cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The use of crevicular fluid prostaglandin E2 levels as a predictor of periodontal attachment loss

Longitudinal data were collected over a period of at least 18 months and up to 3 years on 41 adult periodontitis patients (AAP Type III and IV). Ramfjord attachment level measurements and sampling of crevicular fluid (CF) at each tooth were repeated every 3 months. A mean full mouth CF prostaglandin E2 (MCF-PGE) value was determined for each patient at each visit. The three-month monitoring was continued until a single site demonstrated a statistically and clinically significant attachment loss (ALOSS) episode. Results indicated that in ALOSS patients the MCF-PGE was significantly elevated at the ALOSS visit as compared to previous levels. Furthermore, the sites which had the ALOSS had elevated levels as compared to the contralateral no ALOSS control sites (305.6±56.5 vs. 65.7±6.89 ng/ml, mean ± SEM). One month following treatment the CF-PGE level dropped to 16.9±3.4 ng/ml at the ALOSS sites. Since the MCF-PGE level increases preceding the attachment loss episode, reaches a maximum at the sites which actually undergo ALOSS, and subsides following treatment, the possibility of using the MCF-PGE level to predict an oncoming future ALOSS episode was examined. The ALOSS patients had a MCF-PGE level of 113.4±9.0 ng/ml 6 months prior to the ALOSS episode, which was significantly higher than the no ALOSS patients’MCF-PGE level of 50.1±7.1. Analysis of MCF-PGE levels as a screening test indicate that this measurement has a high degree of sensitivity, specificity, and a predictive value of 0.92–0.95. Thus, this method has significant merit as a diagnostic tool to determine if a patient is in a state of remission or about to undergo an attachment loss episode.
Seasonal distributions of organic nutrients on the Louisiana continental shelf and their implications for nutrient limitation and hypoxia formation

Abstract Nutrients delivered by the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers to the Louisiana continental shelf cause local eutrophication and feed phytoplankton growth, resulting in a massive region of bottom water hypoxia each summer. Much of what is known about the drivers of this hypoxia is based on extensive datasets of inorganic nutrients. We measured dissolved organic and particulate organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in surface water along the Louisiana continental shelf between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers during three cruises in March, May and July 2004 to develop a more comprehensive understanding of interactions between nutrients and eutrophication. We specifically sought to determine if sufficient organic P is present to relieve the inorganic P limitation that occurs during the spring and early summer. DOP is added to shelf waters in situ, but drawdown of DOP concentrations below conservative mixing lines indicate DOP is also being used as a source of P for growth. Calculations of the amount of DOP potentially utilized towards primary production reveal there is not enough to relieve P-limitation. Total nitrogen to total phosphorus ratios were high, averaging 86, 72 and 51 in March, May and July, respectively. Additionally, correlations between DIN and total nitrogen (TN) were identical to those between DIP and total phosphorus (TP), indicating that the use of either TN:TP or DIN:DIP ratios is equally relevant in assessing nutrient limitation in this region, but DIN:TP ratios are clearly underestimates. Organic matter on the shelf is best correlated to TN and TP loads measured upstream in the Mississippi River one month prior. The combination of low organic P concentrations and high total N:P ratios indicated P-limitation of phytoplankton biomass on the Louisiana shelf during the spring and early summer of 2004. This P-limitation occurs during the period of hypoxia formation as a result of excess N loads delivered by the rivers, supporting dual controls of both N and P to reduce the hypoxia.
Two phospholipase pools for prostaglandin synthesis in macrophages.

Macrophages in culture produce prostaglandins in response to a variety of phagocytic and non-phagocytic stimuli1–8. As prostaglandins are not stored in cells, and mammalian cells contain very little free arachidonic acid, synthesis and release of prostaglandins depends on the release of the precursor, arachidonic acid, from cell lipids. Many agents that stimulate cell prostaglandin production act by releasing arachidonic acid9, presumably by activating phospholipase A2 (refs 10, 11) or phospholipase C (refs 12, 13), depending on the cell system used. We have shown previously that rabbit alveolar macrophages secrete arachidonic acid as well as prostaglandins in response to phagocytic stimuli2,4,6. This secretion depends not on particle attachment, but rather on interiorization of the particles4. Furthermore, the time course of prostaglandin and arachidonic acid secretion does not parallel that of particle engulfment per se, but of the release of lysosomal enzymes4, indicating that the release of arachidonate and prostaglandin is associated with the latter. We now describe experiments which suggest that these are two independent pools of phospholipases in macrophages, one in the lysosomes and one elsewhere.
Effects of food formulation and thermal processing on flavones in celery and chamomile

