cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Information Extraction for Populating Lung Cancer Clinical Research Data

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the wide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) offers a potential of accelerating cohort-related epidemiological studies using informatics approaches. In this study, we developed and evaluated a natural language processing (NLP) system to extract information on stage, histology, grade and therapies (chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery) automatically for lung cancer patients from clinical narratives including clinical notes, pathology reports and surgery reports. Evaluation showed promising results with the recalls for stage, histology, grade, and therapies achieving 89%, 98%, 80%, and 100% respectively and the precisions were 71%, 89%, 90%, and 100% respectively. This study demonstrated the feasibility and accuracy of extracting related information from clinical narratives for lung cancer research.
Executive function training for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Abstract Executive functions (EFs) refer to a family of higher order, interrelated cognitive processes that enable a wide range of activities such as goal directed behavior, reasoning, planning, problem-solving, learning, and creative thinking (i.e., cool EFs). They are also related integrally to emotional control, impulsiveness, and interpersonal interactions (hot EFs). Working memory (WM) is the most widely studied EF to date, and deficits in WM represent a core phenotypic characteristic in a majority of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and are related integrally to all three ADHD core clinical symptoms, as well as to foundational learning and intellectual functioning. This chapter reviews findings related to WM deficits in children with ADHD, and offers a summary of recent efforts to ameliorate and/or compensate for these deficits through executive function training. Nascent, potentially promising interventions, including neurofeedback, noninvasive brain stimulation, and organization/memory strategies whose focus is to strengthen EF-dependent academic skills, are also discussed.
Transdiagnostic dimensions in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: associations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Background Hierarchical structural models of psychopathology rarely extend to obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. The current study sought to examine the higher-order structure of the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) in DSM-5: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), hoarding disorder (HD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder; HPD) and excoriation (skin-picking) disorder (SPD). Methods Adult patients in a partial hospital program (N = 532) completed a dimensional measure of the five OCRDs. We used confirmatory factor analysis to identify the optimal model of the comorbidity structure. We then examined the associations between the transdiagnostic factors and internalizing and externalizing symptoms (i.e. depression, generalized anxiety, neuroticism, and drug/alcohol cravings). Results The best fitting model included two correlated higher-order factors: an obsessions-compulsions (OC) factor (OCD, BDD, and HD), and a body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) factor (HPD and SPD). The OC factor, not the BFRB factor, had unique associations with internalizing symptoms (standardized effects = 0.42–0.66) and the BFRB factor, not the OC factor, had small marginally significant unique association with drug/alcohol cravings (standardized effect = 0.22, p = 0.088). Conclusions The results mirror findings from twin research and indicate that OCD, BDD, and HD share liability that is significantly associated with internalizing symptoms, but this liability may be relatively less important for BFRBs. Further research is needed to better examine the associations between BFRBs and addictive disorders.
Searching for the past: Exploring the dynamics of direct and generative autobiographical memory reconstruction among young and cognitively normal older adults.

Episodic autobiographical memories (EAMs) can come to mind through two retrieval routes, one direct (i.e., an EAM is retrieved almost instantaneously) and the other generative (i.e., by using autobiographical/general knowledge to cue an EAM). It is well established that normal cognitive aging is associated with a reduction in the retrieval of EAMs, but the contributions of direct or generative reconstruction to the age-related shift toward general memories remain unknown. Prior studies also have not clarified whether similar cognitive mechanisms facilitate the ability to successfully reconstruct EAMs and elaborate them in event-specific detail. To address these gaps in knowledge, young and older participants were asked to reconstruct EAMs using a “think-aloud” paradigm and then describe in detail a subset of retrieved memories. An adapted scoring procedure was implemented to categorize memories accessed during reconstruction, and the Autobiographical Interview (AI) scoring procedure was utilized for elaboration scoring. Results indicated that in comparison with young adults, older adults not only engaged in direct retrieval less often than young adults but they also more often ended generative retrieval at general events instead of EAMs. The ability to elaborate EAMs with internal details was positively associated with the ability to use generative retrieval to reconstruct EAMs in both young and older adults, but there was no relationship between internal detail elaboration and direct retrieval in either age group. Taken together, these results indicate age-related differences in direct and generative retrieval contribute to overgeneral autobiographical memory and they support a connection between generative retrieval and elaboration.
A comparative study of family centered nursing mode and routine clinical nursing mode on postoperative nursing of children with congenital heart disease.

