cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bilateral gradient-echo spectroscopic imaging with correction of frequency variations for measurement of fatty acid composition in mammary adipose tissue.

PURPOSE To develop a simultaneous dual-slab three-dimensional gradient-echo spectroscopic imaging (GSI) technique with frequency drift compensation for rapid (<6 min) bilateral measurement of fatty acid composition (FAC) in mammary adipose tissue. METHODS A bilateral GSI sequence was developed using a simultaneous dual-slab excitation followed by 128 monopolar echoes. A short train of navigator echoes without phase or partition encoding was included at the beginning of each pulse repetition time period to correct for frequency variation caused by respiration and heating of the cryostat. Voxel-wise spectral fitting was applied to measure the areas of the lipid spectral peaks to estimate the number of double-bond (ndb), number of methylene-interrupted double-bond (nmidb), and chain length (cl). The proposed method was tested in an oil phantom and 10 postmenopausal women to assess the influence of the frequency variation on FAC estimation. RESULTS The frequency drift observed over 5:27 min during the phantom scan was about 10 Hz. Phase correction based on the navigator reduced the median error of ndb, nmidb, and cl from 9.7%, 17.6%, and 3.2% to 2.1%, 9.5%, and 2.8%, respectively. The in vivo data showed a mean ± standard deviation frequency drift of 17.4 ± 2.5 Hz, with ripples at 0.3 ± 0.1 Hz. Our reconstruction algorithm successfully separated signals from the left and right breasts with negligible residual aliasing. Phase correction reduced the interquartile range within each subject's adipose tissue of ndb, nmidb, and cl by 18.4 ± 10.6%, 18.5 ± 13.9%, and 18.4 ± 10.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION This study shows the feasibility of obtaining bilateral spectroscopic imaging data in the breast and that incorporation of a frequency navigator improves the estimation of FAC.
Prediction of maternal and fetal pharmacokinetics of indomethacin in pregnancy

Aims Indomethacin is used for the treatment of preterm labour, short cervices and idiopathic polyhydramnios during pregnancy. Few studies have described the pharmacokinetics (PK) of indomethacin during pregnancy. This study aimed to determine maternal and fetal PK of indomethacin during different trimesters of pregnancy using physiologically based PK (PBPK) modelling and simulations. Methods Full PBPK simulations were performed in nonpregnant subjects and pregnant subjects from each trimester of pregnancy at steady state using Simcyp's healthy volunteers and pregnancy PBPK model, respectively. The fetal exposures were predicted using a fetoplacental pregnancy PBPK model. The models were verified by comparing PBPK-based predictions with observed PK profiles. Results Predicted exposure (AUC0-6h ) and clearance of indomethacin in nonpregnant women and pregnant women are similar to the clinical observations. AUC0-6h of indomethacin is approximately 14, 24 and 32% lower, consistent with 18, 34 and 52% higher clearance in the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively, compared to nonpregnant women. Predicted fetal plasma exposures increased by approximately 30% from the second trimester to the third trimester of pregnancy. Conclusion A mechanistic PBPK model adequately described the maternal and the fetal PK of indomethacin during pregnancy. As the pregnancy progresses, a modest decrease (≤32%) in systemic exposures in pregnant women and a 33% increase in fetal exposures to indomethacin were predicted. Higher fetal exposures in the third trimester of pregnancy may pose safety risks to the fetus. Additional studies are warranted to understand the exposure-response relationship and provide appropriate dosing recommendations during pregnancy that consider both safety and efficacy.
Outer space and the idea of the global commons

Drawing upon fresh archival research and participant observation, the author traces the emergence and transformative idea of the non-weaponized and peaceful use of space from the 1920s to today. Bu...
The development of enzyme systems during early infancy.

PEDIATRIC literature and clinical experience contain abundant indications of physiologic immaturity in newborn infants, especially in those born prior to term. Functional immaturity of brain, liver, kidney, immune response and blood coagulation are among the well-recognized peculiarities of the newborn period. Exaggerations of these usually mild, transitory phenomena may contribute to grave disorders and possibly prove to be lethal. In addition to apparent derangements of particular systems or organs, there are occasional infants, notably the delicate offspring of diabetic mothers, whose general response and appearance suggest immaturity disproportionate to size and gestational age. In this group, general metabolic disturbances are suspected which await biochemical localization and characterization. Conventional post-mortem examinations may be discouragingly unrevealing in these babies. For example, one of the most commonly encountered problems is that of infants dying following unexplained respiratory distress. Pathologically, only so-called "hyaline membranes" with atelectasis have been found. This pattern can be noted in at least half of all infants of diabetic mothers and prematures and occasionally in a full-term baby, and constitutes one of the most baffling problems in clinical pediatrics today. In contrast, the increasing availability of biochemical methods of study are providing a rapidly growing fund of information concerning the normal fetus and newborn. From studies on the chemical embryology of other species and from limited similar work with human material, characteristic patterns of chemical differentiation are emerging. Extension of such observations may be expected to permit the establishment of new metabolic parameters by which to assess the developing fetus and infant.
Vaccination of Mice with Baculovirus-Infected Insect Cells Expressing Antigenic Proteins

