cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using a Wii Balance Board to Measure Disease Onset in Huntington’s Disease (P1.055)

Objective: To enhance estimates of Huntington’s disease (HD) onset using a simple and practical body sway assessment device (i.e. Wii Balance Board). Background: HD is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms that typically emerge in the fourth or fifth decades. Balance assessments may be useful for predicting disease onset and progression, but studies are limited. Methods: We assessed total body sway (TBS) on 76 HD gene carriers and 22 normal controls (NC) employing a Wii balance board and laptop software. Gene carriers were categorized as early pre-manifest (n=20), transitional (i.e. individuals close to disease onset or with very mild HD; n=18); or later HD (n=38). Subjects were administered a balance test consisting of 12, 10-second static balance trials that included combinations of eyes open or closed while standing on a stable versus unstable (i.e. foam) surface. A one-way ANCOVA adjusting for age was used in each condition to compare TBS. Correlations were assessed in gene carriers using Pearson’s r. Results: Subjects were well matched with regard to age and education. The Later HD subjects (n=38) showed statistically significant TBS in all conditions (p<0.001) compared to NC, and even the transitional subjects (n=18) showed significantly more TBS in the eyes open condition while standing on a stable surface (p=0.033). TBS correlated most strongly with measures of motor ability (r=.520 to .632) and total functional capacity (r=-.480 to -.541) as opposed to cognition (r=-.117 to -.463). Conclusions: Increased body sway, easily evaluated using a brief balance assessment, may serve as an important marker in patients with, and during the transition to, HD. Balance ability may have important functional implications for activities of daily living in patients with HD. Further studies will be needed to confirm and extend these findings. Disclosure: Dr. Herndon has nothing to disclose. Dr. Corey-Bloom has received research support from PRANA, Omeros, Teva, HSG, and CHDI. Dr. Heil has nothing to disclose. Dr. Park has nothing to disclose. Dr. Howell has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nam has nothing to disclose. Dr. Haque has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gilbert has nothing to disclose. Dr. Goble has nothing to disclose.
Urban-Rural Infant Mortality Disparities by Race and Ethnicity and Cause of Death.

Introduction Infant mortality rates are higher in nonmetropolitan areas versus large metropolitan areas. Variation by race/ethnicity and cause of death has not been assessed. Urban–rural infant mortality rate differences were quantified by race/ethnicity and cause of death. Methods National Vital Statistics System linked birth/infant death data (2014–2016) were analyzed in 2019 by 3 urban–rural county classifications: large metropolitan, medium/small metropolitan, and nonmetropolitan. Excess infant mortality rates (rate differences) by urban–rural classification were calculated relative to large metropolitan areas overall and for each racial/ethnic group. The number of excess deaths, population attributable fraction, and proportion of excess deaths attributable to underlying causes of death was calculated. Results Nonmetropolitan areas had the highest excess infant mortality rate overall. Excess infant mortality rates were substantially lower for Hispanic infants than other races/ethnicities. Overall, 7.4% of infant deaths would be prevented if all areas had the infant mortality rate of large metropolitan areas. With more than half of births occurring outside of large metropolitan areas, the population attributable fraction was highest for American Indian/Alaska Natives (20.3%) and whites, non-Hispanic (14.3%). Excess infant mortality rates in both nonmetropolitan and medium/small metropolitan areas were primarily attributable to sudden unexpected infant deaths (42.3% and 31.9%) and congenital anomalies (30.1% and 26.8%). This pattern was consistent for all racial/ethnic groups except black, non-Hispanic infants, for whom preterm-related and sudden unexpected infant deaths accounted for the largest share of excess infant mortality rates. Conclusions Infant mortality increases with rurality, and excess infant mortality rates are predominantly attributable to sudden unexpected infant deaths and congenital anomalies, with differences by race/ethnicity regarding magnitude and cause of death.
29 Achieving meaningful heart failure readmission reductions in a safety net hospital

Background Heart Failure (HF) the most frequent MS-DRG resulting in 30 day readmission is a major focus of readmission reduction initiatives. Achieving meaningful and sustained reductions in HF readmissions in a Safety Net Hospital is particularly challenging. Boston Medical Center achieved this goal through designing a robust slate of multidisciplinary interventions tapping existing institutional resources in new ways. Objectives Design a slate of multidisciplinary interventions that lower BMC’s average 30 day Medicare HF readmission to less than 19% by May 2019. Methods Using PDSA methodology a multidisciplinary team implemented interventions addressing care processes, co-morbidities and social determinants of health. Effectiveness was monitored through automated performance dashboards. Interventions included (1) Inpatient HF Consult Criteria patients not on Cardiology teams; (2) Standardized RN Teach Back and EPIC smart phrases discharge documentation; (3) VNA support HF home discharges, preferential respite admission when homelessness; (4) HF Clinic Nurse Practitioner follow up appointments within 7–14 days discharge ;(5) Scripted call day prior Cardiology appointment to mitigate barriers to arrival;(6) Concurrent Renal consultation CKD IV or V patients not on hemodialysis. Results In the six month prior to QI initiative, BMC’s Medicare 30 day HF readmission rate averaged 26.85% which decreased to 15.2% (12/1/18–6/30/19) as the slate of interventions fully activated. Total HF readmissions showed similar decrease from 23.9% to 17.2%. Conclusions BMC demonstrates that meaningful Heart Failure readmission reductions can be achieved Safety Net Hospitals by tapping into existing institutional resources in new ways. Planning permanent accountable team, automated dashboards and robust feedback loops insure reductions seen are sustained.
Gossypol(-), a potent small molecule inhibitor of Bcl-2/xl, improves response to radiation therapy and results in tumor regression of human prostate cancer

