cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RETURNING LOOTED EUROPEAN LIBRARY COLLECTIONS: AN HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE OFFENBACH ARCHIVAL DEPOT, 1945–1948

In 1944, Pierce Butler wrote, “ever since libraries have existed, war has been one of the chief agencies of [their] annihilation.” 2 The looting and destruction of cultural treasures during wartime is an established fact throughout Western history, including Greek and Roman times as well as during the Crusades, when empires stripped defeated nations of their cultural heritage. During the Napoleonic Wars in the early nineteenth century, Napoleon had an army of art commissioners who were ordered to locate and seize valuable cultural property, including whole libraries, for transfer to France. But the systematic Nazi confiscation of European cultural treasures in . . .
Improving the permeability of lyophilized collagen-hydroxyapatite scaffolds for cell-based bone regeneration with a gelatin porogen.

Bone tissue engineering using biomaterial scaffolds and culture-expanded osteoprogenitor cells has been demonstrated in several studies; however, it is not yet a clinical reality. One challenge is the optimal design of scaffolds for cell delivery and the identification of scaffold parameters that can delineate success and failure in vivo. Motivated by a previous experiment in which a batch of lyophilized collagen-hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds displayed modest bone formation in vivo, despite having large pores and high porosity, we began to investigate the effect of scaffold permeability on bone formation. Herein, we fabricated scaffolds with a permeability of 2.17 ± 1.63 × 10-9 m4 /(N s) and fourfold higher using a sacrificial gelatin porogen. Scaffolds were seeded with mouse bone marrow stromal cells carrying a fluorescent reporter for osteoblast differentiation and implanted into critical-size calvarial defects in immunodeficient mice. The porogen scaffold group containing a 1:1 ratio of solids to beads was significantly more radiopaque than the scaffold group without the bead porogen 3 weeks after implantation. Quantitative histomorphometry uncovered the same trend between the 1:1 group and scaffolds without porogen found in the radiographic data; however, this was not statistically significant here. Taken together, the X-ray and histology suggest that the 1:1 ratio of porogen to scaffold solids, resulting in a fourfold increase in permeability, may enhance bone formation when compared to scaffolds without porogen. Scaffold permeability can be a useful quality control measure before implantation and this practice should improve the consistency and efficacy of cell-based bone tissue engineering. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 104B: 1580-1590, 2016.
Diabetic Kidney Disease: Much Progress, But Still More to Do

When I was a medical student in the 1960s, about one-third of patients with type 1 diabetes developed end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by ∼30 years’ duration of diabetes (1), and there wasn’t anything that could be done for them. Medicare only started paying for treatment of ESRD (dialysis/transplantation) in the United States in 1973. So, most of those patients died. Recently, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) study showed that the cumulative incidences of ESRD were only 1% in the initial DCCT intensive therapy group and 2% in the initial conventional therapy group in subjects who had a mean diabetes duration of 28 years (2). Now, that’s a difference! Comparable numbers for type 2 diabetes are more difficult to interpret because of the very high competing risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) in such patients and the various interventions that may differentially affect chronic kidney disease (CKD) versus CVD progression in this population. However, it is clear from analyses of the U.S. Renal Data System that the overall proportion of diabetic patients developing ESRD has decreased progressively and substantially since 1996 (3). Nonetheless, the absolute number of diabetic patients developing ESRD and the percentage of patients whose ESRD is the result of diabetes continue to increase because of the overall increase in the incidence of diabetes itself in the …
EF24 prevents rotenone-induced estrogenic status alteration in breast cancer

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), an important endoplasmic reticulum-resident oxidoreductase chaperone can bind to estrogens as well as intact with its receptor proteins [i.e. estrogen receptors (ER) α and β]. It has been postulated that PDI also acts as an intracellular 17β-estradiol (E2)-binding protein that transports and accumulates E2 in live cells. Drop in E2 level promotes dissociation of E2 from PDI and released in cytosol; the released E2 can augment estrogen receptor-mediated transcriptional activity and mitogenic action in cultured cells by modulating the ERβ/ERα ratio. In this study, we observed rotenone-induced damage to PDI leads to significant increase in ERβ/ERα ratio by down-regulating ERα and up-regulating ERβ. We demonstrated that nitrosative stress induced disruption of the cellular estrogenic status can be prevented through diphenyl difluoroketone (EF24, curcumin analog) intervention by protecting PDI from reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced damage. Together, our study suggests that both PDI and EF24 can play a vital role in maintaining cellular estrogenic homeostasis.
Intelligent simulation for alternatives comparison and application to air traffic management

