cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium and Francisella tularensis infections on oxidative, glycolytic and lysosomal enzyme activity in red and white skeletal muscle in the rat

Since opinions differ as to whether the oxidative and glycolytic capabilities of skeletal muscle are altered in acute infection, enzyme activities in oxidative, glycolytic and degradative (acid hydrolases) pathways and total protein and DNA were determined in skeletal muscle of rats infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella typhimurium or Francisella tularensis. Studies were performed separately in red (slow twitch) and white (fast twitch) muscle tissue because these fibers function during different types of exercise. In the salmonella- and tularemia-infected rats, the intramitochondrially located oxidative enzymes of muscle were decreased to 56-83% of controls whereas the glycolytic enzyme situated in the cytosol showed an earlier and more pronounced loss of activity, 30-75% of controls. In the pneumococcal infection, only reduced glycolytic activity was significant. DNA concentrations were unchanged in any infection. Reductions during tularemia were statistically correlated with whole-cell protein degradation, while that of the glycolytic enzyme was parallelled by activation of lysosomal enzymes. Red and white muscle tissues responded similarly, in contrast to several other pathologic states that involve a catabolic component of muscle with a predominant response (or damage) in one or the other fiber type.
Intramyocardial injection of autologous cardiospheres or cardiosphere-derived cells preserves function and minimizes adverse ventricular remodeling in pigs with heart failure post-myocardial infarction.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to test the safety and efficacy of direct injection of cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) and their 3-dimensional precursors, cardiospheres, for cellular cardiomyoplasty in a mini-pig model of heart failure after myocardial infarction. Background Intracoronary administration of CDCs has been demonstrated to reduce infarct size and improve hemodynamic indexes in the mini-pig model, but intramyocardial injection of CDCs or cardiospheres has not been assessed in large animals. Methods Autologous cardiospheres or CDCs grown from endomyocardial biopsies were injected through thoracotomy 4 weeks after anteroseptal myocardial infarction. Engraftment optimization with luciferase-labeled CDCs guided the choice of cell dose (0.5 million cells/site) and target tissue (20 peri-infarct sites). Pigs were randomly allocated to placebo (n = 11), cardiospheres (n = 8), or CDCs (n = 10). Functional data were acquired before injection and again 8 weeks later, after which organs were harvested for histopathology. Results Beyond the immediate perioperative period, all animals survived to protocol completion. Ejection fraction was equivalent at baseline, but at 8 weeks was higher than placebo in both of the cell-treated groups (placebo vs. CDC, p = 0.01; placebo vs. cardiospheres, p = 0.01). Echocardiographic and hemodynamic indexes of efficacy improved disproportionately with cardiospheres; likewise, adverse remodeling was more attenuated with cardiospheres than with CDCs. Provocative electrophysiologic testing showed no differences among groups, and no tumors were found. Conclusions Dosage-optimized direct injection of cardiospheres or CDCs is safe and effective in preserving ventricular function in porcine ischemic cardiomyopathy. Although CDCs and cardiospheres have equivalent effects on left ventricular ejection fraction, cardiospheres are superior in improving hemodynamics and regional function, and in attenuating ventricular remodeling.
Rethinking Logics of Action and Time

It is over thirty years since I developed interval temporal logic and the accompanying logic of action and time. Overall, these theories have held up well and, with some extensions over the years, have remained useful in our work on AI planning/reasoning systems and natural language understanding. Recently I have become interested in systems that can learn by reading, and specifically, that can learn necessary conditions for event occurrence from reading dictionary definitions. This task adds new constraints on the form of the temporal logic we need. In this talk, I will review our earlier work on temporal logic and then look at the problems that have forced a recent generalization of the formalism in order to allow compositional construction of event definitions from natural language definitions.
Prediction Model of Pressure Distribution under Floating Strips

The accuracy prediction of the strip's upper pressure and lower pressure is very important to the accuracy control of air flotation oven, therefore the aluminum can get high surface quality and improving the product quality. And the pressure prediction is very important factor in air flotation oven. In this paper, pso-lssvm pressure prediction model was established. The experiment was carried out in an experimental air flotation oven and pressure data was collected, then the pso-lssvm model was trained based on the training data. The pso-lssvm pressure model' result was compared with the experimental value. The experimental result shows that the pso-lssvm model can get higher accuracy and is suited to predict pressure distribution.
Lesson learned from adaptation response to Devils Lake flooding in North Dakota, USA

