cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Open-Space Forced Swim Model of Depression for Mice

This protocol describes a simplified method for inducing a chronic depression-like state in mice that is based on the repeated open-space forced swim method originally developed for rats. The method consists of mice swimming daily in lukewarm water in rat tub cages, for 15 min/day for 4 days, and thereafter once per week. This procedure produces a progressive decrease in distance swum and a concomitant increase in immobility (floating) in ∼70% of the mice, both of which persist unaltered for weeks. The model has predictive, face, and construct validity and has a number of advantages over previous methods in that it utilizes very mild stress, is short in duration, and is easily standardized. Moreover, since it utilizes a greater swimming area than the traditional (Porsolt) method it can be used to study interactions of depressive behavior with behavioral flexibility and perseveration.
Residents' perception of skill decay during dedicated research time

Abstract Background Surgery residents may take years away from clinical responsibilities for dedicated research time. As part of a longitudinal project, the study aim was to investigate residents' perceptions of clinical skill reduction during dedicated research time. Our hypothesis was that residents would perceive a greater potential reduction in skill during research time for procedures they were less confident in performing. Materials and methods Surgical residents engaged in dedicated research training at multiple training programs participated in four simulated procedures: urinary catheterization, subclavian central line, bowel anastomosis, and laparoscopic ventral hernia (LVH) repair. Using preprocedure and postprocedure surveys, participants rated procedures for confidence and difficulty. Residents also indicated the perceived level of skills reduction for the four procedures as a result of time in the laboratory. Results Thirty-eight residents (55% female) completed the four clinical simulators. Participants had between 0–36 mo in a laboratory (M = 9.29 mo, standard deviation = 9.38). Preprocedure surveys noted lower confidence and higher perceived difficulty for performing the LVH repair followed by bowel anastomosis, central line insertion, and urinary catheterization ( P P P P Conclusions Residents in this study expected greater skills decay for the procedures they had lower confidence performing and greater perceived difficulty. In addition, carefully adapted simulation scenarios had a significant effect on resident perception and may provide a mechanism for maintaining skills and keeping confidence grounded in experience.
A novel surgical procedure for bridging of massive bone defects

Bony defects arising from tumor resection or debridement after infection, non-union or trauma present a challenging problem to orthopedic surgeons, as well as patients due to compliance issues. Current treatment options are time intensive, require more than one operation and are associated with high rate of complications. For this reason, we developed a new surgical procedure to bridge a massive long bone defect. To bridge the gap, an in situ periosteal sleeve is elevated circumferentially off of healthy diaphyseal bone adjacent to the bone defect. Then, the adjacent bone is osteotomized and the transport segment is moved along an intramedullary nail, out of the periosteal sleeve and into the original diaphyseal defect, where it is docked. Vascularity is maintained through retention of the soft tissue attachments to the in situ periosteal sleeve. In addition, periosteal osteogenesis can be augmented through utilization of cancellous bone graft or in situ cortical bone adherent to the periosteal sleeve. The proposed procedure is novel in that it exploits the osteogenic potential of the periosteum by replacing the defect arising from resection of tissue out of a pathological area with a defect in a healthy area of tissue, through transport of the adjacent bone segment. Furthermore, the proposed procedure has several advantages over the current standard of care including ease of implementation, rapid patient mobilization, and no need for specialized implants (intramedullary nails are standard inventory for surgical oncology and trauma departments) or costly orthobiologics. The proposed procedure offers a viable and potentially preferable alternative to the current standard treatment modalities, particularly in areas of the world where few surgeons are trained for procedures such as distraction osteogenesis (e.g. the Ilizarov procedure) as well as areas of the world where surgeons have little access to expensive, complex devices and orthobiologics.
Association Between Sleep and Physical Function in Older Veterans in an Adult Day Healthcare Program

Objectives To examine whether sleep disturbance is associated with poor physical function in older veterans in an adult day healthcare (ADHC) program. Design Cross-sectional. Setting One ADHC program in a Veterans Affairs Ambulatory Care Center. Participants Older veterans (N = 50) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of a sleep intervention program who had complete baseline data. Measurements Information on participant characteristics (e.g., age, depression, relationship to caregiver, pain, comorbidity) was collected using appropriate questionnaires. Physical function was measured using activity of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) total scores from the Older Americans Resources and Services Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire. Sleep was assessed subjectively (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index) and objectively (wrist actigraphy). Results Participants required substantial assistance with ADLs and IADLs. A regression model showed that participant characteristics (marital status, use of sleep medication, comorbidity, posttraumatic stress disorder) and living arrangement (living with a spouse or others) were significantly associated with poor physical function. Poorer objective sleep (total sleep time, total numbers of awakenings, total wake time) was significantly associated with poor physical function, accounting for a significant proportion of the variance other than participant characteristics. Conclusion Objective measures of nighttime sleep disturbance were associated with poor physical function in older veterans in an ADHC program. Further research is needed to determine whether interventions to improve sleep will delay functional decline in this vulnerable population.
On a domination property for vector maximization with respect to cones

