is caused by damage and to image the existing damage state in composites. Stress maps and damage images are constructed by measuring the thermoelastic and dissipational thermal signatures during cyclic loading. To explore the general utility of the method, test samples of several ceramic-matrix and cement-matrix composites have been fabricated and tested according to a prescribed damage schedule. The model materials have been chosen to illustrate the effect of each of three damage mechanisms: a single crack that is bridged by fibers, multiple matrix cracking, and shear bands. It is shown that the TSA method can be used to quantify the effect of damage and identify the operative damage mechanism. Each mechanism is identified by a characteristic thermal signature, and each is shown to be effective at redistributing stress and diffusing stress concentrations. The proposed experimental method presents a new way to measure the current damage state of a composite material.
Real-time cell analysis – A new method for dynamic, quantitative measurement of infectious viruses and antiserum neutralizing activity

A newly developed electronic cell sensor array--the xCELLigence real-time cell analysis (RTCA) system is tested currently for dynamic monitoring of cell attachment, proliferation, damage, and death. In this study, human enterovirus (HEV71) infection of human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) was used as an in vitro model to validate the application of this novel system as a straightforward and efficient assay for quantitative measurement of infectious viruses based on virus-induced cytopathic effect (CPE). Several experimental tests were performed including the determination of optimal seeding density of the RD cells in 96-well E-plates, RTCA real-time monitoring of the virus induced CPE and virus titer calculation, and viral neutralization test to determine HEV71 antibody titer. Traditional 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50) assay was also conducted for methodology comparison and validation, which indicated a consistent result between the two assays. These findings indicate that the xCELLigence RTCA system can be a valuable addition to current viral assays for quantitative measurement of infectious viruses and quantitation of neutralization antibody titer in real-time, warranting for future research and exploration of applications to many other animal and human viruses.
Water sustainability of ancient civilizations in mesoamerica and the American Southwest

Many civilizations, which were great centers of power and culture, were built in locations that could not support the populations that developed. Throughout history, arid and semi-arid lands seem to have produced more people than they can sustain. I will attempt to make comparisons between civilizations of the past in Mesoamerica and the American southwest and the present world in the context of water resources sustainability. Water has always been a very important factor in the development and survival of societies. A central theme of this paper is very simply, the ancients have warned us.
A Betti-Rayleigh theorem for elastic bodies exhibiting temperature dependent properties

The reciprocal theorem of Betti and Rayleigh is extended to thermoelastic problems concerning temperature dependent properties of the bodies. Illustrative examples are solved concerning extension and flexural rotation of a bar, change of volume of a body without and with a cavity, and the thermoelastic displacement.
Fracture of random matrix-inclusion composites: scale effects and statistics

Abstract We study crack patterns and effective stress-strain curves in unidirectional fiber-matrix composites subjected to a uniform out-of-plane shear. The fibers are aligned in the longitudinal direction and arranged randomly, with no overlap, in the transverse plane. Both fibers and matrix are isotropic and elastic-brittle. We conduct this analysis numerically using a very fine two-dimensional spring network and simulate the crack initiation and propagation by sequentially removing bonds which exceed a local fracture criterion. In particular, we focus on effects of scale and geometric randomness in these composites. We consider several “windows of observation” (scales) and study crack patterns, types of constitutive responses, and statistics of the corresponding scale dependent effective elastic stiffness and strength of such composites. In the parametric study we cover a wide range of material combinations defined by the stiffness ratio and the strain-to-failure ratio and we employ a damage plane in terms of these two parameters to illustrate the results.
SNAr reactions with fluoroarene-Cr(CO)2L complexes, where L is a potential linker ligand for solid phase synthesis

Fluoroarene-Cr(CO)2L complexes with L = CO, PPh3, P(OPh)3, and P(pyrrolyl)2(NMeBn) have been evaluated for rates of nucleophilic substitution by amines and other nucleophiles. While there is a strong effect on relative rates depending on nucleophile type and the electronic effects of L, the P(pyrrolyl)3 and P(pyrrolyl)2-(NMeBn) complexes show general reactivity comparable to the parent complexes, with L = CO.
Comment on "How the result of a measurement of a component of the spin of a spin-(1/2 particle can turn out to be 100"

A Comment on the Letter by Yokir Aharonov, David Z. Albert, and Lev Vaidman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 1351 (1988).
An analysis of high-flow sediment event data for evaluating model performance

