cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dietary fish oil decreases VLDL production rates

The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether the hypocholesterolemic effect of fish oil in roosters (10% fish oil vs. 10% corn oil in the diet) is due to a decrease in very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion rate. Previous studies have shown that in vivo inhibition of lipoprotein lipase with a specific antiserum quantitatively blocks VLDL catabolism. Secretion of VLDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol in fasting roosters was measured during a 4 h inhibition of lipoprotein lipase. Secretion rates of VLDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol were 39% lower (P less than 0.03) and 49% lower (P less than 0.025), respectively, with the fish oil diet. VLDL composition at the end of the inhibition was not remarkably different between treatments. Smaller portomicrons were produced by fish oil feeding (1737 +/- 120 vs. 2090 +/- 64 A, P less than 0.01), but there were no differences seen in Km or Vmax when portomicrons were incubated with purified avian lipoprotein lipase. Plasma cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels were not affected by the oil supplements. In a second study, the diets were supplemented with 0.5% cholesterol in addition to the oils. Fasting serum cholesterol was 52% lower (P less than 0.05) in the fish oil-fed birds, most of the difference being in the VLDL fraction (11.5 +/- 9 vs. 99.7 +/- 66 mg/dl). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was also significantly lower. VLDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol secretion rates were lower by 39 (P less than 0.025) and 38% (P less than 0.06), respectively, in the fish oil group. VLDL from fish oil-fed birds collected after a 4 h inhibition had a lower cholesterol content than that from the corn oil-fed birds (15.9 +/- 2.8 vs. 21.2 +/- 1.9 wt%, P less than 0.025). In the fish oil-fed animals the decrease in VLDL cholesterol secretion accounted for 61% of the observed decrease in VLDL cholesterol. The balance of the decrease in plasma VLDL cholesterol was due to a significant increase in VLDL cholesterol fractional removal rate in the fish oil-fed animals from 0.45 +/- 1.0 to 2.63 +/- 1.7 h-1 (P less than 0.01).
Perceptions that discourage women attorneys from seeking public office

For men, a legal background was considered a helpful recommendation for entering politics, but today's women attorneys appear less interested in a political career. For women, training in law today appears more likely to be chosen for legal work alone, since women attorneys are not becoming politicians in the same ratio as men in the law. This small exploratory survey examined the assessments of political realities by women attorneys in Stockton, California, comparing developmental history, current family situation, attitudes toward feminine roles, attitudes toward the moral quality of politics, experience of discrimination, concern regarding remuneration, and perceptions of professional prestige. Since the profession of law was once considered convergent with the profession of politics, and full equality of all potential candidates is an ideal of American democracy, the reasons for the lack of female participation are of interest.
Increased long-term potentiation at medial-perforant path-dentate granule cell synapses induced by selective inhibition of histone deacetylase 3 requires Fragile X mental retardation protein

Abstract Non-selective inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs), enzymes that remove acetyl groups from histone core proteins, enhances cognition and NMDAR-dependent long-term potentiation at hippocampal CA3–CA1 synapses. It is not known whether this is a general mechanism by which HDACs modulate plasticity at other hippocampal synapses. Furthermore, it has yet to be tested whether HDAC inhibition can reverse deficits in synaptic plasticity in disease models. Here, we investigated whether inhibition of HDACs, and specifically HDAC3, a class I HDAC isoform known to negatively regulate hippocampus-dependent learning and memory, enhances LTP at medial perforant path-dentate granule cell (MPP-DGC) synapses in wild-type and Fragile X ( Fmr1-/y) mice, a model with known LTP deficits at this synapse. The non-selective HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) significantly increased the magnitude of LTP at MPP-DGC synapses in wild-type mice, similar to reports at CA3–CA1 synapses. The enhancement of LTP was mimicked by selective HDAC3 inhibition, implicating a role for this isoform in the negative regulation of synaptic plasticity. However, HDAC3 inhibition was completely ineffective in reversing the deficit in LTP at MPP-DGC synapses in slices from Fmr1 -/y mice, and in fact, HDAC3 inhibition was unable to induce any improvement whatsoever. These findings indicate that the enhancing effect of HDAC3 inhibition on LTP in wild-type mice requires FMRP, revealing a novel role for FMRP in hippocampal plasticity.
Social Surrogacy and Adjustment: Exploring the Correlates of Having a “Social Helper” for Shy and Non-Shy Young Adolescents

ABSTRACTA social surrogate is an individual who offers help and comfort in social situations or makes social events more exciting. In this study of 157 young adolescents (55% female; Mage = 13.84 years, SD = 0.75 years), the authors examined whether the linear and curvilinear associations between self-reported social surrogate use and adjustment outcomes (social problems, loneliness, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms) varied as a function of shyness and gender, after accounting for the effects of positive friendship quality. Regression analyses revealed that low and high levels of social surrogate use were related to greater social problems for all adolescents. In addition, shyness emerged as a moderator for several curvilinear effects. Specifically, results indicated that (a) high levels of social surrogate use were associated with greater anxiety for adolescents high in shyness; and (b) low levels of social surrogate use were associated with greater depressive symptoms for adolescents low in shyness...
Effects of nitroprusside and nitroglycerin on cGMP content and PGI2 formation in aorta and vena cava.

