cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Healing process at the flap edge in its influence in the development of corneal ectasia after LASIK.

Purpose: Post–laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) corneal ectasia is a progressive deformation of the gross corneal anatomy that occurs after surgery. However, this is a rare event even after deep lamellar keratoplasty. We hypothesize that the strength of the lamellar keratoplasty wound is derived from the sutures that enhance the wound edge healing response. This study compares, in a rabbit model, the stability of previously sutured and unsutured microkeratome flaps. Methods: Unilateral 160-μm-thick LASIK flaps using a mechanical microkeratome was performed in 20 rabbit eyes. Animals were then divided in two groups: In group A, the flap was left without sutures. In group B, the flap was sutured with 12 interrupted 10/0 nylon stitches that were removed after 3 weeks under general anesthesia. Six weeks after surgery, all rabbits had corneal topographies performed at their baseline intraocular pressure (IOP) (14 mmHg) and at two artificially increased pressures (25 and 45 mmHg) using an anterior chamber ma...
Maintained activity of monkey optic tract fibers and lateral geniculate nucleus cells.

Abstract The maintained discharge rates (MDRs) of monkey optic tract fibers and LGN cells were recorded to a wide range of different light intensities. “On” center optic tract fibers increase their firing almost linearly over 8 log units of background lights, while “off” center units show the opposite pattern. “On” center LGN cells show increases in rate up to 10 −2 cd/m 2 and decreases thereafter; “off” center units showed decreases in MDR up to 10 −2 cd/m 2 and increases in rate thereafter. The MDRs of tract fibers and LGN cells differ at high luminance levels because of a stronger tonic antagonism from the LGN receptive field surround than from optic tract receptive field surrounds. These differences in surround antagonism can be demonstrated with transient stimuli also. Results further suggest that while optic tract fibers can accurately convey absolute luminance signals, LGN cells cannot. Results are discussed in terms of receptive field organization.
Iris hypoplasia and aorticopulmonary septal defect: a neurocristopathy.

Background: Errors in neural crest development are responsible for a number of ocular disorders. In some cases, these ocular abnormalities may be associated with systemic disorders, some of which may be life threatening. Methods: We reviewed the medical record of 3 children from 2 institutions with a similar constellation of ocular and cardiac abnormalities. Results: All 3 children had iris hypoplasia with pupils 6–7 mm in diameter that had minimal or no response to light or pharmacological agents. The ocular examinations were otherwise normal. All 3 children also had large aorticopulmonary septal defects which were surgically repaired. Conclusions: We report an association between iris hypoplasia and aorticopulmonary septal defects. Like the iris stroma, the aorticopulmonary septum forms from neural crest cells during embryogenesis which divide the truncus arteriosus into the ascending aorta and pulmonary trunk. Children with iris hypoplasia should undergo an immediate cardiac evaluation. It is important that opthalmologists be aware of the association between these two disorders since an aorticopulmonary septal defect is a life-threatening disorder.
The Influence of Race on Overall Survival in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Bladder Cancer

Previous studies have reported significant lower incidence yet greater risk of death from bladder cancer (BCa) in African-Americans compared with Caucasians. In this study, the overall survival amongst African-Americans and Caucasians with BCa within the state of Florida is evaluated. The Florida Cancer Data System and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration data sets were linked on the basis of unique identifiers, which identified 28,786 patients (27,811 Caucasian and 975 African-Americans) with newly diagnosed BCa from January 1994–December 2009. Data in the database included race/ethnicity, age, smoking history, insurance status, treatment, tumor grade, tumor stage, and overall survival. Chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare variables between African-Americans and Caucasians. Survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method while univariate effects were tested by the log-rank test, and multivariate effects were tested by Cox proportional-hazard regression model. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Higher clinical stage bladder tumors including T3/4 disease (14.5 % vs. 8.0 %, p < 0.001), lymph node involvement (7.3 % vs. 3.4 %, p < 0.001), and metastatic disease (5.3 % vs. 1.7 %, p < 0.001), as well as higher grade disease (60.2 % vs. 48 %, p < 0.001) were more commonly reported in African-Americans than in Caucasians with newly diagnosed BCa. African-Americans tended to be treated with more aggressive therapies (e.g., radical cystectomy). After adjusting for all covariates, African-Americans actually had more favorable outcomes as related to overall survival (HR = 0.35, 95 % CI, 0.12–0.98, p = 0.045). Though African-Americans initially present with more aggressive BCa, African-Americans actually have an improved overall survival compared with Caucasians. Though contrary to previous reports, our results may signify a more complex relationship between race and BCa outcomes and thus warrants further attention.
The Effect of a β-Adrenergic-Blocking Agent (Nethalide) and Nitroglycerin on Exercise Tolerance in Angina Pectoris