Objective To explore the family-centred postoperative care of congenital heart disease (CHD) patients. Methods A total of 200 child patients with Congenital Heart Disease and their families were selected as the research objects in the study. All the research objects were divided into intervention group and control group, with 100 of them in each group. Based on the current development of the family-centred postoperative care, the paper employed the Delphi Method to construct the contents of family-centred postoperative care and educated the parents with the contents. Later by assessing the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), the oxygen saturation, and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification of the child patients, it was seen that the postoperative pain of patients in the intervention group was more effectively relieved along with a faster recovery of cardiac functions compared to the control group. Results The results showed that the absence of parental care was the major stressor for the child patients. For the parents, the lack of knowledge on CHD and its therapy was the source of anxiety. Conclusions Family-centred postoperative care promoted the communications between doctors and parents of child patients, relieved the postoperative pain of the patients and the psychological trauma of their families. The child patients were provided with a better medical environment, which helped in a faster recovery.
Trauma at School: The Impacts of Shootings on StudentsA Human Capital and Economic Outcomes

A growing number of American children are exposed to gun violence at their schools, but little is known about the impacts of this exposure on their human capital attainment and economic well-being. This paper studies the causal effects of exposure to shootings at schools on children's educational and economic outcomes, using individual-level longitudinal administrative data from Texas. We analyze the universe of shootings at Texas public schools that occurred between 1995 and 2016, and match schools that experienced shootings with observationally similar control schools in other districts. We use difference-in-differences models that leverage within-individual and across-cohort variation in shooting exposure within matched school groups to estimate the short- and long-run impacts of shootings on students attending these schools at the time of the shooting. We find that shooting-exposed students have an increased absence rate and are more likely to be chronically absent and repeat a grade in the two years following the event. We also find adverse long-term impacts on the likelihood of high school graduation, college enrollment and graduation, as well as employment and earnings at ages 24â€“26. Heterogeneity analyses by student and school characteristics indicate that the detrimental impacts of shootings are universal, with most sub-groups being affected.
Complete Approximations with Multivariate Generalized Poisson–Cauchy Type Singular Integral Operators

This research and survey chapter deals exclusively with the study of the approximation of generalized multivariate Poisson–Cauchy type singular integrals to the identity-unit operator. Here we study quantitatively most of their approximation properties. These operators are not in general positive linear operators. In particular we study the rate of convergence of these integral operators to the unit operator, as well as the related simultaneous approximation. These are given via Jackson type inequalities and by the use of multivariate high order modulus of smoothness of the high order partial derivatives of the involved function. Also we study the global smoothness preservation properties of these integral operators.
Clinical course and outcome among patients with acute pancreatitis and COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The data on clinical course and outcome of acute pancreatitis among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are sparse. In this study, we analyzed the clinical profiles of patients with COVID 19 and acute pancreatitis. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on Research Patient Data Registry data which was pooled from five Mass General Brigham Healthcare Network hospitals. We extracted data on demographics, symptoms, ICU transfer, mechanical ventilation, laboratories' profiles, imaging findings, and patient outcomes. RESULT: Of 985 screened adult patients, 17 were eligible for the study, 9 (52.9%) were admitted primarily for respiratory failure and developed acute pancreatitis after a median of 22.5 days (13-76 days) from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms. On contrary, eight patients presented with typical symptoms and were diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, the majority with mild severity (62.5%) on admission. Patients who were admitted primarily with severe COVID-19 illness were younger (median age 57 vs. 63 years), females (55.6 vs. 25%), of Hispanic ethnicity (55.6 vs. 25%), and obese (88.9 vs. 37.5%). The median peak lipase, C reactive protein, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase, D-dimer were higher among patients who developed acute pancreatitis later during hospitalization. Patients who developed acute pancreatitis later also experienced higher episodes of necrotizing pancreatitis (11.1% vs. 0), thromboembolic complications (55.6 vs. 12.5%), and higher mortality (37.5 vs. 12.5%). CONCLUSION: Acute pancreatitis is not common among patients with COVID-19. Patients with COVID-19 who had acute pancreatitis on admission had more benign course and overall better outcome as compared to the patients who developed acute pancreatitis during hospitalization.
The prehistory of the Sudan: by Elena A.A. Garcea. New York, Springer, 2020, pp. xvii + 196, $59.99/51,99 € (paperback), ISBN 978-3-030-17187-3. Also available as an eBook ($44.99/42,79 €) and online, ISBN 978-3-030-47185-9.

The Prehistory of The Sudan is a very welcome addition to the Africanist archaeological literature. Aside from those scholars directly involved in research in the region, minimal attention has been...
Parametric Computational Assessment of Valvular Dysfunction in Discrete Subaortic Stenosis and Aortoseptal Angle Abnormalities

Objective: Discrete subaortic stenosis (DSS) is a left-ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction caused by a membranous lesion. DSS is commonly associated with steep aortoseptal angles (AoSAs) a...
SPH Simulations of Counterrotating Disk Formation in Spiral Galaxies