Abstract Nitroprusside (NP) and nitroglycerin (NG) are potent vasodilators that are used clinically on the basis of their abilities to cause relaxation of smooth muscle. In vitro , both agents cause activation of guanylate cyclase, resulting in increased intracellular cGMP. They also have effects on arachidonate metabolism. Despite apparent similarities in their mechanisms of action, the two drugs have different therapeutic applications based in part on differences in their effectiveness on the arterial and venous systems in vivo . To understand better their target tissue preference, slices of aorta and vena cava were incubated with the agents; cGMP and the vasodilatory prostanoid, prostacyclin, were quantified, NP was more effective in increasing the cGMP content of aorta than of vena cava; it was more active than NG in both tissues. Prostaglandin formation by vascular tissue was influenced by the preliminary equilibration period. Under optimal conditions, it appeared that NG enhanced prostacyclin formation in aorta more than did NP. This in vitro model for NP and NG action may be useful in studying the mechanisms of action of these and other vasoactive agents.
Using occupancy estimation to assess the effectiveness of a regional multiple-species conservation plan: bats in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract Regional conservation plans are increasingly used to plan for and protect biodiversity at large spatial scales however the means of quantitatively evaluating their effectiveness are rarely specified. Multiple-species approaches, particular those which employ site-occupancy estimation, have been proposed as robust and efficient alternatives for assessing the status of wildlife populations over large spatial scales, but implemented examples are few. I used bats as a model to evaluate design considerations for the use of occupancy estimation to assess population status and habitat associations for eight species of bats covered under a regional conservation plan. Bats were one of the groups expected to benefit from a system of reserves for species associated with late-successional/old-growth (LSOG) habitat designated under the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP). This study produced the first estimates for probabilities of occupancy and detection for bats at a regional scale. Overall probabilities of occupancy ranged from 0.586 to 0.783 and probabilities of detection ranged from 0.239 to 0.532 among the eight species modeled. Although point estimates of occupancy suggested association with NWFP habitat categories for some species, estimate precision was low. Models that assumed constant occupancy with respect to reserve- and LSOG-status were supported for most species. I used model-averaged estimates of occupancy and detection for each species to estimate survey effort necessary to meet precision targets. Occupancy estimation was best suited to species with the highest detection probabilities. Species that are rare or difficult to detect will require enhancement in survey methods or more intensive survey effort to produce meaningful estimates. Optimizing monitoring efforts to address multiple species requires tradeoffs among survey methods, levels of effort, and acceptable levels of precision.
A scenario-based model for fleet allocation of freeway service patrols

As one component of traffic incident management systems, freeway service patrols (FSP) facilitate quick removal of incidents through faster response and reduced clearance time. This paper is to investigate how to strategically allocate tow trucks among patrol beats to optimize the performance of the FSP system. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming model is formulated to minimize the expected loss with respect to a set of high-consequence scenarios of incident occurrence, which may be solved in polynomial time for realistic networks. Moreover, the data required for the model can be easily obtained from practice.
On modeling animal movements using Brownian motion with measurement error

Modeling animal movements with Brownian motion (or more generally by a Gaussian process) has a long tradition in ecological studies. The recent Brownian bridge movement model (BBMM), which incorporates measurement errors, has been quickly adopted by ecologists because of its simplicity and tractability. We discuss some nontrivial properties of the discrete-time stochastic process that results from observing a Brownian motion with added normal noise at discrete times. In particular, we demonstrate that the observed sequence of random variables is not Markov. Consequently the expected occupation time between two successively observed locations does not depend on just those two observations; the whole path must be taken into account. Nonetheless, the exact likelihood function of the observed time series remains tractable; it requires only sparse matrix computations. The likelihood-based estimation procedure is described in detail and compared to the BBMM estimation.
Directed Expression of a Chimeric Type II Keratin Partially Rescues Keratin 5 Null Mice

The crucial role of structural support fulfilled by keratin intermediate filaments (IFs) in surface epithelia likely requires that they be organized into cross-linked networks. For IFs comprised of keratins 5 and 14 (K5 and K14), which occur in basal keratinocytes of the epidermis, formation of cross-linked bundles is, in part, self-driven through cis-acting determinants. Here, we targeted the expression of a bundling-competent KRT5/KRT8 chimeric cDNA (KRT8bc) or bundling-deficient wild type KRT8 as a control to the epidermal basal layer of Krt5-null mice to assess the functional importance of keratin IF self-organization in vivo. Such targeted expression of K8bc rescued Krt5-null mice with a 47% frequency, whereas K8 completely failed to do so. This outcome correlated with lower than expected levels of K8bc and especially K8 mRNA and protein in the epidermis of E18.5 replacement embryos. Ex vivo culture of embryonic skin keratinocytes confirmed the ability of K8bc to form IFs in the absence of K5. Additionally, electron microscopy analysis of E18.5 embryonic skin revealed that the striking defects observed in keratin IF bundling, cytoarchitecture, and mitochondria are partially restored by K8bc expression. As young adults, viable KRT8bc replacement mice develop alopecia and chronic skin lesions, indicating that the skin epithelia are not completely normal. These findings are consistent with a contribution of self-mediated organization of keratin IFs to structural support and cytoarchitecture in basal layer keratinocytes of the epidermis and underscore the importance of context-dependent regulation for keratin genes and proteins in vivo.
Online Student Orientation in Higher Education: A Developmental Study.

