cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enzyme modifications that alter interactions of K + and cardioactive steroids with (Na + + K +)-dependent ATPase

Abstract Treatment of a purified (Na + + K +-dependent ATPase preparation from dog kidney medulla with acetic anhydride or trinitrobenzene sulfonate (TNBS) produced a dose-dependent irreversible inactivation of the (Na + + K +)-ATPase and K +-phosphatase reactions catalyzed by the enzyme. Both K + and the cardioactive steroid strophanthidin protected against inactivation. Prior treatment with concentrations of acetic anhydride or TNBS that produced only partial inactivation also modified the residual activity of the enzyme, as manifested by an increase in the K0.5 for K + as activator of the phosphatase reaction (mediated through the moderate-affinity α-sites for K +) but not in the K0.5, for K + as activator of the ATPase reaction (mediated through the high-affinity β-sites for K +): correspondingly. the I 50 values (concentrations required to produce 50 per cent inhibition) for ouabain and strophanthidin as inhibitors of the ATPase reaction were increased, and the binding of [3H]ouabain was decreased, by such treatment. Ouabain activated the phosphatase reaction in the absence of K + and. alter similar treatment, the apparent affinity for ouabain as activator was also decreased. These experiments demonstrate interactions between cardioactive steroids at their sites on the extracellular face of this transmembrane enzyme and K + at its moderate-affinity α-sites on the intracellular face. and further indicate that K + can modulate enzyme-drug interactions at such sites, as well as through K + -sites on the extracellular face of the enzyme.
Particulate control efficiency of a water sprinkler system at a beef cattle feedlot in Kansas

Water sprinkler systems are one method for controlling particulate matter (PM) emissions from cattle feedlots; however, limited data are available on the efficiency of these systems. This research was conducted to determine the PM control efficiency of a water sprinkler system in a cattle feedlot in Kansas. Downwind and upwind PM10 concentrations at the feedlot (KS1) were monitored with tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) PM10 monitors from January 2006 to July 2009. The feedlot was equipped with a sprinkler system with a maximum water application rate of 5.0 mm d-1 (5.0 L m-2 d-1). Control efficiency was determined by considering the PM10 data during sprinkler on/off events (i.e., the sprinkler system was operated for at least one day and was either followed or preceded by at least one day of no water sprinkling). Control efficiency equaled the percentage reduction in net PM10 concentration (i.e., downwind concentration - upwind concentration). PM10 control efficiency ranged from 32% to 80% with an overall mean of 53% (based on 24 h PM10 values). The effect of the sprinkler system in reducing net PM10 concentration lasted for one day or less. The PM10 concentration percentage reduction due to rainfall events was also determined at feedlot KS1 and at another feedlot (KS2). Feedlot KS2, located less than 40 km from KS1, was not equipped with a sprinkler system but practiced more frequent pen cleaning. Percentage reductions in net PM10 concentrations due to rainfall events were mostly in the range of 60% to almost 100% for both feedlots, with overall means of 77% for KS1 and 76% for KS2. The effects of rainfall events (with rainfall amounts >10 mm per event) lasted for 3 to 7 days depending on rainfall amount and intensity.
Money Attitudes, Credit Card Use, and Compulsive Buying among American College Students.

The consumer culture has evolved into one of the most powerful forces shaping individuals and societies (Roberts and Sepulveda 1999 a, b). The desire to become a member of the consumer culture appears to be universal (Droge and Mackoy 1995). Changing attitudes toward money are an important catalyst behind the spread of the consumer culture. Money is important—especially to American college students who have been raised in a credit card society where debt is used freely (Ritzer 1995). Schor (1998) believes that access to easy credit is one of the causes of overspending. Using a causal modeling approach, the present study investigated the role money attitudes and credit card use play in compulsive buying within a sample of American college students (see Figure 1). Findings suggest that the money attitudes powerprestige, distrust, and anxiety (Yamauchi and Templer 1982) are closely related to compulsive buying and that credit card use often moderates these relationships. Study results have important public policy, marketing, and research implications.
Needle steering system using duty-cycled rotation for percutaneous kidney access

The authors present ongoing work on the use of a variable curvature flexible needle steering system to gain percutaneous access to the kidney for medical interventions. A nonlinear control law is introduced which drives the needle to track a predetermined planar path using a steering approach based on duty-cycled rotation during insertion. Renal access is performed in simulation and tested in vitro in a tissue phantom to validate the proposed control method.
Bivariate combined linkage and association mapping of quantitative trait loci.

