cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parent–child closeness studied in adoptive families

Abstract Adults who had been children in families of the Texas Adoption Project rated how emotionally close they had been to their parents. Ratings were obtained via a mail questionnaire from 324 adopted and 149 biological children, and from parents and siblings. On the whole, relationships were judged to have been close rather than distant; parents judged them to have been closer than their children did; biological children were closer to their parents than adopted children; and children closer to their mothers than to their fathers. Self-ratings of childhood closeness were modest predictors of life outcomes such as maturity of personality, educational achievement, and absence of externalizing problems. Father–child similarity in personality was correlated (weakly) with judged closeness, but mother–child similarity was not.
Histochemistry of fibres of masseter and temporalis muscles of edentulous monkeys Macaca mulatta.

Abstract Muscle fibres of the masseter and temporalis muscles of female rhesus monkeys which had been edentulous for 4.5 yr were analysed histochemically. Fibres were classified on the basis of activities of succinic acid dehydrogenase and myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase. Capillaries were visualized by phosphatase activity. Succinate oxidase activity was determined by differential respirometry of aliquots of whole muscle homogenates. These data were compared to data obtained from the muscles of control adult female animals. Relative to control values, the muscles of edentulous animals had lower oxidative capacity, more fast fatigable (FF) and fewer fast fatigue resistant (FR) and slow fatigue resistant (S) fibres, smaller S fibres and slightly reduced capillarity. These data indicate relative disuse of elevator muscle following removal of teeth.
Post‐Evaluation Practice

Learning is not maximally efficient from an instructional sequence in foreign language teaching without intentional practice following tests that evaluate student achievement of an instructional objective. This posttest practice must be provided to accomplish two important goals of instruction. First, post-evaluation practice must be provided at ever-increasing intervals in order to maximize student retention, so that lengthy rest periods (e.g., the summer recess) will have little effect on memory. Second, provision must be made for non-alerted practice, i.e., students are not made aware at the beginning of practice of the content focus. This latter practice is necessary for the achievement of automatic language usage. Arguments are made for post-evaluation practice, a distribution schedule is exemplified, and various types of practice are suggested and illustrated.
Adjoint Wilson line in SU(2) lattice gauge theory

The behavior of the adjoint Wilson line in finite-temperature, SU(2), lattice gauge theory is discussed. The expectation value of the line and the associated excess free energy reveal the response of the finite-temperature gauge field to the presence of an adjoint source. The value of the adjoint line at the critical point of the deconfining phase transition is highlighted. This is not calculable in weak or strong coupling. It receives contributions from all scales and is nonanalytic at the critical point. We determine the general form of the free energy. It includes a linearly divergent term that is perturbative in the bare coupling and a finite, nonperturbative piece. We use a simple flux tube model to estimate the value of the nonperturbative piece. This provides the normalization needed to estimate the behavior of the line as one moves along the critical curve into the weak coupling region.
The ontogenetic scaling of hydrodynamics and swimming performance in jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

It is not well understood how ontogenetic changes in the motion and morphology of aquatic animals influence the performance of swimming. The goals of the present study were to understand how changes in size, shape and behavior affect the hydrodynamics of jet propulsion in the jellyfish Aurelia aurita and to explore how such changes affect the ontogenetic scaling of swimming speed and cost of transport. We measured the kinematics of jellyfish swimming from video recordings and simulated the hydrodynamics of swimming with two computational models that calculated thrust generation by paddle and jet mechanisms. Our results suggest that thrust is generated primarily by jetting and that there is negligible thrust generation by paddling. We examined how fluid forces scaled with body mass using the jet model. Despite an ontogenetic increase in the range of motion by the bell diameter and a decrease in the height-to-diameter ratio, we found that thrust and acceleration reaction scaled with body mass as predicted by kinematic similarity. However, jellyfish decreased their pulse frequency with growth, and speed consequently scaled at a lower exponential rate than predicted by kinematic similarity. Model simulations suggest that the allometric growth in Aurelia results in swimming that is slower, but more energetically economical, than isometric growth with a prolate bell shape. The decrease in pulse frequency over ontogeny allows large Aurelia medusae to avoid a high cost of transport but generates slower swimming than if they maintained a high pulse frequency. Our findings suggest that ontogenetic change in the height-to-diameter ratio and pulse frequency of Aurelia results in swimming that is relatively moderate in speed but is energetically economical.
Disparate ionic-strength dependencies of on and off rates in protein-protein association.

