cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electric-Field-Oriented Growth of Long Hair-Like Silica Microfibrils and Derived Functional Monolithic Solids

Background Controlled self-assembly using molecules/nanoparticles as building block materials represents an important approach for nanofabrication. Method We present a "bottom-up" fabrication approach to first grow a new class of inorganic (silica) long hair-like microfibrils or microwires and then to form monolithic solid pellet that contains parallel arrays of bundled microfibrils with a controlled orientation. During the sol-gel solution processing, reactive precursor species are utilized as molecular "building blocks" for the field-directed assembly growth of microfibrils driven by an electric field of pulsed direct current (dc) with controlled frequency. Results We have demonstrated a novel reactive electrofibrilation process that combines an external field with a solid-phase nucleation and growth process which in principle has no limitation on the type of reactions (such as the one here that involves sol-gel reaction chemistry) and on materials compositions (such as the example silica oxide), thus will enable bulk production of long microfibrils of wide variety of inorganic materials (other oxides or metals). Furthermore, we have fabricated uniquely architectured monolithic solid materials containing aligned microfibrils by "wet press" of the in-situ grown microfibril structure in the electric field. The consolidated monolithic slabs (1 cm × 1 cm × 3 mm) have shown anisotropic properties and desirable retention of DNA molecule fragments, thus, could serve as a platform stationary-phase materials for future development of capillary electrochromatography for biomolecule separations. Conclusion Electrical field-guided self-assembly is an effective approach in producing long (hair-like) ceramic microfibrils, which can be further used in consolidation fabrication of oriented structured ceramic monoliths with potential for capillary electrophoretic chromatography and other separations applications. This original work was recorded through a patent application to understand the fibril formation mechanism and its process.
Associations between major life events and adherence, glycemic control, and psychosocial characteristics in teens with type 1 diabetes

Aims This cross-sectional study assessed the type of major life events occurring in a contemporary sample of teens with type 1 diabetes and the association between event frequency and demographic, diabetes management, and psychosocial characteristics. Methods Parents of 178 teens completed the Life Events Checklist to report major events teens had experienced in the last year: 42% experienced 0 to 1 event (n = 75), 32% experienced 2 to 3 events (n = 57), and 26% experienced 4+ events (n = 46). Teens and parents completed validated measures of treatment adherence, diabetes-specific self-efficacy, quality of life, and diabetes-specific family conflict. Parent-youth interview and chart review provided demographics and diabetes management data. Results Mean number of events/teen was 2.6 ± 2.7 (range = 0-15). The most common events were “Hospitalization of a family member” (24%), “Getting a bad report card” (20%), “Serious arguments between parents” (19%), and “Serious illness/injury in a family member” (19%). Compared with teens experiencing 0 to 1 event, teens experiencing 4+ events were less likely to have married parents (P = .01) and a parent with a college degree (P = .006). Teens with 4+ events had significantly poorer adherence (P = .002 teen, P = .02 parent), lower self-efficacy (P = .03 teen, P < .0001 parent), poorer quality of life (P < .0001 teen, P < .0001 parent), and more conflict (P = .006 teen, P = .02 parent) than teens with fewer events. In a multivariate model (R 2 = 0.21, P < .0001) controlling for demographic and diabetes management characteristics, fewer events was associated with lower A1c (P = .0009). Conclusions Occurrence of more major life events was associated with poorer diabetes care and A1c and more negative psychosocial qualities in teens with type 1 diabetes.
Making Ethics Part of Practice: Developing a Code of Ethics

Now that we have discussed several different ethical frameworks, the question arises: How do we integrate these theories into practice? The thinkers’ ideas may seem very abstract, or perhaps like “ideal” cases for living when, in actuality, real life is much messier and more complex. For example, most of our students point out that it is all well and good for Kant to write about the “categorical imperative,” but they are reluctant to apply his logic to real-world dilemmas since this ethical framework results in impractical solutions they feel uncomfortable pursuing. You may feel similarly. How, then, do we make this leap from the very conceptual, idealized world of ethical theory to the very real, difficult situations that we face in our work as nonprofit students and practitioners?
Aus der Fülle des Herzens – Rilke's BiblicalPoetry in the Neue Gedichte, Anderer Teil

Rainer Maria Rilke's two volume series the Neue Gedichte are usually regarded as examples of Rilke's artistic attempt at creating poetry as an autonomous art form referred to as a Dinggedicht, or "object poem". Although the majority of his poems in the series might be placed into such a thematic arrangement, this article posits that Rilke's biblical poetry, in particular "Klage um Jonathan" and " Trostung des Elia" in the Neue Gedichte, anderer Teil are not object poems, but contain elements of the author's personal expression displaced within these texts.
Progress in OGC Web Services Interoperability Development

