cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic suturing for closure of transmural defects

For many years reliable endoscopic closure of transmural defects of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has remained a challenging task. These defects can be caused by unintentional complications of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy (perforation) or they can be a result of full-thickness resection of GI tract lesions. Perforation during flexible endoscopy still remains the most worrisome complication, which usually requires urgent surgical (or laparoscopic) intervention for closure of the perforation or resection of affected segment of GI tract. Over the last 20 years various instruments and accessories have been used for closure of transmural GI tract defects. Although closure of the accidental small defects could be achieved with through-the-scope hemostatic clips, these devices are not suitable for tissue opposition of defects with large diastasis between the tissue edges. To eliminate shortcomings of clips closure, various types of endoscopic suturing device (suction based, working overtubes with preloaded stitches, T-bars, over-the-scope clips, etc.) have been tried for closure of transmural defects. However, these devices have numerous inherent problems and many are no longer commercially available. The most recent version of Overstitch endoscopic suturing device in the United States is versatile, user-friendly and allows reliable, full-thickness, “surgical quality” airtight closure of transmural GI tract defects. Overstitch endoscopic suturing device is an important tool for closure of transmural GI tract defects and should be considered in endoscopy centers performing high-risk, advanced diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic procedures.
The detection of W-band (94 GHz) millimetric wave emitters

Passive millimetric wave (mm-wave) sensing systems have attracted an increasing interest over past years due to their superior poor weather performance compared with visible and infra red wave systems. A W-band (94 GHz; rf bandwidth=3 GHz) radiometer has being assembled at Electronic Warfare Division, DSTO. This paper describes the system, its performance and assesses its capability in an Electronic Support Measure (ESM) role of detecting W-band emissions that are emerging in missile guidance and search and rescue applications.
Crustal structure of the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 26°10'N): Implications for the nature of hydrothermal circulation and detachment faulting at slow spreading ridges

New seismic refraction data reveal that hydrothermal circulation at the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrothermal field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 26°10′N is not driven by energy extracted from shallow or mid-crustal magmatic intrusions. Our results show that the TAG hydrothermal field is underlain by rocks with high seismic velocities typical of lower crustal gabbros and partially serpentinized peridotites at depth as shallow as 1 km, and we find no evidence for low seismic velocities associated with mid-crustal magma chambers. Our tomographic images support the hypothesis of Tivey et al. (2003) that the TAG field is located on the hanging wall of a detachment fault, and constrain the complex, dome-shaped subsurface geometry of the fault system. Modeling of our seismic velocity profiles indicates that the porosity of the detachment footwall increases after rotation during exhumation, which may enhance footwall cooling. However, heat extracted from the footwall is insufficient for sustaining long-term, high-temperature, hydrothermal circulation at TAG. These constraints indicate that the primary heat source for the TAG hydrothermal system must be a deep magma reservoir at or below the base of the crust.
External validation of the Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale

Object Historically, assessment of clinical outcomes following surgical management of Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I) has been challenging due to the lack of a validated instrument for widespread use. The Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS) is a novel system intended to provide a less subjective evaluation of outcomes for patients with CM-I. The goal of this study was to externally validate the performance of the CCOS. Methods Patients undergoing surgery for CM-I between 2001 and 2012 were reviewed (n = 292). Inclusion criteria for this study were as follows: 1) patients receiving primary posterior fossa decompression; 2) at least 5.5 months of postoperative clinical follow-up; and 3) patients ≤ 18 years of age at the time of surgery. Outcomes were evaluated using the CCOS, along with a “gestalt” impression of whether patients experienced significant improvement after surgery. A subgroup of 118 consecutive patients undergoing operations between 2008 and 2010 was selected for analysis of interrater relia...
Stem cell continuum : Directed differentiation hotspots

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technique of stem cell-directed differentiation in the context of cell-cycle position. The hypothesis was that stem cells would have different sensitivities to an identical inductive signal through cell-cycle transit and that this would affect the outcome of its progeny. Materials and Methods Differentiation of murine marrow lineage negative rhodamine-123 low- Hoechst-33342 low (LRH) stem cells was determined at different points in cell cycle under stimulation by thrombopoietin, flt3 ligand, and steel factor. LRH stem cells were subcultured in granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and steel factor at different points in cell cycle and differentiation determined 14 days later. Results There was a significant, reproducible, and pronounced reversible increase in differentiation to megakaryocytes in early S-phase and to nonproliferative granulocytes in mid S-phase. Megakaryocyte hotspots also were seen on a clonal basis. Elevations of the transcription factor FOG-1 were seen at the hotspot along with increases in Nfe2 and Fli1. Conclusions We show that the potential of marrow stem cells to differentiate changes reversibly with cytokine-induced cell-cycle transit, suggesting that stem cell regulation is not based on the classic hierarchical model, but instead on a functional continuum. We propose that there is a tight linkage of commitment to a lineage and a particular phase of cell cycle. Thus, windows of vulnerability for commitment can open and close depending on the phase of cell cycle. These data indicate that stem cell differentiation occurs on a cell-cycle–related continuum with fluctuating windows of transcriptional opportunity.
Evidence for Morphoprosodic Alignment in Reduplication