Electrostatic interactions have been observed to play important roles in the kinetics of protein–protein association. Ionic strength, by its ability to modulate the magnitude of electrostatic interactions, has often been conveniently used to test their presence. From experiments on a wide range of associating proteins, a common feature has emerged: the on rates show strong dependence on ionic strength whereas the off rates are relatively insensitive. Here this feature is explained by an explicit description of a transition state for the association process and the suggestion that this transition is near the final bound state of two proteins. The molecular basis of the transition state in the bimolecular process lies in the fact that the bound state is characterized by local specific (e.g., van der Waals, hydrophobic, and electrostatic) interactions, whereas the unbound state is characterized by translational and rotational freedom. In the transition state the protein–protein pair encounters a free-energy maximum since its translational-rotational entropy is reduced while the specific interactions are not yet attained. In this formalism of the protein–protein association process, the enhancement of on rates by long-range electrostatic interactions can be written (analogous to an ordinary transition-state theory) in the form kon = kexp(−G/kBT), where G is the electrostatic free energy of the transition state. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biopolymers 59: 427–433, 2001
Electron Microscope Study of the Roughness of Permalloy Films Using Surface Replication

Permalloy films evaporated at normal and oblique incidence to a substrate were examined by replication of their surfaces. Electron micrographs revealed chains of particles perpendicular to the incident beam. The degree of alignment and the lengths of the chains depended upon the angle of incidence and the film thickness. A statistical analysis of the micrographs was made. The magnetic data showed a discrepancy between the magnetic thickness and the optical thickness for oblique incidence films.
Cargo Binding Proteins Trigger Myosin VI Dimerization

Among the myosin family, while other myosins move toward the barbed(+) end, myosin VI moves toward the pointed (-) end of the actin filament. This unique feature allows myosin VI to fulfill multiple cellular processes such as clathrin dependant endocytosis when bound to Dab2 or clathrin independant when linked to GiPC, vesicules transport to the Golgi and the perinuclear region, vesicules transition from early endosome to late endosome, AMPA receptor trafficking when bound to SAP-97.Our working model for how myosin VI function in a cell is that the full-length myosin VI molecule primarily exists as a monomer, and folded to form intramolecular interactions involving the cargo-binding domain that block potential dimerization sites. This is consistent with small-angle X-ray scattering data obtained by Spink et al.. Binding to monomeric cargo adaptors leads to an unfolding of the monomers, exposing potential dimerization sites. The unfolded monomers can then be held in close proximity, either via tethering by the adaptor protein and/or via as yet unidentified cargo-binding domain interactions. Alternatively, binding to a dimeric cargo adaptor protein leads to simultaneous unfolding and close opposition of the cargo-binding domains. This distal tethering of two cargo-binding domains allows internal dimerization (likely via coiled coil) to occur at the proximal end of the medial tail, and may include part of the last helix of the three-helix bundle. This internal dimerization causes the three-helix bundle, formerly known as the proximal tail, to unfold, forming an extension of the myosin VI lever arm.Although it has been a controversy whether myosin VI exists as a monomer or dimer, our data and others support the model in which myosin VI exists as monomer in cell but upon binding to cargo binding proteins allows its dimerization and ultimately fulfills its function in cell.
A Population of Cells Isolated from Rat Heart Capable of Differentiating into Several Mesodermal Phenotypes

Abstract A population of stem cells has been isolated from embryonic avian and neonatal rat skeletal muscle. These cells differentiate into several mesodermal phenotypes in culture upon treatment with dexamethasone. This study reports the isolation of a similar population of stem cells from another mesodermal tissue, the heart. Hearts were excised from 3- to 5-day-old rats, minced, and treated with a collagenase–dispase solution. Single cells were collected by centrifugation, washed, and plated in dishes. The cells were grown to confluence, trypsinized, and frozen at −80°C in 7.5% dimethylsulfoxide. After at least 24 hr, the cells were thawed and plated in 24-well plates and treated with media containing dexamethasone at concentrations of 10−6–10−10Mfor 4 weeks. Control cultures contained mononucleated cells with a stellate morphology. Treatment with dexamethasone resulted in the appearance of several mesodermal phenotypes. Bone and cartilage nodules were identified with von Kossa and Alcian blue staining respectively. Adipocytes were identified using Sudan black B stain. Smooth muscle cells were identified by an anti-smooth muscle α-actin antibody, and skeletal myotubes were stained with anti-myosin antibody. Large binuclear cells with obvious fibers were noted and stained with anti-desmin. These binuclear cells appeared in both the control and the dexamethasone-treated cultures and were tentatively identified as cardiomyocytes. These data strongly suggest the existence of a population of mesenchymal stem cells in neonatal rat heart.
Optimization of the generalized valence bond for vector processors

The Generalized Valence Bond [GVB(pp)] multiconfiguration self-consistent field wave function optimization program has undergone substantial revision in migration from serial scalar computers (like IBM and VAX) to the FPS-164, a minisupercomputer. Many of the code optimization strategies applied to the GVB program are portable and applicable to a wide range of scientific application codes. In benchmark calculations, the optimized FPS-164 program, GVB164, is 6.5 times faster than the initial FPS-164 implementation, both programs storing the two-electron integral list on disk. GVB164 runs 30 times faster in wall time (limited by the FPS-164 disk access speed) than a reference version of GVB2P5 on the VAX 11/780. The performance of GVB164 nearly doubles again when all of the two-electron integrals can be stored in main memory.
Replica images of silver-stained gels using direct duplicating film