We present a simulation run allocation scheme for improving efficiency in simulation experiments for decision making under uncertainty. This scheme is called Optimal Computing Budget Allocation (OCBA). OCBA advances the state-of-the-art by intelligently allocating a computing budget to the candidate alternatives under evaluation. The basic idea is to spend less computational effort on simulating non-critical alternatives to save computation cost. In particular, OCBA is employed to intelligently provide the smallest number of simulation runs for a desired accuracy. In this paper, we present a new and more general OCBA scheme which can consider cases that users are interested not only the best design, but also any one in a good design set. In addition, this paper also presents the application of our OCBA to a design problem in US air traffic management. The national air traffic system in US is modeled as a large, complex, and stochastic network. The numerical examples show that the computation time can be reduced by 54% to 88% with the use of OCBA.
Virtual reality interfaces for feature-based computer-aided design systems

Abstract A computer-aided design ( cad ) system with a virtual reality (VR) interface simplifies the design of complex mechanical parts. To add a design feature (e.g., a hole, slot, or protrusion), the designer can navigate in the part to the appropriate face of the part where he/she wishes to attach the feature, and sketch directly on that face. Besides convenience, this method of feature specification implicitly enforces feature accessibility constraints, and also provides hints to the process-planner regarding the order in which the features may be manufactured. We detail the design of a VR-based prototype cad system. The system maintains the knowledge of part cavities and their adjacencies, and a triangulated boundary-representation of an approximating polyhedron. We present incremental provably correct algorithms for updating this representation as the user edits the part. We also show how this representation supports real-time displays, navigation, and collision detection. The user-interface of the cad system relies on these capabilities to provide the above-mentioned advantages.
An RFID based autonomous indoor tour guide robot

This paper describes a radio frequency identification (RFID) and sonar-guided tour guide robot, CATE (Central's Automated Tour Experience). The portable terminal unit is an embedded system equipped with an RFID reader for localization, and sonar and IR sensors for obstacle detection and avoidance. CATE can guide the visitor through a predefined tour of the building, or create a new route on-the-fly. While in predefined tour mode, CATE completes the tour by avoiding obstacles using sonar and infrared sensor input. It will also provide audio and video information through an onboard computer, and can collect feedback from the user through a touch screen display. CATE has been successfully implemented and is under final stages of testing.
How Motivation Moderates the Effects of Emotions on the Duration of Consumption

Abstract Several important questions arise concerning the roles of motivation and emotions in determining the duration of consumption—that is, the length of time that consumers devote to consumption experiences. Existing theory and previous findings suggest that consumption duration should: (1) follow an inverted-u relation which peaks at intermediate levels of arousal; (2) increase with pleasure; (3) peak at higher levels of arousal as pleasure increases; and (4) depend more strongly on pleasure for those with an intrinsically motivated enjoyment orientation as opposed to those with an extrinsically motivated task orientation. A main study used 32 musical stimuli varying in their tendencies to evoke pleasure and arousal, manipulated intrinsic/extrinsic motivation by means of verbal instructions in enjoyment-task-oriented conditions, and found support for all four hypotheses, including the key prediction that a positive effect of pleasure on consumption duration as measured by listening time would appear for those in the intrinsically motivated enjoyment condition but would disappear for those in the extrinsically motivated task condition. A subsidiary study helped to rule out competing hypotheses by showing that levels of pleasure and arousal across the musical selections did not differ between the task and enjoyment conditions. In short, this research supports relevant theory, replicates earlier results, and extends previous findings by demonstrating a moderating influence of consumption motivations that encourage or discourage a main effect of pleasure on the duration of consumption.
Structure formation in a string-inspired modification of the cold dark matter model

Motivated in part by string theory, we consider the idea that the standard $\ensuremath{\Lambda}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{D}\mathrm{M}$ cosmological model might be modified by the effect of a long-range scalar dark matter interaction. The variant of this widely-discussed notion considered here is suggested by the Brandenberger-Vafa [R. H. Brandenberger and C. Vafa, Nucl. Phys. B316, 391 (1989).] picture for why we perceive three spatial dimensions. In this picture there may be at least two species of dark matter particles, with scalar charges such that the scalar interaction attracts particles with like sign and repels unlike signs. The net charge vanishes. Under this condition the evolution of the mass distribution in linear perturbation theory is the same as in the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{D}\mathrm{M}$ cosmology, and both models therefore can equally well pass the available cosmological tests. The physics can be very different on small scales, however: if the scalar interaction has the strength suggested by simple versions of the string scenario, nonlinear mass concentrations are unstable against separation into charged halos with properties unlike the standard model prediction and possibly of observational interest.
Low power dc arcjet operation with hydrogen/nitrogen propellant mixtures

The arcjet assembly from a flight model system was modified with a new thoriated tungsten nozzle insert and has been tested with hydrogen-nitrogen mixtures simulating the decomposition products of ammonia and hygrazine. Arcjet power consumption ranged from 0.7 to 1.15 kW depending on low rate, input current, and mixture composition. At a nominal 1 kW power level the ammonia mixtures thrust efficiency was about 0.31 at specific impulse values ranging between 460 and 500 sec. Hydrazine mixtures gave similar thrust efficiencies at the same power level with specific impulse values between 395 and 430 sec. Large, spontaneous voltage mode changes were not observed once the thruster had passed a period of instability immediately following start up. This period of instability, and the startup at low pressure, were seen as major causes of constrictor damage during the tests.
Distance Learning and Interaction: Toward a Virtual Learning Institution.