In this paper, bivariate/multivariate variance component models are proposed for high-resolution combined linkage and association mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL), based on combinations of pedigree and population data. Suppose that a quantitative trait locus is located in a chromosome region that exerts pleiotropic effects on multiple quantitative traits. In the region, multiple markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms are typed. Two regression models, “genotype effect model” and “additive effect model”, are proposed to model the association between the markers and the trait locus. The linkage information, i.e., recombination fractions between the QTL and the markers, is modeled in the variance and covariance matrix. By analytical formulae, we show that the “genotype effect model” can be used to model the additive and dominant effects simultaneously; the “additive effect model” only takes care of additive effect. Based on the two models, F-test statistics are proposed to test association between the QTL and markers. By analytical power analysis, we show that bivariate models can be more powerful than univariate models. For moderate-sized samples, the proposed models lead to correct type I error rates; and so the models are reasonably robust. As a practical example, the method is applied to analyze the genetic inheritance of rheumatoid arthritis for the data of The North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium, Problem 2, Genetic Analysis Workshop 15, which confirms the advantage of the proposed bivariate models. Genet. Epidemiol. 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Psychoanalytic Treatment of an Asymptomatic HIV-Positive Gay Man

This paper describes the psychoanalytic treatment of an asymptomatic HIV-positive gay man. At present, the analysis is in its fifth year, and termination themes are apparent and central to the anal...
Antiviral therapy: role in the management of extrahepatic diseases.

Abstract This article considers the extrahepatic manifestations associated with HBV and HCV infection, the strength of the evidence for the association, potential pathological mechanisms, and evidence based therapeutic recommendations. As many of these extra hepatic conditions are uncommon, published reports have been largely uncontrolled or anecdotal.
Stabilized display of coronary x-ray image sequences

Display stabilization is a technique by which a feature of interest in a cine image sequence is tracked and then shifted to remain approximately stationary on the display device. Prior simulations indicate that display stabilization with high playback rates ( 30 f/s) can significantly improve detectability of low-contrast features in coronary angiograms. Display stabilization may also help to improve the accuracy of intra-coronary device placement. We validated our automated tracking algorithm by comparing the inter-frame difference (jitter) between manual and automated tracking of 150 coronary x-ray image sequences acquired on a digital cardiovascular X-ray imaging system with CsI/a-Si flat panel detector. We find that the median (50%) inter-frame jitter between manual and automatic tracking is 1.41 pixels or less, indicating a jump no further than an adjacent pixel. This small jitter implies that automated tracking and manual tracking should yield similar improvements in the performance of most visual tasks. We hypothesize that cardiologists would perceive a benefit in viewing the stabilized display as an addition to the standard playback of cine recordings. A benefit of display stabilization was identified in 87 of 101 sequences (86%). The most common tasks cited were evaluation of stenosis and determination of stent and balloon positions. We conclude that display stabilization offers perceptible improvements in the performance of visual tasks by cardiologists.
One-appointment construction of an immediate transitional complete denture using visible light-cured resin

A technique is described for construction of an immediate transitional complete denture in one appointment using self-curing tooth color and visible light-cured resins. Conventional immediate denture therapy may be too prolonged for medically or physically compromised patients. This alternative treatment reduces laboratory, dentist, and patient time, thereby providing a fast and economical service.
Evaluating and Implementing 3-Level Acceptance Sampling Plans

There are many situations in which product quality can be described by classifying a product using three or more discrete levels. For example, a food product may be classified as good, marginal, or bad depending on the concentration of harmful microorganisms in the product. In this paper, a generic framework is defined for establishing 3-level acceptance sampling plans. These plans utilize what we refer to as quality value functions. The Operating Characteristic function for these plans is constructed and used to develop an approximate parameter selection method based on the Central Limit Theorem. The results of testing this method using numerical examples are presented. The problem of quality value function selection is also addressed. A detailed example is presented, which includes the implementation of both the parameter and quality value function selection methods.
A numerical study of wave propagation excited by a Lamb wave phased array

Recent collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007 raised public concern enormously regarding the structural safety of highway bridges. However, the maintenance, which is mostly performed by visual inspection, is very expensive and labor intensive process. The structural health monitoring system has been developed to monitor the integrity of those structures effectively. Although the two-dimensional numerical simulation has been widely used for the last decade, the three-dimensional simulation is indispensable for the development of a Lamb wave phased array system. We develop a virtual Lamb wave phased array considering three-dimensional coupled numerical models of metal plates and PZT patch arrays using finite element methods. The optimized geometry and operation techniques are investigated for the focusing of Lamb waves by Lead-Zirconate-titanate (PZT) arrays.
Frequency glides in click responses of the basilar membrane and auditory nerve: their scaling behavior and origin in traveling-wave dispersion.