Although orientation for online students is important to their success, little information about how to develop an online student orientation (OSO) has appeared in the literature; therefore, the purpose of this article was to describe the entire process of developing an OSO. This article describes the analysis, design, development, and evaluation phases of the OSO in higher education. The orientation consists of four modules titled as follows: (a) What is the nature of online learning? (b) How to learn in Blackboard (c) What are the technical requirements to take an online course? and (d) What learning skills and motivations are necessary for online learning? Formative evaluation was conducted to improve the initially developed OSO program. Summative evaluation showed the OSO program can be useful for future online students. Discussion and future direction of OSO program are provided.
Communication-Efficient implementation of range-joins in sensor networks

In this article, we consider energy-efficient implementation of the SQL join operation in sensor databases, when the join selection condition is a range predicate. Apart from two simple approaches, we propose distributed hash-join and index-join algorithms for implementation of range-join operations in sensor networks. Through extensive simulations, we show that hash-join as well as index-join approaches significantly outperform the simple approaches, even for moderately sized networks. Our experiments also reveal that although both approach scale well, the index-join algorithm performs better than the hash-join algorithm especially in large sensor networks.
Prehospital care and transportation of pediatric trauma patients

Abstract Background Despite advances in prehospital emergency medical services (EMS), most advocate “scoop-and-run” over “stay-and-play.” However, there are almost no studies in children. We hypothesize that the transportation of mortally injured children is delayed and that the performance of prehospital interventions (PHIs) themselves delay transportation and worsen outcomes in pediatric trauma patients. Materials and methods A total of 1884 admissions (≤17-y-old) transported via EMS to a level 1 trauma center from January 2000–December 2012 were reviewed. Propensity scores were assigned based on the need for a PHI (intubation and resuscitation). PHI and non-PHI cohorts were matched 1:1 to compare outcomes. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation or median (interquartile range). Results The population was 11 ± 6 y, 70% male, 50% black, 76% blunt injury, injury severity score 13 ± 12, length of stay 3 (7) d, and mortality 3.6%. Incident to EMS arrival was 38 (20) min, EMS on-scene time was 14 (12) min, and overall time of arrival to hospital was 27 (15) min. Patients that were mortally wounded, despite having significantly higher rates of PHI, still had similar transportation times to those who survived. Mostly every measure of injury severity was worse in those who required PHI. When these factors were corrected, EMS on-scene time was 18 (13) versus 14 (13) min (P = 0.551), EMS arrival at the hospital was 31 (16) versus 28 (12) min (P = 0.292), length of stay was 5 (15) versus 4 (12) d (P = 0.368), and mortality was 31.7% versus 28.3% (P = 0.842) for PHI and non-PHI matched cohorts. Conclusions PHIs did not delay transportation times or worsen outcomes in pediatric trauma patients. Although mortally injured children more often required PHIs, this did not delay transportation to the trauma center.
In vitro growth reduction of tomato and carnation microplants

Shoots which proliferated from shoot tip explants of ‘Colorado White Simm’ carnation and ‘Fantastic’ tomato on MS medium containing 5 mgl-1 benzyladenine were rooted and grown in vitro as microplants. Tomato microplants grown in medium with 5 gl-1 sucrose had less overall shoot and root growth than those with 10,20, or 30 gl-1 sucrose regardless of NAA level. Carnation shoot growth was reduced by 5 g l-1 sucrose but root growth was not affected except when no sucrose was supplied. Microplant height and rooting of carnation were maximal when grown in 20 gl-1 sucrose whereas tomato microplant growth was greatest with 30 gl-1 sucrose. Microplants of both species had reduced height and root growth when the MS nutrient salts were lowered to 25%, 50%, or 75% compared to full strength when sucrose was supplied at 5 gl-1.
Continuity and differentiability properties of optimal control with respect to singular perturbations

The object of this correspondence is to prove a theorem which assures the continuity and differentiability properties of an optimal control of a system with respect to a small parameter whose presence changes the order of the system. This theorem is an extension of a similar theorem proved in an earlier paper.
PROTON-GAMMA ANGULAR CORRELATION STUDIES OF Be$sup 9$ AND Ca$sup 40$ (d,p$gamma$) STRIPPING REACTIONS