The water level of Devils Lake, a terminal lake in the northeast of North Dakota, U.S., has risen nearly 10 m since 1993, inundating farm land and causing significant damages to the infrastructure and surrounding communities. The currently adopted flood adaptation policy is continuing infrastructural protection (CIP), under which the infrastructure, such as levees or roads, is raised gradually in response to the rising water. Since the Devils Lake city and the adjacent communities are built within the historical confines of the lake, we introduce and estimate potential costs of two diametrical, but long-term targeted adaptation strategies involving either buyout or relocation (B/R) to contrast against the CIP. The comparison shows that B/R, while more expensive initially, would be cheaper than CIP accumulated over longer term. We further explore the reason that policymakers prefer CIP: the near-term uncertainty regarding the future lake levels has led to significant discount of long-term potential risk. With future risk significantly discounted, not only B/R, but any other alternatives that feature long-term perspective, could become less attractive than CIP. Were we able to predict the flooding more accurately or willing to discount future less, we might have chosen a different plan of action. The ultimate choice of CIP among the possible adaptation options reveals that policymakers have privileged the present and favored near-term remedies instead of long-term solutions. Although certainly not on the same scale, the lesson we have learned in dealing with Devils Lake has far-reaching implications on climate change adaptation strategies. The passive decision to wait and ignore the full potential for disaster ultimately leaves us with no other option, but to continue to “wait and see” and then spend more.
Effect of Nozzle Configuration on Transport in the Stagnation Zone of Axisymmetric, Impinging Free-Surface Liquid Jets: Part 2—Local Heat Transfer

This is the second of a two-part study on the flow structure and heat transfer characteristics of turbulent, free-surface liquid jets. Part 2 deals with the effect of selected nozzle configurations on the local heat transfer in the stagnation zone. Infrared techniques have been used to characterize the local heat transfer for the four nozzle configurations whose mean and turbulent flow structure was detailed in Part 1. The results show that for identical jet Reynolds numbers, significant differences exist in the magnitudes of the local Nusselt number for the nozzle types studied. Differences of approximately 40 percent were observed. Local heat transfer results reveal that for already turbulent jets, the mean radial velocity gradient appears to be more influential in determining the heat transfer than incremental changes in the level of turbulence (as measured by the radial component of the fluctuations). An empirical correlation of the experimental data supports this conclusion, and reveals that the stagnation Nusselt number is affected independently by the jet Reynolds number and the dimensionless mean radial velocity gradient. 21 refs., 6 figs.
Lack of effect of chloroquine on pupillary size in man

Chloroquine causes pruritus similar to that seen with opiates. It has been suggested that chloroquine (C) induced pruritus may be caused by mu opiate receptor activation. We therefore examined the effect of chloroquine on pupillary size as a marker of central mu opiate receptor activation in 12 healthy subjects of African descent with prior exposure to C, 6 with and 6 without history of chloroquine-induced pruritus. In a single blind, sequential dosing design, subjects received a single oral dose of morphine sulphate (M, 10mg), placebo (P) pills and C (600mg base). Pupillary size was evaluated before and 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8,12 and 24 hours after dosing. Pruritus and DSST were assessed before and 0, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours after dosing. The patients were aged 30(±4) years and had a BMI of 24(±2) kgm-2. Historical itchers to chloroquine (H+) and historical non-itchers (H-) were well matched for age, BMI, liver and renal function. When the whole group (H+ and H−) was analyzed (n=12), M caused significant pupillary constriction compared to C or P (p<0.001, T test for linear mixed model). There is no significant difference when C is compared to P. Chloroquine caused itching in 66% of historical itchers (4/6) compared to 0% of non-itchers (p<0.05, fishers exact test). We conclude that chloroquine does not cause miosis in man and direct mu opiate activation is not a likely mechanism for chloroquine-induced pruritus. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2004) 75, P64–P64; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.242
Novel prebiotic model systems: interactions of nucleosides and nucleotides with aqueous micellar sodium dodecanoate

Abstract The partition coefficients, K-values, of adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, uridine, 51-adenylic acid (AMP), 51-guanylic acid (GMP), 51-cytidylic acid (CMP), and 51-uridylic acid (UMP) between water and aqueous sodium dodecanoate has been determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-25. Below the critical micelle concentration of the surfactant, K-values for all nucleotides and nucleosides are similar. Differential uptake of the four nucleotides and nucleosides is observed, however, by micellar sodium dodecanoate. K-values for adenosine, AMP; guanosine, GMP; cytidine, CMP; and uridine, UMP are 6.16·103, 9.52·103; 12.0·103, 14.6·103; 19.6·103, 19.6·103, 34.2·103 and 40.3·103. Similar K-values for corresponding pairs of nucleotides and nucleosides imply that the predominant interaction is between the pyrimidine or purine rings of the substrates and the charged Stern layer of the surfactant. Prebiotic significance of these results is discussed.
Effect of dichloroacetate on gluconeogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes.

