cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Real-time 3D ultrasound with multiple transducer arrays

Modifications were made to a commercial real time 3D ultrasound system for near simultaneous 3D scanning with two 2D array transducers. As a first illustration, a transducer cable assembly was modified to incorporate two independent 3D intracardiac echo catheters, a 7 Fr (2.3 mm O.D.) side scanning catheter and a 14 Fr (4.7 mm O.D) forward viewing catheter with tool port, each using 85 channels operating at 5 MHz. For applications in treatment of atrial fibrillation, the goal is to implant the side-viewing catheter within the coronary sinus to view the whole left atrium including left pulmonary veins. Meanwhile the forward viewing catheter inserted within the left atrium is directed toward the os of a pulmonary vein for therapy using the integrated tool port. Using pre-loaded phasing data, the scanner switches between catheters automatically at the push of a button with a delay of about 1 second so that the clinician can view the therapy catheter with the coronary sinus catheter and vice versa. In the future, the system will switch between 3D probes on a frame-by-frame basis. We may also test the feasibility of image fusion using multiple 3D cardiac scans.
Can humans coexist with fishes

Deciding which textbook to assign to students is often a very difficult decision. A textbook should offer more than just a synthesis of information, it should inspire curiosity, cause one to reflect, and provide a framework for making decisions. Most reviews reflect a single opinion, sometimes based on personal preferences. What is missing from most reviews is an assessment of how a book affected students. We approach this book review differently. We present separate reviews by the instructors and the students participating in a graduate seminar on Fish Conservation. The class format was a mixture of guest lecturers and group discussion. Students were required to write critical comments about each chapter of the book. They understood that they would be co-authors on this review and critical assessment was necessary. The presumption is that similarities between two reviews suggest consensus, but that differences reflect honest differences of opinion as well as differences in background and experience.
Intracellular signalling. Key enzyme in leptin-induced anorexia.

Leptin is a key hormonal regulator of energy balance that acts upon hypothalamic neurons to reduce food intake, but the intracellular mechanisms involved are incompletely understood. Here we show that systemic administration of leptin in rats activates the enzyme phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K) in the hypothalamus and that intracerebro-ventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of inhibitors of this enzyme prevents leptin-induced anorexia. Our results indicate that PI(3)K is a crucial enzyme in the signal-transduction pathway that links hypothalamic leptin to reduced food intake.
Validity Test of a New Open-Circuit Indirect Calorimeter.

Background: Indirect calorimetry is an accurate way to measure resting metabolic rate. The Deltatrac Metabolic Monitor is considered a criterion standard but is no longer manufactured. New-generation indirect calorimeters have been introduced, but there are limited published validation data comparing these devices to criterion instruments. Materials and Methods: A prospective, observational, N-of-1 trial was conducted to validate a new-generation indirect calorimeter against a gold standard device. This design was chosen to minimize and define the degree of biological variation, thus focusing on variation due to the devices. Measurements of gas exchange using both indirect calorimeters were conducted daily for 10 consecutive days. Another set of measurement pairs was conducted using just the criterion device for 10 days. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals of differences were used to test for bias. Precision was defined as repeat measures with one device falling within 5% of the other at least 90% of...
The textbook‐driven curriculum

Textbooks have come to drive the curriculum, and one might wonder why so little attention is given to the position of the textbook in the process of curriculum making. Reliance on the textbook (as well as its companion, the workbook) is consistent with the stress on written words as the main medium of education, as well as the way many teachers themselves were educated. Dependence on the textbook is also linked to the time when a majority of teachers were poorly prepared in subject matter or teaching out of license and read the text one day in advance of the students. Many of today's teachers, while better educated than their predecessors, sometimes lack the time or training to prepare new materials; thus, they continue to rely on the textbook and workbook.
Changes in plasma thyroxine, estradiol-17β, and 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one during smoltification of coho salmon

Abstract Circulating levels of plasma estradiol, 17α,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17α,20β PROG), and thyroxine were measured during smoltification of coho salmon in two successive years (1984 and 1985). Two elevations of thyroxine occurred in both years, the first occurred in April followed by a second increase in May. Estradiol levels were dynamic with variable changes particularly in postsmolts when estradiol levels were either depressed in 1984 or high in 1985. However, elevations of estradiol preceded the second elevation of thyroxine in May in both years when the salmon were undergoing the later stages of smoltification. There were no consistent changes of plasma 17α,20B PROG during this period. Although, in 1984, there were significant elevations and depressions of 17α,20B PROG, and in 1985, there was a major unexplained depression of 17α,20B PROG on April 24. There were no sexual differences noted for plasma steroid levels in the juvenile fish. These data suggest that there are seasonal changes of estradiol coinciding with other developmental changes during smoltification.
Interstitial Myocarditis in Mice and Rats Produced by Neoprontosil, Sulfanilamide, Sodium Sulfapyridine and Sodium Sulfathiazole

SummaryIn the mouse and rat an interstitial myocarditis, of which the cellular infiltration is in part eosinophilic, results from the intraperitoneal injection of neoprontosil and certain other drugs of the sulfonamide group. This myocarditis is histologically similar to that observed in the hearts of humans dying after the administration of these drugs.
The GAFa domains of rod cGMP-phosphodiesterase 6 determine the selectivity of the enzyme dimerization.