We present the results of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of the formation of a massive counterrotating disk in a spiral galaxy. The current study revisits and extends (with SPH) previous work carried out with sticky particle gas dynamics, in which adiabatic gas infall and a retrograde gas-rich dwarf merger were tested as the two most likely processes for producing such a counterrotating disk. We report on experiments with a cold primary similar to our Galaxy, as well as a hot, compact primary modeled after NGC 4138. We have also conducted numerical experiments with varying amounts of prograde gas in the primary disk, and an alternative infall model (a spherical shell with retrograde angular momentum). The structure of the resulting counterrotating disks is dramatically different with SPH. The disks we produce are considerably thinner than the primary disks and those produced with sticky particles. The time-scales for counterrotating disk formation are shorter with SPH because the gas loses kinetic energy and angular momentum more rapidly. Spiral structure is evident in most of the disks, but an exponential radial profile is not a natural byproduct of these processes. The infalling gas shells that we tested produce counterrotating bulges and rings rather than disks. The presence of a considerable amount of preexisting prograde gas in the primary causes, at least in the absence of star formation, a rapid inflow of gas to the center and a subsequent hole in the counterrotating disk. In general, our SPH experiments yield stronger evidence to suggest that the accretion of massive counterrotating disks drives the evolution of the host galaxies towards earlier (S0/Sa) Hubble types.
A graph coloring approach to the deployment scheduling and unit assignment problem

We address one of the external factors of personnel inventory behavior, deployments. The configuration of persistent unit deployments has the ability to affect everything from individual perceptions of service palatability to operational effectiveness. There is little evidence to suggest any analytical underpinnings to the U.S. Army deployment scheduling and unit assignment patterns. This paper shows that the deployment scheduling and unit assignment problem can be formulated as an interval graph such that modifications to traditional graph coloring algorithms provide an efficient mechanism for dealing with multiple objectives.
Strategies for Gene Transfer to Vascularized Composite Allografts

The field of vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) has gained tremendous momentum over the last decade following an era of molecular breakthroughs in solid organ transplantation. Although the fundamentals of immunomodulation and alloantigen recognition have been well studied in solid organ transplant, the immunogenic reactivity of VCA elements, namely the skin, have remained a challenge in promoting tolerance. Gene therapies, and those vectors developed for delivery, have undergone a marvelous evolution following our increasing understanding of genetic sequencing, viral tropism, synthetic polymer chemistry applications and the cellular mechanics of immune regulatory interactions. With concern now directed toward the chronic risks of immunosuppressive drug therapies in VCA and less toward chronic graft rejection, gene therapy is uniquely poised as the possible answer in not only the development of graft tolerance, but also ischemic reperfusion injury and the functional monitoring of VCA constructs. This chapter presents the evolution of gene therapy in transplantation, possible targets, a myriad of delivery vectors, and finally an assessment of the potential benefits and risks associated with a new gene-directed technology promoting VCA tolerance.
Glycogen Synthetase-D Phosphatase I. SOME NEW PROPERTIES OF THE PARTIALLY PURIFIED ENZYME FROM RABBIT SKELETAL MUSCLE

Abstract Purification of the phospho-protein phosphatase of skeletal muscle which promotes the conversion of the phospho- (D or b) form to the dephospho- (I or a) form of glycogen synthetase (UDPG:glycogen α-4-glucosyltransferase, EC 2.4.I.II) was aided by the use of buffers which include manganese chloride. The Mn2+ (5 mm) appeared to stabilize the enzyme and to insure greater recovery from DEAE-cellulose chromatography than reported previously. The enzyme was purified more than 1,000-fold from the 78,000 x g supernatant of rabbit muscle homogenate. It was essentially free of phosphorylase and synthetase. Phosphatase activity was measured by two methods: (a) as the rate of conversion of glycogen synthetase-D to the I form (D to I conversion) and (b) as the rate of orthophosphate release from 32P-labeled synthetase-D (32Pi release). Inhibition of the phosphatase reaction (more than 50%) was found in the presence of F- (10 mm), Na2SO3 (1 mm), and Pi or PPi (0.2 mm). More than a 2-fold increase in phosphatase activity was found in the presence of divalent metal cations: Mn2+ g Ca2+ g Mg2+ (half-maximal concentration was 0.6 to 1.2 mm). Glucose-6-P (up to 1 mm) had no effect on the rate of 32Pi release, but increased about 2-fold the rate of D to I conversion (at 0.1 mm), as did galactose-6-P and glucosamine-6-P to a lesser extent. A glycogen concentration of 0.5 to 1.5 mg per ml was found to be optimal compared to the slower reaction rates found with greater or lesser concentrations. A histone phosphatase activity found in this preparation, measured using 32P-labeled histone phosphate as substrate, had properties similar to and was copurified with glycogen synthetase-D phosphatase. However, the above carbohydrate-type effectors of synthetase and synthetase-D phosphatase reactions were without effect on the rate of histone dephosphorylation. These findings suggest that these two phosphatase activities may reside in the same enzyme protein.
Renewing a Declining Tradition