Abstract The effect of dichloroacetate on rates of gluconeogenesis was studied in isolated parenchymal cells obtained from the livers of normal fasted rats. Dichloroacetate significantly inhibited glucose formation from endogenous substrates and from added precursors (e.g., lactate, pyruvate, or glycerate) which enter the gluconeogenic pathway prior to the level of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). In contrast, dichloroacetate did not significantly affect glucose synthesis from precursors (e.g., fructose, or glycerol) which enter beyond the GPDH-catalyzed step. Lactate production from fructose or glycerol was unaffected by dichloroacetate. Inhibition of gluconeogenesis occurred regardless of the apparent effects of dichloro-acetate on the redox state of the cytosol. Dichloroacetate produced variable effects on the lactate-pyruvate substrate pair, while it consistently produced a more oxidized state in the β-hydroxybutyrate-acetoacetate couple. Unlike uncoupling agents, dichloroacetate reduced glucose synthesis without stimulating respiration or altering total adenine nucleotide levels or ATPADP ratios. Dichloroacetate did not affect the metabolism of lactate or pyruvate to CO 2 or glycogen. It did, however, significantly inhibit conversion by the cells of added lactate to pyruvate and glucose or of added pyruvate to lactate and glucose.
Scaling of flash NVRAM to 10's of nm by decoupling of storage from read/sense using back-floating gates

Conventional floating-gate flash memory structures have limited scalability due to nonscaling of insulators for charge retention and reliability, inefficiency of hot-electron injection processes at nanometer dimensions due to off-equilibrium overshoot effects, poor short-channels effects due to poor electrostatics and large voltages needed at the control/read gate as a result of voltage leveraging. We present and analyze a new nonvolatile memory structure based on back-floating gate, which decouples the read/sensing from storage/programming and thus allows a design with efficient storage and improved injection and short-channel characteristics. This structure can be scaled to dimensions similar to that of high performance transistors, i.e., 10's of nanometers, without compromising the requirements of insulator thickness. Characteristics of the structure are analyzed using coupled simulation and modeling that employs Monte Carlo simulation for hot carrier analysis and quasistatic calculation for evaluating charge injection and storage. We compare the characteristics of the new structure with conventional structures and their use as a memory cell.
Mutual information applied to anomaly detection

Anomaly detection systems play a significant role in protection mechanism against attacks launched on a network. The greatest challenge in designing systems detecting anomalous exploits is defining what to measure. Effective yet simple, Shannon entropy metrics have been successfully used to detect specific types of malicious traffic in a number of commercially available IDS's. We believe that Renyi entropy measures can also adequately describe the characteristics of a network as a whole as well as detect abnormal traces in the observed traffic. In addition, Renyi entropy metrics might boost sensitivity of the methods when disambiguating certain anomalous patterns. In this paper we describe our efforts to understand how Renyi mutual information can be applied to anomaly detection as an offline computation. An initial analysis has been performed to determine how well fast spreading worms (Slammer, Code Red, and Welchia) can be detected using our technique. We use both synthetic and real data audits to illustrate the potentials of our method and provide a tentative explanation of the results.
Preliminary investigation of a tangential flow torch with coupling probe injector for helium microwave induced plasma mass spectrometry

A stable, low gas-flow torch has been developed for use with a helium microwave induced plasma (MIP). A toroidal plasma with central analyte introduction is obtained by the addition of a tantalum coupling probe injector tube. This injector penetrates through 100% of the total cavity depth and aids in the efficiency of power transfer to the cavity, in plasma initiation, and in circumventing the effects of a lack of homogeneity in the microwave field on analyte distribution in the plasma. The tangential helium flow was 41/min and the microwave power was 60 W.
Return on Investment Analysis of Using Building Information Modeling in Construction

AbstractThe recent emergence of building information modeling (BIM) and the evolution of virtual design and construction (VDC) in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry are fundamentally changing the process by which buildings are designed and constructed. However, the perceived high initial cost of implementing BIM has deterred many industry professionals from adopting this technology. This paper aims to facilitate the decision-making process in the adoption of BIM by presenting the cost savings associated with implementing BIM. In many cases, an owner’s willingness to pay for the BIM is crucial in the contractor’s decision to use BIM. Therefore, in order to show the returns on the investment (ROI) of paying additional fees, data was gathered from three case studies on three sets of similar projects, with each set consisting of one recently constructed BIM-assisted project and one earlier, similar project completed without BIM. The potential savings to an owner choosing to invest ...
Understanding the Economic Consequences of Mexican Immigration to the United States Much Done but More to Do

Recent decades have witnessed dramatic increases in U.S. immigration, especially from Mexico. In a new book, Mexican Immigration to the United States, George Borjas continues a long line of research that articulates how this rising tide of immigration is linked to our national well-being. This edited book brings together a diverse set of articles written by some of the nation's best economists and presented in 2005 at a conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. No doubt, it is an important book to read if one is interested in understanding the supply side concerns of economists interested in immigration. Yet despite my own keen interest in this topic, the book as a whole only narrowly addresses the economic effects of Mexican immigration because it fails to incorporate sociological and other perspectives. Such a missed opportunity suggests how much more needs to be done to understand the economic outcomes of immigrants in U.S. labor markets.
Microchemistry and microstructure of a multiphase aluminosilicate ceramic

