cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU‐GG‐I‐50: Breast Tissue Classification in Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Images Using Texture Features

Purpose: Breast density is a known breast cancer risk factor. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a tomographic x‐ray breast imaging modality with superior breast tissue visualization in comparison to mammography. The goal of our on‐going study is to evaluate the performance of DBT texture features in distinguishing between dense and fatty breast tissue regions. Our hypothesis is that DBT texture analysis could result in more discriminative features to characterize breast density in comparison to mammography, and ultimately yield more accurate measures of risk. Method and Materials: DBT images and digital mammograms (DM) from 39 women were analyzed. DBT and DM acquisition was performed with a GE Senographe 2000D FFDM system modified to allow positioning of the x‐ray tube at 9 locations by varying the angle from −25° to +25° in increments of 6.25°. Filtered‐backprojection was used to reconstruct DBT tomographic planes in 1 mm increments. The dense tissue area was delineated within each breast image using a widely validated thresholding technique (Cumulus Ver. 4.0, University of Toronto). Two regions of interest (ROIs) were manually selected in each breast image: one within the dense tissue region and another within the fatty region. Texture features of skewness, coarseness, contrast,fractal dimension, energy and homogeneity were computed from all available ROIs. Two‐tailed paired Student's t‐test was applied to compare the means of the texture feature distributions from the dense versus the fatty ROIs. Results: Coarseness, contrast, energy and homogeneity were statistically significantly different (p⩽0.001) between dense and fatty ROIs. Dense ROIs have lower coarseness, higher contrast, higher energy and lower homogeneity. Conclusion: X‐ray image texture differs between dense and fatty breast tissue regions. Further work is underway to fully compare the relative performance of texture features in classifying dense versus fatty tissue regions using DM, DBT source projections, and reconstructed DBT images.
Combination of family history of suicidal behavior and childhood trauma may represent correlate of increased suicide risk.

Abstract Background There is a need to try to identify patients at highest risk for suicidal behavior. A family history of suicidal behavior (FHS) and childhood trauma are two important risk factors for suicidal behavior. It was therefore decided to combine them and examine if the combination would identify patients at even increased risk for suicidal behavior. Methods Two hundred and eighty one substance dependent patients with a FHS completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and were interviewed about their lifetime history of suicidal behavior. Patients with the combination of a FHS and CTQ score above the mean were examined and compared with FHS patients with a CTQ score below the mean. Results One hundred and two of the 129 (79.1%) FHS patients with a CTQ score above the mean had attempted suicide. Thirty five of the 40 female (87.5%) FHS patients with a CTQ score above the mean had attempted suicide .Patients with a CTQ score above the mean were found significantly more among FHS patients who had attempted suicide than among FHS patients who had never attempted. FHS attempters with a CTQ score above the mean had a significantly earlier age of first attempting and had made more attempts than FHS attempters with a CTQ score below the mean. Limitations Childhood trauma data derived from self-report questionnaire. No consistent collateral information about FHS. Conclusion The combination of a FHS and childhood trauma may represent a correlate of increased risk of attempting suicide, attempting earlier, and making more attempts.
Outcomes of pancreatic debridement in acute pancreatitis: analysis of the nationwide inpatient sample from 1998 to 2010.

Abstract Background The objective of this study was to perform a national review of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) who undergo pancreatic debridement (PD) to evaluate for risk factors of in-hospital mortality. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to identify patients with AP who underwent PD between 1998 and 2010. Risk factors for in-hospital mortality were assessed with multivariate logistic regression. Results From 1998 to 2010, there were 585,978 nonelective admissions with AP, of which 1,783 (.3%) underwent PD. From 1998 to 2010, the incidence of PD decreased from .44% to .25% ( P P P P P P P Conclusions The incidence and operative mortality of PD have decreased significantly over the last decade in the United States with higher odds of dying in patients who are older, with chronic liver, renal, or ulcer disease, and higher rates of sepsis with organ failure.
Synaptic circuit abnormalities of motor-frontal layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in a mutant mouse model of Rett syndrome.