Methods to induce antigen-specific immune responses in mice using insect cells infected with recombinant baculoviruses are described in this unit. Although this vaccine strategy has been used to generate both antibody and T cell responses, it has been more thoroughly characterized for the peptide-specific cytotoxic T cell responses. Nonspecific responses to the vaccine vehicle are controlled for by vaccinating with insect cells infected with baculoviruses encoding irrelevant antigens or no antigen. The baculovirus-infected insect cells alone are an effective immune adjuvant to elicit antigen-specific T cells. Overall, immune responses generated using this approach are similar to those generated by more conventional vaccine strategies.
Spatio-temporal Directional Filtering for Improved Inversion of MR Elastography Images

MR elastography can visualize and measure propagating shear waves in tissue-like materials subjected to harmonic mechanical excitation. This allows the calculation of local values of material parameters such as shear modulus and attenuation. Various inversion algorithms to perform such calculations have been proposed, but they are sensitive to areas of low displacement amplitude (and hence low SNR) that result from interference patterns due to reflection and refraction. A spatio-temporal directional filter applied as a preprocessing step can separate interfering waves so they can be processed separately. Weighted combinations of inversions from such directionally separated data sets can significantly improve reconstructions of shear modulus and attenuation.
Construction Knowledge Transfer through Interactive Visualization

Changing population demographics and infrastructure demands are having a significant impact on the average level of worker expertise in the North American construction sector. Experienced employees with specialized knowledge are leaving the workforce, and their replacements are required to install and maintain a broader variety of complex systems. Because of this, it is imperative that construction knowledge be quickly and effectively transferred to practitioners through educational processes. However, recent history has demonstrated that traditional techniques may not be effective at transferring sufficient knowledge to eliminate many common mistakes. It has been suggested that new forms of knowledge transfer may be more effective and result in fewer construction errors, especially those which result from installing components out of sequence. In this paper, the authors describe efforts to adapt a traditional paper-based best practice guide into an interactive 3-D tool that can be used on a variety of devices, from laptop computers to commercially available entertainment systems.
Multimedia search - Microsoft's perspective

Summary form only given. The explosive growth of multimedia content on the Web has brought many new business opportunities to search engines. In this talk, the author describes our vision of multimedia search and discuss the monetization opportunities and technical challenges in front of us. He argues the importance of combining text, metadata, natural language, content-based analysis, and visualization technologies to provide a total solution that enables seamless user's experience and integration of information sharing, organization, and searching. Some of our techniques are transforming today's conventional text based search engines to include multimedia content thus delivering more intelligent search results to users. In addition to these works, he also presents AdCenter, the online advertising platform from Microsoft, to showcase some of the business opportunities for multimedia search.
Rhytidectomy: current concepts, controversies and the state of the art.

Purpose of reviewTo evaluate the current evidence-based medicine for rhytidectomy. Specific techniques and their scientific rationale are explored. The authors’ practice modifications based on this evidence will be reviewed.Recent findingsThe utilities of short scar facelift techniques are validated
Integration of Learning Model: How College Students Integrate Learning

Students integrate their learning experiences across contexts through a process of connecting, applying, and synthesizing information, knowledge, and skills.
The V-Flex, Triangle Orientation and Catalan Numbers in Hexaflexagons

Regular hexaflexagons mysteriously change faces as you pinch flex them. This paper describes a different flex, the V-flex, which allows the hexahexaflexagon (with only 9 faces under the pinch flex)...
Tomography with diffusing photons: a Feynman path integral perspective

We consider the problem of imaging the optical absorption or fluorescent source distribution of a highly-scattering medium probed by diffusive light. Analytic solutions to the tomographic image reconstruction problem are presented.
The Role of Academic Librarians in the Era of Information Technology

Abstract Framed by a review of the historical development of academic library and information services, this article explores the current role of information professionals in academic settings. Based on a university library case study, it suggests skills and attitudes they need to develop to cope with change.
Response: the controversy of red blood cell–replete cord blood units

We welcome the opportunity to formally debate the issue of assessment of progenitor cell dose in cord blood (CB) units from public banks. Drs Petz and Chow raise an important question: how should transplant centers compare CB units processed with various methodologies of plasma plus or minus red
Food patch testing for irritable bowel syndrome

