cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mast cell tumor invading the cornea in a horse

A 3-year-old Marwari mare was presented for evaluation of an irregular, reddish mass protruding from behind the right third eyelid. The mass appeared to arise at the ventral limbal area, involved the perilimbal bulbar conjunctiva and widely extended into corneal tissue. No other ocular or systemic abnormalities were detected at the time of presentation. The mass was surgically removed by lamellar keratectomy, with defocused CO(2) laser used as adjunctive therapy to treat the surgical exposed area and its surroundings. Histopathologic evaluation showed sheets of densely packed, well-differentiated neoplastic mast cells separated by fibrovascular connective tissue. Nuclear staining for Ki-67 was performed, and an average of 370 cells were positive per 1000 counted cells. Two months postoperatively, the surgical site was filled with flat fibrovascular and pigmented tissue, while the surrounding cornea was transparent with no superficial vascularization around the fibrotic scar. Thirty-two months after treatment, no recurrence of the neoplasia was reported.
Turbulent velocity and temperature measurements from a gas-fueled technology combustor with a practical fuel injector

Abstract Combustion characteristics of a propane-fueled, practical injector operating in a burner that closely reproduces the flow patterns of a gas turbine combustor have been investigated. The practical injector converges co-swirling airsheets on either side of a coannular fuel sheet into the central air passage. Instantaneous planar-laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) images of OH radical, laser doppler anemometer (LDA) measurements of mean and rms velocity, and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopic (CARS) measurements of mean and rms temperatures in the same burner at the same operating conditions have provided improved understanding of the complicated processes in a gas turbine combustor. The PLIF images of the OH radical have confirmed the vortex characteristics of the swirling flames and the highly variable nature of the flame shape as φ and air flow rate was changed. Correlation of these images with air flow through the various nozzle passageways confirms that the local φ must lie between the lean and rich flammability limits for a flame to be locally present. Three recirculation zones were identified from LDA measurements. The highest axial velocity region is about 75 mm downstream for the fuel lean case, but is near the injector for the fuel rich case. The highest tangential velocities are located near the injector for both lean and rich cases. The effects of the injector on velocity were dissipated by one combustor diameter downstream. Large rms velocities occurred in areas where significant velocity gradients exist. The high temperatures changed location as the fuel equivalence ratio was varied from fuel lean (over the injector) to fuel rich (near the outer recirculation zone). The high-temperature regions are consistent with the PLIF images of OH radical, and become relative uniform by about one combustor diameter downstream. Measured temperatures never exceeded the peak theoretical adiabatic flame temperature.
Modification of the interlayer in HTiNbO5 and its physicochemical characterization

A layered titanoniobate, in which the interlayer of the metal oxide based on octahedral framework is pillared with silica, has been prepared from HTiNbO 5 by employing alkylamines (C n H 2n+1 NH 2 , n = 4, 6, 8, 10) and tetraethylorthosilicate as interlayer exchange guests and a pillar precursor, respectively. The incorporated amine had bilayer arrangements in the inter-layer space and their ammonium head groups pointed to the host (TiNbO 5 - ) layers. While the basal spacing of the compounds increased with the chain length of alkylamine, the inclination angle also increased. The intercalated structure facilitated the incorporation of tetraethylorthosilicate into the interlayers, and silica-pillared layered titanoniobate was obtained after calcination. The physicochemical properties of the resultant pillared compounds were characterized on the interlayer microstructure, nitrogen adsorption and UV-VIS absorption spectra.
A Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Interdisciplinary Capstone Design Project

Since Spring 2000, and running every semester, the University of South Carolina Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Electrical Engineering have collaborated on a capstone senior design project. In the beginning, the collaboration was between a junior level mechanical engineering class and the electrical engineering senior capstone design class. The collaboration has evolved and is currently between both departments’ senior capstone design classes. This paper outlines the growth of the collaboration from inception to current state with focus on the recent history of the collaboration. In its current embodiment students from mechanical engineering design, develop, construct and deliver a robotic vehicle platform for electrical engineering students to place a microcontroller for use in the autonomous control of the robotic platform. The integrated and completed robotic platform is used in the Southeastern Conference IEEE student competition held each Spring. The collaboration is considered successful by both departments and is used as a key example of an interdisciplinary design effort between the two departments for ABET review considerations.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Natural history and risk factors for progression of hepatitis C virus disease and development of hepatocellular cancer before liver transplantation

1. Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of cirrhosis and the most common indication for liver transplantation in many countries throughout the world. 2. The most significant factors leading to fibrosis progression in patients with chronic HCV infection include the degree of inflammation present on liver biopsy and ongoing alcohol use. 3. Patients with cirrhosis secondary to chronic HCV infection are at increased risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). 4. Achieving a sustained virological response after treatment with interferon, with or without ribavirin, is associated with a reduced risk for the development of cirrhosis and HCC and prolonged survival.
Call for Papers---Interfaces Special Issue: Analytics in Sports

Sports-related business activities constitute a multibillion dollar industry in which difficult decision-making problems exist at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Fostered by increasing availability of data and advances in computational power, the use of quantitative analysis to improve decision making in sports has enjoyed growing popularity. In this special issue of Interfaces, we seek to highlight the role of analytics in the sports industry. Appropriate papers will analyze decision making in one or more aspects of the sports industry, such as scheduling, in-game strategy, business operations, personnel decisions, marketing, logistics, and sports economics. All varieties of methodological approaches are encouraged. Possible methodologies include (but are not restricted to) optimization, simulation, statistics, data mining, econometrics, game theory, artificial intelligence, decision analysis, and applied probability. We invite the development and utilization of mathematical models, both prescriptive and descriptive, that provide insight for practitioners in the sports industry. An important challenge facing model builders is the implementation and incorporation of technical analysis by sports-management personnel. Therefore, ideal papers for this issue of Interfaces should demonstrate an impact on decision-making practice in the sports industry. Papers describing applied sports research must include letters from relevant organizations verifying the implementation of the analysis and subsequent benefits. Novel sports studies that do not have commercial or industry application are also encouraged, with preference given to those papers that maintain relevance to sports-industry practice. For guidance on paper preparation, please review the Interfaces Instructions to Authors at http://interfaces.pubs.informs.org/guidelines.htm. Papers must be submitted online using Manuscript Central at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/inte. In the Author Center of Manuscript Central, please designate the “Manuscript Type" (1—“Type, Title, and Abstract”) as “Special Issue" in the dropdown list; in 4—“Details & Comments,” respond “Analytics in Sports” to the question, “This paper is for which special issue?” All papers will be refereed. The deadline for submission has been extended to May 1, 2010. Papers will be processed as they are submitted, so please submit as soon as possible.
Adaptive control using a moving window Newton-Raphson parameter identification scheme

This paper will describe an adaptive control system for aircraft that is based on a parameter identification on-line scheme. The adaptive mechanism uses two elements: one, a digital batch processing of a data record to obtain identified parameters; and, two, algebraic relations specifying the control law constants given the identified parameters. Concerning the first, a data record representing a time history of the most recent state measurements serves as the input to a computational algorithm for the identifier. It has a finite length and, hence, as new measurements are taken, old ones are pushed out of the data batch. The computational algorithm used to identify the parameters is a modified Newton-Raphson scheme. It uses a linearized model to represent vehicle motions. The model is obtained from continuous-time representations of the aircraft dynamics. The continuous-time representation is converted to a discrete form necessary for the model using a first-order Euler integration scheme. The model contains 10 parameters which are to be identified. Three parameters relate to the longitudinal motions of the vehicle and the remaining ones relate to the vehicle's lateral motions. The longitudinal and lateral model parameters affect only longitudinal and lateral model variables, respectively. This permits identification of longitudinal or lateral parameters as subsets when the data record does not contain adequate information for complete identification of all subsets of the model parameter space. Parameter subsets are altered only after a successful test of the rank of the information matrix related to that subset. The second element involves taking the parameter estimates and adjusting control law constants. That operation should be performed only after the process is converged to proper estimates of the parameters. Hence, another test (related to smallness of the model fit error over the data batch) is made to insure that the parameter estimates are meaningful. The design criterion for control law adjustments, given the parameters, is based on maintaining uniform linear response characteristics. Results of tests of the overall system will be presented. The tests are made on a fixed base, six-degree-of-freedom, piloted simulation of the F8-DFBW aircraft. The simulation is resident on the CDC 6600 real-time computer facility at Langley Research Center. The control system is resident on a computing system external to the 6600 facility, an EAI Pacer digital computer system. Control is scheduled using real-time interrupts; but, the processing of the adaptive mechanism is treated as a background job for the system. Records indicating performance of the identifier over a large range of flight conditions will be presented. Results will be presented for different data batch sizes (number of points) and densities (spacing in time between points).
Right ventricular strain imaging using 3D SPAMM combined with optical flow tracking