In this note, we give sufficient conditions for a domination property to hold for a vector maximization problem with respect to cones. A previously developed result concerning this domination property easily follows from these conditions. We also show that, if one of these conditions is relaxed, then the domination property may not hold.
Minimizing speaker variation effects for speaker-independent speech recognition

For speaker-independent speech recognition, speaker variation is one of the major error sources. In this paper, a speaker-independent normalization network is constructed such that speaker variation effects can be minimized. To achieve this goal, multiple speaker clusters are constructed from the speaker-independent training database. A codeword-dependent neural network is associated with each speaker cluster. The cluster that contains the largest number of speakers is designated as the golden cluster. The objective function is to minimize distortions between acoustic data in each cluster and the golden speaker cluster. Performance evaluation showed that speaker-normalized front-end reduced the error rate by 15% for the DARPA resource management speaker-independent speech recognition task.
A transducer to measure isometric elbow moments.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to design and implement a transducer to measure accurately the isometric elbow moments produced by individuals with tetraplegia. Design. The device needed to be insensitive to off-axis moments and proximal joint motions and be capable of being used over a wide range of elbow and shoulder positions in an outpatient clinic setting. Background. Measurement of the smaller isometric moments produced by individuals with tetraplegia is especially sensitive to the errors that can be introduced by inaccurate lever arm determination, off-axis loads, and proximal joint motions. Devices traditionally utilized for quantifying isometric strength are difficult to implement for the spinal cord injured population. Methods. The elbow moment transducer consists of two four-bar parallelogram linkages joined by a lockable pivot. Strain gauges mounted on one beam of the parallelogram produce an output proportional to the elbow moment. Results. Calibration of the device indicates that it accurately quantifies isometric elbow moments over a range that is appropriate for evaluating elbow extension strength in individuals with tetraplegia. Conclusions. A device was developed and implemented that accurately quantifies isometric elbow moments over a range that is appropriate for evaluating elbow extension strength in individuals with tetraplegia. Relevance The ability to quantitatively evaluate elbow strength in persons with tetraplegia is useful for understanding and improving the clinical outcomes of rehabilitative interventions that involve the elbow.
Thermal stability and refolding capability of shark derived single domain antibodies

Single-domain antibodies (sdAb) from camelids and sharks represent the smallest immunoglobulin-based functional binding domains, and are known for their thermal stability and ability to refold after denaturation. Whereas target-binding sdAb have been derived from both immunized and naive sharks and camelids, the stability of camelid-derived sdAb have been evaluated much more extensively. To address this disparity we characterized 20 sdAb derived from spiny dogfish shark and smooth dogfish shark in terms of their protein production, melting temperature and ability to refold after heat denaturation. Using the same expression system and protocol as we follow to produce camelid sdAb, production of the shark sdAb was quite poor, often resulting in less than a tenth of the typical yield for camelid sdAb. We measured the melting temperature of each of the sdAb. Similar to camelid sdAb, the shark-derived sdAb, showed a range of melting temperature values from 42°C to 77°C. Also similar to what has been observed in camelids, the sdAb from both shark species showed a range of ability to refold after heat denaturation. This work demonstrated that although shark sdAb can possess high melting temperatures and refolding ability, no clear advantage over sdAb derived from camelids in terms of thermostability and renaturation was obtained.
Trace Analysis of Nonconducting Materials by a Spark Source Mass Spectrographic Auxiliary Electrode Method

Abstract The survey analysis capabilities of spark source mass spectrography have proved to be very important in the determination of very low concentrations of elements in nonconductors and semiconductors. Some of the methods devised for the special handling and sparking of the poor conductors have been reviewed by Guthrie1. In general, attempts to initiate and sustain a radio frequency spark between nonconductor self-electrodes require inconviently high spark voltages and considerable operator time and attention. Moreover, the low ion yields often characteristic of the nonconductor self-electrode spark compel exposure times commonly in excess of one hour for exposure levels requisite for the detection of impurities at 1 part-per-million concentrations.
Survey-based analysis of fundamental tasks for effective use of electrosurgical instruments

Despite widespread use of electrosurgical instruments, there are no widely accepted tasks for training and evaluation of technical skills. The purpose of this study is to propose a set of tasks and report experts’ evaluations of the proposed tasks for validity, technical skills versus knowledge requirements, and utility for future privileging curricula. A set of seven hands-on tasks involving electrical energy were identified based on the fundamental use of surgical energy (FUSE) curriculum of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons. A web-based survey was developed based on the seven identified tasks, with seven questions asked for each task. These questions rated candidate tasks on their suitability for validation studies, the role of manual skills, and the appropriateness of including the task in privileging curricula. Members of the FUSE committee were sent the web-based survey, and responses were recorded. Of the 27 members of the FUSE committee, 16 responded to the survey. A total of 775 Likert-style responses were recorded and quantified to a 1–5 range. Overall, responses within task–question pairs had a mean standard deviation of 0.83, suggesting general agreement. Tasks requiring bi-manual dexterity scored higher than single-handed tasks on a combined, four-question Likert-scale index for task validation (p < 0.0001), and a two-question index for manual skills (p < 0.0001). Survey responses indicated general agreement that the identified tasks represent important technical skills and are consistent with actions in the operating room. Bimanual tasks were favored for validation purposes over single-handed tasks. The traction and monopolar dissection and monopolar coaptation tasks had the highest agreement with validation-oriented questions (97 and 87 %, respectively).
THE PRODUCTION OF PURPURA BY DERIVATIVES OF PNEUMOCOCCUS : I. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE REACTION.