Flavones isolated from celery varied in their stability and susceptibility to deglycosylation during thermal processing at pH 3, 5, or 7. Apigenin 7-O-apiosylglucoside was converted to apigenin 7-O-glucoside when heated at pH 3 and 100°C. Apigenin 7-O-glucoside showed little conversion or degradation at any pH after 5h at 100°C. Apigenin, luteolin, and chrysoeriol were most stable at pH 3 but progressively degraded at pH 5 or 7. Chamomile and celery were used to test the effects of glycosidase-rich foods and thermal processing on the stability of flavone glycosides. Apigenin 7-O-glucoside in chamomile extract was readily converted to apigenin aglycone after combination with almond, flax seed, or chickpea flour. Apigenin 7-O-apiosylglucoside in celery leaves was resistant to conversion by β-glucosidase-rich ingredients, but was converted to apigenin 7-O-glucoside at pH 2.7 when processed at 100°C for 90min and could then be further deglycosylated when mixed with almond or flax seed. Thus, combinations of acid hydrolysis and glycosidase enzymes in almond and flax seed were most effective for developing a flavone-rich, high aglycone food ingredient from celery.
Selectivity in Zeolite Occlusion of Olefines

Selective occlusions of straight-chain paraffins in the presence of branched-chain hydrocarbons by naturally occurring zeolites of suitable dimension was reported as early as 1944 by Barrer and Ibbitson. More recently the capacity of synthetic zeolites or molecular sieves to absorb exclusively the straight-chain hydrocarbons from complex hydrocarbon mixtures has found extensive application in the petroleum industry. Under the conditions developed for most sieving operations any normal olefins present are occluded along with the normal paraffins. A supplemental separation technique must be employed to obtain n-paraffins free of olefins.
Association of a Lower Molecular Weight Protein to the μ-Opioid Receptor Demonstrated by 125I-β-Endorphin Cross-Linking Studies

Cross-linking experiments using the (125)I-beta-endorphin revealed the presence of several receptor-related species in cell lines expressing endogenous opioid receptors, including a small molecular mass protein (approximately 22 kDa). Previous reports have suggested that this 22-kDa (125)I-beta-endorphin cross-linked protein could be the degradative product from a higher molecular mass species, i.e., a fragment of the receptor. To determine if this protein is indeed a degraded receptor fragment, (125)I-beta-endorphin was cross-linked to the (His)(6) epitope-tagged mu-opioid receptor (His-mu) stably expressed in the murine neuroblastoma Neuro(2A) cells. Similar to earlier reports with cell lines expressing endogenous receptors, two major bands of 72- and 25-kDa proteins were specifically cross-linked. Initial cross-linking experiments indicated the absolute requirement of the high-affinity (125)I-beta-endorphin binding to the mu-opioid receptor prior to the appearance of the low molecular weight species, suggesting that the 22-kDa protein could be a degraded fragment of the receptor. However, variations in the ratios of these protein bands being cross-linked by several homo- or heterobifunctional cross-linking agents were observed. Although neither the carboxyl terminus mu-opioid receptor-specific antibodies nor the antibodies against the epitope at the amino terminus of the receptor could recognize the 22-kDa protein, this (125)I-beta-endorphin cross-linked species could be coimmunoprecipitated with the receptor antibodies or could be isolated with a nickel resin affinity chromatography. The direct physical association of the 22-kDa protein with the receptor was demonstrated also by the observation that the 22-kDa protein could not bind to the nickel resin alone, but that its binding to the nickel resin was restored in the presence of the His-mu. Taken together, these results suggest that the 22-kDa protein cross-linked by (125)I-beta-endorphin is not a degradative product, but a protein located within the proximity of the mu-opioid receptor, and that it is tightly associated with the receptor.
Double adaptive notch filter for mechanical grain flow sensors

Abstract Nowadays, commercial combine harvesters are equipped with special sensors for the purposes of precision farming. Sensors are installed to measure the harvested surface and mass flow each second. Hence, grain yield maps are constructed, approximating the actual grain yield on the field before harvesting. Most grain flow sensors are installed on the paddle elevator before storage in the grain tank. At the elevator exit, paddles throw packs of grain against a curved plate on which a force transducer is attached. Therefore, the measured flow signal is heavily disturbed by the paddle rate and resonance frequency of the mechanical sensor. In this study, a computationally cheap method is presented to track both frequencies in the measured flow signal. Based on these frequency trackers, a double notch filter is tuned continuously to remove both disturbances. Moreover, the knowledge about the frequency content can be used to monitor the condition of the mechanical sensor and the paddle elevator.
The land of unreality: On the phenomenology of the schizophrenic break

Abstract This study in comparative phenomenology offers a description of the lived-world of the Stimmung , an experience especially characteristic of early stages of schizophrenia. In this state, the patient will stare transfixed at an alienated perceptual world that may have one or more of several anomalous characteristics. The world may seem strangely unreal; objects may seem fragmented, or devoid of standard pragmatic meanings and manifesting instead their sheer existence; or objects and events may seem imbued with a tantalizing but ineffable quality of significance. Like many schizophreniform symptoms, the Stimmung has often been considered to be radically alien, beyond the pale of an empathic comprehension. The nature of these symptoms and their role in the overall development of schizophreniform illnesses is discussed, largely through examining the experiences of “Renee,” author of the Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl . Certain closely analogous phenomena from the culture of early modernism are then considered—focussing primarily on works by Hugo von Hoffmansthal, a turn-of-the-century Austrian writer. The possibility of a detailed phenomenological description, as well as the existence of such close modernist parallels, would seem to contradict the widely held view that such symptoms are incomprehensible.
Planning for School Improvement: A Curriculum Model for School-Based Evaluation