Retinal rod cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDE6 family) is the effector enzyme in the vertebrate visual transduction cascade. Unlike other known PDEs that form catalytic homodimers, the rod PDE6 catalytic core is a heterodimer composed of α and β subunits. A system for efficient expression of rod PDE6 is not available. Therefore, to elucidate the structural basis for specific dimerization of rod PDE6, we constructed a series of chimeric proteins between PDE6αβ and PDE5, which contain the N-terminal GAFa/GAFb domains, or portions thereof, of the rod enzyme. These chimeras were co-expressed in Sf9 cells in various combinations as His-, myc-, or FLAG-tagged proteins. Dimerization of chimeric PDEs was assessed using gel filtration and sucrose gradient centrifugation. The composition of formed dimeric enzymes was analyzed with Western blotting and immunoprecipitation. Consistent with the selectivity of PDE6 dimerization in vivo, efficient heterodimerization was observed between the GAF regions of PDE6α and PDE6β with no significant homodimerization. In addition, PDE6α was able to form dimers with the cone PDE6α′ subunit. Furthermore, our analysis indicated that the PDE6 GAFa domains contain major structural determinants for the affinity and selectivity of dimerization of PDE6 catalytic subunits. The key dimerization selectivity module of PDE6 has been localized to a small segment within the GAFa domains, PDE6α-59–74/PDE6β-57–72. This study provides tools for the generation of the homodimeric αα and ββ enzymes that will allow us to address the question of functional significance of the unique heterodimerization of rod PDE6.
Comorbid ADHD is associated with altered patterns of neuronal activation in adolescents with bipolar disorder performing a simple attention task.

Objective: Bipolar disorder is increasingly recognized as a significant source of psychiatric morbidity in children and adolescents. Younger bipolar patients symptomatically differ from adults, and frequently present with comorbid disorders, particularly attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The neurophysiological relationship between these two disorders, however, remains unclear. In this study we utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare activation patterns during performance of a simple attention task between bipolar adolescents with and without ADHD. Methods: Eleven bipolar adolescents with comorbid ADHD and 15 bipolar adolescents without comorbidity were recruited to participate in fMRI scans. A single-digit continuous performance task alternated with a control task in a block-design paradigm. between-group comparisons were made using voxel-by-voxel analysis. Follow-up correlations were made between performance and activation. Results: Group performance did not significantly differ in percentage correct (p = 0.36) or discriminability (p = 0.11). ADHD comorbidity was associated with less activation in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann 10) and anterior cingulate, and greater activation in posterior parietal cortex and middle temporal gyrus. Comorbid ADHD was associated with substantial differences in patterns of correlation between performance and voxel-by-voxel activation. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that comorbid ADHD in bipolar adolescents is associated with activation of alternative pathways during performance of a simple attention task. The pattern of differences suggests that bipolar adolescents with comorbid ADHD demonstrate decreased activation of prefrontal regions, compared with bipolar adolescents without ADHD, and preferentially recruit portions of posterior parietal and temporal cortex.
Concentration‐ and composition‐dependent effects of metal ions on human MG‐63 osteoblasts

Metal debris from implants has been shown to alter the function of osteoblasts in cell cultures. Its remains unclear, however, if specific forms of released ionic metals are involved in the pathogenesis of periprosthetic osteolysis. We evaluated the relative effects of ionic forms of implant metals by treating human osteoblast-like MG-63 osteosarcoma cells with eight concentrations (0.001-10.0 mM) of Cr(+3), Mo(+5), Al(+3), Ta(+5), Co(+2), Ni(+2), Fe(+3), Cu(+2), Mn(+2), Mg(+2), Na(+2), and V(+3) chloride solutions. The results demonstrated that the metal ions differentially affected osteoblast proliferation, viability, type-I collagen gene expression, and cytokine release. The metal ions were ranked in order from least to most toxic (based on a 50% reduction in viability) as follows: Na < Cr < Mg < Mo < Al < Ta < Co < Ni < Fe < Cu < Mn < V. Metal-induced decreases in osteoblast proliferation were similar in ranking. Nontoxic concentrations of metals had no effect on procollagen alpha1[I] gene expression; only at toxic concentrations did metals produce a decrease in gene expression. The most toxic metals (V, Mn, Fe, and Ni) were also the only metals found to induce IL-6 secretion on a per cell basis (of the cytokines tested, interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin beta 1 (IL-1beta), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), only IL-6 was detectable in the culture medium after 48 h for any metal at any concentration). Less toxic metals (e.g., Co and Cr) had little effect on IL-6 release, even at high concentrations. In general, metal ions reduced osteoblast function (i.e., proliferation and collagen gene expression) in proportion to the degree of toxicity. These results support the hypothesis that adverse local cellular responses (particularly necrotic responses) associated with metal debris from implanted metallic devices may be due in part to metal ions released from implants or from particulate debris.
Network Applications of Bloom Filters: A Survey