A study was made of the acute effects of orally administered nethalide on the subjective and electrocardiographic responses to treadmill exercise in 11 patients with angina pectoris. Nethalide lowered the standing heart rate at rest and the maximum heart rate attained with exercise whether or not nitroglycerin was used concurrently. No consistent change in exercise capacity or time of onset of anginal pain and electrocardiographic abnormalities was noted after nethalide administration in the doses used in this study. However, the combination of nethalide and nitroglycerin in most subjects caused a strikingly greater exercise tolerance and delay in the onset of pain and electrocardiographic changes than did nitroglycerin alone.
Hybrid computer modelling of a stochastic nonlinear dynamic system

Abstract The need for more accurate analysis of real physical systems has led to the use of stochastic modelling of such systems. Many of these formulations have been the result of an extension of ordinary differential equations to include a white noise excitation. It has been shown (see, e.g. [1–3]) that when the set of stochastic differential equations describing a particular system is linear, there are no difficulties in the interpretation of procedures for solving the equations. However, when the stochastic equations are nonlinear, computational as well as conceptual difficulties are encountered. The above ambiguities have been discussed by Mortensen [2] and Wong and Zakai [4]. While these studies clarify the conceptual aspects (demonstrating that at least two interpretations of the integral exist) they do not consider the practical problem of deciding which of these solutions is to be used when the integration is intended to describe a particular real physical system of interest. Furthermore, in cases where the integration is performed by computer there is the additional question: which calculus does the computer use, Ito or Stratonovich? In this paper, we discuss the problems associated with the application of analog/hybrid computers to obtain a description of a nonlinear stochastic system for a real process. These problems have already arisen in previous work by Bullin [5] and Bullin and Dukler [6] who used the hybrid computer to model turbulent diffusion as a stochastic process. The modern hybrid computer provides a particularly useful tool for stochastic modelling. Electronic noise generators are readily available which produce analog noise of specified statistical characteristics. Control circuitry in a hybrid computer makes it possible to solve any differential equation on the analog side a large number of time in sequence, each realization with a different random input. Through the interface and digital components of the hybrid computer a record is easily kept of each solution, the necessary book-keeping can be executed and statistical computations carried out digitally with high efficiency and speed. In such a modern machine 100,000 realization can be executed in seconds with the result that the statistical reliability of the resulting probability densities and moments of the solution are very high. Therefore, there is a need to understand the nature of the solution produced by the hybrid computer. In this study hybrid computer solutions of two nonlinear stochastic differential equations are compared to analytical solutions determined from both the Ito and Stratonovich calculus. It is shown that an analog computer can be programmed to produce either an Ito or Stratonovich solution or one that falls between the two values. The physically significant solution is shown to depend on the value of the cross correlation between the noise and the integrand.
Pricing and Timing Decisions in Oligopoly Industries

I. Introduction, 115. — II. The timing-decision model, 117. — III. The wage and price decision, 128. — IV. Summary of conclusions, 134. — Appendix, 135.
Crystallography of icosahedral crystals

Construction de la cristallographie des cristaux icosaedriques. Le cristal reel a trois dimensions est represente par une coupe a trois dimensions dans un cristal periodique regulier a six dimensions avec une symetrie decrite par un groupe d'espace a six dimensions, et les positions des atomes correspondent a un arrangement de segments d'hypersurface. Le cristal resultant ne peut en general pas etre vu comme un arrangement de remplissage de l'espace d'un petit nombre de «paves de Penrose» differents
The New York Times Readers’ Opinions About Paying People to Take Their Medicine:

Background. There has been considerable interest in using financial incentives to help people improve their health. However, paying people to improve their health touches on strongly held views about personal responsibility. Method. The New York Times printed two articles in June 2010 about patient financial incentives, which resulted in 394 comments from their online audience. The authors systematically analyzed those online responses to news media in order to understand the range of themes that were expressed regarding the use of financial incentives to improve health. Results. The New York Times online readers revealed a broad range of attitudes about paying individuals to be healthy. Many comments reflected disdain for financial incentives, describing them as “absurd” or “silly.” Other comments reflected the notion that financial incentives reward individuals for being irresponsible toward their health. Many individuals communicated concerns that paying individuals for healthy behaviors may weaken the...
Magnetic bead isolation of neutrophil plasma membranes and quantification of membrane-associated guanine nucleotide binding proteins.

Abstract A protocol for isolation of neutrophil plasma membranes utilizing a plasma membrane marker antibody, anti-CD15, attached to superparamagnetic beads was developed. Cells were initially disrupted by nitrogen cavitation and then incubated with anti-CD15 antibody-conjugated superparamagnetic beads. The beads were then washed to remove unbound cellular debris and cytosol. Recovered plasma membranes were quantified by immunodetection of G β2 in Western blots. This membrane marker-based separation yielded highly pure plasma membranes. This protocol has advantages over standard density sedimentation protocols for isolating plasma membrane in that it is faster and easily accommodates cell numbers as low as 10 6 . These methods were coupled with immunodetection methods and an adenosine 5 ′ -diphosphate-ribosylation assay to measure the amount of membrane-associated G iα proteins available for receptor coupling in neutrophils either stimulated with N -formyl peptides or treated to differing degrees with pertussis toxin. As expected, pertussis toxin treatment decreased the amount of membrane G protein available for signaling although total membrane G protein was not affected. In addition, activation of neutrophils with N -formyl peptides resulted in an approximately 50% decrease in G protein associated with the plasma membrane.
Gold and commodity prices as leading indicators of inflation: Tests of long-run relationship and predictive performance