4153 Majority of human prostate cancers overexpress Bcl-2 and/or Bcl-XL, the important negative regulators of apoptosis. Gossypol(-), a natural product from cottonseed, has recently been identified as a potent small molecule inhibitor of both Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL. In the current study, we tested our hypothesis that Gossypol(-) may improve prostate cancer’s response to radiation by inhibiting the anti-apoptosis activity of Bcl-2/XL and making cancer cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Our data show that Gossypol(-) inhibits tumor cell growth and induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells with high levels of Bcl-2/XL proteins, but has minimal effect on normal cells with low Bcl-2/XL. In clonogenic assays, treatment of PC-3 cells with Gossypol(-) significantly reduced radiation resistance of PC-3, resulted in 10- and 20-fold reduction of colony formation at 8 Gy. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay using Bcl-XL-CFP and Bax-YFP or Bad-YFP co-transfected cells suggests that Gossypol(-) potently blocks the interaction of Bcl-xl with Bax and Bad in live cells, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, supporting that Gossypol(-) induces apoptosis, at least in part, through inhibition of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-XL. Our in vivo studies using PC-3 xenograft models in nude mice show that orally administered Gossypol(-) has limited anti-tumor activity but achieves a much greater efficacy with tumor regression when used in combination with X-ray irradiation. Combination therapy of Gossypol(-) 10 mg/kg, p.o. q.d.5 x 4 weeks, with fractionated X-ray irradiation, 2 Gy q.d.5 x 3 weeks, achieved 96% tumor growth inhibition (T/C = 3.4%), significantly more effective than either Gossypol(-) or radiation alone (T/C = 96% and 37%, respectively) (p
The relationship among children’s learning disabilities, working memory, and problem behaviours in a classroom setting: Three case studies

Over 2.4 million children in the public school system are diagnosed with a learning disability, including dyslexia and developmental dyscalculia. Previous research has shown that some teachers are unaware of the importance of working memory in a student’s academic and social realm and what working memory deficits may look like in the classroom. The relationship between learning disabilities, working memory, and behaviour problems were examined with tailored recommendations for improvement to provide insight for classroom educators. Three children from the United Kingdom, all of whom were 8 years old and presented with symptoms of learning disorders and low working memory profiles, were selected for case studies. Measures of working memory, behaviour, and academic attainment were included. Results from their standardised assessments indicated that each child had below average working memory, as well as low scores in arithmetic, writing and spelling skills. Each child also exhibited some type of behavioural problem, such as inattention or hyperactivity. Implications of the impact of their working memory profile on their academic outcomes and behaviour are discussed. Recommendations, such as Response to Intervention (RTI), are included for classroom educators to bridge the gap between research and practice.
A non-parametric Bayesian change-point method for recurrent events

This paper proposes a non-parametric Bayesian approach to detect the change-points of intensity rates in the recurrent-event context and cluster subjects by the change-points. Recurrent events are ...
Facing a Modern Pandemic

The global pandemic that ensued because of SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease took the world by storm. Healthcare facilities and the communities they serve found themselves overwhelmed and unprepared. This chapter describes how the virus was most likely to have originated, how it quickly spread, and what occupational infection prevention challenges were faced. It walks the reader through the steps to take to prepare for future pandemics and provides honest lessons learned. Finally, unique considerations for the future are shared, along with how educating broader communities of workers can positively influence occupational health in health care.
Universalizing and the we: endogenous game theoretic deontology

The Nash counterfactual considers the question: what would happen were I to change my behaviour assuming no one else does. By contrast, the Kantian counterfactual considers the question: what would happen were everyone to deviate from some behaviour. We present a model that endogenizes the decision to engage in this type of Kantian reasoning. Autonomous agents using this moral framework receive psychic payoffs equivalent to the cooperate-cooperate payoff in Prisoner’s Dilemma regardless of the other player’s action. Moreover, if both interacting agents play Prisoner’s Dilemma using this moral framework, their material outcomes are a Pareto improvement over the Nash equilibrium.
A pilot feasibility study of an adapted social and emotional learning intervention in an alternative school

Students who attend alternative schools are disproportionally at risk for adverse environmental, familial, and personal experiences that can lead to unrecognized learning problems, low academic ach...
The Atacama Astronomical Park: a place to focus on science