Decision makers in business and government have historically depended on geomatics experts when they have sought to benefit from Earth observation systems. Similarly, scientists in fields other than geomatics have had to either learn about geomatics or team with geomatics experts to benefit from these systems. Fortunately, as Earth observation technologies and markets have progressed, standards have steadily advanced, which, along with other benefits described below, allows geomatics experts to establish reusable services for routine decision-making.
A Principled Approach to Solving Complex Discrete Optimization Problems

ABSTRACT In this work we report on a general and extensible framework, called OPL, for quickly constructing reasonable solutions to a broad class of complex discrete optimization problems. Our approach rests on the observation that many such problems can be represented by linking together variants of well-understood primitive optimization problems. We exploit this representation by building libraries of solution methods for the primitive problems. These library methods are then suitably composed to build solutions for the original problem. The vehicle routing problem and its generalizations, which involve not only routing but also delivery scheduling, crew scheduling, etc., is a significant and extensively investigated area of operations research. In this paper we report on OPL definitions and solutions for a wide variety of such problems.
Misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis: Impact of the 2017 McDonald criteria on clinical practice

Misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) (the incorrect assignment of a diagnosis of MS) remains a problem in contemporary clinical practice. Studies indicate that misdiagnosed patients are often exposed to prolonged unnecessary health care risks and morbidity. The recently published 2017 revision of the McDonald criteria for the diagnosis of MS provides an opportunity to consider the effect of these revisions on the problem of MS misdiagnosis. The 2017 McDonald criteria include several new recommendations to reduce potential for misdiagnoses. The criteria should be used for the types of patients in which validation studies were performed, specifically those patients who present with typical demyelinating syndromes. MRI lesion characteristics were defined for which McDonald criteria would be expected to perform with accuracy. However, 2017 revisions, which now include assessment for cortical lesions, and the inclusion of symptomatic lesions and positive oligoclonal bands for the fulfillment of diagnostic criteria, may have the potential to lead to misdiagnosis of MS if not applied appropriately. While the 2017 McDonald criteria integrate issues relating to MS misdiagnosis and incorporate specific recommendations for its prevention more prominently than prior criteria, the interpretation of clinical and radiologic assessments upon which these criteria depend will continue to allow misdiagnoses. In patients with atypical clinical presentations, the revised McDonald criteria may not be readily applied. In those situations, further evaluation or monitoring rather than immediate diagnosis of MS is prudent.
On the Emergence of Negative Effective Density and Modulus in 2-phase Phononic Crystals

Abstract In this paper we report metamaterial properties including negative and singular effective properties for what would traditionally be considered non locally resonant 2-phase phononic unit cells. The negative effective material properties reported here occur well below the homogenization limit and are, therefore, acceptable descriptions of overall behavior. The material property combinations which make this possible were first revealed by a novel level set based topology optimization process which we describe. The optimization process revealed that a 2-phase unit cell in which one of the phases is simultaneously lighter and stiffer than the other results in dynamic behavior which has all the attendant characteristics of a locally resonant composite including negative effective properties far below the homogenization limit. We investigate this further using the Craig–Bampton decomposition and clarify that these properties emerge through an interplay between the fundamental internal modeshape of the unit cell and a rigid body mode. Through explicit numerical calculations on 1-D, 2-phase unit cells, we show that negative effective properties only appear for the specific material property combination mentioned above. Furthermore, we provide a proof which supports this conclusion. The concept is also shown to hold for 2-D unit cells where we show that an appropriately designed hexagonal unit cell made of 2 material phases exhibits negative effective shear modulus and density in an appropriate frequency regime in which it also exhibits negative refraction. As in the 1-D case, we show that the homogenized description in the 2-D case is rigorous as well. An important conclusion of this paper is that the class of unit cells expected to result in negative properties can be expanded beyond the classic unit cell (three-phase unit cells with an explicit locally resonant phase) to include topologically simpler 2-phase unit cells as well.
Wandering out of the GWAS wilderness: a new pathway paradigm for complex disease genetics

A genetic contribution to asthma susceptibility has long been recognised.1 Despite multiple approaches, from candidate genes to genome-wide association studies (GWAS), a large proportion of this heritability remains unexplained.2 The reasons for this are myriad and are largely generalisable to similar approaches in other complex diseases and phenotypes. Candidate gene studies are well based in known pathophysiology and can be powered to identify small effect sizes, but often provide limited insight into new biology or therapeutic opportunities. GWAS are largely unbiased (tagging single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) selection not withstanding) and provide opportunities for discovery, but identifying the biologically functional variant can prove daunting, and other important variants likely do not survive genome-wide significance corrections where sample sizes, and hence statistical power, are limited. Both of these approaches in isolation are also likely to miss the influence of genetics on the complex phenotypic response to environmental exposures. In this issue of Thorax , Dizier et al report an interesting pathway-based approach to a gene by environment (G×E) analysis of a well-established epidemiological association between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure and bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR).3 This hybrid method has some of the benefits of multiple modalities and may provide a new avenue for further clarifying the genetic underpinnings of other complex diseases. The basis for the current study …
Abstract 007: Actigraphy-Measured Sleep Regularity and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Background: Prior studies have linked rotating night shift work to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Irregular sleep schedules, characterized by high day-to-day variability in sleep d...
Temporal variation in foraging patterns of Desert Kit Foxes (Vulpes macrotis arsipus) in the Mojave Desert, California, USA