Abstract We compared the performance of gold and commodity prices as leading indicators of the inflation rate (INFR) and explored the possibility of improving INFR forecast by specifying error-correction models (ECM). We found some evidence of cointegration between commodity prices and the consumer price index (CPI). Comparisons of out-of-sample forecast errors indicate that an ECM of the CPI including commodity prices significantly outperforms a CPI model including the price of gold, but the marginal contribution of an EC term to predictive performance was statistically insignificant. We conclude that the recent emphasis on the price of gold as a guide to monetary policy is perhaps misplaced.
Enzymatic activity in hepatopancreas of Nassarius obsoletus.

Abstract 1. 1. Comparatively high levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were found in the hepatopancreas of Nassarius obsoletus. The absence of demonstrable levels of the second oxidative shunt enzyme suggests that only a partial shunt operates in the hepatopancreas for the generation of NADPH necessary for the synthesis of lipids. 2. 2. Both the high lipid content as well as the high relative mass of this organ is consistent with its possible role as both a major supplier of reduced metabolites and a significant site of lipid synthesis. 3. 3. In accordance with observations in other groups of snails (Coles, 1969b) no significant activity of lactic dehydrogenase was apparent in the hepatopancreas. High activities of malic dehydrogenase may function instead to reoxidize NADH arising in glycolysis. This may also be linked to the possible regulatory role of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase in glycolysis.
Transverse quasilinear relaxation in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

Transverse quasilinear relaxation of the cyclotron-Cherenkov instability in the inhomogeneous magnetic field of pulsar magnetospheres is considered. We find quasilinear states in which the kinetic cyclotron-Cherenkov instability of a beam propagating through strongly magnetized pair plasma is saturated by the force arising in the inhomogeneous field due to the conservation of the adiabatic invariant. The resulting wave intensities generally have nonpower law frequency dependence, but in a broad frequency range can be well approximated by the power law with the spectral index -2. The emergent spectra and fluxes are consistent with the one observed from pulsars.
Ultraviolet spectra of rat kidney lipids after carbon tetrachloride administration

Abstract Ultraviolet spectra of lipids from mitochondrial and microsomal fractions of rat kidney, and lipids of rat liver microsomes, were studied after carbon tetrachloride administration. Liver microsomal lipids showed well-marked conjugated diene absorption. Conjugated diene absorption could not be detected in lipids of kidney microsomes or mitochondria.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE GEOLOGIC ORIGINS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS: AN AUTOMATED METHOD OF Na and Mn NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION Similarities in the design and construction af archaeological artifacts frequently have served as a means of identifying the existence of contact and trade between prehistoric cultures. However, such evidence is not necessarily conclusive. Knowledge of the geologic origin of an archaeological artifact would provide direct evidence of a link between the geographic region in which the artifact was found and the geologic source area. Locating the geologic origins of archaeological artifacts is a formidable task. It is first necessary to determine which elements vary markedly between geologic sites, but within a given geologic site exhibit only a small percentage variation. Then a comparison must be made between the percentage composition of these elements in the artifacts and in the source materials, In making the comparisons it is necessary to know the statistical range of compositions of these elements at the various geological sites; a large number of individual analyses are required. Although it may never be possible to state with absolute certainty that a particular artifact had a specific geologic origin, the greater the number of elements that showed correspondence, the more unlikely i t would be that some unexamined geologic site was the true source of the material from which the artifact was constructed . Neutron activation analysis is an ideal method of analysis to use in studies of this type. The method requires using samples which could be as small as a mg or less. It is possible to automate steps in the procedure to permit handling thousands of samples per year. If the resultant radioactivity is of short half-lives it is possible to re-irradiate the samples after the activity has decayed and perform repeat analyses on the famples. Unlike X-ray fluorescence which permits examination of only the surfaces of objects, the penetration of neutrons through a sample results in the activation of all parts of the object. However, in spite of these advantages, very little has been done in applying neutron activation analysis to archaeological problems. A few workers have examined gold and silver coins and other objects of metal. Others have irradiated various types of sherds. The most complete studies are those of Sayre, et. al. But the exhaustive studies necessary for proper statistical evaluations of the data have not been undertaken. In collaboration with Prof. James B. Griffin, Director of the Museum of Anthropology at The University of Michigan, we have begun a systematic evaluation of various artifacts related principally to the prehistory of North America. The majority of these samples are obsidian projectile points and the neutron activation procedure which we have developed for the analysis and geologic identification of the objects forms the basis of this paper.
Evolution of surgical treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms

Abstract Aneurysms of the thoracic aorta remain a challenge to surgeons. My early experience began in 1950, when I excised a large aneurysm in one of Dr Alfred Blalock's patients. The patient survived and was cured. This experience convinced me that aortic aneurysms could be treated successfully by aggressive surgical means; Treatment, however, has changed from the early emphasis on excision of the lesion to the present belief in restoration of circulatory continuity using a suitable Dacron graft, or endoaneurysmorrhaphy.
Biocomputational puzzles: data, algorithms, and visualization

I solve puzzles for a living. Over the last few years, I've tried to make this activity useful to biologists and scientists in general. This talk will give an overview of some of those attempts, involving the use of combinatorial design to reduce the size of experimental search spaces, visualization of experimental data, and biochemical calculations using DNA. I will attempt to convey the ideas and show the tools rather than focus on mathematical details.
Effects of Acute Pramipexole on Preference for Gambling-Like Schedules of Reinforcement in Rats

Rationale Pramipexole and other direct dopamine agonist medications have been implicated in the development of impulsive behavior such as pathological gambling among those taking the drug to control symptoms of Parkinson’s disease or restless leg syndrome. Few laboratory studies examining pramipexole’s effects on gambling-like behavior have been conducted.
An assessment of the impact of food industry market power on U.S. consumers

Rapidly increasing concentration in food manufacturing and retailing has heightened concern about the exercise of market power by food manufacturers and retailers to the detriment of farm producers and consumers. Although market power in the food industry has been studied rather extensively, prior analyses have focused on the exercise of selling power, either by manufacturers or retailers. This study develops a simple but flexible model of a food market channel to study both buyer (oligopsony) and seller (oligopoly) power, and the potential impacts of successive market power at multiple stages of the market channel on the magnitude and distribution of economic welfare. Simulation results show that even modest market power can enable the food marketing sector to capture large shares of the market surplus. Efficiency (deadweight) losses, however, tend to be rather small unless the level of market power is high or if market power is exercised at multiple stages of the channel. [Econ-Lit citations: L13, Q13] © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Prospective Quality of Life and Toxicity Between Passively Scattered and Spot-Scanning Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Conclusions: Moderate hypofractionation with SIB and RA technique showed to be safe, with a good acute toxicity profile. Longer follow-up is needed to assess definitively late toxicity and clinical outcome. Author Disclosure: F. Alongi: None. A. Fogliata: None. S. Arcangeli: None. S. Castiglioni: None. G. Taverna: None. P. Navarria: None. L. Cozzi: None. P. Grazziotti: None. A. Tozzi: None. M. Scorsetti: None.
Structure of frog virus 3 genome: size and arrangement of nucleotide sequences as determined by electron microscopy

Abstract The structural features of frog virus 3 (FV 3) DNA have been analyzed by electron microscopy. The FV 3 genome is a linear duplex molecule of 52.00 ± 5.60 μm in length which corresponds to 98.28 ± 10.58 X 106 daltons. To compare the structure of the genomes of FV 3, vaccinia virus, and herpes simplex virus, the three viral DNAs were denatured, quickly renatured, and examined in the electron microscope. The FV 3 DNA consisted of linear single strands while the vaccinia virus DNA contained reannealed duplexes and the herpesvirus DNA contained single-stranded circles with bushes or molecules in which two single-stranded circles were joined by a duplex region. These data suggest that the FV 3 genome contains neither crosslinked terminii nor inverted repeats. To construct a partial denaturation map of the FV 3 genome, the DNA was denatured with 85% formamide and examined in the electron microscope. The partially denatured molecules failed to match by their denatured regions when lined up end to end, suggesting that the molecules were dissimilar with respect to the arrangement of nucleotide sequences. However, a distinct denaturation map was obtained when the molecules were matched by their denatured regions rather than by the physical ends. The map revealed (1) a continuous stretch of about 40 μm (or 75.60 × 10 6 daltons) of uniquely ordered sequences common to all molecules, and (2) a distribution of the ends within 20 to 28% of the map length. These observations suggest that FV 3 DNA molecules contain various circular permutations of a common overall nucleotide sequence and that the extent of circular permutation is restricted as in bacteriophage P22 ( B. K. Tye, J. A. Huberman, and D. Botstein, 1974 , J. Mot Biol. 85, 501–532).
Regulation of murine lymphokine production in vivo. III. The lymphoid tissue microenvironment exerts regulatory influences over T helper cell function.

