cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Risk Factors for Fracture in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women: A Review of the Recent Literature:

Objective:To review recent literature regarding relationships among age, weight or body mass index (BMI), bone mineral density (BMD), maternal history of fracture, or personal prior history of fracture and fragility fractures in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO).Data Sources:A MEDLINE database search (1995–June 30, 2007) was conducted to identify literature related to risk factors of interest for PMO-related fractures.Study Selection and Data Extraction:Cohort studies, case—control studies, and meta-analyses that reported fracture outcomes were included if they provided an estimate of relative risk for at least 1 of the 5 selected clinical risk factors (CRFs) and studied women with PMO or stratified risk estimates by age and sex. Of 313 identified studies that evaluated fractures as an endpoint, 245 did not report risk estimates for a CRF of interest and/or did not report data for a PMO population.Data Synthesis:In the 68 included articles, the risks associated with the evaluated CRFs were high...
Arthroscopic evaluation and treatment of biceps brachii long head tendon injuries: A survey of the MOON shoulder group.

Context: Injuries to the biceps brachii long head tendon commonly occur in conjunction with tears in the rotator cuff and glenoid labrum. Consensus on treatment of varying levels of severity is undetermined. Settings and Design: We surveyed members of the Multicenter Orthopedic Outcomes Network (MOON) Shoulder Group, to determine a consensus on arthroscopic grading and treatment. Aims: We hypothesized that the Lafosse classification system would show a high level of inter- and intraobserver agreement regarding grading/treatment. Materials and Methods: Arthroscopic videos of 30 patients determined to have biceps brachii long head tendon injuries were viewed by 13 surgeons. The surgeons graded the severity of the injury macrostructure based on the Lafosse classification system and chose from a list of treatment options. Four months later the same surgeons viewed the same videos and repeated the survey. Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis with weighted and non-weighted Kappa values was performed to determine intra- and interobserver reliability for severity grading and to determine the preferred treatments for each level of severity. Results: Intraobserver reliability testing for the Lafosse system showed substantial agreement after two rounds (81.28%, K=0.7006). Interobserver testing demonstrated substantial agreement for Grade 0 (K=0.7152), fair agreement for Grade 1 (K=0.3803), and moderate agreement for Grade 2 (K=0.5156). Combined responses recommended no surgical treatment for 95.4% of the lesions classified as grade 0 (62/65). No surgical treatment was recommended for Grade 1 lesions in 24.1% of the cases (35/145), debridement in 38.6% (56/145), and tenotomy or tenodesis in 37.2% (54/145). Evaluators preferred tenotomy or tenodesis for 98.3% of the Grade 2 lesions (177/180). Conclusions : Analysis of the Lafosse system indicated substantial intraobserver reliability for all grades. As Grades 1 and 2 showed only fair and moderate agreement, a need for a reliable grading system still exists. Grade 2 lesions should be treated with tenotomy or tenodesis. A preferred treatment for Grade 1 lesions could not be determined given the high variability of responses. Higher-powered surveys may help determine the ideal treatment of Grade 1 injuries.
Malignant small round cell tumor (Ewing's-PNET) of the chest wall in children.

Abstract From 1976 to 1989 the authors treated 21 infants and children with malignant tumors of the chest wall. Fifteen were classified as Askin's tumors or Ewing's sarcoma, which we now consider as a single entity of primitive neuroectodermal origin. They are infrequent but highly aggressive tumors that involve the chest wall in children. Five patients presented with metastatic disease; despite chemotherapy and radiotherapy, all succumbed to progressive disease. Ten patients with localized disease received combined modality therapy including surgical resection (three after initial chemotherapy), radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Surgery involved resection of the mass and up to three ribs, with prosthetic mesh reconstruction in one patient. Six of the 10 patients with localized disease are continuously disease-free 3.5 to 9 years (median, 5 years) following diagnosis. No patient had local recurrence. Of the four whose treatment failed, one died (free of disease) from complications after resection of an extensive primary tumor. In the second patient, acute monocytic leukemia developed shortly after relapse in a distant bone site. The patient died during induction for the leukemia. In the other two patients, hilar and carinal lymph node relapse occurred 68 and 80 months after initial treatment. One of the patients is considered in second remission (now 105 months later) after further chemotherapy (Adria-VAC) and radiation; the other succumbed to secondary relapse 17 months after second remission was achieved through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Initial percutaneous needle biopsy of the large lesions has provided adequate material for histological, immunohistochemical, cytogenetic, and ultrastructural diagnosis, and permitted initial chemotherapy before proceeding to surgical resection. Preliminary chemotherapy was very advantageous in shrinking the tumor and markedly decreasing its vascularity. In fact, no viable tumor was identified in the specimens resected after initial chemotherapy in three of five children (two with metastases). Resection of the primary tumor before radiotherapy allows accurate marking of the area of involvement to permit limited radiation of the thorax. With this intensive multimodality therapy, the authors have achieved a predicted life-table survival of 53% in patients without metastatic disease at presentation, and there has been no local chest wall recurrence.
Fatigue Crack Nucleation Studies on Sulfuric Acid Anodized 7075-T73 Aluminum