The microstructure and microchemistry of a sintered (≈ 1700° C) aluminosilicate ceramic (60 wt % Al2O3-40 wt% SiO2) was investigated by optical, scanning (SEM and EDAX), and analytical electron microscopy (TEM and STEM). The microstructural features of the fired ceramic consisted of unreacted Al2O3, glass, porosity, and equilibrium and metastable mullite phases. Residual Al2O3 agglomerates (≈ 15 to 30 μm in size) were surrounded by a ≈ 6 μm layer of equilibrium mullite (≈ 71.3 to 73.5 wt% Al2O3). The unreacted Al2O3-equilibrium mullite assembly formed islands embedded in a silica rich glass (≈ 4.5 to 14wt% Al2O3) which also contained 2 to 3 μm thick metastable mullite needles (≈ 70 to 77 wt% Al2O3). Phase separation and alumina rich glass compositions (≈ 57 to 59 wt% Al2O3) were also observed in some areas of the microstructure.
Lateral preoptic single unit activity: effects of various solutions.

Abstract Recent chemical stimulation, ablation and electrophysiological recording experiments have suggested that an important osmosensitive region exists in the lateral preoptic area of the rat. The purpose of the present study was to examine the activity of single neurons in the lateral preoptic region of the rat brain in response to hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic stimulation. Extracellular spontaneous unit discharges were recorded from 54 neurons in the lateral preoptic area of 27 hooded rats using glass micropipettes and standard recording techniques. Although frequencies of most units increased following the infusion of one or more solutions, a substantial number of units showed a decrease, while others did not appear to change. In general, the direction of change in frequency was constant for modulated responses from any given unit. The variability of the responses observed cannot be easily interpreted considering osmometric factors alone. Both osmometric and volumetric factors might be implicated in the changes observed in the activity of lateral preoptic neurons.
A Novel Xcast-based Caching Architecture for Inter-gateway Handoffs in Infrastructure Wireless Mesh Networks

Handoff management plays an important role in wireless mesh networks (WMNs) in delivering Quality of Service to mobile users. Inter-gateway (across subnets) movement in WMNs usually requires the handoff support from multilayers and thus causes nonnegligible delays and packet loss. Previous solutions on handoff management in infrastructure WMNs mainly focus on intra-gateway mobility (e.g., single gateway is assumed in IEEE 802.11s WMNs) and exert the reduction of handoff delay so as to reduce packet loss. Furthermore, some handoff issues involved in inter-gateway mobility in WMNs (e.g., the network-layer handoff detection issue) have not been properly addressed. In this paper, we present a novel architectural design, namely Explicit multicast-based (Xcast-based) WMNs (XMesh), to facilitate inter-gateway handoff management. The proposed XMesh architecture enables parallel executions of handoffs from multilayers, in conjunction with a Xcast-based caching mechanism which builds on top of mesh routing protocols to guarantee minimum packet loss during handoffs in WMNs. The required number and optimal placement of special mesh routers that form the XMesh architecture are modeled as a set covering problem which is solved based on a greedy algorithm. A comprehensive simulation study shows that the XMesh architecture enables fast handoffs and re-establishment of session communications in the inter-gateway mobility environment. With both the parallel handoff execution and data caching mechanism, our architecture offers a seamless handoff for supporting real-time applications.
Countermanding saccades in macaque

A countermanding paradigm was utilized to investigate the regulation of saccade initiation. Two rhesus monkeys were instructed to generate a saccade to a peripheral target; however, on a fraction of trials after a delay, the monkeys were signaled to inhibit saccade initiation. With short delays between the presentation of the target and the signal to inhibit saccade generation, monkeys withheld saccades to the peripheral target. As the delay of the stop signal increased, monkeys increasingly failed to withhold the saccade. The hypothesis that the generation of the saccade is determined by a race between a go and a stop process provides three explicit means of estimating the covert latency of response to the stop signal. This latency, known as stop signal reaction time, was estimated to be on average 82 ms for both monkeys. Because the stop signal latency represents the time required to exert inhibitory control over saccade production, the countermanding paradigm will be useful for studying neural mechanisms that regulate saccade initiation.
Electron Capture in the Decay of Na 22

The ratio of electron capture to positron emission in the decay of ${\mathrm{Na}}^{22}$ to the 1.28-Mev level in ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{22}$ has been determined by a comparison of the intensities of positron emission and 1.28-Mev radiation. The measurements were made with a coincidence arrangement employing a $4\ensuremath{\pi}$ beta counter to detect the positrons and a scintillation counter for the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays. By varying the bias of a discriminator responding to the $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ spectrum, one can determine the efficiency of the $4\ensuremath{\pi}$ beta counter, and the product of this efficiency and the fraction of decays which undergo electron capture. These measurements lead to a value of 0.110\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006 for the ratio of electron capture to positron emission. If one assumes that the ${\mathrm{Na}}^{22}$ decay is allowed ($\ensuremath{\Delta}J=1$, no) the theoretical value is 0.1135. By a comparison of these values, we can make an estimate of the magnitude of the Fierz interference term. We find, subject to the above assumption, that the ratio of the axial vector and tensor coupling constants $\frac{{C}_{A}}{{C}_{T}}=(\ensuremath{-}1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2)$ percent.
Mesenchymal-Specific Deletion of C/EBPβ Suppresses Pulmonary Fibrosis

The CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ) regulates a variety of factors and cellular responses associated with pulmonary fibrosis. To distinguish its role in the mesenchyme from that in other compartments, the effects of mesenchymal-specific deletion of C/EBPβ on pulmonary fibrosis was examined. Crossing of mice with the floxed C/EBPβ gene with α2(I) collagen enhancer-CreER(T)-bearing mice successfully generated progeny with a conditional knockout (CKO) of C/EBPβ in collagen I-expressing (“mesenchymal”) cells only on treatment with tamoxifen (C/EBPβ CKO). When treated with an endotracheal bleomycin injection, C/EBPβ CKO mice showed significant attenuation of pulmonary fibrosis relative to control C/EBPβ-intact mice. C/EBPβ CKO mice also had reduced myofibroblasts in the lung. However, no significant differences in inflammatory/immune cell influx were noted in the mutant mice relative to the control mice. DNA microarray and real-time PCR analyses identified a series of myofibroblast differentiation regulators as novel target genes of C/EBPβ. Interestingly, C/EBPβ deficiency caused a marked induction of matrix metalloproteinase 12 expression, suggesting its potential role as a repressor, which could account for the noted reduction in fibrosis in the C/EBPβ-deficient mice. Thus, these findings indicate an essential role for C/EBPβ in the mesenchymal compartment in pulmonary fibrosis that is independent of its effects on inflammation or immune cell infiltration.
Nature of sodium atoms/(Na(+), e(-)) contact pairs in liquid tetrahydrofuran

With no internal vibrational or rotational degrees of freedom, atomic solutes serve as the simplest possible probe of a condensed-phase environment's influence on solute electronic structure. Of the various atomic species that can be formed in solution, the quasi-one-electron alkali atoms in ether solvents have been the most widely studied experimentally, primarily due to the convenient location of their absorption spectra at visible wavelengths. The nature of solvated alkali atoms, however, remains controversial: the consensus view is that solvated alkali atoms exist as (Na(+), e(-)) tight-contact pairs (TCPs), species in which the alkali valence electron is significantly displaced from the alkali nucleus and confined primarily by the first solvent shell. Thus, to shed light on the nature of alkali atoms in solution and to further our understanding of condensed-phase effects on solutes' electronic structure, we have performed mixed quantum/classical molecular dynamics simulations of sodium atoms in liquid tetrahydrofuran (Na(0)/THF). Our interest in this particular system stems from recent pump-probe experiments in our group, which found that the rate at which this species is solvated depends on how it was created ( Science 2008 , 321 , 1817 ); in other words, the solvation dynamics of this system do not obey linear response. Our simulations reproduce the experimental spectroscopy of this system and clearly indicate that neutral Na atoms exist as (Na(+), e(-)) TCPs in solution. We find that the driving force for the displacement of sodium's valence electron is the formation of a tight solvation shell around the partially exposed Na(+). On average, four THF oxygens coordinate the cation end of the TCP; however, we also observe fluctuations to other solvent coordination numbers. Furthermore, we find that species with different solvent coordination numbers have unique absorption spectra and that interconversion between species with different solvent coordination numbers requires surmounting a free energy barrier of several k(B)T. Taken together, our results suggest that the Na(0)/THF species with different solvent coordination numbers may be viewed as chemically distinct. Thus, we can explain the kinetics of Na TCP formation as being dictated by changes in the Na(+) solvent coordination number, and we can understand the dependence on initial conditions seen in the solvation dynamics of this system as resulting from the fact that the important solvent coordinate involves the motion of only a few molecules in the first solvation shell.
End-Stage Renal Disease Therapy: An American Success Story

Continuation of the US Kidney Program Is the Issue Congress, the president, and organized medicine are currently assessing all aspects of government expenditures for health care. Previous constraints on reducing funding for Medicare have yielded under the pressure of the announcement by Medicare's trustees that unless curtailed, Medicare will be bankrupt shortly after the turn of the century (2002).1By law, once the Medicare fund is exhausted, no payments for hospital or any other trust-paid services may be made. I fear this threat to America's pioneer program that since 1973 has treated all citizens afflicted with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In 1992, more than 205 000 patients were treated for ESRD in the United States with an unadjusted acceptance rate of 212 per million and a point prevalence rate on December 31, 1992, of 794 per million.2Superficial inspection of the Medicare ESRD program indicates to some that costs
Endorsement of irrational beliefs as a moderator of the effects of stressful life events

Rational-emotive theory would predict that beliefs mediate the relationship between potentially stressful events and subsequent distress. On the basis of this prediction, the present study examined the role of endorsement of irrational beliefs as a moderator of the relationship between stressful life events and psychological and physical distress. Consistent with previous research, irrational beliefs and life changes were found to make significant unique predictions of both psychological and physical distress. Furthermore, endorsement of irrational beliefs moderated the relationship between life changes and physical distress, but not the relationship between life changes and psychological distress.
Healthy habits, healthy women.

