cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sap flow in wheat under free‐air CO2 enrichment

The effects of elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration on plant water use are best evaluated on plants grown under field conditions and with measurement techniques that do not disturb the natural function of the plant. Heat balance sap flow gauges were used on individual main stems of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Yecora rojo) grown under normal ambient conditions (control) and in a free-air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) system in Arizona with either high (control+high H 2 O=CW ; FACE+high H 2 O=FW) or low (control + low H 2 O= CD ; FACE + low H 2 O=FD) irrigation regimens. Over a 30d period (stem elongation to anthesis), combinations of treatments were monitored with 10-40 gauges per treatment. The effects of increased CO 2 on tiller water use were inconsistent in both the diurnal patterns of sap flow and the statistical analyses of daily sap flow (F tot ). Initial results suggested that the reductions in F tot from CO 2 enrichment were small (0-10%) in relation to the H 2 O treatment effect (20-30%). For a 3 d period, F tot of FW was 19-26% less than that of CW (P=0.10). Examination of the different sources of variation in the study revealed that the location of gauges within the experimental plots influenced the variance of the sap flow measurements. This variation was probably related to positional variation in subsurface drip lines used to irrigate plots. A sampling design was proposed for use of sap flow gauges in FACE systems with subsurface irrigation that takes into account the main treatment effects of CO 2 enrichment and the other sources of variation identified in this study. Despite the small and often statistically non-significant differences in F tot between the CW and FW treatments, cumulative water use of the FW treatment at the end of the first three test periods ranged from 7 to 23% lower than that of the CW treatment. Differences in sap flow between FW and CW compared well with treatment differences in evapotranspiration. The results of the study, based on the first reported sap flow measurements of wheat, suggest that irrigation requirements for wheat production, in the present climatic regimen of the south-western US, may be predicted to decrease slightly because of increasing atmospheric CO 2 .
On dislocation-defect interactions and patterning: stochastic discrete dislocation dynamics (SDD)

Abstract The problem of dislocation patterning and interaction of threading dislocations with immobile dislocation loops and defects is investigated analytically and computationally based on a statistical analysis and a recently developed model of discrete stochastic dislocation dynamics (SDD), respectively. The statistical analysis is based on the Friedel–Kocks model and shows the validity of the Friedel relation for the critical resolved stress while a power law with different stress dependence is obtained for the average pinning distance on a stable dislocation array. The difference of the stress dependence is attributed to each model assumptions, such as stable dislocation configurations in athermal system or meta-stable configurations in thermally activated system. The SDD computational study includes thermal and strain fluctuation, predicting non-trivial fractal instability of the plastic strain. The height difference correlations of the plastic strain show that the external load causes a multifractality, and enhances the instability at higher order moments.
Haematological Cancer: Indolent Lymphoma--Why Not to Sprint at the Start of a Marathon

A new study has shown that rituximab and bendamustine provide better outcomes and less toxicity than rituximab plus CHOP chemotherapy in patients with indolent lymphomas. However, whether this represents a practice-changing development is unclear and we should not rush to judgement without answering some key questions.
Banking Crises, Collective Protest and Rebellion

Abstract. Both developed and developing countries have experienced turmoil associated with banking sector failures. However, while there exists literature studying the economic costs of banking meltdowns, little scholarly attention has been devoted to examining the relationship between banking crises and domestic agitation (internal conflict). Failing to explore the impact of banking crises on domestic agitation risks excluding a key component in understanding the puzzle of domestic political stability. Examining a dataset of 125 countries for the years 1981 to 2000, we find banking crises to be systematically associated with greater levels of collective protest activities such as riots, anti-government demonstrations and strikes.Resume. Les defaillances du secteur bancaire ont cause des perturbations sociales aussi bien dans les pays developpes que dans les pays en voie de developpement. Toutefois, tandis qu'il existe des recherches sur les couts economiques des faillites bancaires, les chercheurs se sont peu interesses au rapport entre crises bancaires et problemes socio-politiques interieurs. En negligeant l'effet des crises bancaires sur les troubles sociaux interieurs, on risque d'exclure un element cle de l'analyse complexe de la stabilite politique interieure. L'examen d'un ensemble de donnees sur 125 nations pour les annees 1981 a 2000, nous permet de constater que les crises bancaires sont systematiquement associees a une acceleration des activites de protestation collective telles que les emeutes, les manifestations anti-gouvernementales et les greves.
The dimensions of T series bacteriophages of Escherichia coli B

Abstract Particle dimensions have been measured on seven strains of E. coli bacteriophage using four types of preparation involving both air- and freeze-drying. The exact particle shape depends on the type of preparation as shown in the table. Approximate dimensions for the seven strains are: (1) T 1 : spherical head 65 mμ in diameter, tail 150 × 13 m μ , (2) T 2 , T 4 and T 6 : ellipsoidal or prismatic head 75 × 95 m μ , tail 110 × 20 m μ , (3) T 3 and T 7 : sphere 60 mμ in diameter, (4) T 5 : spherical head 75–80 mμ in diameter, tail 180 × 15 m μ .
Human papillomavirus vaccination rates and state mandates for tetanus-containing vaccines

