cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiosurgery for small-cell lung cancer brain metastases: a review

First-line stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is now considered the preferred treatment over whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for limited brain metastases arising from most tumor histologies. This standard was reached following the consistent results of multiple phase III studies which demonstrated that, despite improved CNS control, the addition of WBRT to SRS does not improve overall survival (OS) and is associated with a reduction in cognitive function. Thus, it may be reasonable to consider the benchmark necessary to favor a paradigm of SRS alone over strategies incorporating WBRT as the demonstration of comparable OS in the context of decreased treatment-related side effects. However, patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) brain metastases were excluded from the landmark trials that established SRS alone for limited brain metastases, largely due to concerns for short-interval CNS progression in SCLC as well the historic role of prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) in SCLC in the absence of known brain metastases. As a result, WBRT has remained the standard for SCLC for limited and even solitary brain lesions. With shifting SCLC care patterns including increased MRI surveillance, decreased PCI delivery, and emerging systemic agents, interest in first-line SRS for SCLC is likely to continue to increase over time. Herein we will review the emerging data for first-line SRS in the management of SCLC brain metastases and the potential for its increasing role in the setting of a greater utilization of MRI surveillance and improving systemic therapies.
The impact of physical frailty on the response to inactivated influenza vaccine in older adults.

Physical frailty's impact on hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers (HAI) and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) transcriptional responses after influenza vaccination is unclear. Physical frailty was assessed using the 5-item Fried frailty phenotype in 168 community- and assisted-living adults ≥55 years of age during an observational study. Blood was drawn before, 3, 7, and 28 days post-vaccination with the 2017-2018 inactivated influenza vaccine. HAI response to the A/H1N1 strain was measured at Days 0 and 28 using seropositivity, seroconversion, log2 HAI titers, and fold-rise in log2 HAI titers. RNA sequencing of PBMCs from Days 0, 3 and 7 was measured in 28 participants and compared using pathway analyses. Frailty was not significantly associated with any HAI outcome in multivariable models. Compared with non-frail participants, frail participants expressed decreased cell proliferation, metabolism, antibody production, and interferon signaling genes. Conversely, frail participants showed elevated gene expression in IL-8 signaling, T-cell exhaustion, and oxidative stress pathways compared with non-frail participants. These results suggest that reduced effectiveness of influenza vaccine among older, frail individuals may be attributed to immunosenescence-related changes in PBMCs that are not reflected in antibody levels.
Creating home at work: humanistic geography and placemaking in organizations

Drawing on the positive connotations associated with home from humanistic geography (Relph 1976; Tuan 1977; Cresswell 2015) and Western culture (Rybczynski 1986; Mallett 2004), this paper explores ...
Dissemination, Publication, and Impact of Finance Research: When Novelty Meets Conventionality

Using numeric and textual data extracted from over 50,000 finance articles in SSRN during 2001--2019, we examine the relationship between measured qualities and a paper’s readership, eventual outlet, and impact. Conventionality (semantic similarity with existent research) helps boost readership and publication prospects. However, novelty in the forms of emerging topics and databases are associated with better publishing outcomes. Studies that do not easily map into established finance subfields or that introduce non-finance elements face a higher hurdle. Finally, papers whose research questions span multiple fields are a hard sell, but those building on prior knowledge from multiple fields are valued.
Pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens Stent) growth as affected by organic materials and calcium silicate applied to a soil from Los Diamantes) Costa Rica

The effect of organic material and silicon on Pangola grass growth and phosphorus contents in a soil from Los Diamantes, Costa Rica was studied in a glasshouse experiment. There was an immediate but temporary beneficial effect on plant growth of silicon and plant residues added to the soil. Calcium silicate, rice hull and Stylosanthes humilis increased forage yields, but these increases were significantly higher than the control only at the first harvest. Forage phosphorus concentrations were increased by calcium silicate, rice hull, and S. humilis treatments. The higher forage phosphorus concentrations from these treatments may have been due to the increased availability of soil phosphorus or in the case of plant residues, to increased available phosphorus from their decomposition. Large amounts of soluble sugar added to the soil reduced forage yieIds markedly, possibly because of nitrogen and phosphorus inmmobilization. Incorporation of rice hulls, where they are abundant, into tropical soils deficient in available phosphorus, probably is a desirable practice, particularly for small, intensively managed plantings.
Establishing a National Community of Practice for Newborn Screening Follow-Up

Newborn screening (NBS) follow-up programs in the United States are managed at the state level, leaving limited opportunities for collaboration across programs and coordinated resource sharing. The Newborn Screening Technical assistance and Evaluation Program (NewSTEPs), a program of the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), has established a national community of practice for NBS follow-up by creating a network of follow-up staff and stakeholders through education and engagement opportunities. The activities of NewSTEPs in support of NBS follow-up have strengthened information dissemination, collaboration, data collection and technical assistance-driven mentorship across the national system.
Metabolic signatures of the true physiological impact of canopy light environment on peach fruit quality