1. Pneumococcus extracts have been shown to be capable of producing hemorrhagic purpura in white mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs. 2. The purpura-producing principle resists heating to 100°C. for 10 minutes; it resists oxidation; it is filter-passing; its activity is destroyed by digestion with trypsin; it is obtained from pneumococcus extracts by full saturation with (NH4)2SO4, after the acetic acid-precipitable substances have been removed from the extracts. 3. The purpura-producing principle is common to all four types of pneumococcus and apparently bears no relation to virulence. 4. The purpura-producing principle is probably a degradation product of pneumococcus. 5. This principle is not associated with the hemotoxin of pneumococcus, since the hemolytic activity of an extract may be destroyed without effect on the ability to cause purpura.
A direction‐dependent instability of sporadic‐E layers in the nighttime midlatitude ionosphere

[1] The configuration of a midlatitude sporadic-E (Es) layer at a zonal wind-shear node has been assumed to be a stable equilibrium, as long as the wind shear is hydrodynamically stable. In this paper, we show that this equilibrium is in fact unstable, at night, to electrodynamical forces that arise when plane wave perturbations in altitude or density are imposed on the Es layer. We show that the growth rate of the instability depends on the azimuthal alignment of the phase fronts of the plane-wave distortion, a feature that is reminiscient of the Perkins instability [Perkins, 1973]. The dependence on azimuth is consistent with observations of structure in Es layers that show the same preferred alignment.
Parameterization of linear wave chemical transport in planetary atmospheres by eddy diffusion

Two-dimensional transport by linear waves is parameterized by wave velocity and temperature correlations and nonconservative properties of the atmosphere in a residual Eulerian framework. Explicit expressions derived for the eddy tracer flux vector are written in eddy diffusion tensor form, but it is demonstrated that strong coupling of chemistry and temperature through the rate constants, as is the case for ozone, requires additional terms proportional to the mixing ratio and not to its gradient. A variety of limiting cases are discussed. In the residual Eulerian framework the K(yz), K(zy) components are nonzero for a nonconservative atmosphere and/or a reactive tracer. Tracers have common transport coefficients in the limit where their chemistry is negligible in comparison to transience. It is shown that the usual one-dimensional vertical eddy diffusion continuity equation is rigorously valid only when the temperature dependence of the rate constants is negligible and the tracer has strong vertical stratification relative to its horizontal variability.
Chloramine-T in radiolabeling techniques. I. Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between chloramine-T and amino acids.

The determination of the rate and pH dependency of chlorination of amino acids by chloramine-T (CAT) using the model compounds β-alanine, L-alanine, and L-alanine ethyl ester was investigated. The reactions were studied under pseudo-first-order conditions where the amino acid concentration was in large excess over CAT. The rates of the reactions were determined spectrophotometrically by following the disappearance of CAT. The overall reaction was found to obey second-order kinetics. The effect of pH was studied over the range 6.1 to 12.0. The reaction rate was found to be independent of pH in the range 6.1 to 8.5, and to decrease with increasing pH above 8.5. The pH dependency was rationalized by assuming that un-ionized CAT reacts with the un-ionized amino group of the amino acid. The value of the resulting second-order rate constant (1.9 × 107 M−1 min−1) was of the same order of magnitude as rate constants reported for similar N-chlorination reactions. A cyclic transition state involving a water molecule is proposed.
Imploding Co-Axial Krypton Gas Puffs As A Potential X-Ray Laser