A Bloom filter is a simple space-efficient randomized data structure for representing a set in order to support membership queries. Bloom filters allow false positives but the space savings often outweigh this drawback when the probability of an error is controlled. Bloom filters have been used in database applications since the 1970s, but only in recent years have they become popular in the networking literature. The aim of this paper is to survey the ways in which Bloom filters have been used and modified in a variety of network problems, with the aim of providing a unified mathematical and practical framework for understanding them and stimulating their use in future applications.
Permeability of rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocyte membranes to urea and other nonelectrolytes.

Abstract The diffusional permeability coefficients of rabbit polymorphonuclear leukocyte membranes to urea, methylurea and thiourea have been measured. It was found that the permeability coefficient of these membranes to urea is very low and that thiourea was more permeable than methylurea which was, in turn, more permeable than urea. These results suggest that there is no need to postulate a carrier-mediated mechanism for urea transport across biological membranes and that the concept of “aqueous pores” is not a general property of biological membranes but restricted only to certain cases.
FTIR and diode laser spectroscopy of isobutylene: Analysis of the rotational structure in the v28 fundamental band

Abstract Rotational structure in the 28 0 1 fundamental band of isobutylene has been examined at room temperature using a combination of FTIR and Pb-salt diode laser instruments. The highest spectral resolution for the FTIR measurements was 0.125 cm−1. Even at this resolution however, rotational structure for the 28 0 1 band could be observed and appeared to possess a very regular pattern. A preliminary spectral assignment was obtained using the Watson/Gora asymptotic approximation for a rigid oblate asymmetric rotor. Within this approximation, the 28 0 1 band origin was determined to be 890.937 (4) cm−1. Excited state rotational constants, without the inclusion of centrifugal distortions terms, are A = 0.3033(16), B = 0.2801(12) and C = 0.15362 (8) cm−1 respectively. Finally, a full set of spectroscopic constants, including quartic centrifugal distortion constants, were obtained for the 28 0 1 band by including the high resolution Pb-salt spectra.
Block copolymer-directed metal nanoparticle morphogenesis and organization

Abstract Advances in the nanoscale design of polymeric, “soft” materials and of metallic, “hard” materials can converge at the “interfaces” to form hybrid nanomaterials with interesting features. Novel optical, magnetic, electronic, and catalytic properties are conferred by metal nanoparticles, depending on their morphology (size and shape), surface properties, and long-range organization. We review here the utilization of block copolymers for the controlled synthesis and stabilization of metal nanoparticles. Solvated block copolymers can provide nanoscale environments of varying and tunable shape, dimensions, mobility, local polarity, concentration, and reactivity. In particular, block copolymers containing poly(ethylene oxide) can exhibit multiple functions on the basis of their organization at the intra-polymer level (i.e., crown ether-like cavities that bind and reduce metal ions), and at the supramolecular level (surface-adsorbed micelles, and ordered arrays of micelles). These block copolymers can thus initiate metal nanoparticle formation, and control the nanoparticle size and shape. The physically adsorbed block copolymers, which can be subsequently removed or exchanged with other functional ligands, stabilize the nanoparticles and can facilitate their integration into diverse processes and products. Block copolymers can be further useful in promoting long-range nanoparticle organization. Several studies have elucidated the nanoparticle synthesis and stabilization mechanism, optimized the conditions for different outcomes, extended the ranges of materials obtained and applications impacted, and generalized the scope of this functional polymer-based nanoparticle synthesis methodology.
Mathematical models for the prediction of liquefied-natural-gas densities

Abstract Three mathematical models of the equation of state for liquid mixtures simulating liquefied natural gas (LNG) are discussed and compared. The adjustable parameters for each model have been optimized using the same set of experimental data, consisting of over 280 new ( p , V , T , x ) points taken at the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado. It is estimated that each of the models will predict LNG densities over its range of validity to within 0.1 per cent of the true values, given the pressure, temperature, and composition of the mixture. Deviation plots and a detailed performance evaluation are given for each model. The range of validity varies slightly among the models but in general the range of the study included the saturated liquid from 90 to 135 K.
Glycoprotein specificity of cold-reactive IgM antilymphocyte autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Sera from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus frequently contain IgM antibodies to glycoproteins of Mr 46,000 and ∼200,000 isolated from nonionic detergent lysates of mature T cells by affinity chromatography with solid-phase wheat germ agglutinin. Autoantibodies of this specificity correlate strongly with the presence of IgM anti-T cell autoantibodies, as determined by independent indirect immunofluorescence and complement-dependent microcytotoxicity assays, and are specifically absorbed by incubation of patient serum with viable T cells. Collectively, the data suggest that gp46 and, to a lesser extent, gp∼200 represent major targets of IgM antilymphocyte autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus.
Sharing information about peer relations: parent and adolescent opinions and behaviors in Hmong and African American families.