This paper considers distance learning at ail levels, learning that can occur anywhere. Most education today in schools, universities, and companies is dependent on students being at a particular location, such as a university. The major distance learning institutions today are in Europe, but the potential for this type of learning is great as we reach out to serve greater numbers of students. The following factors are critical in forming a distance learning institute today: the quality of learning provided to each student; whether courses work for very large numbers of students; and the cost per student hour, for both development and delivery. Many delivery technologies are possible today. We examine them from the standpoint of these factors. The conclusion is that highly interactive multimedia learning units, either CD ROMs or (in the near future) broadband networks, provide the best delivery system today for distance learning. The paper concludes with a brief review of strategies for developing the curriculum units needed to support distance learning.
Myocardial carnitine in end-stage congestive heart failure

To test the hypothesis that carnitine is decreased in the myocardial tissue of patients with end-stage congestive heart failure (CHF), left ventricular myocardial carnitine was measured in 51 patients undergoing orthotopic cardiac transplantation. The study group included patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, myocarditis and rheumatic heart disease. Myocardial carnitine varied in different cardiac chambers. In normal control hearts, the left and right ventricular total carnitine was similar, but the ventricles had higher levels than the atria (p less than 0.005); in 30 hearts in CHF, the left ventricular total carnitine was higher than in the right ventricle (p less than 0.001) and both ventricles had higher total carnitine than the atria (p less than 0.005). Only 7 of 51 patients with CHF had low myocardial carnitine, whereas plasma carnitine was elevated in all diagnostic groups of end-stage CHF studied.
Perturbation of solitons due to power law nonlinearity

Abstract The generalization of solitons to a non-Kerr law media has been studied in this paper along with its perturbation. In particular, the higher nonlinear Schrodinger's equation (NLSE) due to power law nonlinearity is considered. The method of multiple-scales is used to study this equation in presence of a perturbation term. We show that, by newly introducing a proper definition of the phase of the soliton, for the first time, one can obtain the corrections to the pulse where the usual soliton perturbation approach fails.
The relation of coffee and caffeine to the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy: the Beaver Dam Eye Study.

Abstract PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between coffee and caffeine consumption and the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy and its component lesions, soft indistinct drusen or pigmentary abnormalities. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study conducted from 1988 to 1995 with an average follow-up of 4.8 years. METHODS: Data from baseline and 5-year follow-up examinations were analyzed for Beaver Dam Eye Study participants ( n = 3435). The Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System was used to assess the presence and severity of early age-related maculopathy. RESULTS: Men were more likely to be coffee and caffeine drinkers than were women. For both men and women, coffee and caffeine intake decreased with age. Coffee and caffeine consumption were not associated with the 5-year incidence of early age-related maculopathy, soft indistinct drusen, or pigmentary abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Neither a history of coffee nor caffeine consumption is associated with incident early age-related maculopathy.
Radio-over-Fiber Techniques and Applications for Multi-Gb/s In-Building Wireless Communication

We discuss key RoF system challenges, including MIMO and mm-wave signal transmission at 60 GHz. We propose practical solutions and successfully demonstrate practical RoF system implementations capable of delivering > 30 Gb/s wireless data signals.
Emerging themes in distance learning research and practice: some food for thought

With the rapid spread of distance learning as a medium for delivering instruction, the practice of distance learning has outpaced research. This paper describes major themes identified in a review of selected research papers published in the past five years. Themes include the following: definitions of distance learning and why it should be studied; identification of the major learning theories on which research is based; how collaboration can be achieved via distance learning; the role that learner characteristics play in the success of distance learning systems, and issues related to measuring the effectiveness of distance learning. The authors conclude that more research is needed to identify critical success factors for distance learning.
Accurate sparse recovery of guided wave characteristics for structural health monitoring

Guided wave structural health monitoring systems are often characterized by multi-modal and dispersive propagation media. Accurate knowledge of guided wave characteristics could help to dramatically improve performance, but estimating this information from data is often very difficult. In this paper, we present a methodology, based on compressed sensing, that utilizes l1-regularized optimization techniques to recover the sparse characteristics of the guided wavefields in the frequency-wavenumber domain. Using simulated guided wave data, we demonstrate the performance of this technique and compare it to a more traditional approach, the 2-dimensional discrete Fourier transform method. We show that, with 10 sensors, our compressed sensing method successfully estimates 1000 points in a wavefield with an average correlation coefficient of more than 0.99 while the 2-dimensional discrete Fourier transform method requires more than 820 sensors to achieve the same performance.
The Allosteric Regulatory Mechanism of the Escherichia coli MetNI Methionine ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) Transporter