We investigated the capacity of murine T lymphocytes, isolated from various lymphoid organs of normal or antigen-primed donors, to produce IL-2 or IL-4 after activation with anti-CD3 or specific antigen. Our results established that T cells resident within lymphoid organs being drained by nonmucosal tissue sites (e.g., axillary, inguinal, brachial lymph nodes, or spleen) produced IL-2 as the predominant T cell growth factor (TCGF) after activation. Conversely, activated T cells from lymphoid organs being drained by mucosal tissues (Peyer's patches, and cervical, periaortic, and parathymic lymph nodes) produced IL-4 as the major species of TCGF. Analysis of the lymphoid tissues obtained from adoptive recipients of antigen-primed lymphocytes provided by syngeneic donors provided evidence that direct influences were being exerted on T cells during their residence within defined lymphoid compartments. These lymphoid tissue influences appeared to be responsible for altering the potential of resident T cells to produce distinct species of TCGF. Steroid hormones, known transcriptional enhancers and repressors of specific cellular genes, were implicated in the controlling mechanisms over TCGF production. Glucocorticoids (GCs) were found to exert a systemic effect on all recirculating T cells, evidenced by a marked dominance in IL-4 production by T cells obtained from all lymphoid organs of GC-treated mice, or after a direct exposure of normal lymphoid cells to GCs in vitro before cellular activation with T cell mitogens. Further, the androgen steroid DHEA appeared to be responsible for providing an epigenetic influence to T cells trafficking through peripheral lymphoid organs. This steroid influence resulted in an enhanced potential for IL-2 secretion after activation. Anatomic compartmentalization of the DHEA-facilitated influence appears to be mediated by differential levels of DHEA-sulfatase in lymphoid tissues. DHEA-sulfatase is an enzyme capable of converting DHEA-sulfate (inactive) to the active hormone DHEA. We find very high activities of this enzyme isolated in murine macrophages. The implications of our findings to immunobiology are very great, and indicate that T cells, while clonally restricted for antigen peptide recognition, also appear to exhibit an extreme flexibility with regards to the species of lymphokines they produce after activation. Regulation of this highly conservative mechanism appears to be partially, if not exclusively, controlled by cellular influences being exerted by distinct species of steroid hormones, supplied in an endocrine or a paracrine manner where they mediate either systemic or tissue-localized influences, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Mean energy, energy-range relationships and depth-scaling factors for clinical electron beams.

Using Monte Carlo simulations we have studied the electron mean energy, Eo, and the most probable energy, Eo,p, at the phantom surface and their relationships with half-value depth, R50, and the practical range, Rp, for a variety of beams from five commercial medical accelerators with an energy range of 5-50 MeV. It is difficult to obtain a relation between R50 and Eo for all electrons at the surface because the number of scattered lower-energy electrons varies with the machine design. However, using only direct electrons to calculate Eo, there is a relationship which is in close agreement with that calculated using monoenergetic beams by Rogers and Bielajew [Med. Phys. 13, 687-694 (1986)]. We show that the empirical formula Eo,p = 0.22 + 1.98Rp + 0.0025R2p describes accurately the relationship between Rp and Eo,p for clinical beams of energies from 5 to 50 MeV with an accuracy of 3%. The electron mean energy, Ed, is calculated as a function of depth in water as well as plastic phantoms and is compared both with the relation, Ed = Eo (1-d/Rp), employed in AAPM protocols and with values in the IAEA Code of Practice. The conventional relations generally overestimate Ed over the entire therapeutic depth, e.g., the AAPM and IAEA overestimate Ed at dmax by up to 20% for an 18 MeV beam from a Clinac 2100C. It is also found that at all depths mean energies are 1%-3% higher near the field edges than at the central axis. We calculated depth-scaling factors for plastic phantoms by scaling the depth in plastics to the water-equivalent depth where the mean energies are equal. The depth-scaling factor is constant with depth in a given beam but there is a small variation ( < 1.5%) depending on the incident beam energies. Depth-scaling factors as a function of R50 in plastic or water are presented for clear polystyrene, white polystyrene and PMMA phantom materials. The calculated depth-scaling factor is found to be equal to R50water/R50plastic. This is just the AAPM definition of effective density but there are up to 2% discrepancies between our calculated values and those recommended by the AAPM and the IAEA protocols. We find that the depth-scaling factors obtained by using the ratio of continuous-slowing-down ranges are inaccurate and overestimate our calculated values by 1%-2% in all cases. We also find that for accurate work, it is incorrect to use a simple 1/r2 correction to convert from parallel beam depth-dose curves to point source depth-dose curves, especially for high-energy beams.
Treatment patterns in low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas : a single institution study

Ninety-two cases of low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were examined retrospectively to assess to what extent treatment deferral is practiced at a single university hospital with a local referral base. Clinical characteristics of this patient group were also analyzed; 70% of these cases were of nodular lymphocytic, poorly differentiated (NLPD) histology, and 74% were stage III or IV. Twenty-two cases were not treated initially. Nine eventually required treatment at a median of 16 months. Survival did not differ based on whether treatment was initially deferred. Nodal progression was the most common reason for beginning treatment after initial deferral, and most cases of advanced stage disease required treatment because of nodal involvement or B-type symptoms at diagnosis. Presence of intra-abdominal adenopathy often prompted initial treatment even in asymptomatic cases. In this series, as compared to previously reported series of treatment-deferred cases, more patients were judged to require treatment at disease outset, and the median time to treatment in those in whom treatment was initially deferred but then instituted was shorter. Despite this, for the entire population, 69% of total follow-up time was spent off therapy.
Certain Appearances Observed in the Eyeground of the Tuberculous