In recent years, an important conceptual shift has emerged among epidemiologists and prevention experts in the quest to reduce morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD). Historically we have fixed our gaze on death and disease and designed public health efforts that worked
The effects of transection and reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament complex on the position of the proximal phalanx of the thumb during simulated tip pinch.

Injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb are common and may result in functional instability of the joint. Eight cadaveric hands were studied. Physiologic levels of muscle loads were applied to the extrinsic flexor tendon of the thumb to simulate tip pinch of the thumb. We investigated the effects of transection of the UCL and accessory UCL (UCL complex) with and without transection of the dorsal capsule and volar plate and of reconstruction of the UCL, for 2 surgical techniques, on the position of the proximal phalanx with respect to the thumb metacarpal. The spatial positions of the metacarpal and proximal phalanx were measured with a 6 degrees of freedom digitizing system for flexion angles from 0 degrees to 60 degrees in 15 degrees increments. Transection of the UCL complex, dorsal capsule, and volar plate (ulnar capsuloligamentous structures) of the metacarpophalangeal joint did not affect radioulnar deviation or radioulnar shift, but did produce significant increases in supination by 8 degrees and volar translation by 2 mm at 45 degrees and 60 degrees compared with those found for the intact joint. The UCL was reconstructed with a tendon graft using the autogenous extensor digiti quinti. The first surgical technique, a traditional technique, and the second surgical technique, a technique based on anatomy, returned the position of the proximal phalanx on the metacarpal head to normal, with the exceptions of volar translation of the proximal phalanx at 60 degrees and trends toward abnormal supination of the proximal phalanx for flexion angels of 45 degrees and 60 degrees.
Plasma protein changes in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) during parr-smolt transformation

Abstract 1. 1. Changes in plasma proteins of Atlantic salmon ( Salmon salar ) during parr-smolt transformation were analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 2. 2. An increase in the number of low molecular weight proteins ( 3. 3. Alterations in the quantities and relative proportions of several proteins (molecular weights 57–63 kilodaltons) were observed. 4. 4. These changes may indicate a role for specific plasma proteins in transition and adaptation to the marine environment.
Repairing ego deficits in children with developmental disorders

Children with developmental disorders have ego deficits which must be addressed before one is able to work with them in traditional dynamic clinical treatment. A review of the literature explores the distortions in personality structure which accompany developmental disorders, a conceptual paradigm for integration of psychodynamic and social learning theory models for understanding this problem, and suggestions for working with these children and their families. Three specific ego functions must be repaired in the initial stages of treatment: control of drive activity, reality testing, and the capacity for identification. Two case examples are used to illustrate how the worker may repair deficits in these ego functions.
An analysis of changes to a team-based incentive plan and its effects on productivity, product quality, and absenteeism

Abstract Using data from three production units of a large manufacturing plant that employs production teams in its assembly operations, this paper examines how changes made to an existing team-based incentive plan affects labor productivity, product quality, and worker absenteeism. The firm switched from a piece-rates contract and an attendance bonus and instituted a two tier incentive plan comprising two different but complementary performance-based bonus schemes: one tier based on individual team performance and the other tier on plant-wide performance. The incentives were introduced concurrently with management control initiatives intended to facilitate cooperation and monitoring among the teams. I find significant productivity gains and improvements in quality and absenteeism associated with the new incentive plan. These findings underscore two important points that have not been emphasized in existing empirical studies of incentive pay: incentive contracts for teams generate superior performance using combination of incentives, and the need to introduce organizational changes to facilitate cooperation and peer monitoring in tandem with incentive pay to capture greater incentive effects in team production.
Synthesis and Characterization of PMMA Nanocomposites by Suspension and Emulsion Polymerization

PMMA-layered silicate nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ suspension polymerization and emulsion polymerization. For the suspension polymerization, the silicate layers were dispersed individually in water, and we speculate that they are adsorbed on the surface of monomer droplets. For the emulsion polymerization, the nanocomposite was obtained by adding an aqueous dispersion of layered silicate into the polymer emulsion. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and atom force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the structures of the nanocomposites. Analysis of samples from emulsion and suspension polymerization was consistent with an exfoliated structure; after melt pressing, WAXD analysis indicated that both intercalated and exfoliated structures were observed. The exfoliated structure was preserved when organic modifiers that produced tethered polymer chains were used. Compared to a PMMA macrocomposite, the nanocomposites prepared by these methods display glass transition temperatures that are up ...
Diagnosis in convulsions