Abstract Ecological studies on the Desert Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis arsipus) in California, USA are severely lacking. Although the Desert Kit Fox does not have any formal protections in California, conservation concern for this subspecies is increasing markedly. We conducted a five-year multi-season dietary study in the Mojave Desert near the city of Barstow, California, USA, in which we collected and analyzed over 1,200 Desert Kit Fox scats. Desert Kit Foxes specialized on heteromyid rodents, even when this preferred prey declined during a drought. Invertebrates were also regularly consumed and use of this prey type increased when rodents decreased. Opportunistic items such as birds, reptiles, and Pistachio (Pistacia vera) nuts supplemented the Desert Kit Fox diet. We conclude that Desert Kit Foxes in California are rodent and invertebrate specialists, but they have sufficient ecological plasticity to expand their diet in response to environmental changes, similar to other canids. Management strategies should thus include steps to maintain healthy prey populations as well as a variety of available food options in the event of declines in primary foods. Ecological plasticity may allow Desert Kit Foxes to adapt and persist despite anthropogenic landscape modifications and potential climate change.
Randomization Procedures for Changing Criterion Designs

To strengthen the scientific credibility arguments for single-case intervention studies, randomization design-and-analysis methods have been developed for the multiple-baseline, ABAB, and alternating treatment designs, including options for preplanned designs, wherein the series and phase lengths are established prior to gathering data, as well as options for response-guided designs, wherein ongoing visual analyses guide decisions about when to intervene. Our purpose here is to develop randomization methods for another class of single-case design, the changing criterion design. We first illustrate randomization design-and-analysis methods for preplanned changing criterion designs and then develop and illustrate methods for response-guided changing criterion designs. We discuss the limitations associated with the randomization methods and the validity of the corresponding intervention-effect inferences.
Hospitals with greater diversities of physiologically complex procedures do not achieve greater production of such inpatient surgical procedures

Abstract Background Some hospitals focus on a few types of procedures (i.e., the “focused factory model”), and some facilitate many different procedures being performed. Understanding the association between the diversity of procedures performed at a hospital and surgical workload (e.g., do focused factories experience greater growth) has implications for hospital management and operating room planning. Methods This observational cohort study used 2906 combinations of hospitals and years from the State of Texas for fiscal years 2005–2015. ICD-9-CM procedures studied were those with more than 7 American Society of Anesthesiologists base units. The discharges studied were those from hospitalizations with a DRG having a mean length of stay ≥4.0 days. The number of types of physiologically complex procedures commonly performed at each hospital was determined by calculating the inverse of the Herfindahl index (i.e., sum of squares of the proportions of all procedures of each type of physiologically complex procedure). Results Hospitals’ percentage annual increases in total DRG relative weights (i.e., estimated costs) among discharges including a physiologically complex procedure were not associated with the diversity of performed physiologically complex procedures (slope −0.004%, 95% confidence interval −0.024% to 0.017%; P = 0.73). This lack of association was robust to alternative statistical model specifications. In addition, hospitals’ geometric mean annual proportional rates of growth of total DRG weights were uncorrelated with weighted average diversities (P = 0.31; Kendall's τb = 0.052; SE = 0.051). These results can be explained by the fact that hospitals performing a greater diversity of physiologically complex procedures had a relative distribution of different types of procedures more like the combination of all other hospitals in its health region than did hospitals with lesser diversity (τb = 0.627; SE = 0.012). Conclusions Physicians and administrators working at hospitals with a great diversity of types of physiologically complex procedures should not expect that adding new procedures to the hospital's portfolio will drive growth. They should expect growth, at most, minimally greater than that of smaller hospitals. Likewise, physicians and administrators at hospitals that specialize should be skeptical that a “focused factory” model contributes to more growth. Rather, one should expect growth to be no greater than at comprehensive hospitals.
Are federal student loan accountability regulations effective