The influence of a sulfuric acid anodic coating process on the fatigue crack nucleation behavior of 7075-T73 aluminum alloy was investigated. Silicone surface replication in combination with carbon sputter coating and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) allowed for in situ monitoring of the number of cycles for crack nucleation. A single edge circular notch (SECN) coupon was designed for the present study to localize fatigue damage thus enhancing fatigue crack detection and capture the effects of multiaxial stress conditions indicative of a majority engineering applications. Linear elastic finite element modeling of the SECN coupon was performed to quantify the von Mises equivalent stress distribution and the stress concentration factor of the notched region. The experimental results indicate that the presence of localized pitting corrosion initiated during the anodic coating pretreatment process had an adverse effect on fatigue performance. Specifically, multiple crack nucleation sites were evident as opposed to a single crack origin for the untreated specimens. Post-cycling SEM surface examinations displayed networks of micro-cracks in the anodic coating emanating from the pits although these were not found to be fatigue crack origin sites during post SEM fractographic exams. Thus, the stress concentration effect of the corrosion pits was found to be predominant. The total cycles to failure on average was reduced by approximately 60% for the anodic coated versus untreated specimens. A strategy is also discussed on how to mitigate accelerated crack nucleation by controlled surface pretreatment and use of a chromated chemical conversion coating in lieu of an anodic coating for selective applications.
Poultry Meat Color: pH and the Heme-Complex Forming Reaction

Abstract Seven different pH conditions, ranging from pH 5.5 to 8.0, were used to determine the effects of pH on the heme-complex-forming reactions of myoglobin, hemoglobin, and cytochrome c with selected ligands. Each 1 mg/mL myoglobin, 1 mg/mL hemoglobin, and .5 mg/mL of cytochrome c was dissolved in a citrate-phosphate, phosphate, or Tris-HCl solution, depending on the pH desired. An appropriate amount of each reactant was dissolved in the pigment solutions, and SDS was added to provide denaturation conditions. The solutions were reduced with sodium hydrosulfite and their absorption spectra were scanned from 600 to 500 nm with a spectrophotometer. A high pH (> 6.4) was favorable for the heme-complex-forming reactions of myoglobin and hemoglobin with most of the ligands except pyridine. At pH 6.1 to 6.4, added proteins and nicotinamide started to form heme complexes with myoglobin and hemoglobin; with pyridine, heme complexes were formed at a lower pH ( The heme-complex-forming reactions of cytochrome c with ligands were barely affected by pH of the solutions. Unlike reactions with myoglobin and hemoglobin, a high pH was not always favorable for heme complex and cytochrome c reactions. In meat with a high ultimate pH such as turkey breast meat, the heme complex can be a very important factor in cooked meat color. The pH of turkey breast meat can be increased to approximately 6.4 by added phosphates, and the pH range of 6.1 to 6.4 was very critical in this research for heme complex formation of myoglobin and hemoglobin with naturally present ligands such as histidine, cysteine, methionine, nicotinamide, and solubilized proteins.
A photochemical route to 1-oxa-2-sila-4-cyclopentenes

Abstract The reaction of dimethylsilene with α,β-unsaturated ketones bearing electron-withdrawing groups in the α position provides a convinient route to 1-oxa-2-sila-4-cyclopentenes.
Free vibration of axially loaded, rotating Timoshenko shaft systems by the wave-train closure principle

A systematic approach for the free vibration analysis of a rotating Timoshenko shaft system subjected to axial forces is presented in this paper. The system has multiple point discontinuities such as elastic supports, rotor masses, and cross-sectional changes. Wave reflection and transmission matrices are employed to characterize the wave motions between the sub-spans of the shaft system. These matrices are combined with the field transfer matrices expressed in wave forms to obtain the characteristic equation in a straightforward manner. The solutions are exact since effects of attenuating wave components are included in the formulation. The wave propagation-based matrix algebra leads to recursive algorithms which are suitable for computer coding. Three examples are presented to illustrate the numerical procedure.
The Use of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Children

The impact of influenza in the very young appears to be comparable to that in the elderly. Influenza vaccine strategy is changing to reflect that impact. Currently, the broader recommendations include vaccination with trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines (TIVs) for children aged 6 to 59 months. This article reviews TIV safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in children, current vaccine recommendations, and vaccine administration and dosage.
Residue contacts in protein structures and implications for protein folding

The preferential association of amino acid side groups with specific side chain atoms are examined in 44 known protein structures. The resulting association potentials among residue side groups are used to detect structural homology in proteins displaying little or no homology in their primary sequences. Suggestions are also made regarding the nature of the protein folding process. They are based on statistical observations that delineate the extent of short and long range interactions and that display side group bias in association with other side chain atoms on their N-terminal side.
Seeing the unseen fibrosis in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and is a leading reason for hospitalization in older patients. The economic impact of HF is astronomical, exceeding $37 billion in the United States alone [(1)][1]. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for
Functional equivalence of an RNA component and coat protein for infectivity of citrus leaf rugose virus.

