cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A new twist on Stokes’ second problem: Partial penetration of nonlinearity in sheared viscoelastic layers

Abstract Fully nonlinear flow-constitutive model simulations are employed to investigate constructive and destructive interference of counter-propagating shear waves and their associated stress profiles within a viscoelastic layer of “intermediate depth”. Linear unidirectional shear waves in sufficiently thick viscoelastic layers, the viscoelastic analog of Stokes’ second problem, were exploited as a rheological tool by Ferry et al. [1] , [2] . The extension to intermediate gap heights for linear and nonlinear driving amplitudes was studied by our group [3] , [4] , [5] , and by Balmforth et al. [6] for viscoplastic fluids. Here we explore the nonlinear quasi-stationary response of the entire viscoelastic layer to an oscillating boundary, greater than the gap-loading limit of typical shear rheometers but less than the depth of effective attenuation. We illustrate how to tune the degree and partitioning of nonlinearity versus driving amplitude and frequency, gap height, and fluid viscoelasticity.
Plutonium: A Review of Measurement Techniques for Environmental Monitoring

An overview is provided of the techniques for measuring plutonium in various media. The emphasis is on measurements for surveillance and protection in environmental and occupational situations. Overviews are first provided for the characteristics of, sources of, and typical levels of plutonium concentrations. The various measurement techniques are then discussed.
Exposure Time and the Effect of Hexylresorcinol. on Bacterial Aggregates

The bactericidal effect of hexylresorcinol was assessed using bacterial aggregates. Increased drug concentration resulted in decreased survival of bacteria when the aggregates were exposed to hexylresorcinol for at least eight hours. This indicates that this drug may be effective against dental plaque only when available for long periods of time.
Spacelab and Drop-Tower Experiments on Combustion of Methanol/Dodecanol and Ethanol/Dodecanol Mixture Droplets in Reduced Gravity

This paper describes reduced-gravity experiments on the combustion of droplets composed of metha-nol/dodecanol and ethanol/dodecanol mixtures. The experiments used the NASA Glenn Research Center 2·2 s drop tower as well as facilities in Spacelab during the USML-2 flight. In the drop-tower experiments, initial droplet diameters ranged from 0·8 mm to 1.2 mm, initial dodecanol mass fractions, Y, (in both mixtures) were 0·1, 0·25 and 0·5, and the ambient gas mixture was either an 02/He mixture (with a molar O2 concentration of 0·5) or atmospheric air. Most drop-tower experiments were at 0·1 MPa ambient pressure, although two tests were at 0·04 MPa. In the Spacelab experiments, the methanol/dodecanol droplets burned in ambient shuttle air (0·21 oxygen mole fraction) at 0·1 MPa, the initial droplet sizes were in the range 4·2 mm to 5·4 mm, and the initial values of Y were 0·2 and 0·4. Burning rates varied with experimental conditions, and disruptive burning was very frequent. One of the largest methanol/dodecan...
Atomic Force Microscopy of Crystalline Insulins: The Influence of Sequence Variation on Crystallization and Interfacial Structure

The self-association of proteins is influenced by amino acid sequence, molecular conformation, and the presence of molecular additives. In the presence of phenolic additives, LysB28ProB29 insulin, in which the C-terminal prolyl and lysyl residues of wild-type human insulin have been inverted, can be crystallized into forms resembling those of wild-type insulins in which the protein exists as zinc-complexed hexamers organized into well-defined layers. We describe herein tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TMAFM) studies of single crystals of rhombohedral (R3) LysB28ProB29 that reveal the influence of sequence variation on hexamer-hexamer association at the surface of actively growing crystals. Molecular scale lattice images of these crystals were acquired in situ under growth conditions, enabling simultaneous identification of the rhombohedral LysB28ProB29 crystal form, its orientation, and its dynamic growth characteristics. The ability to obtain crystallographic parameters on multiple crystal faces with TMAFM confirmed that bovine and porcine insulins grown under these conditions crystallized into the same space group as LysB28ProB29 (R3), enabling direct comparison of crystal growth behavior and the influence of sequence variation. Real-time TMAFM revealed hexamer vacancies on the (001) terraces of LysB28ProB29, and more rounded dislocation noses and larger terrace widths for actively growing screw dislocations compared to wild-type bovine and porcine insulin crystals under identical conditions. This behavior is consistent with weaker interhexamer attachment energies for LysB28ProB29 at active growth sites. Comparison of the single crystal x-ray structures of wild-type insulins and LysB28ProB29 suggests that differences in protein conformation at the hexamer-hexamer interface and accompanying changes in interhexamer bonding are responsible for this behavior. These studies demonstrate that subtle changes in molecular conformation due to a single sequence inversion in a region critical for insulin self-association can have a significant effect on the crystallization of proteins.
IAIMS infrastructure: Technological base