Morphoprosodic Alignment (MPA) is a nontemplatic model of reduplication designed to account for languages with multiple reduplicative subpatterns. The premise of MPA is that reduplicative morphemes can be stem-internal or stem-external and that this distinction is visible to the phonological component through general constraints on the association of stem-internal and stem-external morphemes to prosodic categories. I illustrate the model with Moronene, Klamath, and Gooniyandi, each of which has several reduplicative morphemes. MPA meets the challenge for an optimality-theoretic model to account for such systems without resorting to morpheme-specific indexed constraints or cophonological constraint hierarchies.
Characterization of sublines of Epstein-Barr virus producing HR-1 cells and its implication in virus propagation in culture.

To understand the mechanism regulating the EBV replication cycle, several sublines were obtained from HR-1 cells by the limiting dilution method. Based on their biochemical and molecular characteristics, these sublines can be categorized into two classes: the high EBV-DNA containing (H) subline and low EBV-DNA containing (L) subline. The amount of EBV proteins, such as EBV polymerases, EBV DNase, EAD, ZEBRA, MA, and VCA, was much higher in H sublines than in L sublines. Only 20% of cells in the H subline express those proteins. In addition to regular EBV DNA restriction enzyme fragments, additional DNA restriction enzyme fragments, as detected by different EBV DNA fragment probes, were found to be present in H sublines but not in L sublines. NoBamH1 W-Z DNA fragment rearrangement, which was the primary reason for ZEBRA expression in a high EBV-DNA containing subline, Clone 5, was found in H sublines. When L sublines were treated with 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate and sodium butyrate, EBV-specific proteins, including ZEBRA protein, could be induced in cells, but no virus could be detected in the medium. Thus, the lack of EBV production by L sublines is more than the simple lack of expression of ZEBRA protein. L sublines are susceptible to EBV infection and are capable of producing EBV after infection. The importance of the presence of L cells in the H subline for the propagation of EBV in culture is suggested.
A new flexible parameterization for the estimation of 3D shape structure from scattered field data

A wide range of applied imaging problems are concerned with the determination of the three dimensional structure of anomalous areas in a larger field of regard. In the context of medical imaging, there is great interest in the characterization of cancerous tumors using non-ionizing modalities such as diffuse optical tomography or quantitative ultrasonic imaging. In this work, we introduce a new, flexible approach to the modeling and estimation of 3D shapes. A complex three dimensional volume is defined by a set of 2D shape "primitives" representing the cross section of the object in essentially arbitrary planes. Each primitive is itself a 2D shape (specifically an ellipse for this paper) the structure of which is easily defined by a low dimensional vector of parameters (center location, axis lengths, and orientation angles). Given a set of primitives, we devise an interpolation scheme that correlates the structure of the individual primitives from one to the next. A nonlinear estimation algorithm is described for determining the parameters of our elliptic primitives i.e., the location of the centers in 3D, the lengths of their axes, and their orientation in space. Simulated results show the effectiveness of this method.
Using vector analysis to assess nitrogen status of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine along deposition gradients in forests of southern California

Abstract The N status of the dominant pine species ( Pinus ponderosa Laws. and P. jeffreyi Grev. & Balf) was determined at three plots in the San Gabriel Mountains and four plots in the San Bernardino Mountains. Research plots were located along two N deposition gradients. Tree N status was evaluated based on vector analysis of the foliar response to fertilization with ammonium nitrate. Fertilizer was applied at a rate of 500 kg N ha −1 in the spring, and foliage was harvested and analyzed for dry mass, total N concentration and N content (needle mass × N concentration) at the end of the growing season. Unfertilized companion trees located in the vicinity of the fertilized trees served as controls. Vector analysis for Camp Paivika (CP), the westernmost site in the San Bernardino Mountains with the greatest N deposition, supported previous data suggesting that N is not growth limiting, and that available N is in excess of biotic demand. Results were inconclusive from Strawberry Peak (SP), another high-pollution site, albeit with lower N deposition than CP. Foliar N concentration at SP decreased with fertilization, possibly as a result of N dilution owing to foliar biomass increase. At two low-pollution sites on the eastern end of the San Bernardino Mountains, and at three mixed-conifer sites in the San Gabriel Mountains, vector analysis indicated that N was growth limiting. These results tentatively support the hypothesis that chronic N deposition greater than approximately 25 kg ha −1 year −1 in the transverse ranges of southern California has alleviated N deficiency and induced N saturation, whereas N deposition of 6–11 kg ha −1 year −1 has not. At Kratka (KR), a site in the San Gabriel Mountains with bulk throughfall deposition of approximately 11 kg N ha −1 year −1 , P. jeffreyi trees were N-deficient based on vector analysis of foliar response to N fertilization. Although relatively high total N levels and NO 3 − :NH 4 + ratios, and low C:N ratios in soil indicated that site N status may be improving at KR, soil N availability is still insufficient to satisfy N demand in Jeffrey pine.
Determination of hydroxylamine in aqueous solutions of pyridinium aldoximes by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV and fluorometric detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay using UV and fluorescence detection was developed that monitored hydroxylamine as the vanillin oxime derivative while simultaneously monitoring concentrations of a complex mixture of a pyridinium aldoxime and its degradation products. The technique should be useful for measuring hydroxylamine levels in other aqueous systems.
Short-term blueberry-enriched diet prevents and reverses object recognition memory loss in aging rats

