cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Drainage via stratification and nanoscopic thickness transitions of aqueous sodium naphthenate foam films

Sodium naphthenates (NaNs), found in crude oils and oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), can act as surfactants and stabilize undesirable foams and emulsions. Despite the critical impact of soap-like NaNs on the formation, properties, and stability of petroleum and OSPW foams, there is a significant lack of studies that characterize foam film drainage, motivating this study. Here, we contrast the drainage of aqueous foam films formulated with NaN with foams containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a well-studied surfactant system, in the relatively low concentration regime (c/CMC < 12.5). The foam films exhibit drainage via stratification, displaying step-wise thinning and coexisting thick–thin regions manifested as distinct shades of gray in reflected light microscopy due to thickness-dependent interference intensity. Using IDIOM (interferometry digital imaging optical microscopy) protocols that we developed, we analyze pixel-wise intensity to obtain thickness maps with high spatiotemporal resolution (thickness <1 nm, lateral ∼500 nm, time ∼10 ms). The analysis of interference intensity variations over time reveals that the aqueous foam films of both SDS and NaN possess an evolving, dynamic, and rich nanoscopic topography. The nanoscopic thickness transitions for stratifying SDS foam films are attributed to the role played by damped supramolecular oscillatory structural disjoining pressure contributed by the confinement-induced layering of spherical micelles. In comparison with SDS, we find smaller concentration-dependent step size and terminal film thickness values for NaN, implying weaker intermicellar interactions and oscillatory structural disjoining pressure with shorter decay length and periodicity.
Little Computer People: A Survey and Taxonomy of Simulated Models of Social Interaction

Bolstered by a growing interest in simulating believable non-player characters (NPCs), work on NPC models has spanned topics such as planning, procedural storytelling, decision-making, and social dynamics. However, research groups work in isolation, designing and discussing their character models with disparate approaches, often using project-specific terminology. This makes it challenging to identify, classify, and accumulate existing knowledge. It is our position that since modelling of virtual characters has become an integral part of the scientific practice in our field, we must develop a common taxonomy to discuss these models. With this goal in mind, we conduct an in-depth analysis of a selection of projects, categorizing existing agent social interactions, and comparing results from research-based and commercial social simulation works in the entertainment domain. We conceptualize a taxonomy that classifies agent interactions by their social behaviours, inter-agent communication, knowledge flow, and the change in their relationships. We posit such a taxonomy would allow scientists to reproduce and evaluate existing models, collaborate on standards, share advances with other researchers and practitioners, allow for better communication and methodologies developed for new techniques, and allow for a more rigorous model-to-model analysis.
Review of PSTD methods for transient electromagnetics: Research Articles

In this paper we review the recent development in pseudospectral time-domain (PSTD) methods for broadband electromagnetics. Starting from the basic ideas for high-order approximation of spatial derivatives in periodic and non-periodic domains, we will discuss the pseudospectral time-domain methods for Maxwell's equations. Furthermore, some recent time integration schemes for the PSTD methods will be also presented. We will demonstrate these efficient methods with some new results for large scale problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Erythema Necrolyticum Migrans (Wilkinson) in Patientin mit Glukagon-produzierendem Alpha-Zelltumor des Pankreas

Fallbericht: Typische Hautveranderungen (wanderndes nekrolytisches Erythem), Glossitis, Anamie, latenter Diabetes mellitus, erhohte Serumglukagonwerte, positiver CT-Scan, wurden in einer Patientin mit Alphazelltumor der Bauchspeicheldruse beobachtet.
The Chile Solidarity Movement and its Media: An Alternative Take on the Allende and Pinochet Years

Abstract Long before September 11, 2001, September 11 was a significant date for many Chileans, Latin Americans, and North Americans. On that day in 1973, the government of Salvador Allende, the democratically elected socialist president of Chile, was overthrown in a U.S.-backed military coup. Even before that day, North Americans had formed Chile solidarity groups to create and disseminate alternative media products to cover the dramatic changes taking place in Chile and to counter some of the coverage of Chile in the mainstream U.S. press. The solidarity movement's media, particularly the newsletters, provided mass audiences with a non-establishment version of U.S. involvement in Chilean affairs before and during Allende's administration. And after September 11, 1973, they provided an alternative assessment of events during the military dictatorship of General Augusta Pinochet Ugarte and kept his human rights violations in the public eye. The solidarity media also helped create a national network of lik...
Timing precision and rhythm in developmental dyslexia

Current research on the etiology ofdevelopmental dyslexia is generally informed byeither of two major hypotheses. One of theseassumes that the phonological processing ofconsonants and vowels at a segmental levelidentifies the core deficit in developmentaldyslexia and that it cannot be reduced todomain-general deficits of temporal informationprocessing. The other hypothesis holds thatphonological processing deficits aresymptomatic of an underlying, domain-generaldysfunction; and that at least some dyslexiasubtypes are causally related to domain generaldeficits of temporal information processing forauditory and visual stimuli. This report startsfrom the assumption that the terms temporal information processing andphonological processing as applied in currentdyslexia research, are frequently conflated. Further, it assumes that the conflated termsmust be decomposed into their concretebehavioral referents before the causalsignificance of either can be investigatedsystematically.
Immunotherapy and gene therapy of cancer.