Background The traditional classification of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) as a functional disorder has been challenged in recent years by evidence of ongoing low-grade gastrointestinal tract inflammation. Inflammation may alter gastrointestinal motility and thus be central to the pathogenesis of IBS. Many foods and food additives are known to cause allergic contact dermatitis. We hypothesize that allergenic foods and food additives may elicit a similar allergic reaction in the gastrointestinal tract, giving rise to symptoms suggestive of IBS. Objective We sought to determine whether skin patch testing to a panel of foods and food additives may identify food allergens that may be responsible for symptoms of IBS. Methods We performed skin patch testing to common allergenic foods and food additives on individuals with a history of or symptoms suggestive of IBS. We used patch test–guided avoidance diets to determine whether avoidance alleviates IBS symptoms. Results Thirty of the 51 study participants showed at least 1 doubtful or positive patch test result. Fourteen of the participants reported symptomatic improvement, ranging from slight to great, upon avoidance of the foods/food additives to which they reacted. Limitations Double-blind study design, inclusion of only patients with active IBS, larger sample size, more balanced gender distribution, testing of more foods/food additives, and longer duration of and more precise quantification of response to dietary avoidance are suggested for future studies. Conclusion Allergic contact enteritis to ingested foods, food additives, or both may contribute to IBS symptoms. Patch testing may be useful in identifying the causative foods.
An Oscillation Theorem for a Sturm-Liouville Eigenvalue Problem

We consider a certain Sturm - Liouville eigenvalue problem with self- adjoint and non -separated boundary conditions. We derive an explicit formula for the oscillation number of any given eigenfunction.
Effects of Major Endoleaks on a Stented Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Insertion of a stent-graft into an aneurysm, especially abdominal aortic aneurisms (AAAs), is a very attractive surgical intervention; however, it is not without major postoperative complications, such as endoleaks. An endoleak is the transient accumulation of blood in the AAA cavity, which is formed by the stent-graft and AAA walls. Of the four blood pathways, a type I endoleak constitutes the major one. Thus, focusing on both proximal and distal type I endoleaks, i.e., the minute net influx of blood past the attachment points of a stent-graft into the AAA cavity, the transient three-dimensional interactions between luminal blood flow, stent-graft wall, leakage flow, and AAA wall are computationally simulated. For different type I endoleak scenarios and inlet pressure wave forms, the impact of type I endoleaks on cavity pressure, wall stress, and stent-graft migration force is analysed. The results indicate that both proximal type I-a and distal type I-b endoleaks may cause cavity pressures close to a patient's systemic pressure; however, with reduced pulsatility. As a result, the AAA-wall stress is elevated up to the level of a nonstented AAA and, hence, such endoleaks render the implant useless in protecting the AAA from possible rupture. Interestingly enough, the net downward force acting on the implant is significantly reduced; thus, in the presence of endoleaks, the risk of stent-graft migration may be mitigated.
Estimating relative demand for wildlife: Conservation activity indicators

An alternative method of estimating relative demand among nonconsumptive uses of wildlife and among wildlife species is proposed. A demand intensity score (DIS), derived from the relative extent of an individual's involvement in outdoor recreation and conservation activities, is used as a weighting device to adjust the importance of preference rankings for wildlife uses and wildlife species relative to other members of a survey population. These adjusted preference rankings were considered to reflect relative demand levels (RDLs) for wildlife uses and for species by the survey population. This technique may be useful where it is not possible or desirable to estimate demand using traditional economic means. In one of the findings from a survey of municipal conservation commission members in Massachusetts, presented as an illustration of this methodology, poisonous snakes were ranked third in preference among five groups of reptiles. The relative demand level for poisonous snakes, however, was last among the five groups.
Effect of Genome Size on AAV Vector Packaging

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector genomes have been limited to 5 kilobases (kb) in length because their packaging limit was thought to be similar to the size of the parent AAV genome. Recent reports claim that significantly larger vector genomes can be packaged intact. We examined the packaged vector genomes from plasmid-encoded AAV vectors that ranged from 4.7 to 8.7 kb in length, using AAV types 2, 5, and 8 capsids. Southern blot analysis indicated that packaged AAV vector genomes never exceeded 5.2 kb in length irrespective of the size of the plasmid-encoded vector or the capsid type. This result was confirmed by vector genome probing with strand-specific oligonucleotides. The packaged vector genomes derived from plasmid-encoded vectors exceeding 5 kb were heterogeneous in length and truncated on the 5′ end. Despite their truncated genomes, vector preparations produced from plasmid-encoded vectors exceeding 5.2 kb mediated reporter gene expression in vitro at high multiplicity of infection (MOI). The efficiency of expression was substantially lower than that of reporter vectors with genomes <5 kb in length. We propose that transcriptionally functional, intact vector genomes are generated in cells transduced at high MOI from the fragmentary genomes of these larger vectors, probably by recombination.
A Poisson-Boltzmann solver on irregular domains with Neumann or Robin boundary conditions on non-graded adaptive grid

We introduce a second-order solver for the Poisson-Boltzmann equation in arbitrary geometry in two and three spatial dimensions. The method differs from existing methods solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation in the two following ways: first, non-graded Quadtree (in two spatial dimensions) and Octree (in three spatial dimensions) grid structures are used; Second, Neumann or Robin boundary conditions are enforced at the irregular domain's boundary. The irregular domain is described implicitly and the grid needs not to conform to the domain's boundary, which makes grid generation straightforward and robust. The linear system is symmetric, positive definite in the case where the grid is uniform, nonsymmetric otherwise. In this case, the resulting matrix is an M-matrix, thus the linear system is invertible. Convergence examples are given in both two and three spatial dimensions and demonstrate that the solution is second-order accurate and that Quadtree/Octree grid structures save a significant amount of computational power at no sacrifice in accuracy.
Do organocobalt porphyrins have agostic alkyl groups? An investigation of the structure of ethyl cobalt(III) octaethylporphyrin and the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of 13C-labeled alkyl cobalt(III) porphyrin complexes