A methodology for utilizing high-flow event data in model evaluation is presented. The methodology was applied to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, version 2000 (SWAT) for the Cannonsville watershed, a rural, hilly watershed in northeastern USA, with a substantial winter snow pack. Thirty-five high-flow events that contained intensive total suspended solid sampling were selected in order to evaluate SWAT strengths and limitations. A comparison of calibrated model results to total sediment load data over 34 of the 35 events shows that the model underestimated the observed load by 29% (observed = 61 414 MT, predicted = 43 491 MT). In general, high sediment loading events (over 2000 metric tons) were underestimated. Most winter events were underestimated, likely due to limitations in SWAT for simulating erosion caused by snowmelt. In general, the model fit measured TSS concentrations better in the late summer/early fall than in other seasons. In addition, the model does not model erosion caused by flood waters eroding the flood plain. Additional analysis was performed for nine high-flow events during the validation, but little conclusion could be drawn from so few events. The methodology can be used to evaluate the relative performance of the model's simulation of different processes and seasons (e.g., summer runoff events versus winter snowmelt events), provide guidance for expanding the model, and focus future calibration efforts towards controlling equations and/or parameters. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
School governance and the pursuit of democratic participation: Lessons from South Africa☆

Abstract This article examines experiences in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces with devolved school governance, introduced in 1996 to promote democratic participation in education decision making. Utilizing the “theory of action” framework, this analysis is an effort to de-center the school governance debate by moving from a central government perspective to one privileging local meaning of participation and decision making in school governance. An understanding of individual local theories of governance and participation proves most powerful when seen in interaction with institutional structures and the subtle and less-than-subtle signals reinforcing established power structures and conventions and circumscribing the community's role.
Graphite Microparticles as Coatings for Quartz Crystal Microbalance-Based Gas Sensors

The use of graphite particles (1−2 μm) as coatings on quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs) for detection and monitoring of toluene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is described. Unlike th...
The effect of mechanical properties on erosion

Abstract A number of alloys, commonly used either for their abrasion resistance or their elevated temperature properties (high strength and corrosion resistance), were studied to investigate their erosion behavior. Angular quartz particles (70–200 μm diameter) and silicon carbide particles (250 μm average diameter) were used as erodents. Several of the alloys were tested in two conditions; annealed and in either a work-hardened or aged condition. The aging or work-hardening treatments carried out on the high temperature alloys had essentially no effect on erosion rates. Further, there were only small differences in erosion rate between the different high temperature alloys; they included cobalt-based, nickel-based, and iron-based alloys. The abrasion-resistant alloys generally eroded at higher rates than the high temperature alloys with the matrix composition being of greater importance than the morphology of carbides within the alloy. Erosion rates were not strongly dependent upon impingement angle for any of the alloys tested and in many cases the erosion rate was higher at 60° impingement than at either 30° or 90°. The carbide particles which confer abrasion resistance to alloys were found to disrupt plastic flow around the indentation, causing void formation and fracture. The carbides were thus deleterious to erosion performance. It is proposed that the high strain rate, short contact time, and essentially adiabatic nature of erodent particle impacts are responsible for the near-constant erosion rates of the high temperature alloys. Their mechanical properties (measured quasi-statically) covered a very wide range. Estimates of the local temperature rise at indentations are calculated for different alloys and are shown to support the proposition.
Dose-Dependent Pharmacokinetics and Biliary Excretion of Bromophenol Blue in the Rat

□ Concentrations of bromophenol blue (I) in plasma, urine, and bile were determined spectrophotometrically after intravenous bolus injections and infusions in rats. The plasma concentrations were found to decrease monoexponentially after all doses except the highest, where the decrease was biexponential. Although the disposition kinetics of I were apparently first-order at all doses, the half-life increased with increasing dose. The area under the plasma concentration–time curve (AUC0 -∞) increased disproportionately with increasing dose. The binding of I to rat plasma proteins, as determined by equilibrium dialysis, showed that the fraction bound (96%) remained constant in the concentration range of 10-300 μg/ml. Plasma concentrations were determined at time zero after intravenous administration and after a second dose administered 20 min later when plasma concentrations from the first dose were minimal. The apparent first-order elimination rate constant for the plasma concentration decline following the second dose was significantly less than after the first dose, indicating that the residual dye in the liver altered the elimination of I after the second dose. The fraction of the dose in the liver decreased with increasing dose, indicating a saturable uptake process. The biliary excretion profile reflected the uptake saturation that occurred in the liver and demonstrated that the biliary excretion of I depended on the amount present in the liver. When liver damage was induced by exposure to carbon tetrachloride, dye concentrations in the plasma, liver, and kidney increased markedly.
Effects of hyaluronidase and hydrocortisone on myocardial necrosis after coronary occlusion