Abstract In the past decade, immunotherapies have been developed that are capable of causing prolonged cancer regressions in selected patients with advanced metastatic disease. In the past year, attempts at the gene therapy of cancer have begun. These experimetnal cancer treatments deserve vigorous exploration.
Navajo Beliefs: Implications for Health Professionals

Abstract Native Americans are the most unhealthy segment of the total population, evidenced by a shorter life expectancy and higher mortality rates for communicable diseases. The Navajo are the largest Native American tribe in the United States. Cultural sensitivity is necessary for promoting health and the acquisition of health care by the Navajo. When cultural beliefs and values are respected, both the patient and the health care professional can achieve their goals. The following article addresses the health problems and the beliefs and values of the Navajo Indian. Implications of the beliefs and values for health professionals are included.
Health: Anthropological Aspects

Images of health, illness, and healing are key media through which societies and groups struggle with central values and beliefs and negotiate social and political progress. The invention and implementation of techniques of health improvement have taken on many forms, including epidemic control, disease eradication, and combinations of environmental and individual behavioral change and medical advance. Yet definitions of health depend on normative and oftentimes conflicting values and contexts, which themselves are influenced by various transformations in economy and polity, science and technology, and culture. Such variables shape the conditions of health and are in turn affected by it. In attending to such reciprocal processes, anthropologists have demonstrated that health as an experience is irreducible to a set of strict criteria of physiological and mental competence or to a set of cultural differences. Only through concrete understandings of particular worlds of well-being and suffering and the way they are shaped by local histories and political economies can we possibly come to terms with the complex dimensions that protect or undermine human health. Health, seen in this way, is a construction as well as a contested way of being in the world.
A Virtual Machine Introspection Based Architecture for Intrusion Detection.

Today’s architectures for intrusion detection force the IDS designer to make a difficult choice. If the IDS resides on the host, it has an excellent view of what is happening in that host’s software, but is highly susceptible to attack. On the other hand, if the IDS resides in the network, it is more resistant to attack, but has a poor view of what is happening inside the host, making it more susceptible to evasion. In this paper we present an architecture that retains the visibility of a host-based IDS, but pulls the IDS outside of the host for greater attack resistance. We achieve this through the use of a virtual machine monitor. Using this approach allows us to isolate the IDS from the monitored host but still retain excellent visibility into the host’s state. The VMM also offers us the unique ability to completely mediate interactions between the host software and the underlying hardware. We present a detailed study of our architecture, including Livewire, a prototype implementation. We demonstrate Livewire by implementing a suite of simple intrusion detection policies and using them to detect real attacks.
Adrenal function following high-dose steroids in ovarian cancer patients.

Purpose : Steroid doses similar to those used to prevent paclitaxel-associated hypersensitivity reactions and cisplatin-induced nausea have been associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression. We assessed HPA function in patients receiving high-dose steroids as part of their chemotherapy regimen for epithelial ovarian cancer. Patients and Methods : From January to July 1994, a cross-sectional study of HPA function was performed on patients receiving dexamethasone (DEX) as part of their paclitaxel and cisplatin chemotherapy regimen (n = 9). Patients received 20 mg of DEX orally, 6 and 12 hr prior to paclitaxel (135 mg/m 2 ) and 10-20 mg intravenously before cisplatin (50-100 mg/m 2 ). In addition, patients received approximately 12 mg/day of DEX orally for 4 days after their chemotherapy as an antiemetic. HPA integrity was evaluated by the administration of synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The ACTH stimulation test was performed 11-19 days after the completion of the course of DEX. Patients had fasting baseline cortisol levels drawn at approximately 0800 followed by a 25-unit intravenous injection of ACTH. Post-ACTH cortisol levels were repeated at 30 and 60 min. Results : The mean (±SEM) fasting baseline level of cortisol was 12.4 ± 2.3 μg/dl (normal, 7-23 μg/dl). At 30 min following ACTH administration, the mean cortisol level rose 17.1 μg to 29.5 ± 1.8 μg/dl ; at 60 min it rose 21.4 μg to 33.8 ± 2.5 μg/dl [P < 0.001] (normal increase 9-39 μg). All patients demonstrated a sufficient increase in their plasma cortisol after ACTH stimulation, indicating normal HPA function on the days tested. However, there was a significant trend toward lower increases in plasma cortisol at 30 and 60 min as the interval from ACTH stimulation testing to the DEX regimen decreased (r = 0.986 ; P < 0.0001). The chemotherapy cycle number had no impact on cortisol response in the multivariate analysis. Based on multiple linear regression, HPA function may be suppressed for approximately 8 days, but up to 14 days from the start of this DEX regimen. Conclusion : Current steroid regimens prescribed with chemotherapy transiently decrease HPA function, but do not appear to inhibit the HPA axis long term. HPA function may be suppressed for approximately 8 days from the commencement of chemotherapy cycles involving DEX. Patients presenting within the first 8 days of a chemotherapy cycle using steroids with symptoms attributable to HPA suppression may benefit from HPA axis testing.
Fall Fertilization Timing Effects on Nitrate Leaching and Turfgrass Color and Growth