Frequency modulations (or glides), reported in impulse responses of both the auditory nerve and the basilar membrane, represent a change over time in the instantaneous frequency of oscillation of the response waveform. Although the near invariance of glides with stimulus intensity indicates that they are not the consequence of nonlinear or active processes in the inner ear, their origin has remained otherwise obscure. This paper combines theory with experimental data to explore the basic phenomenology of glides. When expressed in natural dimensionless form, glides are shown to have a universal form nearly independent of cochlear location for characteristic frequencies (CFs) above approximately 1.5 kHz (the “scaling region”). In the apex of the cochlea, by contrast, glides appear to depend strongly on CF. In the scaling region, instantaneous-frequency trajectories are shown to be approximately equal to the “inverse group delays” of basilar-membrane transfer functions measured at the same locations. The inverse group delay, obtained by functionally inverting the transfer-function group-delay-versus-frequency curve, specifies the frequency component of a broadband stimulus expected to be driving the cochlear partition at the measurement point as a function of time. The approximate empirical equality of the two functions indicates that glides are closely related to cochlear traveling-wave dispersion and suggests that they originate primarily through the time dependence of the effective driving pressure force at the measurement location. Calculations in a one-dimensional cochlear model based on solution to the inverse problem in squirrel monkey [Zweig, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 89, 1229–1254 (1991)] support this conclusion. In contrast to previous models for glides, which locate their origin in the differential build-up and decay of multiple micromechanical resonances local to each radial cross section of the organ of Corti, the model presented here identifies glides as the global consequence of the dispersive character of wave propagation in the cochlea.
Resistivity of liquid metals on Veljkovic-Slavic pseudopotential

An empirical form of screened model pseudopotential, proposed by Veljkovic and Slavic, is exploited for the calculation of resistivity of seven liquid metals through the correct re- determination of its parameters. The model derives qualitative support from the close agreement obtained between the computed results and the experiment.
N-Cadherin Induction by ECM Stiffness and FAK Overrides the Spreading Requirement for Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

In contrast to the accepted pro-proliferative effect of cell-matrix adhesion, the proliferative effect of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion remains unresolved. Here, we studied the effect of N-cadherin on cell proliferation in the vasculature. We show that N-cadherin is induced in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in response to vascular injury, an in vivo model of tissue stiffening and proliferation. Complementary experiments performed with deformable substrata demonstrated that stiffness-mediated activation of a focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-p130Cas-Rac signaling pathway induces N-cadherin. Additionally, by culturing paired and unpaired SMCs on microfabricated adhesive islands of different areas, we found that N-cadherin relaxes the spreading requirement for SMC proliferation. In vivo SMC deletion of N-cadherin strongly reduced injury-induced cycling. Finally, SMC-specific deletion of FAK inhibited proliferation after vascular injury, and this was accompanied by reduced induction of N-cadherin. Thus, a stiffness- and FAK-dependent induction of N-cadherin connects cell-matrix to cell-cell adhesion and regulates the degree of cell spreading needed for cycling.
Application of blast wave theory to explosive propulsion

An analysis was carried out by using blast wave theory to delineate the important aspects of detonating explosives in nozzles, such as flow and wave phenomena, characteristic length and time scales, and the parameters on which the specific impulse is dependent. The propulsive system utilizes the momentum of the ambient gas set into motion in the nozzle by the explosion. A somewhat simplified model was considered for the situation where the mass of ambient gas in the nozzle is much greater than the mass of gas produced in the explosion, a condition of interest for dense atmospheres, e.g., near the surface of Venus. Instantaneous detonation and energy release was presumed to occur at the apex of a conical nozzle, and the shock wave generated by the explosion was taken to propagate as a spherical wave, thereby setting the ambient gas in the nozzle into one-dimensional radially outward motion.
Plasmon Mediated Multiphoton Photoemission Microscopy of Au Nanoholes and Nanohole Dimers

Multiphoton photoemission from “nanoholes” and “nanohole dimers” fabricated by nanosphere shadow lithography in a thin Au film are investigated by ultrafast scanning photoionization microscopy (SPIM), which provides detailed information on laser polarization and local electric field enhancement effects for novel 2D plasmonic architectures. The net photoemission signals (at 800 nm) from isotropic nanohole monomers both (i) below (d ≪ λ) and (ii) comparable to (d ≈ λ) the diffraction limit are insensitive to laser polarization, though SPIM images of the larger species clearly reveal strongly enhanced electron emission from nanohole tangent edges perpendicular to incident laser polarization. Fundamentally contrasting behavior is observed for intrinsically anisotropic plasmonic architectures such as nanohole dimers. Specifically, small nanohole dimers reveal enhanced electron emission for λ = 800 nm light polarized perpendicular to the dimer axis, whereas larger nanohole dimers produce optimum electron yields...
Ordering of solid microparticles at liquid crystal-water interfaces.