It is always useful when a thoughtful critic zeroes in on one’s own ambivalence and confusion, and I thank Daniel DeNicola for that. To clarify matters a bit, I should start by saying that my main criticisms are directed at the liberal arts as they are presented in secondary schools. Some of the criticisms apply to colleges as well, but what passes for the liberal arts in high school — the specific disciplines of English, mathematics, history, and the sciences — are little more than preparation for further study in those narrowly defined subjects. Not only do they make few connections to existential themes, they make almost no connection to one another. Harold Rugg put his finger on the problem years ago, noting the conglomeration of facts within the social sciences: “Nothing short of genius on the part of a student could create an understanding of modern life from such a compartmentalized arrangement of material.”
Multistress aging of polymer films

An experimental facility has been developed in which polymer film specimens can be simultaneously exposed to mechanical, electrical, and thermal stresses. The test environment is transformer oil at 90 degrees C. The mechanical stress can be varied over a wide range, and the potential is regulated at about one-half the breakdown voltage. The facility can accommodate eight specimens run at the same time at various mechanical stresses, with or without an applied potential. The temperature of all eight specimens must be the same, and the applied potential must either be zero or the same value. Two series of polymer film sample tests have been completed thus far. The first series was with polyethylene terephthalate and the second was with polyimide. There was no detectable effect of the applied potential under the conditions studied; that is, the creep rate of each material was controlled by mechanical and thermal stresses but unaffected by electrical stress. >
Spatial Variability and Robust Interpolation of Seafloor Sediment Properties Using the SEABED Data Bases

Abstract : Gridded maps are the most sought-after type of information from seafloor properties databases, but computing them reliably is not straightforward. The technical goal of the project is a gridding method that is mathematically rigorous and statistically reliable, robust under different qualities of input data, free of geometric artefacts, and acceptable on inspection to experts familiar with the terrain being mapped. We call this goal a Competent Interpolator (CI).
Charcot–Marie–Tooth Disease and Associated Peripheral Neuropathies

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is a genetically heterogeneous group of inherited peripheral neuropathies that can affect either or both components of peripheral nerves, myelin (glia) and/or axons (neurons), resulting in CMT types 1 and 2. Two mutational mechanisms are relevant: recurrent genomic rearrangements (duplication and deletion) that include a dosage-sensitive myelin gene, PMP22, and point mutations in at least 14 genes important for peripheral nerve development and maintenance. Keywords: genomic disorder; recombination; point mutation; myelin; axon
Effects of outgassed products from spacecraft materials on the insulating strength of the space vacuum

The authors describe investigations into the nature of outgassed products from spacecraft materials and the electrical breakdown characteristics of the resulting contaminated vacuum regions. The materials studied for their outgassing characteristics were G-10 polyethylene, TFE Teflon, Plexiglass, and Mylar. The major outgassed products from the materials studied were H/sub 2/O, H/sub 2/, O/sub 2/, CO/sub 2/, and N/sub 2/. The outgassing products raise the local pressure in the vicinity of the spacecraft materials, resulting in a pressure gradient with higher pressures near the material surface and lower pressures away from the spacecraft. The high pressures resulting from the contaminating gas lower the breakdown voltage and reduce the ability of the region to support high electrical-field stresses. The breakdown characteristics (Paschen curve) measured for the outgassed mixtures from the materials are predictable and representative of typical air breakdown characteristics at very low pressures. >
Assessment of the use of the age- and sex-specific United States population as a control group for analysis of survival in coronary artery disease.

The use of the age- and sex-specific U.S. population as a control group for analysis of survival in coronary artery disease was assessed. Population-based survival rates were calculated for nonsurgically treated patients evaluated for coronary artery disease at Duke University Medical Center. Survival of the overall group of medically treated patients with significant coronary artery disease was lower than the corresponding age- and sex-specific U.S. population rates. However, survival of patients with significant disease who had normal left ventricular contraction and stable chest pain was similar to the age- and sex-specific population survival rates. Both the observed survival and the population-based survival estimates for patients with normal left ventricular contraction and stable pain were lower than the survival of patients with normal coronary arteriograms. Even after deaths from ischemic heart disease are eliminated from the population rates, survival of patients with normal coronary arteries exceeded the age-and sex-specific population survival. Because of biases inherent in the selection of patients for cardiac catheterization and the presence of other serious diseases in persons in the general population is not an adequate control group for rigorous analysis of the effect of therapy in coronary artery disease.
Status of Tibial Nerve Stimulation for Overactive Bladder

Overactive bladder is a significant health problem for individuals of all ages. Posterior tibial nerve stimulation for overactive bladder is not a new concept, but providers and some third party payers have been slow to embrace it. Until recently, lack of level 1 evidence had raised questions as to its efficacy and duration of benefit. Level 1 evidence now exists to support its use for the treatment of overactive bladder. However, questions remain as to the durability of the benefit. It is likely that chronic maintenance therapy will be necessary in most cases. Emerging evidence may expand the indications for posterior tibial nerve stimulation to include multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, childhood voiding dysfunction, fecal incontinence, interstitial cystitis, and chronic prostatitis. New methods for stimulating this nerve without needles may someday replace current techniques.
Scholarly communication in the networked environment: Reconsidering economics and organizational missions