Rett syndrome (RTT) (OMIM #312750), a severe neurodevelopmental disease with prominent motor and cognitive features, is caused by mutations in methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) (Amir et al., 1999; Hagberg et al., 1983; Percy, 2002; Zoghbi, 2003). The availability of mouse models of RTT (Chen et al., 2001; Collins et al., 2004; Guy et al., 2001; Shahbazian et al., 2002) has made it possible to study the relationships between MeCP2, neural circuits, and the RTT neurological phenotype (Chahrour and Zoghbi, 2007; Cohen and Greenberg, 2008; Moretti and Zoghbi, 2006; Zoghbi, 2003). From these studies a picture has emerged that MeCP2 is critically involved in experience-dependent maturation and regulation of neuronal circuits (Cohen and Greenberg, 2008; Ramocki and Zoghbi, 2008). Reduced excitatory synaptic transmission to cortical pyramidal neurons has been demonstrated using mouse models of RTT (Chao et al., 2007; Dani et al., 2005; Tropea et al., 2009). Recently, we explored how MeCP2 deficiency affects excitatory intracortical pathways in mouse cortex using an RNA-interference (RNAi) model system, in which a sparse subset of L2/3 pyramidal neurons was rendered MeCP2 deficient (Wood et al., 2009). We focused on circuits in motor-frontal (M1) cortex, both because of the motor-cognitive features of Rett syndrome and because basic excitatory circuits in this area in the mouse have recently been mapped (Weiler et al., 2008; Shepherd, 2009). The RNAi experiments revealed a specific reduction in ascending excitatory synaptic input from middle cortical layers (L3/5A→2/3 inputs), with no change in horizontal (L2/3→2/3) inputs or in local inhibitory inputs. In the present study, we used the same general strategy (i.e., same slice preparation and mapping methods, with recordings targeted to L2/3 pyramidal neurons in motor-frontal cortex of 3–4 week old mice) as in the companion study (Wood et al., 2009), but here we used a RTT mutant mouse model instead of an RNAi-based model. This approach allowed us to survey the local excitatory network organization in this more widely used mutant model, and offered a relatively direct comparison between the circuit abnormalities observed for the two RTT model systems involving either sparse (Wood et al., 2009) or widespread (present study) MeCP2 deficiency.
Progesterone enhancesl-DOPA-stimulated dopamine release from the caudate nucleus of freely behaving ovariectomized—estrogen-primed rats

Abstract In the present experiment we examined the effect of progesterone upon dopamine (DA) release induced by a direct infusion of unlabeled l -dihydroxyphenylalanine ( l -DOPA) into the caudate nucleus of freely behaving rats. Ovariectomized rats were implanted with a push-pull cannula directed at the caudate nucleus and subjected to perfusion under 3 different hormonal conditions: (1) following 4 days of treatment with estradiol benzoate (EB), (2) following 4 days of treatment with estradiol benzoate plus progesterone at 4–6 h prior to perfusion (EB + P-4–6 h) and (3) following 4 days of treatment with estradiol benzoate plus progesterone at 28 h prior to perfusion (EB + P-28 h). During each perfusion session and under each of the 3 hormonal treatment conditions, l -DOPA was infused through the push side of the cannula. Three increasing doses of l -DOPA (10 −6 , 10 −5 and 10 −4 M) were infused with a 45–75 min interval between infusions. Regardless of hormonal treatment condition, a clear dose-response increase in DA and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), but not 5-HIAA, output was observed in response to the increasing doses of l -DOPA infusion. For each of the 3 doses of l -DOPA, maximal DA output was observed for animals tested under the EB + P-4–6 h hormonal condition, with statistically significant differences in the areas under the l -DOPA-stimulated DA response curves obtained following the 10 −6 and 10 −5 M doses of l -DOPA infusion. These results demonstrate that progesterone exerts an important modulatory role on in vivo l -DOPA-induced DA release from the caudate nucleus of freely behaving rats.
A comparison of active adverse event surveillance systems worldwide.

Post-marketing drug surveillance for adverse drug events (ADEs) has typically relied on spontaneous reporting. Recently, regulatory agencies have turned their attention to more preemptive approaches that use existing data for surveillance. We conducted an environmental scan to identify active surveillance systems worldwide that use existing data for the detection of ADEs. We extracted data about the systems’ structures, data, and functions. We synthesized the information across systems to identify common features of these systems. We identified nine active surveillance systems. Two systems are US based—the FDA Sentinel Initiative (including both the Mini-Sentinel Initiative and the Federal Partner Collaboration) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD); two are Canadian–the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES) and the Vaccine and Immunization Surveillance in Ontario (VISION); and two are European–the Exploring and Understanding Adverse Drug Reactions by Integrative Mining of Clinical Records and Biomedical Knowledge (EU-ADR) Alliance and the Vaccine Adverse Event Surveillance and Communication (VAESCO). Additionally, there is the Asian Pharmacoepidemiology Network (AsPEN) and the Shanghai Drug Monitoring and Evaluative System (SDMES). We identified two systems in the UK—the Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines (VRMM) Division and the Drug Safety Research Unit (DSRU), an independent academic unit. These surveillance systems mostly use administrative claims or electronic medical records; most conduct pharmacovigilance on behalf of a regulatory agency. Either a common data model or a centralized model is used to access existing data. The systems have been built using national data alone or via partnership with other countries. However, active surveillance systems using existing data remain rare. North America and Europe have the most population coverage; with Asian countries making good advances.
A social learning theory approach to sensitivity groups.