We report a study of the organization of solid microparticles at oil−water interfaces, where the oil is a thermotropic liquid crystal (LC). The study was motivated by the proposition that microparticle organization and LC ordering would be coupled at these interfaces. Surfactant-functionalized polystyrene microparticles were spread at air−water interfaces at prescribed densities and then raised into contact with supported films of nematic 4-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB). Whereas this method of sample preparation led to quantitative transfer of microparticles from the air−water interface to an isotropic oil−water interface, forces mediated by the nematic order of 5CB were observed to rapidly displace microparticles laterally across the interface of the water upon contact with nematic 5CB, thus leading to a 65% decrease in the density of microparticles at the LC−water interface. These lateral forces were determined to be caused by microparticle-induced deformation of the LC, the energy of which was estimate...
Growth inhibitory and differentiation effects of chloroquine and its analogue on human leukemic cells potentiate fetal hemoglobin production by targeting the polyamine pathway

Elevated arginase activity has been implicated in several pathological conditions in sickle cell disease (SCD) and other inflammatory disorders. Recently, we showed that chloroquine (CQ), an anti-malarial and anti-rheumatoid drug, displays a competitive mode of inhibition on sickle erythrocyte arginase. However, the effects of CQ and its analogue, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on erythroid differentiation leading to induced fetal hemoglobin (Hb F) production is unknown. In the present study, we obtained evidence of the anti-proliferative and differentiation effects of CQ and HCQ at pharmacologically attainable concentrations. This differentiation effect was linked to a dose-dependent inhibition of arginase activity and induced hemoglobinization, as Hb F synthesis was increased by 3.4- and 3.2-fold for CQ or HCQ, respectively. Treatment of K562 cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or 8-bromo-cAMP (Br-cAMP) failed to reverse the inhibitory effects of CQ or HCQ on arginase activity. Indeed, the combination of Br-cAMP with CQ in LPS-treated cells resulted in a significant enhancement of Hb F and total hemoglobin production. Further, we showed that CQ or HCQ maximally stimulated intracellular cGMP levels by 6.6- and 3.0-fold at 6 and 3h, respectively, as demonstrated by immunosorbent assay. However, co-treatment of K562 cells with CQ or HCQ in the presence of inhibitors of sGC-PKG-pathways reduced Hb F stimulation, suggesting the possible involvement of the sGC-PKG pathway. This is the first evidence demonstrating the capacity of anti-rheumatoid drugs to modulate the arginine-pathway and result in the enhancement of Hb F production, and thus may provide a paradigm for targeted therapy of hemoglobinopathies and other inflammation-related disorders.
High-Antioxidant Potatoes: Acute in Vivo Antioxidant Source and Hypotensive Agent in Humans after Supplementation to Hypertensive Subjects

Potatoes have the highest daily per capita consumption of all vegetables in the U.S. diet. Pigmented potatoes contain high concentrations of antioxidants, including phenolic acids, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. In a single-dose study six to eight microwaved potatoes with skins or a comparable amount of refined starch as cooked biscuits was given to eight normal fasting subjects; repeated samples of blood were taken over an 8 h period. Plasma antioxidant capacity was measured by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). A 24 h urine was taken before and after each regimen. Urine antioxidant capacity due to polyphenol was measured by Folin reagent after correction for nonphenolic interferences with a solid phase (Polyclar) procedure. Potato caused an increase in plasma and urine antioxidant capacity, whereas refined potato starch caused a decrease in both; that is, it acted as a pro-oxidant. In a crossover study 18 hypertensive subjects with an average BMI of 29 were given either six to eight small microwaved purple potatoes twice daily or no potatoes for 4 weeks and then given the other regimen for another 4 weeks. There was no significant effect of potato on fasting plasma glucose, lipids, or HbA1c. There was no significant body weight increase. Diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased 4.3%, a 4 mm reduction. Systolic blood pressure decreased 3.5%, a 5 mm reduction. This blood pressure drop occurred despite the fact that 14 of 18 subjects were taking antihypertensive drugs. This is the first study to investigate the effect of potatoes on blood pressure. Thus, purple potatoes are an effective hypotensive agent and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke in hypertensive subjects without weight gain.
Multiple System Organ Failure in the Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Recently completed studies suggest that patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) manifest early evidence of multiple-site endothelial injury. Ex trapulmonary disease is usually the cause of death in these patients. Furthermore, prognosis in individual cases of ARDS is strongly influenced by specific organ failures (e.g., hepatic and renal failure). The mechanisms by which ARDS and extrapulmonary organ system fail ure interact, however, are poorly delineated. We ad dress three aspects of the multisystemic nature of ARDS. First, we analyze evidence that suggests ARDS is a mul tisystem disorder fron the outset, involving panendothe lial injury mediated by cellular interactions and humoral substances that act similarly at many vascular target sites. Second, we discuss the role of three extrapulmo nary organs in the modulation of ARDS: the liver, the gastrointestinal mucosa, and the kidneys. Third, we ad dress the unifying hypothesis that uncontrolled ongoing inflammation, which is often bu...
The energy of thermal electrons in electron beam created helium discharges

Abstract We have measured the electron energy of the thermal group of electrons in both longitudinal and transverse electron beam created helium glow discharges. The measurement technique employs the ratio of intensities of spectral lines in the 2s3S−np3P He I series. Values of kTe between 0.07 and 0.11 eV were obtained. These energies are typical of the beam-generated electric field free plasmas. The competitive loss of helium ions by recombination and by charge transfer in a He−Hg electron beam created plasma is calculated. The results are applied to the Hg+ laser pumping scheme using a electron beam created He−Hg plasma.
Stabilization and magnetic resonance characterization of the one-electron heteropoly blue derivative of the molybdophosphate [P2Mo18O62]6-. Slow intramolecular proton exchange of the two-electron blue in acetonitrile solution