Sustaining or improving the quality of educational experiences for students in American schools has been a goal throughout our history. In earlier years, the public demonstrated confidence that educators would respond to quality concerns and would appropriately address whatever issues were of most concern within a school. For example, when the Russians launched Sputnik into orbit in 1958, education came under sharp attack. Subsequently, education received increased support for improvement (particularly in science, mathematics, and foreign languages curriculum and teacher development) and enjoyed a heightened priority within both the national budget and conscience. Educators were seen not only as the problem but were invited contributors to the solutions. Education once again found itself the target of public concern following publication of the 1983 National Commission on Excellence in Education's report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. This time, however, little confidence was demonstrated in the ability of educators to appropriately address the perceived problems and their opportunities to contribute to potential solutions were few. Education became a highly political issue, particularly for state governors and legislators determined to reform and improve schools. As a result, nearly every state has experienced a rather relentless onslaught of well-intentioned legislative mandates for school reform. Left in the wake of these reforms are increasingly demoralized school administrators and classroom teachers. This writer also believes that these actions are at least partially responsible
Rabi oscillations in an infinite-order correction to the adiabatic approximation for a two-level system.

We derive an infinite-order correction to the adiabatic approximation for the polarization induced in a two-level system by nearly resonant laser irradiation in the low-Rabi-frequency limit for two general classes of field envelopes. We find that Rabi oscillations at the resonant sideband frequency are a general occurrence and study the influence of the pulse shape on the form of the asymptotically decreasing amplitude of the Rabi oscillations as a function of the detuning and time constant. We go beyond the low-Rabi-frequency limit by comparing the analytic solution with numerical solutions of Schr\"odinger's time-dependent equation. For symmetric laser-pulse envelopes, the numerical solutions predict eigenvalues of the pulse area at which the amplitude of the Rabi oscillations is zero. The phase of the temporal oscillations changes by \ensuremath{\pi} at these eigenvalues. For the special case of a hyperbolic-secant envelope, these eigenvalues correspond to the 2n\ensuremath{\pi}-area pulses of self-induced transparency. For large-area pulses, the central region of the polarization as a function of time contains additional oscillations, the number of oscillations being determined by the number of pulse-area eigenvalues. For a propagating pulse, these oscillations are impressed on the field and amplified, thereby initiating pulse breakup (nonresonant self-induced transparency).
Axial strain of ferrogels under cyclic magnetic fields

Ferrogels are low stiffness polymer materials with embedded magnetic powder filler, giving them the capability to strain in a magnetic field. The large strains, high energy densities and fast responses that have been reported make these materials attractive for actuator applications; however, a full understanding of the dynamic behavior is lacking. This paper presents an experimental study of the cyclic behavior of these materials under various frequencies in both the upright and inverted configurations. A 1D phenomenological magneto-viscoelastic model is developed and used to capture this behavior. The trends in stiffness, viscosity and density are described and then used to predict the amplitude of the strain at different frequencies.
Stress focusing in elastic sheets

This paper reviews recent progress in understanding phenomena such as crumpling, in which elastic membranes or sheets subject to structureless forces develop sharply curved structure over a small fraction of their surface. In the limit of zero thickness, these structures become singular. After reviewing several related phenomena, the paper recalls the physical elements that give rise to the singular behavior: elasticity and the nearly inextensible behavior of thin sheets. This singular behavior has counterparts in higher dimensions. Then the paper discusses the most basic of these singularities, the vertex. The paper recounts mathematical progress in describing the $d$-cone, a simple realization of a vertex. After discussing the size of the core that governs departure from singularity, the paper concludes that fundamental understanding is lacking. It points out further mysterious behavior at the region where a $d$-cone is supported. Next comes a discussion of an emergent singularity that appears when two or more vertices are present: the stretching ridge. The paper offers several explanations of the scale of this singularity, ranging from qualitative scaling arguments to a formal asymptotic analysis. It discusses recent experiments and theories about the interaction of ridges and vertices and reviews evidence that these ridges dominate the mechanics of crumpled sheets.
Effect of the structure of lipids favoring disordered domain formation on the stability of cholesterol-containing ordered domains (lipid rafts): identification of multiple raft-stabilization mechanisms.