The MetNI methionine importer of Escherichia coli, an ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter, uses the energy of ATP binding and hydrolysis to catalyze the high affinity uptake of d- and l-methionine. Early in vivo studies showed that the uptake of external methionine is repressed by the level of the internal methionine pool, a phenomenon termed transinhibition. Our understanding of the MetNI mechanism has thus far been limited to a series of crystal structures in an inward-facing conformation. To understand the molecular mechanism of transinhibition, we studied the kinetics of ATP hydrolysis using detergent-solubilized MetNI. We find that transinhibition is due to noncompetitive inhibition by l-methionine, much like a negative feedback loop. Thermodynamic analyses revealed two allosteric methionine binding sites per transporter. This quantitative analysis of transinhibition, the first to our knowledge for a structurally defined transporter, builds upon the previously proposed structurally based model for regulation. This mechanism of regulation at the transporter activity level could be applicable to not only ABC transporters but other types of membrane transporters as well.
Comparison of satellite and drifter surface flow estimates in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract A comparison of flow observations has been made with drifting buoys and infrared satellite images for northwestern Gulf of Mexico surface waters during the interval from 10 March to 23 April, 1989. Each drifter was drogued to a depth of 2.7 m and reported four-nine positions along its trajectory every 24 h through the NOAA satellite Argos data collection system. Corresponding flow observations were computed from sequential infrared imagery obtained by Advanced Very-High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the same satellites. Vector estimates of advective motion were extracted from surface temperature pattern displacements between images paired at 24 and 12 h intervals without knowledge of the drifter trajectories. Twenty-two blind test cases at 24 h intervals formed the data base for examining the relative accuracy between trajectories simulated with satellite flow estimates and those obtained with the drifters. The comparison of actual and computed velocities for 24 h displacements resulted in a counterclockwise regression angle of simulated to actual velocities of −1.7°, a standard error in estimates of simulated speeds from actual speeds of 5.5 cm s −1 for actual speeds in the range from 0 to 60 cm s −1 , and a regression complex coefficient of determination ( ρ 2 ) of 0.936. The study indicates a convergence of results for the satellite image and Argos drifter methods of surface flow estimation and a combined capacity to investigate inertial range circulation variability.
Streamline visualization of multiple 2D vector fields

The analysis of data that consists of multiple vector fields can be greatly facilitated by the simultaneous visualization of the vector fields. An effective visualization must accurately reflect the key physical structures of the fields in a way that does not allow for an unintended bias toward one distribution. While there are several effective techniques to visualize a single vector field through equally spaced streamlines, applying these techniques to individual vector fields and combining them in a single image yields undesirable artifacts. In this paper, we present strategies for the effective visualization of two vector fields through the use of streamlines.
Bethe lattice spin glass: The effects of a ferromagnetic bias and external fields. II. Magnetized spin-glass phase and the de Almeida-Thouless line

In this and the companion paper, we analyze the ±J Ising spin-glass model on the Bethe lattice with fixed uncorrelated boundary conditions. Phase diagrams are derived as a function of temperature vs. concentration of ferromagnetic bonds and, for a symmetric distribution of bonds, external field vs. temperature. In this part we characterize magnetized spin-glass (MSG) phases by divergence of an appropriate susceptibility: at zero field this signals the existence of an intermediate MSG phase; at nonzero field, this is used to identify the de Almeida-Thouless line.
Genetic Manipulation Used Against a Field Population of House Flies. 1. Males Bearing a Heterozygous Translocation

Male Musca domestica L. bearing a heterozygous chromosomal translocation which reduced fertility to 32.5% of control were released at a poultry house in a pine forest near Gainesville, Florida, during the summer of 1969 to study methods of release and to determine whether the released flies would introduce the translocation into the native population. This represents the first field test of the concept of genetic manipulation in a natural population of insects where male insects that possessed the same induced genetic aberration (induced and recovered in one insect and subsequently multiplied) were released to decrease the natural level of fertility. Also, a laboratory simulation of the outdoor release was conducted in a 19-cubic-meter room. When the percentage fertility was based on the number of pupae obtained from a given number of eggs, control fertility (measured in an outdoor screened-in chicken coop containing a strain of native house flies) was 78.2% for the 4-generation test period; fertility at the forest release site was 63.5%; and fertility in the laboratory simulation was 27.7%, a result much closer to theoretical expectations than that obtained at the forest site. Thus, the test had a limited success and raised some questions, but it provided important information.
Are Perinatal Factors Predictive of Optimal School Age Outcome in the ELBW Infant? † 1241