This study was concerned with (1) assessing the processes that determine the behavior of participants in sensitivity groups from a social learning perspective, and (2) exploring motivational factors involved in volunteering for a sensitivity group experience. A total of 80 volunteers were divided into eight groups and administered the Rotter ISB. Four groups were given descriptions to foster “self awareness” expectancies in an upcoming sensitivity group, and the other four groups were given “other awareness” expectancies. Graduate students modeled behaviors consistent with the expectancies given each group and served as group trainers. The modeling and instructional manipulation of expectancies influenced the behavior of the participants in a manner that was generally consistent with predictions from social learning theory. The sensitivity group volunteers had significantly higher ISB scores than control subjects, suggesting that they had a greater frequency and intensity of conflicts.
Microbiota and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Female genital tract microbiota play a crucial role in maintaining health. Disequilibrium of the microbiota has been associated with increased risk of pelvic infections. In recent years, culture-independent molecular techniques have expanded understanding of the composition of genital microbiota and the dynamic nature of the microbiota. There is evidence that upper genital tract may not be sterile and may harbor microflora in the physiologic state. The isolation of bacterial vaginosis-associated organisms in women with genital infections establishes a link between pelvic infections and abnormal vaginal flora. With the understanding of the composition of the microbiota in healthy and diseased states, the next logical step is to identify the function of the newly identified microbes. This knowledge will further expand our understanding of the causation of pelvic infections, which may lead to more effective prevention and treatment strategies.
Reduction of fresh gas flow requirements by a circle-modified bain breathing circuit.

We modified a Bain circuit by placing the circuit into the Y piece of a standard carbon dioxide absorber circle, connecting the fresh gas hose on the anesthetic machine to the Bain's fresh gas inlet, and occluding the circle's fresh gas inlet. This circle-modified Bain breathing circuit was studied to evaluate whether it reduces fresh gas flow requirements. The Bain and modified Bain steady states were analyzed by mechanical and computer modeling. The mechanical model consisted of an artificial lung ventilated to steady state. Carbon dioxide was measured with capnography. Computer modeling was by compartmental analysis calculated with spreadsheet software. Steady-state solutions were obtained by numeric analysis. The circle-modified Bain greatly reduced retention of carbon dioxide. For example, with 1-liter tidal volumes, 10-liter minute volumes (10 breaths per minute), and a 2.1 L/min fresh gas flow, the steady-state end-tidal carbon dioxide values of the Bain and modified Bain were 9.3 and 4.6%, respectively, in the physical model (carbon dioxide inflow of 230 ml/min). Results from the mechanical model helped validate the computer model.
Development of High-Throughput Quantitative Assays for Glucose Uptake in Cancer Cell Lines

Purpose Metabolism, and especially glucose uptake, is a key quantitative cell trait that is closely linked to cancer initiation and progression. Therefore, developing high-throughput assays for measuring glucose uptake in cancer cells would be enviable for simultaneous comparisons of multiple cell lines and microenvironmental conditions. This study was designed with two specific aims in mind: the first was to develop and validate a high-throughput screening method for quantitative assessment of glucose uptake in “normal” and tumor cells using the fluorescent 2-deoxyglucose analog 2-[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)amino]-2-deoxyglucose (2-NBDG), and the second was to develop an image-based, quantitative, single-cell assay for measuring glucose uptake using the same probe to dissect the full spectrum of metabolic variability within populations of tumor cells in vitro in higher resolution.
An in situ FTIR step-scan photoacoustic investigation of kerogen and minerals in oil shale.

Abstract Step-scan photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy experiments were performed on Green River oil shale samples obtained from the Piceance Basin located in Colorado, USA. We have investigated the molecular nature of light and dark colored areas of the oil shale core using FTIR photoacoustic step-scan spectroscopy. This technique provided us with the means to analyze the oil shale in its original in situ form with the kerogen–mineral interactions intact. All vibrational bands characteristic of kerogen were found in the dark and light colored oil shale samples confirming that kerogen is present throughout the depth of the core. Depth profiling experiments indicated that there are changes between layers in the oil shale molecular structure at a length scale of micron. Comparisons of spectra from the light and dark colored oil shale core samples suggest that the light colored regions have high kerogen content, with spectra similar to that from isolated kerogen, whereas, the dark colored areas contain more mineral components which include clay minerals, dolomite, calcite, and pyrite. The mineral components of the oil shale are important in understanding how the kerogen is “trapped” in the oil shale. Comparing in situ kerogen spectra with spectra from isolated kerogen indicate significant band shifts suggesting important nonbonded molecular interactions between the kerogen and minerals.
Beta Decay as a Test of the Sr 88 3 - Wave Function

Allowed $\ensuremath{\Delta}T=1$ Gamow-Teller $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay from the ${\mathrm{Rb}}^{88}$ ${2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ground state to the ${\mathrm{Sr}}^{88}$ ${3}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ level at 2.73 MeV is calculated. A one-particle-one-hole description of the latter state requires the ${[2{p}_{\frac{1}{2}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}(n)2{d}_{\frac{5}{2}}(n)]}_{T=6}^{J={3}^{\ensuremath{-}}}$ component in order to predict the observed $log\mathrm{ft}$ value of 6.7. The decay rate is extremely sensitive to the amplitude of this term.
Pre-B-cell-colony-enhancing factor is critically involved in thrombin-induced lung endothelial cell barrier dysregulation