The IAIMS concept calls for the logical integration of information derived from databases in the functional areas of administration, clinical care, education, libraries, and research. To accomplish this task a technological base must be established. It is suggested that such an infrastructure will consist of a systems component, the linked databases component, and a management component. An IAIMS should rapidly evolve into an information utility and, within a decade, provide a knowledge management system.
Ecological Epigenetics: An Introduction to the Symposium

Phenotypic variation arises from interactions between environmental and genetic variation, and the emergence of such variation is, in part, mediated by epigenetic mechanisms: factors that modify gene expression but do not change the gene sequence, per se. The role of epigenetic variation and inheritance in natural populations, however, remains poorly understood. The budding field of Ecological Epigenetics seeks to extend our knowledge of epigenetic mechanisms and processes to natural populations, and recent conceptual and technical advances have made progress toward this goal more feasible. In light of these breakthroughs, now is a particularly opportune time to develop a framework that will guide and facilitate exceptional studies in Ecological Epigenetics. Toward this goal, the Ecological Epigenetics symposium brought together researchers with diverse strengths in theory, developmental genetics, ecology, and evolution, and the proceedings from their talks are presented in this issue. By characterizing environmentally dependent epigenetic variation in natural populations, we will enhance our understanding of developmental, ecological, and evolutionary phenomena. In particular, ecological epigenetics has the potential to explain how populations endure (or fail to endure) profound and rapid environmental change. Here, my goal is to introduce some of the common goals and challenges shared by those pursuing this critical field.
Novel hybrid maturases in unstable pseudorevertants of maturaseless mutants of yeast mitochondrial DNA

Abstract Unstable pseudorevertants of mitochondrial mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking the maturase function encoded by the fourth intron of the cytochrome b gene (bI4) were isolated. They were found to be heteroplasmic cells owing their regained ability to respire (and grow on glycerol medium) to the presence of a rearranged (rho-) mtDNA that contains an in-frame fusion of the reading frames of the group I introns bI4 and intron 4 alpha of the coxl gene encoding subunit I of cytochrome c oxidase (aI4 alpha). The products of those gene fusions suppress the bI4 maturase deficiency still present in those heteroplasmic cells. Similar heteroplasmic pseudorevertants of a group II maturaseless mutant of the first intron of the coxI gene were characterized; they result from partial deletion of the coxI gene that fuses the reading frames of introns 1 and 2. These heteroplasms provide independent support for the existence of RNA maturases encoded by group I and group II introns. Also, since the petite/mit- heteroplasms arise spontaneously at very high frequencies they provide a system that can be used to obtain mutants unable to form or maintain heteroplasmic cells.
Teaching Federal Board Students

Abstract The Government is providing training for disabled soldiers at Purdue University the same as at other Land Grant Colleges. There are two classes of these men: those who are taking regular university courses and those whose previous training does not enable them to do the regular university work. For the latter, special courses have been arranged in the School of Agriculture. Each man decides upon his training objective and then takes those courses in the line of work in which he expects to specialize, together with other courses which he may use as a sideline, and also some subjects which are fundamentals, such as biology and chemistry. It is planned that when the school training period is completed the student, in case he is going to work for someone other than himself, will be put in placement training for a certain length of time. In case he has a farm . . .
Quantitative evaluation of skin surface lipids by a fiber-optic refractometer

A method to quantitatively evaluate the skin surface lipids by the use of a fiber-optic refractometer is described. The method exploits the fact that the skin surface lipids tend to make the light propagating inside the fiber core refracted into the surrounding medium thus decreasing the sensor output. The applicability of the sensor is examined by comparison with a traditional gravimetric technique using a balance. Optical measurement results obtained from the forehead of a volunteer are related to the results by gravimetry, which indicates there is a strong correlation between them. The practicality of the sensor is also confirmed by a bilateral symmetry test where data taken from both sides of the forehead are related, giving a correlation coefficient of 0.883.
Displaying braille and graphics on a mouse-like tactile display

For presenting graphics on small, moveable tactile displays such as those that resemble computer mice, word labels can be as important as the diagram itself. In addition, the ability to present Braille with these displays offers an alternative for accessing full pages of Braille with a cost effective system. In this work, we consider the inherent difficulties arising from presenting Braille on these displays and propose algorithms to circumvent these problems. Lastly, we present preliminary results from individuals who are visually impaired that suggests the promise of this approach.
On automorphisms of the degrees that preserve jumps

IfF is an automorphism of the degrees of unsolvability that preserves the jump operator, thenF leaves fixed all the degreesc that satisfyc≧0 (3).
On the decomposition problem of fuzzy sets