In anesthetized open chest dogs, hydrocortisone (50 mg/kg body weight administered 30 minutes after occlusion and 25 mg/kg 12 hours later) substantially reduced the size of myocardial infarcts, as reflected by both myocardial creatine phosphokinase activity and histologic appearance 24 hours later. Similarly, hyaluronidase, which increases diffusion through the extracellular space and presumably facilitates delivery of substrate to ischemic cells, also reduced the extent of myocardial necrosis after coronary occlusion in the dog. In view of the salutary effects of hyaluronidase and the absence of serious side effects, this agent was administered clinically to two groups of patients, who were compared with two groups of untreated control subjects. Hyaluronidase (500 National Formulary units/kg X 8) was shown to result in a significantly more rapid reduction in the magnitude and the extent of precordial S-T segment elevations, and in patients treated within 4 hours a tendency to a lower incidence rate of Q waves and a smaller reduction of R waves.
Personal Characteristics Predictive of Depressive Symptoms in Hispanics with Heart Failure

Depression is a significant problem in heart failure (HF). The purposes of this study were to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Hispanics with HF and to examine the personal characteristics predicting depressive symptoms at baseline and at 6-months follow-up in a telephone case management intervention. In this secondary data analysis based on 87 subjects, patient characteristics hypothesized to influence depressive symptoms included age, gender, education, living situation, co-morbidity, social support, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, and acculturation. DSM-IV major depression was present in 39.1% (n = 35) of the participants at baseline and 1.1% (n = 1) at the 6-month follow-up. In regression analysis, factors associated with depressive symptoms at baseline were gender and NYHA class. At 6-month follow-up, acculturation, co-morbidity, and NYHA were significantly related to the presence of depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were highly prevalent in Hispanics with HF. Easily id...
ENERGY LOSS AND STRAGGLING OF HIGH-ENERGY MUONS IN NaI(Tl)

Absolute values of the most probable energy loss and the energy-loss straggling for high-energy muons passing through NaI (T1) have been measured over the muon momentum range from 0.5 to 10.5 $\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c}$. The results agree, within the 1% experimental uncertainty, with the theoretical values.
Isolation and identification of emodin (1,3,8-tri-hydroxy-6-methyl anthraquinone) from Rumex hymenosepalus, family polygonaceae.

The anthraquiiione pigment, emodin, has been isolated and its presence positively verified from a nonpolar extract of the dried, ground tubers of Rumex hymenosepalus . Isolation was accomplished by preparative TLC on silica gel layers. Identification was made by visible, IR, NMR spectroscopy and TLC, with use of commercial samples of emodin.
Performance barriers among elderly chronic heart failure patients An application of patient-engaged human factors and ergonomics

Applications of the human factors and ergonomics (HFE) approach in the healthcare domain have largely targeted the work of healthcare professionals. Here, we argue for the importance of targeting the work of patients and their lay caregivers, a relatively underdeveloped approach we call patient-engaged HFE. A multi-method study of the barriers to the self-care work of elderly chronic heart failure patients (N=27) and caregivers (N=11) illustrates the approach. Analyses of interview data using a macroergonomic Work System framework revealed a large variety of barriers unique to patient work as well as to CHF self-care. The most common person-related barriers were physical limitations and knowledge gaps. Task-related barriers included medication complexity and side-effects. Tool and technology barriers included lack of or overdependence on aids. Context barriers were organizational (e.g., no indoor gyms), social (e.g., sodiumrich food culture), and physical-environmental (e.g., stairs). Findings motivate fu...
Single Molecule Detection of Nitric Oxide Enabled by d(AT)15 DNA Adsorbed to Near Infrared Fluorescent Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We report the selective detection of single nitric oxide (NO) molecules using a specific DNA sequence of d(AT)(15) oligonucleotides, adsorbed to an array of near-infrared fluorescent semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (AT(15)-SWNT). While SWNT suspended with eight other variant DNA sequences show fluorescence quenching or enhancement from analytes such as dopamine, NADH, L-ascorbic acid, and riboflavin, d(AT)(15) imparts SWNT with a distinct selectivity toward NO. In contrast, the electrostatically neutral polyvinyl alcohol enables no response to nitric oxide, but exhibits fluorescent enhancement to other molecules in the tested library. For AT(15)-SWNT, a stepwise fluorescence decrease is observed when the nanotubes are exposed to NO, reporting the dynamics of single-molecule NO adsorption via SWNT exciton quenching. We describe these quenching traces using a birth-and-death Markov model, and the maximum likelihood estimator of adsorption and desorption rates of NO is derived. Applying the method to simulated traces indicates that the resulting error in the estimated rate constants is less than 5% under our experimental conditions, allowing for calibration using a series of NO concentrations. As expected, the adsorption rate is found to be linearly proportional to NO concentration, and the intrinsic single-site NO adsorption rate constant is 0.001 s(-1) μM NO(-1). The ability to detect nitric oxide quantitatively at the single-molecule level may find applications in new cellular assays for the study of nitric oxide carcinogenesis and chemical signaling, as well as medical diagnostics for inflammation.
Use of the APETALA1 promoter to assay the in vivo function of chimeric MADS box genes