Abstract Objective We sought to examine nationally the association between school mandates for adolescent tetanus-containing vaccines (Td and/or Tdap) and adolescent female human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Methods Each state was categorized by whether a school mandate for adolescent Td and/or Tdap vaccines was enacted. Mean HPV vaccine series initiation levels among adolescent females were compared between each mandate category. Results Mean HPV vaccine series initiation levels were significantly lower in states without Td/Tdap vaccine mandates than in those with mandates (42.9% vs. 47.3%; p = 0.004). Conclusions School mandates for adolescent Td/Tdap vaccination may have a carry-over effect on HPV vaccination.
Salinity calculation techniques for separately digitized fast response and platinum resistance CTD temperature sensors

Abstract A new algorithm for combining separately digitized fast and slow temperature signals from the Neil Brown Mark III CTD is presented. Ideally, one would like to exploit the stability of the platinum resistance thermometer (PRT) while retaining the high resolution of the fast response thermistor (FRT). Practical methods for combining the two in the past have not solved the problem of low frequency drift in the FRT. This drift can introduce errors as large as 0.2°C over vertical scales comparable to the CTD cast depth. A running mean filter which is applied in the time domain to both temperature time series is introduced in this paper. The estimated temperature is then found as T c (t) = T FRT + 〈T PRT 〉 − 〈T FRT 〉 , wher 〈〉 indicate filtered values and t is time. The length of the filter is important in the elimination of salinity spikes. A minimum filter length of 1500 scans, or about 60 m, of data is required to calculate acceptable salinities. Because the FRT itself has a longer time constant than that of the conductivity cell, the estimated temperature T c still lags conductivity by about 80 ms. For applications in which the data are further averaged, this small lag can generally be ignored. Alternatively, the lag can be corrected with a lag shift of the temperature time series relative to conductivity, or by more sophisticated techniques such as that introduced by Horne and Toole (1980, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 10, 1122–1130).
Amplitude-contrast microscopy in histochemistry.

1. The theory and the histochemical application of amplitude-contrast microscopy are described and illustrated. 2. The method consists in the compensation of gradients in amplitude by off-setting the polars of a differential interference microscope. The equipment needed is not elaborate, and the technique is simple. 3. Images of cells obtained by amplitude-contrast microscopy yield at the same time maximum resolution, maximum contrast, and maximum ease of interpretation. 4. Amplitude-contrast and fluorescence microscopy can be easily combined in favourable objects. 5. A case is made for amplitude-contrast replacing other forms of optical microscopy for observing and recording the results of many kinds of histochemical reactions.
The clinical efficacy and cost analysis of cranial computed tomography and the radionuclide brain scan.

Cranial computed tomography (CCT) has already been demonstrated to provide significant diagnostic information in patients with neurologic disease and to reduce the need for special neuroradiologic procedures. The important question remaining is: Should CCT replace the radionuclide brain scan (RBS) as the first diagnostic study in most patients with suspected intracranial pathology? Data are now available to define the costs and benefits of this substitution. The technical costs of CCT have been determined by a national survey and have shown to be $130 per patient at a volume of 50 patients per week. The costs of RBS at the Mallinckrodt Institute have been estimated at $51 per patient. Data from the literature indicate that CCT is slightly more sensitive and considerably more accurate than RBS. Eighteen to twenty-eight percent of patients studied by CCT and RBS have abnormalities (e.g., cerebral atrophy and ventricular dilatation) that are only detected by CCT, and the overall accuracy of CCT is 95%, while the accuracy of RBS is approximately 70%. Substituting CCT for RBS is cost-beneficial. Although CCT is more costly, it increases overall accuracy by approximately 25%. The cost benefit is further increased by the reduction of complicated diagnostic procedures (and associated hospitalization and morbidity) and improvement in diagnostic information for the individual patient. Substituting CCT for RBS may not be more costly because a positive RBS will be followed by CCT (because of increased diagnostic information), and a negative RBS may be followed by CCT (because of increased accuracy), whereas a positive or negative CCT is unlikely to be followed by RBS.
Cooperating Theorem Provers: A Case Study Combining HOL-Light and CVC Lite

This paper is a case study in combining theorem provers. We define a derived rule in HOL-Light, CVC_PROVE, which calls CVC Lite and translates the resulting proof object back to HOL-Light. As a result, we obtain a highly trusted proof-checker for CVC Lite, while also fundamentally expanding the capabilities of HOL-Light.
Evaluation of indoor plantings as allergen exposure sources