2N) leaching, turf color, shoot density, and root mass of a 90%Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), 10% creeping red fescue(Festuca rubra L.) lawn. Treatments consisted of the date of fall fer-tilization: 15 September, 15 October, 15 November, 15 December, orcontrol which received no fall fertilizer. Percolate water was collectedweekly with soil monolith lysimeters. Mean log
Vibrational spectrum and structure of N2O5

Abstract The infrared spectrum of N 2 O 5 in the 2–35 μ region has been obtained in the gas and solid phases. In the solid phase, the temperature dependence of the spectrum and the changes in the spectrum accompanying the covalent to ionic transformation of the molecule have been observed. Infrared and Raman data are consistent with the O 2 NONO 2 structure with a bent central N-O-N group. These data give no indication of the relative orientation of the nitro groups. However, the data do suggest that in the gas phase the potential barrier against internal rotation of the nitro groups is low. Both entropy calculation and approximate normal coordinate calculation show that the N-O-N angle deformation frequency may be about 85 cm −1 .
Allopurinol amelioration of the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction in rats

Abstract Adult, male, Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to an acute and massive myocardial infarct with isoproterenol. Some of the animals were treated with the anti-hyperuricemic agent, allopurinol, either before or during the induction of myocardial infarction. Autopsy of animals at hourly and daily intervals demonstrated that treatment with allopurinol provided protection against the untoward pathophysiologic changes which attend this kind of experimental infarct. Allopurinol was anti-arrhythmic and caused improved myocardial repair accompanied by reduced fluctuations in circulating CPK, SGOT, SGPT, LDH, and myoglobin. Changes in blood lipids, glucose, and BUN suggest that allopurinol exerts some of its myocardial protective effects through its positive influence on protein metabolism. Allopurinol appears to alter adrenal steroidogenesis which may also play a role in the myocardial salutary effects of this drug.
High SNR Linear Estimation of Vector Sources

In this letter, we extend our prior work and consider decentralized estimation of unknown random vectors under high observation signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A linear model is considered for decentralized estimation of vector sources. Observation models and sensor operations are both linear. Furthermore, the channel between the wireless sensors and fusion center (FC) is a coherent multiple access channel (MAC). Each sensor observes a different vector source. Sensors are designed to minimize the total mean square error (MSE) at the FC subject to the individual transmit power constraints at the sensors. We first provide the solution for scalar sources under high observation SNR regime. Then, we use the provided solution for scalar sources and extend it to the case of vector sources.
Wedge-like microstructure in martensites

The wedge-like microstructure commonly seen in martensites, especially in shape-memory alloys, is an important mechanism for thermoelastic austenite-martensite transformation. This microstructure is analyzed using a suitable energy minimization principle. The Hadamard jump condition is used to characterize coherent interfaces. The crystallographic theory of martensite follows as a consequence of this. It is shown that only very special materials whose lattice parameters satisfy certain highly restrictive conditions can form the wedge-like microstructure. The lattice parameters of common shape-memory alloys satisfy these relations and their morphology shows good agreement with the predictions. This suggests that the microstructure and consequently the macroscopic behavior of martensites may depend very delicately on the lattice parameters.
MicroRNAs as oncogenes and tumor suppressors.

The struggle to combat cancer — including the discovery of oncogenes, tumor suppressors, telomerase, and cancer stem cells — has revealed the complex nature of cancer in humans. Chang-Zheng Chen as...
The Effects of Cooperative, Competitive and Individualistic Student Interaction Patterns on the Achievement and Attitudes of Students Learning the Golf Skill of Putting

Abstract There are three types of student-student interaction patterns which can be structured for students learning a physical skill: cooperative, competitive, and individualistic (Deutsch, 1962; Johnson & Johnson, 1975). In this study, one hundred and fifteen university students were randomly assigned to condition, stratifying for physical ability on a pretest. The golf skill of putting was taught to each condition in six periods of 45 min each, with putting ability, altitudes toward the instructor, attitudes toward peers, attitudes toward self and attitudes toward the different interaction patterns being measured. The results indicate that cooperative interaction tends to promote putting skill and more positive attitudes toward the instructor and each other. Students in the cooperative and competitive conditions showed a preference for their own interaction patterns, while all students indicated less positive feelings for the individualistic condition.
IRS Homeseller Provision and Urban Decline