Despite sharing similar attitudes regarding the information about peers that parents have a right to know, the strategies African American and Hmong families use to seek or censor information about peers diverge because of ethnic differences in emphasis on trust, nurturing autonomy, respect for parental authority, and maintaining cultural traditions.
Octree representations of moving objects

Abstract An algorithm is described that updates an object's octree representation as the object is linearly translated through space. This is accomplished by performing simple arithmetic on the path representations of the nodes to be translated. Among others, one advantage of the algorithm is in devising collision-free and efficient trajectories of moving objects in robotics.
Inventive articulation: how High Atlas farmers put the global to work

This chapter explores how farmers in the Moroccan High Atlas put the global to work. It emphasises the agency of local people and the way villagers seize upon changing opportunities for their own specific, culturally sensible agendas. It also demonstrates the way actions with very particular intentions nonetheless contribute to three broadly ‘global’ processes: the expansion of the wage labour economy, economic development, and the transformation of religious ideology. The paper presents a short case study for each of these three global processes. The first involves the way patriarchal authority inspires labour migration and how this migration inadvertently leads to the dissolution of the extended patriarchal household that inspired it. This case shows how local cultural values combined with resistance to entrenched, traditional power relations allows the wage labour economy to expand. Next, we examine how exogenous resources provided by development agencies at the state and international level become too...
Third-sound studies in /sup 3/He-/sup 4/He films

We report the results of measurements of the velocity and damping of third sound in /sup 3/He-/sup 4/He mixture films for T<0.3 K and for /sup 3/He coverages up to about two monolayers. The velocity measurements do not show the coverage-dependent behavior seen by Laheurte et al. and are consistent with earlier less-precise results at high temperature and coverages which suggest a situation of nearly complete isotopic layering. The damping measurements show interesting and unexplained structure.
Evaluating the Dimensional Structure of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment-Short form

This study explores the dimensional structure of the Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment-Short Form (HOME-SF). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate three hypothesiz...
Analysis of violent behavior in Vietnam combat veteran psychiatric inpatients with posttraumatic stress disorder

This study tested the hypothesis that male Vietnam veterans seeking inpatient treatment for PTSD (n = 228) exhibit more violent behavior compared with a mixed diagnostic group of male psychiatric Inpatients without PTSD (n = 64) and a community sample of Vietnam veterans with PTSD not undergoing inpatient treatment (n = 273). Violent acts assessed included property destruction, threats without a weapon, physical fighting, and threats with a weapon. PTSD inpatients engaged in more types of violent behavior than both comparison conditions. Correlates of violence among PTSD inpatients included PTSD symptom severity and, to a lesser degree, measures of substance abuse. These findings justify routine assessment of violent behavior among inpatients with PTSD, as well as application of specialized interventions for anger dyscontrol and aggression.
Constrained derivatives and equilibrium conditions in generalized geometric programming

This paper demonstrates that the “equilibrium conditions” of generalized geometric programming can be interpreted as constrained derivatives of a transform of the dual program to the generalized geometric programming primal. Thus, iterative procedures employing these conditions amount to direct solution of the necessary conditions for a local minimum of the transformed dual expressed in constrained derivative form under the constraint qualification of nonsingularity and nondegeneracy.
1190 PUBERTY AND DIABETES INDEPENDENTLY REDUCE INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN CHILDHOOD

The unstable metabolic control seen in adolescents with insulin dependent diabetes (IDD) is frequently attributed to psychosocial factors. To test the hypothesis that physiological changes of puberty play a role, we used the euglycemic, 1mU/kg.min insulin clamp technique (which raises plasma free insulin levels by ∼90uU/ml) to quantitate insulin sensitivity. 14 conventionallytreated, C-peptide negative IDD (5 Tanner I, 9 Tanner II-IV) and 5 Tanner I and 7 Tanner II-IV normal controls were studied. In the IDD neither the duration (7.2±1.3vs5.6±0.9yrs) nor the daily insulin dose (1.1±0.1 vs 1.0±0.1units/kg) differed between the groups (Tanner II-IV vs I). The glucose infusion rates (mg/kg. min) required to maintain euglycemia (91±0.6mg/dl) during the insulin clamp studies are shown below: In normal children, the onset of puberty is associated with a significant reduction in insulin-mediated glucose metabolism. A further 40% reduction in insulin sensitivity is observed in IDD at each stage of development. Conclusions: 1) Puberty causes a sharp reduction in insulin sensitivity in both normal and IDD children 2)IDD induces an additional defect in insulin sensitivity at each stage of development 3)The combined effects of puberty and IDD result in marked insulin resistance which may contribute to poor metabolic control in adolescent IDD.
Effects of fastigial nucleus stimulation on behavior and cardiovascular parameters in the freely moving dog