Abstract The role of indoor plantings as allergen sources was assessed by direct sampling of interior air. Homes with 10 or more plants in one room and three University of Michigan greenhouses were studied by means of a dc-powered rotorod and separate Andersen viable sampler collections incubated at 23° and 50° C. Sequential 30 and 60 sec Andersen samples were obtained during 15 min rotorod collections before and during watering of plants as well as during disturbance of foliage by a small fan. Relative humidity averaged 5I % in homes and 78% in greenhouses. Aspergillus fumigatus recoveries were rare. Thermophiles, primarily bacteria, were present at low-to-moderate levels in homes, did not increase with watering or fan in homes, and rose only slightly with disturbance at greenhouse sites. Cladosporium and Penicillium dominated Andersen collections. Watering and fan increased levels of these taxa as well as rotorod recoveries of Alternaria, Epicoccum , and Pithomyces slightly in homes and markedly at greenhouse sites. We conclude that modest numbers of undisturbed house plants contribute minimally to aeroallergen prevalence in homes. However, especially under greenhouse conditions, plantings can harbor abundant fungus growth that may become airborne, especially when agitated directly.
Age-related hepatitis B seroconversion rates in health care workers.

Abstract Background: Protective hepatitis titers are reported for more than 90% of healthy adults who received three intradeltoid injections of vaccine. Some factors that influence seroconversion rates include age, sex, and presence of chronic diseases. Methods: Because of work-related factors that placed them at risk of acquiring hepatitis B, 112 employees, who ranged in age from 20 to 70 years with a mean age of 39.2 years, completed the hepatitis B vaccination series between 1986 and 1993. All participants received three vaccinations. Results: Hepatitis B surface antibody did not develop in 16 of 112 recipients (14.2%, 95% CI, 7.6% to 20.8%). Race, sex, and duration to antibody titer did not affect rates of seroconversion. Age greater than 50 years was associated with significant decreased seroconversion rates (64.7%, 95% CI, 42.0% to 87.4%) compared with seroconversion rates of those younger than 50 years of age (89.5%, 95% CI 83.3% to 95.7%, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Our results indicate that when a hepatitis B immunization program is implemented, seroconversion rates are lower than published rates for healthy adults and adolescents. We recommend taht seroconversion data from immunization programs for employees at risk for hepatitis B be reviewed and that postimmunization testing be considered to ensure adequate protection for those employees at highest risk for nonconversion.
Effect of body shape on the motile behavior of bacteria-powered swimming microrobots (BacteriaBots)

Swimming microrobots are envisioned to impact minimally invasive diagnosis, localized treatment of diseases, and environmental monitoring. Dynamics of micro-scale swimming robots falls in the realm of low Reynolds number, where viscous forces exerted on the robots are dominant over inertia. Viscous forces developed at the interface of the swimming microrobots and the surrounding fluid are a strong function of the body geometry. In this work, a collection of bacteria-powered micro-robots (BacteriaBots) with prolate spheroid, barrel, and bullet-shaped bodies is fabricated and the influence of body shape on the dynamics of the BacteriaBots is investigated. We have experimentally demonstrated that using non-spherical geometries increases the mean directionality of the motion of the BacteriaBots but does not significantly affect their average speed compared with their spherical counterparts. We have also demonstrated that directionality of non-spherical BacteriaBots depends on the aspect ratio of the body and for the case of prolate spheroid, a higher aspect ratio of two led to a larger directionality compared to their low aspect ratio counterparts.
Phototoxicity is not associated with photochemical tissue bonding of skin

Background and Objective We have developed a light-activated method called photochemical tissue bonding (PTB) for closing wounds using green light and a photosensitizing dye (Rose Bengal—RB) to initiate photochemical crosslinking of wound surface proteins. These studies were designed to determine whether RB causes phototoxicity during closure of skin incisions with PTB. Study Design/Materials and Methods RB phototoxicity was evaluated after sealing incisions in porcine skin ex vivo and rabbit skin in vivo using PTB (1 mM RB, 100 J/cm2, 532 nm, 0.3 or 0.5 W/cm2.) Dead cells were identified by pyknotic nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm on H&E-stained sections. The influence on RB phototoxicity of penetration of RB into the wound wall (by confocal microscopy), RB concentration in the tissue (by extraction), and fluence of 532 nm reaching depths in skin (calculated from skin optical properties) were investigated. Results No significant differences were found in the percent dead cells in PTB-treated and control incisions in porcine skin at 24 hours or in rabbit skin at 2 hours and 3 and 7 days after surgery. RB was retained in a ∼100 µm wide band next to the wound wall. The mean RB concentration within this band was 0.42±0.03 mM. Monte Carlo modeling of light distribution indicated that the fluence rate decreased from the subsurface peak to 0.5 W/cm2 in the mid-dermis (∼350 µm.) In vitro RB phototoxicity to dermal fibroblasts yielded an LD50 of 0.50±0.09 J/cm2 when the cells contained 0.46 mM RB. Conclusions PTB does not cause phototoxicity when used to repair skin wounds even though the RB concentration and 532 nm fluence in the mid-dermis during PTB are much greater than the LD50 for RB phototoxicity in vitro. These results indicate that phototoxicity is not a concern when using PTB for tissue repair. Lasers Surg. Med. 42:123–131, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Delayed presentation of diffuse axonal injury: a case report

This report highlights a case of delayed onset of diffuse axonal injury in the apparent absence of direct head trauma. This case questions the appropriate observation period for patients with signs of diffuse axonal injury presenting after a high-velocity crash.
Protective mechanism of the immune response to a ribosomal vaccine from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. I. In vivo protection studies in compromised animal models.