In this paper, we consider an important problem that is frequently encountered and yet almost universally ignored both in the application and in the theoretic studies of fuzzy sets. We refer to this problem as the decomposition of fuzzy sets. In nearly all applications of fuzzy sets theory (e.g., fuzzy decision making, fuzzy control, fuzzy forecasting, etc.), the output is, in general, a fuzzy set; this is then defuzzified before it is applied. Although defuzzification may be necessary if a crisp quantity is definitely needed, when a fuzzy output is appropriate, desired or required in an application, then the defuzzification step becomes unnecessary. Yet, in this case, one finds that it is some times difficult to correctly interpret a fuzzy quantity or identify the true meaning of this fuzzy output using a family of predefined fuzzy sets. Thus, how to match the fuzzy output and the predefined fuzzy sets is the problem of concern in this paper. To address this problem, we first present and review some definitions and then proceed with an investigation of the preliminary properties of these concepts, complementing them with illustrative examples. Finally, we propose some algorithms for the solution of this problem.
Direct Determination of the Charge of the β-Particle 1

The charge of radium E $\ensuremath{\beta}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{c}\mathrm{l}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{s}$ was measured by first measuring the charge carried per second by a magnetically analyzed beam and then, after the beam had been reduced by a known fraction by the decay of the source, by counting the number of particles per second in the beam. The average value obtained was -${4.80}_{0}$\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}${0.03}_{5}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}10}$ e.s.u. in agreement with the accepted value of the charge of the electron. Also a half-life of ${4.99}_{0}$ days for radium E was observed. No dependence of either the charge or the half-life upon ${H}_{\ensuremath{\rho}}$ was detected.
Fabrication of Fine Grain Size Shape Memory Alloys Through Crystallization of Amorphous Ribbon

The objective of this work is to fabricate fine grain size NiTi-based shape memory alloys through crystallization of amorphous materials. An amorphous material with a composition of Ti50Ni25Cu25 was used as a sample for this study. First, a systematic investigation was conducted to understand the kinetics of the crystallization process of amorphous materials under an isothermal mode and under a continuous heating mode, respectively. The characteristic parameters associated with the crystallization process, such as the starting and finishing times for the isothermal crystallization process, the peak temperature for the continuous heating crystallization process, and the activation energy of the material were determined. Based on the results of the kinetic study, a series of isothermal annealing experiments were conducted to characterize the microstructure of the fully crystallized materials. The TEM micrographs indicate that the mean grain size of the fully crystallized Ti50Ni25Cu25 alloy is independ of isothermal temperature. The mean grain size is around 400-500nm, which is 1/10 of the grain size of usual NiTi based shape memory alloys. In addition, the crystallization micro-mechanism of the amorphous material is discussed based on TEM observations.
Gross BMPR2 gene rearrangements constitute a new cause for primary pulmonary hypertension

Purpose: Approximately 50% of patients with familial primary pulmonary hypertension (FPPH) have been reported to have mutations within the bone morphogenic protein receptor type 2 (BMPR2) gene. The vast majority of these mutations were identified by PCR amplification and sequencing of individual exons. The aim of our study was to determine if additional BMPR2 mutations not found by exon sequencing alone could account for a significant portion of these negative cases. Methods: We examined DNA samples from 12 families, previously found to be negative for BMPR2 mutations, to identify any large BMPR2 gene rearrangements. Results: Southern blot analysis found large gene rearrangements in four (33%) unrelated kindreds. Further analysis by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) of BMPR2 transcripts from two of these kindreds found one to be heterozygous for a exon 10 duplication and the second to be heterozygous for a deletion of exons 4 to 5. Nonhomologous recombination is believed to be the cause of these large insertions/deletions. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate the inherent problems associated with exon-by-exon sequencing and the importance of other screening methods such as Southern blot and RT-PCR in the identification of BMPR2 mutations.
UDH: a universal relation system

Abstract The concept of a new universal relation system, called UDH (unified database handler), is given, allowing enquiries of relational databases without references to the underlying database scheme. Also, UDH attempts to decouple data manipulation requests from the database scheme via an additional layer above the database scheme, called semantic object scheme.
A practical hierarchical model of parallel computation II. Binary tree and FFT algorithms

Abstract A companion paper has introduced the Hierarchical PRAM (H-PRAM) model of parallel computation, which achieves a good balance between simplicity of usage and the reflectivity of realistic parallel computers. In this paper, we demonstrate the usage of the model by designing and analyzing various algorithms-for complete binary tree and FFT/butterfly structured computations. By concentrating on two problems, we are able to demonstrate the results of different combinations of organizational strategies. The philosophy in algorithm design is to maximize the number of processors P that are efficiently usable with respect to an input size N , and to minimize the inefficiency when efficiency is not possible (when P is too large with respect to N ). This can be done because of the H-PRAM representation of general locality, i.e., both strict and neighborhood locality, and results in algorithms that can efficiently employ more processors (and are thus faster) than algorithms for models that only represent strict locality. 1992 Academic Press, Inc.
Mechanisms of dyslipidemia of chronic renal failure