Abstract One objective in making the diagnosis is to recognize the attack or seizure as belonging in the field of the convulsive state . With this recognition, an attempt at classification of type must depend upon the concept as to the purpose and nature of the seizure. If the concept of a “defense” reaction against a threatened failure of cerebral circulation is to be adopted, a search for those factors that directly or indirectly concern cerebral circulation, blood volume and pressure relationships should lead to a more accurate diagnosis as to the type, as well as to the direction indicated for treatment. Where organic processes exist, surgery may be helpful. Where structural inadequacy exists, an active program of physical training, exercise, regulation of fluid, diet and appropriate medication will be beneficial. Where the symptoms of convulsions arise secondary to some phase of “water intoxication,” appropriate regard for the temporary fluid restrictions of the individual must be considered, as well as appropriate measures to enhance elimination through the skin, bowels, and kidneys, and thus prevent abnormally “high tides” of fluid being retained within the cranial cavity (reciprocal low tides of blood). Finally, it may be pointed out that although fluids, per se , are not directly responsible for the seizure, they may displace blood volume and impair intracranial circulation to such a degree that the controlling centers are released more easily by appropriate stimuli and, therefore, certain individuals at certain times become more “vulnerable” to seizures where cellular permeability, altered brain metabolism and other organic and structural factors have also helped to predispose them to an attack.
DETERMINISTIC CHAOS AND THE CAUSAL INTERPRETATION OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

Abstract It is shown that certain physical systems which do not exhibit deterministic chaos when treated classically may exhibit such chaos when treated quantum mechanically. The deterministic chaos occurs in the particle trajectories in configuration space associated with the de Broglie-Bohm causal interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is necessary that the system have at least two degrees of freedom, that the solution to the time-dependent Schrordinger equation be a superposition of at least three stationary states, and that at least one pair of these states have mutually incommensurate energy eigenvalues. Under such conditions, a plausible argument suggests that all aperiodic trajectories of a conservative system of two degrees of freedom will exhibit chaos. This is consistent with the numerical evidence obtained in a study of the example of a two-dimensional anisotropic harmonic oscillator.
Recent advances in the application of holographic gratings to ultraviolet astronomy

We present designs for the application of holographically corrected solutions to standard problems in ultraviolet astrophysics. These designs offer advanced aberration control that allows for improved performance, and improved operational ease compared to other aberration reduction schemes. One of these designs has been successfully produced, and performs according to predictions.
Quality assessment of randomized control trials in dental research. II. Results : periodontal research

Twenty-one reports of 14 randomized control trials (RCTs) published between 1968 and 1984 comparing methods of periodontal treatment were evaluated using a system to assess the quality of RCTs based on published reports. The quality assessment system evaluates the design, implementation, and analytic methods used. An index of quality is calculated with a maximum score attainable of 1.00. The mean quality score for these 14 RCTs was 0.35±0.07 (ISD). There was no evidence of improvement in scores over time. Ninety-five percent of the trials used the 'split-mouth’protocol. Although the results of 17 reports claimed no statistically significant differences between treatments, in no case was a type II error calculated to ensure that a sample size sufficient to detect a difference of clinical interest had been used. It is recommended that future RCTs of periodontal treatment utilize and report a standard design protocol so that results may be better compared and combined.
Asthma and child behavioral skills: does family socioeconomic status matter?

Abstract Asthma is associated with poorer behavioral and psychological outcomes in children, yet little is known about whether and how the social stratification process affects the impacts of asthma on children's outcomes. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort, this study considered the role of socioeconomic status in shaping the developmental consequences of children's asthma. Results showed that asthma was negatively associated with attention and social competence and positively associated with externalizing problem behaviors for children with low-educated mothers and children who lived in poor households. However, the adverse consequences of asthma disappeared for children with high-educated mothers and children who did not experience poverty. Additionally, the socioeconomic disparities were not fully explained by healthcare resources, family process, and exposure to environment risks and the disparities were found for both mild and severe cases. These findings suggest that, to fully understand the developmental consequences of illness in children, it is important to place socioeconomic status at the center of investigation.
Strain hardening due to deformation twinning in α-titanium: Mechanisms

Novel experiments were conducted to elucidate the effect of deformation twinning on the mechanical response of high-purity α-titanium deformed at room temperature. Orientation-imaging microscopy (OIM), microhardness, and nanohardness evaluations were employed in conjunction with optical microscopy and quasi-static compression testing to obtain insight into the deformation mechanisms. Hardness measurements revealed that the newly formed deformation twins were harder than the matrix. This observation is perhaps the first experimental evidence for the Basinski mechanism for hardening associated with twinning, arising from the transition of glissile dislocations to a sessile configuration upon the lattice reorientation by twinning shear. This work also provided direct evidence for two competing effects of deformation twinning on the overall stress-strain response: (1) hardening via both a reduction of the effective slip length (Hall-Petch effect) and an increase in the hardness of twinned regions (Basinski mechanism) and (2) softening due to the lattice reorientation of the twinned regions.
Design of a novel Quantum-dot Cellular Automata Field Programmable Gate Array