Abstract Within the education sector, accountability regulations have been used with the intended purpose of improving student outcomes. In higher education, one such regulation aims to improve the ability of borrowers to repay their student loans by placing sanctions on institutions with excessive student loan defaults. This paper examines whether student loan accountability regulations were able to (1) lower student loan defaults, and (2) address the broader objective of improving repayment ability, by exploiting a change to the period in which the regulation’s performance measure was monitored. I find that the change to the regulation resulted in less student loan defaults at for-profit colleges. I also find that this reduction in student loan defaults resulted in a short-term improvement in repayment ability at for-profit, but not nonprofit, institutions.
Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study

Author(s): Caubel, JJ; Rapp, VH; Chen, SS; Gadgil, AJ | Abstract: Billions of households worldwide cook using biomass fires and suffer from the toxic smoke emitted into their homes. Laboratory studies of wood-burning cookstoves demonstrate that secondary air injection can greatly reduce the emission of harmful air pollution, but these experimental advancements are not easily translated into practical cookstove designs that can be widely adopted. In this study, we use a modular cookstove platform to experimentally quantify the practical secondary air injection design requirements (e.g., flow rate, pressure, and temperature) to reduce mass emissions of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) by at least 90% relative to a traditional cooking fire. Over the course of 111 experimental trials, we illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive emission reductions, and outline fundamental design principles to optimize cookstove performance. Using the experimental data, we demonstrate that low-cost (l$10) fans and blowers are available to drive the secondary flow, and can be independently powered using an inexpensive thermoelectric generator mounted nearby. Furthermore, size-resolved PM measurements show that secondary air injection inhibits particle growth, but the total number of particles generated remains relatively unaffected. We discuss the potential impacts for human health and investigate methods to mitigate the PM formation mechanisms that persist.
Leveraging the Future of Healthcare: Private Equity’s Changing Role in Healthcare Delivery, Performance, and Quality

Scholars, reporters, administrators, and clinicians alike have debated the benefits and detriments of private equity investment in healthcare for more than two decades. Yet, nearly all healthcare leaders agree that further consolidation is coming. While our healthcare system is quickly evolving toward value-based and population health-focused accountable care models, so too have private equity healthcare acquisitions become more prevalent and remunerative. Existing research on private equity’s healthcare impact is limited in scope, focusing primarily on nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and short in breadth, with only a handful of longitudinal case studies measuring financial performance and patient care quality in post-acute care settings. As a result, it will be increasingly imperative, both for healthcare practitioners and administrators, to continue analyzing the impact private equity has on healthcare organizations’ quality of care and financial vitality as this investment strategy becomes more common in the ambulatory, specialty physician practice, and acute care space. * * This article was written before the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The issues raised in the article, while not addressing directly the impact of the pandemic, will be of increased importance in the future as private equity firms (which have retained access to funds for investment) look for opportunities in a troubled healthcare industry, and as healthcare organizations look for ways to obtain necessary investment for their survival.
A suggested immunohistochemical algorithm for the classification of T-cell lymphomas involving lymph nodes.

Summary T-cell lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms derived from mature T lymphocytes. These neoplasms are uncommon and usually diagnostically challenging. The focus of this article is to suggest an immunohistochemistry-based, practical approach to assist in the diagnosis of nodal T-cell lymphomas. These neoplasms fall into two major groups: those with many CD30+ tumor cells (group A) and neoplasms that are negative or show only partial expression of CD30 (group B). The differential diagnosis of group A neoplasms mainly includes ALK+ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), ALK-negative ALCL, mycosis fungoides with CD30+ large-cell transformation, adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, extranodal T-cell lymphomas involving lymph nodes (usually regional), and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (PTCL-NOS). Group B neoplasms also include two groups based on the presence or absence of T follicular helper (TFH) markers. Those neoplasms expressing at least 2 TFH markers include angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, nodal PTCL with a TFH phenotype, and follicular T-cell lymphoma. Neoplasms expressing ≤1 TFH marker can be further subdivided based on the expression of CD8 and cytotoxic markers and mainly include PTCL-NOS and a series of unusual subsets including primary Epstein-Barr virus–positive nodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, PTCL-NOS with a cytotoxic immunophenotype, and γ/δ T-cell lymphomas. Using this algorithmic approach, we suggest that the pathologist can establish a diagnosis for most nodal T-cell lymphomas encountered in daily practice.
The world within: Children are sensitive to internal complexity cues

Abstract When reasoning about the mechanisms of complex entities, it is important to consider their internal parts. Previous research has shown that young children view “insides” as critical to how objects function. However, whether children hold specific expectations regarding complex objects’ insides remains an open question. Here, children (n = 378) and adults (n = 124) made internal and causal complexity judgments regarding real-world objects. In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, succeeded at internal complexity judgments and matched complex artifacts with complex insides. All age groups succeeded at causal complexity judgments and identified complex artifacts as causally complex. Study 2 tested whether the internal complexity cues of number/area, diversity, and connections of internal parts conveyed complexity to children. The 5-year-olds were sensitive only to number/area of internal parts as a complexity cue, but the older children and adults were sensitive to all three cues plus number of parts when controlling for area (Study 3). Despite limited exposure to insides, even young school-age children hold detailed and abstract expectations concerning internal complexity.
Two Fatalities Involving Mebroqualone