Objective Previously, 4 mo of a blueberry-enriched (BB) antioxidant diet prevented impaired object recognition memory in aging rats. Experiment 1 determined whether 1- and 2-mo BB diets would have a similar effect and whether the benefits would disappear promptly after terminating the diets. Experiment 2 determined whether a 1-mo BB diet could subsequently reverse existing object memory impairment in aging rats. Methods In experiment 1, Fischer-344 rats were maintained on an appropriate control diet or on 1 or 2 mo of the BB diet before testing object memory at 19 mo postnatally. In experiment 2, rats were tested for object recognition memory at 19 mo and again at 20 mo after 1 mo of maintenance on a 2% BB or control diet. Results In experiment 1, the control group performed no better than chance, whereas the 1- and 2-mo BB diet groups performed similarly and significantly better than controls. The 2-mo BB-diet group, but not the 1-mo group, maintained its performance over a subsequent month on a standard laboratory diet. In experiment 2, the 19-mo-old rats performed near chance. At 20 mo of age, the rats subsequently maintained on the BB diet significantly increased their object memory scores, whereas the control diet group exhibited a non-significant decline. The change in object memory scores differed significantly between the two diet groups. Conclusion These results suggest that a considerable degree of age-related object memory decline can be prevented and reversed by brief maintenance on BB diets.
An Overview of U.S. Foreign Direct Investment and Outsourcing

Outsourcing has become the focus of increasingly intense debates over the U.S. economy and was a divisive issue during the 2004 Presidential campaign. The downside of outsourcing includes the perceived loss of American jobs while firms and stockholders profit. While outsourcing of white-collar jobs continues to be the focus of media attention (The Economist 2004b), "global production shifts" have impacted workers in manufacturing more than in any other sector (Bronfenbrenner and Luce). In agricultural manufacturing, which includes textiles and apparel, firms have shut down operations in the United States over the past thirty years, displacing workers. The objective of this research is to provide an overview of outsourcing and to examine the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) as an instrument for outsourcing. Additionally, this research seeks to assess the impact of vertical FDI on the U.S. manufacturing sector, including agricultural manufacturing, and on U.S. employment. Four issues are considered while evaluating the impact of outsourcing on the United States: overall economic welfare, level of employment, quality of jobs, and job dislocation.
Impulsive motion of a flat plate in a Rivlin-Ericksen fluid

The problem of the impulsive motion of a flat plate in a Rivlin-Ericksen fluid is reconsidered. An exact solution for the velocity distribution is found in terms of a definite integral. It is shown that a solution obtained earlier does not satisfy the boundary condition at the plate in the sense of generalized functions.
Nitric Oxide in Cerebral Vasospasm: Theories, Measurement, and Treatment

In recent decades, a large body of research has focused on the role of nitric oxide (NO) in the development of cerebral vasospasm (CV) following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Literature searches were therefore conducted regarding the role of NO in cerebral vasospasm, specifically focusing on NO donors, reactive nitrogen species, and peroxynitrite in manifestation of vasospasm. Based off the assessment of available evidence, two competing theories are reviewed regarding the role of NO in vasospasm. One school of thought describes a deficiency in NO due to scavenging by hemoglobin in the cisternal space, leading to an NO signaling deficit and vasospastic collapse. A second hypothesis focuses on the dysfunction of nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme that synthesizes NO, and subsequent generation of reactive nitrogen species. Both theories have strong experimental evidence behind them and hold promise for translation into clinical practice. Furthermore, NO donors show definitive promise for preventing vasospasm at the angiographic and clinical level. However, NO augmentation may also cause systemic hypotension and worsen vasospasm due to oxidative distress. Recent evidence indicates that targeting NOS dysfunction, for example, through erythropoietin or statin administration, also shows promise at preventing vasospasm and neurotoxicity. Ultimately, the role of NO in neurovascular disease is complex. Neither of these theories is mutually exclusive, and both should be considered for future research directions and treatment strategies.
Cancer of the prostate.