Abstract Nucleic acid preparations from citrus leaf rugose virus (CLRV) separated into four RNA species (numbered 1–4) when electrophoresed in polyacrylamide gels and into three sedimenting components (top, middle, and bottom) when centrifuged in sucrose density gradients. Top, middle, and bottom RNA components from gradients correlated with RNA 4, RNA 3, and RNA's 1 + 2, respectively, from gels. When RNA components, separated by several cycles of sucrose density gradient centrifugation and/or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, were tested for infectivity, both singly and in combinations, all four of the RNA's were required for optimal infectivity. Noninfectious inoculum containing RNA's 1 + 2 + 3 became highly infectious when a small amount of purified CLRV-coat protein was added. Purified protein preparations, which showed no evidence of RNA contamination, could substitute only for RNA 4. CLRV protein preparations treated with pronase or heated at 60° for 5 min did not activate RNA's 1 + 2 + 3, while similarly treated RNA 4 preparations did. Coat protein from citrus variegation virus, which is serologically related to CLRV, failed to activate CLRV-RNA's 1 + 2 + 3.
Was there an epicene pronoun HU' in early Hebrew?

Une ancienne theorie presente le pronom personnel hu' en hebreu ancien comme epicene du fait que la forme singulier feminin hi' est regulierement presente dans le Pentateuque avec la forme masculine hw'. Cette these est abandonnee du fait que les deux genres du pronom apparaissent dans des langues apparentees et en Hebreu lui-meme. Or, a partir de 1980, G. Rendsburg reprend la theorie du pronom epicene et appuie son argumentation sur la datation du livre de la Genese. L'A. examine la theorie de Rendsburg, discute de sa plausibilite et montre les importantes implications qu'elle entraine
Direct measurements of the transport of nonequilibrium electrons in gold films with different crystal structures.

The transport of femtosecond-laser-excited nonequilibrium electrons across polycrystalline and single-crystalline gold films has been investigated through time-of-flight measurements. The thicknesses of the films range from 25 to 400 nm. Ballistic electrons as well as electrons interacting with other electrons and/or with the lattice have been observed. The ballistic component dominates the transport in the thinner films, whereas the interactive transport mechanism is dominant at the upper end of the thickness range. A slower effective velocity of the interactive component is observed in the polycrystalline samples, and is assumed to arise from the presence of grain boundaries. The reflection coefficient of excited electrons at the grain boundaries is extracted from the experiment and is estimated to be r\ensuremath{\simeq}0.12. The experiment also suggests that thermal equilibrium among the excited electrons is not fully established in the first \ensuremath{\sim}500 fs after excitation.
Advanced imaging research and development at DARPA

Advances in imaging technology have huge impact on our daily lives. Innovations in optics, focal plane arrays (FPA), microelectronics and computation have revolutionized camera design. As a result, new approaches to camera design and low cost manufacturing is now possible. These advances are clearly evident in visible wavelength band due to pixel scaling, improvements in silicon material and CMOS technology. CMOS cameras are available in cell phones and many other consumer products. Advances in infrared imaging technology have been slow due to market volume and many technological barriers in detector materials, optics and fundamental limits imposed by the scaling laws of optics. There is of course much room for improvements in both, visible and infrared imaging technology. This paper highlights various technology development projects at DARPA to advance the imaging technology for both, visible and infrared. Challenges and potentials solutions are highlighted in areas related to wide field-of-view camera design, small pitch pixel, broadband and multiband detectors and focal plane arrays.
Effective treatment of severe menstrual migraine headaches with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and “add-back” therapy

Objective To determine the efficacy of treating women with severe menstrual migraine headaches with GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) therapy, alone and combined with continuous estrogenprogestin "add-back." Design Nonrandomized, prospective treatment study. Setting Outpatient clinic in a university medical center. Patient(s) Five women who had repetitive, severe, migraine headaches limited to the perimenstrual period were selected carefully. Intervention(s) After 2 months of basal evaluation, all subjects received GnRH-a (leuprolide acetate depot formulation, 3.75 mg IM, monthly) for 10 months. Beginning with the 5th month, "add-back" therapy (the addition of transdermal E 2 , 0.1 mg daily, and oral medroxyprogesterone acetate, 2.5 mg daily) was initiated. Main Outcome Measure(s) Patients rated headache severity from 0 (absent) to 3 (severe) each day; these were combined each month to obtain a cumulative score for that month. In addition, patients were asked their overall assessment of the treatments. Result(s) The mean headache scores for the GnRH-a treatment months (4.0 ± 1.5, mean ±SEM) and for the GnRH-a and "add-back" treatment months (3.1 ± 0.7) were each significantly lower than those of the control months (15.3 ± 2.4). The patients uniformly found both treatments to be well tolerated and near-curative for their condition. Conclusion(s) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist administration, alone or with "addback" therapy, is a very effective treatment for carefully selected patients with severe, perimenstrual migraine headaches.
Theories and Theories of Truth