Abstract Reduction of the heteropolyanion α-[P2Mo18O62]6− (α0) in acetonitrile, followed by the addition of [(n-C4H9)4N]OH, leads to cyclic voltammograms showing two initial one-electron redox features (ΔE=150 mV) and the possibility of generating solutions that contain the paramagnetic anion α-[P2Mo18O62]7− (αI), the existence of which had earlier been doubted. Solutions of αI are most conveniently prepared by comproportionation of α0 and deprotonated α-[P2Mo18O62]8− (αII) in acetonitrile solution. Such solutions are ESR-active at room temperature (g∼1.94; linewidth 80 G) and yield a single 31P NMR resonance at +13.4 ppm (linewidth 220 Hz). The transient existence of αI in aqueous solution is demonstrated by the observation of the 31P NMR signal in a rapidly-alkalinized solution of αII. Based on comparison of the ESR parameters of αI (g⊥, 1.945; g∥, 1.965) with those for the two isomers of α-[P2W17MovO62]7−, it is concluded that the reduction of α0 has occurred at one of the equatorial molybdenum sites, but that there is substantial delocalization (or rapid hopping) to the mirror-related molybdenum atom. The electronic absorption spectrum shows intervalence transitions at 9710 and 12 190 cm−1. Intermolecular electron transfer between α0, αI and αII is slow on the NMR timescale. In acetonitrile solution the 31P NMR spectra of diprotonated and unprotonated αII consist of single narrow lines consistent with effective D3h symmetry for the reduced Dawson structure. However the monoprotonated anion has a two-line spectrum that undergoes coalescence as the temperature is raised. This is attributed to a slow intramolecular exchange (k∼1 s−1) of the proton between O(Mov) atoms on either side of the equatorial plane of the Dawson structure. Based on the spectral changes between 297 and 333 K, the activation energy for this process is 5.9 kcal mol−1.
REKRIATE: A Knowledge Representation System for Object Recognition and Scene Interpretation

What humans actually observe and how they comprehend this information is complex due to Gestalt processes and interaction of context in predicting the course of thinking and enforcing one idea while repressing another. How we extract the knowledge from the scene, what we get from the scene indeed and what we bring from our mechanisms of perception are areas separated by a thin, ill-defined line. The purpose of this paper is to present a system for Representing Knowledge and Recognizing and Interpreting Attention Trailed Entities dubbed as REKRIATE. It will be used as a tool for discovering the underlying principles involved in knowledge representation required for conceptual learning. REKRIATE has some inherited knowledge and is given a vocabulary which is used to form rules for identification of the object. It has various modalities of sensing and has the ability to measure the distance between the objects in the image as well as the similarity between different images of presumably the same object. All sensations received from matrix of different sensors put into an adequate form. The methodology proposed is applicable to not only the pictorial or visual world representation, but to any sensing modality. It is based upon the two premises: a) inseparability of all domains of the world representation including linguistic, as well as those formed by various sensor modalities. and b) representativity of the object at several levels of resolution simultaneously.
Cold storage of mouse embryos of different stages of development.

Abstract Experiments were designed to evaluate the survival rates of preimplantation mouse embryos of different stages of development in cold culture at 4°C. Several developmental stages, from one-cell to the blastocyst, were stored at 4°C from 1 to 8 d. Viability following cold culture was determined by blastocyst expansion during culture in Whitten's medium at 37°C. Blastocyst formation of nonstored controls ranged from 93 to 100% for all developmental stages tested. Only 3% of one-cell embryos survived 1 d and none survived 2 days at 4°C. Survival improved using two-cell embryos, with 84, 69 and 15% forming expanded blastocysts following storage for 1, 2 and 3 d, respectively. Eighty five and 38% of eight-cell embryos formed expanded blastocysts following cold storage for 3 and 4 d, respectively. Survival rates for cold stored morulae and blastocysts remained above 75% for 6 d but decreased significantly to 30 and 36%, respectively, when stored for 8 d. A large percentage of blastocysts were observed to collapse when placed in cold storage from 1 to 8 d but almost all expanded when placed in culture at 37°C. This study showed that one-cell embryos were particularly sensitive to cold storage compared to later-stage mouse embryos. Cold storage survival increased with increasing age of the embryo; morula and blastocyst survival rate was similar.
Point-of-Care Testing: An Overview and a Look to the Future (Circa 2009, United States)