The prospects for network-based scholarly communication and electronic information distribution are of great concern to organizations involved in print publishing. Recognizing that they must consider the changes taking place with the widespread deployment of information and computer-communications technology, their management and governing boards are trying to determine how best to understand and operate within this new environment. Some organizations--primarily those that are well established and economically secure--seem to fear the emerging electronic information environment as a threat to their historical roles and revenue streams. Other organizations--perhaps financially marginal in the current print-based world, or those that have grown up with networks--are aggressively embracing and pursuing and exploiting the possibilities the new technology offers. This article argues that the choices faced by all types ofpublishingorganizations are not simply tactical or operational issues related to revenue. How these organizations position themselves to address the opportunities offered by computer networks must be determined by the original, basic purposes of the organizations. Beginning with a brief review of the changing economics and characteristics of scholarly communications in the networked environment, the article then considers the fundamental purposes of several types of organizations, reviews how these purposes have been
On channel-based user authentication for mobile terminals

We consider a physical layer approach to enhance wireless security by using the unique wireless channel state information (CSI) of a legitimate user to authenticate subsequent transmissions from this user, thereby denying access to any spoofer whose CSI would significantly differ from that of the legitimate user by virtue of a different spatial location. A hypothesis testing approach is formulated to test whiteness of residuals from current transmission where the residuals are generated using the estimated channel from the previous transmission. In some existing approaches, multicarrier systems have been considered where the channel frequency response at distinct frequencies is used to devise a hypothesis testing approach: is the CSI of the current transmission (packet) the same as that of the previous transmission? In this paper we investigate a single-carrier time-domain approach via residual testing. A binary hypothesis testing approach is formulated and illustrated via simulations.
Burst Frequency as a Function of Energy

Size-frequency distributions of bursts were obtained from analyses of records made by Carnegie model C cosmic-ray meters, shielded by 12 cm of lead, stationed at different locations. The number of particles per burst ranged from 200 to 10,000. Assuming that the number of particles in a given burst is proportional to the energy of the incident ray, energy distribution curves for the burst-producing radiation were made and compared with the depth-ionization curve obtained underground by Wilson. Because both curves have nearly the same shape, it was concluded that at least the greater part of the burst-producing radiation at sea level consists of penetrating ionizing rays, presumably mesotrons. The value of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ was found for the creation probability of a burst by a mesotron of about 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{10}$ ev energy in a thickness of 12 cm of lead. This leads to a cross section per nuclear particle (proton, neutron) of 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}30}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, which value is independent of the energy of the incident particle. The ratio of the burst rates at Huancayo (3350 m elevation above sea level) and Cheltenham (72 m elevation) for different burst magnitudes was found to be constant, within the statistical errors, up to energies of about 1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{11}$ ev, and likewise for Teoloyucan (2285 m elevation) and Cheltenham. For energies higher than ${10}^{11}$ ev, the corresponding ratios of the burst rates at the high to those at the low altitudes increase rapidly with increasing energy of the burst. In order to account for this effect, it is assumed that some of the largest bursts are created by photons or electrons of energies greater than ${10}^{11}$ ev, a part which becomes predominant at higher elevations. This suggests a possible mechanism for the creation of mesotrons by the soft component of cosmic radiation in the earth's atmosphere.
Comparison of theoretical analyses of intense-laser-induced molecular dissociation

We investigate the accuracy of different common methods for calculating the momentum distribution of the nuclei following dissociation of H+2 by a short, intense laser pulse. This analysis can be performed either exactly by projecting onto scattering states of the system or by using a Fourier transformation of the final wavefunction. When and how this Fourier transform is made determines the validity of the approximation. While the values of the total observables were comparable, the Fourier transform methods require further free propagation time to converge to the exact result.
Radiant heat transfer between concentric cylinders

The transfer of energy between concentric cylinders has been considered, using a first order slip boundary condition. Results compare favourably with previously obtained numerical results.
Vagal nerve stimulation during muscarinic and beta-adrenergic blockade causes significant coronary artery dilation