In the Antofagasta Region in northern Chile the large plateau of Chajnantor, located at more than four thousand meters of altitude, has exceptionally clear skies due to the low humidity in the area, allowing for observations in the sub-/millimeter, infrared and optical ranges. In addition, both its easy access through the international road of Paso Jama and its relative isolation from urban centers, make this area an ideal place for astronomical observations. It is in this area where the Atacama Astronomical Park (AAP) is installed, an initiative that seeks to transform the region into a window to the Universe. The AAP is managed by the non-profit Atacama Astronomical Park Foundation, whose board of directors has the power to directly grant an installation permit to projects that present meritorious applications. After some years of operations of astronomical projects at the Park, the AAP is now moving forward with its vision of an integrated support on enabling infrastructure, so the current and future observatories can focus on their core business: to produce Science. The Park identified key strategic areas of support, namely: communications via fiber optics, centralized power solutions, improvement of the access roads, and a corresponding health, safety and security plan. This paper presents the AAP and describes the progress to fulfill the strategic vision of the Atacama Astronomical Park.
Towards Wireless Controlled Underwater Vehicles

This paper presents adaptation of commercially available Arduino-based LoRa radios for remote wireless command-and-control of a underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The system supports half-duplex communication between the two radios and is capable of remote control of an ROV with a paired down message set. We present our developments to reduce message throughput and the implementation of methods to create a permission-based half-duplex LoRa radio. The system was interfaced with MAVProxy, to support a computer-based ground control station. We present the performance results from our tests in an indoor freshwater tank and the system's capability to wireless control an ROV.
Threat Assessment for avoiding collsions with perpendicular vehicles at Intersections

This paper presents a method for estimating how the driver of a vehicle can use braking or acceleration to avoid the collision with a moving vehicle. Approach relies on a novel threat assessment module, which combines prediction and avoiding collision maneuver. We describe Braking Threat Number (BTN), Acceleration Threat Number (ATN), Deceleration Threat Number (DTN), and Steering Threat Number (STN). A collision avoidance by braking system, based on proposed method has been evaluated on simulated traffic scenarios at intersection. Our simulation shows that autonomous braking can be initiated 1 to 3 seconds before the potential collision. With this system the vehicle will have less impact collision.
Role of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I And II on Skeletal Remodeling

The two major processes involved in bone remodeling are bone formation and bone resorption, and these two functions are regulated by systemic hormones and by local growth factors (1,2). Hormones seem to act on skeletal cells either directly or indirectly by modulating the synthesis or effects of local factors, which in turn stimulate or inhibit bone formation or bone resorption. Growth factors can affect bone remodeling either by increasing the number of cells or by affecting the differentiated phenotype of cells of the osteoblast or osteoclast lineage.
Multiple Objective Analysis for a Spatial Market System: A Case Study of U.S. Agricultural Policy

Spatial models of market equilibrium for use in policy analysis often require inclusion of multiple objectives. This becomes a problem in multi-level programming for which there are not yet effective algorithms for large-scale models. This paper reports use of a heuristic method for developing non-dominated alternatives, using a two-level approximating and incorporating experimental design techniques. The analysis is of alternative pricing policies for the 1985 U.S. Farm Bill.
Larkin and His Audience

Readers of Philip Larkin's poetry keep writing about it, even though they recognize how simple and clear it is, because they also sense that its most distinctive aspect is indefinable, not just in criticism of the poetry but in the poetry itself. Because this aspect of Larkin's poetry seems by its very nature to be inexpressible, it needs speaking of in as many ways as possible, if the very sense of it is not to lapse. It seems that only the obvious can be said of Larkin, and that everyone who has written on him has said it again and again, in one way or another, since it is as simple and clear as a glass of water. Yet, because it cannot be defined, doubts remain as to whether either his most sympathetic critics, like John Wain, David Timms, and Alan Brownjohn, or his more severe, like Colin Falck, Donald Davie, and Calvin Bedient are responding to what makes Larkin's poetry of distinctive value. Of Larkin himself, however, there can be no doubt. His choice of "Ab sences" as his own favorite poem for the anthology, Poet's Choice, as early as 1962, indicates that even then he had a sure sense of the indefinable aspect of his poetry that gives it its value. For "Absences" comes closer than any other of Larkin's poems to being explicit about what is inexplicable.
Political Journalism and the Martignac Ministry: The Failure of Conciliation, 1828–1829

A frequent phenomenon of French politics has been the failure of the coalition government to achieve a successful program. Extreme of Left and Right may become so strong that they can lever the Center to the breaking point. It happened in 1948, in the infancy of the Fourth Republic; in 1934, in the senility of the Third Republic; and in 1828, near the end of the Restoration. The reason for this failure of the Center is usually found in the zeal and intransigeance of the two extremes, or in their desire to cultivate, rather than retard, the conditions leading to a confrontation.
The changing pattern of rheumatic heart disease: The experience in New York city Department of Health Cardiac consultation clinics, 1943 to 1953