A procedure for preparing duplicate images of polyacrylamide gels containing silver-stained proteins using X-ray direct duplicating film is described. Resulting images are shown to be qualitatively and quantitatively faithful representations of the original gel.
Optimizing sample and spike concentrations for isotopic analysis by double-spike ICPMS

Double spike techniques are widely used for measuring the isotopic composition of natural samples. In order to achieve the most accurate results by double spike analysis, it is important to choose an appropriate double-spike composition, analyte concentration, and spike to natural ratio (Cspk/Cnat) where Cnat is the concentration of a sample or standard with a natural abundance of the isotopes and Cspk is the concentration of an added spike with an unnatural isotope composition. Here, the effect of varying these parameters is explored using a Monte Carlo technique which simulates error from counting statistics, Johnson noise, and isobaric interferences. Typically, optimal spike composition and Cspk/Cnat are calculated under the constraint that total concentration of spike plus sample (Cspk + Cnat) must remain constant, so that as the amount of double spike is increased, the amount of sample is decreased. In practice, there is no reason for Cspk + Cnat to be held constant, because an analyst with a fixed quantity of sample may add any amount of spike to this sample as long as detector limits are not exceeded. Therefore, here, double spikes are here optimized while allowing Cspk and Cnat to vary independently. For thirty three different elements, this new approach of allowing Cspk and Cnat to vary independently led to a decrease in theoretical error of up to ∼30% in the absence of isobaric interferences. In the presence of isobaric interferences, this approach can deliver even larger improvements in accuracy and precision. Theoretical error is then compared to observed error both for δ56Fe standards and for δ56Fe, δ66Zn, and δ114Cd measured in seawater. Theoretical error and measured error for real seawater samples are highly correlated, with 78%, 85%, and 96% of observed error in δ56Fe, δ66Zn, and δ114Cd, respectively, accounted for using an error model which includes only Johnson noise and counting statistics. This confirms that such models, which minimize theoretical error, can be used to optimize spike composition, Cspk, and Cnat in order to increase accuracy and precision for analysis of natural samples.
Modification of high-lignin kraft pulps with laccase. part 2. xylanase-enhanced strength benefits

The effects of xylanase pretreatment of high lignin content softwood (SW) kraft pulp on subsequent pulp treatment with laccase in combination with gallic acid were investigated. Although xylanase pretreatment was ineffective in enhancing the laccase-facilitated biografting of gallic acid to kraft fibers, it was beneficial for subsequent treatment with laccase exclusively. Treating pulp fibers with xylanase followed by laccase provided a collective 25% and 46% increase in dry and wet tensile strength properties, respectively.
The Influence of Recreational Crabbing Regulations on Diamondback Terrapin By-Catch

Abstract Malaclemys terrapin terrapin (Northern Diamondback Terrapin) is susceptible to drowning in commercial-style pots used for the Callinectes sapidus (Blue Crab) fishery. Regulations to reduce by-catch mortality vary by state. We compared three different regulatory strategies with respect to crab catch and their relative effectiveness at reducing terrapin by-catch. To mimic their possible use by recreational crabbers, we grouped and fished together ten unbaited crab pots with no by-catch reduction devices (BRDs), ten with large BRDs, and ten with small BRDs in a tidal creek in southeastern Virginia. Over 24 sampling days, the total legal crab catch (crabs ≥ 12.7 cm) in pots with no BRDs (29.9 ± 10.0 SD crabs pot-1) and large BRDs (27.9 ± 6.2 crabs pot-1) was significantly greater than catch in pots with small BRDs (14.0 ± 5.8 crabs pot-1). Legal crabs varied in average size from 14.1 ± 1.2 cm, 14.0 ± 1.2 cm, and 13.7 ± 1.0 cm from pots with no BRDs, large BRDs, and small BRDs, respectively, but these...
Cancer risk among patients with cystic fibrosis.

Increased risks of cancer have been described with several constitutional disorders, including Down syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and many others. Speculation on whether cystic fibrosis should be added to this list is based in part on several case reports of cancer among persons with CF 112 and a report of an increased number of deaths from leukemia among family members of patients with CFJ 3 The recent finding of the proximity of the CF gene to the met oncogene has added to interest in such a clinical association. As aggressive pulmonary therapies have increased the life expectancy of patients with CF, an inherited predisposition to malignancy, previously obscured by the short life span of these patients, may become evident.
Age-related macular degeneration. Can we stem this worldwide public health crisis?

Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness in people over age 60 worldwide, represents a public health crisis that deserves the attention and understanding of all physicians. The dry form of the disease is more common than the wet, but the wet form causes the most severe vision loss. Other than vision aids (e.g., glasses, magnifiers), no treatments or preventive measures are currently available for patients with dry macular degeneration, and laser photocoagulation with fluorescein angiography is the only clinically proven therapy for neovascular disease. Indocyanine green angiography is a promising new imaging tool that may improve detection of patients likely to benefit from laser therapy. Until better diagnostic and treatment options are available, early screening and patient education offer the best hope for reducing the widespread devastation caused by this disease.
Simplification of Green's-function calculations through analytic continuation

A computational scheme is described which simplifies many Green's-function calculations of energy-dependent quantities such as the density of states through a novel use of analytic properties. Calculations are performed at complex energies well above the real axis where the quantities of interest are slowly varying. Physical results are then obtained by analytically continuing Green's-function matrix elements back to real energies using an efficient numerical procedure based on Taylor-series expansions. The approach is simple, versatile, and particularly well suited for evaluating the complicated Brillouin-zone integrals which often appear in Green's-function calculations. In recent coherent-potential-approximation (CPA) calculations for ${\mathrm{Hg}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Cd}}_{x}\mathrm{Te}$, the use of this technique cut the required computer time by about a factor of 3.
Challenges in scalable fault tolerance

The continued scaling of device dimensions is leading toward devices where only a handful of dopant atoms or charges can make the difference between a one and a zero in the of state of represented bit, by enhancing or depleting channel conduction. Thus very minor static imperfections in dopant distribution, dielectric properties, or device geometry, and dynamic conditions associated with heat, radiation, or aging can perturb a device out of specification and cause electrical errors. Thus we might expect to soon see devices with millions of static defects and thousands of soft errors in very short time periods. Both static defects and dynamic faults at these scales present huge challenges. Classical methods for fault or defect tolerance at a higher level of architecture (eg. N-modular-redundancy) can be impractically expensive, and some approaches to diagnosis and reconfiguration require immense reliable memories or impractical test and reconfiguration times. Efficient and effective means are needed that exploit structure inherent in one layer of architecture to provide key properties to enable reliable execution at other levels.
Literature-based discovery of diabetes- and ROS-related targets

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are known mediators of cellular damage in multiple diseases including diabetic complications. Despite its importance, no comprehensive database is currently available for the genes associated with ROS. We present ROS- and diabetes-related targets (genes/proteins) collected from the biomedical literature through a text mining technology. A web-based literature mining tool, SciMiner, was applied to 1,154 biomedical papers indexed with diabetes and ROS by PubMed to identify relevant targets. Over-represented targets in the ROS-diabetes literature were obtained through comparisons against randomly selected literature. The expression levels of nine genes, selected from the top ranked ROS-diabetes set, were measured in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of diabetic and non-diabetic DBA/2J mice in order to evaluate the biological relevance of literature-derived targets in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. SciMiner identified 1,026 ROS- and diabetes-related targets from the 1,154 biomedical papers ( http://jdrf.neurology.med.umich.edu/ROSDiabetes/ ). Fifty-three targets were significantly over-represented in the ROS-diabetes literature compared to randomly selected literature. These over-represented targets included well-known members of the oxidative stress response including catalase, the NADPH oxidase family, and the superoxide dismutase family of proteins. Eight of the nine selected genes exhibited significant differential expression between diabetic and non-diabetic mice. For six genes, the direction of expression change in diabetes paralleled enhanced oxidative stress in the DRG. Literature mining compiled ROS-diabetes related targets from the biomedical literature and led us to evaluate the biological relevance of selected targets in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy.
Enhanced Expression of Vascular Matrix Metalloproteinases Induced In Vitro by Cytokines and in Regions of Human Atherosclerotic Lesionsa

Dysregulated extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolism may contribute to vascular remodeling during atherogenesis. The ability of vascular cells to synthesize the components of ECM is well characterized, but less is known about their capacity to degrade ECM and the factors that may regulate this process. We therefore studied the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), enzymes that degrade various components of ECM, and of tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) by untreated or cytokine-stimulated human smooth muscle cells (SMC). Messenger RNA was studied by Northern blotting, and proteins secreted in culture by SMC were identified by immunoprecipitation. Gelatinolytic and caseinolytic activity of MMPs was detected zymographically. SMC constitutively produced a 72 kDa type IV gelatinase (GL), TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. Upon stimulation with IL1 or TNF alpha, SMC synthesized in addition 92 kDa GL, stromelysin, and interstitial collagenase, MMPs that together can degrade all of the ECM components. IL1 or TNF alpha did not alter the level of TIMP mRNA and protein, suggesting that a net excess of MMP production under these conditions may promote breakdown of the vascular ECM. To test the in vivo relevance of these in vitro findings, we analyzed immunohistochemically normal human arteries and carotid atheromas. Normal tissue and the medial layer underlying lesions stained uniformly for 72 kDa GL and TIMPs 1 and 2. Lesions showed regionally increased MMP expression: the shoulders of atherosclerotic plaques contained stromelysin and 92 kDa GL associated with SMC, and clusters of macrophage-derived foam cells associated with the lipid core stained intensely for all MMPs studied. Endothelial cells covering atheroma or of the plaque microvasculature contained interstitial collagenase. In pathological conditions associated with local release of cytokines in the vessel wall, enhanced regional expression of vascular MMPs may contribute to SMC migration and weakening of matrix that would favor plaque rupture, events associated with the development or complication of the atherosclerotic lesions.
Static synchronization beyond VLIW