Summary A SPAMM sequence and optical flow tracking method that permits evaluation of strain in all 3 dimensions simultaneously in a single acquisition was successfully applied to the right ventricle. Background Presently there is no method of evaluating right ventricle function that simultaneously accounts for its complex geometry and motion. RV strain imaging is promising for evaluating regional dysfunction but to date it has not been possible to assess all 3 dimensions in a single acquisition. A novel variant of SPAMM tagging combined with optical flow tracking is available at our institution that can evaluate strain and torsion simultaneously in all 3 dimensions. We have applied this method to the right ventricle. Methods Data was analyzed, with attention to the right ventricle, from data acquired during a study of left ventricular remodeling post acute infarction. Imaging was obtained using respiratory triggering, with animals ventilated under general anesthesia, and triggering from invasive monitoring of left-sided pressures. 3-D tagging was performed at early (less than one week) and later (4-6 week) postoperative time points. Typical parameters for the 3-D tagging sequence at high resolution are: slice thickness 1mmx0.5mmx2mm interpolated to 0.5x0.5x2mm; 4mm tag spacing; coverage of about half of the heart, at mid-ventricle level; 6 nex; 30 minute acquisition time with respiratory gating. 5 or 6 phases were acquired during average systole. Typical parameters for the sheep 3-D tagging sequence at low resolution are: slice thickness 2mmx1mmx2mm interpolated to 1x1x2 ; whole heart coverage; 6mm tag spacing; 4 nex (4 signal acquisitions); 45 minute acquisition time with respiratory gating. Tag tracking was performed using an optical flow method and principal strain was calculated from the displacement using a custom program.
A note of the approximation of likelihood function for a spatial model

Abstract The approximation of likelihood function in Lemma 1 of Berger et al. (2001, 2003) plays an important rule in determining whether a posterior distribution is proper for a spatial model. In this short note, we generalize the results by dropping two conditions in the lemma for the approximation to the likelihood function.
Optimum design of an EV/PHEV charging station with DC bus and storage system

In this paper the optimum design of a fast-charging station for PHEVs and EVs is proposed to minimize the strain on the power grid while supplying the vehicles with the required power. By studying the power demand of the charging station, a conclusion is reached that the size of the grid tie can be reduced substantially by sizing the grid tie for the average rather than the peak power demand. Therefore the charging station architecture with a single AC/DC conversion and a DC distribution to DC/DC charging units is proposed. An energy storage system is connected to the DC bus to supply power when the demand exceeds the average that can be provided from the grid. Various topologies for both the AC/DC and DC/DC conversion are studied to find the optimum design for this application.
Comparison of Static Balance in Trainable Mentally Handicapped and Nonhandicapped Children.