Point-of-care testing is a rapidly growing area in laboratory medicine. Technologies related to point-of-care testing have unique analytical features and are used in a number of clinical applications. These attributes combined with complex regulatory requirements have made point-of-care testing a true specialty within pathology. Manufacturers continue to develop new point-of-care tests and have consolidated multiple assays to single small handheld or bench-top devices. Enterprise hospital-wide data management systems are available to facilitate improved regulatory compliance and transmit test results into the electronic medical record. Some studies have shown that point-of-care testing can improve clinical outcomes or increase the efficiency of hospital operations. In spite of these developments, many challenges remain. In some cases, the quality of point-of-care tests performed by nonlaboratory personnel does not match that of testing performed in the central laboratory. Data management connectivity remains a significant problem, especially for manually performed tests. Managing a point-of-care program to maintain regulatory compliance is also problematic. For these reasons, the future of point-of-care testing is not entirely clear. The most likely scenario will be a slow but progressive growth of point-of-care testing in the hospital, in the outpatient clinic, and in the home.
Mydriasis induced by sub-Tenon's ropivacaine injection in patients undergoing strabismus surgery

Purpose To investigate the effects of sub-Tenon's capsule ropivacaine injection on pupillary diameter in strabismus surgery. Methods A total of 16 patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups. The ropivacaine group (R) received sub-Tenon's ropivacaine 1% (2.5–3 mL) injections. In the control group (C), general anesthesia was induced and a saline solution (2.5–3 mL) was injected in the sub-Tenon's capsule. Pupillary diameter was measured at baseline and 2 and 5 minutes from the injections. The effects of the injections were expressed as a ratio of final (5 minutes) versus basal diameter. Results A significant mydriasis occurred in the ropivacaine group when compared with the control group (Group R vs Group C ratio = 2.32, p p Conclusions Ropivacaine in the sub-Tenon's capsule induces a mydriasis probably related to a pharmacological ciliary ganglion block.
Children's use of shape in extending novel labels to animate objects: Identity versus postural change

Abstract The young child's evident tendency to extend category labels on the basis of overall shape could facilitate learning of basic level categories. However, a rigid reliance on shape could be counterproductive because postural changes of an animal produce superficial changes in shape that are unrelated to its identity. The present study examined the ability of preschoolers and college students to ignore postural variation when making category judgments. Participants heard a novel label for a flat snakelike creature and then decided whether or not other flat snakelike, curled snakelike, and snaillike creatures should also receive the label. The outline shapes of the curled and snaillike creatures were identical to one another ano quite different from the flat creatures. All age groups accepted flat and, to a lesser extent, curled creatures, but were much less likely to accept snaillike creatures. Even preschoolers distinguish shape differences that are related to category membership from those that indicate temporary postural changes.
Mechanisms affecting the development of renal cystic disease induced by diphenylthiazole

Mechanisms affecting the development of renal cystic disease induced by diphenylthiazole. To provide information on the possible influence that hypertension or its treatment might have on the development of cysts in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, we studied the effects of the sodium content of the diet, DOCA-salt hypertension, renovascular hypertension, and the administration of enalapril or furo-semide on the development of 2-amino-4-5-diphenylthiazole (DPT)-induced renal cystic disease. DOCA-salt hypertension caused vascular and glomerular lesions and proteinuria, but it did not enhance the development of cysts. Cystogenesis was enhanced in experimental conditions where the renin-angiotensin system is known to be activated. On the other hand, interventions known to suppress the renin-angiotensin system lessened the development of cysts. We hypothesize that this effect might be mediated by intrarenal angiotensin II and its capacity to promote cell growth and to control the postglomerular vascular resistances and the compliance of the renal interstitium.
Model For Generating Synthetic Three-Dimensional (3D) Images Of Small Vehicles

This paper describes a computer model for generating 3-D images of small vehicles. The paper shows examples and gives throughput, memory, and accuracy for implementation on a VAX computer. Each vehicle is described in terms of components such as wheels, chassis, and turret. The model decomposes these components into three-point facets which are the basis for generating an image. Each point of a facet can be assigned a specific temperature, emissivity, and reflectivity. Range contour imagery from the model is useful in developing identification and classification algorithms for laser radars.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Effects of DDT on bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) adrenal gland.

A wide range of responses to sublethal levels of DDT exist, many of which are species specific and vary within each species depending upon age, sex, and physiological state. Sublethal levels of DDT do cause an increase in the adrenal cortical tissue of bobwhite quail, which may cause increased secretion of corticosteroids, and in turn affect reproduction. A delicate homeostatic balance exists within the avian endocrine system which may be disturbed by feeding sublethal levels of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides. This adverse effect on the endocrine system may cause subtle reproductive failures which go unnoticed until the population is greatly reduced.
Electrophysiological properties of units of the thalamic reticular complex