Summary 1. An analysis was made of the clinical diagnoses of 65,044 examinations by the Cardiac Consultation Service Clinics of the New York City Health Department from 1943 to 1953, inclusive, in order to determine whether there has been a change in the relative frequency of organic heart disease following rheumatic fever. 2. The relative frequency of detectable heart disease following a history of rheumatic fever in children referred to the consultation service decreased from about 60 per cent in 1943 to about 30 per cent in 1948. The 30 per cent frequency level has been maintained since 1948. 3. The foregoing findings are consistent with the decrease in prevalence of rheumatic heart disease reported from other source material by various investigators.
Anytime Hierarchical Clustering

We propose a new anytime hierarchical clustering method that iteratively transforms an arbitrary initial hierarchy on the configuration of measurements along a sequence of trees we prove for a fixed data set must terminate in a chain of nested partitions that satisfies a natural homogeneity requirement. Each recursive step re-edits the tree so as to improve a local measure of cluster homogeneity that is compatible with a number of commonly used (e.g., single, average, complete) linkage functions. As an alternative to the standard batch algorithms, we present numerical evidence to suggest that appropriate adaptations of this method can yield decentralized, scalable algorithms suitable for distributed /parallel computation of clustering hierarchies and online tracking of clustering trees applicable to large, dynamically changing databases and anomaly detection.
Separation and Modification of the Phosphorolytic and Ribosyl Transfer Activities of the Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase of Ehrlich Ascites Tumor Cells

The separation of two types of catalytic activity exhibited by purine nucleoside phosphorylase purified from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells is described. Fractions catalyzing either phosphorolysis or ribosyl transfer were obtained by sucrose gradient centrifugation. Data regarding the conversion of phosphorolytic to transfer activity are presented, and observations relevant to the expression of the two catalytic activities are briefly discussed.
Comparison of densification and distortion behaviors of W-Ni-Cu and W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys in liquid-phase sintering

This paper aims to correlate the densification and distortion behaviors of liquid-phase sintered 80W-14Ni-6Cu and 80W-14Ni-6Fe heavy alloys with the melting characteristics of the Ni-Cu and Ni-Fe matrices. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) of die-pressed compacts reveals that the melting range of the Ni-Cu matrix is extended from 1235°C to 1453°C by the in situ alloying between elemental Cu and Ni powders, whereas the melting of the Ni-Fe matrix is limited to a narrow temperature range between 1464°C and 1480°C. Dilatometry and furnace sintering tests show that densification due to liquid-phase sintering of 80W-14Ni-6Cu starts at 1287°C and proceeds at a low rate to 1450°C, where full densification without distortion is achieved. In contrast, densification due to liquid-phase sintering of 80W-14Ni-6Fe occurs at a very high rate above 1475°C, and full density can be obtained at 1500°C. For both alloy compacts, distortion is induced by prolonging the sintering time or elevating the sintering temperature after full densification. Crack-like voids develop in the 80W-14Ni-6Cu compact to accommodate the gravity-induced distortion, while spherical pores are dominantly formed in the 80W-14Ni-6Fe compact as a result of water vapor entrapment.
Methods of cost-effectiveness analysis in the evaluation of new antipsychotics: implications for schizophrenia treatment.

Because health care payers are increasingly interested in learning whether new treatments offer value for money, there has been an abundance of research into the cost-effectiveness of pharmacologic therapies in the United States. In the past few years, a number of studies comparing the cost-effectiveness of the conventional neuroleptics with that of the atypical antipsychotics have been published. Cost-effectiveness analyses show the relationship between the resources used (costs) and the health benefits achieved (effects) for a health or medical intervention compared with an alternative strategy. Ideally, the analyses can help decision makers improve the health of the population by better allocating society's limited health care resources. However, the extent to which cost-effectiveness data are actually used in decision making is unclear. The analyses are sometimes viewed with skepticism, in part because studies differ in their methodological approaches. Recently, the U.S. Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine offered recommendations for standard methodological practices, which may help improve the quality of studies and the acceptability of the approach in the future. The issue is particularly important in light of new legislation governing how the Food and Drug Administration will regulate promotional claims made by drug companies regarding health economic information.
Current knowledge of diverticular disease of the colon.