A scheme employing neonlike krypton ions is under intensive theoretical and experimental investigation to determine the feasibility of developing a pulsed-power driven laboratory x-ray laser. The scheme depends on discharging 100's of kilojoules of electrical energy through co-axial cylindrical krypton gas puffs generating a dense, hot, uniform, homogeneous, and highly ionized krypton plasma. The dynamics of energy absorption are such that self-generated magnetic fields compress and accelerate radially inward theiouter plasma with speeds approaching 5 x 10 cm/sec. When the outer plasma impinges and stagnates on the inner plasma, shock waves are sent through the system as the plasma reverberates and bounces outward. Near the interface between the two interacting plasmas, and along the axis, conditions appear to be conducive to the establishment of a population inversion with the subsequent emission of coherent soft x-rays with measurable gain. The theory, analysis, and numerical simulations are based on a fully coupled self-consistent one-dimensional non-LTE radiation hydrodynamics model including the effects of opacity and radiation transport. The multi-level ionization dynamics is evaluated in the collisional radiative equilibrium (CRE) approximation for the manifold of both ground and excited states distributed throughout the various stages of ionization. In addition, particular emphasis is placed on the atomic structure of the neonlike ionization stage which in our model consists of 48 excited levels in j-j coupling. The evolution of the level populations as functions of the various atomic processes provides information on the conditions necessary to establish population inversions and the emission of coherent radiation in the lasing transitions. The spectral line profiles are represented by Voigt functions. A complete history of the implosion and radiation dynamics will be provided for the cases under investigation.
Neurophysiological assessment of skeletal muscle fatigue in patients with congestive heart failure.

BACKGROUND Recent research has demonstrated that patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) exhibit significant functional impairment of skeletal muscle and that these changes may be important determinants of exercise capacity. Although muscle strength may be mildly reduced, the most significant abnormality is markedly enhanced muscle fatigue. The goal of the present study is to determine whether accelerated fatigue is caused by impaired muscle activation, as a result of inadequate central motor drive or neuromuscular transmission, or by a change in the muscle itself. METHODS AND RESULTS The study population consisted of nine patients with New York Heart Association class I-III CHF and eight sedentary, age- and sex-matched control subjects. Maximal voluntary contraction force of the foot dorsiflexors (primarily the tibialis anterior) was quantified as a measure of muscle strength, isometric endurance was quantified by the time required for force to decline to 60% of maximal during a sustained maximal contraction, and dynamic endurance was defined as the number of maximal contractions required for force to decline to 60% of maximal under a protocol of six repetitions per minute with an incremental duty cycle. The degree of central motor drive failure was quantified by the degree of force augmentation produced by a superimposed tetanic stimulus delivered to the peroneal nerve during the initial maximal voluntary contraction and at the time when force during the sustained isometric contraction declined to 60% of maximal. Neuromuscular junction transmission was examined by quantifying the amplitude of the compound muscle action potential (M wave) in response to a single nerve stimulus during fatiguing exercise. Muscle strength was relatively preserved in the CHF patients versus the control subjects (93 +/- 41 versus 105 +/- 34 lb; p = NS), but isometric endurance (time to decline to 60%, 34 +/- 15 versus 54 +/- 19 seconds; p less than 0.02) and dynamic endurance (number of repetitions before decline to 60%, 30 +/- 6 versus 43 +/- 7 contractions; p less than 0.001) were both impaired. Tetanic nerve stimulation increased force by similar degrees in the two groups, and the amplitude of the M wave did not decline in either group during exercise. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that enhanced muscle fatigue in patients with CHF is not caused by impaired central motor drive or an abnormality of neuromuscular junction transmission but rather by an abnormality in the muscle itself.
Microinjections of norepinephrine within the superficial laminae of trigeminal subnucleus caudalis evoke increases in plasma adrenocorticotropin in the rat.

To determine if local release of norepinephrine within the medullary dorsal horn influences autonomic responses often associated with nociception, microinjections of norepinephrine or of specific adrenergic receptor agonists were directed at the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc) in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. Norepinephrine (20 nmol, 100 nl) evoked a significant increase (+233.8 ± 89.5pg/ml, P < 0.01) in plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) after injections withinthe superficial laminae (I–II) of Vc, whereas mean arterial pressure or heart rate were not affected. Methoxamine (20 nmol), anα1-adrenoceptor agonist, injections into laminae I–II also increased plasma ACTH (+90.6 ± 32pg/ml, P < 0.025) without affecting arterial pressure or heart rate. Norepinephrine injections into the deeper laminae (III–V) of Vc caused a variable increase in plasma ACTH (+203.5± 146.5pg/ml, P < 0.01) that was not mimicked by injections of methoxamine. Microinjections ofα2-(clonidine) or β-(isoproterenol) adrenergic receptor agonists into Vc had no effect on plasma ACTH regardless of the laminar site of injection. The results suggest that norepinephrine acts within Vc to alter selected autonomic responses often associated with nociception. The involvement of anα1-adrenergic receptor subtype within the superficial laminae of the medullary dorsal horn suggests a neural mechanism for norepinephrine-evoked increase in plasma ACTH that is distinct from the well knownα2-adrenergic receptor-mediated antinociceptive effects of norepinephrine.
Quadrilateral Barycentric Basis Functions for Surface Integral Equations