To investigate the applicability of the Butler stripping theory, the angular correlations were measured between the protons and rays from the reactions Be/sup 9/(d,p )Be/sup 10*/ (3.37 Mev) and Ca/sup 40/(d,p )Ca/sup 41*/ (1.95 Mev)s using 7.78Mev deuterons. Both correlations in the (d,p) plane are of the form 1 + A/sub 2/P/sub 2/(cos Mo content, co ), where Mo content, co is the angle between the ray and the recoil nucleus, as predicted by theory. For Be/sup 9/ the coefficient A/sub 2/ = -0.33 sintering time 0.04, in reasonable agreement with the previously reported value of -0.40 sintering time 0.05 for a deuteron energy of 4 Mev, and hence confirming the theoretically expected energy independence. This value of A/sub 2/ is close to that of -0.40 predicted on the assumption of L-S coupling with the assignment of a /sup 3/P/sub 2/ state for the first excited level of Be/sup 10/. For Ca/sup 40/ A/sub 2/ = +0.17 sintering time 0.04, in satisfactory agreement with the predicted value of 0.143 obtained by using the reasonable assumption of j-j coupling with less than 10/sup -3%/ M3 in the predominantly E2/ transition. Both transitions showed less than 6% effect in the correlation inmore » the plane perpendicular to the recoil axis, in agreement with the isotropy expected from the simplified stripping theory. (auth)« less
Dynamics in near-potential games

The study of multi-agent strategic interactions both in economics and engineering mainly relies on the concept of Nash equilibrium. This raises the question whether Nash equilibrium makes approximately accurate prediction of the user behavior. One justification for Nash equilibrium is that it arises as the long run outcome of dynamical processes, in which less than fully rational players search for optimality over time. However, unless the game belongs to special (but restrictive) classes of games, such dynamics do not converge to a Nash equilibrium, and there is no systematic analysis of their limiting behavior [1]–[3].
Acoustic quality factor of polycrystalline molybdenum from 50 mK to 300 K

Abstract Measurements of the amplitude-independent acoustic quality factor (reciprocal internal friction) of 99.95% pure polycrystalline molybdenum is a torsional mode at a frequency of 1 kHz in the temperature range from 50 mK to 300 K are reported. The largest Q-value observed was 12.8 million at 55 mk. Probable acoustic loss mechanisms are discussed. The results provide support for use of the material for gravity-wave antennas.
Instability of endogenous MRP/proliferin transcripts in the nucleus of mouse embryo fibroblasts contrasts with their stability when produced during transient transfections.

The mitogen regulated protein/proliferin (MRP/PLF) gene is transcribed in primary mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), but the pre-mRNA is not properly converted into a stable cytoplasmic mRNA and instead is rapidly degraded, apparently in the nucleus [Malyankar et al. (1994): Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:335–359]. In 3T3 cells derived from the MEFs by the standard 3T3 immortalization protocol, stable MRP/PLF mRNA is produced. We show here that the processing of intron sequences is similar in the two cell types and that some of the MRP/PLF transcripts are polyadenylated in the MEFs. We also document the production of stable MRP/PLF mRNA generated by transcription of various plasmid constructs containing different portions of the MRP/PLF3 gene after calcium phosphate-mediated transfection into the MEFs. We conclude that the inability of the MRP/PLF mRNA to accumulate in the MEFs is unlikely to result solely from a single localized sequence in the primary transcript (or the mRNA) that causes it to be subject to rapid breakdown; possibly export of the mRNA from the MEF nucleus is defective or some aspect of the transcriptional process marks the transcript for degradation. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The soft underbelly of tumor cells

In a recent Cell paper, Kitambi and colleagues identify a small molecule (Vacquinol-1) that has beneficial effects on a glioblastoma multiforme mouse model by oral administration. In glioblastoma cells, Vacquinol-1 targets macropinocytosis, a cellular process that will not lead to cell death in normal cells.
Information and Export Performance

Exporters’ performance in a given market may affect their exports to the rest of the world. Importers base their future transaction decisions upon the information revealed by exporter’s performance in other countries. This paper estimates significant effects from these information spillovers on the export patterns of fourteen developing countries, and somewhat smaller effects for a sample of exporters from six developed countries. On the other hand, it is in developed countries’ markets that the largest information spillovers are generated. Indeed, increases in market share in the United States allows for significant increases in exports to the rest-of-the world associated with information spillovers. But developing country markets could also generate important amounts of information for regional exporters. Hong Kong is the top market in terms of generating information for other East Asian exporters, and the Argentinean and Chilean markets play an important role for exporters from other Latin American countries.
Hill's equation applied to reconstituted contractile collagen.