Diverticular disease of the colon is a problem common to Western man. Abnormal thickening of the colonic muscle resulting in segments of increased intraluminal pressure appears to be the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism in the production of diverticula. Diverticulosis is usually an asymptomatic condition. Maintenance of an ideal body weight, a nutritious high residue diet, avoidance of constipation and bowel irritants and occasional use of antispasmodics with sedatives may help prevent symptoms. The complications of diverticulitis—ie, obstruction, chronic blood loss, perforation and fistula, occur in approximately one-half of patients with diverticula. Fifty percent of patients with diverticulitis have one attack responding to rest, diet, antispasmodics and antibiotics. Repeated attacks of diverticulitis may lead to other complications, and surgical management with colostomy, segmental resection or colon myotomy may become necessary.
Practical considerations for wavelet transforms obtained using a phase-only joint transform optical correlator

Practical considerations for wavelet transforms obtained using a phase-onlyjoint transform optical correlatorPeter S. ErbachDon A. GregoryDepartment of PhysicsUniversity of Alabama in HuntsvilleHuntsville, AL 35899AbstractThis paper addresses some ofthe performance issues associated with performing the wavelet transform (WT) usingthe joint transform correlator (JTC), specifically the phase-only )TC (POJTC). The current POJTC architecture, called thePOWJTC, utilizes a single liquid crystal televisions (LCTV) as a spatial light modulator (SLM) operating only on the phaseof the incident coherent light. Many JTC-based WT architectures' have used hard-clipped bandpass filters as waveletfunctions, filtering the joint transform power spectrum (JTPS) to enhance the correlation SNR for two inputs (not includingthe wavelet). It has been demonstrated2 that, by encoding the wavelet and the object to be analyzed in the input plane of thePOJTC, a true WT, in the sense that the WT is a correlation integral, can be achieved. However, the correlation outputcontains many more terms than the normal amplitude-only JTC (AOJTC) that may affect the performance, and there arerestrictions associated with this encoding process. A mathematical description based on scalar fields, accompanied bysimulations and experimental results, is presented.Keywords: joint transform correlator, wavelet transform, phase-only spatial light modulator.
SAFETY EVALUATION AND ANESTHETIC PROPERTIES OF 1,1,1-TRIFLUOROETHYL CHLORIDE.

Abstract TFEC is a moderately potent inhalation anesthetic which is nonexplosive and nonirritating. It is characterized by extremely rapid action, wxcellent moment-to-moment control, and rapid emergence. It has marked analgesic action in subanesthetic concentrations and appears to have a range of use that is greater than most of the agents which are now available. Further studies are now in progress.
Scanning Or Staring Infrared Imagers A Review Of The Issues

The intent of this paper is to suggest to the electro-optic design community that recent technological advances in thermal detector focal planes have increased the attraction of IR staring arrays as contrasted to the widespread utilization of mechanically scanned arrays. Following a brief overview of both scanning and staring imaging concepts, a variety of IR imaging scenarios are used to compare these two approaches.
Changes Over Time in the Periodontal Status of Young Adults With No Third Molar Periodontal Pathology at Enrollment

Purpose To assess changes in periodontal status over time in subjects with all third molar region periodontal probing depths (PDs) of less than 4 mm at enrollment. Patients and Methods Subjects were a subsample of young adults enrolled with 4 asymptomatic third molars in an institutional review board–approved longitudinal study. Full-mouth periodontal PD data, 6 sites per tooth, were measures of periodontal status. Data were aggregated to subject and jaw levels. A PD of 4 mm or greater was considered an indicator variable for periodontal pathology. Subjects were classified according to PD at follow-up: all PDs of less than 4 mm or at least 1 PD of 4 mm or greater. The demographic differences and the third molar anatomic position at baseline were compared to assess whether enrollment factors were related to the changes in periodontal pathology. The level of significance was set at .05. Results One hundred six subjects had all third molar region PDs of less than 4 mm at enrollment and were aged 25 years on average. Of these, 38% had a change in third molar region periodontal status, with at least 1 third molar region PD of 4 mm or greater detected at a median follow-up of 4.1 years (interquartile range, 2.4-5.9 years). A PD of at least 4 mm was detected significantly more often in the mandibular third molar region than in the maxillary third molar region (P .05). At follow-up, 50% of subjects with at least 1 PD of 4 mm or greater in the third molar region had at least 1 PD of 4 mm or greater in non–third molar regions as compared with 15% of subjects with all third molar region PDs of less than 4 mm (P Conclusions Periodontal pathology developing over time in healthy young adults was significantly more likely in the mandibular third molar region and mandibular non–third molars.
Acculturative family distancing: links with self-reported symptomatology among Asian Americans and Latinos.

Objective Our knowledge of how acculturative processes affect families remains quite limited. This article tests whether acculturative family distancing (AFD) [1], a more proximal and problem-oriented measure of the acculturation gap, influences the mental health status of Asian American and Latino college students. AFD occurs along two dimensions: communication difficulties and cultural value incongruence. Methods Data were collected from 186 Asian American (n = 107) and Latino (n = 79) undergraduates, who provided self-reports on psychological problems, depressive symptoms, and family conflict. A new self-report measure of AFD evidencing good psychometric properties was used to test hypothesized relations among these variables in structural equation models (SEM). Results For both Asian American and Latinos, results indicated that higher levels of AFD were associated with higher psychological distress and greater risk for clinical depression, and that family conflict mediated this relation. Conclusion AFD processes were associated with the mental health of students and the functioning of their families. These findings highlight potential foci to address in prevention and intervention programs, such as improving communication and teaching families how to negotiate cultural value differences.
Effects of arsenic, mercury, thallium, and lead on selenium metabolism in rats