The incidence of major developmental disabilities in the extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infant has remained stable despite dramatic improvement in survival. A subset of these children consistently overcome the odds, are neurologically intact, and demonstrate normal cognitive and academic skills. The purpose of this study is to identify perinatal predictors of optimal school age outcome in a sample of ELBW children. The study group consists of 257 surviving ELBW infants (<1001 grams) admitted to Vanderbilt University Hospital July 1982-July 1989. Information regarding presence of vision or hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and school difficulty(need for special education or remedial resources after meeting school system eligibility criteria) at 7-9 yrs is available for 214 of 257 children (83%). The survivors were divided into three mutually exclusive subgroups: Group 1(n=66) is children with optimal outcome, no disability or school difficulty; Group 2 (n=71) is children with school difficulty, but no major difficulty; Group 3 (n=77) is children with any major disability. Data regardingobstetric risk (prenatal care, maternal smoking, presentation and mode of delivery, antenatal steroid administration, amnionitis, fetal heart rate tracing), neonatal course (birth weight, gestation, BPD, IVH, length of stay) and sociodemographics (race, gender, maternal age, education, marital status, social risk score) were analyzed by ANOVA and chi squares in relation to school age outcome for each of the three groups. The ELBW children with major developmental disability (Group 3) had significantly lower birth weight, shorter gestation, longer hospitalization, and more severe IVH than the remaining two thirds of the survivors in Groups 1 and 2 (p<0.05). However the children with optimal school age outcome (Group 1) and the children experiencing school difficulty (Group 2) did not differ significantly from each other on any of the obstetric, neonatal, or sociodemographic variables listed above, with the exception of gender. In our sample, the ELBW child spared major disability still has a 50% risk of experiencing school difficulty regardless of perinatal factors. If optimal outcome cannot be predicted by perinatal factors, then further research is important to identify mechanisms to reduce morbidity and promote optimal cognitive outcome in the rapidly growing population of ELBW survivors.
Modified electric fields to control the direction of electrospinning jets

Abstract Electrospinning is a well known process for fabricating sub-micron size fibers. A high voltage potential is used in electrospinning to launch a polymer jet from a droplet of polymer solution towards a grounded collector. Most of the electrospun fibers collect on the grounded collector, but depending on the design of the electrospinning apparatus and the environment, some of the fibers drift away from the collector and are captured on other objects. In this work we apply the hypothesis that the electrospinning jet follows the path of the electric field's current density lines. By controlling the direction of the current density lines one can control the path of the electrospinning jet and hence can control the location of where the fibers are collected. The current density lines are determined by the gradient of the static electric potential field. The electric field is modified in this work by positioning charged electrodes that change the potential field and hence change the potential gradient and the path of the current density lines. In this way, the jet, following the current density lines, can be directed towards desired locations and away from undesired locations. The static electric field was modeled by numerically solving Laplace's equation for the potential field. Electrospinning experiments were conducted with the same geometric arrangement of electrodes for comparison. The results show the center of mass of the electrospinning jets generally followed the current density lines. This work shows it is possible to direct the electrospinning jets away from undesired objects by use of secondary electrodes.
Surface acoustic wave devices for wireless strain measurement

Strain monitoring is a nondestructive inspection method that can reveal the redistribution of internal forces, or the presence of anomalous loadings, in structures. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are small, robust, inexpensive solid-state components in which a wave propagates along the surface of a piezoelectric material, and such devices are used in large numbers commercially as delay devices and as filters. Changes in strain or temperature cause shifts in the acoustic wave speed, by which such SAW devices can also serve as sensors. We present analytical, FEM simulation, and experimental studies on SAW devices fabricated in our laboratory on lithium niobate wafers, with an inter-electrode spacing of 8 micrometers. We discuss the change in wave speed with temperature and with strain, we outline the influence of rotated cuts for the piezoelectric substrate, and we show results of laboratory sensing experiments. Moreover, an electrode on a SAW device can be terminated as an antenna and interrogated with a wireless RF probe to act as a passively-powered device, and we present laboratory results incorporating such wireless performance in our research investigation. We pattern one set of electrodes on the SAW device as a transducer connected to the antenna, and other sets of electrodes on the device acting as reflectors of the surface acoustic wave. At the RF frequencies used for SAW devices, it is realistic to use directional antennas on the probe unit to achieve reasonable stand-off distances.
Inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate activates an endothelial Ca2+-permeable channel

Receptor-mediated increases in the cytosolic free calcium ion concentration in most mammalian cells result from mobilization of Ca2+ from intracellular stores as well as transmembrane Ca2+ influx. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) releases calcium from intracellular stores by opening a Ca(2+)-permeable channel in the endoplasmic reticulum. But the mechanism and regulation of Ca2+ entry into nonexcitable cells has remained elusive because the entry pathway has not been defined. Here we characterize a novel inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4) and Ca(2+)-sensitive Ca(2+)-permeable channel in endothelial cells. We find that InsP4, which induces Ca2+ influx into acinar cells, enhances the activity of the Ca(2+)-permeable channel when exposed to the intracellular surface of endothelial cell inside-out patches. Our results suggest a molecular mechanism which is likely to be important for receptor-mediated Ca2+ entry.
Treatment for B-cell-type lymphoma in a girl associated with Bloom's syndrome.