&p.1: The MADS domain proteins AP1, AP3, PI, and AG are required to specify the four classes of organs in an Arabidopsis flower. Each of these proteins is involved in specifying the identity of two different organs in two adjacent floral whorls. They all share a 56-amino acid MADS domain required for DNA binding and dimerization, a region (I or L) involved in dimerization specificity, the K domain named for its sequence similarity to the coiled-coil of keratin, and a variable carboxy terminal sequence. The abilities of these four related proteins to specify distinct organs presumably result from differential effects on transcriptional regulation. We have previously used chimeric MADS box genes, expressed under the constitutive 35S promoter, to map the regions of these proteins that are responsible for their different organ identity activities. In this paper, we extend these studies by characterizing the phenotypes of plants ectopically expressing chimeric genes under the control of the endogenous AP1 promoter. Similar results are obtained with the 35S and AP1 promoters, although the endogenous promoter does provide a more rigorous test of function. We also describe results from new chimeric gene constructs that show new in vivo functions for the K domain and the amino-terminal portion of the MADS domain.
Antimicrobial resistance, virulence determinants and genetic profiles of clinical and nonclinical Enterococcus cecorum from poultry

Enterococcus cecorum has been implicated as a possible cause of disease in poultry. However, the characteristics that contribute to pathogenesis of Ent. cecorum in poultry have not been defined. In this study, Ent. cecorum from carcass rinsates (n = 75) and diseased broilers and broiler breeders (n = 30) were compared based upon antimicrobial resistance phenotype, the presence of virulence determinants and genetic relatedness using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Of the 16 antimicrobials tested, Ent. cecorum from carcass rinsates and clinical cases were resistant to ten and six of the antimicrobials, respectively. The majority of Ent. cecorum from carcass rinsates was resistant to lincomycin (54/75; 72%) and tetracycline (46/75; 61.3%) while the highest level of resistance among clinical Ent. cecorum was to tetracycline (22/30; 73.3%) and erythromycin (11/30; 36.7%). Multidrug resistance (resistance to ≥2 antimicrobials) was identified in Ent. cecorum from carcass rinsates (53/75; 70.7%) and diseased poultry (18/30; 60%). Of the virulence determinants tested, efaAfm was present in almost all of the isolates (104/105; 99%). Using PFGE, the majority of clinical isolates clustered together; however, a few clinical isolates grouped with Ent. cecorum from carcass rinsates. These data suggest that distinguishing the two groups of isolates is difficult based upon the characterization criteria used.
Emotion-spectrum response to form and color: Implications for usability

Previous empirical studies have shown consistent emotional responses to form and color, across a variety of contexts and especially across cultures. What varies across contexts and cultures is evaluation of the color/form/emotion response. For example, both the color red and jagged, high contrast forms consistently evoke one emotional response neutrally described as agitation or activation, a response evaluated negatively as anger or positively as excitement. Standard taxonomies of emotion do not consistently distinguish between the positive/negative evaluation of an emotion (e.g. committed/obsessed) and its raw quality (e.g. focused). Consequently, the consistent relationships between form/color and emotion have been obscured. We propose a new model of emotional response that treats color/form triggers of emotion quality separately from triggers of emotion evaluation. This new model identifies a spectrum of emotional quality (agitated-stimulated-amused-rested-focused-organized-concerned) generally parallel to the familiar color spectrum (red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet). With this model, we can demonstrate a stable emotion-spectrum response in a population of viewers, to any given combination of form and color. This paper will report on empirical tests of this emotion spectrum model and discuss implications for usability testing of visual information designs.
Pay-As-You-Go Entity Resolution

Entity resolution (ER) is the problem of identifying which records in a database refer to the same entity. In practice, many applications need to resolve large data sets efficiently, but do not require the ER result to be exact. For example, people data from the web may simply be too large to completely resolve with a reasonable amount of work. As another example, real-time applications may not be able to tolerate any ER processing that takes longer than a certain amount of time. This paper investigates how we can maximize the progress of ER with a limited amount of work using “hints,” which give information on records that are likely to refer to the same real-world entity. A hint can be represented in various formats (e.g., a grouping of records based on their likelihood of matching), and ER can use this information as a guideline for which records to compare first. We introduce a family of techniques for constructing hints efficiently and techniques for using the hints to maximize the number of matching records identified using a limited amount of work. Using real data sets, we illustrate the potential gains of our pay-as-you-go approach compared to running ER without using hints.
Increased prevalence of inhibitors in Hispanic patients with severe haemophilia A enrolled in the Universal Data Collection database