Prior genomic and genetic studies identified pre-B-cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF) as a novel candidate gene and biomarker in acute lung injury (ALI). As increased vascular permeability is a cardinal feature of ALI, we assessed the role of PBEF in in vitro vascular barrier regulation using confluent human pulmonary artery endothelial cell (HPAEC) monolayers. Reductions in PBEF protein expression (>70%) by siRNA significantly attenuated EC barrier dysfunction induced by the potent edemagenic agent, thrombin, reflected by reductions in transendothelial electric resistance (TER, approximately 60% reduction). Furthermore, PBEF siRNA blunted thrombin-mediated increases in Ca(2+) entry, polymerized actin formation, and myosin light chain phosphorylation, events critical to the thrombin-mediated permeability response. Finally, PBEF siRNA also significantly inhibited thrombin-stimulated increase of IL-8 secretion in HPAEC, a chemokine known to induce actin fiber formation and intercellular gap formation of endothelial cells. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that PBEF may be required for complete expression of the thrombin-induced inflammatory response and reveal potentially novel role for PBEF in the regulation of EC Ca(2+)-dependent cytoskeletal rearrangement and endothelial barrier dysfunction. Ongoing studies will continue to address the molecular mechanisms by which PBEF contributes to ALI susceptibility.
Photographic Instrumentation for Triangulation Studies of Luminous Clouds in the Upper Atmosphere

Instrumentation has been developed for obtaining triangulation photographs of luminous clouds in the upper atmosphere. These clouds are created by the release of chemicals such as sodium and cesium from rockets. The instrumentation has been used on approximately eighty rocket firings. Descriptions and operating characteristics are given of the equipment. Observations have been made from the Air Force ranges at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and from the NASA test facility at Wallops Island, Virginia. A modified version of the K-24 aerial camera with 7 in. (17.8 cm) f/2.5 optics was used and mounted on 60-in. (152-cm) searchlight carriages and Mk 51 gun directors. Camera control system, data chamber, fiducial light system, shutter and filter system, field installation, and alignment procedures are described.
Insulin inhibits dephosphorylation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate response element-binding protein/activating transcription factor-1: effect on nuclear phosphoserine phosphatase-2a

We examined the effects of insulin on the phosphorylation state of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in normal rat adipocytes. Insulin increased in vivo phosphorylation of CREB by 40%. Although both phosphoprotein phosphatase-1 and -2A dephosphorylate CREB and activating transcription factor-1, insulin action appears to be mediated via its strong inhibitory effect on nuclear phosphatase-2A (PP-2A) activity. Using in vitro protein kinase-A-phosphorylated activating transcription factor-1 as a substrate, we found that insulin inhibited nuclear PP-2A activity by 80% (P < 0.001), which represents approximately 50% of the total nuclear phosphatase activity. Greater than 50% of the effect of insulin was observed at 0.3 nM and 2 min of exposure. These findings are the first indicator that a signal initiated by a cell surface tyrosine kinase receptor may regulate nuclear PP-2A activity and thereby affect the phosphorylation state of transcription factors.
Applying laser pulse stretching technique on photoacoustic imaging for efficiently delivering laser energy

High-energy and short-duration outputs from lasers are desirable to improve the photoacoustic image quality when imaging deeply-seated lesions. In many clinical applications, optical fibers are used to couple the high-energy laser pulse to tissue. These high peak intensity pulses can damage an optical fiber input face if the damage threshold is exceeded. It is necessary to reduce the peak intensity to minimize the fiber damage and to delivery sufficient light for imaging. In this paper, a laser-pulse-stretching technique is introduced to reduce the peak intensity of laser pulses. To demonstrate the technique, an initial 17ns pulse was stretched to 37ns by a ring-cavity laser-pulse-stretching system, and the laser peak power reduced to 42%. The stretched pulse increased the fiber damage threshold by 1.5-fold. Three ultrasound transducers centered at 1.3MHz, 3.5MHz, 6MHz frequencies were simulated and the results showed that the photoacoustic signal of 0.5mm-diameter target obtained with 37ns pulse was about 98%, 91% and 80% respectively using the same energy as with the 17ns pulse. Simulations were validated using a broadband hydrophone. Quantitative comparisons of photoacoustic images obtained with three corresponding ultrasound transducers showed that the image quality was not affected by stretching the pulse.
Characterization of fractal Brownian process in laser damaged photodiodes