Abstract The X-ray structure of Co(OEP)Et and the 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy of Co(P)R, where R = alkyl and P = OEP, TTP, OEC and OEiBC, were investigated to determine whether evidence supports the existence of the agostic interaction that had been postulated to explain the anomalous features of the compounds' NMR spectra. Co(OEP)Et, C38H49CoN4, crystallized in the triclinic space group P 1 (Z = 2) with unit cell dimensions a = 10.675(1), b = 10.886(1), c = 13.973(1) A , α = 79.539(8), β = 86.386(7), γ = 79.298(8)° , and V = 1568.2(2) A 3 at 173(2) K. The structural features of the ordered axial ethyl group were inconsistent with an agostic interaction in the solid state. Synthesis and use of 13C-labeled compounds were necessary to observe the 13C NMR spectra of the axial alkyl groups and to measure informative coupling constants. The 13C resonances of carbons bound to cobalt were quite broad and had unusual upfield shifts. Coordination of pyridine as a trans axial ligand narrowed the linewidth of the α-carbon resonance and caused it to move significantly downfield. The spectroscopic data were inconsistent with an agostic interaction in solution. The anomalous features of the NMR spectra were ascribed to the effects of the quadrupolar 59Co nucleus and to paramagnetic contact shifts that arise from thermal population of an excited state.
Two efficiency elements flanking the editing site of cytidine 6666 in the apolipoprotein B mRNA support mooring-dependent editing.

Normally, apolipoprotein B (apoB) mRNA editing deaminates a single cytidine (C6666) in apoB mRNA. However, when the catalytic subunit of the editing enzyme complex, APOBEC-1, was overexpressed in transgenic mice and rabbits, numerous cytidines in the apoB mRNA and in a novel mRNA, NAT1, were aberrantly hyperedited, and the animals developed liver dysplasia and hepatocellular carcinomas. To identify the RNA motifs in the apoB mRNA that support physiological editing and those that support aberrant hyperediting, we constructed rabbit apoB RNA substrates and tested them in vitro for physiological editing and hyperediting. Three previously unrecognized RNA elements that are critical for efficient physiological editing at C6666 were identified. In concert with the mooring sequence (6671–6681), the 5′ efficiency element (6609–6628), an A-rich region (6629–6640), and the 3′ efficiency element (6717–6747) increased editing at C6666. The 5′ efficiency element was the most potent, elevating physiological editing to wild-type levels in combination with the mooring sequence. The 3′ efficiency element was somewhat less important but increased physiological editing to levels approaching wild type. These elements encompass 139 nucleotides on the apoB RNA transcript and are sufficient for editing with the efficiency of full-length apoB mRNA. Furthermore, a distal downstream apoB region (6747–6824) may function as a recognition element in the apoB mRNA. Hyperediting at C6802 in the rabbit apoB mRNA is mediated by RNA elements similar to those required for normal physiological editing at C6666. Similarly sized upstream and downstream flanking regions of C6802 are necessary for hyperediting in combination with a degenerate mooring sequence.
Monte Carlo Calculations Pertaining to the Transport of Hot Electrons in Metals

Monte Carlo calculations are applied to the problem of "hot" electron motion in metals, and measured values of attenuation length, $L$, are related to values of the mean free paths for electron-electron scattering ${l}_{e}$, and electron-phonon scattering ${l}_{p}$. Calculations are done for both specular and diffuse reflectance of electrons at the boundaries of the metal films and for values of the average loss per electron-phonon collision, $\ensuremath{\Delta}{E}_{p}$, of 0.001, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 eV. If the values of ${l}_{p}$ obtained from conductivity measurements are used, the following values or limits are found for ${l}_{e}$ using experimentally determined values of $L$ for electrons with excess energies about 0.9 eV: Au, ${l}_{e}g4000$ \AA{}; Ag, ${l}_{e}=900$ \AA{}, and Pd, ${l}_{e}=900$ \AA{}. These results are compared with the theory of Quinn.
Overexpression of Galgt2 reduces dystrophic pathology in the skeletal muscles of alpha sarcoglycan-deficient mice.