This experiment examined the effects of electrical stimulation in the fastigial nucleus (FN) of the cerebellum on behavior, arterial pressure (AP), and heart rate (HR) in freely moving dogs. Aseptic surgical procedures were used to chronically implant FN electrodes and cardiovascular instrumentation in dogs. Bipolar and monopolar electrodes were implanted in rostral FN sites from which the greatest increase in AP and HR were obtained. Analysis of the behavioral data indicated there was a significant interaction between intensity of stimulation and behavior. FN produced changes in the frequency of eating behavior and uncoordinated activity. FN stimulation resulted in increases in AP and HR, which were accompanied by sniffing, walking around the room, tail wagging, approaching or positioning with reference to experimenter, and decreases in AP and HR for arousal/activity level and orienting. The data suggest that the FN contains the anatomical and functional pathways of excitation for the cardiovascular pressor response and behavior.
Abdominal cerclage for the treatment of recurrent cervical insufficiency: laparoscopy or laparotomy?

Objective The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of traditional abdominal cerclage (AC) with laparoscopic cerclage (LC). Study Design Eligible women had at least 1 second trimester pregnancy loss due to cervical insufficiency, and had undergone at least 1 failed transvaginal cerclage. A prospective cohort of patients undergoing LC was compared with a historical control group of patients who had AC. A successful primary outcome was defined as delivery of a viable infant with neonatal survival. Results We were able to evaluate 19 pregnancies following unique abdominal cerclage placement, 12 laparoscopic and 7 at the time of laparotomy. Nine of 12 (75%) undergoing LC and 5 of 7 (71%) pregnancies undergoing AC successfully delivered a viable infant ( P = .63). LC during pregnancy was successful in 4 of 5 (80%) cases as compared to 3 of 5 (60%) cases with AC during pregnancy ( P = 1.0). Conclusion Operative laparoscopy is a safe and effective alternative to laparotomy for the placement of abdominal cerclage.
The Case for Internal Medicine

The failure to fill several prestigious medical house officerships in 1987 and the subsequent steady decline in interest in internal medicine among medical students has led, over the past five year...
The regiochemical course of [2+2] cycloadditions of dichloroketene with vinyl- and alkynylsilanes

Abstract Alkynylsilanes undergo regioselective [2+2] cycloadditions with dichloroketene in good yield; the regiochemical course of these reactions is in accord with frontier molecular orbital predictions.
Optimizing Benchmark-Based Portfolios with Hedge Funds

Hedge funds typically have non-normal return distributions marked by significant positive or negative skewness and high kurtosis. Mean-variance optimization models ignore these higher moments of the return distribution. If a mean-variance optimization model suggests significant allocation to hedge funds, an investor concerned about unwanted skewness and kurtosis is rightfully skeptical. We apply a new stochastic programming model which incorporates Monte Carlo simulation and optimization to examine the effects on the optimal allocation to hedge funds given benchmark related investment objectives: expected shortfall, semi-variance as well as the third and fourth moments of the shortfall. Our results show that a substantial allocation - approximately 20% - to hedge funds is justified even after taken into consideration their unusual skewness and kurtosis. Moreover, results also show that our method produces a fund of funds with desired features. Specifically, our portfolios' return distributions skew to the right relative to those of the optimal mean-variance portfolios, resulting in higher Sortino ratios. Additionally, an out-of-sample backtest shows that our optimal benchmark-based portfolio achieves its goal - beating the selected benchmark.
Parking status SNS (Social Network Service) notification system

A Parking status SNS notification system is developed for reducing wandering traffic by letting drivers be notified of parking lot status via SNS. Therefore, drivers can save not only their time but also gas expenses on unnecessary driving. Moreover, it will bring a result of reducing combustion gases from unnecessary driving which will contribute to Environment protection and be one step closer to Go Green Movement.
Open universal sets

Abstract All spaces are assumed to be regular Hausdorff topological spaces. Let X and Y be spaces. An open subset U of X × Y is said to be an open universal set for X parametrised by Y if for all open V in X there is an element y of Y such that V={x: (x,y)∈U} . If X has an open universal set parametrised by Y and n ∈ ω , then w ( X )⩽ nw ( Y ), hd ( X n )⩽ hL ( Y n ), hL ( X n )⩽ hd ( Y n ) and hc ( X n )⩽ hc ( Y n ). If X is also compact, then hL ( X n )⩽ hL ( Y n ) and hd ( X n )⩽ hd ( Y n ). If X has a G δ -diagonal, then hd ( X ω )⩽ hL ( Y ), hL ( X ω )⩽ hd ( Y ) and hc ( X ω )⩽ hc ( Y ). The statement ‘every compact zero-dimensional space with an open universal set parametrised by a space with the hereditary c.c.c. is metrisable’ is consistent and independent of ZFC. The statement ‘every cometrisable space with an open universal parametrised by a hereditarily c.c.c. space is metrisable’ is consistent and independent. Relevant examples are presented.
Quasi-elastic scattering of pions on carbon