Abstract The writer has observed a special fullness and tortuousity oE the retinal vessels in patients suffering from tuberculosis, and those whose family history included cases of this disease. No heart lesions were present in these patients. Attention is called to these changes in the hope that they will be looked for by other ophthalmologists.
Compensatory Nearly Neutral Mutations: Selection without Adaptation

One implication of Kacser's analysis of complex metabolic systems is that mutations with small effects exist as a consequence of the typically small flux control coefficient relating enzyme activity to the rate of a metabolic process. Although a slightly detrimental mutation is somewhat less likely to become fixed by chance than a slightly favorable mutation, mutations that are slightly detrimental might be expected to be more numerous than favorable mutations owing to the previous incorporation of favorable mutations by a long history of natural selection. The result is that, as Ohta has pointed out, a significant fraction of mutations that are fixed in evolution are slightly detrimental. In the long run, the fixation of detrimental mutations in a gene increases the opportunity for the occurrence of a compensatory favorable mutation, either in the same gene or in an interacting gene. On a suitably long timescale, therefore, every gene incorporates favorable mutations that compensate for detrimental mutations previously fixed. This form of evolution is driven primarily by natural selection, but it results in no change or permanent improvement in enzymatic function.
Novelty as a basis for the reinforcing effects of saccharine

The purpose of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that the reinforcing effects of saccharine could be, at least in part, understood in terms of stimulus change. Four groups of 20-day-old rat pups were used as Ss. Half of them were reared on 1.3% saccharine solution, and half on tap water for 2 months. At 88days of age, straight-alley training was given under a 3-h thirst deprivation. Single daily trials for 21 days were received. Half of the saccharine-reared Ss found 1-cc saccharine solution as a reward; half of them found tap water, and similarly for the water-reared Ss. Water-reared Ss ran faster to the saccharine solution, and saccharine-reared Ss ran faster to water than their respective controls.
WS 2 F: A weakly supervised framework for data stream filtering

In this paper we present a weakly supervised framework for relevant content filtering from social media platforms such as Twitter. Social media platforms are a rich source of information these days. However of all the available information, there is only a small fraction of which is of general interest. Most of the other information pertains to personal events, and is very specific to the users who are contributing that. It is therefore usually not of general interest. In this paper, we present a framework to filter out the topic-specific relevant information from the irrelevant information in the stream of text provided by social media platforms. Our framework does not depend on any labeled data, however it is capable of using domain knowledge in the form of rules and guidelines provided by domain experts. It is therefore easily extensible for new topics and events. The proposed framework is built keeping the streaming nature of social media platforms in mind, i.e., it is able to discover the content relevant to a specific event as it evolves in the text stream. Because of its adaptive nature, it is not only able to filter the relevant content, but also able to generate event story lines as the event evolves. We experiment on a dataset provided by TREC, and show that the framework not only filters relevant content for an event but also generates its story line effectively.
Cardiomyocyte-Specific Expression of Lamin A Improves Cardiac Function in Lmna−/− Mice

Lmna(-/-) mice display multiple tissue defects and die by 6-8 weeks of age reportedly from dilated cardiomyopathy with associated conduction defects. We sought to determine whether restoration of lamin A in cardiomyocytes improves cardiac function and extends the survival of Lmna(-/-) mice. We observed increased total desmin protein levels and disorganization of the cytoplasmic desmin network in ~20% of Lmna(-/-) ventricular myocytes, rescued in a cell-autonomous manner in Lmna(-/-) mice expressing a cardiac-specific lamin A transgene (Lmna(-/-); Tg). Lmna(-/-); Tg mice displayed significantly increased contractility and preservation of myocardial performance compared to Lmna(-/-) mice. Lmna(-/-); Tg mice attenuated ERK1/2 phosphorylation relative to Lmna(-/-) mice, potentially underlying the improved localization of connexin43 to the intercalated disc. Electrocardiographic recordings from Lmna(-/-) mice revealed arrhythmic events and increased frequency of PR interval prolongation, which is partially rescued in Lmna(-/-); Tg mice. These findings support our observation that Lmna(-/-); Tg mice have a 12% median extension in lifespan compared to Lmna(-/-) mice. While significant, Lmna(-/-); Tg mice only have modest improvement in cardiac function and survival likely stemming from the observation that only 40% of Lmna(-/-); Tg cardiomyocytes have detectable lamin A expression. Cardiomyocyte-specific restoration of lamin A in Lmna(-/-) mice improves heart-specific pathology and extends lifespan, demonstrating that the cardiac pathology of Lmna(-/-) mice limits survival. The expression of lamin A is sufficient to rescue certain cellular defects associated with loss of A-type lamins in cardiomyocytes in a cell-autonomous fashion.
Ultrastructure of pulmonary bleomycin toxicity