A new type of automatic force-displacement recording myograph has been developed to measure the contraction–relaxation characteristics of contractile systems. The device produces a polytonic (variable-force) load and therefore provides a more realistic measurement than either isometric or isotonic apparatus. Measurements on collagen that was first well ground and then extruded into a reconstituted thin tape show contraction and relaxation behaviour that can be characterized by a slightly modified form of Hill's 1938 equation. The characteristic parameters of the Hill equation determined for the reconstituted collagen were remarkably similar to those of intact muscle tissue.
Undermining, circularity, and disagreement

Sometimes we get what seem to be good reasons for believing that we’ve misevaluated our evidence for a proposition P. In those cases, can we use our evidence for P itself to show that we haven’t misevaluated our evidence for P? I show why doing so appears to employ viciously circular reasoning. However, I then argue that this appearance is illusory in certain cases and that we sometimes can legitimately reason in that way. This claim sheds new light on the nature of epistemic undermining and epistemic circularity. In addition, it has implications for the current debate about the epistemic significance of disagreement. An important and influential position in that debate says that disagreement with others dramatically undermines our justification for a wide range of our opinions (e.g., political, religious, moral, economic, and philosophical opinions). My view on undermining and circularity implies that this position on disagreement rests on a mistake.
Newtruck: A comprehensive long-term project in computer science

Recent literature in both the computer science [1,2] and data processing [3,4] communities encourages the involvement of computing students not only in formal classroom experiences but also in “real world” learning experiences such as project participation and management, effective approaches to “real world” problem solving, interaction with people from different disciplines, interaction with people from similar disciplines, interaction with people in the “real world,” budget management, formal report writing, and the ability to accurately document a system. ACM has recognized this need in both the 1977 report of C 3S [5] and in the more recent “Curriculum '78: Recommendations for the Undergraduate Program in Computer Science [6].” Recent articles in the SIGCSE Bulletin [1] as well as other computer education journals indicate that universities are responding to this need through one or more of the following:1. Integration of “real world” projects into the existing curriculum.2. Special projects courses added to the existing curriculum where students are responsible to the university only.3. Special projects done in conjunction with the university and some outside organization. The student is responsible to both the university and to the outside organization.4. Cooperative education in which the student works part-time for an outside organization.
BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE: AN EXAMINATION OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES IN FOUR CONFLICT ZONES

This study examines the relationship between gender and religious affiliation to the preferred conflicts styles of 384 student participants living in and attending university in South Africa, Israel, Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Northern Ireland. Participants report living in stressful social contexts that are often characterized by reports of terrorism perpetrated by paramilitaries, the state, violence that is brought on by long standing ethnic hatreds and years of division between major groups contending for control of political and social institutions, civilian uprisings, and in some cases low scale civil war. The results indicate that the independent variables—gender and religion—provide statistically significant observable differences in how people report they engage in conflict as seen in their choice of conflict styles. In particular, the findings on gender differences provide a surprising result that is partially attributed to the contextual factors of warfare and one's active participation in it. The results on religious affiliation provide a number of intriguing patterns among various religions including a desire to accommodate or collaborate with others and a strong dislike of avoidance. There are other more specific patterns that can be partially attributed to contextual factors as well. With so many contexts being present in the study a number of intriguing explanations and working hypotheses are brought forth to help explain why these patterns on gender and religious affiliation exist.
Therapeutic choices in unstable angina.

Abstract Unstable angina pectoris is a high-risk ischemic syndrome with complex, interacting pathophysiologic mechanisms that include coronary atherosclerosis, coronary vasoconstriction, and thrombosis. The, roles of various medical strategies, including nitrates, beta blockers, calcium antagonists, and antiplatelet, anticoagulant, and thrombolytic agents, are discussed in conjunction with revascularization procedures such as coronary angioplasty and bypass surgery.
Thermal Stability of Horizontally Superposed Porous and Fluid Layers

The results of stability analyses for the onset of convective motion are reported for the following three horizontally superposed systems of porous and fluid layers: (a) a porous layer sandwiched between two fluid layers with rigid top and bottom boundaries, (b) a fluid layer overlying a layer of porous medium, and (c) a fluid layer sandwiched between two porous layers. By changing the depth radio d from zero to infinity, a set of stability criteria (i.e., the critical Rayleigh number Ra{sub c} and the critical wave number a{sub c}) is obtained, ranging from the case of a fluid layer between two rigid boundaries to the case of a porous layer between two impermeable boundaries. The effects of k/k{sub m} (the thermal conductivity ratio), {delta} (the square root of the Darcy number), and {alpha} (the nondimensional proportionality constant in the slip condition) on Ra{sub c} and a{sub c} are also examined in detail. The results in this paper combined with those reported previously for Case (a) (Pillatsis et al., 1987), will provide a comprehensive picture of the interaction between a porous and a fluid layer.
Use of Health Services by Medically Ill Depressed Elderly Patients After Hospital Discharge