Abstract Studies of the protective activity of a ribosomal vaccine from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in various immunocompromised animal models were performed. The results obtained demonstrated that the vaccine was highly effective in complement (C5)-deficient mice, C3-deficient (cobra venom factortreated) mice, and leukopenic mice in providing protection against lethal infection with P. aeruginosa . Passive immunization with specific antiserum to the ribosomal vaccine was also effective in leukopenic mice. In mice that were both C5-deficient and leukopenic, the vaccine did not protect mice against lethal infection, but did prolong their survival, whereas in C3-deficient, leukopenic mice significantly enhanced protection was observed. These results were interpreted to suggest the involvement of multiple factors in the protective immune response to the vaccine, including the bactericidal and opsonic activities of specific antibody plus complement and the phagocytic activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes with opsonized bacteria. Compensation for deficiencies in some of these factors can be obtained by enhancement of other factors through active or passive immunization.
Effects on Verbal Fluency Associated with Sex, Practice, and Stimulus Letter

In an examination of the effects of sex, practice, and various stimulus letters on performance of a simple 1-min. verbal fluency task, each of 8 male and 8 female undergraduates was tested with 8 stimulus letters in a single session. Women scored higher than men on each letter and generated reliably more words across the whole session. Neither men nor women improved reliably from Trial 1 to Trial 2, but women only showed improvement from the first to the second half of the session. Performance on different letters correlated reliably with number of pages devoted to respective letters in the dictionary.
Assessing X-Ray Security Screening Detection Following Training With and Without Threat-Item Overlap

This study examined threat identification within a perceptual discrimination training paradigm for an x-ray baggage screening task. It explored how manipulations of item overlap (critical contour overlap, non-critical contour overlap, and no overlap) altered detection of actual threat items. The results suggest that threat detection by participants in the overlap groups was superior, but that this may have been due to changes to a more liberal response criterion. Further, participants trained without overlap were superior at determining that no threat was present. The data suggest that this shift in criterion may be due to a varying degree of understanding of what constitutes the critical components of a threat item. The discussion centers on how to develop training interventions which addresses this criterion shift while maintaining higher levels of detection.
Economies of Dying: The Moralization of Economic Scarcity in U.S. Hospice Care

As efforts are made to contain health care spending, the decision to stop trying to cure severely ill patients and focus on comfort care has become an economic as well as a moral issue. This article examines the intricate intersection of economics and morality in U.S. hospice care. Using historical, interview, and ethnographic methods, I explain the resonance between hospice practitioners’ moral motivations and policymakers’, insurers’, and providers’ efforts to economize near the end of life. Drawing on theoretical literature on morality in markets, I analyze the moralization of economic scarcity. I argue that rather than posing an external financial constraint on the achievement of moral goals, scarcity itself can bear moral meanings. In the case of hospice care, the view that “less is better” and the wish to save patients from over-treatment converge with financial interests to limit spending on end-of-life care and imbue financial constraints with positive moral meanings.
Invasive carcinoma of the renal pelvis following cyclophosphamide therapy for nonmalignant disease

A 47-year-old woman with right hydroureteronephrosis due to ureterovesical junction obstruction had gross hematuria after being treated for five years wtih cyclophosphamide for cerebral vasculitis. A right nephroureterectomy was required for control of bleeding. The pathology specimen contained clinically occult invasive carcinoma of the renal pelvis. Although the ability of cyclophosphamide to cause hemorrhagic cystitis and urine cytologic abnormalities indistinguishable from high grade carcinoma is well known, it is less widely appreciated that it is also associated with carcinoma of the urinary tract. Twenty carcinomas of the urinary bladder and one carcinoma of the prostate have been reported in association with its use. The present case is the first carcinoma of the renal pelvis reported in association with cyclophosphamide treatment. It is the third urinary tract cancer reported in association with cyclophosphamide treatment for nonmalignant disease. The association of the tumor with preexisting hydroureteronephrosis suggests that stasis prolonged and intensified exposure of upper urinary tract epithelium to cyclophosphamide. Patients who are candidates for long-term cyclophosphamide treatment should be routinely evaluated for obstructive uropathy.
Ultrastructure of appressorium development by basidiospore germlings of the rust fungusGymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae

Basidiospore germlings ofG. juniperi-virginianae readily formed appressoria (infection structures) on dialysis membranes. These specimens could be effectively freeze-substituted and processed for study with transmission electron microscopy. Appressorium formation on these membranes appeared to be very similar to that occurring on host leaves up to the point of penetration peg formation. A germ tube emerged laterally from each spore, grew until it contacted the membrane, and then differentiated into a swollen appressorium whose end was flattened against the membrane. The fungal wall in contact with the membrane became very thin. A region devoid of most organelles developed in the appressorium tip. Numerous filasomes and microvesicles accumulated in this region. Eventually, a structure known as the appressorial cone formed at the end of the appressorium. This structure was deposited outside the plasma membrane in direct contact with the dialysis membrane. Basidiospores and appressoria appeared to be effectively stuck to the dialysis membrane by a fibrillar, extracellular matrix. This substance appeared as a diffuse network on young germ tubes, but subsequently assumed the appearance of an electron-dense layer or coating on appressoria and basidiospores.
H/sub /spl infin// estimation for nonlinear systems

An output estimator for a nonlinear system (the extended H/spl infin/ estimator) is developed based on suboptimal H/spl infin/ estimation theory. The performance bound, used in generating the estimator gain, depends on the model obtained by linearizing the plant about the current estimator state. Therefore, this model and the performance bound vary in an unpredictable manner. Computation of the minimal performance bound at each iteration is untractable, in general. A computationally reasonable adaptive algorithm for generating the performance bound is proposed. The use of this adaptive performance bound is illustrated by application to an example.
Engineering the Big Chill: The Story of JLab's Central Helium Liquefier

This article tells the story of the Central Helium Liquefier (CHL) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab), one of the US National Laboratories. JLab’s successful superconducting radio frequency accelerator was only possible because a group of JLab engineers successfully tackled a complex of difficulties to build a cryogenic system that included the CHL, a task that required advancing the frontier of cryogenic technology. Ultimately, these cryogenic advances were applied far beyond JLab to the benefit of cutting-edge programs at other US national laboratories (Oak Ridge, Brookhaven, and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at MSU) as well as NASA. This innovation story dramatizes the sort of engineer-driven technological problem solving that allows the successful launch and operation of experimental projects. Along the way, the CHL story also provides an important addition to our understanding of the role played by engineers and industry in creating knowledge at physics laboratories.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy - neuropathology in athletes and war veterans.

Objective: The neuropathologic findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) were first described almost 40 years after the first clinical reports. We reviewed the literature and describe the neuropathological findings seen primarily in professional athletes and more recently, in war veterans. Methods: We reviewed the literature of CTE concentrating on references that focused on the correlation of clinical findings with the neuropathologic changes. The pathobiology and proposed mechanisms of injury are described. Diagnostic modalities and various diagnostic criteria of CTE are reviewed. Results: We are beginning to understand the neuropathologic basis of CTE, which appears to be a consequence of repetitive mild brain injuries. There appear to be reproducible criteria for the post-mortem diagnosis of CTE and the neuropathologic findings are becoming more widely accepted. More research is required to elucidate the risk factors that predispose athletes and war veterans to CTE. There is also a need for more diagnostic markers and a method to assess CTE in patients prior to death. The neuropathologic findings of a progressive tauopathy including the presence of numerous neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), rare neuritic plaques, and widespread expression of TDP-43 (transactive response [TAR] DNA binding protein 43) also require further study. Discussion: The potential prevalence of CTE, as well as the vulnerable populations involved, makes research into this topic crucial. Currently, a comprehensive neurological exam, neuropsychiatric assessment, and standard radiographic techniques such as conventional MRI are the mainstay of diagnosis. There is a pressing need for the prevention of CTE and the development of non-invasive diagnostic tests in order to develop therapies that may be of clinical use to athletes and blast injury veterans during their lifetimes.
The three lives of a uniface

Three different sorts of unifacial stone tool allometric patterns – representing three different sorts of flake design and exploitation patterns – are used to consider the role landscape familiarity plays in producing variability in hunter–gatherer lithic technologies. It had been previously hypothesized that colonizers' unifacial tools (on the population level) should possess the design property of longevity because as people travel in unfamiliar landscapes they could not be certain of encountering new stone outcrops to replenish their stock. Previous analyses of Clovis unifacial tools were consistent with this hypothesis and showed the first allometric pattern, namely that larger tools possessed flatter, less spherical shapes than the smaller tools, suggesting Clovis foragers exploited the retouch potential afforded by the larger, flatter blanks. Here, we hypothesized that the design property of longevity in unifacial tools would be less important to non-colonizing post-Clovis foragers because they would have been more familiar with environments and stone outcrop locations, and thus better able to tailor their unifacial tools to habitat-specific functional and scheduling requirements. Operationally, this lack of concern with tool longevity would be demonstrated by a second or third allometric pattern, namely that there is no relationship between tool size and shape, or that larger tools are rounder than smaller tools. We tested this prediction with analyses of 435 unifacial stone tools from several post-Clovis groups in vastly different environments, including Parkhill (Great Lakes), Folsom (Rocky Mountains), and Cody/Alberta (High Plains). Regardless of whether the post-Clovis dataset was examined in its entirety or by individual cultures, no iteration of the analyses exhibited an allometric pattern similar to the Clovis one. Overall, these results suggest that landscape familiarity plays a significant role in hunter–gatherer unifacial stone tool technological organization.
Analysis of phosphoinositide-binding proteins using liposomes as an affinity matrix.