A key advantage of SIMD (Single Instruction stream, Multiple Data stream) architectures is that synchronization is effected statically at compile-time, hence the execution-time cost of synchronization between “processes” is essentially zero. VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) machines are successful in large part because they preserve this property while providing more flexibility in terms of what kinds of operations can be parallelized. In this paper, we propose a new kind of architecture — the “static barrier MIMD” or SBM — which can be viewed as a further generalization of the parallel execution abilities of static synchronization machines. Barrier MIMDs are asynchronous Multiple Instruction stream Multiple Data stream architectures capable of parallel execution of loops, subprogram calls, and variable-execution-time instructions. However, instead of using barriers as a synchronization mechanism, the proposed barrier hardware is used to impose static timing constraints. Since the compiler can know at compile time all instructions which each processor could be executing when a particular conceptual synchronization operation is needed, it can resolve most synchronizations by using VLIW-like compile-time instruction scheduling — without use of a runtime synchronization mechanism. The effect is that the proposed barrier mechanism greatly extends the generality of efficient static scheduling without adding a significant hardware cost. Traditional, directed-synchronization, MIMD architectures are more flexible than barrier MIMDs, but the benefits of static scheduling make barrier MIMDs superior for fine to medium grain parallelism. Both the barrier architecture and the supporting compiler technology are discussed in this paper.
Race, moving status, and urban services in central cities

Abstract The influences of race and moving status on the likelihood of receiving unsatisfactory or inadequate urban services are investigated using logistic probability models. The analysis bears upon the perennial issue of felt injustice and the charge that white America has a policy of sustaining separate and unequal societies for minorities in cities. The results also speak to the limits on market adjustments to correct undesirable public outcomes. Statistically significant racial distinctions are isolated in the assessment of five urban services; in three cases these are unambiguously consequential. The extent to which moving costs and limited housing opportunities inhibit housing market adjustments to uneven service provision is measured by a decomposition of estimated probabilities for minorities and whites. The evidence generated supports continuing policies that expand minority housing opportunities and reduce impediments to the mobility of minorities in urban areas.
A Broad-Band Microwave Source Comparison Radiometer for Advanced Research in Radio Astronomy

A sensitive microwave radiometer system operating at short centimeter wavelengths has been developed which will allow large extensions of the known spectra of a large number of radio sources; facilitate the measurement of source polarization; give information on galactic structure and the sources of galactic radio emission; provide new data on the physical structure of planetary nebulas; and provide a means of measuring more accurately planetary temperatures, and the precise position of the brighter radio sources. A traveling-wave tube radiometer operating at 8000 mc with a bandwidth of 1000 mc and sensitivities of the order of 0.01°K is described. The radiometer is more than one order of magnitude more sensitive than other existing radiometers operating at 8000 mc. The very serious effects of gain fluctuations, acting on small residual signals, when trying to achieve very high sensitivities, are discussed. A means of eliminating such effects by introducing compensating noise has been found successful. Radio observations with this radiometer in conjunction with a 28-foot parabolic reflector have shown that: 1) The predicted sensitivity is achieved. 2) Zero-level stability is extremely high. 3) It has been possible to detect in detail the distribution of radio brightness at this wavelength in the vicinity of the galactic plane. 4) Radiation from the planets Jupiter and Saturn has been detected, this being the first detection of Saturn as a radio source. 5) Radiation from two planetary nebulas has been detected, this being the first detection of these objects as radio sources.
A sequential feature-positive effect using tone as the distinguishing feature in an autoshaping procedure

Four groups of pigeons were exposed to an autoshaping procedure in which all trials were signaled by a green key light. A tone signaled a food trial for the two tone-positive groups and a no-food trial for the two tone-negative groups. The tone preceded and terminated with green light onset for the two sequential groups and began and ended with the green key light for the two simultaneous groups. The sequential tone-positive group acquired the discrimination faster than the other groups. Asymptotic discrimination was best in the sequential tone-positive and simultaneous tone-negative groups. Relatively few responses occurred on the green key in the simultaneous tone-positive group. The relationship of these results to other studies of the feature-positive effect are discussed.
Mutation prevention concentration of ceftriaxone, meropenem, imipenem, and ertapenem against three strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