We have measured the cross sections of the reaction $^{12}\mathrm{C}({\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}, {\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}p)^{11}\mathrm{B}$ in a coincidence experiment at 100 and 130 MeV and compare our results with the cross sections calculated in the plane-wave impulse approximation.
The effects of high dose methylprednisolone on apoptosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Summary Rapid leukemic cell kill at initial diagnosis of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has been shown to be associated with a favorable outcome. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of high dose methylprednisolone (HDMP) on in vivo blast cell apoptosis in children with ALL. Annexin V-binding and Fas (CD95), Fas ligand (FasL; CD95L), and Bcl-2 expression in PB blasts were determined in newly diagnosed children with ALL before and 4, 24, 96 h after initiation of HDMP treatment (n=20) or conventional dose steroids (CDS) (n=10) as the control group. A decrease in absolute blast count (from 40.8 × 09 to 21.4 × 109/l) associated with an increase in apoptosis (14.2 to 26.9%) (P < 0.05) was detected 4 h after initiation of HDMP. A significant increase in Fas and FasL expression was detected 96 h after HDMP. There was no significant change in apoptosis, Fas and FasL expression from baseline in the control group treated with CDS. The changes in Bcl-2 expression after treatment was not significant in both groups. The results of this preliminary study have shown that HDMP treatment was effective in inducing immediate (within 4 h) blast cell apoptosis. The contribution of Fas/FasL interaction in the rapid component of cell kill remains to be determined, as the increase in the expression of these molecules was evident later.
Characterization of human bone marrow stromal cells with respect to osteoblastic differentiation

Human bone marrow was harvested by means of iliac crest aspiration and cultured under conditions that promote an osteoblastic phenotype. Human bone marrow aspirates from 30 normal subjects, ages 8-80 years, with no systemic illness, yielded a mean of 92 +/- 65 x 10(6) nucleated cells per 2 ml of aspirate. The prevalence of potential osteoblastic progenitors was estimated by counting the number of alkaline phosphatase-positive colonies. This assay demonstrated a mean of 43 +/- 28 alkaline phosphatase-positive colonies per 10(6) nucleated cells, which was about one per 23,000 nucleated cells. The prevalence of these colonies was positively correlated with the concentration of nucleated cells in the original aspirate (p = 0.014) and was negatively correlated with donor age (p = 0.020). The population of alkaline phosphatase-positive colonies in this model sequentially exhibited markers of the osteoblastic phenotype; essentially all colonies (more than 99%) stained positively for alkaline phosphatase on day 9. Matrix mineralization, which was associated with the synthesis of bone sialoprotein, was demonstrated on day 17 with alizarin red S staining. On day 45, cells that were stimulated with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 synthesized and secreted osteocalcin at concentrations consistent with known osteoblastic cell lines. This model provides a useful method for the assay of progenitors of connective tissue from human subjects, examination of the effects of aging and selected disease states on this progenitor population, and investigation into the regulation of human osteoblastic differentiation.
Metal complexes of pyrones and thiopyrones

The preparation of metal complexes of 2,6-dimethyl-4-thiopyrone (DMTP) and 2,6-dimethyl-4-pyrone (DMP) with the general formulas Mx(DMTP)2Clx and Mx(DMP)2Clx is described. Infra-red evidence suggests metal-sulphur (DMTP) and metal-carbonyl oxygen (DMP) co-ordinate bonds in these complexes. Some physical properties are tabulated and discussed.
An e.s.r. study of some coals under rapid passage condition at high temperatures and pressure

Abstract The e.s.r. spectra of Miike and Taiheiyo coals were measured under rapid passage conditions in the temperature range 150–450 °C. A parameter, R , was defined by a ratio of out-of-phase and in-phase spectral amplitudes and the ratios for Miike and Taiheiyo coals were estimated in this temperature range. It was found that the temperature dependence for R was different for the two coals examined, and the reason for the difference was discussed. Further, the ratios for those coals mixed with pyrene were estimated in the temperature range 150–400 °C at atmospheric and 1.1 MPa nitrogen pressure. Based on the temperature dependence of the ratio the coal liquefaction ability of pyrene for those coals was discussed.
Occupational exposures to fibers and quartz at 19 crushed stone mining and milling operations