Abstract Fruit developing in different canopy positions are exposed to distinct light environments that can influence their maturation process and internal quality development. Maturation, a highly regulated process at the molecular level, significantly impacts fruit quality. Our understanding of the true effect of various pre-harvest factors on fruit quality is limited due to poor control of maturity among comparisons in previous studies. Here, an experiment was conducted to assess the true impact of canopy vigor and position (bottom: 0.3–1.2 m and top: 2.1–3.0 m) on ‘Sierra Rich’ (low vigor, LV) and ‘Cresthaven’ (high vigor, HV) peach fruit internal quality. Given the lower vigor of ‘Sierra Rich,’ it was recorded that light was more evenly distributed throughout the canopy thus, hypothesized that this could be leading to fruit of uniform quality across the different positions. Fruit from the different canopy positions were assessed at the commercial harvest stage for size, dry matter content (DMC) and physiological maturity (index of absorbance difference, IAD), using non-destructive visible (Vis) to near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Fruit maturity and DMC advanced/increased with the elevated height of canopy in both cultivars. However, when controlling for equal maturity, only fruit coming from the vigorous ‘Cresthaven’ trees showed a significant (P ≤ 0.05) ΔDMC of 2.1 % between extreme canopy positions. Non-targeted metabolite profiling was carried out using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) on the mesocarp and exocarp of equally mature peach fruit samples. Mesocarp metabolite profiling of equally mature fruit coming from the different canopy positions demonstrated minimal metabolic variation. However, significant metabolite variation across canopy positions was observed in the exocarp of the HV cultivar. In general, sucrose, sorbitol and catechin were more abundant in higher quality, exposed to high-light environment fruit, while increased aspartic acid, asparagine, threonine, citric acid, monosaccharides (sorbose and fructose), butanoic acid and shikimic acid were associated with inferior quality, exposed to low-light environment fruit. Overall, this combined physiological and metabolomic analysis provides insight into the true impact of canopy position and underscores the light environment-related metabolic regulations that facilitate peach fruit quality development.
How Microaggressions Reinforce and Perpetuate Systemic Racism in the United States.

The consequences of racial microaggressions are most often discussed at an interpersonal level. In this article, we contend that microaggressions play an important role in maintaining systems of ra...
Angular Spectrum Analysis Applied to Undercladding Flaws and Dipole Probes

An important class of subsurface cracks occur in nuclear power plant pressure vessels. These pressure vessels, normally made of carbon steel, are protected by a layer of weld material applied directly onto the surface, leaving a highly inhomogeneoue cladding with a rough surface and a very irregular interface. Subsurface cracks originate at the interface between the carbon steel walls of the pressure vessel and the protective cladding layer. The propagation is initially into the carbon steel and eventually into the cladding, and needs to be detected before reaching the surface (Fig. 1). The inhomogeneity of the cladding material and the irregular surfaces pose serious difficulties for ultrasonic detection. These difficulties are less critical for eddy current testing due to the fact that the layered structure of the cladding has more variation in its elastic properties than its electrical conductivity.
Protection of Nonobese Diabetic Mice from Diabetes by Gene(s) Closely Linked to IFN-γ Receptor Loci

Nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice carrying a segment of chromosome flanking the disrupted IFN-γ receptor gene from original 129 ES cells are resistant to development of diabetes. However, extended backcrossing of this mouse line to the NOD mouse resulted in a segregation of the IFN-γR-deficient genotype from the diabetes-resistant phenotype. These results indicate that the protection of NOD mice from the development of diabetes is not directly linked to the defective IFN-γ receptor gene but, rather, is influenced by the presence of a diabetes-resistant gene(s) closely linked to the IFN-γR loci derived from the 129 mouse strain.
In Vitro Morphology and Maturation of Lymphocystis Virus

The temporal sequence of development of lymphocystis disease virus (LDV) was studied by electron microscopy of thin sections of infected tissue-culture monolayers. Neither the typical cytoplasmic inclusion nor virus was detected at 4 days postinfection (PI). Inclusions, but no viruses, were detected at 8 days PI. Inclusions and associated virions were detected at 15 days PI, and by 28 days PI the undisrupted cells were filled with the typical virions. No release mechanism was detected, and severe clumping of particles was noted. Negatively stained preparations revealed particles 200 nm in diameter with no capsomere structure and apparent spikes associated with the particle. The relationship of LDV to the well-defined deoxyribonucleic acid virus groups is discussed. Images
Repeated Games with Asynchronous Moves