Fractal characterization technique with spectral analysis of 1/f noise were used to study the carrier transport behavior in laser damage avalanche photodiodes. By computing correlation integral from the time series at embedding dimension M equals 2, we quantitatively characterized the random noise enhanced by laser-induced defects in laser damaged photodiodes. The lack of correlation between random noise and 1/f noise is the basis of the observation. It has been found that increasing random noise would change the characteristic features of 1/f noise spectrum. In this study, we proved that combining 1/f noise spectra, I-V curve measurements, and fractal characterization method could lead to a better understanding in the failure mechanism of laser damage to photodiodes.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Rumba: an online quality management system for approximate computing

Approximate computing can be employed for an emerging class of applications from various domains such as multimedia, machine learning and computer vision. The approximated output of such applications, even though not 100% numerically correct, is often either useful or the difference is unnoticeable to the end user. This opens up a new design dimension to trade off application performance and energy consumption with output correctness. However, a largely unaddressed challenge is quality control: how to ensure the user experience meets a prescribed level of quality. Current approaches either do not monitor output quality or use sampling approaches to check a small subset of the output assuming that it is representative. While these approaches have been shown to produce average errors that are acceptable, they often miss large errors without any means to take corrective actions. To overcome this challenge, we propose Rumba for online detection and correction of large approximation errors in an approximate accelerator-based computing environment. Rumba employs continuous lightweight checks in the accelerator to detect large approximation errors and then fixes these errors by exact re-computation on the host processor. Rumba employs computationally inexpensive output error prediction models for efficient detection. Computing patterns amenable for approximation (e.g., map and stencil) are usually data parallel in nature and Rumba exploits this property for selective correction. Overall, Rumba is able to achieve 2.1x reduction in output error for an unchecked approximation accelerator while maintaining the accelerator performance gains at the cost of reducing the energy savings from 3.2x to 2.2x for a set of applications from different approximate computing domains.
Nanostructured, nitrogen-doped carbon materials for hydrogen storage

An astonishing feature of carbon materials is the variety of morphological forms created by growth processes. We report here on a growth process originating from CVD diamond synthesis. The addition of nitrogen gas to the microwave plasma ignited in a CH4/H2 mixture has a profound influence on the crystal structure and morphology of diamond and graphite. Graphite appears in several forms: a single-crystal net-like planar form, nanoparticulates, and new nanotubes with perpendicularly stacked graphite rings. Nitrogen incorporation into these forms is approximately 1 at.%. Nanotubes are also formed in the process of etching graphite by nitrogen plasma. Nanotubes and particulates are built from structural units that are graphite nanocrystals with dimensions as small as 2.5×2.5 nm2. The self-assembling tendency of these units results in different forms: rings, nanotubes or flat particles with a diameter of 70, 60 and 25 nm, respectively. Electron diffraction of material which contain 10 at.% N indicates a lattice expansion of graphitic C–N nanocrystals compared to pure graphite. Creation of active sites for hydrogen-molecule adsorption by incorporation of nitrogen atoms into the graphitic network is the subject of speculation. Hydrogen intake for materials grown from the C–H–N gas system is 0.7–0.8 wt.%. Measurements have been performed using a thermogravimetric method at room temperature and under hydrogen pressure of 7 MPa. TGA-150 Cahn microbalance measurements have been corrected for the buoyancy effect.
The Impossibility of Superfeats

Soulevant la question de la possibilite des super-tâches dans le cadre des paradoxes de Zenon, l'A. mesure la realisabilite logique d'une sequence infinie d'actions dans un temps fini. Examinant les arguments de J. Thomson et A. Grunbaum, l'A. montre que les caracteristiques cinematiques des discontinuites directionnelles inherentes a l'exemple de la course d'Achille rendent impossible l'idee d'une super-tâche saccadee, a cause de l'obstacle conceptuel que pose la direction de l'acceleration.
Electrocortical source imaging of intracranial EEG data in epilepsy

Here we report first results of numerical methods for modeling the dynamic structure and evolution of epileptic seizure activity in an intracranial subdural electrode recording from a patient with partial refractory epilepsy. A 16-min dataset containing two seizures was decomposed using up to five competing adaptive mixture independent component analysis (AMICA) models. Multiple models modeled early or late ictal, or pre- or post-ictal periods in the data, respectively. To localize sources, a realistic Boundary Element Method (BEM) head model was constructed for the patient with custom open skull and plastic (non-conductive) electrode holder features. Source localization was performed using Sparse Bayesian Learning (SBL) on a dictionary of overlapping multi-scale cortical patches constructed from 80,130 dipoles in gray matter perpendicular to the cortical surface. Remaining mutual information among seizure-model AMICA components was dominated by two dependent component subspaces with largely contiguous source domains localized to superior frontal gyrus and precen-tral gyrus; these accounted for most of the ictal activity. Similar though much weaker dependent subspaces were also revealed in pre-ictal data by the associated AMICA model. Electrocortical source imaging appears promising both for clinical epilepsy research and for basic cognitive neuroscience research using volunteer patients who must undergo invasive monitoring for medical purposes.
Al‐Junayd on Unification and Its Stages: A Critical Examination