Mebroqualone is an analogue of methaqualone, and there is a very little published information regarding the toxicity of this designer drug. We describe two cases with non-lethal levels of mebroqualone in blood collected at autopsy. Case 1 was an accidental death that involved a house fire, and the decedent was found to have a blood mebroqualone concentration of 10,228 ng/mL. Case 2 was a completed suicide by train, and the decedent was found to have a blood concentration of 115 ng/mL. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the scientific literature to compare two postmortem blood concentrations of mebroqualone. Mebroqualone was extracted from postmortem blood using a simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure and analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
It Is in Our Failures That We Have Learned the Most from Our Living Laboratory

That was the question we posed to ourselves, two architecture faculty members, when we began the process of designing our home in 2008.1 In the midst of a global financial crisis and in the context...
Frozen Elephant Trunk for Aortic Dissection

Frozen elephant trunk (FET) hybrid procedures combine open surgical graft interposition repair of the proximal ascending aorta and arch with an endovascular stentgraft repair at the distal arch and proximal descending thoracic aorta in a single procedure. It was devised to minimize the risk of a more extensive repair in patients with extensive thoracic aortic pathologies involving the arch, such as DeBakey type 1 dissections. Multiple variations of technique have been described to perform these operations but they all include the combination of a distal stentgraft component with a conventional surgical component and the objective of providing improved survival and freedom from aortic reinterventions. By covering entry tears at the aortic arch and proximal descending aorta level, the FET optimizes downstream true lumen perfusion, which is acutely beneficial in cases of malperfusion. There is the potential for improved reverse remodeling in the treated segment, and the simplicity of TEVAR extension of the stented proximal descending aorta in the chronic phase to treat false lumen aneurysmal degeneration commonly seen in young patients and those with connective tissue disorders. This chapter reviews the cumulative experience and latest iterations to the FET technique, including the B-SAFER technique that is preferred in Cleveland, and explores the issues that have led to a shift in preference of FET strategies for DeBakey type 1 dissections at several high volume aortic centers around the world.
Why Meanings Are Not Normative

1. This paper is a response prompted by a dissatisfaction with the prevalent discussion of the last many years on the subject of meaning and normativity following the publication of Kripke’s book on Wittgenstein’s discussion of rule-following. It will present an argument to put into doubt what is a fairly widespread assumption about the normative nature of linguistic meaning by looking at the relation that linguistic meaning bears to an agent’s linguistic intentions.
Chronic sleep deprivation and seasonality: Implications for the obesity epidemic

Sleep duration has progressively fallen over the last 100 years while obesity has increased in the past 30 years. Several studies have reported an association between chronic sleep deprivation and long-term weight gain. Increased energy intake due to sleep loss has been listed as the main mechanism. The consequences of chronic sleep deprivation on energy expenditure have not been fully explored. Sleep, body weight, mood and behavior are subjected to circannual changes. However, in our modern environment seasonal changes in light and ambient temperature are attenuated. Seasonality, defined as cyclic changes in mood and behavior, is a stable personality trait with a strong genetic component. We hypothesize that the attenuation in seasonal changes in the environment may produce negative consequences, especially in individuals more predisposed to seasonality, such as women. Seasonal affective disorder, a condition more common in women and characterized by depressed mood, hypersomnia, weight gain, and carbohydrate craving during the winter, represents an extreme example of seasonality. One of the postulated functions of sleep is energy preservation. Hibernation, a phenomenon characterized by decreased energy expenditure and changes in the state of arousal, may offer useful insight into the mechanisms behind energy preservation during sleep. The goals of this article are to: a) consider the contribution of changes in energy expenditure to the weight gain due to sleep loss; b) review the phenomena of seasonality, hibernation, and their neuroendocrine mechanisms as they relate to sleep, energy expenditure, and body weight regulation.
Depression in children with autism/pervasive developmental disorders : a case-control family history study