Formal theories, as in logic and mathematics, are sets of sentences closed under logical consequence. Philosophical theories, like scientific theories, are often far less formal. There are many axiomatic theories of the truth predicate for certain formal languages; on analogy with these, some philosophers (most notably Paul Horwich) have proposed axiomatic theories of the property of truth. Though in many ways similar to logical theories, axiomatic theories of truth must be different in several nontrivial ways. I explore what an axiomatic theory of truth would look like. Because Horwich’s is the most prominent, I examine his theory and argue that it fails as a theory of truth. Such a theory is adequate if, given a suitable base theory, every fact about truth is a consequence of the axioms of the theory. I show, using an argument analogous to Godel’s incompleteness proofs, that no axiomatic theory of truth could ever be adequate. I also argue that a certain class of generalizations cannot be consequences of the theory.
Surface chemistry of (2,4-dimethylpentadienyl)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)Ru on polycrystalline Ta

Abstract The adsorption and desorption of (2,4-dimethylpentadienyl)(ethylcyclopentadienyl)Ru [DER] on polycrystalline Ta have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). DER exposures to Ta at 140 K result in primarily molecular adsorption and desorption, while a minor surface reaction occurs at defect sites. Monolayer DER desorbs between 278 and 297 K with increasing coverage, exhibiting a first order, zero coverage desorption energy of 2.3 eV. Multilayer DER desorbs between 272 and 263 K, most likely with fractional order kinetics, and exhibits a zero coverage desorption energy of 0.9 eV. XPS Ru 3d binding energies increase with increasing coverage due to core hole screening in the monolayer regime and increasing sample charging as the DER overlayer becomes thicker in the multilayer regime. DER exhibits a three-dimensional (3D) “hit and stick” growth mode in which random 3D structures form due to the lack of adsorbate mobility at 140 K. DER exposures to Ta between 298 and 773 K result in minor decomposition resulting primarily in adsorbed hydrocarbon species on the surface. When the Ta is pre-covered with atomic iodine, DER dissociation is significantly decreased while adsorption is increased.
Observational Constraints on the Lifetime of Cometary H2O

Abstract We used a carefully selected set of observations of five comets along with a vectorial model and the Haser model to explore the lifetimes against photodissociation of H 2 O and OH in cometary comae. The photometric and long-slit CCD data described in this paper were obtained specifically for this project, while the IUE data are archival. The underlying parameter space was examined and our knowledge of such factors as the outflow and ejection velocities is discussed. We conclude that it is difficult to constrain the lifetime of OH but that the H 2 O lifetimes must be dependent on changes in the solar UV flux. Our data are consistent with the expectation that as the solar activity, and thus UV flux, increases, the H 2 O lifetimes decrease. From our data, we show that the combined theoretical lifetimes for H 2 O and OH do not produce good fits to the data; thus, at least one set of theoretical lifetimes must be in error. Our data require shorter H 2 O lifetimes and/or shorter OH lifetimes. We present some useful relations for determining which lifetimes and velocities to use for future applications. Additionally, we have derived improved lifetimes and scale lengths for use computing production rates with simple models. The new parent lifetimes and scale lengths are about 15-45% shorter than commonly used values which ignore effects due to solar activity. Finally, we discuss what data types are needed in the future to enable better modeling of cometary data.
A randomized crossover, pilot study examining the effects of a normal protein vs. high protein breakfast on food cravings and reward signals in overweight/obese "breakfast skipping", late-adolescent girls

This pilot study examined whether the addition of a normal protein (NP) vs. high protein (HP) breakfast leads to alterations in food cravings and plasma homovanillic acid (HVA), which is an index of central dopamine production, in overweight/obese ‘breakfast skipping’ late-adolescent young women. A randomized crossover design was incorporated in which 20 girls (age 19 ± 1 y; BMI 28.6 ± 0.7 kg/m2) consumed 350 kcal NP (13 g protein) breakfast meals, 350 kcal HP (35 g protein) breakfast meals, or continued breakfast skipping (BS) for 6 consecutive days/pattern. On day 7 of each pattern, a 4 h testing day was completed including the consumption of breakfast (or no breakfast) followed by food craving questionnaires and blood sampling for HVA concentrations throughout the morning. Both breakfast meals reduced post-meal cravings for sweet and savory foods and increased HVA concentrations vs. BS (all, p < 0.05). Between breakfast meals, the HP breakfast tended to elicit greater reductions in post-meal savory cravings vs. NP (p = 0.08) and tended to elicit sustained increases in HVA concentrations prior to lunch vs. NP (p = 0.09). Lastly, HVA concentrations were positively correlated with the protein content at breakfast (r: 0.340; p < 0.03). Collectively, these findings suggest that the addition of breakfast reduces post-meal food cravings and increases homovanillic acid concentrations in overweight/obese young people with higher protein versions eliciting greater responses.
Cosmological heavy-neutrino problem

A new method of deriving the Lee-Weinberg equation is presented. This method makes the approximations clear and suggest how they can be improved. A nearly exact formula for the number of heavy neutrinos left over after the annihilation process is given.
Controlled femoral fracture: easy in.