: This study involved an analysis of the movement of homesellers and the geographic pattern of home values in the Cleveland metropolitan area, taking into account the application of Sec. 1034 of the IRS Code. S 1034 allows homesellers to defer tax liability on capital gain realized through homeownership by purchasing another home of equal or greater value. The study concludes that in metropolitan areas where values increase in an outward direction, S. 1034 contributes to urban decline by encouraging outmigration and obstructing movement inward.
Depositary receipts and firm value: Evidence from Central Europe and Russia

Abstract This research indicates an average valuation premium of 27.3% in a sample of 43 cross-listed companies domiciled in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia relative to 123 companies from the region that choose not to cross list. After controlling for a host of country-specific micro- and macro-economic variables, the results reveal that firms that have less access to sound money in domestic markets and firms from countries with large government sectors are more likely to issue a depositary receipt. These companies also realize a higher market value, measured by Tobin's Q.
Changing the Channel: Community Colleges in the Information Age.

Communication and learning skills, along with technological literacy, are becoming curricular objectives rather than hoped for by-products of a higher education experience. The author discusses the slow reponse of colleges and universities to these changing social expectations and articulates some particular opportunities and challenges for community colleges. Those challenges are defined as aspects of mission (including lifelong learning) and purpose (comprehensiveness and access). The author illustrates these considerations with a sample reformulated mission statement and discusses the need for community college leaders to contemplate a revamped curriculum suitable for the information age that is based on general education.
Potential drug sequestration during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation : results from an ex vivo experiment

Objective Using an ex vivo simulation model we set out to estimate the amount of drug lost due to sequestration within the extracorporeal circuit over time.
High coercivity FeSmN thin films for longitudinal magnetic recording media

FeSm thin films with an Fe/Sm atomic ratio of 9.2 have been deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on Ta and Cu substrates held at 400/spl deg/C. FeSmN films with in-plane easy axes were obtained by annealing the FeSm films in-situ under a nitrogen atmosphere of 300 Torr at a temperature of 400/spl deg/C. The coercivity of the FeSmN films varies from 2 kOe to as high as 7 kOe depending on the deposition conditions. Typical FeSmN films have a magnetization of /spl sim/140 emu/g, a squareness of 0.90 and a coercivity squareness of 0.75. It was found that when a Cr underlayer was deposited at a substrate temperature of 350/spl deg/C, FeSmN films of 150 nm thickness with an in-plane coercivity of 6.4 kOe, a squareness of 0.90 and a coercivity squareness of 0.6 were obtained. >
Integrative Taxonomy and Species Delimitation in Harvestmen: A Revision of the Western North American Genus Sclerobunus (Opiliones: Laniatores: Travunioidea)

Alpha taxonomy, and specifically the delimitation of species, is becoming increasingly objective and integrative. The use of coalescent-based methods applied to genetic data is providing new tools for the discovery and delimitation of species. Here, we use an integrative approach via a combination of discovery-based multivariate morphological analyses to detect potential new species. These potential species are then used as a priori species in hypothesis-driven validation analyses with genetic data. This research focuses on the harvestmen genus Sclerobunus found throughout the mountainous regions of western North America. Based on our analyses, we conduct a revision of Sclerobunus resulting in synonymy of Cyptobunus with Sclerobunus including transfer of S. cavicolens comb. nov. and elevation of both subspecies of S. ungulatus: S. ungulatus comb. nov. and S. madhousensis comb. nov., stat. nov. The three subspecies of S. robustus are elevated, S. robustus, S. glorietus stat. nov., and S. idahoensis stat. nov. Additionally, five new species of Sclerobunus are described from New Mexico and Colorado, including S. jemez sp. nov., S. klomax sp. nov., S. skywalkeri sp. nov., S. speoventus sp. nov., and S. steinmanni sp. nov. Several of the newly described species are single-cave endemics, and our findings suggest that further exploration of western North American cave habitats will likely yield additional new species.
A generalized geometrically nonlinear formulation with large rotations for finite elements with rotational degrees of freedoms

Abstract A generalized geometrically nonlinear formulation using total Lagrangian approach is presented for the finite elements with translational as well as rotational degrees of freedoms. An important aspect of the formulation presented here is that the restriction on the magnitude of the nodal rotations is eliminated by retaining true nonlinear nodal rotation terms in the definition of the element displacement field and the consistent derivation of the element properties based on this displacement field. The general derivation and the formulation steps are applicable to any element with translational and rotational nodal degrees of freedoms. The specific forms of the formulation for axisymmetric shells, two-dimensional isoparametric beams, curved shells, two-dimensional transition elements and solid-shell transition elements can be easily derived by considering the explicit forms of the nonlinear nodal rotations for the element at hand. The specific forms of this formulation have already been well tested and applied to various two- and three-dimensional elements, the results for some of which are presented here. Currently it is being applied to the three-dimensional isoparametric beam elements.
Concurrent Cisplatin and Radiation Versus Cetuximab and Radiation for Locally Advanced Head-and-Neck Cancer