While for 31 trainable mentally handicapped children and for 31 nonhandicapped (Mage 91.56 mo.), there were no differences in static balance on left or right legs, total balance time was significantly different between the two groups, confirming prior work which related motor proficiency to intelligence. The normal group showed significant positive correlations among height, weight, age, and measures of static balance but only age was not correlated with balance for the handicapped group.
Multivariate locally adaptive density estimation

Multivariate versions of variable bandwidth kernel density estimators can lead to improvement over kernel density estimators using global bandwidth choices. These estimators are more flexible and better able to model complex (multimodal) densities. In this work, two variable bandwidth estimators are discussed: the balloon estimator which varies the smoothing matrix with each estimation point and the sample point estimator which uses a different smoothing matrix for each data point. A binned version of the sample point estimator is developed that, for various situations in low to moderate dimensions, exhibits less error (MISE) than the fixed bandwidth estimator and the balloon estimator. A practical implementation of the sample point estimator is shown through simulation and example to do a better job at reconstructing features of the underlying density than fixed bandwidth estimators. Computational details, including parameterization of the smoothing matrix, are discussed throughout.
Posttraumatic bile leaks: role of diagnostic imaging and impact on patient outcome

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of bile leaks on patient morbidity and hospital course following blunt and penetrating liver trauma. Forty patients who underwent hepatobiliary scintigraphy after trauma were included. Scintigraphic results were classified as follows: free intraperitoneal bile leak, contained bile leak, and no bile leak. Outcomes measured were length of hospital stay, number of procedures required, and number of subsequent imaging studies. Bile leaks were identified in 25% of patients. Eight percent had free intraperitoneal leaks, 18% contained bile leaks, and 73% had no bile leak. One study was nondiagnostic due to poor hepatic function. Mean hospitalization was as follows: free bile leak group, 53 days; contained bile leak group, 10 days; no bile leak group, 14 days. Patients with free intraperitoneal bile leak had more imaging studies and procedures than patients without free bile leak. Patients with liver injury and free intraperitoneal bile leak have longer hospitalizations and undergo more therapeutic procedures than those without, who respond to conservative management.
Electrical conductivity and viscosity of supercritical isobutyric acid + water solutions

The electrical conductivity of the isobutyric acid + water critical system has been measured for several concentrations including the critical. Measurements were made using a hybrid conductance/viscosity cell‐a modified Ubbelhode viscometer‐which permitted almost simultaneous measurements of viscosity and conductance. Absence of a conductivity anomaly was verified for T – Tc ≥ 0.03°C. The results of additional measurements made on a critical solution in which 2% of the protons were replaced by K+ ions clearly show that the absence of an anomaly is not simply due to the fact that, in this binary system, most of the current is carried by the proton. The possibility of an anomaly in the ac conductance quite unrelated to the viscosity anomaly and strongly dependent on bridge frequency, occurring (for audio frequencies) at smaller T – Tc values than those reached in this work, is discussed.
A counterexample connected with Geršgorin's theorem

Abstract A conjectured generalization of Gersgorin's eigenvalue location theorem is shown to be false.
Experimental evaluation of the “polished panel optical receiver” concept on the Deep Space Network's 34 meter antenna

The potential development of large aperture ground-based “photon bucket” optical receivers for deep space communications has received considerable attention recently1. One approach currently under investigation proposes to polish the aluminum reflector panels of 34-meter microwave antennas to high reflectance, and accept the relatively large spotsize generated by even state-of-the-art polished aluminum panels. Here we describe the experimental effort currently underway at the Deep Space Network (DSN) Goldstone Communications Complex in California, to test and verify these concepts in a realistic operational environment. A custom designed aluminum panel has been mounted on the 34 meter research antenna at Deep-Space Station 13 (DSS-13), and a remotely controlled CCD camera with a large CCD sensor in a weather-proof container has been installed next to the subreflector, pointed directly at the custom polished panel. Using the planet Jupiter as the optical point-source, the point-spread function (PSF) generated by the polished panel has been characterized, the array data processed to determine the center of the intensity distribution, and expected communications performance of the proposed polished panel optical receiver has been evaluated.
Simple measurement of urinary glycosaminoglycans and degradation products.