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical examination of al-Junayd's notion of unification (tawhid).1 Al-Junayd is without doubt one of the most prominent Sufi leaders of the tenth century A.D. who left their mark on the Sufi traditions. He is remembered especially for his strong advocacy of strict adherence by Sufis to the Quar'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet. His Sufi views called for thorough introspection, purification of one's heart and soul, and conformity to the highest morals. To acquire a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of tawhid, however, some other related Junaydian notions need to be presented where appropriate. The following issues will be discussed in this order: human beings' relationship to God, fana'2 (perishing), unification and its stages, sahw3 (sobriety), and, finally, whether the state of unification is reached by an act of free will and whether this state is purely subjective, i.e., not subject to public demonstration.
Berry–Esseen and Edgeworth approximations for the normalized tail of an infinite sum of independent weighted gamma random variables

Abstract Consider the sum Z = ∑ n = 1 ∞ λ n ( η n − E η n ) , where η n are independent gamma random variables with shape parameters r n > 0 , and the λ n ’s are predetermined weights. We study the asymptotic behavior of the tail ∑ n = M ∞ λ n ( η n − E η n ) , which is asymptotically normal under certain conditions. We derive a Berry–Esseen bound and Edgeworth expansions for its distribution function. We illustrate the effectiveness of these expansions on an infinite sum of weighted chi-squared distributions. The results we obtain are directly applicable to the study of double Wiener–Ito integrals and to the “Rosenblatt distribution”.
Manuscript resources in the history of chemistry at the National Library of Medicine.

Summary This paper discusses the chemistry manuscript collection in an institution that does not readily come to mind when searching for unpublished matter on the history of chemistry, the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. This collection includes personal papers of some twentieth-century American chemists and biochemists, lecture notes of British and American chemistry courses of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries from a variety of institutional settings, and extended oral histories of some major figures in the history of modern chemistry and biochemistry. Among those represented in this collection are Joseph Black, Louis Pasteur, George B. Wood, Donald D. Van Slyke, and Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. In addition to illustrating the type of resources available, this paper also suggests some specific ways in which the collection can contribute to research in the history of chemistry.
The Oxidation Rate Dependence of Oxidation‐Enhanced Diffusion of Boron and Phosphorus in Silicon

Oxidation‐enhanced diffusion (OED) of boron and phosphorus has been found to vary with oxidation rate. The measurement technique uses a grating pattern of parallel nitride and oxide stripes on the silicon surface, which allows three different drive‐in conditions to be achieved on the same wafer, namely, inert and oxidizing conditions with two different oxidation rates. Because of the close proximity of the profiles diffused under different conditions on the wafers, the relative change in the diffusivity of dopants could be accurately determined by means of spreading resistance measurements. The results show that impurity diffusion in oxidizing ambients is enhanced and the enhancement clearly depends on oxidation rates, the higher the rate, the larger the enhancement. Oxidation‐enhanced diffusion is caused by the supersaturation of extrinsic point defects generated at the interface during oxidation. The present work indicates that the supersaturation is directly related to oxidation rate by a sublinear power‐law dependence, similar to that observed for the growth of oxidation‐induced stacking faults. The oxidation rate dependence is used as a basis to formulate a general model which explains the variation of OED under different oxidation conditions, namely, temperature, time, ambient, and pressure.
The role of emergency medical planning in disaster response

This paper addresses the importance of emergency medical planning in disaster response and highlights the need for cooperation among community, governmental and private organisations. Research on emergency medical disaster planning will provide a framework for community leaders, elected officials and healthcare providers to analyse data to support evidence-based decision making in natural disasters or terrorist incidents. Such decisions increase the effectiveness of the disaster response system, thereby safeguarding the population and the community infrastructure. This study found that approximately 79% of rural communities in the USA have hospital emergency rooms with medical disaster response capabilities. Unfortunately, the data demonstrate that 21% of rural communities lack emergency rooms, which are important disaster medical response resources. As a result, rural populations could be at risk during disasters. It also emphasises the importance of building partnerships among local, state and national organisations to ensure a timely medical response to disasters.
Issues and Strategies in Leading Culturally Diverse Counseling Groups.

Abstract This article describes issues that group counselors might face as they attempt to provide services for multicultural and diverse populations. Strategies and recommendations for leading culturally diverse counseling groups are highlighted.
On Reception of Improvised Music

Does the concept of improvisation have any meaning when a piece is recorded and experienced at another time and place? Dennen revisits John Coltrane's “My Favorite Things” from the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival to consider a theory of the reception of improvised music.
The long-run cost characteristics of dental practices in the U.S.A.