Recent studies have shown that a number of genes that are not mutated in various forms of muscular dystrophy may serve as surrogates to protect skeletal myofibers from injury. One such gene is Galgt2, which is also called cytotoxic T cell GalNAc transferase in mice. In this study, we show that Galgt2 overexpression reduces the development of dystrophic pathology in the skeletal muscles of mice lacking α sarcoglycan (Sgca), a mouse model for limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2D. Galgt2 transgenic Sgca−/− mice showed reduced levels of myofiber damage, as evidenced by i) normal levels of serum creatine kinase activity, ii) a lack of Evans blue dye uptake into myofibers, iii) normal levels of mouse locomotor activity, and iv) near normal percentages of myofibers with centrally located nuclei. In addition, the overexpression of Galgt2 in the early postnatal period using an adeno-associated virus gene therapy vector protected Sgca−/− myofibers from damage, as observed using histopathology measurements. Galgt2 transgenic Sgca−/− mice also had increased levels of glycosylation of α dystroglycan with the CT carbohydrate, but showed no up-regulation of β, γ, δ, or e sarcoglycan. These data, coupled with results from our previous studies, show that Galgt2 has therapeutic effects in three distinct forms of muscular dystrophy and may, therefore, have a broad spectrum of therapeutic potential for the treatment of various myopathies.
Enumeration of Specific Antibody-Forming Cells of the Mouse Spleen after Stimulation with Protein Antigens

SummaryEnumeration of the cells in the mouse spleen making a specific response to antigenic stimulation indicates that the first detectable antibody appears in a few cells in the red pulp in the first 12 hr; later, such cells appear in the white pulp, and, though their number increases in both locations, the gain is more rapid in the white pulp, reaching a peak on the 12th day in the primary response, and on the 5th in the secondary, when there are two to four times as many cells there as in the red pulp. The response in the white pulp requires a higher threshold dose than that in the red pulp.We thank Inez Serur and Nancy Delancy for devoted technical help during the performance of these experiments.
Impact of Geometry Optimization on Base–Base Stacking Interaction Energies in the Canonical A- and B-Forms of DNA

Base stacking is known to make an important contribution to the stability of DNA and RNA, and accordingly, significant efforts are ongoing to calculate stacking energies using ab initio quantum mechanical methods. To date, impressive improvements have been made in the model chemistries used to perform stacking energy calculations, including extensions that include robust treatments of electron correlation with extended basis sets, as required to treat interactions where dispersion makes a significant contribution. However, those efforts typically use rigid monomer geometries when calculating the interaction energies. To overcome this, in the present work, we describe a novel internal coordinate definition that allows the relative, intermolecular orientation of stacked base monomers to be constrained during geometry optimizations while allowing full optimization of the intramolecular degrees of freedom. Use of the novel reference frame to calculate the impact of full geometry optimization versus constraini...
Towards a Layered Architecture for Object-Based Execution in Wide-Area Deeply Embedded Computing

Sensor networks introduce a new application domain and set of challenges in distributed computing including new network-level programming languages, global system abstractions, and general-purpose communication protocols. These challenges are brought about by the tight integration of computation, communication, and distributed real-time interaction with the physical world. With the growing interest in interconnecting different sensor networks across a wide-area communication infrastructure, an overarching challenge becomes one of arriving at an agreed-upon global sensor network architecture that ensures interoperability. Unlike the Internet, where a layered communication stack (namely, the TCP/IP stack) defines the network architecture, a sensor network architecture must unify not only communication interfaces but also programming interfaces, since network communication and computation functions are tightly intertwined. In that sense, the sensor network architecture refers to a layered stack of distributed computing abstractions. This paper presents an architecture and key considerations in designing and interconnecting local and global sensor networks. Candidate protocols and middleware instantiations are described from the authors' ongoing work that meet the discussed considerations
Symmetry plane model for turbulent flows with vortex generators

An approximate procedure is proposed for predicting the performance of counterrotating vortex-generator installations in incompressible flow. An inviscid calculation that includes the motion of the vortices is used to obtain crossflow velocities at the boundary-layer edge as a function of initial position, spacing, and strength of the vortices, and local values of the spanwise gradient are then folded into an integral turbulent-boundary layer procedure applied in the plane of symmetry. Special attention is paid to the consistency of the approximations and equations used. The two-dimensional aerodynamics of vortex generator installations on a NACA 0016 airfoil at angle-of-attack are estimated in this manner, and the results compared with experiments carried out with a 30-cm chord wing mounted in a 2.4 x 3.6-m cross-section wind tunnel and tested at chord Reynolds numbers of 0.7 and 1.4 x 10 to the 6th. Agreement in the separation location is found for these complex flows for a range of conditions.
Comparison of the efficacy, adverse effects, and cost of zoledronic acid and denosumab in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Objective: Injectable osteoporosis drugs are increasing in popularity due to their efficacy and convenient administration. In this retrospective comparison of the two available treatments, denosumab (Prolia®) and zoledronic acid (ZA, Reclast®), we aimed to determine and compare the efficacy and tolerability of denosumab and ZA.Methods: The charts of patients who received denosumab and ZA at Loyola Hospital were reviewed, and adverse events were noted. Of primary interest were myalgias, flu-like symptoms, back pain, and fractures. A questionnaire regarding the efficacy, tolerability, and treatment cost supplemented this chart review in a subset of study participants. Bone mineral density (BMD) changes, bone turnover markers, and questionnaire results were also compared.Results: The study cohort consisted of 107 patients (51 denosumab, 56 ZA). The denosumab group had a greater mean increase in spine BMD at 1 year (0.060 g/cm2) than the ZA group (0.021 g/cm2; P = .04). The change in femur and spine BMD at 1 ...
THE NOAA GOES-12 SOLAR X-RAY IMAGER (SXI) 2. PERFORMANCE