From 1979 to 1982, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a cross-sectional exposure assessment and mortality study of selected crushed stone facilities in the United States. This study was undertaken in part to address concerns that asbestos exposures could be occurring in some crushed stone operations due to the presence of amphibole and serpentine minerals. The investigation was also designed to characterize exposures to crystalline silica and other mineral compounds. Nineteen crushed stone operations, mining limestone, granite, or traprock were surveyed to assess exposures to respirable and total dusts, mineral compounds including crystalline silica, asbestos, and mineral fibers. At the initiation of the study, crushed stone operations were selected from a Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) listing of the active industry in 1978. With the exception of requiring inclusion of the traprock operation in Maryland where asbestos fibers were initially discovered, a stratified sample of operations was randomly selected by rock type (granite, limestone, traprock, or sandstone). However, because of reluctance or refusal of some companies to participate and because of the closures of some of the selected operations, replacements were randomly selected. Some replacement selections were likewise replaced due to lack of cooperation from the companies. The studied sample included only 10 of the 27 randomly selected operations in the original sample. Asbestos fibers were detected at one traprock facility, the Maryland operation where asbestos was originally found. Measured personal exposures to fibers exceeded the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) for two out of 10 samples. All of the samples were below the MSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL), which was in effect at the time of the survey. However, due to the presence of nonasbestos mineral fibers in the environment, it could not be stated with certainty that all of the fibers counted by phase contrast microscopy were asbestos. A variety of silicate mineral fibers (other than those classified by NIOSH as asbestos) were detected in the traprock operations and at one granite operation. Crystalline silica was detected at 17 of the 19 surveyed crushed stone operations. Overexposures to crystalline silica were measured at 16 of the crushed stone operations; approximately one in seven personal-respirable dust samples (14%) exceeded the MSHA PEL for crystalline silica. Approximately 25% of the respirable dust samples exceeded the NIOSH REL for crystalline silica. Mill operators and mill laborers consistently had the highest and most frequent overexposures to crystalline silica.
The relation between interpolated-task performance and proactive inhibition in short-term retention

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that PI decrements in short-term retention are only one aspect of a general tendency for recall of first-presented material to deteriorate over trials and performance on material presented later (the interpolated task) to improve over trials. In the first study, recall of a CCC trigram was shown to decrease over six trials while performance on the interpolated task significantly improved over the same period; however, it was concluded that practice on the interpolated task accounted for this finding rather than some underlying compensatory mechanism. In the second study, Ss recalled series of four words or four letters while executing a perceptual-motor interpolated task. PI was obtained on initial trials and was dissipated by a shift from words to letters (and vice versa) after the first six trials. Interpolated-task performance in this study bore no reliable relationship to level of recall. It was concluded that interpolated-task performance is not an inextricable aspect of PI effects in STM.
Virulence Attributes and Hyphal Growth of C. neoformans Are Quantitative Traits and the MATα Allele Enhances Filamentation

Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungal human pathogen with a bipolar mating system. It undergoes a dimorphic transition from a unicellular yeast to hyphal filamentous growth during mating and monokaryotic fruiting. The traditional sexual cycle that leads to the production of infectious basidiospores involves cells of both α and a mating type. Monokaryotic fruiting is a modified form of sexual reproduction that involves cells of the same mating type, most commonly α, which is the predominant mating type in both the environment and clinical isolates. However, some a isolates can also undergo monokaryotic fruiting. To determine whether mating type and other genetic loci contribute to the differences in fruiting observed between α and a cells, we applied quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping to an inbred population of F2 progeny. We discovered that variation in hyphal length produced during fruiting is a quantitative trait resulting from the combined effects of multiple genetic loci, including the mating type (MAT) locus. Importantly, the α allele of the MAT locus enhanced hyphal growth compared with the a allele. Other virulence traits, including melanization and growth at 39 °C, also are quantitative traits that share a common QTL with hyphal growth. The Mac1 transcription factor, encoded in this common QTL, regulates copper homeostasis. MAC1 allelic differences contribute to phenotypic variation, and mac1Δ mutants exhibit defects in filamentation, melanin production, and high temperature growth. Further characterization of these QTL regions will reveal additional quantitative trait genes controlling biological processes central to fungal development and pathogenicity.
Mechano-Rheological Properties of the Murine Thrombus Determined via Nanoindentation and Finite Element Modeling

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is the formation of a thrombus, or blood clot, in one of the extremities, often in the vein of a leg. Approximately 2 million incidences of DVT occur annually [1]. Roughly 300,000 people die due to the development of a pulmonary embolism (PE), which occurs when the thrombus from a DVT relocates to the pulmonary artery. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is another life-threatening disease involving thrombi, resulting in 15,000 deaths annually. Increased life expectancy raises significant concern for AAA, as it generally affects people age 55 and older. Together, these diseases impinge over 2.5 million people each year. Determining the mechanical properties of thrombi, which can be platelet- and/or fiber-rich, and understanding how they dissociate or fail mechanically under fluid flow conditions, can help diagnose these diseases at an earlier stage in their progression, thereby providing time to initiate treatments. In addition, increased knowledge of thrombi properties can lead to the development of preventative drug therapies. Both of these outcomes have the potential to decrease the number of deaths from the aforementioned diseases.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
What Will We Study When the Internet Disappears