Chronic renal failure is associated with profound dysregulation of lipid metabolism and marked abnormalities of plasma lipid profile. This review is intended to provide an overview of the molecular basis of lipid disorders in chronic renal failure and explore their potential impact on cardiovascular disease and energy metabolism.
Distributed construction of a fault-tolerant network from a tree

We present an algorithm by which nodes arranged in a tree, with each node initially knowing only its parent and children, can construct a fault-tolerant communication structure (an expander graph) among themselves in a distributed and scalable way. The tree overlayed with this logical expander is a useful structure for distributed applications that require the intrinsic "treeness" from the topology but cannot afford any obstruction in communication due to failures. At the core of our construction is a novel distributed mechanism that samples nodes uniformly at random from the tree. In the event of node joins, node departures or node failures, the expander maintains its own fault tolerance and permits the reformation of the tree. We present simulation results to quantify the convergence of our algorithm to a fault tolerant network having both good vertex connectivity and expansion properties.
High extinction ratio and saturation power traveling-wave electroabsorption modulator

An InGaAsP multiquantum-well traveling-wave electroabsorption modulator is demonstrated with high extinction ratio and modulation efficiency. By designing a strain-compensated quantum-well active region with traveling-wave design, high saturation power (>14 dBm) for >20-GHz high-speed performance (1.5 dB drop at 20 GHz) is achieved. Due to high modulation efficiency (>30 dBN for 0 to 1 V 40-dB extinction ratio in 2 V), error free 10-Gb/s operation with 1 V/sub p-p/ driving voltage is obtained. By comparing codirections and counterdirections of optical and microwave interactions, pulse generation at 40 GHz shows that the traveling-wave performance has an advantage for short pulses with high-power output, where pulsewidth as short as 4.5 ps is obtained in this kind of device.
Quantitative and qualitative measures for the evaluation of the superquadric models

Evaluation criteria for superquadric models recovered from the range data discussed. Arguments are presented to support the authors' belief that both quantitative and qualitative measures are required in order to evaluate a superquadric fit. The concept of superquadric contraction and dilation is introduced and used to derive a novel interpretation of the modified superquadric inside-outside function in terms of contraction/expansion factor. The same concept also gives a close initial guess for the numerical procedure computing the minimum Euclidean distance of a point from a superquadric model. The minimum Euclidean distance map is introduced as a qualitative criterion for interpretation of fit. View-dependent qualitative measures like the contour-difference map and the Z-distance map are shown to be essential for the complete evaluation of the models. Analytical solution and techniques for the contour generator on superquadric models are presented. Finally, examples of real objects are given to generate the measures. >
Analytical-Experimental Correlation for a Stiffened Composite Panel Loaded in Axial Compression

A combined analytical and experimental study of a blade-stiffened composite panel subjected to axial compression was conducted. The study e rst examined the effects of the differences between a simple model used to design the panel and the actual experimental conditions. It was found that the large imperfection used in the design process compensated for the simplifying assumptions of the design model, and the experimental failure load was only 10% higher than the design load. Next, e nite element analyses wereperformed in order to correlateanalytical and experimental results. The buckling loads from e nite element analyses agreed well with the experimental failure loads. However, substantial differences were found in the out-of-plane displacements of the panel. Finite element simulations of nonuniform load introduction with general contact dee nitions improved correlation between the measured and predicted out-of-plane deformations.
Scaling relations between riparian vegetation and stream order in the Whitewater River network, Kansas, USA

Riparian communities have been well- studied along individual streams, but not within the context of networks of which streams are a part. To study networks, hydrologists use Horton-Strahler ordering to assign streams to discrete categories in which increasing numerical value (x) reflects increas- ing size of the stream and complexity of the network. A key use of this classification method has been to demonstrate scaling relations between hydrogeomor- phic variables and order. These relations now provide a foundation to determine how ecological processes are associated with the geometry and topology of river networks. We used geographic information systems (GIS) to map and measure the stream network and riparian vegetation of the Whitewater River basin of eastern Kansas, USA. With the resulting data, we tested if (1) riparian vegetation scaled with order, and (2) riparian vegetation at confluences of two streams differed from that found along constituent streams. Most characteristics of riparian vegetation scaled with order. In confluence zones, density and diversity of riparian vegetation generally were equivalent to that of the largest constituent stream. Scaling relations between riparian vegetation and order provide a framework to quantify the role of riparian vegetation in the water balance of stream networks and a tool to predict area and distribution of riparian vegetation from network topology.
Cisg's Principle of Rule-Displacement: Validity and Three-Party Cases