The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) was launched on 23 July 2001 on NOAA’s GOES-12 satellite and completed post-launch testing on 20 December 2001. It was brought into operations on 21 January 2003. This paper documents SXI performance and calibrations prior to an instrument degradation that occurred on 5 November 2003 and thus covers more than 420000 soft X-ray images of the Sun. This paper details component-level as well as full-system calibrations characterizing the spatial and spectral performance of the instrument, including the grazing-incidence mirror, filters, and the properties of the MCP-intensified CCD detector system. Routine image corrections are also described. These include background (dark current) subtraction, flat-fielding, off-band light-leak correction, and image pointing and timing considerations. In addition, a signal-to-noise analysis is presented. The information contained in this study is intended to enable researchers to conduct quantitative analysis of GOES-12 SXI images.
Endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract as a diagnostic tool for children with human immunodeficiency virus infection

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of upper gastrointestinal tract lesions in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection who undergo endoscopy of the upper gastrointestinal tract and to identify important clinical predictors of abnormal endoscopic results. Methods: All HIV-infected children who underwent endoscopy and were followed at Children's Hospital, Boston, from January 1985 to August 1994 were studied. The main outcome measure was endoscopic results, which were categorized into observational, histologic, and microbiologic findings. Potential predictors included height, weight, nutritional interventions, HIV disease stage, CD4 T-lymphocyte count, medications, active infections, and indications for endoscopy. Results: Forty-three endoscopies in unique patients are reported. Most children had advanced HIV infection (67% acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, mean CD4 T-lymphocyte count z score=−2.71, weight z score=−2.04). An abnormal endoscopic finding was discovered in 93% of children and confirmed by histologic, microbiologic, or a combination of these studies in 72% of children. Thirty-five percent of children had an opportunistic pathogen identified endoscopically; 65% of these pathogens were previusly undiagnosed. Observational findings often were poor indicators of histologic and microbiologic abnormalities. Independent predictors of abnormal histologic findings include younger age at endoscopy (odds ratio (OR)=1.16 per year, 95% confidence interval (Cl) (1.02, 1.33)) and guaiac-negative stools (OR=16.7, 95% Cl (1.92, 142.9)). Independent predictors of finding a pathogen at the time of endoscopy include a greater number of indications for endoscopy (OR=2.6 per indication, 95% Cl (1.3, 5.3)) and diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (OR=16.4, 95% Cl (1.3, 213)). No other gastrointestinal, nutritional, or immunologic parameters were significantly predictive of endoscopic outcomes. Medical management was changed in 70% of children because of the endoscopic findings. Conclusion: Endoscopy is a useful tool to direct therapy against peptic and infectious disorders of the upper gastrointestinal tract in children with HIV infection. Specific gastrointestinal symptoms are not useful predictors of abnormal results.
Power assignment and transmission scheduling in wireless networks

The problem of downlink data transmission scheduling in wireless networks is studied. It is pointed out that every downlink data transmission scheduling algorithm must have two components to solve the two subproblems of power assignment and transmission scheduling. Two types of downlink data transmission scheduling algorithms are proposed. In the first type, power assignment is performed before transmission scheduling. In the second type, power assignment is performed after transmission scheduling. The performance of two algorithms of the first type which use the equal power allocation method are analyzed. It is shown that both algorithms exhibit excellent worst-case performance and asymptotically optimal average-case performance under the condition that the total transmission power is equally allocated to the channels. In general, both algorithms exhibit excellent average-case performance. It is demonstrated that two algorithms of the second type perform better than the two algorithms of the first type due to the equal time power allocation method. Furthermore, the performance of our algorithms are very close to the optimal and the room for further performance improvement is very limited.
X-ray and MAS NMR characterization of the thermal transformation of Li(Na)/1bY zeolite to lithium aluminosilicates

Abstract The high temperature thermal transformation of Li-exchanged Na/1bY zeolite has been investigated by X-ray diffraction and 29Si MAS NMR studies. At 700°C, the zeolite was transformed into an amorphous phase and upon further heating to 800°C, formation of lithium aluminosilicate with high-quartz structure, in addition to an amorphous phase, was noted. When heated above 900°C, the high-quartz structure was transformed into a β-spodumene related solid solution. X-ray and MAS NMR studies indicate the β-spodumene solid solution formed has the composition close to (Lio.23Na0.06) A l 0.29Si0.71O2, which is in agreement with chemical analysis.
A Far-Flung Fraternity in a Fertile Desert: The Emergence of Rabbinic Scholarship in America, 1887–1926