Despite the importance of lipid rafts, commonly defined as liquid-ordered domains rich in cholesterol and in lipids with high gel-to-fluid melting temperatures (Tm), the rules for raft formation in membranes are not completely understood. Here, a fluorescence-quenching strategy was used to define how lipids with low Tm, which tend to form disordered fluid domains at physiological temperatures, can stabilize ordered domain formation by cholesterol and high-Tm lipids (either sphingomyelin or dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine). In bilayers containing mixtures of low-Tm phosphatidylcholines, cholesterol, and high-Tm lipid, the thermal stability of ordered domains decreased with the acyl-chain structure of low-Tm lipids in the following order: diarachadonyl > diphytanoyl > 1-palmitoyl 2-docosahexenoyl = 1,2 dioleoyl = dimyristoleoyl = 1-palmitoyl, 2-oleoyl (PO). This shows that low-Tm lipids with two acyl chains having very poor tight-packing propensities can stabilize ordered domain formation by high-Tm lipids and cholesterol. The effect of headgroup structure was also studied. We found that even in the absence of high-Tm lipids, mixtures of cholesterol with PO phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) and PO phosphatidylserine (POPS) or with brain PE and brain PS showed a (borderline) tendency to form ordered domains. Because these lipids are abundant in the inner (cytofacial) leaflet of mammalian membranes, this raises the possibility that PE and PS could participate in inner-leaflet raft formation or stabilization. In bilayers containing ternary mixtures of PO lipids, cholesterol, and high-Tm lipids, the thermal stability of ordered domains decreased with the polar headgroup structure of PO lipids in the order PE > PS > phosphatidylcholine (PC). Analogous experiments using diphytanoyl acyl chain lipids in place of PO acyl chain lipids showed that the stabilization of ordered lipid domains by acyl chain and headgroup structure was not additive. This implies that it is likely that there are two largely mutually exclusive mechanisms by which low-Tm lipids can stabilize ordered domain formation by high-Tm lipids and cholesterol: 1), by having structures resulting in immiscibility of low-Tm and high-Tm lipids, and 2), by having structures allowing them to pack tightly within ordered domains to a significant degree.
Validity of pressure ulcer diagnosis using digital photography.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of digital photographs for the assessment of the presence of pressure ulcers stage 2 or higher. Participants were 48 patients (28 white and 20 black) with pressure ulcers identified in the course of a wound specialist's routine clinical practice at the University of Maryland Medical Center. One pressure ulcer and one unaffected skin area were photographed on each participating patient. The gold standard diagnosis (stage 2 pressure ulcer vs. stage 1 or no pressure ulcer) was recorded by the wound specialist based on bedside examination. The photographs were reviewed blindly by another wound expert. The sensitivity of the blinded assessment was 97% (95% confidence interval [CI] 91-100%). The specificity was 97% (95% CI 92-100%). The sensitivity and specificity were both 100% in the white patients. In black patients, the sensitivity and specificity were 92% (95% Cl 75-100%) and 93% (95% CI 82-100%), respectively. These results suggest that the use of photographic images to assess the presence or absence of a pressure ulcer stage 2 or higher has a high degree of validity. Since blinded outcome assessment is one of the corner-stones of good clinical trial design, photography offers the potential to strengthen future studies.
Nuclear (DNA, RNA, histone and non-histone protein) and nucleolar changes during growth and senescence of may apple leaves

Quantitative interference microscopy was used to determine changes in nuclear and nucleolar indices (dry mass and cross-sectional area) in upper and lower epidermal cells and adjacent leaf-margin hair cells of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum L.) leaves over a 42-day period (after leaves emerged above the ground litter). These indices decreased in a highly correlated manner. A ploidy variation may exist between epidermal cells and leaf-margin hair cells. Using the leaf-margin hair cells model, six nuclear macromolecule indices (total nucleic acid, DNA, RNA, total nuclear protein, histone and non-histone protein), nuclear volume, nucleolar volume and perinucleolar volume (measured using quantitative epifluorescence-phase contrast microscopy) all declined with age (42-day study) in a highly correlated manner. The degeneration of the nucleus and nucleolus in the three leaf locations studied followed the patterns observed for programmed cellular senescence and death (necrosis) in epidermal cells of onion leaf bases (stored tissue; leaf bases did not contain chlorophyll) and human epithelial cells (buccal; cervical). We conclude that the epidermal cells and leaf-margin hair cells from green leaves of the May Apple are ideal for the study of programmed cell senescence and death in plants, especially for the partitioning of this process into the study of: the point-of-no-return (solubilization of the karyoskeleton and loss of non-histone proteins and RNA associated with the karyoskeleton from the nucleus); nuclear pycnosis (loss of nuclear dry mass and volume and loss of nuclear internal support structure); chromatin condensation, margination along the inner nuclear envelope; and DNA-histone degeneration; degeneration of the nucleolus and loss of the perinucleolar zone of exclusion. The characterization of chlorenchyma cells during the 42-day period should now be undertaken (leaf senescence as indicated by the beginning of yellowing about 35 days after emergence) to determine whether these cells with functional chloroplasts undergo nuclear changes like those lacking functional chloroplasts.
A comprehensive performance analysis of virtual routers on FPGA