This investigation tested the mutation prevention concentration (MPC) concept using imipenem, meropenem, ceftriaxone, and ertapenem against three strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae (PCN MIC = 0.012, 1, 8 mg/L, respectively). MIC, MBC, and MPC values for each of the β-lactams did not differ by more than one tube dilution. While an interesting concept, MPC may not apply to antimicrobials that do not utilize a dual targeting system, such as β-lactams, or to bacteria that exhibit multiple mechanisms of resistance and/or mutate at a rate where the frequency would likely be captured by the standard inoculum size used in routine MIC testing.
Amlodipine Reduces AngII-Induced Aortic Aneurysms and Atherosclerosis in Hypercholesterolemic Mice

Background The purpose of this study was to determine effects of amlodipine, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, on development of angiotensin II (AngII)-induced vascular pathologies. Methods and Results Male LDL receptor -/- mice were infused with vehicle, amlodipine (5 mg/kg/d), AngII (1,000 ng/kg/min), or AngII + amlodipine for 4 weeks through osmotic pumps (n=10/group). Mice were fed a saturated fat-enriched diet for 1 week prior to pump implantation and during 4 weeks of infusion. Infusion of amlodipine resulted in plasma concentrations of 32 ± 2 ng/ml and 27 ± 2 ng/ml for mice in saline + amlodipine and AngII + amlodipine groups, respectively. This infusion rate of amlodipine did not affect AngII-induced increases in systolic blood pressure. Three of 10 (30%) mice infused with AngII died of aortic rupture, while aortic rupture did not occur in mice co-infused with AngII + amlodipine. Suprarenal aortic width and intimal area of ascending aortas were measured to define aortic aneurysms. In the absence of AngII infusion, amlodipine did not change suprarenal aortic width and ascending aortic area. Infusion of AngII led to profound increases of suprarenal aortic width (saline + vehicle versus AngII + vehicle: 0.86 ± 0.02 versus 1.72 ± 0.26 mm; P=0.0006), whereas co-infusion of AngII and amlodipine diminished abdominal dilation (1.02 ± 0.14 mm; P=0.003). As expected, AngII infusion increased mean intimal area of ascending aortas (saline + vehicle versus AngII + vehicle: 8.5 ± 0.3 versus 12.5 ± 1.1 mm2; P=0.001), while co-infusion of AngII and amlodipine ablated dilation of the ascending aorta (8.6 ± 0.2 mm2; P=0.03). Co-administration of amlodipine also significantly attenuated AngII-induced atherosclerosis in the thoracic region as quantified by percent lesion area (AngII + vehicle versus AngII + amlodipine: 5.8 ± 2.1 % versus 0.3 ± 0.1%; P=0.05). Conclusions Amlodipine inhibited AngII-induced aortic aneurysms in both the abdominal and ascending regions, and atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic mice.
Report by Bureau of Land Management on range conditions and grazing in Nevada

Abstract The Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency administering more than 72 million ha in the western United States, has often been criticised for allowing excessive livestock grazing and neglecting wildlife, watershed and recreation values on its lands. The first draft of a report by Bureau personnel evaluating the agency's policies in the State of Nevada supports the allegations. Congressional action is necessary to provide the Bureau with broader responsibilities, increased funding and greater authority, all of which are necessary to bring better balance to the Bureau's programme.
Intrauterine low density in women over 50 assessment of significance and recommendations for follow-up

Patients over 50 years old with intrauterine low density on enhanced computed tomography were analyzed. Uterine volume and volume of intrauterine low density were calculated. Intrauterine low density was expressed as a percent of uterine volume. At 1-year follow-up, 23 (63.9%) had uterine malignancy and 13 (36.2%) had benign findings. All patients whose intrauterine low density exceeded 35% of the total uterine volume had a malignancy (p < 0.001). If intrauterine low density exceeds 35% of uterine volume, evaluation of uterine malignancy should be performed regardless of symptoms.
The Use of Injury Biomechanics Principles and Tools in Transportation Accident Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board is furthering its accident investigation capabilities by implementing biomechanical tools and principles in its accident investigative process. Vehicle dynamics simulation is a commonly used investigative tool implemented to develop a complete understanding of how the vehicle moved and accelerated during an accident. Now the Safety Board is looking at both the reactions and actions of the occupants within the vehicle in response to the vehicle dynamics. This paper highlights two cases in which the principles and tools of biomechanics are applied to aid in the investigative process.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Effects of nitrous acid on transduction by Salmonella phage P22.