Abstract Unit activity was recorded in and close to the thalamic reticular complex in encephale isole cats. A group of units was characterized by their long high-frequency burst responses to 10/sec thalamic and cortical stimulations, their sustained high-frequency firing induced by 40–250/sec thalamic and cortical stimulations, the depression of their firing by high-frequency stimulations of the midbrain reticular formation and caudate nucleus, and their tendency to be more active during EEG spindles. These units were located along tracks histologically found crossing the thalamic reticular complex. They differed from cells collected along tracks not crossing the reticular complex, on all four electro-physiological properties mentioned above. These properties are shown to be intrinsic for a class of neurons, presumably of the reticular complex. The timing of firing of reticularis and nonreticularis neurons is compared and it is suggested that reticularis neurons are at the origin of inhibition of dorsal thalamic cells. It is also postulated that they play a role in the control of thalamic spindle waves.
Synthesis and crystal structures of gallium and germanium variants of cancrinite

Abstract A synthetic aluminogermanate and a gallogermanate with the Cancrinite group (CAN) framework topology have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction. AlGe-CAN, Na6Cs2Al6Ge6O24 · Ge(OH)6, is hexagonal, with the space group P63 and a=12.968(1), c=5.132(1) A, V=747.4(1) A3. The T-sites exhibit complete ordering of Al and Ge atoms, similar to the framework models of aluminosilicate analogues. GaGe-CAN, Na6Cs2Ga6Ge6O24 · Ge(OH)6, is hexagonal, apparently with the space group P63mc and a=12.950(2), c=5.117(1) A, V=743.2(2) A3. Although the observed data are consistent with the presence of the c-glide and consequent disordering of Ga and Ge atoms at the T-sites, calculation using a DLS-optimized framework in the space group P63 reveals that the intensities of the hh 2h l reflections with l=2n+1 are less than 0.07% of the strongest (0 0 0 2) reflection, suggesting that P63 is probably the true space group. Resonant diffraction studies performed in the vicinity of the Ga K-edge confirmed the presence of the hh 2h l reflections with l=2n+1 and thus confirmed the ordering of the framework Ga/Ge atoms in GaGe-CAN. Inspection of the framework T–O–T bond angles demonstrates greater relative cell contraction for GaGe-CAN compared to AlGe-CAN and aluminosilicate counterparts. In both the structural models, Ge(OH)6 octahedra are occluded in the 12-ring channels running along the 63-axes. The sodium cations fully occupy the sites above the 6-ring windows in the 12-ring channels. The cesium cations fully occupy the sites in the middle of the cancrinite cages. Subtle differences in the coordination geometries of the extra-framework species are found, perhaps due to the pseudo-symmetry of GaGe-CAN. Thermogravimetry results indicate net weight losses of 3.5% and 3.0% for AlGe-CAN and GaGe-CAN, respectively, which are explainable by the dehydration of the Ge(OH)6 octahedra. In situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction demonstrated the formation of GaGe analogue of the nepheline hydrate I type structure at the temperature of complete dehydration.
Cardiovascular Effects of Cold Pressor Tests, 40° Head-up Tilt, and Smoking on Smokers and Non-smokers

Cardiovascular responses to various stress tests have been studied in 13 nonsmokers, 16 moderate (20 cigarettes per day) and 13 heavy (40 cigarettes per day) smokers before and after cigarette smoking. Intra-arterial, pressure, ECG, respiration, and skin temperature were continuously monitored and recorded on tape. Dye dilution cardiac outputs were measured in some of the subjects. The analog data were analyzed on a digital computer using A-D conversion. Blood pressure, heart rate and cardiac output were not different in smokers and nonsmokers before and after smoking. Hyperreactor response to cold immersion by Hines' criteria was extremely frequent (30 percent to 58 percent) in all subjects with the use of continuous pressure measurement. A composite of maximal response, time of return and the area under the pressure curve is suggested for better definition of the cold pressor response. Presyncopal reactions during 40° head-up tilt were more frequent in heavy smokers after smoking.
Patient safety and the diffusion of surgical innovations: a national analysis of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

There are scant data on patient safety and the national diffusion of surgical innovations. Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) provides an apt model for population-based analyses of patient safety and the propagation of complex surgical innovations. In the nationwide inpatient sample, we identified patients undergoing partial nephrectomy for renal tumors from 1998 to 2009 and utilized patient safety indicators (PSI) to measure preventable adverse outcomes. Of the cases, 68,713 (87 %) were OPN and 9,842 (13 %) were LPN. The prevalence of LPN increased more than threefold from 2006 to 2009. Compared to open partial nephrectomy (OPN), LPN patients were more likely to be younger (p = 0.022), have lower Charlson comorbidity scores (p = 0.002), and undergo surgery at urban (p < 0.001) and teaching (p = 0.02) hospitals. On multivariate analysis, LPN was associated with a 28 % decreased probability of any PSI (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj] 0.72, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.55–0.96, p = 0.025), although this benefit did not attain significance when comparing robot-assisted LPN to OPN (ORadj 0.72, 95 % CI 0.44–1.16, p = 0.173). Overall mortality decreased from 0.9 % in 1998 to 0.1 % in 2009 (p < 0.001). There were no differences in adjusted mortality between LPN and OPN (p = 0.75). During its initial national diffusion, LPN resulted in enhanced perioperative patient safety compared to OPN. Mortality for both LPN and OPN decreased over time. Further study is needed to elucidate and promote factors contributing to the safe diffusion of complex surgical innovations.
Role of structural disorder in optical absorption in silicon