Neutralizing inhibitors develop in 20-30% of patients with severe factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency. It is well established that Blacks have a higher prevalence of inhibitors than Whites. This is the first study to definitively demonstrate increased inhibitor prevalence in the Hispanic population. We compared inhibitor prevalence among various racial and ethnic groups in a cross-sectional analysis of 5651 males with severe haemophilia A that participated in the Universal Data Collection project sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We used logistic regression analysis to control for potential confounding variables. We assigned as Hispanic those participants who were white and labelled themselves Hispanic. The prevalence of high-titre inhibitors in the Hispanic participants was 24.5% compared to 16.4% for White non-Hispanic patients (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1, 1.7). Possibilities as to the underlying cause of increased inhibitor prevalence in minority ethnic populations include polymorphisms in the FVIII molecule, HLA subtypes and differing inflammatory responses. A better understanding may lead to tailored treatment programmes, or other therapies, to decrease or prevent inhibitor development.
How To Buy Low and Sell High

Under Georgia’s Power’s innovative, two-part marginal priced tariff, customers have demonstrated an uncanny ability to do just this, resulting in a classic win-win for the customer and the utility. The dream of every participant in a capitalistic economy is to buy low and sell high. Those that do so reap significant rewards. But for the majority of us, this simple goal remains illusive. Historically the electric utility industry like most other businesses has not offered customers this availability of buying low and selling high — until recently. In June of 1990, Georgia Power Company quietly requested and was granted approval of an innovative, two-part marginal priced tariff called Real Time Pricing (RTP). Since its inception as a pilot with twenty-five test customers and twenty-five control customers (designed to measure price response characteristics), it has exploded into two permanent tariffs with over 1000 customers and over 4,000 mW’s of load. As the benefits of RTP became known to its customers, GPC hustled to add an hour-ahead RTP to the original day-ahead RTP, and lower the mW tariff requirements in order to share the tariff virtues with as many customers as possible. No other utility in the world promotes RTP and shares it benefits with its customers as does GPC. In fact if you were to add up RTP usage at all other utilities in the U.S., the sum would hardly equal that of GPC’s alone.
Residues of Eisenstein Series and Related Problems

In this paper, we discuss an approach which determines the residues of certain families of Eisenstein series in terms of periods on the cuspidal data. By contrast, the traditional approach is to determine the residues of Eisenstein series in terms of certain L-functions attached to the cuspidal data. The relation between these two methods is the general conjecture which relates periods on the cuspidal data to the existence of poles or the special values of L-functions attached to the cuspidal data.
Proactive Failure Management by Integrated Unsupervised and Semi-Supervised Learning for Dependable Cloud Systems

Cloud computing systems continue to grow in their scale and complexity. They are changing dynamically as well due to the addition and removal of system components, changing execution environments, frequent updates and upgrades, online repairs and more. In such large-scale complex and dynamic systems, failures are common. In this paper, we present a failure prediction mechanism exploiting both unsupervised and semi-supervised learning techniques for building dependable cloud computing systems. The unsupervised failure detection method uses an ensemble of Bayesian models. It characterizes normal execution states of the system and detects anomalous behaviors. After the anomalies are verified by system administrators, labeled data are available. Then, we apply supervised learning based on decision tree classier to predict future failure occurrences in the cloud. Experimental results in an institute-wide cloud computing system show that our proposed method can forecast failure dynamics with high accuracy.
Native Performers in Wild West Shows: From Buffalo Bill to Euro Disney. By Linda Scarangella McNenly. (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2012. Pp. xv, 254. $34.95.)

Native Americans who performed in Wild West shows have long interested scholars. Who were these people? What motivated them? Why would they participate in entertainment spectacles that demeaned the...
Handling timing constraints in rapid prototyping

Concepts and mechanisms for handling the real-time constraints of embedded software systems in rapid prototyping are presented. Rapid prototyping of embedded systems can be accomplished using a computer-aided prototyping system, CAPS, and its associated prototyping language PSDI. This system and language are used to aid the designer in the early stages of software engineering for hard real-time systems. Such systems contain time-critical operations with maximum execution times, maximum response times, and minimum calling periods. Interrupt handling, synchronization, and periodic behavior are also described at a high level. Time-critical operations in a real-time prototype are handled by constructing static and dynamic schedules to coordinate execution and to meet the required prototype execution times. The mechanisms for expressing timing constraints in PSDL are described along with their effects on the schedulers. >
Gravity Modeling Effects on Surface-Interacting Vehicles in Supersonic Flight