Revision femoral surgery is a demanding procedure with the potential for severe intraoperative complications, including bone loss and femoral fracture. The extended trochanteric osteotomy is a reproducible and safe technique to remove the femoral components for infection, loosening, component failure, malposition, and dislocation. From 1992 to 1996, 142 consecutive hip revisions were performed with the use of an extended proximal femoral osteotomy. This technique allowed component extraction without fracture in all patients and subsequently allowed for neutral reaming of the femoral canal with placement of the revision stems in proper alignment. There were 2 nonunions of the osteotomized fragments at an average postoperative follow-up period of 2.6 years. Additional complications included 4 fractures of the osteotomized fragment and one malunion. We have found that use of the osteotomy is an efficient, safe and reliable technique in revision hip arthroplasty.
Differential localization and high expression of SURVIVIN splice variants in human embryonic stem cells but not in differentiated cells implicate a role for SURVIVIN in pluripotency

The BIRC5 gene encodes the oncofetal protein SURVIVIN, as well as four additional splice variants (ΔEx3, 2B, 3B and 2α). SURVIVIN, an inhibitor of apoptosis, is also a chromosomal passenger protein (CPP). Previous results have demonstrated that SURVIVIN is expressed at high levels in embryonic stem cells and inhibition of SURVIVIN function results in apoptosis, however these studies have not investigated the other four splice variants. In this study, we demonstrate that all variants are expressed at significantly higher levels in human embryonic stem (hES) cells than in differentiated cells. We examined the subcellular localization of the three most highly expressed variants. SURVIVIN displayed canonical CPP localization in mitotic cells and cytoplasmic localization in interphase cells. In contrast, SURVIVIN-ΔEx3 and SURVIVIN-2B did not localize as a CPP; SURVIVIN-ΔEx3 was found constitutively in the nucleus while SURVIVIN-2B was distributed along the chromosomes during mitosis and also to the mitotic spindle poles. We used inducible shRNA against SURVIVIN to inhibit expression in a titratable fashion. Using this system, we reduced the mRNA levels of these three variants to approx. 40%, resulting in a concomitant reduction of OCT4 and NANOG mRNA, suggesting a role for the SURVIVIN variants in pluripotency.
Biosynthesis of 3,6-dideoxyhexoses: in vivo and in vitro evidence for protein-protein interaction between CDP-6-deoxy-L-threo-D-glycero-4-hexulose 3-dehydrase (E1) and its reductase (E3).

CDP-6-deoxy-l-threo-d-glycero-4-hexulose 3-dehydrase (E1), together with its reductase (E3), catalyzes a novel deoxygenation reaction essential for the biosynthesis of 3,6-dideoxyhexoses. In an attempt to gain evidence substantiating the E1·E3 complex formation as a prerequisite for the C-3 deoxygenation activity, we have carried out experiments to study the interaction between these two proteins. The detection of a new species when a mixture of E1 and E3 was analyzed by size-exclusion chromatography was the initial indication supporting the proposed complex formation. Additional evidence for the expected complex formation was provided by the change of the CD spectrum of E1 upon its coupling with E3. The fact that the catalytic efficiency of this system is limited by the quantity of one enzyme, which becomes catalytically competent only after coupling with the second enzyme, further illustrated the importance of such a complex formation to the deoxygenation activity. By using the two-hybrid system which s...
Heat transfer in a laminar wall jet over a curved surface

The steady state heat transfer characteristics of the wall jet over a curved surface are obtained for constant wall temperature and constant wall heat flux boundary conditions. Both concave and convex curvatures have been considered. Numerical results for the temperature distribution are obtained and solutions for the wall values of the temperature functions have been tabulated for Prandtl number ranging from 0.01 to 100 while the curvature parameter was varied from −0.03 to 0.07.
Adaptive spatial sampling schemes for the detection of minefields in hyperspectral imagery

Often in hyperspectral overhead land mine imagery, there exists clutter with similar spatial and spectral characteristics to those of land mines. However groups of clutter features are rarely related spatially in the same way that groups of mines are related. For this reason, recognition of field patterns in overhead land mine imagery is critical to the detection of mine fields. The material presented here addresses means by which to spatially sample overhead hyperspectral imagery for the accentuation of mine field patterns. Our initial approach is to assume that the mines are laid out in a particular field pattern. We then search for spectral anomalies that are spatially distributed according to such a pattern. For this purpose, we utilize an RX detector with locally estimated mean and covariance matrix. We then use the pattern to predict the locations of additional mines. These locations provide us with search regions for the use of a second anomaly detector, in this case we use an anomaly detector based upon an eigenspace separation transform. Examples are provided using LWIR imagery.
Drugs, crime and occupational prestige.