Using density-functional theory calculations, we explore the effects of structural disorder on optical absorption in crystalline Si. We incorporate neutral, ground-state vacancy clusters (${V}_{n}$, $n\ensuremath{\le}6$, $n=12$ and 32) to incrementally introduce disorder and compare results to the limiting cases exemplified by amorphous and crystalline Si. In particular, we compute optical spectra for the dielectric function, $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})$, and absorption coefficient, $\ensuremath{\alpha}(\ensuremath{\omega})$, and observe substantial absorption enhancement for all fourfold-coordinated vacancy clusters, similar to the expanded $\ensuremath{\alpha}(\ensuremath{\omega})$ envelope of amorphous Si over crystalline Si. We isolate structural contributions to absorption using constant-density vacancy cluster distributions to show that increased structural disorder predictably enhances absorption. In addition, we observe diminished absorption of ${V}_{1}$ as a function of supercell size, suggesting dilute ${V}_{n}$ concentrations may be difficult to physically verify. Furthermore, we found the density effect on absorption insignificant in amorphous Si at the subnanometer scale, so we discuss the expected contribution of density from a multiscale perspective.
Trends in left ventricular function over three years in the Tecumseh study

Amerena J, Nesbitt S, Krause L, Grant E, Lu H, Julius S. Trends in left ventricular function over three years in the Tecumseh study.The relationship between blood pressure and left ventricular diastolic function was examined in participants of the Tecumseh Blood Pressure study. When subjects were divided into three blood pressure groups according to blood pressure levels 3 years apart, it was found that subjects who were had sustained “hypertension” at both time points (SH) had a decreased early/late diastolic filling rate (E/A ratio) compared to subjects who were hypertensive at only one of the timepoints (OH) arid those who were consistently normotensive (NN) (1.71 ± 0.02 NN vs 1.55 ± 0.05 OH, (p < 0.0001) vs 1.56 ± 0.07 SH, (p < 0.04)). This relative order was maintained when the second estimation of diastolic filling was performed 3 years later, but the E/A ratio had decreased significantly in all groups (1.54 ± 0.01 NN vs 1.45 ± 0.03 OH (p < 0.01) vs 1.37 ± 0.06 SH (p < 0.006)), consistent with an ag...
Active Device Characterization & Evaluation Using a Functional Representation of Measured Load Pull Data

This work focuses on the use of a power load pull system, driven by a CW single tone stimuli, to characterize active devices for application in linear power amplifiers. Single tone characterization data measured w.r.t. input power and supply voltage is coupled with post processing routines to predict device behavior under digitally modulated RF stimuli, such as ?/4 DQPSK modulation for NADC and O-QPSK for CDMA. Additional post-processing routines estimate device potential for drain-modulated classes of RF power amplifiers, such as envelope following (EF) and envelope elimination and restoration (EER) [1,2]. Post processing of the characterization data is based on a behavioral analysis technique where the device?s complex gain (G), average drain and gate supply currents are derived from single tone load pull measurements and are expressed analytically as functions of RF envelope- and supply-voltage.
A numerical study of slope and fuel structure effects on coupled wildfire behaviour

Slope and fuel structure are commonly accepted as major factors affecting the way wildfires behave. However, it is possible that slope affects fire differently depending on the fuel bed. Six FIRETEC simulations using three different fuel beds on flat and upslope topography were used to examine this possibility. Fuel beds resembling grass, chaparral, and ponderosa pine forests were created in such a way that there were two specific locations with identical local fuel beds located around them. These fuel beds were each used for a flat-terrain simulation and an idealised-hill simulation in order to isolate the impacts of the topography without the complications of having different local fuels. In these simulations, fuel bed characteristics have a significant effect on the spread rate and perimeter shape of the fires on both flat ground and on the idealised smooth hill topography. The analysis showed that these simulated fires evolved as they travelled between the locations even on flat ground, and the accelerations and decelerations that affect the fire occurred at different times and at different rates depending on the fuel bed. The results of these simulations and analyses indicate that though some general principles are true for all fuel beds, there are differences in the way that fires react to non-homogeneous topographies depending on the fuel bed.
PUBLIC SCHOOL SEGREGATION AND JUVENILE VIOLENT CRIME ARRESTS IN METROPOLITAN AREAS

Previous research has established an association between residential segregation and violent crime in urban America. Our study examines whether school-based segregation is predictive of arrests of juveniles for violent crimes in U.S. metro areas. Using Census, Uniform Crime Report, and Common Core data for 204 metro areas, a measure of school-based racial segregation, Theil's entropy index, is decomposed into two components: between- and within-district segregation. Findings reveal evidence of a significant interaction term: Within-district segregation is inversely associated with arrests for juvenile violence, but only in metropolitan areas with higher than average levels of between-district segregation.