A vehicle simulation is "surface-interacting" if the state of the vehicle (position, velocity, and acceleration) relative to the surface is important. Surface-interacting simulations per-form ascent, entry, descent, landing, surface travel, or atmospheric flight. The dynamics of surface-interacting simulations are influenced by the modeling of gravity. Gravity is the sum of gravitation and the centrifugal acceleration due to the world s rotation. Both components are functions of position relative to the world s center and that position for a given set of geodetic coordinates (latitude, longitude, and altitude) depends on the world model (world shape and dynamics). Thus, gravity fidelity depends on the fidelities of the gravitation model and the world model and on the interaction of these two models. A surface-interacting simulation cannot treat gravitation separately from the world model. This paper examines the actual performance of different pairs of world and gravitation models (or direct gravity models) on the travel of a supersonic aircraft in level flight under various start-ing conditions.
Is laparotomy mandatory for parastomal hernia repair

Objective A parastomal hernia is an incisional hernia at the site of an intestinal stoma. The incidence varies, as do techniques for repair and their associated rates of success. The aim of this study was to evaluate the methods of parastomal hernia repair and their outcome. Patients and methods Between 1988 and 1998, 33 patients who underwent elective parastomal hernia repair were identified by the use of a computerized database. Information was collected on the indication and type of reparative procedure, as well as any morbidity or recurrence, post-operative complications and recurrence. The operative procedures performed included reanastomosis and ipsilateral and contralateral relocation with hernia repair. Additional data were collected on whether a laparotomy was required or mesh was placed. Results The commonest operation was relocation without laparotomy or mesh (36%), followed by laparotomy still without mesh (21%); the overall recurrence rate was 9% (3/33) at a mean follow up of 55.2 months (range 10–108 months). Conclusion Parastomal hernia repair without laparotomy or mesh is a safe and effective method of repair.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FEMALE URETHRAL WALL Experimental Method for Determining Relative Degree of Urethral Wall Stiffness

Abstract The female dog urethra was used in an experimental model to evaluate the relative degree of urethral wall stiffness in varying conditions. The model consisted of simultaneous monitoring of the pressure-volume relation and the external diameter changes during continuous distention of a closed urethral segment. The normal urethral response was analyzed, and changes as influenced by instrumental urethral dilation, urethral myotomy, and death were evaluated. The results indicated that appreciable increase in apparent compliance occurred under the previously mentioned experimental conditions. Although changes in specific compliance could not be reliably measured, observations on the diameter tracings suggested that a decrease would probably occur with no. 40 F. and larger-sized dilations.
Essential fatty acid profiles differ across diets and browse of black rhinoceros.

In captivity, black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) suffer from idiopathic skin lesions that may be linked to dietary deficiencies, in particular essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD). Therefore, a study was undertaken from July 1995 to May 1997 to characterize the diet of captive D. bicornisin North American zoos and measure fat and fatty acid composition in zoo diet, and African and North American browses. Descriptions of all dietary items offered to black rhinos on a daily basis were compiled from 20 North American zoos; zoo diet contained (mean ± SE) 61 ± 2% hay, 28 ± 2% grain pellets, 6 ± 1% produce, and 5 ± 1% fresh browse, with hay and grain pellets together comprising nearly 90% of items offered. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (GC-MS) was used to measure triacylglycerol equivalent (TAG), total fatty acids (TFA), and essential fatty acids (EFA) in zoo diet, and African and North American browses. North American browse contained more TAG and TFA than did zoo diet or African browse. Zoo...
A model for liver homeostasis using modified mean-reverting Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process

Short of a liver biopsy, hepatic disease and drug-induced liver injury are diagnosed and classified from clinical findings, especially laboratory results. It was hypothesized that a healthy hepatic dynamic equilibrium might be modelled by an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) stochastic process, which might lead to more sensitive and specific diagnostic criteria. Using pooled data from healthy volunteers in pharmaceutical clinical trials, this model was applied using maximum likelihood (ML) methods. It was found that the exponent of the autocorrelation function was proportional to the square root of time rather than time itself, as predicted by the OU model. This finding suggests a stronger autocorrelation than expected and may have important implications regarding the use of laboratory testing in clinical diagnosis, in clinical trial design, and in monitoring drug safety. Besides rejecting the OU hypothesis for liver test homeostasis, this paper presents ML estimates for the multivariate Gaussian distribution for healthy adult males. This work forms the basis for a new approach to mathematical modelling to improve both the sensitivity and specificity of clinical measurements over time.
DERMAL DRUG LEVELS OF ANTIBIOTIC (CEPHALEXIN) DETERMINED BY ELECTROPORATION AND TRANSCUTANEOUS SAMPLING (ETS) TECHNIQUE