(1981). Drugs, Crime and Occupational Prestige. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs: Vol. 13, Drugs, Crime and Criminal Justice, pp. 267-275.
Leptin modulates the negative inotropic effect of interleukin-1β in cardiac myocytes

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a potent negative inotrope implicated in the functional abnormalities of heart failure. Because the adipokine, leptin, protects against some of the cardiovascular effects of endotoxin, we hypothesized that leptin may modulate the cardiosuppressive effects of IL-1β in isolated cardiomyocytes. Ventricular cardiac myocytes isolated from adult male Sprague Dawley rats were analyzed simultaneously for electrically stimulated contractility and calcium transients following 30 min exposure to IL-1β (10 ng/ml) with or without 60 min pretreatment with leptin (25 ng/ml). IL-1β decreased cell shortening, depressed maximal velocities of shortening and relengthening, and prolonged the time to 90% relaxation. The change in fura2-AM fluorescence ratio amplitude (Δ[Ca2+]) was significantly depressed and the time to return to baseline [Ca2+] was prolonged. The negative inotropic effects of IL-1β were blocked by the neutral sphingomyelinase inhibitor Manumycin A (5 μM) or the ceramidase inhibitor N-oleoyl ethanolamine (1 μM). Prior exposure of myocytes to leptin blocked IL-1β-induced cardiosuppression in conjunction with a blunting of IL-1β stimulated ceramide accumulation. These data suggest that leptin may modulate IL-1β signaling through the sphingolipid signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes.
Efficient Models for Cognitive Diagnosis With Continuous and Mixed-Type Latent Variables

The issue of latent trait granularity in diagnostic models is considered, comparing and contrasting latent trait and latent class models used for diagnosis. Relationships between conjunctive cognit...
Equilibrium thermophysical properties of alkanes at very high temperatures

In order to perform calculations for thermal plasmas, sparks, and arcs, as in the thermal arc and electrical discharge machining (EDM) processes, thermophysical properties, such as the density, enthalpy, and heat capacity, of the original ambient dielectric liquid are required at very high temperatures and often pressures in the plasma state. A statistical model has been developed to provide these properties. At high temperatures, these hydrocarbons undergo a series of reactions to first dissociate and then to ionize to produce a plasma. The partition functions of each of the species generated are calculated and used to determine the equilibrium mole fractions or particle fractions of each constituent of the resultant plasma. Only the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio matters so mixtures of alkanes can also be used. Specifically, tables of particles fractions, densities, enthalpies, and specific heat capacities are provided for methane and for hexadecane to 60 000 K and 10 kbar.
Analysis of hypersingular residual error estimates in boundary element methods for potential problems

Abstract A novel iteration scheme, using boundary integral equations, is developed for error estimation in the boundary element method. The iteration scheme consists of using the boundary integral equation for solving the boundary value problem and iterating this solution with the hypersingular boundary integral equation to obtain a new solution. The hypersingular residual r is consistently defined as the difference in the derivative quantities on the boundary, i.e. r = ∂ φ ( 1 ) ∂ n − ∂ φ ( 2 ) ∂ n where φ is the potential and (∂φ/∂n)(1), i = 1, 2, is the flux obtained by solution (i). Here, i = 1 refers to the boundary integral equation, and i = 2 refers to the hypersingular boundary integral equation. The hypersingular residual is interpreted in the sense of the iteration scheme defined above and it is shown to provide an error estimate for the boundary value problem. Error-hypersingular residual relations are developed for Dirichlet and Neumann problems, which are shown to be limiting cases of the more general relation for the mixed boundary value problem. These relations lead to global bounds on the error. Four numerical examples, involving Galerkin boundary elements, are given, and one of them involves a physical singularity on the boundary and preliminary adaptive calculations. These examples illustrate important features of the hypersingular residual error estimate proposed in this paper.
The spectrum of computed tomographic appearance of metastatic masses from testicular neoplasms

Metastatic masses from testicular neoplasms were evaluated with respect to their computed tomographic characteristics. They were divided in three categories: cystic, semicystic, and solid. The common denominator in the first two categories was the presence of teratomatous components. The nonteratomatous masses were solid.
Small signal analysis of V 2 control using current mode equivalent circuit model

In V2 control, the direct feedback contains the information of both state variables. In this paper, by separating current feedback and capacitor voltage feedback, an equivalent circuit of V2 control based on the equivalent circuit of current mode control is proposed. The proposed equivalent circuit provides a clear physical insight of V2 control. V2 control can be interpreted as an implementation of current mode control with direct voltage feedback and load current feedback. The load current feedback dramatically reduces the output impedance. The model is extended to enhanced V2 control. The proposed equivalent circuit model is applicable to both variable frequency modulation and constant frequency modulation. The modeling results are verified by using Simplis simulation and experimental results.
Politics without frontiers: The impact of Hungarian domestic politics on the minority question in Romania