This paper studies a class of dynamic games, called repeated games with asynchronous moves, where not all players may revise their actions in every period. With state-dependent backwards induction, we introduce the concept of effective minimax in repeated games with asynchronous moves. A player's effective minimax value crucially depends on the asynchronous move structure in the repeated game, but not on the player's minimax or effective minimax value in the stage game. Any player's equilibrium payoffs are bounded below by his effective minimax value. We establish a folk theorem: when players are sufficiently patient, any feasible payoff vector where every player receives more than his effective minimax value can be approximated by a perfect equilibrium in the repeated game with asynchronous moves. This folk theorem integrates Fudenberg and Maskin's (1986) folk theorem for standard repeated games, Lagunoff and Matsui's (1997) anti-folk theorem for repeated pure coordination game with asynchronous moves, and Wen's (2002) folk theorem for repeated sequential games.
Julie Zeilinger is “a Big F’ing Deal”: The Young Feminist Leader’s Inspirational Route to the Top

This article is not a biography on Julie Zeilinger. It is, however, a means of using Julie’s leadership trajectory to consider and question the onslaught of ideas about women’s leadership today. Therefore, it focuses on what it means to be a woman leader, and the challenges and barriers women face in the quest for high-power roles. By examining how Julie has paved her own route to leadership, the paper analyzes both the significance of Julie’s role and the techniques she utilized. This essay was written about a young feminist and by a young feminist. Therefore, “our generation” is used to refer to the upcoming, “younger” generation. Ultimately, Zeilinger’s model suggests that there is no single definition of leadership; rather, it is the combination of qualities, ideas, and actions that make a person a noteworthy leader.
Taxable Income Management by Nonprofit Organizations

We develop an analytical model of nonprofit tax reporting behavior and then examine the organization-specific characteristics that are associated with two measures of aggressive tax reporting. Our first measure is based on a distributional analysis which finds that an abnormally large number of nonprofit organizations manage their taxable income to near zero. Our second measure uses expense allocations from prior research. We find that aggressive tax reporting behavior is increasing in CPA prepared tax returns and tax rates and deceasing in IRS audit risk and accumulated net operating losses. The study represents the first analysis of the characteristics associated with taxable income management in the nonprofit setting.
Genetic programming for robot vision

Genetic Programming was used to create the vision subsystem of a reactive obstacle avoidance system for an autonomous mobile robot. The representation of algorithms was specifically chosen to capture the spirit of existing, hand written vision algorithms. Traditional computer vision operators such as Sobel gradient magnitude, median filters and the Moravec interest operator were combined arbitrarily. Images from an office hallway were used as training data. The evolved programs took a black and white camera image as input and estimated the location of the lowest non-ground pixel in a given column. The computed estimates were then given to a handwritten obstacle avoidance algorithm and used to control the robot in real time. Evolved programs successfully navigated in unstructured hallways, performing on par with hand-crafted systems.
SONOS-Type Flash Memory Cell With Metal $/\hbox{Al}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}/ \hbox{SiN}/\hbox{Si}_{3}\hbox{N}_{4}/\hbox{Si}$ Structure for Low-Voltage High-Speed Program/Erase Operation

High-quality Al2O3 and Si3N4 dielectrics synthesized in a molecular/atomic deposition system were developed and adopted as blocking oxide and tunnel dielectric, respectively in a SONOS-type NAND flash memory cell. In particular, the use of trap-free Si3N4 as tunnel dielectric enables low-voltage erase operation due to its low barrier height for holes, and the relatively high-k value of Al2O3 enhances the low-voltage and high-speed program/erase (P/E) operations. We fabricated and investigated NAND flash memory cells with metal/Al2O3/SiN/Si3N4/Si structure. The fabricated cell shows 3.8-V memory window with P/E conditions of +15 V for 100 mus and -10 V for 10 ms. It also shows good endurance up to 10 000 cycles and more than 1.5-V memory window after ten years.
The Propagation and Absorption of Spiral Density Waves

An ‘anti-spiral theorem’ holds with limited validity for the neutral modes of oscillation in a stellar disk — namely, whenever the effects of stellar resonances can be ignored. In the regions between Lindblad resonances, a group of spiral waves will propagate in the radial direction with the group velocity found by Toomre. This propagation occurs with the conservation of ‘wave action’, wave energy, and wave angular momentum.
Purification of Radioactive Ion Beams by Photodetachment in a RF Quadrupole Ion Beam Cooler

A highly efficient method for suppressing isobar contaminants in negative radioactive ion beams by photodetachment is demonstrated. A laser beam having the appropriate photon energy is used to selectively neutralize the contaminants. The efficiency of photodetachment can be substantially improved when the laser‐ion interaction takes place inside a radio frequency quadrupole ion cooler. In off‐line experiments with ion beams of stable isotopes, more than 99.9% suppression of Co−, S−, and O− ions has been demonstrated while under the identical conditions only 22% reduction in Ni− and no reduction in Cl− and F− ions were observed. This technique is being developed for on‐line purification of a number of interesting radioactive beams, such as 56Ni, 17,18F, and 33,36Cl.
A Perspective of Materials Modeling