Purpose To compare concurrent cisplatin (CDDP) and radiation (RT) with cetuximab (C225) and RT for locally advanced head-and-neck cancer (LAHNC). Methods and Materials This study retrospectively compared 174 consecutive, newly diagnosed LAHNC patients definitively treated from March 1, 2006, to April 1, 2008, with single-agent CDDP/RT ( n = 125) or C225/RT ( n = 49). We excluded patients who received additional concurrent, induction, or adjuvant systemic therapy; weekly cisplatin; prior head-and-neck radiotherapy; or primary surgical resection. Outcomes were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method, Cox model, and competing-risks analysis tools. Results The C225/RT patients were older and had decreased creatinine clearance. At a median follow-up of 22.5 months for living patients, the 2-year locoregional failure rate was 5.7% for CDDP/RT and 39.9% for C225/RT ( p p p = 0.0003), respectively, in favor of CDDP/RT. When the Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis, treatment with CDDP/RT predicted for improved locoregional control ( p p p = 0.01). Late Grade 3 or 4 toxicity or feeding tube dependence 9 months after completion of RT was observed in 21% of patients in the CDDP/RT cohort and 24% in the C225/RT cohort ( p = 0.66). Conclusions In this study of LAHNC patients, CDDP/RT achieved better locoregional control, FFS, and OS than C225/RT. Although the results were upheld on multivariate analysis, they must be interpreted cautiously because of the retrospective nature of the study and significant differences in patient selection. There was no statistically significant difference in late Grade 3 or 4 effects or feeding tube dependence.
1H, 13C, and 15N backbone, side-chain, and heme chemical shift assignments for oxidized and reduced forms of the monoheme c-type cytochrome ApcA isolated from the acidophilic metal-reducing bacterium Acidiphilium cryptum.

We report the 1H, 13C, and 15N chemical shift assignments of both oxidized and reduced forms of an abundant periplasmic c-type cytochrome, designated ApcA, isolated from the acidophilic gram-negative facultatively anaerobic metal-reducing alphaproteobacterium Acidiphilium cryptum. These resonance assignments prove that ApcA is a monoheme cytochrome c2 and the product of the Acry_2099 gene. An absence of resonance peaks in the NMR spectra for the 21N-terminal residues suggests that a predicted N-terminal signal sequence is cleaved. We also describe the preparation and purification of the protein in labeled form from laboratory cultures of A. cryptum growing on 13C- and 15N- labeled substrates.
Propagation through complex optical systems: a phase-screen analysis

A general analysis is presented for the scintillation index of a Gaussian beam wave propagating through a turbulent medium confined to a portion of the propagation path between input and output planes, the limiting case of which defines a thin random phase screen. For a plane wave incident on a phase screen located midway between input and output planes, the phase screen scintillation index agrees with that of a plane wave propagating through extended turbulence when the phase variance and spectrum for refractive index of the screen and extended medium are the same. However, for a finite Gaussian beam at the input plane, our analysis reveals that the distance from input plane to the phase screen must be many times greater than the distance from the screen to output plane to simulate a plane wave propagating through an extended medium.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Magnetic transducer design using a combination of ODE and FEA modelling techniques

The analysis of electromechancial transducers using magnetic drive requires multidomain analysis that includes at least the electrical, magnetic, mechanical domains. Such a system results in a set of differential and algebraic equations (DAE) that can be solved by analogy using modern electrical circuit analysis codes, or with codes written specifically for multidomain DAE modelling. Often, some components in the system require partial differential equations for their analysis, and FEA methods are required. This is especially true in magnetic systems where the flux path including leakage defies simple a priori estimation. The examples of a variable reluctance device is shown.
PTPN11 mutations in Noonan syndrome type I: detection of recurrent mutations in exons 3 and 13.

We surveyed 16 subjects with the clinical diagnosis of Noonan Syndrome (NS1) from 12 families and their relevant family members for mutations in PTPN11/SHP2 using direct DNA sequencing. We found three different mutations among five families. Two unrelated subjects shared the same de novo missense substitution in exon 13 (S502T); an additional two unrelated families had a mutation in exon 3 (Y63C); and one subject had the amino acid substitution Y62D, also in exon 3. None of the three mutations were present in ethnically matched controls. In the mature protein model, the exon 3 mutants and the exon 13 mutant amino acids cluster at the interface between the N' SH2 domain and the phosphatase catalytic domain. Six of eight subjects with PTPN11/SHP2 mutations had pulmonary valve stenosis while no mutations were identified in those subjects (N = 4) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. An additional four subjects with possible Noonan syndrome were evaluated, but no mutations in PTPN11/SHP2 were identified. These results confirm that mutations in PTPN11/SHP2 underlie a common form of Noonan syndrome, and that the disease exhibits both allelic and locus heterogeneity. The observation of recurrent mutations supports the hypothesis that a special class of gain-of-function mutations in SHP2 give rise to Noonan syndrome.
Malignant Gastroduodenal Obstruction: Treatment with Self-Expanding Uncovered Wallstent