Pl Sleuth The term "phosphoinositides" describes a class of phosphorylated lipids derived from phosphatidylinositol (PI) and includes the usual suspects: PI(3)P, PI(4)P, and PI(4,5)P2. These molecu...
Medication Use and Prescribing Considerations for Elderly Patients

Older adults consume more medications than any other segment of the population. Increasing lifespan means that more people will live into old age, frequently with disabilities and conditions man-aged by medications. Age-associated physiologic changes, medication use patterns, and adverse drug effects and interactions place the older adult at high risk for medication-related problems. Older adults living in institutions, those with complex medical problems,and those who do not adhere to medication regimens are at highest risk for negative health outcomes from medication mishaps. Dentists must be able to identify older adults who are susceptible to adverse drug events and to recognize which medications are most likely to precipitate problems.
Three-dimensional mapping of cortical thickness using Laplace's equation.

We present a novel, computerized method of examining cerebral cortical thickness. The normal cortex varies in thickness from 2 to 4 mm, reflecting the morphology of neuronal sublayers. Cortical pathologies often manifest abnormal variations in thickness, with examples of Alzheimer's disease and cortical dysplasia as thin and thick cortex, respectively. Radiologically, images are 2-D slices through a highly convoluted 3-D object. Depending on the relative orientation of the slices with respect to the object, it is impossible to deduce abnormal cortical thickness without additional information from neighboring slices. We approach the problem by applying Laplace's Equation (∇2ψ = 0) from mathematical physics. The volume of the cortex is represented as the domain for the solution of the differential equation, with separate boundary conditions at the gray-white junction and the gray-CSF junction. Normalized gradients of ψ form a vector field, representing tangent vectors along field lines connecting both boundaries. We define the cortical thickness at any point in the cortex to be the pathlength along such lines. Key advantages of this method are that it is fully three-dimensional, and the thickness is uniquely defined for any point in the cortex. We present graphical results that map cortical thickness everywhere in a normal brain. Results show global variations in cortical thickness consistent with known neuroanatomy. The application of this technique to visualization of cortical thickness in brains with known pathology has broad clinical implications. Hum. Brain Mapping 11:12–32, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Modeling and predicting microstructure evolution in lead/tin alloy via correlation functions and stochastic material reconstruction

The binary lead/tin (Pb/Sn) alloy is widely used as an interconnect in microelectronics. The physical properties of this heterogeneous material critically depend on its complex bulk microstructure containing Pb-rich and Sn-rich phases, which can be both laminar and globular. In this paper, we devise a procedure to model and predict the microstructure evolution (i.e. coarsening) in a Pb–Sn alloy aged at elevated temperatures below its melting point using statistical morphological descriptors, i.e. the two-point correlation functions S2 associated with the phases. We verify via phase-field simulations that the growing length scale characterizing microstructure coarsening can be well captured by the corresponding correlation functions, which enables us to predict the S2 of intermediate microstructures given the initial and final microstructures. Stochastic material reconstruction techniques are employed to generate virtual three-dimensional microstructures that are consistent with the predicted correlation functions, which are quantitatively compared with the actual alloy microstructures when available.
28.2: Super Wide View In‐Plane Switching LCD with Positive and Negative Uniaxial A‐Films Compensation

A positive uniaxial A-film and a negative uniaxial A-film compensated IPS LCD is proposed to widen the viewing angle characteristics by reducing the dark-state light leakage at off-axis oblique angles. Simulation results show that a contrast ratio greater than 200:1 is achieved within ±85° viewing cone.
Liver glycogen synthase phosphatase and phosphorylase phosphatase activities in vitro following glucose and glucagon administration

Abstract Correlation of the changes in phosphorylase a concentration with the synthase phosphatase velocity in a glycogen particle preparation in the presence of EDTA revealed that the initial synthase phosphatase rate was greatest in extracts from glucose-treated rats and least in extracts from glucagon-treated rats. In all cases the velocity increased with time and with a decrease in phosphorylase a . However, a threshold release of phosphatase activity when phosphorylase a reached a critical level was not observed. The data are compatible with either an independent regulation of synthase phosphatase by glucose and glucagon or regulation of the activity by phosphorylase over a range of phosphorylase a concentrations.
Plasmaspheric convection with non-closed streamlines

A mechanism is described to drive a continuous outflow of thermal plasma in the plasmasphere without violating Faraday's law. It is based on time-dependent interchange motion.
Total abdominal colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis for inflammatory bowel disease.