The authors evaluated a consecutive sample of 542 elderly hospital patients for depression; of these, 160 depressed and 171 nondepressed patients were followed up for a median of 47 weeks after discharge. A subset of 113 depressed patients had significant physical disability. Depressed patients saw physicians more frequently, particularly during the 9- to 12-month period after hospital discharge. Depressed patients also had higher rates of rehospitalization and spent more days in the nursing home. These findings persisted after physical health status was controlled. Patients who remained both depressed and physically disabled during the follow-up period used the most general-medical services during the year after hospital discharge, but did not see mental health specialists any more frequently than those whose depression and physical disability improved. These results underscore the importance of diagnosing and treating depression during and after hospital discharge to increase quality of life and possibly reduce health service use.
Space - time approach to quantum electrodynamics

In this paper two things are done. (1) It is shown that a considerable simplification can be attained in writing down matrix elements for complex processes in electrodynamics. Further, a physical point of view is available which permits them to be written down directly for any specific problem. Being simply a restatement of conventional electrodynamics, however, the matrix elements diverge for complex processes. (2) Electrodynamics is modified by altering the interaction of electrons at short distances. All matrix elements are now finite, with the exception of those relating to problems of vacuum polarization. The latter are evaluated in a manner suggested by Pauli and Bethe, which gives finite results for these matrices also. The only effects sensitive to the modification are changes in mass and charge of the electrons. Such changes could not be directly observed. Phenomena directly observable, are insensitive to the details of the modification used (except at extreme energies). For such phenomena, a limit can be taken as the range of the modification goes to zero. The results then agree with those of Schwinger. A complete, unambiguous, and presumably consistent, method is therefore available for the calculation of all processes involving electrons and photons. The simplification in writing the expressions results from an emphasis on the over-all space-time view resulting from a study of the solution of the equations of electrodynamics. The relation of this to the more conventional Hamiltonian point of view is discussed. It would be very difficult to make the modification which is proposed if one insisted on having the equations in Hamiltonian form. The methods apply as well to charges obeying the Klein-Gordon equation, and to the various meson theories of nuclear forces. Illustrative examples are given. Although a modification like that used in electrodynamics can make all matrices finite for all of the meson theories, for some of the theories it is no longer true that all directly observable phenomena are insensitive to the details of the modification used. The actual evaluation of integrals appearing in the matrix elements may be facilitated, in the simpler cases, by methods described in the appendix.
Left-ventricular cavity automated-border detection using an autocovariance technique in echocardiography

Left-ventricular (LV) segmentation is essential in the early detection of heart disease, where left-ventricular wall motion is being tracked in order to detect ischemia. In this paper, a new method for automated segmentation of the left-ventricular chamber is described. An autocorrelation-based technique isolates the LV cavity from the myocardial wall on 2-D slices of 3D short-axis echocardiograms. A morphological closing function and median filtering are used to generate a uniform border. The proposed segmentation technique is designed to be used in identifying the endocardial border and estimating the motion of the endocardial wall over a cardiac cycle. To this purpose, the proposed technique is particularly successful in border delineation by tracing around structures like papillary muscles and the mitral valve, which constitute the typical obstacle in LV segmentation techniques. The results using this new technique are compared to the manual detection results in short-axis views obtained at the papillary muscle level from 3D datasets in human and canine experiments in vivo. Qualitatively, the automatically-detected borders are highly comparable to the manually-detected borders enclosing regions in the left-ventricular cavity with a relative error within the range of 4.2% - 6%. The new technique constitutes, thus, a robust segmentation method for automated segmentation of endocardial borders and suitable for wall motion tracking for automated detection of ischemia.
Alzheimer's disease in males: Endocrine issues and prospects

A disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in Western societies, with major risk factors being advanced age, possession of an apolipoprotein E (Apo E) e4 allele, family history, head trauma, and Down’s syndrome (1). Other possible risk factors include environmental exposures such as alcohol consumption, smoking, level of education, estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), and use of anti-inflammatory medications. Gender effects in AD susceptibility may come as a result of differential outside environmental exposures, but also because of differences in internal biochemistry. Over the life span, steroid hormones influence brain development, are neurotrophic, and modulate processes relating to cell vulnerability to stimuli such as excitotoxin damage. This review will focus on issues of AD specific to males, including aspects related to steroid hormone effects, and clinical issues including prospects for new treatments based on these endocrine aspects of AD.
Crystalline and amorphous silica differentially regulate the cyclooxygenase-prostaglandin pathway in pulmonary fibroblasts: implications for pulmonary fibrosis.

Inhalation of crystalline (CS) and amorphous silica (AS) results in human pulmonary inflammation. However, silicosis develops only following CS exposure, and the pathogenic mechanisms are poorly un...
Correlation between pre-optic area unit activity and the cortical electroencephalogram. Difference between normal and castrated male rats.