Abstract Throughout the past years, substantial discussions have dealt with the factors associated with ethnic conflicts such as institutional designs, group dynamics and the influence of external peacemakers. However, one area remains largely uncovered: this is how the domestic politics of a nation state shape minority issues from the same ethnicity in another country. In this paper we discuss the dynamics of Hungarian politics relative to the Hungarian minority in Romania, and identify factors that resulted in exporting domestic political contention to another country.
The structure, metabolism and function of the carcinoembryonic antigen gene family

II. CEA structure and heterogeneity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 A. Structure of the polypeptide backbone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 B. Structure of the oligosaccharide chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 C. The domain model for carcinoembryonic antigen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 D. Relationship to the immunoglobulin supergene family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
High-Speed Photography 101

This paper describes the contents of a unique introductory, applications oriented, high speed photography course offered to Imaging and Photographic Technology majors at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The course covers the theory and practice of photographic systems designed to permit analysis of events of very short duration. Included are operational characteristics of intermittent and rotating prism cameras, rotating mirror and drum cameras, synchronization systems and timing controls and high speed flash and stroboscopic systems, and high speed video recording. Students gain basic experience not only in the use of fundamental equipment but also in proper planning, set-up and introductory data reduction techniques through a series of practical experiments.
Regulation of Astrocytic Tenascin by Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor

Extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules have been implicated in the regulation of neuronal adhesion and neurite outgrowth both during development and after injury. It has been demonstrated in our laboratory that astrocytes are heterogeneous in expression of the ECM molecule tenascin. High-tenascin astrocytes have a reduced ability to support neurite outgrowth. In addition, astrocytes treated with exogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) supported reduced neuronal growth and adhesion. In the current study, the hypothesis was tested that bFGF could increase the expression of tenascin by these cells. Basic FGF was added to cultures of rat cerebral cortical astrocytes at concentrations of up to 30 ng/ml, concentrations shown to have a significant effect on neuronal adhesion. Tenascin levels were evaluated by Western blot analysis of both cell extracts and conditioned media and also by immunocytochemistry techniques. Tenascin levels began to increase after 24-48 hr and continued to increase throughout 8 days in culture. The increase in tenascin was concentration-dependent, with the largest increase seen at 5 ng/ml bFGF. Tenascin production was increased approximately 5.5-fold in serum-containing medium but only about 2-fold in serum-free medium. When heparin (10 micrograms/ml) was included along with bFGF in serum-free medium, tenascin production was further enhanced. The bFGF treatment was discontinued after 8 days, and the cells were maintained for an additional 8 days in culture. Tenascin levels returned to control values, demonstrating that the bFGF effect is transient. It is our hypothesis that the action of bFGF during injury may evoke the induction of tenascin on astrocytes, thereby reducing regeneration in the central nervous system.
The Epidemiology of Caving Injuries in the United States

Objective Caving is a demanding sport practiced throughout the world. Currently, there are no collective data analyzing injury mechanism or type in these austere environments. This study is a retrospective analysis of caving incidents documented by the National Speleological Society (NSS)—American Caving Accidents (ACA) annual publication. Methods This study retrospectively analyzes 877 incident reports collected between 1980 and 2008 by NSS-ACA. For each victim, the month, year, location, age, gender, incident type, injury zone of the body, injury type, the result of the incident, and time intervals for rescue were extracted. Results A total of 1356 victims were identified; 83% of victims were male, 17% were female. Ages ranged from 2 to 69 years old, with an average of 27 years. The greatest number of events occurred in summer months, peaking in July. The most common incident leading to traumatic injury was a caver fall (74%), also contributing to 30% of caver fatalities. Lower extremities were most commonly injured (29%), followed by the upper extremities and head (21% and 15%, respectively). Fractures comprised 41% of injuries, followed by lacerations (13%), bruise, hematoma, and abrasions (12%), and sprains and strains (7%). Conclusions The majority of injuries were not life threatening; however, over the course of 28 years there were 81 documented fatalities. Similar to other studies of wilderness injuries, fractures, soft tissue injuries, and lacerations were prominent in this study. In general, the overall precipitating event leading to injuries is falling, leading to orthopedic trauma. To better prepare cave rescue teams we have attempted to describe the characteristics of caving injuries in the United States.
Developing an optimal acoustic reflector for air-coupled impact-echo sensor