Abstract The long-run cost structure of U.S. dental practices is analyzed using data collected in 1977 from a representative sample of U.S. dental practices. The practices were stratified by the number of dentists on staff before sampling. Participation rates by the sampled practices of different sizes were approx. 80% and the response rates for the data collection instruments ranged from 84 to 93%. Empirical results show that linear total and L-shaped average long-run cost curves best explain the cost structure of dental practices, indicating that dental technology exhibits constant return to scale. Indivisibilities in production may cause firms with extremely small output to experience higher average costs than their larger counterparts. Any economies due to indivisibilities are exhausted at a rather small practice size. There is no evidence that large group practices have a substantial technical advantage over efficient one, two, and three dentist practices.
Critical temperatures and densities of isomeric alkanols with six to ten carbon atoms

Abstract The critical temperatures and densities of sixteen linear alkanols were measured using a rapid-heating technique. A new extrapolation procedure enabled the critical temperatures of the higher alkanols, which are thermally unstable, to be accurately determined. A series of experiments, at densities close to the critical, yielded the critical density of each substance.
Alteration in Secondary Wall Deposition by Overexpression of the Fragile Fiber1 Kinesin‐Like Protein in Arabidopsis

Secondary walls in fibers and vessels are typically deposited in three distinct layers, which are formed by the successive re-orientation of cellulose microfibrils. Although cortical microtubules have been implicated in this process, the underlying mechanisms for the formation of three distinct wall layers are not known. The Fragile Fiber1 (FRA1) kinesin-like protein has been previously shown to be involved in the oriented deposition of cellulose microfibrils and important for cell wall strength in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the present report, we investigated the expression pattern of the FRA1 gene and studied the effects of FRA1 overexpression on secondary wall deposition. The FRA1 gene was found to be expressed not only in cells undergoing secondary wall deposition including developing interfascicular fibers and xylem cells, but also in dividing cells and expanding/elongating parenchyma cells. Overexpression of FRA1 caused a severe reduction in the thickness of secondary walls in interfascicular fibers and deformation of vessels, which are accompanied with a marked decrease in stem strength. Close examination of secondary walls revealed that unlike the wild-type walls having three typical layers with the middle layer being the thickest, the secondary walls in FRA1 overexpressors exhibited an increased number of layers, all of which had a similar width. Together, these results provide further evidence implicating an important role of the FRA1 kinesin-like protein in the ordered deposition of secondary walls, which determines the strength of fibers and vessels.
Cardiovascular responses during prolonged exercise at ventilatory threshold in boys and men.

CHEATHAM, C. C., A. D. MAHON, J. D. BROWN, and D. R. BOLSTER. Cardiovascular responses during prolonged exercise at ventilatory threshold in boys and men. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 1080–1087, 2000.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the cardiovascular responses during
Termination of information evaluation in auditing

A screening decision is about whether a candidate fails to meet a decision maker's criteria and must be rejected, or whether it meets the criteria and can be accepted. Image theory contends that screening decisions are based on a simple, noncompensatory process that focuses solely upon the candidate's negative attributes. This contention has received empirical support in a job screening context in which students role-played a hypothetical person seeking a job. But how robust is image theory's prediction? The present work was done in the context of professional auditors screening prospective clients. The client screening context is a particularly interesting setting to test the implications of image theory. If auditors reject clients with negative attributes, as predicted by image theory, this will indicate that some clients are being denied access to a socially useful service. Further, auditors can accept prospective clients with negative attributes and simply adjust the audit plan and fees to compensate for the client's riskiness. Thus, it is not clear that the preliminary findings obtained in a job screening context will generalize to the audit context. On the other hand, results consistent with the image theory prediction would suggest a robust theory. Even in the client screening context, where auditors used their own criteria to screen prospective clients, we found overwhelming support for image theory's view of screening. The results indicate the potential payoffs of image theory as a robust framework to address audit and other substantive problems. Implications of a noncompensatory, negative oriented, client screening strategy are discussed.
A method for the stereoselective synthesis of peptidyl trifluoromethyl ketones

Abstract A method is described for the stereoselective preparation of peptidyl trifluoromethyl ketones which is centered around the addition of trifluoromethyl zinc iodide to a peptidyl aldehyde. Oxidation of the resulting alcohol with selected oxidants affords the corresponding ketone in greater than 99% isomeric purity.
The inner workings of collaboration in marine ecosystem-based management: A social network analysis approach

Abstract Collaboration across sectors and disciplines is widely identified as essential for the implementation of ecosystem-based management (EBM) in both marine and terrestrial settings. However, relatively little research has examined the inner workings of collaborative marine EBM processes. Social network analysis (SNA) is a suite of methods for systematically analyzing and mapping relations between individuals or organizations, and can be used as a means of understanding the inner workings of collaboration. The authors applied SNA methods to cases of collaborative marine EBM planning in Rhode Island and New York, U.S.A., focusing on network structure and the role and influence of individual actors within their respective planning networks. Results highlighted the importance of diverse, decentralized networks of moderate density as well as the influence that bridging ties, or “brokers,” can wield in such processes. Research also found that non-governmental actors, such as university outreach specialists and scientists affiliated with environmental organizations, can be especially influential in collaborative marine EBM planning. This paper presents the results of this analysis, discusses the utility of this method for the analysis of collaborative marine EBM planning, and offers recommendations for future research and practice.
Heme Oxygenase (HO-1): His-132 Stabilizes a Distal Water Ligand and Assists Catalysis†