Network virtualization has gained much popularity with the advent of datacenter networking. The hardware aspect of network virtualization, router virtualization, allows network service providers to consolidate network hardware, reducing equipment cost and management overhead. Several approaches have been proposed to achieve router virtualization to support several virtual networks on a single hardware platform. However, their performance has not been analyzed quantitatively to understand the benefits of each approach. In this work, we perform a comprehensive analysis of performance of these approaches on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with respect to memory consumption, throughput, and power consumption. Generalized versions of virtualization approaches are evaluated based on post place-and-route results on a state-of-the-art FPGA. Grouping of routing tables is proposed as a novel approach to improve scalability (i.e., the number of virtual networks hosted on a single chip) of virtual routers on FPGA with respect to memory requirement. Further, we employ floor-planning techniques to efficiently utilize chip resources and achieve high performance for virtualized, pipelined architectures, resulting in 1.6× speedup on the average compared with the non-floor-planned approach. The results indicate that the proposed solution is able to support 100p and 50 virtual routers per chip in the near-best and near-worst case scenarios, while operating at 20p Gbps rates.
Clinical Intestinal Transplantation: A Decade of Experience at a Single Center

It has been only 14 years since the first scattered examples were recorded of extended survival in humans of nutrition-supporting intestinal allografts transplanted under cyclosporine-based immunosuppression. 1–6 Then, with the advent of tacrolimus in 1989 to 1990, 7,8 clinical intestinal transplantation began to emerge as a practical means of treating intestinal failure. 9–15 Multiple factors have sustained and increased these efforts, including technical innovations in surgery and improvements in nonspecific postoperative care. The most important therapeutic achievement, however, has been the increasingly efficient prevention and/or control of rejection, exemplified by our experience reported here with 155 recipients of 165 intestinal, liver-intestinal, or multivisceral abdominal allografts whose transplantations were performed between May 2, 1990, and February 18, 2001. The emphasis in this analysis will be placed on the long-term outlook of patients who were still alive at the time of previous reports, and on attempts to improve the prognosis with new adjunct immunosuppressants or management strategies that have yielded promising results in laboratory models.
Lim inf results for the Wiener process and its increments under theL 2-norm

LetW(t) be a Wiener process. The lim inf behavior of theL 2-norm ofW(t) on the interval [T-a(T), T] and of |W(t+θT)−W(t)| on the interval [αT, βT] is given under suitable conditions.
Predictions of the “relaxation mechanism” for self diffusion as a function of d-bandfilling in solid and liquid transition metals

Abstract In this note we show that the relaxation mechanism for self diffusion in solid transition metals leads quite naturally to a minimum in self diffusion coefficient at the half filled 3d, 4d and 5d-bands. We also loosely apply this concept to liquid transition metals where the relaxation is modelled as a local region of vaporization in the liquid (i.e. S(q) for large q is locally fluctuating wildly) and show that, if one can assume an Arrhenius D = D0e−φ/kT to a liquid metal, then the relaxation mechanism also predicts a minimum in self diffusion coefficint at the half filled 3d, 4d and 5d-bands for liquid transition metals. This prediction is shown to agree with the limited, scattered data for self diffusion in liquid transition metals
Reproductive correlates of bone mass in elderly women

Results from previous studies of reproductive factors and bone density have been conflicting; some demonstrate a beneficial effect, but others show a detrimental effect on bone density. The present study investigates the association of parity, lactation, and menstruation with radial bone density in 2230 white women, 65 years of age and older. Bone density was assessed by single-photon absorptiometry. Linear multiple regression was utilized to determine if reproductive factors were associated with radial bone density. The number of births, duration of menstrual bleeding, age at menarche, and years menstruating were significant independent predictors of postmenopausal bone density of the radius. A 1.4% increase in distal radius bone density was observed with each additional birth. Women who began menstruation at age 9 had 6.3% higher bone density than women who began at age 16. Women who menstruated for 3 days during each menstrual cycle had 2.8% less distal radius bone density than women who bled for 7 days. Each decade of menstruation was associated with a 2% greater distal radius bone density. No difference in bone density was demonstrated for women who breast-fed and women who did not. Length of the menstrual cycle, amount of menstrual flow, and irregularity of the menstrual cycle were not significantly associated with radial bone mineral density. In conclusion, pregnancy and menstruation are associated with postmenopausal bone density of the radius.
Academic language and literacy socialization through project-based instruction: ESL student perspectives and issues

Project-based instruction has been heralded as a most promising activity that can socialize students into academic language and literacy skills (e.g., Beckett, 1999; Stoller, 1997). However, there is scanty research on project-based instruction in general and fewer still on ESL students’ perceptions of it (Thomas, 2000); furthermore, the few available studies show conflicting results (see Beckett, 2002). This article reports the findings of part of a larger research study conducted to understand how secondary school immigrant ESL students were socialized (taught) to acquire academic language and literacy skills in a public school in Vancouver, Canada. The findings of the study confirm the findings of earlier studies that ESL learners actively construct meaning from project-based instruction, and that some clash exists between language policy, teacher perceptions, and ESL students’ perceptions of this activity. I conclude by taking the discussion of clashes between teachers and students beyond the current cultural model and by making recommendations for further research and practice.
Some quantitative analyses of deep-sea benthos off Peru