Abstract A simple and rapid method is described for the measurement of urinary glycosaminoglycans and of hexuronic acid-containing oligosaccharides which probably represent products of enzymic degradation of tissue glycosaminoglycans.
Seismic Performance of a Large-Scale Steel Self-Centering Moment-Resisting Frame: MCE Hybrid Simulations and Quasi-Static Pushover Tests

AbstractThis paper presents an experimental study of a 0.6-scale 2-bay 4-story steel self-centering moment-resisting frame (SC-MRF) test structure under maximum considered earthquake (MCE) ground motions. A SC-MRF uses high-strength posttensioning (PT) strands to precompress the beams to the columns and to close the gaps between the beam flanges and column flanges that occur at the beam-column interface under earthquake loading, returning the frame to its initial position (i.e., the frame is self-centering). In this study, a beam web friction device is included in each beam-column connection to dissipate energy under seismic loading. The SC-MRF design objectives are to be without structural damage, creating the potential for immediate occupancy performance under the design basis earthquake, and to suffer only modest damage, leading to collapse prevention (CP) performance under the MCE. The CP performance is achieved by avoiding beam web buckling and PT strand yielding and fracture. A special fuse that pre...
Distributed adaptive fault-tolerant control against actuator faults and lossy interconnection links

This paper presents an adaptive method to solve the robust fault-tolerant control (FTC) problem for a class of large scale systems against actuator failures and lossy interconnection links. In terms of the special distributed architectures, the adaptation laws are proposed to estimate the unknown eventual faults of actuators and interconnections, constant external disturbances, and controller parameters on-line. Then a class of distributed state feedback controllers are constructed for automatically compensating the fault and disturbance effects on systems based on the information from adaptive schemes. On the basis of Lyapunov stability theory, it shows that the resulting adaptive closed-loop large-scale system can be guaranteed to be asymptotically stable in the presence of uncertain faults of actuators and interconnections, and constant disturbances. The proposed design technique is finally evaluated in the light of a simulation example.
Lipid Membrane Reorganization Induced by Chemical Recognition

Nanoscale structural reorganization of a lipid bilayer membrane induced by a chemical recognition event has been imaged using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). Supported lipid bilayers, composed of distearylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) and a synthetic lipid functionalized with a Cu(2+) receptor, phase-separate into nanoscale domains that are distinguishable by the 9 A height difference between the two molecules. Upon binding of Cu(2+) the electrostatic nature of the receptor changes, causing a dispersion of the receptor molecules and subsequent shrinking of the structural features defined by the receptors in the membrane. Complete reversibility of the process was demonstrated through the removal of metal ions with EDTA.
The long-run stock performance of preferred stock issuers

Abstract We examine the long-run common stock performance of preferred stock issuers. We find that significant abnormal underperformance is present only for 1 year after the issue. For the longer term we do not find consistently significant abnormal performance. This result contrasts with substantial underperformance of common equity and debt issuers during the 3 or 5 years post-issue. The better long-run performance of preferred issuers relative to common equity and debt issuers is driven primarily by financial firms' motivation to issue preferred stock to satisfy regulatory requirements of capital adequacy.
Thrombocytopenia as the presenting manifestation of human T-lymphotropic virus type III infection in infants

Three infants between 8 and 9 months of age developed thrombocytopenia resulting from immune-mediated platelet destruction, as evidenced by the presence of serum antibody to platelets and elevated platelet-associated immunoglobulin G in two patients, and abundant bone marrow megakaryocytes in all patients. The patients had a satisfactory response to corticosteroid therapy, and platelet counts have remained normal during observation after therapy. All patients had serum antibody to human T-lymphotropic virus type III, and HTLV-III was isolated from the peripheral blood lymphocytes in two patients. The HTLV-III infections were presumably acquired via blood transfusions in the neonatal period; none of the patients' mothers belonged to a risk group for HTLV-III infection, and all were HTLV-III seronegative. Although thrombocytopenia was the major clinical manifestation, the patients had a number of immunologic abnormalities characteristic of HTLV-III infection; these included hyperimmunoglobulinemia, a decreased proportion of peripheral blood T cells, and a marked reduction in the proportion of peripheral blood T helper-inducer lymphocytes. We conclude that the patients had immune-mediated thrombocytopenia caused by HTLV-III infection.
Inter-rater agreement in judging errors in diagnostic reasoning.