Central to the implementation of the United Nations Convention on International Contracts for the Sale of Goods (CISG) is a principle of rule-displacement: When CISG's rules address an issue, they displace domestic law controlling the same issue. When its rules do not address an issue, domestic law continues to control. This article briefly describes CISG's application to two sorts of cases in which the principle is implicated: cases involving the validity of a contract provision and cases involving three-party priority contests in goods. The two sorts of cases make application of the principle difficult, for different reasons. "Validity" cases can require determining whether CISG's rules address an issue arising from the sales contract. The answer often simply is indeterminate. Three-party cases require ordering priorities to goods by keeping track of both property rights to the goods controlled by domestic law and contract rights to goods provided by CISG. Priorities in these cases can be determined. Whether the overlap of domestic law and CISG is a good thing depends on the substance of domestic law - a normative question. The mere fact that an overlap in applicable law risks uniformity in CISG's implementation is by itself normatively irrelevant. This article raises the normative question but does not answer it.
Supporting document triage via annotation‐based visualizations

For open-ended information tasks, users must determine how to best use their time in sifting through many potentially relevant documents. Document triage is the process of rapidly assessing the potential value of documents with respect to the task at hand. Normally, people perform triage using multiple applications in concert: a search engine interface presents lists of potentially relevant documents; a document reader displays their contents; and a third tool—a text editor or a more specialized application—is used to record notes and assessments. To support document triage, we have developed a multi-application environment that combines an information workspace with a modified document reader. This environment infers users' interests based on their interactions with both applications, coupled with an analysis of the characteristics and content of the documents they are interacting with. It then uses this interest profile to generate visualizations that bring users' attention to documents or parts of documents that match those inferred interests.
Retroperitoneal Access for Thoracic Aortic Endografting

Safe performance of thoracic endovascular procedures including thoracic stent grafting of aneurysms, dissections, retrograde delivery of transcatheter aortic valves, and other complex endovascular procedures for structural heart disease requires zero tolerance for major access-related complications. Thorough pre-operative planning, understanding the pathology of aorto-iliac occlusive disease, advanced endovascular skills, and ability to perform an iliac conduit via a retroperitoneal approach are necessary to achieve excellent results. Furthermore, deliverability of complex thoracic endovascular devices through tortuous anatomy or old graft material may be improved by the more proximal access provided by an iliac conduit.1
Detection of bcl-2/IgH rearrangements by quantitative-competitive PCR and capillary electrophoresis.

Background: PCR is the primary method for detecting minimal residual disease in hematologic cancers. One such gene target is the bcl- 2/immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) translocation found in a majority of cases of follicular lymphoma.
Pivot task increases knee frontal plane loading compared with sidestep and drop-jump

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess kinematic and kinetic differences between three tasks (drop-jump, sidestep cutting, and pivot tasks) commonly used to evaluate anterior cruciate ligament risk factors. Nineteen female collegiate soccer athletes from a Division I institution participated in this study. Participants performed a drop-jump task, and two unanticipated tasks, sidestep cutting and pivot. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were conducted to assess differences in the kinematic and kinetic parameters between tasks. The pivot task had lower knee flexion (−41.2 ± 8.8°) and a higher valgus angle (−7.6 ± 10.1°) than the sidestep (−53.9 ± 9.4° and −2.9 ± 10.0°, respectively) at maximum vertical ground reaction force. The pivot task (0.8 ± 0.3 multiples of body weight) had higher peak posterior ground reaction force than the drop-jump (0.3 ± 0.06 multiples of body weight) and sidestep cutting (0.3 ± 0.1 multiples of body weight), as well as higher internal varus moments (0.72 ± 0.3 N ·...
Inseason Forecasting of Southeastern Alaska Pink Salmon Abundance Based on Sex Ratios and Commercial Catch and Effort Data

Abstract We developed a sex ratio index that, together with cumulative catch of all gears or cumulative catch per unit effort of the seine fishery, estimated abundance and catch of pink salmon Oncorhynchus gorbuscha in southern Southeast Alaska during a fishing season. We evaluated three inseason forecast models—linear, nonlinear, and combined—using data from 1983 to 1997. Based on a cross-validation evaluation of forecast accuracy, the nonlinear model generally outperformed the linear and combined models. Cumulative catch per unit effort was a better predictor than cumulative catch in the first 3 weeks (statistical weeks 28–30) of a fishing season, but the relation was reversed for the remaining 5 weeks. Inseason abundance estimations greatly outperformed the preseason forecasts. Incorporating sex ratios into inseason forecast models correctly adjusted the run timings during a large majority of years and thus improved overall forecasts starting in the second week. In the second through fifth weeks (weeks...
Sparse Representation for Signal Classification