Ota S, Miyamoto S, Kudoh F, Horie H, Kinugawa N, Okimoto Y. Treatment for B-cell-type lymphoma in a girl associated with Bloom's syndrome. Clin Genet 1992:41:46–50. A 12-year-old girl suffering from Bloom's syndrome developed B-cell-type lymphoma in the epipharynx. She was identified as having Bloom's syndrome at the age of 3. While the tumor was eradicated completely by induction chemotherapy, the bone marrow suppression was severe and persistent. For this reason, we modified subsequent chemotherapy to a milder form. Thus the remaining therapy could be safely completed. This is the first case clearly diagnosed as having epipharyngeal B-cell-type lymphoma in the Bloom's Syndrome Registry.
The 2013 Tornado Season: Local Devastation Defies Below-Normal Numbers

There were 903 tornadoes reported in the United States in 2013. The annual count was well below the 10-year annual average of 1,350 tornadoes (2003-2012). It has been 25 years since a year with few...
Hairy nightshade undermines resistance of potato breeding lines to Columbia root-knot nematode

Columbia root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne chitwoodi, is a major pest of potato in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and is controlled by costly soil fumigation. Potato breeding lines have been developed with resistance to the predominant race 1 (CRKN-1) of M. chitwoodi. Hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides, is a common weed in potato production in the western USA and a host of CRKN-1. Greenhouse and field studies were conducted with two potato lines with known CRKN-1 resistance (PA95B4-67 and PA99N82-4) and a CRKN-1 susceptible potato cultivar, Russet Burbank. Very little or no CRKN-1 reproduction took place in roots of both resistant breeding lines, and only minor tuber infection occurred when grown in the absence of hairy nightshade. However, when resistant lines were grown in the presence of hairy nightshade, some PA95B4-67 tubers were infected, whereas PA99N82-4 expressed tuber resistance. Hairy nightshade grown with potato maintained CRKN-1 populations prior to potato tuber set, allowing nematodes to infect developing tubers lacking resistance. PA99N82-4 grown in the presence of CRKN-1 and hairy nightshade produced tubers free of CRKN-1 damage, indicating both root and tuber resistance to CRKN-1. Russet Burbank tubers were damaged by CRKN-1 regardless of hairy nightshade presence. These results demonstrate how weed hosts of CRKN-1 may negate the positive impact of growing CRKN-1 resistant potatoes that lack tuber resistance, and the importance of weed control on managing plant parasitic nematode populations.
Development and evaluation of microdevices for studying anisotropic biaxial cyclic stretch on cells

Mechanical effects on cells have received more and more attention in the studies of tissue engineering, cellular pathogenesis, and biomedical device design. Anisotropic biaxial cyclic stress, reminiscent of the in vivo cellular mechanical environment, may promise significant implications for biotechnology and human health. We have designed, fabricated and characterized a microdevice that imparts a variety of anisotropic biaxial cyclic strain gradients upon cells. The device is composed of an elastic membrane with microgroove patterns designed to associate cell orientation axes with biaxial strain vectors on the membrane and a Flexcell stretcher with timely controlled vacuum pressure. The stretcher generates strain profile of anisotropic biaxial microgradients on the membrane. Cell axes determined by the microgrooves are associated with the membrane strain profile to impose proper biaxial strains on cells. Using vascular smooth muscle cells as a cell model, we demonstrated that the strain anisotropy index of a cell was likely one of the determinant mechanical factors in cell structural and functional adaptations. The nuclear shape and cytoskeleton structure of smooth muscle cells were influenced by mechanical loading, but were not significantly affected by the strain anisotropy. However, cell proliferation has profound responses to strain anisotropy.
Estimate of phonon thermal transport in amorphous materials above 50 K

A computation, using recent data on phonon mean free paths in amorphous solids, shows no significant contribution by low-frequency phonons to thermal transport at temperatures above 50 K. Therefore, a clean signature of the high-energy excitations of glasses should appear in the thermal conductivity.
Grazing behavior of horses on pasture: Predisposition to strongylid infection?