A framework for solving surface integral equation on quadrilateral, triangular, and mixed quadrilateral-triangular meshes is presented. The initial meshes are represented in terms of quadrilateral barycentric meshes (QBMs), which are obtained by partitioning each initial quadrilateral and triangle into four and three barycentric quadrilaterals, respectively. Quadrilateral barycentric basis functions (QBBFs) are defined on QBMs. The QBBFs serve a dual role. First, they allow defining primary basis functions (PBFs), which are well suited for representing surface currents on quadrilateral, triangular, and mixed meshes. Second, the QBBFs are used to define dual basis function (DBFs), which are natural for using in conjunction with Calderon multiplicative preconditioners (CMPs). These QBBFs, PBFs, and DBFs result in a substantial reduction in the number of nonzero elements in the sparse projection matrices for PBFs and DBFs as well as reduction of unknowns and quadrature points. When these PBFs and DBFs are used in CMPs, they reduce the number of iterations and eliminate the dense mesh breakdown of the surface electric field integral equation. Numerical examples demonstrate the efficiency of using the introduced QBBFs with associated PBFs and DBFs for solving electromagnetic surface electric field integral equations on quadrilateral, triangular, and mixed meshes.
Root Sets of Polynomials Modulo Prime Powers

A subset R of the integers modulo n is defined to be a root set if it is the set of roots of some polynomial. Using the Chinese Remainder Theorem, the question of finding and counting root sets modn is reduced to finding root sets modulo a prime power. In this paper, we provide a recursive construction for root sets modulo a prime power. We use this recursion to show that the number of root sets modulo pk for fixed k is a polynomial in p, raised to the pth power. Moreover, we show that the leading term of this polynomial is ckp?k2/4? where ck=(k2!)?1 if k is even and ck=(k?12!)?1+(k+12!)?1 if k is odd, thus giving an asymptotic estimate on the number of root sets for fixed k. Finally, we generalize these results to arbitrary Dedekind domains.
Helping patients improve their health-related behaviors: what system changes do we need?

A large gap separates actual clinical outcomes of patients with chronic disease from optimal outcomes. This gap may be attributable to physician problems (physicians unaware of practice guidelines)...
Why Do They Bully? Bullying Behavior and Its Implication on the Bullied

This study examined the causes that lead to the development of workplace bullying behavior and its subsequent implication on the bullied employee in the Indian organizational context. It also attempted to shed some light into the prevailing culture in the Indian organizations that influence workplace bullying in a sample of 24 employees associated with three different companies. Qualitative methods were used to collect the data via in-depth interviews. During the discussion, four main causes leading to workplace bullying were uncovered. These were relative of the employer, the caste syndrome, affiliation with a political party, and misuse of positional power. As a consequence of this, four themes were uncovered that highlighted the impact of workplace bullying on the bullied employees. They were (a) prevalence of high stress, (b) impact on motivation and morale, (c) development of destructive behavior, and (d) intentions to leave. The study also provides some suggestions that could be used by the organiza...
Diagnosis and management of Hodgkin's disease in the adult

Appropriate management of Hodgkin's disease is based on both the stage of disease and the specific anatomic sites of involvement within each stage. As a result of the combination of sequential staging and effective treatment, histopathologic subclassification has become less important. Although not generally appreciated, this is also true for constitutional symptoms. During the past 15 years, differences in survival between early and advanced stages have diminished progressively with refinements both in management of newly diagnosed patients, and in management of relapsing disease. Currently, our five-year survival figure for laparotomy-Staged I and II patients is 95%. The corresponding result for Stages IIIA and IIIB patients is 85%; and 67% of our Stage IV patients, who were treated with mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP) are projected to be surviving at five years. With the anticipation of a high probability for cure, quality of life including the possibility for parenthood has become increasingly important. In the past, the trend has been to increase treatment for patients with poor prognostic factors. However, very little attention has been paid to the possibility of administering less treatment for very precisely staged patients with good prognostic factors. In this review, management is discussed by stage. Emphasis is placed on the indications for less treatment as well as for more intensive therapy in adult patients with Hodgkin's disease.
Use of high-purity germanium detectors for intermediate-energy physics experiments

Abstract The applicability of high-purity germanium detectors for charged-particle detection of intermediate-energy particles was evaluated with a two-detector system. The energy resolution for 100 MeV protons and 50 MeV positive pions was measured. The sensitivity of the detectors to radiation damage was estimated and the repair of the detectors was demonstrated.
Debye-Hückel correlated solubilities of calcium sulfate in water and in aqueous sodium nitrate and lithium nitrate solutions of molality 0 to 6 mol kg−1 and at temperatures from 398 to 623 K

In order to test further the applicability of the Debye-Huckel theory in describing solubility behavior at high temperatures, the solubility of calcium sulfate was determined in aqueous sodium nitrate and lithium nitrate solutions to 623 K. The solubilities are shown to adhere reasonably well to the extended Debye-Huckel theory at the experimental temperatures of 398 to 623 K to ionic strengths of 1 mol kg−1, but with some divergences at higher ionic strengths. Comparative solubilities of calcium sulfate in water to 623 K are presented and discussed in an attempt to determine the correct values in water at zero ionic strength and at temperatures from 523 to 623 K.
National technology entrepreneurship policy: foundation of a network economy

The confluence of disruptive technology and network modes of organization in modern, developed economies requires a national business environment conducive to entrepreneurship. National entrepreneurship policy study results report that a formal national coordination mechanism would be ineffectual, if not deleterious, for an entrepreneurial economy. For the US to sustain its competitive advantage, however, it is necessary to develop a national technology entrepreneurship policy ‘supportive’ of the commercialization of new product technologies, that is, offering the legal environment, regulatory framework, modest financial assistance, and business incentives that are conducive to successful technology entrepreneurship, with markets providing the overall coordination. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.
Asymptomatic changes in cardiac function can occur in ductal carcinoma-in-situ patients following treatment with HER-2/neu-pulsed dendritic cell vaccines.