Abstract Quantitative analyses of biomass, density, and taxonomic composition of the benthic fauna from 9 Campbell Grab stations off Peru are presented. The results are generally similar to those reported for fauna from other regions at similar depths and distances from shore. The quantitative similarity between the fauna of this and other regions is discussed.
Comparison of Two Cognitive Bedside Screening Instruments in Nursing Home Residents: A Factor Analytic Study

The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration test (BOMC) were each administered to 110 nursing home residents. The correlation between the MMSE and BOMC's total score was -.79. Maximum likelihood factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure, consisting of memory-attention and verbal-comprehension factors that were highly correlated (.69). The results suggest that the somewhat longer MMSE may be preferred for bedside mental status testing, as it clearly measures an additional dimension of cognitive ability, while the BOMC is primarily a unidimensional test. The theoretical and clinical implications of bedside mental status testing of elderly patients are discussed.
The UH-1H helicopter icing flight test program: An overview

An ongoing joint NASA/Army program to study the effects of ice accretion on unprotected helicopter rotor aerodynamic performance is discussed. This program integrates flight testing, wind tunnel testing, and analytical modeling. Results are discussed for helicopter flight testing in the Canadian NRC hover spray rig facility to measure rotor aero performance degradation and document rotor ice accretion characteristics. The results of dry wind tunnel testing of airfoil sections with artificial ice accretions and predictions of rotor performance degradation using available rotor performance codes and the wind tunnel data are presented. An alternative approach to conducting future helicopter icing flight programs is discussed.
Novel SNPs in cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase.

Summary: Cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR) is the single flavoprotein which donates electrons to the microsomal cytochrome P450 enzymes for oxidation of their substrates. In this study, we sequenced all 15 exons and the surrounding intronic sequences of POR in 100 human liver samples to identify novel and confirm known genetic polymorphisms in POR. Thirty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified including 9 in the coding exons (5 synonymous and 4 nonsynonymous), 20 in the intronic regions, and 5 in the 3′-UTR. Of these, 9 were novel SNPs, including three nonsynonymous SNPs, SNH313003 (817733G>C; K49N), SNH313020 (848661C>A; L420M), and SNH313029 (849577 T>C; L577P) with minor allele frequencies of 0.005, 0.045, and 0.020, respectively. We also confirmed a previously reported non-synonymous SNP rs1057868 (A503V) as well as five synonymous SNPs (G5G, T29T, P129P, S485S, and S572S) all with allele frequencies similar to those previously reported. Structurally, these polymorphisms occur in different regions: SNH313003 (K49N) in the amino-terminal tail, SNH313020 (L420M) in the connecting domain, SNH313029 (L577P) in the NADPH-binding domain, and rs1057868 (A503V) in the FAD binding domain.
X-irradiation effects on growth and metamorphosis of gastropod larvae (Crepidula fornicata): a model for environmental radiation teratogenesis.

Little information is available on the effects of x-irradiation on the development of multicellular marine organisms. Larvae of the marine gastropodCrepidula fornicata were irradiated at 200 rad/min, 250 kVp x-rays, to doses between 500 and 20,000 rad in a single fraction. During the weeks following exposure, changes in shell length and biomass, incidence of metamorphosis to the juvenile stage of development, and mortality were measured. The results over a 20-day period demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease in growth rate of larval shells following doses above 2,000 rad (control at day 20=850±110 μm length, 820±11 μm for 500 rad, 750±30 μm for 2,000 rad, 710±30 μm for 5,000 rad, 620±30 μm for 10,000 rad, and 580±15 μm for 20,000 rad). Shell length-specific biomass was significantly decreased for doses above 10,000 rad. A significant increase in larval mortality was detected with doses above 2,000 rad. The cumulative percent of larval metamorphosis was decreased by exposures to 5,000 rad and was detectable as early as 18 days after irradiation; however, metamorphosis of larvae after 5,000 rad occurred faster by day 21 while other groups metamorphosis required 34–35 days for completion.Crepidula fornicata may provide a very sensitive and convenient system in which to study teratogenic effects of x-irradiation on multicellular organisms.
Nuclear Bragg X-ray scattering of synchrotron radiation by57Fe2O3: Methodology and studies of dynamical processes

A program of studies of nuclear Bragg X-ray scattering with57Fe2O3 at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory and at the Cornell University CHESS facility is reviewed. Two main areas, instrumentation development and studies of dynamical diffraction processes, are described. The latter area has included: measurements of the temporal behavior of nuclear collective decay mode and direct observation of polarization mixing.
Classification of ground vehicles from acoustic data using fuzzy logic rule-based classifiers: early results