PURPOSE: This retrospective study assesses the results of total colectomy and ileorectostomy for inflammatory bowel disease. METHODS: Between January 1974 and December 1990, 90 patients underwent total colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis for chronic ulcerative colitis (n=48) or Crohn's colitis (n=42) at the Mayo Clinic. Patients' records were reviewed retrospectively. Long-term results were assessed by chart reviews and postal questionnaires. Conversion to a permanent ileostomy, with or without proctectomy, was considered a failure of the procedure. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survivorship free of failure. The log-rank test was used to compare survivorship curves. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were calculated at selected time points.Pvalues 36 years, 93.8 percent;P=0.03). In the group with chronic ulcerative colitis, younger patients also seemed to require additional surgery more frequently; however, this difference was not statistically significant. Previous duration of symptoms, with mild or moderate disease in a distensible rectum, had no effect on results in either disease group. Functional results were acceptable in 63.6 and 87.5 percent of patients with Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, respectively. Eighty-four percent of ulcerative colitis patients and 91 percent of Crohn's disease patients reported an improvement in their quality of life, and overall, more than 90 percent considered their health status to be better than before surgery. One patient with ulcerative colitis developed carcinoma of the rectal stump 11.5 years after the colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis (cumulative probability of remaining free of cancer, 85.7 percent at 12 years; 95 percent confidence interval, 57.7–100 percent). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that, in selected patients with a relatively spared rectum and without severe perineal disease, total colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis still remains a viable option to total proctocolectomy with extensive Crohn's colitis. In addition, ileorectal anastomosis, as a sphincter-saving procedure, continues to have a place in the surgical treatment of chronic ulcerative colitis for high-risk or older patients who are not good candidates for ileal pouch-anal anastomosis, when the latter procedure cannot be done because of technical reasons and in the presence of advanced carcinoma concomitant with colitis, when life expectancy is limited.
Separation relative to length determines the organization of two lines into a unit.

The probability that two lines will form a perceptual unit, in the sense of reversing together under conditions of depth ambiguity, decreases as their separation is increased. In these studies, the critical separation for perceptual grouping is shown to be neither the retinal nor distal separation, but the ratio of separation to line length. Language: en
Thermodynamic analysis of helium boil-off experiments with pressure variations

Abstract A thermodynamic analysis by calorimetric experiments in a system with changing pressure is presented. A general equation is derived for use in calculating the rate of heat loss from measured mass flow rate. The results show that the largest contribution from pressure variation is the sensible heat of liquid helium in a Dewar. A dimensionless parameter that was identified provides an indication of the importance of pressure variation relative to the latent heat of vaporization during an experiment. This dimensionless parameter is a function of system pressure land the thermodynamic properties of helium), rate of change of system pressure, liquid helium inventory in the Dewar and measured mass flow rate. In the special case when the effect of pressure variation is small compared to the latent heat of vaporization, the heat loss rate is the product of the measured mass flow rate and the latent heat of vaporization, multiplied by a correction factor that is a function of the ratio of vapour density to liquid density. This correction factor is significant for helium at pressures near or above 1 atm and should always be included in the calculation.
Sporogenesis in Eusporangiate Ferns: I. Monoplastidic Meiosis in Angiopteris (Marattiales)

(Marattiales) undergoes the more primitive form of monoplastidic meiosis, while other ferns have evolved the polyplastidic type typical of seed plants. In monoplastidic cell division, the single plastid divides and serves as site of the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) for spindle formation resulting in coordinated division of plastid, nucleus, and cytoplasm. In plants with polyplastidic cell division, the MTOC is diffuse and generally perinuclear. Monoplastidic cell division is seen as a plesiomorphic feature that was inherited from algal ancestors containing a single plastid and modified through evolution. Monoplastidic meiosis occurs in all groups of bryophytes (although in only a few hepatics), Isoetes, Selaginella, certain generic segregates of Lycopodium, and in members of the Marattiales. It is not known to occur in psilophytes, Equisetum, leptosporangiate ferns, or seed plants.
Hepatic lysosomal copper protein in dogs with an inherited copper toxicosis

Hepatic copper overload inherited as an autosomal recessive trait in Bedlington Terriers is characterized by the presence of hepatocellular lysosomal granules of unusually high specific gravity and electron density which contain at least two thirds of the total hepatic copper. Fractionation of homogenates of liver from such affected Bedlington Terriers yielded a low-speed pellet which contained the lysosomal granules. This fraction was used for isolation of a copper-binding protein by alkaline-reduction, solubilization, fractional acetone precipitation, and gel filtration. The purified protein yielded a single band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and resembled other metallothioneins in containing 15 cysteine residues and 7 to 8 atoms of copper (but no zinc) per 54 amino acid residues. No methionine, histidine, or any aromatic amino acid was present. The accumulation of this lysosomal copper protein appears to be related to the primary genetic defect which underlies the hepatic copper toxicosis of the Bedlington Terrier.
Antipeptide antibodies reveal structural and functional characteristics of rat placental lactogen-II.