Abstract Arsenic, mercury, and thallium all inhibited the pulmonary excretion of volatile selenium compounds by rats injected with subacute doses of sodium selenite. Lead had no effect on selenium volatilization. Mercury increased the retention of selenium in the blood, kidneys, and spleen; thallium increased the retention of selenium in the kidneys and liver. The biliary excretion of selenium was stimulated severalfold by the administration of arsenic, but not by mercury, thallium, or lead. Arsenic improved the growth of rats chronically poisoned by selenium, largely prevented the liver damage caused by selenium, and decreased the amount of selenium retained in the tissues. Neither thallium nor mercury protected against chronic selenosis.
Reorganization revisited; or, is acquisitions an endangered species?

Cet article traite des methodologies de reorganisation de bibliotheques et etudie quelle place prennent les services d'acquisitions dans ces reorganisations. Apres une presentation et une etude du procede de reorganisation de l'Appalachian State Library, ce qui s'est passe dans les services techniques en general aux Etats Unis est decrit. Et enfin, la situation des traditionnelles fonctions d'acquisitions dans ce nouvel environnement est analyse
A highly active oxygen-evolving Photosystem II preparation from synechococcus lividus

Abstract A PS II preparation highly active in oxygen generation was prepared from the cyanophyte, Synechococcus lividus . This preparation was enriched in Hill reaction activity, manganese, cytochrome b -559, and possessed only trace amounts of cytochrome b -563. This non-phosphorylating, visually clear preparation appears to be a promising system for the detailed study of Photosystem II.
A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF PERIODONTAL DISEASE

ABSTRACT Background Both nonsurgical and surgical periodontal therapies are important in the control of most forms of periodontal disease. Sometimes, nonsurgical therapy is adequate to control the disease in mild cases and to slow progression and maintain periodontal stability in more advanced cases. Other times, both therapies may be indicated to obtain satisfactory results. The author presents treatment guidelines and recommendations for periodontal therapy. Methods The author searched the dental literature for information pertaining to periodontal therapy. Results The author found evidence-based data to support the effectiveness of nonsurgical and surgical periodontal therapy in controlling periodontal disease. Nonsurgical periodontal therapy requires time, effort, and good diagnostic and clinical skills to obtain satisfactory results. The results are determined by evaluating the patient's periodontal disease after active therapy, at which time additional surgical or nonsurgical treatment may be recommended. Evaluation should continue throughout the lifelong supportive phase of periodontal therapy. Conclusion Clinicians should continue to develop and enhance their diagnostic skills, assess factors that affect diagnosis and prognosis, formulate a comprehensive treatment plan, render appropriate treatment, evaluate the outcome and determine when periodontal care is indicated. Clinical Implication Failure to comply with monitoring the patient's periodontal status may lead to uncontrolled disease and eventually premature tooth loss. Premature tooth loss can be prevented through patient education and application of evidence-based nonsurgical and surgical therapy.
Experimental Observations on Flank Wear in Machining Spherodized Plain Carbon Steels

As a part of a comprehensive study on predicting tool wear, the authors' preliminary findings on flank wear are presented in this paper. To understand flank wear, commercially available plain carbon steels including AISI 1018, 1045, 1065 and 1095 were spherodized and turned using C6 grade carbide inserts coated with a single layer of TiN, Al2O3 or TiCN at various cutting speeds. The wear behavior of these inserts is studied in terms of the cementite content and the physical properties of coating materials at their respective cutting temperatures. An infrared pyrometer with fiber-optic cable was used to measure the temperature at a fixed point on the rake face of the inserts. An inverse estimation scheme using the 1-D ellipsoidal model of Yen and Wright (1) was employed to obtain the mean temperature of the tool-chip interface. The scheme suggested by Oxley (2) was then used to estimate the flank face temperature. The experimental results indicated that flank wear per sliding distance increases with cement...
Lowering radiation dose for integrated assessment of coronary morphology and physiology: first experience with step-and-shoot CT angiography in a rubidium 82 PET-CT protocol.