There are lots of uncertainties with ground vehicle classification when such a classification is based only on acoustic emissions. To handle such uncertainties, we apply type-2 fuzzy system theoreies to the designs of FL rule-based vehicle classifiers, using amplitudes of the 2nd through 12th harmonics as the features. Statistical analysis of these features for both tracked and wheeled vehicles demonstrates that their standard deviations vary as much as their means; hence, the membership functions for the antecedents of the type-2 FL rule-based classifier were chosen to be Gaussian primary memberships with uncertain means of standard deviations. We constructed three classifiers for tracked/wheeled vehicle classification, namely Bayesian, type-1 and type-2 FL rule-based, and used the leave-one-out scheme to evaluate these classifiers. Our experiments demonstrated that the average false alarm rates of the type-1 and type-2 FL rule-based classifiers are much smaller than that of the Bayesian classifier; and the average false alarm rate of teh type-2 FL rule-based classifier is smaller than that of the type-1 FL rule-based classifier.
Rate coefficient for ion—dipole orbiting collisions

Abstract An improved version of the average dipole orientation (ADO) method is used to calculate the rate coefficient for ion—dipole orbiting (capture) rate coefficients. The results agree well with those obtained by the variational and by the statistical method.
Membrane-integrated superconducting nanowire singlephoton detectors

We integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors on sub-400-nm-thick silicon nitride membranes, which can then be transferred and aligned to photonic structures on a secondary chip with sub-micron placement accuracy.
THE BRCA1 AND BRCA2 BREAST CANCER GENES

Between 5% and 10% of breast cancer cases result from an inherited predisposition. The majority of hereditary forms of breast and ovarian cancer can be accounted for by mutations in two recently identified genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. Inactivating mutations have been found throughout both genes, and the majority are predicted to result in truncated proteins. Surprisingly, whereas germline mutations have been identified in a growing number of breast or breast and ovarian cancer families, few mutations have been reported in sporadic forms of breast or ovarian cancer. Alternative mechanisms of inactivation have been proposed, but there is currently no strong evidence that these genes are involved in sporadic forms of cancer. Recent studies suggest a role for BRCA1 in transcriptional regulation, as it possesses a conserved amino terminal RING finger domain and an acidic carboxyl domain. Although this role would be consistent with the reported localization of the BRCA1 protein to the nucleus, a cytoplasmic localization and a secretory role for BRCA1 has also been proposed. Current findings suggest that BRCA1 may play an as yet undefined protective role in cells, as it is strongly expressed in epithelial cells undergoing high levels of proliferation in association with differentiation.
Laser speckle contrast imaging of cerebral blood flow

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has emerged over the past decade as a powerful, yet simple, method for imaging of blood flow dynamics in real time. The rapid adoption of LSCI for physiological studies is due to the relative ease and low cost of building an instrument as well as the ability to quantify blood flow changes with excellent spatial and temporal resolution. Although measurements are limited to superficial tissues with no depth resolution, LSCI has been instrumental in pre-clinical studies of neurological disorders as well as clinical applications including dermatological, neurosurgical and endoscopic studies. Recently a number of technical advances have been developed to improve the quantitative accuracy and temporal resolution of speckle imaging. This article reviews some of these recent advances and describes several applications of speckle imaging.
Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1) reduces cellular levels of p34cdc2, and this effect is abrogated by adenovirus independently of the E1A-associated pRB binding activity

We have used E1A probes to study the roles of the p34cdc2 kinase and the retinoblastoma tumor susceptibility gene product (pRB) in transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF beta 1)-mediated growth suppression in mink lung epithelial (Mv1Lu) cells. In agreement with previous reports, we see a decline in p34cdc2 kinase activity and a loss of pRB phosphorylation after TGF beta 1 treatment. We report here that TGF beta 1 induces not only a change in p34cdc2 kinase activity but a strong repression of p34cdc2 synthesis. Loss of p34cdc2 kinase activity is not seen until the steady-state level of p34cdc2 declines, suggesting that the intra-cellular signals induced by TGF beta 1 affect p34cdc2 at the level of expression, rather than by altering the posttranslational modifications of p34cdc2 that regulate its kinase activity. Infection with adenovirus expressing either wild-type E1A or a mutant E1A (pm928) defective for pRB binding alleviated TGF beta 1-mediated suppression of DNA synthesis, indicating that E1A does not need to bind pRB physically to keep cell growth-suppressing functions from being activated by TGF beta 1. The E1A.928 mutant virus is able to maintain p34cdc2 expression and kinase activity, as well as pRB phosphorylation in the presence of TGF beta 1, which may account for its ability to maintain cell cycle activity without directly sequestering pRB. Overall our results suggest that TGF beta 1 acts by signaling changes at the level of control of G1 gene expression, not at the level of posttranslational modification of p34cdc2 or its substrates.
CIRCULAR DICHROISM OF BIS(DIMETHYLGLYOXIMATO)COBALT(III) COMPLEXES CONTAINING OPTICALLY ACTIVE AMINES