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a self-expanding uncovered Wallstent in patients with malignant gastroduodenal obstruction. Materials and Methods: Under combined endoscopic and fluoroscopic guidance, 29 patients with a malignant gastroduodenal stenosis were treated with a self-expanding uncovered metallic Wallstent. A dysphagia score was assessed before and after the intervention to measure the success of this palliative therapy. The dysphagia score ranged between grade 0 to grade 4: grade 0 = able to tolerate solid food, grade 1 = able to tolerate soft food, grade 2 = able to tolerate thick liquids, grade 3 = able to tolerate water or clear fluids, and grade 4 = unable to tolerate anything perorally. Stent patency and patients survival rates were calculated. Results: The insertion of the gastroduodenal stent was technically successful in 28 patients (96.5%). After stenting, 25 patients (86.2%) showed clinical improvement by at least one score point. During follow-up, 22 (78.5%) of 28 patients showed no stent occlusion until death and did not have to undergo any further intervention. In six patients (20.6%), all of whom were treated with secondary stent insertions, occlusion with tumor ingrowth and/or overgrowth was observed after the intervention. The median period of primary stent patency in our study was 240 days. Conclusion: Placement of an uncovered Wallstent is clinically effective in patients with malignant gastroduodenal obstruction. Stent placement is associated with high technical success, good palliation effect, and high durability of stent function.
Reciprocal Leaf and Root Expression of AtAmt1.1 and Root Architectural Changes in Response to Nitrogen Starvation

Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and survival. Here, the temporal and spatial sensing of nitrogen starvation is analyzed in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The promoter for the high-affinity ammonium transporter, AtAmt1.1, is shown to be a valid indicator for nitrogen status in leaves and roots. An AtAmt1.1-Gal4 transgene using three 5× upstream activating sequence-driven reporters (luciferase, green fluorescent protein, and β-glucuronidase) facilitated in vivo profiling at the whole-plant and cellular levels. The effects of nitrogen supply, light duration, light intensity, and carbon on the expression of the AtAmt1.1 gene in the roots and aerial tissues are reported. Under nitrogen starvation, high expression is observed in the roots and, under nitrogen-sufficient conditions, high expression is observed in the leaves. This reciprocal regulation of AtAmt1.1 was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, which was also used to quantitate expression of the five other Amt genes in Arabidopsis. Although some of these show tissue specificity (roots or leaves), none exhibit reciprocal regulation like the AtAmt1.1-encoded high-affinity transporter. This robust reciprocal expression suggests that Arabidopsis undergoes rapid resource reallocation in plants grown under different nitrogen supply regimens. Ultimately, nitrogen starvation-mediated reallocation results in root architectural restructuring. We describe the precise timing and cellular aspects of this nitrogen limitation response.
INCIDENCE, PREVALENCE, AND SCALE OF BLINDING MALNUTRITION

4595 pre-school-age children in six villages of West Java were examined every 3 months. The incidence of active corneal xerophthalmia was 5 per 1000 per year (95% confidence limits, 2.6-7.5), and the average prevalence during each round of examinations was 12 per 10000. In a randomised, multistage cluster survey of 27084 rural children throughout Indonesia the population-weighted prevalence of active corneal disease among pre-school-age children was 6.4 per 10000 (95% confidence limits 3.2-9.6), 53% of that in the longitudinal study areas. At an adjusted incidence rate of 2.7 per 1000 per year, over 60000 Indonesian children become xerophthalmic every year. By extrapolation of these findings about 500000 new cases of xerophthalmia, half of which lead to blindness, occur each year in India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia combined.
Studies of Low Energy π Elastic Scattering from Light Nuclei

The elastic scattering of pions1,2 from nuclei has been a topic of current interest for several years. Generally speaking, the results available3,4 from the analysis of the limited amount of data that exists have indicated that optical model theories of suprising simplicity describe well the general features of the data, especially at energies above 100 MeV. The success in this energy region is probably due to the dominance of the (3,3) resonance that appears in π-N scattering at 180 MeV, which may mask more subtle details of the interaction. At low energies (0–75 MeV), where the dominance of this resonance is less pervasive,2 the simple first-order models may be expected to do less well in describing the data. In particular, the use of the impulse approximation, the neglect of Fermi motion and neglect of two-nucleon absorption are less valid assumptions at these energies.
A Study of Injected Dose for Brain Mapping on the ECAT HR+: Activation Maps for a Parametric Verbal Working Memory Task ☆