Abstract P22 phage suspensions were treated with nitrous acid. Mutations were produced in Salmonella genetic fragments within free transducing particles. The majority of the 32 histidine mutants obtained in this way exhibited incomplete genetic blocks. During nitrous acid treatment, phage survival decreased exponentially with single-hit kinetics. Abortive transductions also decreased exponentially with single-hit kinetics although at a rate slower than that observed for phage inactivation. The number of complete transductions increased at short nitrous acid treatments, then decreased exponentially. The rate of inactivation of complete transductions was significantly lower when a single-site mutant ( hisF-42 ) was used as recipient than when a multisite mutant ( hisE,F,A,H,B,C,D-712 ) was used as recipient. Nitrous acid treatment caused an exponential decrease in the frequency of joint transduction of two histidine markers. The rate of decrease in joint transduction frequency was proportional to the map distance separating the two markers. On the basis of the rates of linkage disruption and the inactivation rates for complete transduction, the eight linked Salmonella histidine genes were estimated as comprising a segment of DNA with a size of about 13,000 nucleotide pairs.
Perinatal torsion of spermatic cord

A case of torsion of the testis in the newborn is presented. A review of the literature indicates that this condition tends to occur in babies weighing over 3,000 Gm., born of primigravida; the involved testicle is usually nontender, and frequently there is adhesion of the skin to the mass. Controversies in regard to methods of treatment are discussed.
Maximizing inhibition of the renin–angiotensin system with high doses of converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers

Over the last 20 years, inhibitors of the renin–angiotensin– aldosterone system (RAAS) have become the cornerstone inthetreatmentofhypertension.Likewise,thesedrugshave found an increasing use in patients with underlying renal disease, as numerous lines of evidence have pointed to theirhavingabloodpressureloweringindependent antiproteinuric effect [1]. This effect of renin–angiotensin system (RAS)inhibitorsgainsinsignificanceasseverallargeinterventional studies have uniformly found that proteinuria is a major risk factor for progression of renal disease [2–5]. In fact, in some of these studies [3,4] the reduction of proteinuria in patients with diabetic nephropathy was associated with a decreased risk of reaching a renal endpoint which included doubling of serum creatinine and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). A similar observation has been made in non-diabetic kidney disease with lower levels of baseline proteinuria [5], demonstrating the importance of lowering protein excretion in a variety of renal disorders and across a broad spectrum of protein excretions. In view of the above-described observations, it is not surprising that there have been attempts to determine whether inhibition of the renin–angiotensin system at various levels could produce additive renoprotective effects. With the advent of a direct renin inhibitor (DRI), in addition to converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), there are no less than four potential drug combinations. Furthermore, since antagonists of aldosterone have been shown to decrease protein excretion in patients with renal diseases [6,7], the option of also employing aldosterone inhibitors doubles the potential combination of drugs to eight (Table 1). As would be expected, the most frequently used combination is that of an ACE with an ARB. Many of the studies that have been undertaken with this approach suffer from the confounding effect of further blood pressure lowering with the dual treatment, particularly when the doses used in the combination were the same as those employed in the comparator monotherapies [8]. However, when taken together, in a thoroughly and
United Conversionist Activities Among the Jews in Great Britain 1795-1815: Pan-Evangelicalism and the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews

This paper is concerned with examining the British pan-evangelical impulse of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries from the perspective of a little known but very important organization called the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews. The London Society, as it was better known, was a product of the same general missionary impulse that brought into being its better known sister organizations such as the London Missionary Society, the Religious Tract Society and the British and Foreign Bible Society. Like the Missionary Society out of which it evolved in 1809, the London Society was a missionary organization dedicated to evangelizing the world. It differed from the Missionary Society only in emphasis, suggesting that the Jews rather than the heathen would first be converted to Christian principles. Moreover, like the Tract and Bible Societies upon which its constitution was modeled, the London Society was completely interdenominational between 1809 and 1815, providing Anglicans, Dissenters and Methodists alike with a common mission to this unique group of potential converts. Unlike the latter two organizations, however, the London Society's tenure as an interdenominational institution was short-lived. Perennially frustrated in its attempt to convert large numbers of Jews to the Christian faith, and plagued by seemingly petty internal squabbles between its denominational representatives, the Society was finally taken over by the Anglicans in 1815 only seven short years after it was founded. By then many evangelicals believed that only a denominational effort would succeed.
Interruptions in Enteral Nutrition Delivery in Critically Ill Patients and Recommendations for Clinical Practice

Malnutrition is common in critically ill patients and is associated with poor outcomes for patients and increased health care spending. Enteral nutrition is the method of choice for nutrition delivery. Enteral nutrition delivery practices vary widely, and underfeeding is widespread in critical care. Interruptions in enteral nutrition due to performance of procedures, positioning, technical issues with feeding accesses, and gastrointestinal intolerance contribute to underfeeding. Strategies such as head-of-bed positioning, use of prokinetic agents, tolerance of higher gastric residual volumes, consideration of postpyloric feeding access, and use of a nutrition support protocol may decrease time spent without nutrition.
Multiple representations to compute orthogonal eigenvectors of symmetric tridiagonal matrices