Three cancer patients developed pulmonary distress during treatment with bieomycin. Light microscopic examination of lung tissue obtained by percutaneous biopsy revealed a diffuse alveolar damage progressing to interstitial pneumonitis. With electron microscopy, interstitial adema and collagen deposition, accumulation of fibroblasts, disappearance of type I, and proliferation of type II alveolar epithelial cells were noted. Alveoli contained proteinaceous material and a mixture of macrophages and type II cells. A peculiar alteration was noted in some type II cells consisting of shortening of the microvilli and extrusion of cytoplasmic lamellar bodies with possible surfactant impairment. These findings are consistent with the drug's effect upon the alveolar epithelium. Bleomycin, therefore, can be considered another etiologic agent of iatrogenic interstitial pneumonitis.
Frequency of deposition and location of Baylisascaris procyonis eggs in raccoon feces.

Baylisascaris procyonis is a large ascarid nematode found in the small intestine of raccoons (Procyon lotor). Infection with larvae of B. procyonis can produce visceral, ocular, and neural larval migrans in humans. Infected raccoons can shed millions of eggs a day in their feces. However, it is unknown whether eggs are consistently shed or whether eggs occur at irregular intervals by the population of female nematodes within a host. We trapped, infected, and collected daily fecal samples from 11 raccoons maintained in captivity. Eggs from B. procyonis were obtained from anterior, central, and posterior sections of raccoon feces, isolated by flotation, and quantified under 100× magnification. Naturally infected raccoons were collected and used as a comparison with the experimentally infected group. All raccoons in the experimental group (n=11) became infected with B. procyonis after consuming one infected mouse. Additionally, differential egg deposition rates were observed among individual raccoons from th...
Reduction of communication requirements for wide-area surveillance systems : Multiscale Clipping Service

Future wide-area surveillance systems mounted on unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), such as Tier II+, will be capable of collecting SAR imagery at prodigious coverage rates (greater than 1.5 km2/sec, 1 m resolution). One important consideration for making such systems economically feasible is squeezing the large amount of SAR imagery through an available communications link. When the sensor platform is beyond the line of sight from the ground processing facility, it is highly desirable to transmit the imagery via a 1.5 megabit per second T1 satellite communications data link; it would be prohibitively expensive to ensure the availability of a wider bandwidth satcom link at any point on the globe. Use of a T1 link creates an onerous burden for SAR image compression algorithms. In the Tier II+) scenario, for example, use of a T1 link implies a compression rate of less than half a bit per pixel. In the longer term, systems will have greater coverage areas and higher resolution capabilities; the compression requirement will be substantially more severe. Conventional image compression algorithms are incapable of attaining the required compression while retaining the image fidelity required for processing at the ground station. Clipping service is a system concept that reduces communication requirements by using automatic target detection and recognition (ATD/R) algorithms onboard the UAV. The ATD/R algorithms identify regions of interest in the collected imagery. In the regions of interest, the imagery is transmitted with highest fidelity. In other areas, the imagery is transmitted with less fidelity, thereby reducing the communication bandwidth required. In this paper, we describe a multiple-resolution clipping service system. In this system, regions of interest are identified by ATD/R algorithms. The regions of interest are transmitted at the finest resolution achievable by the sensor; elsewhere, imagery is transmitted with reduced resolution and reduced data rate. The system utilizes a multiple-resolution image formation algorithm to reduce computational load: ATD/R algorithms are applied to coarse resolution imagery; the imagery is subsequently processed to fine resolution imagery only where targets are likely to be present. This reduces computation because only a fraction of the imagery is processed to fine resolution. In the paper, we determine the communication requirements for the multiscale system assuming Tier II+ parameters. We demonstrate that it is feasible to transmit Tier II+ imagery via a T1 data link using the clipping service concept.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The role of surface instability in electrical discharges from drops of alcohol and water in air at atmospheric pressure