Limited information is available about the occurrence of depression in children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). Although depression has been described in autistic children, questions about its validity have often been raised. One approach to address this issue is to investigate family histories of those autistic children diagnosed with clinical depression. Based on data available in nonautistic children, autistic children with depression would be expected to show an increased family history of depression. Since studies of this nature have not been attempted in autistic children, we compared the family history of 13 autistic/PDD children with depression (11 male; 2 female; M full-scale IQ 86.2, SD 24.2; M age 10.4 years, SD 2.2) with 10 autistic/PDD children without a history of current or previous depression (9 male; 1 female; M full-scale IQ 67, SD 12.9; M age 10.5 years, SD 1.6). Diagnosis of depression was based on the DSM-III-R criteria and confirmed independently by two psychiatrists. Ten (77%) of the depressed children had a positive family history of depression compared to 3 (30%) of the nondepressed group, t(21)=-2.4; p=.02. These findings lend support to the validity of depression as a distinct condition in some children with autism/PDD and suggest that, as in the normal population, autistic children who suffer from depression are more likely to have a family history of depression.
Regulation of Somatostatin Receptor mRNA Expression

The five somatostatin receptor mRNAs are expressed with distinct though overlapping patterns of distribution in the CNS and peripheral tissues. All receptor types are expressed in the anterior pituitary and hypothalamus and could therefore be modulated in states of growth hormone (GH) dysregulation. Metabolic perturbations such as food deprivation and diabetes mellitus lead to suppression of GH levels in the rat, in part due to increased somatostatin tone. In rats deprived of food, pituitary sstr1, 2 and 3 mRNAs were reduced by 80% compared to fed controls; sstr4 and sstr5 mRNAs were unchanged. Hypothalamic sstr mRNA expression was unaltered. In diabetic rats pituitary sstr1, 2 and 3 mRNAs were reduced by 50-80% with sstr1 mRNA restored in part by insulin therapy. Pituitary sstr4 mRNA and hypothalamic expression of these four types was unaffected. sstr5 mRNA is reduced by 70% in the pituitary and by 30% in the hypothalamus with restoration of both by insulin treatment. Altered pituitary sstr expression in food deprivation and diabetes could result from chronic exposure to increased plasma somatostatin. In rat GH3 pituitary tumour cells exposed to 1 microM somatostatin for up to 48 h, sstr1, 3, 4 and 5 mRNA increased dramatically while sstr2 mRNA exhibited a biphasic response. We observed a net increase in receptor binding associated with increased sstr mRNA. Somatostatin receptor expression is regulated in a tissue- and type-specific manner, adding further complexity to the action of the multifaceted peptide somatostatin.
Thermodynamics of the nitrogenase reactions

The thermodynamics of the nitrogenase reactions are discussed in terms of chemical equations and biochemical equations. Chemical equations balance all elements and electric charge. Biochemical equations represent changes at specified pH and specified free concentrations of metal ions that are bound by reactants, but they do not balance hydrogen or metal ions that have specified free concentrations. At a specified pH, it takes three separate biochemical equations to represent the changes catalyzed by nitrogenase. [formula; see text] The first two equations are required because the nitrogenase and hydrogenase activities of the enzyme have not been separated. The hydrolysis of ATP is necessary, but it is not coupled stoichiometrically to the first two equations. The function of the hydrolysis of ATP by nitrogenase may be to provide the 10 H+ required per mol of N2 consumed. However, reactions cannot generally be coupled stoichiometrically through H+ because H+ is potentially available by dissociation of protein, buffer, and H2O. The standard Gibbs energies of formation of the reactant species are calculated for 25 degrees C, 1 bar, and ionic strengths of 0 and 0.25 M. The standard transformed Gibbs energies of formation of the reactants are calculated at 25 degrees C, 1 bar, pH 7, and ionic strengths of 0 and 0.25 M.
Analysis of Particle Transport and Deposition of Micron-Sized Particles in a 90° Bend Using a Two-Fluid Eulerian-Eulerian Approach

Two-phase flows involving dispersed particle and droplet phases are common in a variety of natural and industrial processes, such as aerosols, blood flow, emulsions, and gas-catalyst systems. For sufficiently dilute particle/aerosol phases, a simplified one-way coupling is often assumed, in which the continuous primary phase is unaffected by the presence of the dispersed secondary phase and standard CFD methods can be applied. To predict the transport and deposition of the particle phase, typically a Lagrangian particle-tracking or Eulerian one-fluid/two-phase drift-flux approach is used. Here, a full two-fluid Eulerian modeling approach is presented for coarse particles (>1 μm), in which transport equations are numerically solved for both particle-phase continuity and particle-phase momentum. Simulation results were obtained for a laminar flow regime (Re 100 and 1000) in a 90° elbow, and the effects of grid topology and resolution were investigated. Additionally, gravity effects were considered for both ...
Robust LQR Control for the Benchmark Problem

We wil examine the performance of a linear quadratic regulator which is robust to parametric uncertainty. The controller, which feeds back all states, is based upon Petersen's approach. Simulations show, using the benchmark problem, that remarkable performance robustness can be achieved.
First-Order Incremental Block-Based Statistical Timing Analysis