His-25 and His-132 are the primary candidates for the proximal heme iron ligand in heme oxygenase isozyme-1 (HO-1). The unambiguous spectroscopic demonstration that His-25 is the proximal iron ligand leaves the role of His-132 uncertain. Absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy are used here to establish that mutation of His-132 to an alanine, glycine, or serine does not alter the histidine−iron bond, but results in the loss of the water molecule coordinated to the distal side of the iron in the wild-type enzyme−substrate complex. The His-132 mutations also (a) destabilize the ferrous−O2 complex with respect to autoxidation, which should result in partial uncoupling of NADPH consumption from heme oxidation, and (b) decrease the affinity of the enzyme for heme. The catalytic activity of the protein is decreased but not suppressed by these mutations: the H132G and H132A mutants retain 40−50% and the H132S mutant 20% of the activity of the wild-type protein. His-132, however, is required for catalytic tu...
Separating the effects of salience and disparity on the rate of observing

Pigeons producing deliveries of grain on a mixed variable-interval, extinction schedule by pecking a center key could also produce discriminative stimuli on concurrent variable-interval schedules by pecking the left or right observing key. The stimuli produced by each observing key were varied independently. In the first experiment, the negative discriminative stimulus was at the far end of the spectrum from the key illumination accompanying the mixed schedule and from the positive discriminative stimulus. When the magnitude of the difference between the latter two stimuli (salience) was varied, more pecks occurred on the observing key producing the larger of the two differences than on the key producing the smaller difference. In the second experiment, the stimulus accompanying the mixed schedule was at the far end of the spectrum, and the magnitude of the difference between the two discriminative stimuli (disparity) was varied. The proportion of pecks occurring on each observing key shifted systematically in the direction of the key producing the larger difference. The salience of the discriminative stimuli and their disparity each has an independent influence on the frequency of observing when the other is controlled, but the effect of the salience appears to be the more substantial.
Numerical schemes to model condensation and evaporation of aerosols

A positive-definite scheme is developed to solve the aerosol condensation and evaporation problem. Bott's positive-definite advection scheme (Bott, 1989a) is used to model the movement of the distribution in the size coordinate while analytical solutions are derived to model the growth term. The numerical predictions of the positive-definite scheme are compared with that of previous attempts to model this equation, i.e. a finite-element-finite-difference method and accurate space derivatives scheme (ASD). New analytical solutions are derived for the condensation/evaporation equation and these are used to estimate the accuracy of the schemes for modeling single component and multicomponent cases. The scheme is seen to be accurate at small Courant numbers and is numerically very efficient.
Interaction of fertilizer regime with host‐plant resistance in tomato

The effect of fertilizer regime on trichome- and lamellar-based resistance in the wild tomato species, Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum C. H. Mull accession PI 134417, to three insect pests of tomato, the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (L.), the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), and the tomato fruitworm, Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie), was examined. Increasing the rate at which NPK fertilizer was applied, from 1.8 to 19.6 g/plant/week, reduced the trichome-based resistance of PI 134417 to M. sexta and L. decemlineata by lowering both the density of type VI (sensu Luckwill, 1943) glandular trichomes and the amount of 2-tridecanone contained in the tips of these trichomes. 2-Tridecanone is a toxic methyl-ketone responsible for glandular trichome-mediated resistance in PI 134417 to M. sexta and L. decemlineata. A similar increase in the application rate of NPK fertilizer reduced the lamellar-based resistance of PI 134417 to L. decemlineata and H. zea. The meachanisms for this reduction of resistance are unknown, but may be related to improved nutritional quality of hosts at higher fertilizer regimes.
Growth Hormone Neurosecretory Dysfunction as a Clinical Entity

Growth hormone neurosecretory dysfunction (GHND) is part of a spectrum of disorders of growth hormone (GH) secretion and action that range from classic GH deficiency (GHD) to partial GH insensitivity. GHND patients develop circulating levels of GH above an arbitrary level (frequently 10 ng/mL) in response to pharmacological stimuli, but have low spontaneous endogenous production of GH. However, GHND is difficult if not impossible to diagnose in the individual patient because of the inherent variability of the assessment of GH endogenous secretion and peak GH response to provocative testing. The lack of a clear linkage between long term response to GH treatment for short stature and any auxologic or biochemical parameters make the selection of short patients for treatment difficult. It is necessary to use a combination of careful auxological and biochemical assessments of short children for the appropriate selection of patients for GH treatment. Indirect ways of assessing endogenous GH metabolism such as insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and GH binding protein (GHBP), are more reproducible than direct GH testing, and may be useful in the definition of subtle disorders of GH secretion and action in individual patients. The diagnostic categorization of patients with short stature as GH/IGF axis dysfunction may prove to be useful.