In this paper, application of sparse representation (factorization) of signals over an overcomplete basis (dictionary) for signal classification is discussed. Searching for the sparse representation of a signal over an overcomplete dictionary is achieved by optimizing an objective function that includes two terms: one that measures the signal reconstruction error and another that measures the sparsity. This objective function works well in applications where signals need to be reconstructed, like coding and denoising. On the other hand, discriminative methods, such as linear discriminative analysis (LDA), are better suited for classification tasks. However, discriminative methods are usually sensitive to corruption in signals due to lacking crucial properties for signal reconstruction. In this paper, we present a theoretical framework for signal classification with sparse representation. The approach combines the discrimination power of the discriminative methods with the reconstruction property and the sparsity of the sparse representation that enables one to deal with signal corruptions: noise, missing data and outliers. The proposed approach is therefore capable of robust classification with a sparse representation of signals. The theoretical results are demonstrated with signal classification tasks, showing that the proposed approach outperforms the standard discriminative methods and the standard sparse representation in the case of corrupted signals.
Forehead donor site full-thickness skin graft.

Background Full-thickness skin grafts (FTSGs) are useful for reconstructing nasal defects. Traditional reported donor sites include the preauricular, postauricular, supraclavicular, clavicular, conchal bowl, melolabial fold, and upper eyelid skin. Selection of the “best” donor site is based on the “best” tissue match and ability to camouflage the donor scar. Objective The purpose was to report our experience with FTSGs harvested from the forehead for reconstruction of nasal defects following Mohs' surgery. Methods A retrospective query of the Mohs' surgery database was performed to identify nasal defects repaired with a FTSG harvested from the forehead skin. The research record contained the patient age and gender, defect size, and cosmetic and functional outcomes interpreted by the patient and surgeon. Results FTSGs from forehead skin were used to repair the nasal defects in three patients. The functional and cosmetic outcome of all three cases was deemed excellent by the patient and surgeon. Donor site scars were well concealed within preexisting rhytids. Conclusion FTSGs harvested from the forehead, although limited in practical utility, may offer an optimal FTSG match for limited select defects while also providing an easily camouflaged donor site scar within a forehead rhytid. VASSILIOS DIMITROPOULOS, MD, CHRISTOPHER K. BICHAKJIAN, MD, AND TIMOTHY M. JOHNSON, MD, HAVE INDICATED NO SIGNIFICANT INTEREST WITH COMMERCIAL SUPPORTERS.
Continuous Loudness Judgments of Dynamics in Recorded Music Excerpts

This study was designed to investigate loudness judgments of musician and nonmu-sician listeners in response to performed dynamic changes within a musical context. Ten previously recorded music excerpts selected from diverse examples of music served as stimuli. Subjects listened individually and responded continuously during music examples using the Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) to indicate perceived loudness levels.A three-way analysis of variance revealed that musician subjects indicated a significantly smaller magnitude of dynamic change than did nonmusician subjects. Crescendos were judged as having a significantly greater magnitude of change than decrescendos. There were also differences between the individual excerpts. The obtained relationships between the subjective magnitude of loudness change and the physical magnitude of intensity change were compared to those found in the psychoa-coustical literature. Music stimuli in context were perceived somewhat differently than were the pur...
Modulation of estrogen receptor mRNA expression by melatonin in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.

Melatonin, the hormonal product of the pineal gland, has been shown to inhibit the development of mammary tumors in vivo and the proliferation of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vitro by mechanisms not yet identified. However, previous studies have demonstrated that melatonin significantly decreased estrogen-binding activity and the expression of immunoreactive estrogen receptor (ER) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. To determine the mechanism(s) by which melatonin regulates ER expression in MCF-7 cells, the relationship between the level of steady state ER mRNA and the rate of ER gene transcription were examined in response to melatonin. Physiological concentrations of melatonin decreased steady state levels of ER mRNA expression in a dose- and time-specific manner. This decrease was not dependent upon the presence of estrogen since similar decreases in steady state ER mRNA levels were seen in MCF-7 cells cultured in both complete and estrogen-depleted media. The decreased expression of ER mRNA in respons...
Fat infiltration in the heart

Current teaching is that fatty infiltration into the myocardium (lipomatosis or cor adiposum) rarely affects cardiac function. This may not be entirely true. Rupture during acute myocardial infarction has certainly been shown to be more common in the fatty heart.1 Fat infiltrating in the region of the conduction system is responsible for causing sudden death.2 Furthermore, it is possible for lipomatous hypertrophy in the heart to even undergo malignant transformation.3 Since fat is a normal constituent of the heart, it remains undefined as to exactly how much, and in which locations, one considers fatty …
GluA1 trafficking and metabotropic NMDA: addressing results from other laboratories inconsistent with ours