To the Editor. —The study by Johansson et al 1 is of limited relevance because their selection criteria resulted in a study group that is not representative of the patient population with early prostate cancer. Their study group included an inordinately high proportion of men over the age of 75 years, most of whom had low-grade tumors too small to be detected on rectal examination. Nearly half of the tumors were discovered at the time of an operation for presumed benign hyperplasia. Because such tumors progress slowly and most patients were elderly to begin with, it is not surprising that most patients died of other causes. The patient selection process was a self-fulfilling prophesy. During the first 2 years of their study, only patients with grade 1 tumors were accepted for the untreated group, which enriched the group with low-grade tumors. During the last 5 years, some patients under the
Expression and Characterization of CYP4V2 as a Fatty Acid ω-Hydroxylase

Bietti9s crystalline dystrophy is an ocular disease that is strongly associated with polymorphisms in the CYP4V2 gene. CYP4 enzymes are typically microsomal fatty acid ω-hydroxylases that function together with mitochondrial and peroxisomal β-oxidation enzymes to degrade cellular lipids. Indeed, ocular and peripheral cells cultured from patients with Bietti9s have been reported to exhibit abnormal lipid metabolism. However, CYP4V2 possesses low sequence homology to other members of the CYP4 family. Therefore, we cloned and expressed CYP4V2 and analyzed the functional characteristics of this new cytochrome P450 enzyme. We find that CYP4V2 is a selective ω-hydroxylase of saturated, medium-chain fatty acids with relatively high catalytic efficiency toward myristic acid. Moreover, N-hydroxy-N′-(4-n-butyl-2-methylphenyl formamidine) (HET0016) is a nanomolar inhibitor of the enzyme. Therefore, CYP4V2 exhibits catalytic functions typical of a human CYP4 enzyme, but with a distinctive chain-length selectivity coupled with high ω-hydroxylase specificity. Consequently, defective ω-oxidation of ocular fatty acids/lipids secondary to mutations in the CYP4V2 gene appears to be a plausible mechanism underlying Bietti9s crystalline dystrophy.
Partial geometric lattices, I: Regularity conditions

Abstract This paper introduces partial geometric lattices, which generalize to arbitrary rank, partial geometries studied by Bose, wich are partial geometries of rank 3, and the partial geometries of dimension 3 studied by Laskar and Dunbar, which are a subclass of the partial geometric lattices of rank 4. The main result is that the number of spaces of a given rank i + k which contain a given i -space and are contained in a given ( i + s )-space depends only on the ranks i , i + k and i + s . This function is called φ ( i , s , k ). It, along with related functions, is calculated for rank 3 and 4. These combinatorial structures should prove useful in the study of hierarchical experimental designs both factorial and non-factorial, and in coding theory and combinatorial information theory.
Letter to the editor of Acta Neurochirurgica: intracranial venous drainage of a lumbar spinal dural arteriovenous fistula.

Dear Editor, We would like to report the findings of intracranial venous drainage of a spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (sDAVF). While intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas have long been recognized to have spinal venous drainage with characteristic myelopathy, to the best of our knowledge, intracranial venous drainage of a spinal AVF has not been previously documented [2, 3]. A 73 year old man was discovered to have a L4 (sDAVF) with retrograde intracranial drainage to the deep venous system (Fig. 1). This lesion was found incidentally during aortic angiography for repair of an abdominal aneurysm endo-leak. The patient denied previous symptoms consistent with sDAVF including myelopathic changes, bowel or bladder incontinence, or sensory changes [7]. He further denied any sign or symptom related to the intracranial venous drainage. The patient was counseled to undergo treatment based upon the pattern of drainage but ultimately elected to forgo further evaluation and treatment. Intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas are well known to have perimedullary spinal venous drainage and cause myelopathy [3, 4]. However, to our knowledge, retrograde intracranial drainage from a sDAVF of the lumbar spine has not been described before. A patient with a lumbar sDAVF and brainstem symptoms has been reported by Wu and coworkers, but the draining vein did not extend intracranially [8]. Another report by Hashimoto et al., found perimesencephalic hemorrhage in conjunction with a sDAVF [5]. In comparison, our patient was asymptomatic despite the high level of venous drainage. This was probably related to prevalent involvement of the anterior venous drainage of the cord (Fig. 1) with relative sparing of the usually more robust dorsal draining system. He was thus spared the symptoms consistent with congestion of this system [1, 3, 6]. It is possible that the fistula developed in the setting of abnormal vasculature of the radicular arteries due both to the aneurysm and its endovascular treatment. A. M. Burrows :G. Lanzino (*) Department of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st St SW, Rochester, MN 55901, USA e-mail: lanzino.giuseppe@mayo.edu
Power gating with block migration in chip-multiprocessor last-level caches

We propose a novel technique to significantly reduce the leakage energy of last level caches while mitigating any significant performance impact. In general, cache blocks are not ordered by their temporal locality within the sets; hence, simply power gating off a partition of the cache, as done in previous studies, may lead to considerable performance degradation. We propose a solution that migrates the high temporal locality blocks to facilitate power gating, where blocks likely to be used in the future are migrated from the partition being shutdown to the live partition at a negligible performance impact and hardware overhead. Our detailed simulations show energy savings of 66% at low performance degradation of 2.16%.
Multiple-valued logic and computer science and the 20th century

This month Computer focuses on the important issues relating multiple-valued logic and computer science in this part of the twentieth century. This issue is aimed at those computer engineers and scientists who are not experts in the area of multiple-valued logic in engineering and computer science, and its primary goal is to convince these people that multiple-valued logic is indeed both practically applicable and intellectually challenging.
The effects of sodium salicylate on the anamnestic immune response in vitro.