Context and objective Inter-rater agreement is essential in rating clinical performance of doctors and other health professionals. The purpose of this study was to establish inter-rater agreement in categorising errors in the diagnostic process made by clinicians using computerised decision support systems. Methods Eight possible error categories were developed for coding errors in diagnostic hypotheses and plans for next steps in the work-up. Two independent doctor judges rated 54 work-ups (representing 2 cases, each worked-up by 27 doctors). Inter-rater agreement between the 2 raters was computed using the kappa coefficient. Results High inter-rater agreement was achieved in all categories except where the manual was not sufficiently specific and raters had to use their judgement. As is typical of the kappa coefficient, however, agreement corrected for chance fell markedly into the ‘poor’ range when the percentages of expected and observed agreement were about the same. Conclusion Raters can achieve good agreement in categorising errors provided they are given explicit scoring rules and do not rely solely upon clinical judgement. The kappa coefficient has limitations in cases where the expected agreement between judges is high and variability is low. The use of 2 indices to assess agreement, analogous to test sensitivity and specificity, is recommended.
Truth in Reconciliation

To what extent is truth required for reconciliation of peoples in conflict? What kind of truth? Objective truth, subjective truth? Maybe reconciliation require that the pursuit of truth be limited? The trial of the former “Khmer Rouge” leaders in Cambodia for crimes against humanity provides a case where these issues are examined.
Stereoselective detoxification of chiral sarin and soman analogues by phosphotriesterase.

Abstract The catalytic activity of the bacterial phosphotriesterase (PTE) toward a series of chiral analogues of the chemical warfare agents sarin and soman was measured. Chemical procedures were developed for the chiral syntheses of the S P - and R P -enantiomers of O -isopropyl p -nitrophenyl methylphosphonate (sarin analogue) in high enantiomeric excess. The R P -enantiomer of the sarin analogue ( k cat =2600 s −1 ) was the preferred substrate for the wild-type PTE relative to the corresponding S P -enantiomer ( k cat =290 s −1 ). The observed stereoselectivity was reversed using the PTE mutant, I106A/F132A/H254Y where the k cat values for the R P - and S P -enantiomers were 410 and 4200 s −1 , respectively. A chemo-enzymatic procedure was developed for the chiral synthesis of the four stereoisomers of O -pinacolyl p -nitrophenyl methylphosphonate (soman analogue) with high diastereomeric excess. The R P R C -stereoisomer of the soman analogue was the preferred substrate for PTE. The k cat values for the soman analogues were measured as follows: R P R C, 48 s −1 ; R P S C , 4.8 s −1 ; S P R C , 0.3 s −1 , and S P S C , 0.04 s −1 . With the I106A/F132A/H254Y mutant of PTE the stereoselectivity toward the chiral phosphorus center was reversed. With the triple mutant the k cat values for the soman analogues were found to be as follows: R P R C, 0.3 s −1 ; R P S C , 0.3 s −1 ; S P R C , 11 s −1 , and S P S C , 2.1 s −1 . Prior investigations have demonstrated that the S P -enantiomers of sarin and soman are significantly more toxic than the R P -enantiomers. This investigation has demonstrated that mutants of the wild-type PTE can be readily constructed with enhanced catalytic activities toward the most toxic stereoisomers of sarin and soman.
Choroidal metastasis from an occult primary diagnosed by fine‐needle aspiration: A case report

Choroidal masses are rarely the first presentation without the primary tumor being discovered. We described fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of a choroidal mass for diagnosis and determining the primary site. The patient, a 50-year-old Caucasian male without significant past medical history, presented with visual disturbances and headaches. Intraoperative ocular FNA was performed which was sparsely cellular showing a few loosely cohesive sheets and singly arranged epithelial cells with moderate amount cytoplasm, round large nuclei and prominent nucleoli. Immunohistochemical stainings on the cell block material showed positive staining of cytokeratin and negative staining of melanoma markers. The diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma was rendered. During clinical follow up studies, the patient was found to have a PET positive lung nodule and multiple visceral metastasis.
Effects of hydration, ion release, and excluded volume on the melting of triplex and duplex DNA.