We have previously shown that when over-expressed in neurons, green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged GluA1 (GluA1-GFP) delivery into synapses is dependent on plasticity. A recent study suggests that GluA1 over-expression leads to its incorporation into the synapse, in the absence of additional long-term potentiation-like manipulations. It is possible that a GFP tag was responsible for the difference. Using rectification index as a measure of synaptic delivery of GluA1, we found no difference in the synaptic delivery of GluA1-GFP versus untagged GluA1. We recently published a study showing that while D-APV blocks NMDAr-dependent long-term depression (LTD), MK-801 and 7-chloro kynurenate (7CK) fail to block LTD. We propose a metabotropic function for the NMDA receptor in LTD induction. In contrast to our observations, recent unpublished data suggest that the above antagonists are equally effective in blocking LTD. We noticed different methodology in their study. Here, we show that their methodology has complex effects on synaptic transmission. Therefore, it is not possible to conclude that 7CK is effective in blocking LTD from their type of experiment.
Genetic Characterization and Physiological Role of Endopeptidase O from Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ32

A previously identified insert expressing an endopeptidase from a Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ32 genomic library was characterized. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 1,941 bp encoding a putative protein of 71.2 kDa which contained a zinc-protease motif. Protein homology searches revealed that this enzyme has 40% similarity with endopeptidase O (PepO) from Lactococcus lactis P8-2-47. Northern hybridization revealed that pepO is monocistronic and is expressed throughout the growth phase. CNRZ32 derivatives lacking PepO activity were constructed via gene replacement. Enzyme assays revealed that the PepO mutant had significantly reduced endopeptidase activity when compared to CNRZ32 with two of the three substrates examined. Growth studies indicated that PepO has no detectable effect on growth rate or acid production by Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ32 in amino acid defined or skim milk medium.
The pursuit of better diagnostic performance: a human factors perspective

Despite the relatively slow start in treating diagnostic error as an amenable research topic at the beginning of the patient safety movement, interest has steadily increased over the past few years in the form of solicitations for research, regularly scheduled conferences, an expanding literature and even a new professional society. Yet improving diagnostic performance increasingly is recognised as a multifaceted challenge. With the aid of a human factors perspective, this paper addresses a few of these challenges, including questions that focus on who owns the problem, treating cognitive and system shortcomings as separate issues, why knowledge in the head is not enough, and what we are learning from health information technology (IT) and the use of checklists. To encourage empirical testing of interventions that aim to improve diagnostic performance, a systems engineering approach making use of rapid-cycle prototyping and simulation is proposed. To gain a fuller understanding of the complexity of the sociotechnical space where diagnostic work is performed, a final note calls for the formation of substantive partnerships with those in disciplines beyond the clinical domain.
Premarital counseling: Appraisal and status

Abstract Premarital counseling programs have been proliferating in the United States since their appearance in the 1930s. In order to evaluate the success such programs have had in preparing couples to build successful marriages, reduce the incidence of divorce and prevent unsuccessful marriages from occurring, the authors reviewed those programs which outlined standardized intervention procedures and utilized dependent measures to assess the program's effectiveness. Thirteen programs met these criteria. In general, premarital counseling programs were found to be atheoretical in their approach to intervention, loosely designed and nonspecific as to their goals.
The Reality of Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

Efforts to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes include attempts to prevent or delay the onset of the disease. Landmark clinical trials have shown that lifestyle modification programs focused on weight loss can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in subjects at high risk of developing the disease. Building on this knowledge, many community-based studies have attempted to replicate the trial results and, simultaneously, payers have begun to cover diabetes prevention services. This article focuses on the evidence supporting the premise that community prevention efforts will be successful. Unfortunately, no study has shown that diabetes can be delayed or prevented in a community setting, and efforts to replicate the weight loss achieved in the trials have been mostly disappointing. Furthermore, both the clinical trials and the community-based prevention studies have not shown a beneficial effect on any diabetes-related clinical outcome. While the goal of diabetes prevention is extremely important, the absence of any persuasive evidence for the effectiveness of community programs calls into question whether the use of public funds or national prevention initiatives should be supported at this time.
Evolutionary dynamics of the plastid inverted repeat: the effects of expansion, contraction, and loss on substitution rates

Rates of nucleotide substitution were previously shown to be several times slower in the plastid inverted repeat (IR) compared with single-copy (SC) regions, suggesting that the IR provides enhanced copy-correction activity. To examine the generality of this synonymous rate dependence on the IR, we compared plastomes from 69 pairs of closely related species representing 52 families of angiosperms, gymnosperms, and ferns. We explored the breadth of IR boundary shifts in land plants and demonstrate that synonymous substitution rates are, on average, 3.7 times slower in IR genes than in SC genes. In addition, genes moved from the SC into the IR exhibit lower synonymous rates consistent with other IR genes, while genes moved from the IR into the SC exhibit higher rates consistent with other SC genes. Surprisingly, however, several plastid genes from Pelargonium, Plantago, and Silene have highly accelerated synonymous rates despite their IR localization. Together, these results provide strong evidence that the duplicative nature of the IR reduces the substitution rate within this region. The anomalously fast-evolving genes in Pelargonium, Plantago, and Silene indicate localized hypermutation, potentially induced by a higher level of error-prone double-strand break repair in these regions, which generates substitutional rate variation.
The Plant Hormones: From Original Concept to a Molecular Flowering