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is present in post-ganglionic vagal nerve fibers in the coronary arteries and right ventricle but no significant amounts are found in the left ventricle. We determined the effects of VIP, released endogenously from cardiac vagal nerves, on the circumflex mean coronary artery pressure and on right and left ventricular (RV and LV) contractility (dP/dtmax) and relaxation (dP/dtmin). In 20 anesthetized, open chest mongrel dogs, the cervical vagus nerves and cardiac sympathetic ansa subclaviae were isolated and transected. Electrodes were applied to the cardiac segments of the right and left vagus nerves for subsequent stimulation. The muscarinic and beta-adrenergic receptors were blocked with atropine and propranolol, respectively. The heart rate was controlled by either producing atrioventricular node block in 10 dogs and pacing the ventricles (series 1) or by right atrial pacing in 10 separate dogs (series 2). Coronary artery blood flow was controlled by perfusing the circumflex coronary artery in each dog with femoral arterial blood at a controlled flow rate. Coronary artery pressure, ventricular and aortic pressures and dP/dt were continuously measured. Experiments were performed prior to and after the administration of [4Cl-D-Phe6,Leu17]VIP, a sensitive and selective VIP antagonist. Vagal nerve stimulation at 20 Hz (0.5 ms, 20 V) for 5 min significantly decreased the circumflex mean coronary artery pressure by 17% from the control value of 95+/-2 mmHg in series 1 and by 13% from the control value of 109+/-2 mmHg in series 2 (both p < 0.005). Aortic, LV and RV systolic and end-diastolic pressures, LV dP/dtmax and dP/dtmin, and the EKG did not change. In contrast, RV dP/dtmax and dP/dtmin increased by 22% (p < 0.04) and 23% (p < 0.02), respectively, in series 1 and by 26% (p < 0.02) and 33% (p < 0.01), respectively, in series 2. The VIP antagonist, [4Cl-D-Phe6,Leu17]VIP, directly injected into the left circumflex coronary artery, had no effect on coronary, aortic or ventricular pressures, ventricular dP/dt or the EKG. However, 20 Hz vagal stimulation in the presence of the VIP antagonist did not decrease circumflex mean coronary artery pressure. In addition, vagal stimulation, in the presence of the VIP antagonist, had no effect on LV pressures or dP/dt but increased RV dP/dtmax and dP/dtmin. RV dP/dtmax increased by 16% (p < 0.01) and RV dP/dtmin increased by 22% (p < 0.04), respectively, in series 1 and by 27 and 24%, respectively, in series 2 (both p < 0.01). Vagal nerve stimulation during muscarinic and beta-adrenergic blockade releases VIP or a 'VIP-like' substance that significantly decreases circumflex coronary artery vascular resistance and increases RV dP/dtmax and dP/dtmin.
Repeat hepatic resection as effective treatment for recurrent colorectal liver metastases

Background: Approximately 20–40% of patients who undergo liver resection for colorectal metastases develop recurrent disease confined to the liver. The goals of this study were to determine whether the survival benefit of repeat hepatic resection justified the potential morbidity and mortality. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on all patients who underwent liver resection for colorectal cancer metastases between 1983 and 1995 (N=202). Repeat liver resections were performed on 23 patients for recurrent metastases. Results: There were no operative deaths in the 23 patients, and the postoperative morbidity rate was 22%. The 5-year actuarial survival rate after repeat resection was 32%, with a median length of survival of 39.9 months. There were three patients who survived for >5 years after repeat resection. Sixteen patients (70%) developed recurrent disease at a median interval of 11 months after the second resection; 10 of these 16 patients (62%) had new hepatic metastases. No clinical or pathological factors were significant in predicting long-term survival. Conclusions: Repeat liver resection for recurrent colorectal metastases (a) can be performed safely with acceptable mortality and morbidity rates and (b) may result in long-term survival in some patients.
Self-selection of ethanol as wine by rats

Rats were given access to wine [19% (v/v) ethanol] in their home cages. Food and water were continuously available. Throughout 168 days of observation, the Ss consumed substantial quantities of wine and greater amounts of ethanol than are usually reported. Wine appears to be a suitably palatable solution for animal studies of alcoholism.
Stimulating dopamine D1 receptors increases the locomotor activity of developing rats

To determine the role of dopamine D1 receptors in the locomotor activity of developing rats, male offspring were habituated to an animal activity monitor and were then injected with the dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, SCH 23390 (R(+)-7-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl- 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(1 H)-3-benzazepine), or vehicle and returned to the activity monitors. 30 min later, they were injected with the dopamine D1 receptor agonist, SKF 38393 (R(+)-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(1 H)-3-benzazepine-7,8-diol), or vehicle and were again placed in the activity boxes where their locomotor activity was monitored individually for 1 h. The litter was used as the unit for statistical analyses. There was a significant increase in the locomotor activity of 10- and 21-day-old offspring injected with SKF 38393. This effect was antagonized by pretreatment with SCH 23390. These data provide the strongest evidence to date that stimulation of dopamine D1 receptors increases the locomotor activity of habituated developing rats.
Effect of electrical boundary conditions on domain switching near the crack tip in piezoceramics