Variability in digital integrated circuits makes timing verification an extremely challenging task. In this paper, a canonical first-order delay model that takes into account both correlated and independent randomness is proposed. A novel linear-time block-based statistical timing algorithm is employed to propagate timing quantities like arrival times and required arrival times through the timing graph in this canonical form. At the end of the statistical timing, the sensitivity of all timing quantities to each of the sources of variation is available. Excessive sensitivities can then be targeted by manual or automatic optimization methods to improve the robustness of the design. This paper also reports the first incremental statistical timer in the literature, which is suitable for use in the inner loop of physical synthesis or other optimization programs. The third novel contribution of this paper is the computation of local and global criticality probabilities. For a very small cost in computer time, the probability of each edge or node of the timing graph being critical is computed. Numerical results are presented on industrial application-specified integrated circuit (ASIC) chips with over two million logic gates, and statistical timing results are compared to exhaustive corner analysis on a chip design whose hardware showed early mode timing violations
The Synaptic Adhesion Molecule SynCAM 1 Contributes to Cocaine Effects on Synapse Structure and Psychostimulant Behavior

Drugs of abuse have acute and persistent effects on synapse structure and addiction-related behaviors. Trans-synaptic interactions can control synapse development, and synaptic cell adhesion molecule (SynCAM) proteins (also named nectin-like molecules) are immunoglobulin adhesion proteins that span the synaptic cleft and induce excitatory synapses. Our studies now reveal that the loss of SynCAM 1 in knockout (KO) mice reduces excitatory synapse number in nucleus accumbens (NAc). SynCAM 1 additionally contributes to the structural remodeling of NAc synapses in response to the psychostimulant cocaine. Specifically, we find that cocaine administration increases the density of stubby spines on medium spiny neurons in NAc, and that maintaining this increase requires SynCAM 1. Furthermore, mushroom-type spines on these neurons are structurally more plastic when SynCAM 1 is absent, and challenging drug-withdrawn mice with cocaine shortens these spines in SynCAM 1 KO mice. These effects are correlated with changes on the behavioral level, where SynCAM 1 contributes to the psychostimulant effects of cocaine as measured after acute and repeated administration, and in drug-withdrawn mice. Together, our results provide evidence that the loss of a synapse-organizing adhesion molecule can modulate cocaine effects on spine structures in NAc and increases vulnerability to the behavioral actions of cocaine. SynCAM-dependent pathways may therefore represent novel points of therapeutic intervention after exposure to drugs of abuse.
Preliminary report on use of the neodymium-YAG laser in plastic surgery

Thirty-four patients with 57 cutaneous lesions have been treated with the Nd:YAG laser under an experimental protocol over a year of study. The majority of treatments were done on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. Capillary/cavernous hemangiomas of the oral cavity responded well, but hemangiomas of infancy responded poorly. Hypertrophic scars and keloids responded well only in conjunction with steroid treatment. Epistaxis in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia responded well for 4-5 months and then recurred. Areas with thin skin or mucosa have the potential for full-thickness injury with complications of scar, bony exposure, or septal perforation.
Seawater sulfate reduction and sulfur isotope fractionation in basaltic systems: Interaction of seawater with fayalite and magnetite at 200–350°C

Sulfate reduction during seawater reaction with fayalite and with magnetite was rapid at 350°C, producing equilibrium assemblages of talc-pyrite-hematite-magnetite at low water/rock ratios and talc-pyrite-hematite-anhydrite at higher water/rock ratios. At 250°C, seawater reacting with fayalite produced detectable amounts of dissolved H2S, but extent of reaction of solid phases was minor after 150 days. At 200°C, dissolved H2S was not detected, even after 219 days, but mass balance calculations suggest a small amount of pyrite may have formed. Reaction stoichiometry indicates that sulfate reduction requires large amounts of H+, which, in subseafloor hydrothermal systems is provided by Mg metasomatism. Seawater contains sufficient Mg to supply all the H+ necessary for quantitative reduction of seawater sulfate. Systematics of sulfur isotopes in the 250 and 350°C experiments indicate that isotopic equilibrium is reached, and can be modeled as a Rayleigh distillation process. Isotopic composition of hydrothermally produced H2S in natural systems is strongly dependent upon the seawater/basalt ratio in the geothermal system, which controls the relative sulfide contributions from the two important sulfur sources, seawater sulfate and sulfide phases in basalt. Anhydrite precipitation during geothermal heating severely limits sulfate ingress into high temperature interaction zones. Quantitative sulfate reduction can thus be accomplished without producing strongly oxidized rocks and resultant sulfide sulfur isotope values represent a mixture of seawater and basaltic sulfur.
Identification of canavalin as a proteolytically modified form of Jack bean α-d-mannosidase