Abstract A study of previous work on discharges from charged attached drops and from uncharged drops falling in electric fields shows that the surface electric intensities at these drops, when the discharges begin, satisfy the theoretical relations for surface instability. Glow discharges, if initially present, are conditioned by the surface deformation arising from instability. Experiments are described that indicate that the highly charged droplets ejected by an alcohol surface may have mobilities not much below those of normal air ions while such droplets coming from a water surface may have mobilities even greater than those of air ions. Calculations, by Stokes' Law, show such large mobilities for both kinds of drops to be possible. Further experiments show that under certain conditions the whole discharge current from an alcohol drop is carried solely by droplets of the liquid, resulting from surface instability, and under more restricted conditions the same may be true for a water drop.
The effects of exercise on lipogenic enzyme activity and glyceride synthesis by liver homogenates of diabetic rats.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if exercise ameliorates the elevated levels of triglycerides in diabetic rats and also to determine if the capacity of liver to synthesize glycerides correlates with changes in plasma triglyceride levels. Forty female rats were divided into four groups: sedentary control, sedentary diabetic, exercised control, and exercised diabetic. Diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of alloxan (40 mg/kg), and control rats were sham-dosed with physiologic saline. All rats remained sedentary in their cages for the first week after the injections. The exercised groups were exercised for seven consecutive days for 2 h/d at 20 m/min (0 grade). All rats were killed 24 hours after the last exercise bout. Blood glucose levels were significantly higher in the diabetic group than the nondiabetic counterparts, but exercise did not affect glucose levels in either the diabetic or nondiabetic groups. Exercise, however, significantly lowered plasma triglyceride and free fatty acid levels in both diabetic and nondiabetic rats. The activities of the five enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis were all depressed in the diabetic rats compared to controls, and exercise had no effect on the activities of the enzymes. The capacity of liver to synthesize total lipids, diglycerides, or triglycerides was not different in the diabetic rats from that of nondiabetic rats, and exercise did not change that. Only phospholipid synthesis from glycerol-3-phosphate was affected by diabetes. It is concluded that exercise ameliorates the elevations in plasma triglyceride levels that result from diabetes. The decrease in plasma triglycerides which occurs after exercise appears not to be related to changes in the endogenous capacity of liver to synthesize glycerides, but is more likely due to the decrease in flux of free fatty acids into the liver.
A spectral numerical method for the Navier-Stokes equations with applications to Taylor-Couette flow

A new spectral method for solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in a plane channel and between concentric cylinders is presented. The method uses spectral expansions which inherently satisfy the boundary conditions and the continuity equation and yield banded matrices which are efficiently solved at each time step. In addition, the number of dependent variables is reduced, resulting in a reduction in computer memory requirements. Several test problems have been computed for the channel flow and for flow between concentric cylinders, including Taylor-Couette flow with axisymmetric Taylor vortices and wavy vortices. In all cases, agreement with available experimental and theoretical results is very good.
Response of Balloon-Expandable Endoprosthetic Metallic Stents Subjected to Over-Expansion In Vitro

We attempted to evaluate the in vitro behavior and performance of balloon-expandable endoprosthetic metallic stents subjected to over-expansion (OE). Seventy-two balloon-expandable endoprosthetic stents, representing 22 models from six manufacturers, were overexpanded in vitro. Stents were initially expanded to their maximum manufacturer- recommended diameter and then over-expanded incrementally to their endpoints. Endpoints for OE were either stent disarticulation or an inability to undergo further expansion despite balloon insufflation to maximum burst pressure. Measurements of stent dimensions were recorded at each overexpanded diameter and comparisons were made to manufacturer's specifications. A total of 288 balloon-driven expansions were performed on 72 stents. Sixteen stents were expanded to large diameters (> or = 16 mm), 20 stents underwent OE of 50% or greater. One model tended to disarticulate after OE greater than 50%. There were five models that had a tendency to disarticulate after minimal OE. Five models were resistant to OE (25% or less OE) but did not disarticulate. Nearly all stents showed some degree of foreshortening with OE, while 36 stents underwent foreshortening of 30% or more. Models that are not recommended for OE include Intrastent, Intrastent DoubleStrut, NIR Royale and Omniflex. Good candidates for OE include Intrastent DoubleStrut LD, Palmaz large, Medtronic Extra Support Biliary Plus and Medtronic Flexible Biliary. Palmaz XL remains the only model available for expansion from 20 to 28 mm in diameter. For the remaining stents, OE is possible, however, caution should be used.
Sebaceous Gland Lipogenesis Induced by Testosterone: Early Metabolic Events

A comprehensive investigation into the primary metabolic events (those occurring 24 hours after treatment) involved in the response of the preputial gland of the mouse to stimulation by testosterone was conducted. The ion chamber respirometer technique was employed, using as a model sebaceous structure, the preputial gland of the mouse which is easily isolated and responds readily to steroid hormone. The parameters chosen to be measured were the following: glucose-1 14 C and glucose-6 14 C oxidation, change in RNA/DNA ratios and increased lipogenesis from glucose. The results provide evidence that the earliest responses (24–72 hours) of the gland to testosterone are a two-three fold stimulation of 14 CO 2 production from glucose-1- 14 C, an increase in RNA/DNA ratios, and increased incorporation of label into all lipids, with most increase among the alcohol-containing lipids. An increase in the oxidation of glucose-1- 14 C provides an excellent preliminary assay for androgen stimulation of preputial gland metabolism.
Computing the Ramanujan tau function

We show that the Ramanujan tau function τ(n) can be computed by a randomized algorithm that runs in time \(n^{\frac{1}{2}+\varepsilon}\) for every O(\(n^{\frac{3}{4}+\varepsilon}\)) assuming the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis. The same method also yields a deterministic algorithm that runs in time O(\(n^{\frac{3}{4}+\varepsilon}\)) (without any assumptions) for every e > 0 to compute τ(n). Previous algorithms to compute τ(n) require Ω(n) time.