Abstract 1. 1. Some neurons in the pre-optic area of urethane-anesthetized male rats showed activity changes correlated with cortical EEG changes. 2. 2. A larger proportion of pre-optic neurons in normal males than in castrates showed these significant correlations to EEG state. The larger proportion in normal males resulted from the greater number of pre-optic cells showing the EEG correlation typical of mesencephalic reticular formation units: higher firing rate during EEG desynchrony (“activation”). During recording from olfactory bulb units, no difference between normals and castrates in EEG correlation was observed. 3. 3. Pre-optic units whose activity was related to the EEG tended to change firing rate slightly before the EEG changed from desynchrony to synchrony but not before the EEG changed back from synchrony to desynchrony. 4. 4. Pre-optic units that increased firing rate during EEG activation tended to be the same units that showed excitatory responses to odors. 5. 5. Pre-optic units showing correlation to the EEG tended to be located among units showing no correlation rather than being restricted to a clearly defined pre-optic subregion.
High ligation of the saphenofemoral junction in endovenous obliteration of varicose veins.

Background Endovenous radiofrequency (RF) ablation of the greater saphenous vein has become an accepted treatment modality. This study examines if it is necessary to perform high ligation of the saphenous vein to insure success of the procedure.Study design A retrospective chart analysis was conducted on 219 patients who underwent RF ablation for venous insufficiency. All procedures were performed by 3 board-certified vascular surgeons. One surgeon always ligated the saphenofemoral junction (SFJ), the second never ligated, and the third ligated selectively. Demographic data were collected and analyzed.Results A total of 77 patients underwent RF ablation with ligation of the SFJ (group I), and 142 patients underwent ablation without ligation (group II). Both groups had similar ablation success rates (P = .0960), 92% (group I) and 84% (group II).Conclusion Saphenofemoral junction ligation is not indicated on a routine basis to achieve success with endovascular ablation of the greater saphenous vein.
Power Deposition into the Discharge Channel of a Hall Effect Thruster

The deposition of energy into the discharge channel of a 4.5 kW Hall effect thruster from the discharge plasma is investigated. An array of 35 thermocouples is placed along the inner and outer walls of the discharge channel at a spatial resolution sufficient to enable multiple temperature measurement locations within the positive gradient portion of the radial magnetic field profile. Temperature profiles of the inner and outer discharge channels are measured at Hall effect thruster discharge power levels ranging from 0.63 to 2.83 kW, which correspond to peak wall temperatures of 578–813 K. The peak in the wall temperature profile occurs at nearly the same axial location as the peak in the wall radial magnetic field profile. The energy flux from the plasma to the channel walls varies between 0.1 and 90 W/cm2±2% for Hall effect thruster operating conditions from 0.63 to 2.83 kW. Approximately 13±2% of the discharge power is deposited into the discharge channel wall at all Hall effect thruster operating con...
A new method to evaluate in vitro myelotoxicity of antitumour agents in the first steps of drug development.

Research focused on the development of new anticancer agents has been based mainly on the assessment of the antitumour activity. This yields a large number of newly developed drugs endowed with good antitumour properties, but heavy side-effects on myelopoiesis. In this work, we validate a new method potentially useful to assess myelotoxic effect of newly developed agents. The proposed technique uses peripheral blood CD34" cells as source of haematopoietic progenitors. These cells are grown in liquid culture in the presence of cytokines able to induce differentiation versus the three main lineages. Doxorubicin, carboplatin and topotecan served as reference drugs to investigate the accuracy of the technique. The three drugs mimick the effects reported in vivo. Doxorubicin and carboplatin produce a specific effect toward erythropoietic and thrombopoietic lineages, respectively, and topotecan a three-lineage toxicity. An advantage of the technique is the possibility to further investigate myelotoxicity. Here, we assessed differentiation markers in CD34" cells to evaluate if the three drug treatments can affect the process of differentiation. Data show that the drug treatments were unable to modulate the expression of the selected differentiation markers in the surviving population. We propose this method as an innovative tool to score the myelotoxic effect of compounds in the first steps of drug development to further develop those compounds with the best ratio between activity and myelotoxic effects. Moreover, the fact that the method is performed in liquid phase allows its optimisation in a conventional ''high throughput system''. Over the last decades many antitumour agents have been developed in the fight against cancer, thereby obtaining new active drugs that improve the outcome of this disease. In the process of drug development, screening programmes of these anticancer agents were based mostly on testing the in vitro and in vivo antitumour activity. The result was that these compounds are potent in terms of anticancer activity but that they induce severe toxic effects. This toxicity is often maximal in the haematopoietic tissues where the fast cell turnover sensitises to the toxic effects of xenobiotics and the vast majority of conventional chemotherapics intro- duced in cancer therapy in the last five years displays dose- limiting myelotoxicity (oxaliplatin, irinotecan, topotecan, gemcitabine and docetaxel). Thus, research of antitumour drugs could benefit from the assessment of a therapeutic index between antitumour activity and toxic effects toward haematopoietic progeni- tors, so that in the choice of molecule candidates for devel- opment, those compounds endowed with the best ratio ef- ficacy/toxicity could be further investigated. We have a re- liable set of tools to evaluate the antitumour potency, on the other hand few methods are available in the study of the myelotoxicity. An important limitation is the cell source of haematopoietic progenitors. Since preclinical and clinical
Retrieval of real-time live fuel moisture content using MODIS measurements