Abstract The structure to 3.0 A resolution of the protein canavalin from Jack beans has been determined by conventional X-ray crystallographic techniques. We present evidence that canavalin is a proteolytically modified form of the enzyme α- d -mannosidase. This is based on the facts that the purified precursor protein possesses substantial α- d -mannosidase activity; it comigrates on SDS-PAGE with Jack bean α- d -mannosidase prepared by other means; and its oligomer molecular weight and Zn 2+ content are the same as those of Jack bean α- d -mannosidase.
Psychiatric Aspects of Psychosocial Distress in Cancer Patients

This article reviews the identification and management of the two most common psychiatric disorders in cancer patients - delirium and depression. Physical consequences of cancer and its treatment can account for disorders of mood, thought, or behavior that appear on the surface to be indistinguishable from psychological, social, behavioral, or existentially mediated distress. Recognizing a medical basis for psychosocial distress is important because the impairment often has a specific, treatable cause and because the failure to treat may lead to premature loss of function and unnecessary alienation of the patient. In addition to reviewing common physiologic disorders in patients that present as psychosocial distress, the article addresses questions about mental status that are important in detecting organic mental disorders and the differential evaluation of depressive symptoms. Issues involved in the use of psychotropic drugs are also summarized. The author places the psychiatrist in the context of a mul...
Growth and liver glycerophosphate dehydrogenase response to thyroxine and p-chlorophenoxyisobutyrate.

The growth of rats thyroidectomized at weaning or fed 0.1% methimazole (MI) plateaued at about 150 g after 3 or 4 weeks. A maximal growth rate of 4–5 g/day was reinstituted by injecting 0.35–0.4 μg T4/100 g/day, and this was also the minimum dosage which significantly increased liver glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) in the presence or absence of p-chlorophenoxyisobutyrate (CPIB). Smaller doses of T4 did not prevent the goitrogenic effect of MI, did not increase the thyroidectomy level of liver GPD, and did not allow CPIB to intensify the liver GPD response to T4. The CPIB effect on liver GPD was also blocked by MI even when larger doses of exogenous T4 were administered. This small amount of T4 was needed to maintain the pituitary and liver cells in a functional state, while larger amounts produce the added effects usually associated specifically with the thyroid hormone. Normal tissues did not contain enough thyromimetic activity to be detected by this growth response, and certain commercial tissues ...
Mutagenic potential of binary and complex mixtures using different enzyme induction systems.

A series of experiments was conducted to investigate the mutagenic potential of binary and complex mixtures in the presence and absence of inducible liver enzyme systems prepared with several different chemical inducers. Liver homogenate (S9, or 9000 g supernatant) fractions were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats induced with either Aroclor 1254 (AR), phenobarbital (PB), 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), or corn oil (UI). The mutagenic potential of test samples was m easured with Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 using each of the various S9 fractions. Test samples included benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), a binary mixture of BaP and PCP, two five-component mixtures, a methylene chloride extract of wood preserving waste-amended soil, and a methanol extract of coal gasification waste. At a dose of 25 mu g/plate, BaP produced 55, 83, 217, and 161 net revertants per plate with UI-, PB-, AR-, and TCDD-induced S9, respectively. The complex mixture extracted from the wood preserving was...
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Liquid–liquid Interface for Immiscible and Partially Miscible Mixtures

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed on model interfaces between n-hexane and water and between water and 1-hexanol. The SPC/E model was used for water. Organic molecules were modeled with united atom potentials located at heavy nuclei, but included explicit modeling of the alcohol H. The structure of the interface was examined in terms of its position, thickness, roughness, and molecular orientations. Additionally, self diffusion coefficients in each phase and the interfacial tension were determined. Significant differences in the interfacial structure were found between the immiscible and partially miscible systems. The interface for the immiscible system is molecularly sharp with only small dynamic waves or corrugation. On the other hand, the interface in the partially miscible system consists of a molecularly sharp region and a bilayer of hexanol oriented with the OH heads out. Relatively static waves corrugate the inner part of the interface considerably more than that for the immiscibl...
A COMPUTER-INTERFACED FALLING BALL VISCOMETER

We have developed a system that greatly facilitates viscosity measurement under low-shear conditions, based upon a falling ball viscometer interfaced to a personal computer. Three optical sensors indicate the rate of passage of a steel ball falling through a micro-capillary tube, and a potentiometer detects the angle of the tube. The resulting data are passed from a custom program with a graphical user interface to a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet then calculates and stores a value for the viscosity of the sample, using the data passed to it from the viscometer, and a look-up table of stored slope and intercept values calculated from precision viscosity standards. We used the viscometer to determine the kinetics of actin polymerization, and to measure the viscosity of F-actin-aldolase gels. This system provides significantly greater reproducibility and speed in data acquisition than does the traditional 'eyeball and stopwatch' method, and data reduction is virtually instantaneous.