The plant hormone concept probably derives from observations of morphogenic and developmental correlations by Sachs between 1880 and 1893. He suggested that “Morphological differences between plant organs are due to differences in their material composition” and postulated the existence of root-forming, flower forming and other substances that move in different directions through the plant (Went and Thimann, 1937).
What is the Future and Vision of Architectural Education

The famous book of Boyer and Mitgang (1996), Building Community: A New Future for Architecture Education and Practice, has become the text for architectural education. They argue that architectural education lacked a sense of purpose in connecting the profession to the current problems of society. 'Building Community' summarizes the goals of a design education as: helping students to develop the skills and competency to work within the realities of the profession; preparing graduates to be able to adapt to the changing needs of the society; and assisting students in developing their own analytical framework to envision and build a better environment and community. Boyer and Mitgang contend that urban-based design studios through research should be addressing the real issues of our society: the destruction of community, crime, homelessness, and urban decay. They also argue that architecture schools should take a leadership role in preserving the planet's resources and environment by teaching sustainable architectural design and using 'real life' studio problems. This study examines the role of architectural studio in the post-Katrina reconstruction of the Lower 9th Ward community. Survey data found that a majority of the students developed an understanding of the urban design and sustainability, and were of the view that architectural studio should act as an advocate for underrepresented communities, and agreed that there was value in the 'interaction between studio and community'.
Convex hull asymptotic shape evolution

The asymptotic properties of Rapidly exploring Random Tree (RRT) growth in large spaces is studied both in simulation and analysis. The main phenomenon is that the convex hull of the RRT reliably evolves into an equilateral triangle when grown in a symmetric planar region (a disk). To characterize this and related phenomena from flocking and swarming, a family of dynamical systems based on incremental evolution in the space of shapes is introduced. Basins of attraction over the shape space explain why the number of hull vertices tends to reduce and the shape stabilizes to a regular polygon with no more than four vertices.
Case Report: Pseudoephedrine Accumulation in Renal Failure

Neuropsychiatric complications, such as metabolic encephalopathy, are common occurrences in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Frequently, metabolic encephalopathy develops in relationship to the multiple pharmacologic therapies routinely employed in this population. Such polypharmacy often leads to adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, or dosage error. In this regard, over-the-counter (OTC) medications are commonly perceived as being "somewhat benign" when, in fact, their potential for adverse effect may be significant. The authors describe the course of a 64-year-old hemodialysis patient who became intoxicated on conventional doses of pseudoephedrine only to regain neurologic integrity upon discontinuation of the medication.
Current Perceptions of Students Following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks

This research looked at perceptions of college students following the events of September 11, 2001. Results showed that students have made substantial changes in their arrival time prior to their flight leaving, and 49.7% are “slightly more concerned” over flying. A majority of students (77.1%) have changed their mail handling procedures. A sizable portion (17.8%) said a company recruiter, that they would like to interview with, cancelled their campus semester visit because of the events of September 11. Hospitality and Tourism Management students had significantly lower salary expectations than non-HTM students now as compared to before September 11.
Transport of Glycerol in Human Blood

SummaryGlycerol is released from the area drained by the saphenous vein in man and taken up in the splanchnic region and kidneys. The arterial concentrations of glycerol and FFA are positively correlated. In resting subjects, net splanchnic uptake of glycerol was calculated to be .052 to .11 mmoles per minute and renal uptake .011 to .022 mmoles per minute. It seems likely that more than 3 moles of FFA is released from adipose tissue for each mole of glycerol.
Nonlinear Phase Speeds and Depth Inversions

Experiments were conducted in a laboratory facility under with a fixed bathymetric profile containing a single bar. A hybrid data set was collected consisting of remotely sensed wave data combined with modelgenerated wave amplitude profiles. The data is used to test the improvements in depth retrieval through the use of a nonlinear composite dispersion that is applicable in arbitrary water depths. The dispersion relation relates the wave properties with the local water depth and the results suggest that inclusion of nonlinearity improves depth estimation on shallow water.
Life outside the classroom as a resource for language learning

ABSTRACTBased on 62 hours of videotaped adult English as a second language classroom interaction, this conversation analysis (CA) study details how engaging life outside the classroom is accomplished in the micro-moments of teacher–student interaction and how such engagement becomes a resource for learning vocabulary and doing conversation. By showing how identities, experiences and activities extrinsic to the classroom are invoked or oriented to by the participants as relevant for learning, we also contribute to the ongoing discussion of how CA can contribute to understanding the process of language development.