Abstract The success of the 15 O-water PET technique to localize statistically significant changes in regional cerebral blood flow is dependent on factors such as the activity level injected and the magnitude of the flow change. Undetectable changes may occur if insufficient activity is injected leading to high levels of statistical noise or the task performed results in only small changes in blood flow. To explore the relationship between injected activity and statistical significance, we performed a series of studies with the ECAT EXACT HR+, a high resolution PET tomograph. A parametric verbal working memory task (the N -back task) was selected to examine the relationship between regional cerebral blood flow and working memory load across a range of injected doses of 15 O-water. At each activity level the volunteers were required to perform four different levels of the N -back task, a task in which a letter displayed on a monitor is matched with the letter displayed N letters previously. With increasing N, this task places increased load on working memory. For this study, 5, 10, and 15 mCi of 15 O-water were injected into nine normal volunteers. The complete sequence of four tasks ( N = 0, 1, 2, and 3) at three activity levels was repeated twice, for a total of 24 injections of 15 O-water. We show that the peak count rate performance for the HR+ is approached at injected activity levels of 15 O-water around 15 mCi. For this particular choice of N -back task, robust activation maps can nevertheless be obtained with as little as 5 mCi injected dose.
Comparison of mass and energy balances for air blown and thermally ballasted fluidized bed gasifiers

Abstract The objective of this study was to compare the mass and energy balances for a conventional air blown fluidized bed gasifier and a ballasted fluidized bed gasifier developed at Iowa State University. The ballasted gasifier is an indirectly heated gasifier that uses a single reactor for both combustion and pyrolysis. Heat accumulated in high-temperature phase change material during the combustion phase is released during the pyrolysis phase to generate producer gas. Gas composition, tar and char contents, cold gas efficiency, carbon conversion, and hydrogen yield per unit biomass input were determined as part of these evaluation. During the pyrolysis phase of ballasted gasification, higher volumetric concentrations of hydrogen and methane were obtained than during air blown gasification. Hydrogen yield for ballasted gasification was 14 g kg −1 of biomass, which was about 20% higher than that obtained during air blown gasification. The higher heating value of the producer gas also reached higher levels during the ballasted pyrolysis phase than that of air blown gasification. Heating value for air blown gasification was 5.2 MJ m −3 whereas the heating value for the ballasted pyrolysis phase averaged 5.5 MJ m −3 , reaching a maximum of 8.0 MJ m −3 . The ballasted gasifier was expected to yield producer gas with average heating value as high as 15 MJ m −3 but excessive use of nitrogen to purge and cool the fuel feeder system greatly diluted the producer gas. Relatively simple redesign of the feeder system would greatly reduce the use of purge gas and may increase the heating values to about 17.5 MJ m −3 . Higher char production per kilogram of biomass was associated with the ballasted system, producing 140 g kg −1 of biomass compared to only 53 g kg −1 of biomass during air blown gasification. On the other hand, tar concentrations in the producer gas were 6.0 g m −3 for ballasted gasification compared to 11.7 g m −3 for air blown gasification. On balance, carbon conversion was found to be higher for air blown gasification. Cold gas efficiencies were somewhat higher for air blown gasification compared to ballasted gasification, although the difference did not appear to be significant.
A relationship between some bond properties of diatomic molecules and the ionization potentials of their constituent atoms

Abstract The relationship kre2 =2N(IA + IB) between the force constant k, equilibrium internuclear distance re and bond order N of the diatomic molecule AB in its ground state, and the first ionization potentials IA and IB of atoms A and B is examined. For covalent molecules with eight, ten or eleven valence shell electrons the relationship is satisfactory, but for molecules with two, twelve or fourteen electrons in the valence shell the expression must be modified by the introduction of two constants. For the forty-nine covalent molecules examined the average deviation of calculated from observed bond length is less than 2 per cent. Bond lengths predicted for twenty-two molecules are reasonably self-consistent and the derived covalent radii are used to extend the table of values introduced by Pauling [14].
Lessons From The Field: Expanding Health Insurance Coverage One County At A Time

From 2004 to 2007 the California HealthCare Foundation’s Step by Step: Local Coverage Expansion initiative supported insurance coverage expansions for uninsured children and adults in thirty California counties. In this paper we descbribe the initiative and its achievements as well as challenges for grantees. Also, we discuss the implications of the initiative’s outcomes for expanding coverage locally and more broadly. Implementing new insurance programs is possible in the most difficult settings. Although there are real challenges to sustaining these expansions and limits to what they can accomplish in the face of major unmet needs, they may lay useful groundwork for broader expansions later.
Effect of post‐organizers on preservice teachers' content knowledge and understanding of effective teaching behaviors

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 2 types of post‐organizers on undergraduate students' content knowledge and understanding of effective teaching behaviors. Students enrolled in the same methods course were randomly assigned to either the control or experimental post‐organizer group. The control and experimental students attended all class sessions together and received the same instruction for the first 130 minutes of class. The control and experimental students were then separated for the last 15 minutes of each class session. The control group participated in post‐organizers that involved review of the content taught during class. The experimental group participated in post‐organizers that involved review of the effective teaching behaviors that were modeled during class. No significant difference between the groups was noted regarding content knowledge, but a significant difference was found between the groups related to understanding effective teaching behaviors. Im...
Scaling up Utopias: E.O. Wright and the Search for Economic Alternatives