Na-Salicylat bewirkt in vitro eine Hemmung der sekundaren Immunreaktion von Huhnchenmilzzellen gegen Schaferythrozyten.
Differential photohydrodehalogenation reactivity of bromobenzenes (1,2,4-tribromobenzene, 1,2,3,5-tetrabromobenzene) and pentachlorobenzene: Sunlight-based remediation

The photochemical dehalogenation of 1,2,4-tribromobenzene, 1,2,3,5-tetrabromobenzene and pentachlorobenzene in open-air solutions of acetonitrile using natural and artificial sunlight as the irradiation source has been investigated. The regiochemistry of mono-dehalogenation has been determined for 1,2,4-tribromobenzene and 1,2,3,5-tetrabromobenzene. Pentachlorobenzene did not react. 1,2,4-Tribromobenzene yielded three products, 1,4-dibromobenzene, 1,3-dibromobenzene and 1,2-dibromobenzene with isomer percentages of 52 +/- 1%, 39 +/- 2% and 9 +/- 1%, respectively. 1,2,3,5-Tetrabromobenzene yielded 1,3,5-tribromobenzene, 1,2,4-tribromobenzene and 1,2,3-tribromobenzene with relative product percentages of 60 +/- 2%, 29 +/- 2%, 11 +/- 1%.
Electrochemical impedance-based DNA sensor using a modified single walled carbon nanotube electrode

Carbon nanotubes have become promising functional materials for the development of advanced electrochemical biosensors with novel features which could promote electron-transfer with various redox active biomolecules. This paper presents the detection of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium using chemically modified single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with single stranded DNA (ssDNA) on a polished glassy carbon electrode. Hybridization with the corresponding complementary ssDNA has shown a shift in the impedance studies due to a higher charge transfer in ssDNA. The developed biosensor has revealed an excellent specificity for the appropriate targeted DNA strand. The methodologies to prepare and functionalize the electrode could be adopted in the development of DNA hybridization biosensor.
Limitations and capabilities of the slanted spectrogram analysis tool for SAR-based detection of multiple vibrating targets

The recently developed improved spectrograms that use the discrete fractional fourier transform (DFrFT) are used to evaluate multiple vibration signatures that represent targets in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. Multiple ground target vibrations that introduce phase modulation in the SAR returned signals are examined using standard pre-processing of the return waveform signal followed by the application of the DFrFT. In this paper, we study the capabilities of these spectrogram tools with the intent of extending their limits by varying the characteristic features associated with each vibrating target which result in different outputs. The performance of the fractional spectrogram tools, under the effects of various parameters is used to clarify the limitations and advantages of these modified fractional spectrograms for SAR-based vibrometry applications.
Environmental control of seasonal variation in the butterfly Colias eurytheme: effects of photoperiod and temperature on pteridine pigmentation.

Abstract Photoperiod and temperature were examined for their effects on the four major pteridine components of the wings of Colias eurytheme . Orange individuals show reduced pteridine pigmentation in response to short photoperiods, but make no significant adjustment of pigmentation as a result of varying temperatures. ‘Alba’ females, on the other hand, respond to temperature, but levels of the coloured pteridines are apparently insufficient for there to be an observable effect of photoperiod. Low temperature causes an increase in the concentrations of the coloured pteridines in these white females. The action of photoperiod in reducing resources committed to pigmentation in orange animals is consistent with the notion that it is advantageous to free nitrogen for other purposes under thermally stringent conditions. The response of the ‘alba’ females to temperature is more puzzling, but it may reflect the absence of selection for the canalization of this phenotype against the effects of temperature.
Community mental health center readiness to comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The purpose of this study was to assess the state of CMHC readiness for compliance with the provisions of Section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973, and as amended. Data reported are responses to a mailed survey to 80% of the CMHCs nationally: 26% of the CMHCs in the sample responded. The survey was done six months prior to the time in which full compliance was required by regulation. The findings were (a) only 14% of all respondent CMHCs completed the compliance steps required by Section 504; (b) site accessibility and program accessibility generally were better for mobility impaired than for hearing or vision impaired consumers; (c) 87% of respondent CMHCs had no equipment for telephone access by deaf persons, but 35.4% reported clinical personnel with sign language ability; and (d) for those few (N=24) CMHCs who reported being threatened by DHEW with sanctions for non-compliance, positive steps towards compliance were in most instances twice as likely as for the majority of CMHCs that were not so threatened.
Shifted limited-memory DFP systems