Abstract The preparations and circular dichroism (CD) spectra of a series of bis(dimethylglyoximato)cobalt(III) complexes, each containing two asymmetric unidentate amines in trans positions, are reported. Tentative spectral assignments are made for the d-d region on the basis of effective D4h molecular symmetry. In all cases the rotational strengths observed for the aromatic amine complexes are larger than those observed for the alkyl amine complexes.
SAR imaging and detection of moving targets

This paper presents a method of forming synthetic aperture radar, SAR, images of moving targets without using any specific knowledge of the target motion. The new method uses a unique processing kernel that involves a 1D interpolation of the deramped phase history which we call Keystone formatting. This preprocessing simultaneously eliminates the effects of linear range migration for all moving targets regardless of their unknown velocity. Step two of the moving target imaging technique involves a 2D focusing of the movers to remove residual quadratic phase errors. The third and last step removes cubic and higher order defocusing terms. This imaging technique is demonstrated using SAR data collected as part of DARPA's Moving Target Exploitation program.
The interaction of point defects with dislocations in high-purity silver above room temperature

Damping and modulus measurements were made on high-purity, polycrystalline silver during 1.5 MeV electron irradiations in the temperature range 310 K to 590 K. A suggested interpretation of the pinning rate data gave a value of 0.24+or-0.01 eV for the difference in interstitial migration energies in the lattice and the dislocation line and an approximate value of 0.25 eV for the binding energy of a vacancy to the dislocation line. An initial increase in the decrement (peaking effect) at the onset of radiation was observed at different amplitudes and at temperatures as high as 590 K.
Phenotypic plasticity in skull and dental morphology in the prairie deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii)

Morphologists and systematists have long suspected that dietary consistency can affect skull and dental form in mammals. We examined plasticity of skull shape and tooth morphology in prairie deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii) by feeding mice diets that differed in consistency but not nutritional quality. Shape differences were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, using both landmark-based morphometrics and traditional distance measurements. Mice fed a gruel made of laboratory chow soaked in water differed from those fed hard blocks of chow by a slight anterior shift in the incisor tips a narrowed zygomatic plate, a reduction in size of the masseteric tubercles, an overall decrease in skull size in lateral view, and an increase in overall size in ventral view. Disparities between our results and previous studies may be due to the differences in behavior between the inbred, relatively inactive laboratory strains commonly used in experimental studies and the outbred, constantly active species used here. Also, in contrast to previous studies, the statistical analysis employed here took into account both family relationships of the animals and the large number of statistical comparisons performed. Failure to consider these factors would have resulted in an exaggerated estimate of the effects of diet on skull form and may taint other studies that have explored the same aspects of plasticity. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Simple Technique for Monitoring Intraoperative Spinal Cord Function

Interference with normal spinal cord functioning is an important, although uncommon, complication of spinal surgery. Spinal evoked potentials have been advocated as a means of monitoring spinal cord transmission during operative procedures. We have developed a simple technique using electrodes inserted into the interspinal ligaments for monitoring purposes. This has produced stable and reproducible recordings with obvious clinical benefit in the first 50 cases in which it has been used.
Colon unraveling based on electrical field : Recent progress and further work

CT colonography (CTC) is a new technology, which permits endoscopic-like evaluation of the mucosal surface. Recently, an electrical field based approach was developed to unravel the colon in spiral CT image volumes, that is to digitally straighten then flatten the colon using curved cross-sections. In this paper, we report (1) an exact and computation- intensive algorithm for straightening the colon using curved cross-sections, and (2) an approximate but computationally efficient straightening algorithm. In the direct straightening algorithm, each curved cross-section of the colon is defined by electrical force lines due to charges distributed along the colon path, and constructed by directly tracing the force lines. In the fast straightening algorithm, only representative force lines are traced that originate equiangularly from the current colon path position, while other force lines are interpolated from the traced force lines. The experiments are performed with both phantom and patient data. It is demonstrated that straightening the colon with curved cross-sections facilitates visualization and analysis, has potential for use in CTC; and the speed of the interpolation based straightening algorithm is practically acceptable, which is about 40 times faster than that of the direct algorithm.
Prediction of 1P Rydberg energy levels of beryllium based on calculations with explicitly correlated Gaussians

Benchmark variational calculations are performed for the seven lowest 1s(2)2s np ((1)P), n = 2...8, states of the beryllium atom. The calculations explicitly include the effect of finite mass of (9)Be nucleus and account perturbatively for the mass-velocity, Darwin, and spin-spin relativistic corrections. The wave functions of the states are expanded in terms of all-electron explicitly correlated Gaussian functions. Basis sets of up to 12,500 optimized Gaussians are used. The maximum discrepancy between the calculated nonrelativistic and experimental energies of 1s(2)2s np ((1)P) →1s(2)2s(2) ((1)S) transition is about 12 cm(-1). The inclusion of the relativistic corrections reduces the discrepancy to bellow 0.8 cm(-1).