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to develop specific immunologic probes to rat placental lactogen-II (PL-II) and to use the immunologic probes to further characterize rat PL-II. Five oligopeptides corresponding to different regions of rat PL-II (amino acids 1–13, 56–70, 89–103,107–118,150–164) were chemically synthesized by solid phase methods and purified to homogeneity by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. The synthetic peptides were coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and the peptide-KLH conjugates were used to immunize rabbits. Antibody production was monitored by enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA), electrophoresis and immunoblotting analyses. Each of the antipeptide antisera showed reactivity with the entire rat PL-II protein; however, the extent of the reactivities of each antiserum with rat PL-II was dependent on the conformational state of rat PL-H. Antisera directed to amino acids 56–70 showed the best reactivity toward each of the conformational states of rat PL-II tested. Antibodies generated to the entire rat PL-II protein specifically recognized the 56–70 amino acid sequence but showed limited reactivity with synthetic peptides corresponding to amino acids 1–13, 89–103,107–118, and 150–164 of rat PL-II. Antisera to amino acids 56–70 of rat PL-II were specific for PLs as demonstrated by their recognition of rat PL-II, mouse PL-II and human PL and by their lack of reactivity with rat pituitary prolactin and growth hormone and with a series of other synthetic peptides to rat PL-II and rat prolactin-like protein-A. The immunorecognition of human PL was restricted to antipeptide antibodies directed to amino acids 56–70 of rat PL-II. The chemically synthesized peptides representing various regions of rat PL-II did not show significant interactions with prolactin receptors, and antisera directed to the peptides failed to interfere with the binding of either rat PL-II or human PL to prolactin receptors. In summary, we have generated a series of immunologic probes for studying the structure of rat PL-II. The sequence comprising amino acids 56–70 of rat PL-II was shown to make up at least part of an epitope for rat PL-II and to be a region of significant structural homology with mouse PL-II and human PL.
A Strategy for Electron Tomographic Data Collection and Crystallographic Reconstruction of Biological Bundles

Abstract Structures of highly ordered biological bundles have unique features which call for special experimental and computational methods in electron cryomicroscopy. They can be considered as three-dimensional quasi-crystals and reconstructed using a crystallographic approach. However, they are neither “infinitely” large with respect to the borders of the bundle, nor are they a single unit cell in thickness along the viewing direction. Also, because of their shape, bundles do not generally have a preferred azimuthal orientation, which poses challenges for orientation estimation and refinement. We developed a strategy for recording and processing electron cryomicroscopic images that differs from classical two-dimensional crystalline reconstruction techniques. These developments allowed us to merge data from tomographic tilt series of ice-embedded acrosomal bundles. The goal is to determine accurately amplitudes and phases at the diffraction maxima in terms of hkl indices, and compute a three-dimensional map from the diffraction data.
Religion/spirituality status and borderline personality symptomatology among outpatients in an internal medicine clinic.

AbstractObjective. This study was designed to assess religion/spirituality (RS) status over the preceding 12 months in relationship to borderline personality symptomatology status. Methods. Using a cross-sectional consecutive sample of internal medicine outpatients and a self-report survey methodology, we examined RS using the 12-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp-12), and borderline personality symptomatology using two self-report measures, the borderline personality scale of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 and the Self-Harm Inventory. Results. The majority of FACIT-Sp-12 scales as well as the overall FACIT-Sp-12 score demonstrated an inverse relationship with scores on the individual measures for borderline personality symptomatology as well as a combined measure of such symptoms (individuals who scored positively on both measures). In other words, lower RS was identified in participants with higher levels of borderline personality sympt...
Enhanced cortisol suppression to dexamethasone associated with Gulf War deployment.

Summary Objective To examine whether PTSD or post-deployment health symptoms in veterans of the first Gulf War (Operation Desert Shield/Storm) are associated with enhanced suppression of the pituitary-adrenal axis to low-dose dexamethasone (DEX). Method Plasma cortisol and lymphocyte glucocorticoid receptor (GR) number were measured at 08:00 h on two consecutive days, before and after administration of 0.5 mg of DEX at 23:00 h in 42 male Gulf War veterans (14 without psychiatric illness, 16 with PTSD only, and 12 with both PTSD and MDD) and 12 healthy male veterans not deployed to the Gulf War or another war zone. Results In the absence of group differences in basal cortisol levels or GR number, Gulf War veterans without psychiatric illness and Gulf War veterans with PTSD only had significantly greater cortisol suppression to DEX than non-deployed veterans and Gulf War veterans with both PTSD and MDD. Gulf War deployment was associated with significantly greater cortisol suppression to DEX controlling for weight, smoking status, PTSD, and MDD; PTSD was not associated with response to DEX. Among Gulf War veterans musculoskeletal symptoms were significantly associated with cortisol suppression and those who reported taking anti-nerve gas pills (i.e., pyridostigmine bromide) during the war had significantly greater DEX-induced cortisol suppression than those who did not. Conclusions The data demonstrate that alterations in neuroendocrine function are associated with deployment to the Gulf War and post-deployment musculoskeletal symptoms, but not PTSD. Additional studies are needed to examine the relationship of enhanced glucocorticoid responsivity to deployment exposures and chronic unexplained medical symptoms in Gulf War veterans.