Background Targeting HER-2/neu with Trastuzumab has been associated with development of cardiac toxicity.
Binding of a 2-pyridyl moiety to a B/Sn bidentate Lewis acid

Abstract Reaction of the bidentate Lewis acid 1,2-Fc(SnMe 2 Cl)(B(Me)Cl) ( 1 , Fc = 1,2-ferrocenylene) with 2-trimethylstannylpyridine gave a complex ( 2 ), in which the 2-pyridyl group forms a bridge between the Lewis acidic tin and boron centers. The structure of 2 was confirmed by multinuclear and two-dimensional NMR, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis. The crystal structure shows that the pyridyl moiety is positioned endo relative to the substituted Cp ring and UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed an enhancement of the ferrocene-centered dd transition in comparison to related complexes with pyridine as a terminal ligand.
Peripheral giant cell granulomas: a series of 279 cases

Objective This study investigated the demographic, clinicopathologic, and histopathologic findings of lesions diagnosed as peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG) by the Louisiana State University Oral Pathology Biopsy Service from 1974 to 2011. Study Design Clinical, demographic, and histopathologic evaluation was completed for 279 cases. A follow-up questionnaire was mailed to all surgeons who performed these biopsies from 1990 to 2011. Results Of the 279 lesions, 58% occurred in the mandible, 44% occurred in the anterior portion of the arches, 83% were adjacent to teeth, 14% occurred in edentulous areas, and 2% were adjacent to implants. Average duration was 10.5 months, and the average size was 12.7 mm. The recurrence rate was 17.5%. Histopathologically, 78% of lesions extended to the base of the specimen, 50% exhibited ulceration, 41% contained calcifications, and 6% exhibited features overlapping with another pathologic entity. Conclusions PGCG is a well-defined pathologic entity among reactive gingival lesions. Recurrent lesions were more likely to contain calcifications.
Seismicity, regional tectonics, and earthquake statistics

Much of the research published during the past 4 years has been concerned with the integration of data on worldwide regional seismicity with hypotheses of global tectonics and the use of data on precisely located small earthquakes and microearthquakes to study processes of faulting and volcanism. Other topics that received attention include the sequence of large earthquakes in time and space and other aspects of long-term seismicity and the statistical features of the distributions of earthquakes with respect to time and magnitude. This review excludes material referenced by Sykes [1967a].
Smoking (active and passive) and breast cancer: epidemiologic evidence up to June 2001.

The first generation of studies evaluating the association between exposure to tobacco smoke and breast cancer merely compared active to nonactive smokers, with varying degrees of detail in the definition of active smoking. With rare exceptions, studies of this kind failed to show an effect of smoking on breast cancer risk. However, such analysis is probably insufficient. The most recent reports on the smoking-breast cancer connection have two characteristics. Some have separated women exposed to passive smoking from those nonexposed to either active or passive smoke. Other reports have focused on factors that modify the effect of smoking on breast cancer incidence, such as genetic markers or hormone receptors. A minority of reports combines these two characteristics. This review addresses the epidemiologic evidence for a link between smoking and breast cancer and discusses the implications of this evidence for future studies.
Money-demand and the efficacy of fiscal policy

Abstract An M2 money-demand function including the market value of government debt is estimated. The resulting equation both tracks the recent movements in money-demand and has implications for the efficacy of fiscal policy as a tool of stabilization policy.
RNA progeny of an infectious two-base deletion cDNA mutant of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) acquire two nucleotides in Planta.

Abstract Deletion mutations were generated in four structural domains of a potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) complementary DNA (cDNA) clone. Deletions of 3 to 5 nucleotides at the central conserved domain (CCGGG, positions 94 to 98), variable domain (GCCG, positions 146 to 149) and pathogenicity domain (CGA, positions 286 to 288) abolished infectivity of dimeric or trimeric cDNA constructs, or their in vitro transcripts. By contrast, a clone (St4) with a deletion of two nucleotides (UU, positions 339 and 340), located at the left terminal domain, retained infectivity when DNA or in vitro transcribed (+)RNA was used as inoculum. Sequencing of four cDNA clones of such viroid progeny demonstrated that two nucleotides were added at the deletion site. Two of the viroid progeny contained a CG addition. A third clone possessed a GU addition, whereas the fourth clone had a UU addition which represents a true reversion to full-length wild-type PSTV RNA. Ribonuclease protection assay of viroid progeny from St4-infected tomato plants suggested that only a negligible proportion of the St4 progeny were true revertants.© 1992 Academic Press, Inc.
Spontaneous Emulsification of Oils Containing Hydrocarbon, Nonionic Surfactant, and Oleyl Alcohol