The impossible combinations of materials properties required for essential industrial applications have made the present paradigm of empirically based experimental synthesis and characterization increasingly untenable. Since all properties of all materials are in principle describable by quantum mechanics (QM), one could in principle replace current empirical methods used to model materials properties by first principles or de novo computational design of materials and devices. This would revolutionalize materials technologies, with rapid computational design, followed by synthesis and experimental characterization only for materials and designs predicted to be optimum. From good candidate materials and processes, one could iterate between theory and experiment to optimize materials. The problem is that direct de novo applications of QM are practical for systems with ∼10 2 atoms whereas the materials designer deals with systems of ∼10 22 atoms. The solution to this problem is to factor the problems into several overlapping scales each of which can achieve a scale factor of ∼104. By adjusting the parameters of each scale to match the results of the finer scale, it is becoming possible to achieve de novo simulations on practical devices with just ∼ 5 levels. This would allow accurate predictions of the properties for novel materials never previously synthesized and would allow the intrinsic bounds on properties to be established so that one does not waste time on impossible challenges.
Kilohertz synchronous amplification of 85-femtosecond optical pulses

High-repetition-rate laser pulse amplifiers are desirable for investigations of weak signals because of the ability to use ultrasensitive lock-in detection. We have developed a new oscillator and amplifier capable of providing 10 MW of power at repetition rates in excess of 1 kHz. By focusing this pulse we have obtained the white-light continuum with as little as 250 nJ of energy.
Layer-based object detection and tracking with graph matching

Automatic object detection and tracking has been widely applied in the video surveillance systems for homeland security and data fusion in the remote sensing and airborne imagery. The typical applications include human motion analysis and the vehicle detection. Here we implement object detection and tracking under shape graphs of interesting objects integrating local contextual information (corner/point features, etc) of the objects. On the top layer, shapes/sketches provide a discrimination measure to describe the global status of the interesting objects. This kind of information is very useful to improve the object tracking performance for occlusion. The shape can be modeled as a graph or hyper graph through its local geometric features. On the bottom layer, local geometric features are used to capture local properties of objects and perform correspondence estimation of high-level shapes. The local features provide a way to conquer inaccurate object segmentation and extraction. The experiments were implemented on human face tracking and vehicle detection and tracking.
Fully overlapping domain decomposition method for modeling fine structures embedded in host media

A domain decomposition approach is proposed for finite element modeling of small features and fine details in large homogeneous or composite media. The proposed approach addresses the issue of preconditioning when electrically small details are discretized in an otherwise smooth computational domain. Specifically, we propose a fully overlapping domain decomposition method that decouples the discretization of the detail region from that of the uniform background. We demonstrate that a decoupled formulation of the detail and the background regions leads to faster convergence (for comparable accuracy) and greater ease in implementation.
Ethanol alters synaptic activity in cultured spinal cord neurons.

Abstract The acute effects of ethyl alcohol on mammalian central neurons were investigated using electrophysiological techniques and an in vitro model system, cultured fetal mouse spinal cord neurons. Intracellular recordings were made from the cultured neurons to evaluate the effect of alcohol (10–100 mM) on membrane potential, membrane permeability, amplitude of the action potential, sensitivity of the neurons to putative neurotransmitters and the process of synaptic transmission. Alcohol was applied by superfusion; putative amino acid neurotransmitters were applied by micropressure ejection. The most dramatic effect of alcohol on the spinal cord neurons was a reduction in the spontaneous activity (excitatory and inhibitory synaptic potentials and action potentials) and the glutamate evoked synaptic activity. Alcohol doses as low as 20–30 mM, concentrations which reflect blood levels during intoxication, were effective. Membrane potential, membrane permeability, and amplitude of the action potential were relatively resistant to these low doses of alcohol; at the higher alcohol doses, no effect or only modest alterations of these characteristics were observed. The responses of the neurons to the putative excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, and inhibitory transmitters GABA and glycine were also relatively resistant to alcohol exposure. These data indicate that acute exposure to alcohol has a predominantly inhibitory action on the activity of the cultured mammalian CNS neurons, and that this inhibition is most likely due to an alteration in the process of synaptic transmission.
Belief in a Just World and Reactions to Another's Lot: A Study of Participants in the National Draft Lottery

Six-man groups of 19-year-old men listened to the live broadcast of the 1971 national draft lottery as they received either good or bad lots—i.e., either low- or high-priority lottery numbers. Overall, subjects reacted more favorably to losers (people who received high-priority numbers) than to winners. But this sympathetic pattern of reactions was absent among subjects who received high scores on a scale assessing their belief that the world is a just place where good people are rewarded and bad people are punished. Among these subjects, the tendency to justify the lots of others seemed to counteract the sympathetic pattern; they reacted at least as favorably to winners as to losers, and “resented” losers more than winners. Additional survey data lend support to the suggestion that the belief in a just world is a perceptual bias which helps to perpetuate social injustice.
Manipulating heat shock protein expression in laboratory animals