The stability of DNA duplex and triplex structures not only depends on molecular forces such as base pairing or tripling or electrostatic interactions but also is sensitive to its aqueous environme...
Relative concentration of fluorophores in a scattering medium using fluorescence lifetime contrast

In vivo optical molecular imaging of fluorescent probes predominantly employs continuous wave techniques to measure fluorescence intensity. Alternatively, time domain techniques permit measurement of fluorescence lifetime in addition to fluorescence intensity. Fluorescence lifetime allows discrimination of fluorescent probes with contrasting lifetime or inference of a probe's environment due to lifetime sensitivity. Here, we present the use of fluorescence lifetime contrast to evaluate the relative concentrations of a mixture of fluorophores in a scattering medium. This approach offers the potential to perform dual-probe in vivo optical molecular imaging at a single wavelength employing lifetime contrast rather than via spectral intensity contrast.
Maternal behavior, social support, and economic conditions as predictors of distress in children

Economic hardship diminishes psychological well-being and the capacity for supportive parenting. Single mothers' coping behavior, psychological functioning, and communications to the child about financial matters and personal problems predict the degree of psychological distress experienced by their children.
Unified Approach to the Evaluation of Analytical Data in Control Applications

A new problem representation for evaluation of analytical data is offered. The data considered are generated by multicomponent composition analyzers such as ordinary spectrometers, mass spectrometers, and chromatometers. Each instrument defines a transform that relates the output of the instrument to its input. In terms of the instrument transform, we discuss the use of digital computers to improve the efficiency of interpretation of raw data. Special reference is made to optical direct-reading emission spectrometers in process-control applications. It is believed that the concept of the instrument transform will stimulate creative contributions in the analyst's collaboration with computers.
Hormone release from cultured luteinized-granulosa cells mimics differences seen in vivo in patients undergoing IVF-ET.

Objectives Previous research from this laboratory has suggested that a relationship exists between the increase in circulating progesterone concentrations at the time of hCG administration and cycle outcome in patients undergoing IVF. Progesterone (P) increases of threefold or better within the 24-h period surrounding hCG administration appeared to be associated with a higher pregnancy rate. These data suggest a functional difference in the luteinized-granulosa of patients undergoing IVF. To test this hypothesis:
Characteristics of Cultivated Adult Human Nevocellular Nevus Cells

Nevus cells are of biologic interest because of their uncertain relationship to epidermal melanocytes and of clinical interest because of their statistical association with melanoma. We report a technique that allows reliable cultivation of nevus cells from small acquired and congenital nevi and permits in vitro characterization of this cell type. Morphologically, cultured nevus cells were found to closely resemble epidermal melanocytes from the same or comparably aged donors, manifesting marked dendricity and specific ultrastructural features characteristic of melanocytes; but could be distinguished by the presence of occasional large binucleate or trinucleate cells and by the frequent finding of grouped melanosomes in nevus cell cytoplasm. Growth kinetics were also similar for nevus cells and epidermal melanocytes, with population doubling times of 1-2 weeks in hormone-supplemented serum-fre-medium, and substantial growth enhancement by fetal bovine serum. As previously noted for epidermal melanocytes, nevus cells in serum-free culture demonstrated striking substrate responsiveness, with far greater attachment rates and degree of cytoplasmic spreading on fibronectin or type I/III collagen than on laminin, type IV collage, or uncoated plastic. These strong similarities in vitro suggest that morphologic and behavioral differences observed between epidermal melanocytes and nevus cells in the skin may result from local environmental influences rather than from intrinsic cellular differences. The availability of a satisfactory culture system for nevus cells may facilitate future investigations into their malignant potential and other biologic features.
Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia and acute aplastic anemia. The simultaneous occurrence in marital partners.