Quasi-Newton methods are optimization techniques suitable for large data-generated problems that are subject to errors and uncertainty since these methods only use first-order information, do not require storing large matrices, and are easily scalable to large problems. Generally speaking, because they make use of multiple updates to Hessian approximations, these methods enjoy faster convergence rates on nonconvex problems than other first-order methods. In this paper, we consider Davidon-Fletcher-Powell (DFP) quasi-Newton matrices. We derive a compact formulation of DFP updates and propose a method to solve shifted DFP quasi-Newton systems of the form (B ; σI)x = y where M DFP = B−1 is the DFP matrix approximation to the inverse Hessian and σ > 0 is a positive scalar. This paper extends work done in [1] and [2] on general quasi-Newton matrices (and, in particular, L-BFGS matrices) to DFP matrices. Finally, we generalize this method to solve systems of the form (B;G)x = y, where G is a symmetric positive-definite matrix.
How are Health Professionals Using Health Information Exchange Systems? Measuring Usage for Evaluation and System Improvement

Health information exchange (HIE) is an avenue to improving patient care and an important priority under the Meaningful Use requirements. However, we know very little about the usage of HIE systems. Understanding how healthcare professionals actually utilize HIE systems will provide practical insights to system evaluation, help guide system improvement, and help organizations assess performance. We developed a novel way of describing professionals' HIE usage from the log files of an operational HIE-facilitating organization. The system employed a webpage-style interface. The screen number, types, and variation served to cluster all sessions in to five categories of HIE usage: minimal usage, repetitive searching, clinical information, mixed information, and demographic information. This method reduced the 1,661 different patterns into five recognizable groups for analysis. Overall, most users engaged with the system in a minimal fashion. In terms of user characteristics, minimal usage was highest among physicians and the highest percentage of clinical information usage was among nurses. Usage also differed by organization with repetitive searching most common in settings with scheduled encounters and uncommon in the faster-paced emergency department. Lastly, usage also varied by timing of the patient encounter. Within a single HIE system, discernible types of users behavior existed and varied across jobs, organizations, and time. This approach relied on objective data and can be replicated. In addition, our approach demonstrates that substantial variation in user behaviors exists beyond the more simplistic measures of adoption/non-adoption or access/no-access applied in previous research. This approach can help leaders and evaluators assess their own and other organizations.
THERMAL SHOCK EFFECT ON THE TRANSVERSE STRENGTH OF CLAY BODIES1

Test specimens of twenty commercial shale and fireclay bodies, ranging in softening point from cones 7 to 30, were fired in laboratory kilns to cones 04, 2, and 6. Comparisons of transverse strength before and after thermal shock were made, thermal shock h a i h g been produced by eight cycles of heating in a furnace at 1100°F for 15 minutes and cooling over an air blast for an equal length of time. Results indicate that as initial strength increases, per cent reduction in strength increases and strength after thermal shock increases to a maximum and then declines. Curves are fitted to the data and the mathematical relationships are shown. The results of other investigators are discussed.
Analysis and Exact Solutions of Relaxation-Time Differential Equations Describing Non Quasi-Static Large Signal FET Models

A relaxation-time differential equation for a non quasi-static large-signal FET model is analyzed and solved exactly in closed form for the first time. It is proved that for certain large-signal excitations, when the stimulation frequency is large compared to the inverse relaxation time, the mathematical solution of the transient analysis problem for the drain current is nonphysical unless the model's nonlinear constitutive relations satisfy an integrability (conservation) condition. This is true despite the fact that the model can exactly reproduce the measured dc i-v curves and bias-dependent small-signal parameters.
Noninvasive Estimation of Normalized Distribution Volume: Application to the Muscarinic-2 Ligand [18F]FP-TZTP:

Reference tissue methods to estimate neuroreceptor binding are not applicable to [18F]FP-TZTP (a muscarinic-2 cholinergic receptor ligand), because there is no suitable receptor-free reference region. We evaluated a new method to estimate, without using arterial data or a receptor-free reference region, a receptor parameter called the normalized distribution volume, VT*, using a region containing receptors as the input tissue. VT* is defined as VT/K′1 (distribution volume (VT) normalized by K′1 of the input region). We used a two-parameter multilinear reference tissue model (MRTM2) to generate parametric images of VT* and R1 (R1=K1/K′1) from [18F]FP-TZTP PET data of healthy aged subjects (10 with apolipoprotein E-e4 alleles (APOE-e4(+)) and nine without (APOE-e4(−)). VT* and VT were normalized by plasma-free fraction, fP. By one-tissue kinetic analysis (1TKA) with metabolite-corrected plasma data, VT was previously reported as higher in the APOE-e4(+) group. The noise magnitude of MRTM2 VT* and R1 images were nearly identical to those of 1TKA VT and K1 images. K′1 or fP was not different between the two groups. VT* (mins) (1,659±497) and VT (mL/cm3) (701±99) in APOE-e4(+) were higher by 38 and 22% than those (1,209±233 and 577±112) in APOE-e4(−), respectively. The statistical significance for VT* (0.041) was lower than that for VT (0.025), due to the higher intersubject variability of VT* (25%) than that of VT (17%). We conclude that MRTM2 VT* allows detection of group differences in receptor binding without arterial blood or a receptor-free reference region.
123I-labeled soluble fibrin: Preparation and comparison with other thrombus imaging agents☆