ABSTRACT A finite element was developed to model the dielectric property of the medium that fills the crack cavity in a piezoelectricmaterial. The element was interfaced with the commercial code ABAQUS which provides the piezoelectric element tomodel the cracked piezoelectric body. The crack cavity permeability effects on the near tip stresses and electric fields in acompact tension specimen were investigated and discussed. The domain switching zones corresponding to various loads andcrack surface electric boundary conditions were obtained. As expected, an increased permeability in the crack cavitydecreased the size of domain switching zone. It was also found that the outcome of domain switching depends on theloading sequence.Keywords: Crack, piezoceramic, permeability, finite element, domain switching 1. INTRODUCTION The piezoelectric crack problem, from a fracture mechanics point of view, was first analyzed by Parton' on a slit crack in apiezoelectric solid, and a permeable electric boundary condition was assumed. This assumption was shown by Suo et al.2 tobe physically unrealistic owing to the potential drop across the lower capacitance crack. Suo et al.2 used the boundaryconditions introduced by Deeg3 and Pak4 that the crack face is free of charge and the crack is impermeable to electric fields
Molecular modeling of flexible arm‐mediated interactions between bacterial chemoreceptors and their modification enzyme

Sensory adaptation in bacterial chemotaxis is mediated by methylation and demethylation of specific glutamyl residues in the cytoplasmic domain of chemoreceptors. Methylation is catalyzed by methyltransferase CheR. In E. coli and related organisms, methylation sufficiently rapid to be physiologically effective requires a carboxyl terminal pentapeptide sequence on the receptor being modified or, via adaptational assistance, on a neighboring homodimer in a receptor cluster. Pentapeptide-enhanced methylation is thought to be mediated by a ∼30 residue, potentially disordered sequence that serves as a flexible arm connecting the receptor body and pentapeptide-bound methyltransferase, thus allowing diffusionally restricted enzyme to reach methyl-accepting sites. However, it was not known how many or which sites on the same or neighboring receptors were accessible to the tethered enzyme. We investigated using molecular modeling and found that, in a hexagonal array of trimers of receptor dimers, CheR tethered to a dimer of chemoreceptor Tar by its native 30-residue flexible-arm sequence could reach all methyl-accepting sites on the dimer to which it was tethered plus 48 methyl-accepting sites distributed among nine neighboring dimers, equivalent to the total sites carried by six receptors. This modeling-determined methylation neighborhood of one enzyme-binding dimer and six neighbors corresponds precisely with the experimentally identified neighborhood of seven. Thus, the experimentally observed adaptational assistance can occur by docking of pentapeptide-bound, diffusionally restricted enzyme to methyl-accepting sites on neighboring receptors. Our analysis introduces the notion that physiologically relevant adaptational assistance could occur even if only a subset of sites on a particular receptor are within reach.
The Ethical Issues Rating Scale: An Instrument for Measuring Ethical Orientation of College Students toward Various Business Practices

The present study presents efforts to establish evidence for the construct validity of scores on the Ethical Issues Rating Scale, an instrument designed to measure respondents' assessment of the importance of various ethical issues. Factor-analytic results using data from a sample of students enrolled in university business courses (n = 213) supported the existence of five constructs: personal integrity issues, corporate integrity issues, individual rights issues, environmental issues, and international issues. Suggestions regarding the usefulness of the instrument and procedures for its further refinement are offered.
Public relations and the web: organizational problems, gender, and institution type

Abstract Attitudes of 109 professionals toward public relations and the web were measured. Results suggest that virtually all practitioners have acquired the skills they need to use the web, that encroachment is not a serious problem, that the biggest organizational problem is teaching others the components of a good site, that the biggest departmental problem is acquiring technical and conceptual training, and that links are in place for dialogic communication. The views of men and women, of practitioners in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and of those working in science and non-science organizations are substantially the same.
Granule Size Distribution and Chemical Composition of Starches from 12 Soft Wheat Cultivars

ABSTRACT Granule size distribution of wheat starch is an important characteristic that can influence its chemical composition, which in turn may affect its functionality. The granule size distribution and chemical composition of soft wheat starches were characterized and compared and relationships among those properties were identified. Thirty-four starch samples from 12 soft wheat cultivars grown in the eastern half of the United States were examined. Granule size distribution was characterized using a laser light-scattering technique. Amylose and phospholipid contents were determined using colorimetric procedures. A clear trimodal distribution of granule sizes was shown by 26 out of 34 starch samples: small granules with diameters 9.9 μm. Volume% distribution of granules within the three size classes had ranges of 9.7–15.2% (small), 13.4–27.9% (medium), and 57.9–76.9% (large). Highly significant differences were s...
Runway detection in an image sequence