Writing in 1926, bibliophile Ephraim Deinard found little that distin- guished the rabbinic writing that he had studied in Europe from the kind produced by immigrant rabbis in the U.S. The only difference, he explained, was that ''in America, they have essentially ceased to publish talmudic novellae because they realize that there is no one in this country who is capable of comprehending rabbinic casuistry.'' 1 Deinard counted just over two dozen books printed in the U.S. that one might classify as ''Hiddushei Torah,'' rabbinic novellae. These sorts of casuistic works, distinctive for their theoretical style and analytical solutions to resolve contradicting statements in the Talmud and its commentators, constituted just a sliver of the nearly 1000 Hebrew books included in Deinard's catalog of American Hebrew books. This, then, was something of an indictment of American rabbinic cul- ture since Hiddushei Torah was the most elite form of traditional Jewish scholarship. Deinard's sentiment contributed to a long-lasting perception that American Jews did not begin authoring Hiddushei Torah until the post- Holocaust period. But his assessment was somewhat of an overstate- ment. To be sure, American rabbis around the turn of the twentieth century produced far fewer Hiddushei Torah than did rabbinic scholars in Europe. When American rabbis did publish, as we will see, many produced other types of rabbinic writing. Yet, Deinard was also unaware of scores of surviving works and periodicals printed in the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century. 2 Given that ignorance, Deinard could not detect a quiet but significant Orthodox rabbinic movement taking place in the U.S. Outside forces greatly aided these writers in reconstructing the rabbinic culture they knew so well in Europe. Like many writers in America, these men (rabbinic writing by women is a much more recent phenomenon) benefited from tremendous technological advances in the area of book manufacturing in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Better ma- chine-made paper and improvements in bookbinding production
Longitudinal Relationship Between Drinking with Peers, Descriptive Norms, and Adolescent Alcohol Use

Descriptive norms are consistently found to predict adolescent alcohol use but less is known about the factors that predict descriptive norms. The objective of this study is to test if drinking with peers predicts later alcohol consumption and if this relationship is mediated by a change in the descriptive norms of peer alcohol use. Data are from a nationally representative cohort of high school students surveyed in the 10th and 11th grade (N = 2,162). Structural equation modeling was used to test a mediation model of the relationship between drinking with peers (T1) on later alcohol use (T2) and mediation of the relationship by descriptive norms (T2). Descriptive norms significantly mediated the relationship between drinking with peers and alcohol use for both males and females with a somewhat larger effect for males compared to females. These results support a continued focus on the development and evaluation of interventions to alter descriptive norms of alcohol use.
Spectrophotometric studies on intact muscle. I. Components of the respiratory chain.

The concentrations of the components of the respiratory chain were determined in a variety of intact skeletal muscles by a method of spectrophotometric observation of the transmitted light. In the case of the toad sartorius, these measurements were checked against isolated mitochondrial suspensions prepared from toad skeletal muscles. The relative concentrations of the respiratory components were found to be in reasonable agreement with those of various mitochondrial preparations of mammalian tissues and of the ones from toad skeletal muscle. The rather low cytochrome b and pyridine nucleotide levels in the anoxic minus oxygenated difference spectra were shown to be caused to a certain degree by a partial reduction during the resting steady state. Upon treatment with a strong, reducing agent or after long anoxia some absorption bands appeared with maxima at 591, 562 to 564, and 432 to 434 mµ both in the intact and in the mitochondrial fractions of muscle tissue; they do not appear to be associated with the respiratory chain.
Retrotransposed genes such as Frat3 in the mouse Chromosome 7C Prader-Willi syndrome region acquire the imprinted status of their insertion site.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) results from loss of function of a 1.0- to 1.5-Mb domain of imprinted, paternally expressed genes in human Chromosome (Chr) 15q11-q13. The loss of imprinted gene expression in the homologous region in mouse Chr 7C leads to a similar neonatal PWS phenotype. Several protein-coding genes in the human PWS region are intronless, possibly arising by retrotransposition. Here we present evidence for continued acquisition of genes by the mouse PWS region during evolution. Bioinformatic analyses identified a BAC containing four genes, Mkrn3, Magel2, Ndn, Frat3, and the Atp5l-ps1 pseudogene, the latter two genes derived from recent L1-mediated retrotransposition. Analyses of eight overlapping BACs indicate that these genes are clustered within 120 kb in two inbred strains, in the order tel–Atp5l-ps1–Frat3–Mkrn3–Magel2–Ndn–cen. Imprinting analyses show that Frat3 is differentially methylated and expressed solely from the paternal allele in a transgenic mouse model of Angelman syndrome, with no expression from the maternal allele in a mouse model of PWS. Loss of Frat3 expression may, therefore, contribute to the phenotype of mouse models of PWS. The identification of five intronless genes in a small genomic interval suggests that this region is prone to retroposition in germ cells or their zygotic and embryonic cell precursors, and that it allows the subsequent functional expression of these foreign sequences. The recent evolutionary acquisition of genes that adopt the same imprint as older, flanking genes indicates that the newly acquired genes become `innocent bystanders' of a primary epigenetic signal causing imprinting in the PWS domain.
Homeostatic Modulation of Cell Surface KDR and Flt1 Expression and Expression of the Vascular Endothelial Cell Growth Factor (VEGF) Receptor mRNAs by VEGF

Vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic factor expressed during embryonic development, during wound healing, and in pathologies dependent on neovascularization, including cancer. Regulation of the receptor tyrosine kinases, KDR and Flt-1, to which VEGF binds on endothelial cells is incompletely understood. Chronic incubation with tumor-conditioned medium or VEGF diminished (125)I-VEGF binding to human umbilical vein endothelial cells, incorporation of (125)I-VEGF into covalent complexes with KDR and Flt1, and immunoreactive KDR in cell lysates. Receptor down-regulation desensitized VEGF activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Preincubation with VEGF or tumor-conditioned medium down-regulated cell surface receptor expression but up-regulated KDR and Flt-1 mRNAs, an effect abrogated by a neutralizing VEGF antibody. Removal of VEGF from the medium led to recovery of (125)I-VEGF binding and resensitization of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Recovery of receptor expression was inhibited by cycloheximide, indicating that augmented VEGF receptor mRNAs, and not receptor recycling from a cytoplasmic pool, restored responsiveness. As the VEGF receptors promote endothelial cell survival, proliferation, and other events necessary for angiogenesis, the noncoordinate regulation of VEGF receptor proteins and mRNAs suggests that human umbilical vein endothelial cells are protected against inappropriate or prolonged loss of VEGF receptors by a homeostatic mechanism important to endothelial cell function.
Clinical use of tricyclic anticonvulsants in painful neuropathies and bipolar disorders.

1.1.1. Clinical trials of carbamazepine (CBZ) Trigeminal neuralgia (TN; commonly called tic douloureux) was the first condition in which the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for neuropathic pain was evaluated. In 1853, Armand Trousseau, a French neurologist, hypothesized that the paroxysmal episodes of pain in this condition were due to an ‘‘epileptic discharge’’ within the trigeminal pathways and, therefore, that drugs for treating seizures might help in this condition. Following the first report of CBZ’s usefulness in this condition [1], its efficacy was evaluated in three double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-center, crossover-design clinical trials that enrolled a total of 151 patients [2–4]. The median daily dose of CBZ was approximately 600mg. Overall, the three trials showed a significant improvement in pain severity during the CBZ phase (56–75%) compared with the placebo phase (0– 26%). These results led the Food and Drug Administration to approve the labeling of CBZ for the treatment of TN. It is estimated that 70–90% of patients with newly diagnosed TN will have a good response to CBZ. Treatment is usually initiated at 200mg b.i.d., with a substantial improvement in symptoms noticed within a day or two. Once autoinduction takes place, the dose often needs to be increased and titrated according to clinical response. The usual effective dose ranges between 400 and 1000mg/day. Although the initial response to CBZ is usually good, long-term, open-label studies have documented a dropout rate of up to 40% at 1 year due to side effects or the development of tolerance.
Selecting and generating variates for modeling service times

Abstract We have tabulated the computer times required to generate 200,000 samples from 7 different distribution types using implementation of the INSIGHT simulation language on 4 different computer configurations. This study was motivated by our recent migration from using triangular to using Johnson (S B ) input distribution when building simulation models in a data-poor environment. We were concerned that the increased flexibility of the Johnson (S B ) might be obtained at the cost of greatly increased computer run times, but no such trade-off was experienced. The variate-generation times for Johnson (S B ), Weibull, and lognormal variates were found to be similar—somewhat slower than for uniform or triangular variates, but substantially faster than for gamma or beta variates. On an 80386-based personal computer the differences in speed between beta and gamma variates and all of the other standard distributions were magnified when the 80387 math copressor was disabled. As another part of this study, we obtained profiles of large-scale health-care simulation experiments and other real examples that were executed on a mainframe computer (Gould NP-1). The results showed that variate generation rarely exceeded 3% of the total run time.
Adding Words to the Brain's Visual Dictionary: Novel Word Learning Selectively Sharpens Orthographic Representations in the VWFA

The nature of orthographic representations in the human brain is still subject of much debate. Recent reports have claimed that the visual word form area (VWFA) in left occipitotemporal cortex contains an orthographic lexicon based on neuronal representations highly selective for individual written real words (RWs). This theory predicts that learning novel words should selectively increase neural specificity for these words in the VWFA. We trained subjects to recognize novel pseudowords (PWs) and used fMRI rapid adaptation to compare neural selectivity with RWs, untrained PWs (UTPWs), and trained PWs (TPWs). Before training, PWs elicited broadly tuned responses, whereas responses to RWs indicated tight tuning. After training, TPW responses resembled those of RWs, whereas UTPWs continued to show broad tuning. This change in selectivity was specific to the VWFA. Therefore, word learning appears to selectively increase neuronal specificity for the new words in the VWFA, thereby adding these words to the brain's visual dictionary.