Abstract The purpose of this project was to assess the validity of a novel Electroporation and transcutaneous sampling (ETS) technique for sampling cephalexin from the dermal extracellular fluid (ECF). This work also investigated the plausibility of using cephalexin levels in the dermal ECF as a surrogate for the drug levels in the synovial fluid. In vitro and in vivo studies were carried out using hairless rats to assess the workability of ETS. Cephalexin (20 mg/kg) was administered (i.v.) through tail vein and the time course of drug concentration in the plasma was determined. In the same rats, cephalexin concentration in the dermal ECF was determined by ETS and microdialysis techniques. In a separate set of rats, only intraarticular microdialysis was carried out to determine the time course of cephalexin concentration in synovial fluid. The drug concentration in the dermal ECF determined by ETS and microdialysis did not differ significantly from each other and so as were the pharmacokinetic parameters. The results provide validity to the ETS technique. Further, there was a good correlation (~ 0.9) between synovial fluid and dermal ECF levels of cephalexin indicating that dermal ECF levels could be used as a potential surrogate for cephalexin concentration in the synovial fluid.
The Diagnostic Process: Examples in Orthopedic Physical Therapy

Diagnosis by the physical therapist has received increased attention in the physical therapy literature. The contributions thus far are in agreement that although physical therapists do not identify disease in the sense of pathology, they certainly can identify clusters of signs, symptoms, symptom-related behavior, and other data from patient history and other testing. These clusters can be labeled as classifications or diagnoses by physical therapists and can guide management of the patient. The purpose of this article is to discuss what has yet to be included in articles about diagnosis: the diagnostic process. We first acknowledge the complexity of the diagnostic process, reviewing the study of clinical diagnosis mostly from the field of medicine, including statistical as well as process-tracing approaches. We next discuss steps we believe are important to consider in order to interface the diagnostic process into entry-level training curricula, urging teachers and mentors of future physical therapists to rethink our emphasis on the problem-oriented medical record's "SOAP" type of approach as a clinical decision-making format. We next discuss error and clinical judgment and strategies to constructively deal with error in the clinical environment. We urge physical therapists to strive to reach a point at which we can (1) identify and classify patients in such a manner that allows for more efficient treatment management and (2) demonstrate such abilities in peer-reviewed publication form.
Effect of ramipril on α-adrenoceptor-mediated oscillatory contractions in tail artery of hypertensive rats

Recent studies indicate that norepinephrine-induced contractile oscillations in the tail artery from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) may be a vascular phenomenon independent of blood pressure level. The objectives of this study were: (1) to characterize pharmacologically the a-adrenoceptor mediating norepinephrine-induced oscillations in tail artery; and (2) to investigate the relationship between blood pressure level, altered by treatments with hydralazine/ hydrochlorothiazide or the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril, and the observation of norepinephrine-induced oscillations in tail artery. The a2-adrenoceptor agonists clonidine and guanabenz potently stimulated oscillatory contractions in the tail artery while the al-adrenoceptor agonists phenylephrine and methoxamine were considerably less potent. Yohimbine, an a2-adrenoceptor antagonist, but not the al-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin demonstrated high affinity for the receptor mediating norepinephrine-induced oscillatory contractions. These results support the hypothesis that norepinephrine-induced oscillatory contractions in the tail artery from SHRSP occur primarily through stimulation of a2-adrenoceptors. Ramipril lowered blood pressure in SHRSP after 4 weeks of treatment during 6-10 weeks of life but did not alter the ability of the a2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine (10 -5 M) to induce contractile oscillations in tail arteries from SHRSP, indicating these oscillations are not a secondary effect of high blood pressure. These studies suggest that norepinephrine-induced oscillations in tail artery from SHRSP may be a vascular trait separate and distinct from blood pressure level and angiotensin II expression early in life.
Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey Accelerometer observations of the Martian upper atmosphere during aerobraking

[1] Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey accelerometer measurements of martian upper atmospheric densities reveal the large-scale and small-scale structure of the thermosphere in unprecedented detail. Meridional density gradients, which are seasonally dependent, are greater on the dayside than the nightside, indicating stronger meridional winds on the dayside. Density scale heights do not vary greatly with latitude. Densities and density scale heights are lower on the nightside than on the dayside, but the day-night contrast is not as great as at Venus. Thus atmospheric circulation plays a greater role in determining the state of the thermosphere on Mars than on Venus. Oscillations in density along individual density profiles, probably due to gravity waves, are common and their amplitudes are tens of percent. Step-like changes in density are also observed, but their origin is less clear. Data coverage is extensive enough to permit studies of weather, not just climate.
Lectin-like Oxidized Low-density Lipoprotein Receptor-1 (LOX-1) and Cardiac Fibroblast Growth

Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (LOX-1) regulates growth of a variety of cells and is important in inflammation, oxidative stress, and tissue remodeling. Recent studies show that LOX-1 deletion limits cardiac remodeling after sustained hypertension. We posited that LOX-1 may affect cardiac fibroblast growth and collagen secretion. To examine this postulate, we studied growth pattern of cardiac fibroblasts from hearts of wild-type and LOX-1 knockout (KO) mice. LOX-1 KO fibroblasts exhibited dramatically reduced growth when compared with wild-type mice fibroblasts and became much larger than wild-type mice fibroblasts in serial cultures, suggesting arrest of cell division. Western blotting and immunofluorescence showed that cell division control protein 42, a key regulator for cell division, was markedly downregulated in LOX-1 KO fibroblasts. The cytoskeletal organization in these fibroblasts was significantly altered in strand orientation, and some fibroblasts were completely devoid of F-actin. Furthermore, NADPH oxidase expression and generation of reactive oxygen species, as well as cell proliferation signals serine/threonine-specific protein kinase and murine double minute 2, were significantly reduced in LOX-1 KO fibroblasts. To confirm the essential role of LOX-1 in fibroblast growth, LOX-1 KO fibroblasts were transfected with h-LOX-1 cDNA. After transfection, the altered pattern of cytoskeletal organization, as well as expression of cell division control protein 42, serine/threonine-specific protein kinase, and murine double minute 2, was normalized. In congruent with these in vitro data, we found that the cardiac fibroblast number and expression of fibronectin and procoallagen-1/collagen were significantly lower in hypertensive LOX-1 KO mice hearts than in hypertensive wild-type mice hearts subjected to sustained hypertension (angiotensin II infusion). These findings implicate LOX-1 in cytoskeletal organization and growth of cardiac fibroblasts.
Social norm and long-run learning in peer-to-peer networks

We start by formulating the resource sharing in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks as a random-matching gift-giving game, where self-interested peers aim at maximizing their own long-term utilities. In order to provide incentives for the peers to voluntarily share their resources, we propose to design protocols that operate according to pre-determined social norms. To optimize their long-term performance when playing such a game, peers can learn to play the best response by solving individual stochastic control problems. We first show that when a peer learns in an environment in which its opponents play a fixed strategy, learning will provide an advantage for this peer (i.e. it will lead to an increased utility for the learning peer). If all the peers in the network learn, we prove that learning remains beneficial for the peers. Moreover, we prove that the network will converge to the “fully-cooperative state” (where a socially optimal outcome is attained) if the update error γ of the peers' reputations is sufficiently small and the benefit of participating in the stage game is sufficiently larger than the incurred cost.
Scaling up: examining the macroecology of ectomycorrhizal fungi

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi play major ecological roles in temperate and tropical ecosystems. Although the richness of ECM fungal communities and the factors controlling their structure have been documented at local spatial scales, how they vary at larger spatial scales remains unclear. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Tedersoo et al. (2012) present the results of a meta-analysis of ECM fungal community structure that sheds important new light on global-scale patterns. Using data from 69 study systems and 6021 fungal species, the researchers found that ECM fungal richness does not fit the classic latitudinal diversity gradient in which species richness peaks at lower latitudes. Instead, richness of ECM fungal communities has a unimodal relationship with latitude that peaks in temperate zones. Intriguingly, this conclusion suggests the mechanisms driving ECM fungal community richness may differ from those of many other organisms, including their plant hosts. Future research will be key to determine the robustness of this pattern and to examine the processes that generate and maintain global-scale gradients of ECM fungal richness.
Residents' evaluation of a problem-based learning curriculum in a general surgery residency program

Methods To determine residents' satisfaction with problem-based learning and its tutors, to determine how residents prepare for sessions, and to identify the characteristics of both effective sessions and tutors, we analyzed 132 evaluations from 24 residents who completed 1 or more of the 9 cases presented during the first 9 months of our program. The 38-item evaluation questionnaire asked residents to rate tutor characteristics, various aspects of the sessions, and methods used to prepare for the sessions. Results Residents were well satisfied with the problem-based learning sessions and with the logistics of our program; they found the overall quality of the tutor more important than that of the case; they valued an active, thought-provoking tutor more than a traditional facilitator; and they most often used standard textbooks to prepare for the sessions. Conclusions Problem-based learning is a practical, enjoyable graduate curricular vehicle when implemented with well-written cases and active tutors.