The objectives of this study were to investigate interaction of a parabolic acoustic reflector with leaky stress waves in air-coupled IE testing, and to develop an optimal geometry of the acoustic reflector. The resulting acoustic reflector will be used as a part of an air-coupled impact-echo device for delamination detection in concrete bridge decks. The study was conducted on a series of 2D finite element (FE) models. The models included both solid concrete plate and air domains. The models were developed to investigate interaction of leaky stress waves (in particular, S1 resonance mode in Lamb waves) with a parabolic reflector. A series of parametric studies was conducted to determine the optimal geometry of parabolic reflectors (cylinders). The main variables were the rim angle and the width of the reflectors, and location of air-coupled sensors. Furthermore, numerical simulations using 2D FE models, including delamination defects in concrete decks, were conducted to verify the optimal parabolic reflector is effective in enhancing the amplitude of S1 resonance modes in Lamb waves corresponding to the various depths of delamination defects. Finally, the results clearly demonstrate that the optimal parabolic domes can significantly improve signal-to-noise ratio in the air-coupled IE measurements. This will increase the feasibility of air-coupled sensing in actual impact echo testing on concrete bridge decks.
The Quest for the Spiritual Sense: The Biblical Hermeneutics of Jonathan Edwards

It is an irony and something of an enigma that the Bible, one of the shaping forces in the theological development of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), has largely been ignored in the assessments of this colonial divine. Edwards himself acknowledged its influence, especially during his youthful years. “I had then,” he wrote, “and at other times, the greatest delight in the holy Scriptures, of any book whatsoever.” From his meditation on its pages he derived great personal pleasure as well as guidance and substance for his preaching. His enthusiasm for scriptural study never failed. Six months before his death he disclosed to the trustees of the College of New Jersey that he had undertaken two major exegetical projects with the hope of publishing “an explanation of a very great part of the holy scripture; which may…lead the mind to a view of the true spirit, design, life and soul of the scripture, as well as to their proper use and improvement.”
Tuning substrate selectivity of a cationic enzyme using cationic polymers.

Noncovalent interactions between an artificial molecular scaffold and a protein are interesting due to the possibility of reversible modulation of the activity of the protein. α-Chymotrypsin is a positively charged protein that has been shown to interact with negatively charged polymers. Here we show that positively charged polymers are also capable of electrostatically binding to this protein. The resulting experiments show that the ability of a polymer to bind a protein does not depend only on the pI of the protein. We also realized that the variations in charge density in the polymer backbone afford different selectivities of the enzyme toward charged substrates.
Effective stiffness tensor of composite media : II. Applications to isotropic dispersions

Abstract Accurate approximate relations for the effective elastic moduli of two- and three-dimensional isotropic dispersions are obtained by truncating, after third-order terms, an exact series expansion for the effective stiffness tensor of d-dimensional two-phase composites (obtained in the first paper) that perturbs about certain optimal dispersions. Our third-order approximations of the effective bulk modulus Ke and shear modulus Ge are compared to benchmark data, rigorous bounds and popular self-consistent approximations for a variety of macroscopically isotropic dispersions in both two and three dimensions, for a wide range of phase moduli and volume fractions. Generally, for the cases considered, the third-order approximations are in very good agreement with benchmark data, always lie within rigorous bounds, and are superior to popular self-consistent approximations.
Long-range cw and time-domain simulations of ocean acoustic scatter from Mid-Atlantic Ridge corners

Long-range acoustic experiments done in the mid-Atlantic ridge region show strong backscatter from many ocean bottom features. One type of feature characteristic of this region, and a possible contributor to this acoustic backscatter, takes the form of a seafloor ridge corner formed by two ridge faces intersecting at near-right angles. We have investigated through computer simulations the effects of an anelastic seafloor corner on the backscattered acoustic field. The acoustic source insonifying the seafloor corner was near the sea surface and approximately 4 km away in range. The ocean depth at the seafloor corner was also 4 km. Simulations were made using cw computer models. Time-domain calculations were obtained from FFTs of the cw fields. Examples are presented that show large backscatter near the base of the ridge while relatively low backscatter near the ridge peak. This is attributed to the angle of the insonifying field and multiple scattering effects. Backscatter from a longer range (10 - 20 km), gently sloped sedimented seafloor is also presented and discussed.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Parallelizing ListNet training using spark

As ever-larger training sets for learning to rank are created, scalability of learning has become increasingly important to achieving continuing improvements in ranking accuracy. Exploiting independence of "summation form" computations, we show how each iteration in ListNet gradient descent can benefit from parallel execution. We seek to draw the attention of the IR community to use Spark, a newly introduced distributed cluster computing system, for reducing training time of iterative learning to rank algorithms. Unlike MapReduce, Spark is especially suited for iterative and interactive algorithms. Our results show near linear reduction in ListNet training time using Spark on Amazon EC2 clusters.
Competence in Competency-Based Supervision Practice: Construct and Application

Providing competent clinical supervision is challenging for the practitioner both in determining supervisee competencies and in conducting the corresponding supervision. Competence, an ethical principle that informs the practice of psychology, refers to requisite knowledge, skills, and values for effective performance. Similar to other health care professions, psychology is increasingly moving towards competency-based approaches in education, training, and performance appraisal. In this article, the authors review perspectives on competence as a construct and define competency-based clinical supervision, with particular attention to the nature of ethical, legal, contextual, and practice issues that arise from the establishment of a standard of competency-based supervision practice. The authors conclude with a discussion of challenges faced in clinical supervision and recommendations for best practices.