Upregulation of heat shock proteins (Hsps) has been observed to impart resistance to a wide variety of physical and chemical insults. Elucidation of the role of Hsps in cellular defense processes depends, in part, on the ability to manipulate Hsp expression in laboratory animals. Simple methods of inducing whole body hyperthermia, such as warm water immersion or heating pad application, are effective in producing generalized expression of Hsps. Hsps can be upregulated locally with focused direct or indirect heating, such as with ultrasound or with laser or microwave radiation. Increased Hsp expression in response to toxic doses of xenobiotics has been commonly observed. Some pharmacologic agents are capable of altering Hsps more specifically by affecting processes involved in Hsp regulation. Gene manipulation offers the ability to selectively increase or decrease individual Hsps. Knockout mouse strains and Hsp-overexpressing transgenics have been used successfully to examine the role of specific Hsps in protection against hyperthermia, chemical insults, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Gene therapy approaches also offer the possibility of selective alteration of Hsp expression. Some methods of increasing Hsp expression have application in specialized areas of research, such cold response, myocardial protection from exercise, and responses to stressful or traumatic stimuli. Each method of manipulating Hsp expression in laboratory animals has advantages and disadvantages, and selection of the best method depends upon the experimental objectives (e.g., the alteration in Hsp expression needed, its timing, and its location) and resources available.
Gender differences in perceptions of normal body weights

The current study employed an alternative methodology to assess perceptions of normal range body weight. Male and female undergraduates were asked to give weight ranges for male and female targets, rather than use figure silhouettes. Male respondents felt that lighter weights in men and women were more normal. Female participants believed that heavier weight ranges were normal, both for themselves and for men. Despite this, women were no more likely than men to report being overweight and to be dieting. Future studies should utilize both figure silhouette drawings and acceptable weight range estimates to determine the influence of methodology on reported findings.
Effects of ecdysones and some synthetic analogs on horseshoe crab larvae.

The two insect molting hormones, α- and β-ecdysone, and two synthetic ecdysone analogs are highly effective in stimulating molting in horseshoe crab (Limulus) larvae. Effectiveness of the ecdysones is dependent on time during the intermolt cycle. Large doses were necessary to induce molting early in the cycle and no larvae completed ecdysis, but late in the cycle only 0.02 – 0.06 μg/g of the natural ecdysones were necessary for a 50% response, and over 80% of the injected larvae completed ecdysis. Responses of Limulus larvae to the ecdysones and some synthetic analogs suggest some similarities to the chemical control of molting in an insect (house fly larvae).
The role of thermophysics in the design, optimization and understanding of semiconductor crystal growth in space

The compound semiconductor material PbSnTe has been investigated by NASA Langley Research Center as part of the Material Processing in Space (MPS) experiment in the framework of the Space Shuttle program. The long-range goal of the research is the improving of the performance of infrared detectors for use in remote sensing experiments. Three distinct techniques will be used in the low-g environment of space: two techniques involving bulk growth from melt and a vapor growth technique. In order to establish realistic estimates of the required time for experiments and to determine the thermal gradients that will be required to avoid constitutional supercooling, the diffusion coefficients must be accurately measured, however more data especially in the vapor-solid phase relations are needed.
Comparative clinical electrophysiologic effects of diltiazem, verapamil and nifedipine: a review.

The slow channel blocking agents—diltiazem, verapamil and nifedipine—have generated clinical interest for the treatment of a variety of cardiovascular disorders. These agents, despite a similar basic mechanism of action, produce disparate clinical cardiac electrophysiologic effects in human beings. In usual doses, the acute administration of diltiazem slows heart rate. Verapamil and nifedipine, however, increase heart rate. Although diltiazem and verapamil produce equivalent slowing of atrioventricular (A-V) nodal conduction, verapamil prolongs A-V nodal refractoriness to a greater degree. In contrast, nifedipine facilitates A-V nodal conduction and shortens A-V nodal refractoriness. Knowledge of these differences may aid in the appropriate selection of specific slow channel blocking agents in specific clinical situations.
Pion photoproduction and the optical potential

Abstract The sensitivity of photopion nuclear reactions to the optical potential is examined.
Reliability assessment of planar fiber optic splitters

In recent years reliability has become a key topic for network providers because of the increasing complexity and economic importance of their systems. In order to avoid high costs resulting from downtimes of the system and maintenance it is mandatory to include reliability considerations already in the design of networks. This requires a precise knowledge of the expected lifetime of the components of the network. A method for the quantitative assessment of the reliability of passive fiber optic components is described in the IEC standard 62005-2, Part 2. In this paper, we present the reliability assessment of planar fiberoptic 1x8-splitters as an example for the application of the above mentioned IEC standard. The failure rates resulting from wear out mechanisms are determined by a life test matrix with accelerated aging induced by extreme climatic conditions and extrapolation to service conditions. With 6000 hours under 85°C/85% r.h. without any failure the tested components also exceed the requirements given in Telcordia GR 1221. In addition to climatic tests, vibration and impact tests have been performed in order to prove the mechanical integrity of the splitters. A second failure class besides wear out failures are random failures which occur at a constant rate. Due to the nature of random failures they can not be accelerated in any kind of laboratory tests. Thus the random failure rate of the components is calculated from field data. The observation of 16,000 devices with a total of more than 300 million service hours shows a FIT-rate for random failure which is below 10 FIT.
Neurologic complication after a roller coaster ride