Abstract Radioiodinated soluble fibrin, a derivative of radioiodinated fibrinogen, has been investigated for thrombus localization. Soluble fibrin can be labeled with 123 I as the radionuclide for imaging thrombi with a scintillation camera. Protein iodination grade 123 I is produced by a distillation and extraction procedure from the product of the 121 Sb ( α , 2 n ) 123 I reaction in the Washington University 54-in. cyclotron. Labeling with these 123 I preparation is effected by the iodine monochloride method. Induced 4–6-hr-old femoral vein thrombi in dogs can be visualized beginning 2 hr after injection of 1 mCi of 123 I-labeled soluble fibrin. This new radiopharmaceutical may be useful for imaging actively-propagating thrombi in patients, especially in areas of large blood pool. Its potential appears to be similar to that of 123 I-labeled highly iodinated fibrinogen, another new thrombus imaging agent.
Consideration of Selected Agricultural Products as Viscoelastic Materials

SUMMARY A demand currently exists for information on the mechanical behavior of foods and agricultural products during handling, processing and quality evaluation. Many of the older subjective tests have now been replaced by various techniques from which empirical and partially objective measurements may he obtained; however, the majority of these measurements are not well-defined in terms of accepted physical constants, thereby making their interpretation difficult. To provide consistency between various investigations, all mechanical properties may be evaluated in terms of common engineering parameters as the first approximation. From the point of view of mechanics, many products such as fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains in their natural state may be considered as convex bodies for which classical solutions can be applied for evaluation of compression, shear and tension properties. In this paper previous and current investigations in which the engineering approach to mechanical property evaluation has been used are reviewed. In all of these investigations, the common methods for product testing are hydrostatic and uniaxial compression. Instrumentation and techniques are described for obtaining and interpreting data from these tests in terms of physical constants. The mechanical behavior of most agricultural products is time dependent. Therefore, characterization of mechanical behavior requires the application of viscoelasticity principles in which both viscous and elastic responses are combined. The fundamental principles of viscoelasticity are presented briefly and analogies are developed for relating the observed behavior to well-established mechanical systems. To illustrate the application of the engineering approach to mechanical property evaluation, a study on McIntosh apple fruits is described. This study demonstrates that many of the principles of classical mechanics are applicable to selected agricultural materials.
Lung injury and mortality with hyperoxia are increased in peroxiredoxin 6 gene-targeted mice.

Overexpression of peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6) has been shown to protect lungs of mice against hyperoxia-mediated injury. In this study, we evaluated whether genetic inactivation of Prdx6 in mice increases sensitivity to oxygen toxicity. We evaluated mouse survival, lung histopathology, total protein and nucleated cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and oxidation of lung protein and lipids by measurement of protein carbonyls and thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS), respectively. The duration of survival for Prdx6 −/− mice was significantly shorter than that observed in wild-type mice on exposure to 85 or 100% O2; survival of Prdx6 +/− mice was intermediate. After 72-h exposure to 100% O2, lungs of Prdx6−/− mice showed more severe injury than wild-type with increased wet/dry weight, epithelial cell necrosis and alveolar edema on microscopic examination, increased protein and nucleated cells in BALF, and higher content of TBARS and protein carbonyls in lung homogenate. These findings show that Prdx6 −/− mice have increased sensitivity to hyperoxia and provide in vivo evidence that Prdx6 is an important lung antioxidant enzyme.
Lower Limb Movements and Urologic Function in Fetuses with Neural Tube and Other Central Nervous System Defects

Lower limb movements and urologic systems were evaluated by prenatal ultrasound in 120 fetuses with either neural tube defects or intracranial anomalies. Despite anticipated major lower extremity and
Sickle cell anemia and central nervous system infarction: A neuropathological study

CNS infarcts were demonstrated in 12 of 24 autopsied patients with sickle cell anemia. The infarcts occurred most extensively in the territory supplied by the distal branches of the internal carotid artery, especially the anterior-middle cerebral artery boundary zone. They were regularly associated with organizing and recanalizing thrombi involving the distal cervical and proximal intracranial divisions of the internal carotid system. On the basis of these findings, we infer that the pathogenesis of the infarction involves perfusion failure or intraarterial embolization in addition to intravascular sickling.
Developmental stage-specific expression of the α and β subunits of the HIF-1 protein in the mouse and human fetus