Summary This study was designed to determine how the behaviors of horses on a fenced-in pasture in the northeastern United States may contribute to infection by Strongylus vulgaris . The infective stages of strongylid parasites of horses develop in the feces, and they must be ingested for infection to occur. Domestic horses are thought to be coprophobic, and to avoid grazing in areas contaminated with their feces. 1,2 In this study, nine Standardbred colts were observed on two pastures three times a week during two observation periods (January, 1995 and February through mid-March, 1995). Nine adult Standardbred mares and geldings were also observed on the same pastures during one observation period from April through mid-May, 1995. On each pasture, the roughs (areas of group defecation associated with long grass), lawns (short-cropped grass) and bare areas (where hay was fed in racks), were mapped. Grazing occurred equally on roughs, lawns, and bare patches of the pasture in two of the three observation periods (January and April/May). In the February/mid-March observation period, most of the grazing activity occurred on the bare areas, where hay was provided, but there was still grazing in the roughs. Defecation and urination activities occurred at similar frequencies in all areas of the pastures during all observation periods. These data suggest that horses kept at high grazing intensities will graze near feces in the roughs, and will defecate in the “grazing” areas. It was also determined that the infective larvae of S. vulgaris are attracted to horse feces, but show no responses to grass, in laboratory chemical migration assays. These data suggest that the parasites may not migrate from the feces to the grass as part of their transmission strategy as previously reported. Thus, parasite infection may be occurring when horses graze in the roughs or near feces in the lawns and bare areas, and pasture management strategies for controlling these parasites may be most effective if focused on reducing the infective larvae present on the pasture.
Human Exploration of Mars via Earth-Mars Semicyclers

We present an architecture for the human exploration of Mars. This architecture is characterized by the use of parking orbits at Earth and gravity assists at Mars. An interplanetary transfer vehicle cycles from Earth orbit to Marsflyby andback, eliminating the need to launch transfer vehicles from the surfaces ofEarth andMars.Necessary developments for an Earth–Mars semicycler mission (beyond traditional architectures) include reusable transfer vehicles and rendezvous during planetaryflyby.When comparedwith scenarios similar toNASA’sDesignReference Mission, the Earth–Mars semicycler mission requires 10–35% less injected mass to low-Earth orbit once in operation.
Observations of complex-terrain flows using acoustic sounders: experiments, topography, and winds

Acoustic sounders have now been used extensively in a series of noctural drainage flow experiments carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) program. Doppler acoustic sounders, located in three different valleys during the sequence of experiments, reveal drainage-wind profiles that depend strongly on the ambient meteorological conditions and the elevation of each observing site relative to surrounding terrain. In elevated sites that drain easily, Doppler-sounder derived wind profiles show a simply-structured flow; in lower lying areas, subject to topographic constriction and cold-air pooling, and where Archimedean forces are comparable to those due to synoptic and mesoscale pressure gradients, the wind profiles show considerable vertical and temporal variation. In particular, in the Geysers area of northern California, the seabreeze and the depth of the Pacific Coast marine inversion affect not only the initiation of drainage winds but also their subsequent evolution.
The stylist as satirist: Richard A. Lanham

Style; An Anti‐Textbook. New Haven: Yale university Press, 1974. Revising Prose. New York: Scribner's, 1979.
Biologics and Infections: Lessons from Tumor Necrosis Factor Blocking Agents

In the decade since tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) antagonists were first approved for clinical use, they have proven invaluable for the treatment of specific types of chronic inflammation. Currently licensed TNF blockers fall into two classes, monoclonal antibody (or antibody fragments) and soluble receptor. Although they are equally effective in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, important differences have emerged with regard to efficacy in granulomatous inflammation and risks of granulomatous infections, particularly tuberculosis. This article focuses on recent studies that inform prevention and management of infections in this susceptible patient population.
Scanning electron microscope studies of oxidized pyrolytic graphite

Abstract Specimens of pyrolytic graphite (PG) that had been previously used for kinetic oxidation studies, as well as some unoxidized specimens, were examined. The principal topographic features of oxidized PG faces included circular holes with flat bottoms and various depths. Some holes were basin-like at the top. The hole walls were striated showing layers parallel to the deposition surface. The bottom side (i.e., nearest the substrate) was more extensively oxidized than the top, and the hole diameters were an order of magnitude larger. In contrast to these essentially cylindrical pits were a few with the shape of a paraboloid of revolution. The edges had indications of circular holes also. However, a nibbled effect appeared more common. A major feature of a thick specimen was the non-uniformity of attack as a function of distance from the substrate surface. The large scatter of the earlier kinetic data is attributed to this varying reactivity.
Posterior glottic webbing as a complication of laser arytenoidectomy

Bilateral vocal cord paralysis is an uncommon problem that presents with the cords in the paramedian position, allowing the patient a good voice but a compromised air­ way. Surgical treatments for this problem include trache­ otomy, reinnervation procedures, cord lateralizations, and arytenoidectomy. Arytenoidectomy can be per­ formed through open techniques or endoscopically, 1 Os­ soff introduced the carbon dioxide (C02 ) laser
Metrizamide computed tomographic cisternography: A high-yield diagnostic procedure for chiasmal syndromes with equivocal computed tomographic or magnetic resonance scans