Neurologic complications after roller coaster rides are uncommon but potentially catastrophic. Physicians should have a high index of suspicion and prompt appropriate investigation. A 22-year-old healthy African American man presented with a 2-day history of constant occipital headache associated with vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and ambulatory dysfunction. Physical examination showed gait ataxia, slight dysmetria, and vertical nystagmus. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed early subacute ischemic infarct in the right cerebellum in the distribution of the right posterior inferior cerebellar artery. Magnetic resonance angiography of the neck showed focal dissection of the right vertebral artery at C1 through C2 level. On subsequent questioning, the patient recollected riding a roller coaster 2 weeks before the onset of symptoms. Anticoagulation with heparin was started, and the patient was bridged to oral warfarin. After a 5-day uneventful hospital course, symptoms improved and patient was discharged on oral anticoagulation. Cervicocephalic arterial dissections after roller coaster rides are rarely described in literature. The acceleration and abrupt changes of direction might lead to indirect trauma that is applied to mobile portions of the cervicocephalic arteries leading to intimal tears. Magnetic resonance angiography combined with axial T1-weighted cervical MRI is preferred because it is a high-sensitive, noninvasive test. The rationale for the use of anticoagulants or antiplatelets in patients with cervicocephalic arterial dissection is to prevent early recurrence and infarction. However, a meta-analysis failed to show significant difference in the rates of disability or death between both groups. Therefore, the decision for medical treatment should be made in a case-by-case basis.
Sharing the π-Bonding. An Iron Porphyrin Derivative with Trans, π-Accepting Axial Ligands. Synthesis, EPR and Mössbauer Spectra, and Molecular Structure of Two Forms of the Complex Nitronitrosyl(α,α,α,α-tetrakis(o-pivalamidophenyl)- porphinato)ferrate(II)

The reaction of the iron(II) picket fence porphyrin derivative [Fe(TpivPP)(NO2)]- (Nasri et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 717) with NO has been examined. The result is a new hexacoordinated iron...
Heegaard Floer homology and alternating knots.

In an earlier paper, we introduced a knot invariant for a null-homologous knot K in an oriented three-manifold Y , which is closely related to the Heegaard Floer homology of Y . In this paper we investigate some properties of these knot homology groups for knots in the three-sphere. We give a combinatorial description for the generators of the chain complex and their gradings. With the help of this description, we determine the knot homology for alternating knots, showing that in this special case, it depends only on the signature and the Alexander polynomial of the knot (generalizing a result of Rasmussen for two-bridge knots). Applications include new restrictions on the Alexander polynomial of alternating knots.
Changes in parameters of averaged auditory evoked potentials related to number of data samples analyzed.

Recorded data samples were analyzed by a computer in cumulative numerical segments of 25. Statistical analyses of these data revealed that latency does not change significantly, whereas response am...
Dual interfering sources with a fluorescent object

The properties of the field re-emitted by an absorbing- fluorescent object embedded in a highly scattering media excited by a dual-interfering sources system are investigated. The geometry considered is transmission geometry with a breast like phantom. This study is based on simulations performed in the frequency domain with a finite difference method to solve the diffusion equation. The fluorescent detected field possessed the features of the interfering excitation pattern. This specific pattern allows to accurately localization of the inhomogeneity.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Proteasome inhibitors activate the transcription factors C/EBP-β and δ in human intestinal epithelial cells

In recent studies, induction of the heat shock response by hyperthermia upregulated the expression and DNA binding activity of the transcription factor C/EBP. This is an important observation because it may at least in part explain why the heat shock response upregulates IL-6 production in the intestinal mucosa and in the enterocyte. A novel method to induce the heat shock response is proteasome inhibition. The influence of this treatment on the expression and DNA binding activity of C/EBP is not known. We treated cultured Caco-2 cells, a human intestinal epithelial cell line, with one of the proteasome inhibitors, MG-132 or lactacystin, and measured C/EBP-β and δ DNA binding activity by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and supershift analysis. In addition, nuclear levels of C/EBP-β and δ protein were determined by Western blot analysis. Treatment of the cells with the proteasome inhibitors resulted in increased cellular levels of heat shock protein 72, consistent with induction of the heat shock response. Treatment also resulted in increased DNA binding activity and nuclear protein levels of C/EBP-β and δ. The effects of the proteasome inhibitors on C/EBP were inhibited by treating the cells with quercetin, a substance known to block the heat shock response. The results suggest that proteasome inhibition activates the transcription factors C/EBP-β and δ in human intestinal epithelial cells and that this response, at least in part, is caused by induction of the heat shock response. The observations are important because they provide support for a novel method to influence gene activation in the enterocyte.
Characterization of NADPH diaphorase activity in rat sympathetic autonomic ganglia - effect of diabetes and aging

NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry, which identifies neural sites of nitric oxide production, demonstrated intensely stained nerve terminals surrounding the cell bodies of a subpopulation of neurons in rat prevertebral celiac and superior mesenteric sympathetic ganglia but failed to comparably label terminals in paravertebral superior cervical ganglia or perikarya in any sympathetic ganglion. The superior mesenteric ganglia of aged and diabetic rats, in which synaptic dysplasia (neuroaxonal dystrophy) is prominent, failed to show involvement of diaphorase containing nerve terminals.
Cation Effects on Protein Conformation and Transport in the Na+/Glucose Cotransporter

Cation-driven cotransporters are essential membrane proteins in procaryotes and eucaryotes, which use the energy of the transmembrane electrochemical gradient to drive transport of a substrate against its concentration gradient. Do they share a common mechanism? Cation selectivity of the rabbit isoform of the Na+/glucose cotransporter (SGLT1) was examined using the twoelectrode voltage clamp and the Xenopus oocyte expression system. The effect of H+, Li+, and Na+ on kinetics of SGLT1 was compared to the effects of these cations on the bacterial melibiose. In SGLT1, substitution of H+ or Li+ for Na+ caused a kinetic penalty in that the apparent affinity for sugar (K0.5sugar) decreased by an order of magnitude or more (from 0.2 to 30 mM) depending on the membrane potential and cation. The effect of the cation on the K0.5sugar/V profiles was independent of the sugar for glucose and alpha-methyl-beta-D-glucose; this profile was maintained for galactose in Li+ and Na+, but was 2 orders of magnitude higher in H+, but the Imax for glucose, galactose, and alpha-methyl-beta-D-glucose in a given cation were identical. Li+ supported a lower maximal rate of transport (Imax) than Na+ (approximately 80% of ImaxNa), while the Imax in H+ was higher than Na+ (>/=180% of ImaxNa). Our interpretation of these results and simulations using a six-state mathematical model, are as follows. 1) Binding of the cation causes a conformational change in the sugar binding pocket, the exact conformation being determined by the specific cation. 2) Once the sugar is bound, it is transported at a characteristic rate determined by the cation. 3) Mathematical simulations suggest that the largest contribution to the kinetic variability of both cation and sugar transport is associated with cation binding. Similarity to the effects of cation substitution in MelB suggests that the mechanism of energy coupling has been evolutionarily conserved.
Creation of a file translation language for networks

Abstract The rapid growth of large, national computer networks (as exemplified by ARPA) has created a serious problem in the sharing of information between incompatible systems. These incompatibilities can be either physical, contextual, or organizational in nature. A special-purpose, high-level language, entitled FTL, is proposed as a possible solution. With FTL a user initially views his information as an unbounded binary bit stream without artificial boundaries or predetermined meanings. The statements and primitives in FTL allow a user to first impose any structure desired on the input bit stream and secondly to restructure the information into a form that will allow it to be compatible with the conventions of the destination node. The subsequent execution of an FTL program will actually effect a translation of the specified input file into the desired output file.
X-ray computed tomography in the presence of arbitrary symmetrical focal spot intensity distributions.

A loss of resolution in tomographic images is due to the well‐known bimodal spatial variations in photon emission across the x‐ray focal spot combined with the finite width of the x‐ray detector. Such departures from the ideal infinitely narrow beams which are usually considered can be taken into account by replacing the customary line integrals by suitably chosen integrals over strips. The image degradation resulting from using those strip integrals as ingredients in conventional reconstruction formulas is expressible as a complicated point spread function, which can always be computed in any given situation. Restoring the reconstructed image to provide higher resolution is a nontrivial operation, which however greatly benefits from experience already gained in dealing with optical imagery degraded by the aberrations of astigmatism and curvature of field. Typical point spread functions are shown for a simple bimodal source intensity distribution of primordial importance.
Defence conversion: surviving (and prospering) in the 1990s

The fall of the Iron Curtain ushered in a new era of peace as the Cold War came to a close. However, to defence industry companies, this “peace dividend” has translated into vast reductions in military spending, presenting a challenge to their very survival. Aware of the failed attempts at defence conversion following the Second World War and the Korean and Vietnam Wars, firms are taking a more intelligent approach to conversion, utilizing a variety of strategies based on their relative strengths and weaknesses. Some are divesting, while others are in an acquisition mode, and still others are seeking to exploit their core technologies in the commercial marketplace. And, in a twist of fate unthinkable ten years ago, Russia has become a major partner in the defence conversion process.
Log-time algorithms for scheduling single and multiple channel data broadcast