Crisis has a way of opening new horizons. Such is the case with the current world economic crisis. Out of the tumult of economic hardship and insecurity, a great need for economic alternatives has ...
Intracameral Toxicity of Bacterial Components Muramyl Dipeptide and Staurosporine: Ciliary Cyst Formation, Epithelial Cell Apoptosis and Necrosis

The uveitogenic bacterial cell wall component muramyl dipeptide (MDP) is apoptogenic in rabbit kidney cells. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the cytotoxic activity of MDP and staurosporine (STSP; induces cultured corneal and lens cells apoptosis) in rabbit ciliary body tissue. Anterior uveitis was determined by clinical symptoms and increased aqueous humor (AH) protein. Ciliary body tissue was assessed for histological changes, caspase-3 activity, dye uptake, distribution of immunoreactive caspase-3 and DNA ladders at 4 and 6 hours postinjection. Increases in caspase-3 activity, APOPercentage™ dye uptake, and localization of immunoreactive caspase-3 in ciliary epithelial cells were associated with ciliary cysts of detached nonpigmented epithelial (NPE) cells, as well as apoptotic and necrotic DNA ladders in ciliary body tissues from eyes injected with MDP and/or STSP. The results suggest that intracameral injection of the bacterial components MDP and STSP can induce acute endophthalmic cha...
Barrier Methods for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention

Condoms remain the most effective barrier against the sexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Male condoms have proven to be 80% to 90% effective, and female condoms have similar results. Poor adherence and improper use limit their effectiveness. In addition to condoms, microbicides are a promising barrier against HIV transmission. More than 50 candidate topical microbicide compounds have undergone preclinical or clinical testing in the last 10 years, but there are currently no US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved compounds. Rectal microbicides are also being developed, as anal receptive sex is an effective mode of HIV transmission.
The transduction method-design of logic networks based on permissible functions

Based on the new concept of permissible functions, a heuristic procedure to design logic networks with as few gates as possible, without guaranteeing the minimality of designed networks, is developed. This procedure, which is drastically different from conventional logic-design procedures, is called the transduction method, because an initial network designed by any conventionally known logic-design method is first transformed into a different network configuration and then reduced to a simpler network by calculating permissible functions at the outputs of gates and connections throughout the network. >
Load transfer between cross-linked walls of a carbon nanotube

Cross links between inner and outer walls of multiwalled carbon nanotubes are believed to increase nanotube modulus and therefore nanotube effectiveness for reinforcing composites. In order to investigate changes in the Young's modulus of individual double-walled nanotubes (DWNTs) as a function of cross-link density and type, molecular-dynamics simulations are employed to evaluate strain coupling and corresponding load transfer from outer to inner walls. Results show that interwall $s{p}^{3}$ bonds and interstitial carbon atoms can increase load transfer between DWNT walls and that interwall $s{p}^{3}$ bonds are most effective. However, the maximum size of the modulus increase is limited to about 25% for the investigated small-diameter, short DWNTs because the defects decrease the stiffnesses of the nanotube walls.
CREB / ATF proteins enhance the basal and CD154‐ and IL‐4‐induced transcriptional activity of the human Iγ1 proximal promoter

To understand the underlying basis for the strong IL-4- and CD154-mediated Igamma1 promoter activity in Ramos 2G6 B cells, we carried out transient transfection assays with luciferase-based constructs containing approximately 2.2 kb and 500 bp of the human Igamma1 proximal promoter region. As a comparison, the corresponding regions of the human Igamma3 promoter were tested under identical conditions. We found that both Igamma1 and Igamma3 promoter constructs were activated upon transfection into Ramos B cells and that activity was significantly up-regulated by CD154 and IL-4 signals. However, the Igamma1 promoter was measurably stronger than the Igamma3 promoter with respect to both basal and induced responses. Sequence comparison revealed a divergent 36-bp region containing multiple putative transcription factor binding sites in the Igamma1 but not the Igamma3 promoter. A mutational "swap" of this sequence resulted in a marked decrease and increase in Igamma1 and Igamma3 basal and induced promoter activity, respectively. Gel retardation assays with Igamma1-specific probes revealed CREB-containing complexes that were not observed with the corresponding Igamma3 probes. Mutation of a single nucleotide in overlapping CREB sites in the Igamma1 sequence resulted in a significant decrease in basal activity with a corresponding reduction in the level of IL-4- and CD154-mediated transcription.
Hausdorff dimension of limsup random fractals

In this paper we find a critical condition for nonempty intersection of a limsup random fractal and an independent fractal percolation set defined on the boundary of a spherically symmetric tree. We then use a codimension argument to derive a formula for the Hausdorff dimension of limsup random fractals.
Surface Stresses Produced by Rainfall

Abstract The previous solution to the problem of determining the effect of rainfall on the sea-surface stress is found to be inadequate. A correct treatment confirms that rainfall may contribute significantly to the surface stress and may under some conditions produce stresses comparable in value to the wind stress. Also the drag of the drops in the lower air layer may induce measurable distortions from the logarithmic wind profile.