Abstract Erythropoietin (Epo) is a glycoprotein hormone that is the primary regulator of erythropoiesis. Transcription of the Epo gene increases in response to hypoxia or anemia. Epo is synthesized in the liver in fetal life and in the kidney later in gestation. In the mammalian fetus the switch in Epo production from the liver to the kidney occurs in the third trimester. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1) is a heterodimeric transcription factor consisting of an α and β subunit that binds under hypoxic conditions to an enhancer element in the 3′ region of the Epo gene. In order to determine if there is a relationship between expression of HIF-1 α and β subunits with the shift in expression of the Epo gene from the liver to the kidney or with the transitional events occurring at birth we analyzed the expression of these mRNAs in mouse and human fetuses at different stages of gestation. Total RNA was extracted from the brain, heart, kidney, liver, and lungs of mice at P15, P17, and P19 of gestation, from newborn mice at Days 1 and 3, from an adult and an anemic adult mouse as well as from human fetuses at 14–22 weeks of gestation. RNA was analyzed by Northern blot and slot-blot hybridization using appropriate cDNA probes. HIF-1α and -β mRNA were expressed in all tissues tested and at all stages of gestation in the mouse and human fetus. Expression of HIF-1α and -β in the mouse fetus was highest in the brain followed by heart, kidney, lung, and liver. Expression in the fetal and newborn mice was higher versus the adult and expression was higher in the anemic versus the normal adult mouse. In the human fetus a higher expression of HIF-1α was noted in the brain followed by heart, kidney, lung, and liver. There was a small trend toward a decrease in expression with advancing gestational age. HIF-1β was expressed to a similar extent in all human tissues examined. Our studies indicate that expression of HIF-1α and -β subunits was not related to the switch in Epo gene expression from the liver to the kidney. Although expression of HIF-1α and -β did not decrease immediately after birth, it is possible that the HIF-1 protein is involved in the various events that occur during transition after birth.
Heights and locations of artificial structures in viewshed calculation : How close is close enough?

Viewshed calculation can play an important role in urban and natural resource planning. However, difficulties exist in incorporating built structures in viewshed computation. These features are rarely reflected in available elevation maps and adding them can be complicated as their locations, shapes, and heights are often uncertain. This study examined the impact of generalizing building locations and heights on viewshed properties. We used a geographic information system and high resolution data to assess how viewsheds, generated with actual building footprints and heights, differ from viewsheds generated from generalized building locations and uniform heights. We measured differences among viewsheds created with different approaches in terms of area and landscape complexity. Viewsheds generated using uniform heights and actual footprints differed significantly from the most accurate viewsheds in their areal extents and in the areas of some land use classes. Viewsheds produced using estimated locations combined with both realistic and uniform heights differed significantly from viewsheds created with accurate data in their areal extents and areas most land use types. Viewsheds produced using estimated locations also differed significantly from more accurate viewsheds in both complexity metrics assessed. Viewsheds produced using accurate locations and uniform heights differed significantly in one complexity metric, richness, but not in a second, diversity. Therefore, it may be feasible to generalize building heights when diversity and the areas of some specific land use classes are central to viewshed analysis, but generalizing building locations is less advisable. When viewshed areal extents are critical, location or height generalization may be ill-advised.
The pH in the neighborhood of membranes generating a protonmotive force.

The chemiosmotic mechanism provides a way whereby energy inherent in a chemical combustion process is extracted and transduced: first into the energy of electron volts of the electron redox system and second into proton volts as protons are forced to leave the interior of the cell, creating an electro-chemical protonic potential (the protonmotive force). Here we consider the distribution of potential and pH across the membrane and the phases bathing the membrane in more detail. The distribution of hydrogen ions parallel to the surface is also described. It is shown that the voltage and pH gradients due to the proton extrusion occur near to the membrane (∼2 nm). This implies that the pH is much lower immediately outside the membrane than in the cytoplasm or in usual neutral growth or isotonic media. It provides a link between the points of view of Mitchell and Williams. It requires that literature models for the role of the protonmotive force in the maintenance of wall thickness in Gram-positive organisms, the adhesion of microbes to surfaces, and the transport of auxin in plants be modified.
Use of Habitat Guilds of Fishes to Determine Instream Flow Requirements

Abstract We grouped eight warmwater fishes, each represented by one to four life stages, into habitat-use guilds (i.e., groups of species) to select target species for instream flow studies. Cluster analysis of depth, velocity, substrate, and cover use identified four primary habitat-use guilds, which were distinguished largely on the basis of water velocity. Habitat-suitability criteria were developed for each species and life stage combination, and these criteria were used in physical habitat simulations to determine relations between weighted usable area (WUA) and discharge for three streams in the upper James River basin, Virginia. Weighted usable areas for species within each habitat-use guild generally exhibited similar responses to discharge except those for some stream-margin inhabitants and for strongly cover-oriented species. Four types of habitat–discharge relations, which were consistent among streams, were identified. Curves of WUA versus discharge for habitat generalists and some specialists...
Papillary and polypoid cystitis. A report of eight cases

Eight patients from 20 months to 79 years of age (average, 49 years) with papillary or polypoid inflammatory lesions of the urinary bladder were studied. On cystoscopic examination or initial pathologic examination, several of the lesions were thought to be neoplasms. Their clinical and pathologic features, however, were typical for papillary and polypoid cystitis. Microscopic examination disclosed thin, finger-like papillae or broad-based polypoid lesions with prominent stromal edema typically associated with chronic inflammation. The lesions were covered by, and adjacent to, urothelium that was usually normal but was occasionally metaplastic. A history of recent catheterization was present in only one case. These cases illustrate that occasional papillary or polypoid urothelial lesions are inflammatory rather than neoplastic.