With the increasing popularity of portable wireless computers, mechanisms to efficiently transmit information to such clients are of significant interest. The environment under consideration is asymmetric in that the information server has much more bandwidth available, as compared to the clients. It has been proposed that in such systems the server should broadcast the information periodically. A broadcast schedule determines what is broadcast by the server and when. This paper makes the simple, yet useful, observation that the problem of broadcast scheduling is closely related to the problem of fair queueing. Based on this observation, we present a log-time algorithm for scheduling broadcast, based on an existing fair queueing algorithm. This algorithm significantly improves the time-complexity over previously proposed broadcast scheduling algorithms. Also, for environments where different users may be listening to different number of broadcast channels, we present an algorithm to coordinate broadcasts over different channels. Simulation results are presented for proposed algorithms.
Benefits of surgeon-performed ultrasound for primary hyperparathyroidism

Background Focused, minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP) is widely accepted when preoperative imaging localizes a single parathyroid adenoma. Many surgeons use 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy (MIBI) +/−, a cervical ultrasound for preoperative localization. We propose that surgeon-performed ultrasound (SUS) is the only imaging modality required in most patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT), resulting in patient convenience and reduced cost.
A rare female genital tract tumor: benign granular cell tumor of vulva: case report and review of the literature.

Abstract Background The granular cell tumor (GCT) of vulva is a rare female genital tract tumor. Case A 59-year-old female was incidentally noted to have a 1-cm sized lump in her left labium majus that subsequently increased in size to approximately 4 cm. The mass was totally excised under general anesthesia. Her postoperative follow-up was uneventful. Histologic examination of the tumor showed sheets and clusters of infiltrating tumor cells with morphologic features consistent with granular cell tumor. Conclusion Although benign and slow growing, it has a tendency for recurrence and can cause morbidity and mortality when presenting with multicentric or multiple organ involvement due to the lack of effective systemic therapy. Therefore, clinicians and pathologists should be aware of its clinical and histopathologic features.
Effects of stretch shortening cycle exercise fatigue on stress fracture injury risk during landing.

The purpose of this study was to examine changes in landing performance during fatigue that could result in increased stress fracture injury risk. Five participants performed nonfatigued and fatigued drop landings (0.60 m), while ground reaction force (GRF), electromyographic (EMG) activity, and kinematics were recorded. Fatigue was defined as a 5-20% reduction in vertical jumping performance. Single-subject analyses revealed that all participants were affected (p < .05) by fatigue. Post hoc comparisons revealed a group effect (p < .05) for selected variables. Participants landed with (a) less joint flexion at contact and used a greater range of motion, (b) greater GRF peaks and loading rates, and (c) less EMG activity. These changes were consistent with greater risk of stress fracture.
Magnetic characteristics of TbCo0·3Al1·7

Abstract TbCo 0·3 Al 1·7 crystallizes with the cubic MgCu 2 type structure. The material orders close to ferromagnetically in a field of 30 kOe but exhibits a Neel point of 35 K in a field of 500 Oe. At 1·6 K the magnetization increases in two discontinuous steps to an extrapolated saturation moment of 6·58 μ B . A neutron diffraction experiment at 4·2 K shows a magnetic moment of 6·98 μ B ordered ferromagnetically only at the Tb sites. The situation seems to be similar to ErCo 2 −ErAl 2 alloys, where disordered antiferromagnetic components stabilize as a function of the free electron concentration.
The study of carbon-coated grids at elevated temperatures by electron microscopy

Abstract Copper, nickel, tungsten, gold and molybdenum microscope grids coated with thin carbon and SiO films were heated in a Hitachi electron microscope while being examined by both electron diffraction and electron imaging methods. Crystalline substances appear on the grids at various temperatures depending on the grid material. A comparison of the carbon-coated grids with the SiO coated grids along with other experimental evidence showed that two types of material were being formed on the carbon-coated grids. One substance was MoO 2 (coming from the specimen holder) while the other material is believed to be the various metal carbides.
Neurofilament phosphorylation: a new look at regulation and function

Dynamic remodeling of cytoskeleton architecture is necessary for axonal growth and guidance, signal transduction and other fundamental aspects of neuron function. Protein phosphorylation plays a key part in these remodeling processes. Since neurofilaments are major cytoskeletal constituents and are among the most highly phosphorylated neuronal proteins, the control of their behavior serves as a possible model for understanding how phosphorylation regulates the many other phosphoproteins in the cytoskeleton. Recent studies show that neurofilament protein subunits are phosphorylated on both their amino-terminal head domains and carboxy-terminal tails by different protein kinases. This review considers the implications of this complex regulation for neurofilament function in normal neurons and in disease states characterized by neurofibrillary pathology.