This paper presents a novel design of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based on Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) technology. QCA is a transistorless emerging technology based on Coulombic repulsion. It is being explored as one of the alternative technologies which may replace CMOS in the future. In this work, QCA based nano FPGAs are designed and simulated. The designs of the Configurable Logic Block (CLB) and the Programmable Switch Matrix (PSM) are first developed separately and then integrated together to form a complete QCA based FPGA. The circuit components are designed to take full advantage of the unique features of QCA technology. It is observed that the proposed circuits have less latency and occupy less area compared to earlier designs. Also, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first integrated design of a QCA based FPGA which includes both CLBs and PSMs. The FPGA is designed and simulated using the QCADesigner tool.
Development of analytical approach for an automated analysis of continuous long-term single lead ECG for diagnosis of paroxysmal atrioventricular block

Reliable detection of significant ECG features such as the P-wave, QRS-complex and T-wave are of major clinical importance. In this paper we introduce a new algorithm based on synchrosqueezing wavelet transform for detection of P-waves in long-term ECG recordings. Synchrosqueezing is a powerful time-frequency analysis tool that provides precise frequency representation of a multicomponent signal through mode decomposition. First, we analyzed four wavelet filters with different filter parameters, to identify the best specification for quantification of QRS and P-wave. Second, the algorithm was tested on ECG recording comprising of events with paroxysmal atrioventricular block and validated through visual scanning. Using morlet wavelet with a peak frequency of 5Hz and separation of 0.1Hz, our proposed algorithm was able to detect 95.5% of P-waves. From this study, it appears that synchrosqueezing wavelet transform may provide a powerful robust technique for automated ECG analysis.
Implications of heavy-ion-induced satellite X-ray emission III

High-resolution ( ∼ 7 eV at 2.3 keV) sulfur Kα X-ray spectra have been obtained for a series of sulfur compound targets under heavy-ion impact at the Holifield Heavy Ion Facility. The spectra observed are dominated by a series of satellite peaks arising from varying degrees of L-shell ionization at the time of X-ray emission. Each spectral profile has been parameterized by a single variable pL, the apparent average L-shell ionization probability. Correlations are evident between pL and the corresponding sulfur atom chemical environment. Much stronger correlations are, however, found for variations of some individual peak intensities with specific chemical parameters. Comparison of results for Arq+ and Krq+ projectiles show that while L-shell ionization probability has increased, chemical sensitivity has apparently saturated.
MECHANICS OF ENAMEL ADHERENCE: XV, INFLUENCE OF COBALT AND NICKEL OXIDES ON METAL PRECIPITATION AT GROUND COAT‐IRON INTERFACE*

The method previously described for determining metal precipitation during groundcoat firing on sheet iron has been refined and used in a quantitative study of the comparative influence of cobalt and nickel oxides on this precipitation. The effect of these oxides has been studied separately and in mixtures, and it has been found that nickel oxide has the more pronounced action. This action is evident even when the ratio of cobalt oxide to nickel oxide is 3 to 1.
Use of Camelina sativa in the Diets of Young Turkeys

SUMMARY Camelina sativa is one of various oilseed crops being studied for its potential value in biofuel production. The resultant by-product of oil extraction, camelina meal (CM), could be marketable as a livestock feed. Our study evaluated the potential use of CM as a feed ingredient in turkey poult starter diets. This was a pilot study to determine whether further work investigating inclusion of CM as a potential feed ingredient in turkey diets might be of value if a least-cost formulation warranted its integration. Results indicate that CM may be a potentially useful minor ingredient in turkey diets if economically feasible, but caution should be exercised in using CM above 5% of finished feed in a poult starter diet. In an appended test, similar weight gain and feed conversion were attained with a diet containing camelina oil as a replacement for vegetable oil compared with the control diet.
On Limiting the Retained Mortage Portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

This paper evaluates a current policy proposal to limit the size of the retained mortgage portfolios held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (hereafter F&F). The proposal is a response to the growing concerns that the interest rate risks contained in the F&F portfolios create a serious threat to the US financial system. The analysis begins with a review of data on how F&F operate and on the role they play within the US mortgage market. Special attention is paid to the manner in which the firms hedge their interest rate risk. Key questions regarding the policy proposal include (1) what fund sources will replace F&F as mortgage investors, how will the interest rate risk be covered after it is removed from the F&F portfolios, and (3) what is the likely impact of the change on US mortgage interest rates. The conclusion is to endorse legislation.