The Internet is not really disappearing in any literal sense, of course, but it is becoming less visible as its applications become more transparent and ubiquitous. That’s partly the result of widespread use and partly the result of its incorporation into our daily activities. Between 60-70% of the population of North America and Western Europe is now on line and, though substantial gaps remain, use in all other regions of the world grew at triple digit rates over the past 7 years (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm). Many Internet-based applications are so commonplace and so integrated into our daily activities that they are easily taken for granted. As others have suggested (Turow & Kavanaugh, 2003), we should probably stop capitalizing the word “internet” in acknowledgement of this fact. With greater breadth and depth of penetration comes greater impact. This is true both for the internet in general and for particular applications or uses. This is turn implies that the ultimate impact of the internet will be determined less by its exotic uses, and more by its most common, even mundane uses.
Heat and Fermentation Effects on Total Nonprotein Nitrogen and Urea in Milk

Kinetic analysis was applied to the increase of NPN and the decrease in urea when milk was heated at 80, 100 and 120 o C. NPN increase with heat followed zero-order kinetics with an energy of activation of 17 kcal/mole. Urea losses with heating followed pseudo first-order kinetics with an energy of activation of 20 kcal/mole. Commercial yogurt and leben fermentation processes were used to determine the effects of fermentation on NPN and urea. Yogurt and leben fermentations increased NPN by 150 mg/kg and 208 mg/L, respectively, but had no effect on urea
Comparison of experimental stopping power data for MeV protons, deutrons and alpha particles

Abstract Stopping power data for MeV light ions published by groups from Nara University and from Riso are compared. The results of the two groups agree within the stated accuracies for deutrons and alphas, while the Nara results are systematically lower for protons. Based on the failure of the Nara group to obtain the same stopping power for protons and deutrons of the same velocity, and on comparisons with other published data, it is concluded that the Nara proton results are systematically too low.
2 TXT or not 2 TXT: College students’ reports of when text messaging is social breach

Abstract Evidence suggests that those who engage in text messaging, particularly young individuals, tend to text in what many people may deem socially inappropriate or odd situations, such as while speaking face-to-face with someone else, while at work, while in the shower, or even while having sex. The present study investigates whether young texters are creating a new etiquette where these are socially acceptable practices or whether they deem these practices to be social breaches, but do it anyway. The data support the latter; college students report texting in many situations they did not deem socially acceptable. The importance of texting to this generation and future research directions are discussed.
Knowledge and communication: A first-order theory

This paper presents a theory of informative communications among agents that allows a speaker to communicate to a hearer truths about the state of the world; the occurrence of events, including other communicative acts; and the knowledge states of any agent--speaker, hearer, or third parties--any of these in the past, present, or future--and any logical combination of these, including formulas with quantifiers. We prove that this theory is consistent, and compatible with a wide range of physical theories. We examine how the theory avoids two potential paradoxes, and discuss how these paradoxes may pose a danger when this theory are extended.
Nuclear magnetic resonance timecourse studies of glyphosate metabolism by microbial soil isolates

1. Triple Resonance Isotope EDited nmr spectroscopy (TRIED) has been developed to detect and examine minute levels of glyphosate metabolites in microbial soil isolates. Using stable isotopic labelling (13C and 15N), TRIED allows the simultaneous detection of multiple metabolites in crude matrices at submicrogram levels. An improvement over earlier techniques where milligrams are needed, TRIED can detect 500 ng of triply labelled compound in a crude sample (1:14,000 mass ratio) in just hours. 2. TRIED is used here to compare the kinetics and metabolic pathways of glyphosate metabolism by two strains of Ochrobactrum anthropi, LBAA and S5. Both LBAA and S5 appear to metabolize glyphosate primarily via the aminomethylphosphonate (AMPA) pathway, since no detectable levels of glycine or sarcosine are observed in the media or lysates of either microbe. The formation of N-methylAMPA is common to the metabolism of both microorganisms, but N-acetylAMPA is observed only in LBAA. N-methylacetamide is detected predominantly in media and lysates of S5, although some evidence also points to the formation of this metabolite in LBAA. 3. Results are consistent with conventional radioactive tracer studies. TRIED nmr provides more specific structural information complementary to radiolabel methods. Both nmr and radioactivity studies show S5 glyphosate metabolism to be much slower than that of LBAA.
Protection of marine resources: the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the future of the maritime industry

Abstract Media coverage of 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in US coastal waters enhanced public awareness of marine pollution and made Alaskan natural resources valuable for more individuals. Consequently, political pressures led the US Congress to enact comprehensive legislation - the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90), with the aim of reducing the number and the volume of accidental oil spills and also minimizing damage to marine and coastal natural resources. A methodology is proposed which incorporates the impact of oil pollution regulations, public awareness, navigational risk and oil spills on the cost of oil transfer to maritime industry. Estimated benefit-cost ratios of OPA90 regulations such as the double hull requirement and vessel response plans are found to be less than one even when natural resources are valued at post-Exxon Valdez levels.