In this paper we present an O(nk) procedure, Algorithm MR3, for computing k eigenvectors of an n×n symmetric tridiagonal matrix T. A salient feature of the algorithm is that a number of different LDLt products (L unit lower triangular, D diagonal) are computed. In exact arithmetic each LDLt is a factorization of a translate of T. We call the various LDLt products representations (of T) and, roughly speaking, there is a representation for each cluster of close eigenvalues. The unfolding of the algorithm, for each matrix, is well described by a representation tree. We present the tree and use it to show that if each representation satisfies three prescribed conditions then the computed eigenvectors are orthogonal to working accuracy and have small residual norms with respect to the original matrix T.
Lean Thinking in Emergency Departments : A Critical Review

Emergency departments (EDs) face problems with crowding, delays, cost containment, and patient safety. To address these and other problems, EDs increasingly implement an approach called Lean thinking. This study critically reviewed 18 articles describing the implementation of Lean in 15 EDs in the United States, Australia, and Canada. An analytic framework based on human factors engineering and occupational research generated 6 core questions about the effects of Lean on ED work structures and processes, patient care, and employees, as well as the factors on which Lean's success is contingent. The review revealed numerous ED process changes, often involving separate patient streams, accompanied by structural changes such as new technologies, communication systems, staffing changes, and the reorganization of physical space. Patient care usually improved after implementation of Lean, with many EDs reporting decreases in length of stay, waiting times, and proportion of patients leaving the ED without being seen. Few null or negative patient care effects were reported, and studies typically did not report patient quality or safety outcomes beyond patient satisfaction. The effects of Lean on employees were rarely discussed or measured systematically, but there were some indications of positive effects on employees and organizational culture. Success factors included employee involvement, management support, and preparedness for change. Despite some methodological, practical, and theoretic concerns, Lean appears to offer significant improvement opportunities. Many questions remain about Lean's effects on patient health and employees and how Lean can be best implemented in health care.
Quality of care among patients undergoing lower extremity revascularization

Background: Compliance with guidelines for treating patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) lags compliance for treating patients with coronary artery disease. We assessed the gap between guidelines and practice for patients with PAD who underwent lower extremity revascularization (LER) at our institution from 2007 to 2010. Methods: Quality of care (QoC) was calculated by measuring provider performance on four indicators (antiplatelet therapy, dyslipidemia management, control of hypertension, and diabetes) derived from the ACCF/AHA PAD guidelines. The QoC score was calculated at the time of admission and at time of discharge for each patient, and reflects the proportion of indicated treatments received. Results: Patients (n = 734, mean age 70±11, female 51%) were followed for a mean of 2.0±1.4 years (range 0–5.7) following LER. The indication for LER was claudication (24.8%), rest pain (16.7%), and tissue loss (58.4%). The percentage of patients with a perfect QoC score increased significantly during hospital admission (11% to 21%, p 75 years, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, rest pain, and tissue loss—but not compliance with four guideline-based therapies—were associated with decreased freedom from the composite endpoint of major amputation, repeat revascularization, and death. Conclusions: Although adherence to guidelines improved over time, we found a significant gap between guidelines and practice for this cohort of patients at increased risk for adverse cardiovascular events.
A stochastic local hot spot alerting technique

With the increasing levels of variability in the behavior of manufactured nano-scale devices and dramatic changes in the power density on a chip, timely identification of hot spots on a chip has become a challenging task. This paper addresses the questions of how and when to identify and issue a hot spot alert. There are important questions since temperature reports by thermal sensors may be erroneous, noisy, or arrive too late to enable effective application of thermal management mechanisms to avoid chip failure. This paper thus presents a stochastic technique for identifying and reporting local hot spots under probabilistic conditions induced by uncertainty in the chip junction temperature and the system power state. More specifically, it introduces a stochastic framework for estimating the chip temperature and the power state of the system based on a combination of Kalman filtering (KF) and Markovian decision process (MDP) model. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework and show that the proposed technique alerts about thermal threats accurately and in a timely fashion in spite of noisy or sometimes erroneous readings by the temperature sensor.
On Optimizing Traffic Signal Phase Ordering in Road Networks

Traffic signals are an elementary component of all urban road networks and play a critical role in controlling the flow of vehicles. However, current road transportation systems and traffic signal implementations are very inefficient. The objective of this research is to evaluate optimal phase ordering within a signal cycles to minimize the average waiting delay and thus in turn minimizing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through extensive simulation analysis, we show that by choosing optimal phase ordering, the stopped delay can be reduced by 40% per car at each signal resulting in a saving of up to 100 gallons of fuel per traffic signal each day.
Bending Behavior of Polymer Films in Strongly Interacting Solvents

Several polymers show bending behavior on exposure to selected solvent systems. Either on emersion or evaporation of particular solvents, films can bend or curl within seconds. The response depends on the interaction between polymer chains and solvent molecules as well as the film geometry and surrounding temperature.