Phase behavior and videomicroscopy experiments were used to investigate spontaneous emulsification of n-hexadecane/oleyl alcohol/C12E6 mixtures in water at 30 degreesC. It was found that complete emulsification of a drop of the oil phase to form small oil droplets having diameters of about 1 µm occurred only when diffusion of water into the initial oil drop first converted it completely into the lamellar liquid crystalline phase and/or a microemulsion and then caused this phase (or these phases) to become supersaturated in oil so that many oil droplets nucleated. This behavior occurred when the hydrocarbon/alcohol ratio of the initial oil drop was near that of the excess oil phase for a balanced system at this temperature, i.e., at the phase inversion temperature (PIT), and when surfactant content was sufficiently high. The stability of these emulsions was investigated by means of turbidity measurements. The most stable emulsion appeared to occur under conditions where the drops were coated by a layer of the lamellar phase. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
A statistical model of extreme storm rainfall

A model of storm rainfall is developed for the central Appalachian region of the United States. The model represents the temporal occurrence of major storms and, for a given storm, the spatial distribution of storm rainfall. Spatial inhomogeneities of storm rainfall and temporal inhomogeneities of the storm occurrence process are explicitly represented. The model is used for estimating recurrence intervals of extreme storms. The parameter estimation procedure developed for the model is based on the substitution principle (method of moments) and requires data from a network of rain gages. The model is applied to a 5000 mi2 (12,950 km2) region in the Valley and Ridge Province of Virginia and West Virginia.
More Than a Soldier's War : Pacification in Vietnam

In the hamlets and villages of Vietnam, America waged a little-known war to serve and build in the midst of strife that destroyed and killed. The pacification program, "for the hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people, represented an attempt to settle the conflict by bolstering support for the South Vietnam government and encouraging grass-roots opposition to the Viet Cong and the North. In that program, Col. Edward Metzner spent eight years as an advisor to district and provincial chiefs; his story is the story of the better side of Americans' involvement in Southeast Asia. "More Than a Soldier's War" joins together, in one man's experiences, the beginning of the war, the ensuing agonizing course of events, and the ignominious end of one of modern history's most controversial and tormenting conflicts. It vividly describes Americans' efforts to save lives from the grinding daily carnage, shield the innocent, and provide hope for a future of peace and security, all while entangled in a relentless, grisly people's war. Individual Vietnamese emerge in dramatic relief in these pages: greedy, imperious army officers; intelligent, sympathetic village leaders; parents willing to risk their lives for their children's future welfare. This eyewitness account, with its close-up look at an important side of the war, takes the war out of the strictly military arena and puts faces on those who worked hard to achieve a lasting victory. Arguing that more attention to the needs of the people and less to military tactics might have led to a different result, Metzner fairly lays blame for hindering the progress of the pacification effort at the feet of both South Vietnamese and American military leaders. Through his own experiences, he demonstrates that those involved at a grass-roots level accomplished a great deal that was never accurately reflected in reports on the war.
Four-photon resonant multiphoton ionization spectroscopy

Abstract Resonant multiphoton lonization (MPI) has been found to the red of the lowest energy three-photon resonant MPI band of butadiene. The signal arises from four-photon resonant MPI with an estimated cross section of 10 −115 -2-10 −118 cm 8 s 3 . The observed resonance is deduced to arise from a succession of one-photon allowed transitions.
PACAP-38 causes phospholipase C-dependent calcium signaling in rat acinar cell line.

Abstract Background. Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP-38), a neuropeptide of the vasoactive intestinal peptide/secretin family, localizes to intrapancreatic neurons and stimulates exocrine secretion from the pancreas. PACAP-38 stimulates calcium signaling in the rat pancreatic cell line AR42J. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms of PACAP-evoked calcium signaling in these cells. Methods. Continuous measurements of intracellular calcium were taken by fluorescent digital microscopy with the dye fura-2. Mechanisms of PACAP-38—evoked calcium signals were determined by a panel of inhibitors. Inositol phosphates production in response to PACAP-38 was measured. The ability of PACAP-38 to stimulate amylase release was used to determine a relevant dose range for these studies. Results. We have shown that (1) AR42J cells respond to PACAP-38 with biphasic increases in [Ca2+]i in a dose-dependent fashion; (2) PACAP-38 acts through phospholipase C to release inositol triphosphate (IP3)-sensitive Ca2+ stores with (3) a subsequent influx of extracellular Ca2+. Conclusions. PACAP-38 activates calcium signaling through phospholipase C at concentrations that stimulate amylase release in AR42J cells.
Posterior capsule opacification in rabbit eyes implanted with 1-piece and 3-piece hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lenses