Background. Reduction of radiation exposure from computed tomography coronary angiography (CTA) will be a key factor for more liberal use in cardiac hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT). We report our initial experience with a new algorithm for low-dose CTA based on a prospectively gated step-and-shoot technique. This limits acquisition to the diastolic phase and minimizes exposure time versus the previous standard of retrospectively gated helical acquisitions. Methods and Results. In 15 consecutive patients referred for integrated functional and morphologic workup by rubidium 82 perfusion PET-CTA, step-and-shoot CTA (SnapShot Pulse; GE Medical Systems) (120 kV, 600–800 mA) was acquired on a 64-slice GE Discovery Rx VCT PET-CT scanner and compared with a group of patients with conventional helical CTA (120 kV, with modulation of the milliampere level) who were matched with regard to clinical variables. Effective dose was estimated from dose-length product. The American Heart Association 15-segment coronary tree model was used to determine study interpretability. Potential for fusion with Rb-82 perfusion PET was tested by use of commercial software. In addition, direct dose measurements were conducted by use of an anthropomorphic phantom for more accurate dosimetry. The dose-length product-derived effective patient dose for step-and-shoot and helical CTA was 5.5±0.1 mSv versus 20.5±3.5 mSv (P<.0001). The mean number of evaluable segments per patient for the best phase of helical CTA was 12.5±2.8 (83.3%±18.7%) versus 13.3±2.2 (88.7%±14.7%) (P=not significant vs helical) for step-and-shoot CTA. Review of multiple phases increased the number for helical CTA to 13.7±1.7 (91.3%±11.3%;P=not significant vs step-and-shoot CTA, for which this was not an option). Semiautomated fusion with corresponding PET was feasible for all studies. Phantom data confirm effective doses of 5.4 mSv for step-and-shoot CTA and 19.6 mSv for helical acquisition. Conclusions. Low-dose prospectively gated CTA reduces radiation exposure by nearly 70% versus the previous standard of helical acquisition, without significant loss in interpretability and integrative potential with Rb-82 perfusion PET. This represents a step toward a broader, routine integration of CTA and perfusion PET for assessment of coronary morphology and physiology by cardiac PET-CT.
Parameterized environment maps

Static environment maps fail to capture local reflections including effects like self reflections and parallax in the reflected imagery. We instead propose parameterized environment maps (PEMs), a set of per-view environment maps which accurately reproduce local reflections at each viewpoint as computed by an offline ray tracer. Even with a small set of viewpoint samples, PEMs support plausible movement away from and between the pre-rendered viewpoint samples while maintaining local reflections. They also make use of environment maps supported in graphics hardware to provide real-time exploration of the pre-rendered space. In addition to parameterization by viewpoint, our notion of PEMextends to general, multidimensional parameterizations of the scene, including relative motions of objects and lighting changes. Our contributions include a technique for inferring environment maps providing a close match to ray-traced imagery. We also explicitly infer and encode all MIPMAP levels of the PEMs to achieve higher accuracy. We propose layered environment maps that separate local and distant reflected geometry. We explore several types of environment maps including finite spheres, ellipsoids, and boxes that better approximate the environmental geometry. We demonstrate results showing faithful local reflections in an interactive viewer.
Faults in the Mojave Desert, California, as Revealed on Enhanced Landsat Images

Previously unknown strike-slip and normal faults in the central and eastern Mojave Desert have been revealed on Landsat Thematic Mapper images enhanced by four-component processing. This method provides color images on which lithologies are discriminated by their contrasting absorption and reflection, primarily at infrared wavelengths and particularly with regard to their ferric iron, ferrous iron, and hydroxyl contents, while retaining landform depiction. These discriminants represent a new type of geophysical display for geologic mapping in regions of well-exposed bedrock. Faults are revealed on the images by abrupt spectral and textural contrasts that coincide with aligned topographic features. The newly discovered faults form part of an extensive regional network of right shear that connects faults in the Death Valley region with the San Andreas fault system. They support a heterogeneous strain model for late Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the region. Regional structural relations indicate a westward migration of the locus of strain through time. Some of the newly identified faults bound blocks that have experienced contrasting rotational histories since early Miocene time.
Drawing blood from rats through the saphenous vein and by cardiac puncture.

Drawing blood from rodents is necessary for a large number of both in vitro and in vivo studies. Sites of blood draws are numerous in rodents: retro-orbital sinus, jugular vein, maxillary vein, saphenous vein, heart. Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages, and some are not approved any more in some countries (e.g., retro-orbital draws in Holland). A discussion of different techniques for drawing blood are available 1-3. Here, we present two techniques for drawing blood from rats, each with its specific applications. Blood draw from the saphenous vein, provided it is done properly, induces minimal distress in animals and does not require anesthesia. This technique allows repeated draws of small amounts of blood, such as needed for pharmacokinetic studies 4,5, determining plasma chemistry, or blood counts 6. Cardiac puncture allows the collection of large amounts of blood from a single animal (up to 10 ml of blood can be drawn from a 150 g rat). This technique is therefore very useful as a terminal procedure when drawing blood from the saphenous would not provide a large enough sample. We use cardiac puncture when we need sufficient amounts of serum from a specific strain of rats to grow T lymphocyte lines in vitro 4-9.
Suppression of prostaglandin E2 receptor subtype EP2 by PPARγ ligands inhibits human lung carcinoma cell growth

Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), a major cyclooxygenase (COX-2) metabolite, plays important roles in tumor biology and its functions are mediated through one or more of its receptors EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4. We have shown that the matrix glycoprotein fibronectin stimulates lung carcinoma cell proliferation via induction of COX-2 expression with subsequent PGE(2) protein biosynthesis. Ligands of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) inhibited this effect and induced cellular apoptosis. Here, we explore the role of the PGE(2) receptor EP2 in this process and whether the inhibition observed with PPARgamma ligands is related to effects on this receptor. We found that human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell lines (H1838 and H2106) express EP2 receptors, and that the inhibition of cell growth by PPARgamma ligands (GW1929, PGJ2, ciglitazone, troglitazone, and rosiglitazone [also known as BRL49653]) was associated with a significant decrease in EP2 mRNA and protein levels. The inhibitory effects of BRL49653 and ciglitazone, but not PGJ2, were reversed by a specific PPARgamma antagonist GW9662, suggesting the involvement of PPARgamma-dependent and -independent mechanisms. PPARgamma ligand treatment was associated with phosphorylation of extracellular regulated kinase (Erk), and inhibition of EP2 receptor expression by PPARgamma ligands was prevented by PD98095, an inhibitor of the MEK-1/Erk pathway. Butaprost, an EP2 agonist, like exogenous PGE(2) (dmPGE(2)), increased lung carcinoma cell growth, however, GW1929 and troglitazone blocked their effects. Our studies reveal a novel role for EP2 in mediating the proliferative effects of PGE(2) on lung carcinoma cells. PPARgamma ligands inhibit human lung carcinoma cell growth by decreasing the expression of EP2 receptors through Erk signaling and PPARgamma-dependent and -independent pathways.
An evaluation of analytical and numerical solutions to the single-lap joint

Abstract The mechanics of a single-lap joint subjected to tensile loading are investigated. Theoretical solutions, including the classic Goland and Reissner solution, are reviewed and examined in detail. It is observed that. despite the considerable efforts of a large number of researchers over a period of half a century, controversy and unresolved issues remain. Limitations related to theoretical treatments are identified and suggested improvements proposed. A two-dimensional geometrically nonlinear finite element analysis is performed to provide comparisons with the theoretical analyses. The discrepancies and controversies in the theories are resolved through detailed studies of the mechanics and validated through numerical analyses, and through a clarification of the definition of long and short joints. Modifications and corrections to the theories are suggested for practical application to lap joint analysis and design.
Maintenance care for treated periodontitis patients

This paper is a review of current literature combined with clinical observations. Well-controlled maintenance care is a key consideration in the long-term prognosis of treated periodontitis patients. Periodic professional tooth cleaning every 3 to 4 months often is recommended. Furthermore, recent studies indicate a potential need for selected retreatment in problem areas, since minute residual accretions may be left behind during active therapy--even with "open" surgery. While efficient plaque control is essential for optimal results during the healing phase of periodontal therapy, periodic prophylaxis may prevent loss of clinical attachment over long periods of time even for patients with less than perfect oral hygiene.
Self-organizing evolution

Abstract Algorithmic information theory and the theory of pattern are used to analyze evolution in immune systems and ecosystems, with an emphasis on elucidating the role of natural selection in the creation of form. Fractals and cellular automata are used to argue for the ability of very compact instructions to give rise to complex, unpredictable, self-organizing structures. A new mathematical formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection is given, which takes into account the ecological and intra-organismic self-organization that the standard Neo-Darwinist approach tends to underestimate or ignore.
Hormonal mediation of the memory disorder in depression

Many patients with major depression show deficits in information processing to a degree that parallels the severity of the mood disorder. Parallel findings of alteration in hormonal systems known to modulate memory functions suggest that the biological and cognitive changes described may be functionally linked. A specific goal for norepinephrine and the limbic hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is hypothesized and related to specific components of the alteration in information processing. The cognitive and mood effects of stimulant compounds in normal and depressed patient populations and parallels between the biologic and cognitive changes seen in normal aging and those observed in depression are considered.
Effects of exercise on craving and cigarette smoking in the human laboratory

Exercise is increasingly being pursued as a treatment to reduce cigarette smoking. The efficacy of clinical, exercise-based cessation interventions may be enhanced by conducting laboratory studies to determine maximally effective conditions for reducing smoking, and the mechanisms through which the effects on smoking are achieved. The main purpose of this study was to assess whether the effects of exercise on two components of craving (anticipated reward from smoking, anticipated relief from withdrawal) mediated the relationship between exercise and delay (in min) to ad libitum smoking. Experiment 1 (N=21) assessed the effects of exercise intensity (inactivity, low, moderate) on craving components up to 60 min post-exercise. Because moderate-intensity exercise most effectively reduced craving on the reward component, all participants exercised at a moderate intensity in Experiment 2. Using an ABAB within-subjects design, Experiment 2 (N=20) evaluated whether the effects of moderate-intensity exercise on reward and relief components of craving mediated the relationship between exercise and participants' delays (in min) to ad libitum smoking. Delays were significantly longer after exercise (M=21 min) versus inactivity (M=4 min), and the effects of exercise on delay were mediated through the reward component of craving. Future research should continue to explore the mechanisms through which exercise influences behavioral indices of smoking in the human laboratory. Additionally, given the benefits uniquely afforded by exercise-based cessation interventions (e.g., improving mood and other health outcomes), implementing these interventions in clinical settings may contribute substantially to improving public health.