Live fuel moisture content (LFMC) is one of the most important fuel properties and a critical parameter for wildland fire danger rating estimation and fire behavior analysis. Direct ground measurement of live fuel moisture content has disadvantages of high cost and limited spatial distribution extent. This paper presents an algorithm to retrieve live fuel moisture content from multiple bands of MODIS measurements. We analyzed the physical relationship between surface reflectance and live fuel moisture content using simulated MODIS measurements of diverse leaf samples, derived approximate inversion models, and proposed a semi-physical approach for live fuel moisture retrieval employing multiple MODIS bands. Using simulated MODIS measurements, the correlation coefficients between the true LFMC and estimated LFMC with our inversion models are 0.7738, 0.8397, 0.9560 and 0.9576 respectively. For validation, we tested our inversion method with woody live fuel moisture measurements at fire weather stations in Georgia. The correlation coefficients between measured LFMC and estimated LFMC with our inversion models are 0.5727, 0.6522, 0.7551, and 0.7737 respectively. Both model simulation and station measurements demonstrated advantages of our approach in accuracy. Our study suggests the potential for near real-time applications of live fuel moisture.
Enhanced Ion Utilization Efficiency Using an Electrodynamic Ion Funnel Trap as an Injection Mechanism for Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Conventional ion mobility spectrometers that sample ion packets from continuous sources have traditionally been constrained by an inherently low duty cycle. As such, ion utilization efficiencies have been limited to <1% in order to maintain instrumental resolving power. Using a modified electrodynamic ion funnel, we demonstrated the ability to accumulate, store, and eject ions in conjunction with ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), which elevated the charge density of the ion packets ejected from the ion funnel trap (IFT) and provided a considerable increase in the overall ion utilization efficiency of the IMS instrument. A 7-fold increase in signal intensity was revealed by comparing continuous ion beam current with the amplitude of the pulsed ion current in IFT-IMS experiments using a Faraday plate. Additionally, we describe the IFT operating characteristics using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer attached to the IMS drift tube.
Flexural Failure of Notched Curved Composite Beams

An analytical technique was developed to predict the tensile strength of notched curved composite beams loaded in bending. Based upon the Damage Zone Model (DZM), the current analysis was applied to notched curved beams with J cross sections. Similar sections composed of a long, discontinuous fiber laminate were tested to failure in four point bend. Predicted and experimental values were compared and results discussed. Discrepancies may be due to out-of-plane deformations observed during the experiments which are not accounted for in the current analysis.
Efflux-mediated resistance to fluconazole could be modulated by sterol homeostasis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae has long been used as a model organism in the study of the ergosterol pathway and its inhibitors. The Pdr5 protein (Pdr5p), an ATP binding cassette transporter, plays an important role in active efflux of azole antifungals and therefore in azole sensitivity and resistance in S. cerevisiae. We have identified the Fluconazole Dominant Resistance-1 (FDR-1) mutant, which has a single dominant mutation conferring high-level resistance to fluconazole. FDR-1 has been found to be an activated allele of the Pleiotropic Drug Resistance-1 (PDR-1) gene (termed PDR1-100) and to upregulate PDR5 transcription. Resistance of PDR1-100 to fluconazole decreased in the background of mutations known to affect sterol homeostasis. Hence, the resistance to fluconazole of PDR1-100 was paradoxically decreased in an erg3 PDR1-100 double mutant. The erg3 mutants are resistant to azoles and accumulate 14-methyl-fecosterol instead of ergosterol in the presence of azoles. These results reinforce the emerging evidence in both S. cerevisiae and Candida albicans that sterols could serve as substrates for Pdr5p for transport across membranes.
Levosimendan: A Novel Inotropic Agent for Treatment of Acute, Decompensated Heart Failure

OBJECTIVETo review the literature on a novel calcium sensitizer, levosimendan.DATA SOURCESArticles were identified through searches of MEDLINE (1966–June 2005), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970–June 2005), and EMBASE (1992–June 2005) using the key words levosimendan, simendan, calcium sensitizer, calcium sensitiser, and congestive heart failure.STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTIONClinical trials and pharmacokinetic studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of levosimendan were selected.DATA SYNTHESISLevosimendan 6–24 μg/kg intravenous bolus followed by a 24-hour continuous infusion of 0.05—0.2 μg/kg/min improved cardiac output and reduced pulmonary capillary wedge pressure in a dose-dependent manner. Dose-ranging and randomized clinical trials have demonstrated improvement in symptoms and hemodynamics and short-term survival outcomes in the treatment of acute, decompensated heart failure. Clinical trials evaluating retrospective mortality data and combined endpoints (mortality, rehospitalizati...
Resistance to dealing with parents of battered children

Resistance to dealing with parents of battered children appears to be a transcultural phenomenon as well as an individual issue involving the caretakers who work with each battered child and his family. In this paper, the author reviews some of the pertinent literature on the topic and gives some specific case examples to support this hypothesis. Finally, some suggestions are made of ways to deal more effectively with these families.