Purpose To evaluate the outcome of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) after implantation in rabbit eyes of currently available 3-piece and 1-piece hydrophobic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) with square optic edges. Setting John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Methods The 3-piece designs evaluated were the AR40e (Advanced Medical Optics Inc.) and the MA60AC (Alcon, Inc.); the 1-piece designs were the SA60AT and the SA30AT (Alcon, Inc.). Nine lenses of each type were implanted in a randomized manner by the same surgeon in 18 Dutch Belted pigmented rabbits. After a follow-up of 3 weeks, the rabbits were killed and analyses of the enucleated eyes were performed from the posterior or Miyake-Apple view. The intensity of central PCO, peripheral PCO, and Soemmering's ring formation was scored from 0 to 4. The area of Soemmering's ring formation was also scored from 0 to 4 based on the number of quadrants involved. Other parameters analyzed were capsulorhexis coverage of the IOL anterior surface, IOL centration, fixation, and presence of striae. Results from the posterior view were complemented by histopathologic evaluation of the eyes. Results No statistically significant difference was found between the 4 groups of IOLs in the parameters analyzed from the posterior view. When cell ingrowth occurred with the 1-piece designs, causing peripheral and central PCO formation, it was more likely to start at the optic–haptic junctions, as observed during the clinical follow-up with slitlamp examination and confirmed by gross and histopathologic analyses of the enucleated eyes. Conclusions The square, truncated optic edge is the most important IOL design feature for PCO prevention. The optic–haptic junctions of the 1-piece designs appear to be sites where the barrier effect of the truncated optic edge is less effective.
Effects of overdischarge on performance and thermal stability of a Li-ion cell

Abstract Overdischarge effects on cycle-life and thermal stability of a commercially available Li-ion cell (rated at 780 mA h) were investigated. Cells were overdischarged and kept at 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5 or 0.0 V for 72 h (3 days) and then cycled five times (discharge to 3.0 V at 0.4 A and charged to 4.2 V at 0.8 A). This process was repeated five times. The cells overdischarged between 2.0 and 0.5 V experienced irreversible capacity losses of 2–16%. The same cells lost between 8 and 26% more capacity after they were cycled 100 times between 4.2 and 3.0 V at 0.8 A. Behavior of the cells overdischarged to 0.0 V was unpredictable. Some cells lost nearly 65% of their initial capacities after 15 days of being kept at 0.0 V, and others failed in different stages of overdischarging to 0.0 V. Overdischarging to 0.5 V had minimal effects on thermal stability, overcharge performance and a.c. impedance, but led to considerable swelling of the cells. Overdischarge to 0.0 V caused cell thickness and a.c. impedance to increase by ∼70 and 250% of their initial values, respectively. This article addresses concerns that overdischarging of Li-ion cells below 1.5 V may cause capacity losses and/or thermal stability changes which could impact tolerance to abuse conditions.
The temperature dependence of the symmetric exchange interaction by optical phonon modulation of the exchange integral

Abstract By assuming an anharmonic intermolecular potential for lattice displacement and an exponential form for the exchange energy, the exchange interaction is shown to be temperature dependent in the paramagnetic region. Bond strengths are taken from known tabulated results and overlap integrals are calculated with Slater-type orbitals so there are no adjustable parameters. Agreement with experimental results on K2CuCl4 · 2H2O and other layered compounds is shown.
Cusp Modeling and Observations at Low Altitude

Cusp properties have been investigated with an open-field line particle precipitation model and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite observations. Particular emphasis is placed on the effects of IMF By, since previous studies focus mostly on IMF Bz. The model-data comparisons for various IMF configurations show that the model captures the large-scale features of the particle precipitation very well, not only in the cusp region, but also in other open-field line regions such as the mantle, polar rain, and open-field line low-altitude boundary layer (LLBL). When the IMF is strongly duskward/dawnward and weakly southward, the model predicts the occurrence of double cusp near noon: one cusp at lower latitude and one at higher latitude. The lower latitude cusp ions originate from the low-latitude magnetosheath whereas the higher latitude ions originate from the high-latitude magnetosheath. The lower latitude cusp is located in the region of weak azimuthal E × B drift, resulting in a dispersionless cusp. The higher latitude cusp is located in the region of strong azimuthal and poleward E × B drift. Because of a significant poleward drift, the higher latitude cusp dispersion has some resemblance to that of the typical southward IMF cusp. Occasionally, the two parts of the double cusp have such narrow latitudinal separation that they give the appearance of just one cusp with extended latitudinal width. From the 40 DMSP passes selected during periods of large (positive or negative) IMF By and small negative IMF Bz, 30 (75%) of the passes exhibit double cusps or cusps with extended latitudinal width. The double cusp result is consistent with the following statistical results: (1) the cusp’s latitudinal width increases with |IMF By| and (2) the cusp’s equatorward boundary moves to lower latitude with increasing |IMF By|.