This paper is concerned with rapid detection of the runway in an image sequence captured from a landing aircraft. During the critical section of landing maneuvers, a vision system which can continuously detect the runway is very useful to both enhance the landing safety and reduce the pilots' workload. Such a system requires fast and reliable recognition strategies in order to meet the real-time flight control demands. In this paper, a method based on defining the regions of interest (ROIs) in the image plane is described for achieving such real-time performance. This method utilizes the approximate information about the aircraft/camera position and orientation to obtain a two-dimensional (2D) projection of the runway on the image plane. This 2D projection is represented by a set of regions called the ROIs, with each ROI corresponding to one feature of the three-dimensional (3D) runway model. We show that using such a technique, the computational complexity of the recognition process can be significantly reduced.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Structure, red-shifted absorption and electron transport properties of specific aggregates of chlorophylls

Abstract Neutron small-angle scattering from chlorophyll aggregates formed by hydration in octane/toluene mixtures show that specific structures can form which are long hollow cylinders. The cylinder diameters, absorption spectra and electron transport properties depend on the chlorophyll type. Results for 2-acetyl chlorophyll-a (a synthetic derivative of chlorophyll-a) and chlorophyll a/b mixtures are presented.
Thermal expansion coefficient of SbCl5-graphite intercalation compounds

The c-axis thermal expansion coefficient of SbCl5-GICs is obtained from analysis of (00l) X-ray diffractograms for stages 1–3. A decrease in thermal expansion coefficient with increasing stage is observed and it is related to a higher charge transfer for the higher stages than for the lower ones. The contributions to the thermal expansion coefficient of each of the layers along the c-axis are also obtained.
Isolation and Characterization of a Folate Receptor mRNA-binding trans-Factor from Human Placenta EVIDENCE FAVORING IDENTITY WITH HETEROGENEOUS NUCLEAR RIBONUCLEOPROTEIN E1

The interaction of an 18-base cis-element in the 5'-untranslated region of human folate receptor (FR)-alpha mRNA with a cytosolic trans-factor protein is critical for the translation of FR (Sun, X.-L., and Antony, A. C. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 25539-25547). This trans-factor was isolated to apparent homogeneity as a 43- and 38-kDa doublet from human placenta using poly(U)-Sepharose, followed by preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electro-elution as major purification steps. Amino acid microsequencing of two cyanogen bromide-generated peptide fragments of the 43-kDa trans-factor revealed complete identity with 43-kDa heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein E1 (hnRNP E1). Purified specific rabbit anti-hnRNP E1 peptide antibodies (generated against a synthetic oligopeptide that was not represented in microsequenced peptides of the trans-factor) also recognized the purified trans-factor on Western blots. Conversely, the 18-base FR RNA cis-element also bound hnRNP E1 protein on Northwestern blots. Moreover, a 19-base RNA cis-element in the 3'-untranslated region of 15-lipoxygenase mRNA that is known to bind hnRNP E1 also interacted with placental 43-kDa trans-factor. In addition, several murine tissues containing a hnRNP E1-related protein (also known as alphaCP-1) readily interacted with the 18-base FR RNA cis-element. Finally, anti-hnRNP E1 antibodies specifically inhibited translation of FR in vitro in a dose-dependent manner, and the antibody effect could be reversed in a dose-dependent manner by either purified trans-factor or hnRNP E1. Collectively, the data favor identity of the FR mRNA-binding trans-factor and hnRNP E1, confirm its critical role in the translation of FR, and highlight yet another role of multifunctional hnRNP E1 in eukaryotic mRNA regulation.
A neural network model for texture discrimination

A model of texture discrimination in visual cortex was built using a feedforward network with lateral interactions among relatively realistic spiking neural elements. The elements have various membrane currents, equilibrium potentials and time constants, with action potentials and synapses. The model is derived from the modified programs of MacGregor (1987). Gabor-like filters are applied to overlapping regions in the original image; the neural network with lateral excitatory and inhibitory interactions then compares and adjusts the Gabor amplitudes in order to produce the actual texture discrimination. Finally, a combination layer selects and groups various representations in the output of the network to form the final transformed image material. We show that both texture segmentation and detection of texture boundaries can be represented in the firing activity of such a network for a wide variety of synthetic to natural images. Performance details depend most strongly on the global balance of strengths of the excitatory and inhibitory lateral interconnections. The spatial distribution of lateral connective strengths has relatively little effect. Detailed temporal firing activities of single elements in the lateral connected network were examined under various stimulus conditions. Results show (as in area 17 of cortex) that a single element's response to image features local to its receptive field can be altered by changes in the global context.
Distributed Loop Scheduling Schemes for Cloud Systems

Cloud computing infrastructure offers the computing resources as a homogeneous collection of virtual machine instances by different hardware on figurations, which is transparent to end users. In fact, the computational powers of these virtual machine instances are different and behaves as a heterogeneous environment. Thus, scheduling and load balancing for high performance computations become challenging on such systems. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical distributed scheduling scheme suitable for parallel loops with independent iterations on a cloud computing system. We also evaluate various performance aspects associated with our distributed scheduling scheme.