Eight patients with chiasmal syndromes that could not be characterized despite high-resolution computed tomographic (CT) evaluation of the chiasm and suprasellar cistern were evaluated by metrizamide computed tomographic cisternography (MCTC). In all cases, the MCTC was essential in establishing the presence or absence of a structural chiasmal lesion. Although Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has largely supplanted MCTC as the procedure of choice in CT-negative chiasmal syndromes, the utility of intrathecal contrast computed tomography with cerebrospinal fluid analysis in evaluating chiasmal involvement in pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, gliomas, and particularly in unusual inflammatory lesions of the chiasm, make it a useful procedure to retain in one's diagnostic armamentarium.
The Decision to Use Topical Anesthetic for Intravenous Insertion in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Objectives: Topical anesthetic creams to reduce the pain of intravenous (IV) placement may be more effectively used in the emergency setting if they are applied by nurses in the triage area of the emergency department or soon after the patient is placed into a room. This strategy requires accurate prediction of which patients will require IV placement. The objective of this study was to compare triage nurse judgment regarding IV placement in pediatric patients with a triage prediction rule using chief complaint, referral status, and high-risk medical history. A secondary objective was to evaluate whether the presence of the anesthetic cream placed in triage influenced the subsequent decision to place an IV and thus invalidate the prediction strategy. Methods: Triage nurses were randomly assigned to a prediction score group (PRD), classifying patients as “IV likely” if the prediction score was ≥2, or an “own judgment” (RN JDGMT) group, classifying any patient that he or she considered to have a ≥50% risk of receiving an IV. The rate of actual IV placement in the emergency department treatment rooms was compared between the triage prediction strategies. To assess the influence of the presence of lidocaine 2.5% and prilocaine 2.5% (EMLA cream) on the judgment to place an IV, only 75% of the “IV likely” patients had EMLA applied in triage; the IV placement rate was compared between “IV likely” patients who did or did not have EMLA applied. Results: The authors enrolled 3,790 of 5,025 (75.4%) of eligible patients. The RN JDGMT group predicted 165 of 250 (66%; 95% confidence interval = 59% to 72%) of IVs placed, compared with 127 of 305 (41%; 95% CI = 36% to 47%) in the PRD group (p < 0.0001). Positive predictive values were 59% and 53% for the RN JDGMNT and PRD groups, respectively. There was no difference in IV placement rates in the “IV likely” patients who did and did not have EMLA applied. Conclusions: Triage nurse judgment to predict eventual IV placement had greater sensitivity and similar predictive value compared with a prediction model based on medical history and chief complaint. The triage placement of topical anesthetic in pediatric patients did not change the eventual rate of IV placement.
The delivery of aerosolized steroids from MDIs with nozzle extensions: quantitative laboratory evaluation of a method to improve aerosol delivery to intubated patients.

Objective Pulmonary deposition of aerosolized drug from a metered dose inhaler (MDI) is low with intubated patients. In the laboratory, extension of the MDI nozzle to the endotracheal tube tip has been shown to increase the delivered dose of albuterol. The objectives of this study were to determine the dose of aerosolized steroid (beclomethasone and triamcinolone) delivered through a MDI nozzle extension, the effect of nozzle extension length and number of actuations on the delivered dose, and particle size delivered through the nozzle extension.
Precipitated abstinence in the diazepam-dependent rat

Abstract Physical dependence was produced in the rat by exposure to continuous release of diazepam from silastic capsule implants (recrystallized diazepam) or by dosing through a gastric fistula. The precipitated abstinence syndrome induced by the IV infusion of flumazenil was characterized by clonic and tonic-clonic seizures, retropulsion, digging, rearing, head, limb and body tremors, twitches and jerks of the body, and ear twitches. This abstinence syndrome differed both qualitatively and quantitatively from the milder syndrome induced in previous experiments by the intragastric administration of flumazenil in the diazepam-dependent gastric fistula rat. Capsule-implanted rats had free plasma and extraneuronal brain levels of diazepam, oxazepam, and nordiazepam in the 10 −3 to 10 −4 mg/ml range, and their brain : plasma ratios were not significantly different from 1. The diazepam capsules had a sustained release of over 28 days. These studies show that the capsule implantation technique is an efficacious way of maintaining plasma levels of diazepam and its metabolites, and producing a high level of physical dependence in the rat.
Optics For Multibeam Optical Disk Systems (OMODS)

Optical disc recorder systems are being developed for ultra-high data rate, high-density applications. These systems utilize multiple independently modulated laser beams to simultaneously record closely spaced tracks of data with near diffraction limited performance. The record and playback laser source for these systems is an argon laser whose output is efficiently split into the number of beams needed to achieve the desired data rates. Two techniques for beamsplitting were evaluated -- acousto-optic deflectors and phase gratings. The record beams are passed through a multiple transducer A-0 modulator to encode the desired information to be recorded and focused onto the optical disc to form closely spaced tracks. A second set of low-power unmodulated beams pass through the same optical system and are focused onto the optical disc to allow playback while recording for data verification purposes. These same beams are also used for normal playback during subsequent data retrieval operations. The optical designs for these systems will be described and test results presented.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.