• A young husband and wife couple presented simultaneously with aplastic anemia and acute myelomonocytic leukemia, respectively. No etiologic agent or exposure was identified. With appropriate therapy, the wife achieved a complete remission and the husband has had a good response. Potential etiologic environmental factors known to cause both disorders are discussed. A single causative agent may induce stem-cell changes in genetically dissimilar persons and produce a spectrum of pathologic features ranging from aplastic anemia to acute leukemia. (Arch Intern Med1983;143:1156-1158)
Intra- and intersubunit cooperativity in activation of BK channels by Ca2+.

The activation of BK channels by Ca2+ is highly cooperative, with small changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration having large effects on open probability (Po). Here we examine the mechanism of cooperative activation of BK channels by Ca2+. Each of the four subunits of BK channels has a large intracellular COOH terminus with two different high-affinity Ca2+ sensors: an RCK1 sensor (D362/D367) located on the RCK1 (regulator of conductance of K+) domain and a Ca-bowl sensor located on or after the RCK2 domain. To determine interactions among these Ca2+ sensors, we examine channels with eight different configurations of functional high-affinity Ca2+ sensors on the four subunits. We find that the RCK1 sensor and Ca bowl contribute about equally to Ca2+ activation of the channel when there is only one high-affinity Ca2+ sensor per subunit. We also find that an RCK1 sensor and a Ca bowl on the same subunit are much more effective in increasing Po than when they are on different subunits, indicating positive intrasubunit cooperativity. If it is assumed that BK channels have a gating ring similar to MthK channels with alternating RCK1 and RCK2 domains and that the Ca2+ sensors act at the flexible (rather than fixed) interfaces between RCK domains, then a comparison of the distribution of Ca2+ sensors with the observed responses suggest that the interface between RCK1 and RCK2 domains on the same subunit is flexible. On this basis, intrasubunit cooperativity arises because two high-affinity Ca2+ sensors acting across a flexible interface are more effective in opening the channel than when acting at separate interfaces. An allosteric model incorporating intrasubunit cooperativity nested within intersubunit cooperativity could approximate the Po vs. Ca2+ response for eight possible subunit configurations of the high-affinity Ca2+ sensors as well as for three additional configurations from a previous study.
RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ADJACENT SPECIES SET AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS TO PLANT COMMUNITY RICHNESS AND COMPOSITION IN A GROUP OF CREATED WETLANDS

A major topic of discussion in community ecology is the relative influence of proximate seed sources and environmental variability on local plant species diversity. We investigated the effect of adjacent seed sources and environmental factors on initial plant species richness and composition in sixty wetland basins created in central Kansas, USA in 1998. We defined the adjacent seed source for each basin as the list of plant species found within a 10-m radius around each basin, filtered for those species capable of growing in wetland conditions. Basin water levels were monitored biweekly over three growing seasons, starting in 1999, as were soil moisture, temperature, and conductivity. Soil samples were analyzed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, pH, and soluble salts in 2001. We found that in the three-year-old basins, the species richness of the adjacent areas had contributed significantly to basin species richness, as did basin area, soil pH, and water-level fluctuation. After three years, 61% of the species found in the adjacent areas were also found in the basins. While we found that proximate seed sources did influence initial species richness and composition in newly created wetlands, we cannot conclude that any differences in initial plant communities will ultimately result in different successional trajectories for the wetlands in our system. However, given the potential sensitivity of vegetation richness and composition in these newly created wetlands to proximate seed sources, the location of future wetland creations may need to be considered.
Perceptions of Nursing Practice: Capacity for High-Quality Nursing Home Care

Emerging evidence indicates that harmful nursing home resident outcomes occur because of ineffective collaboration between registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) during assessment, care planning, delegation, and supervision. This observational, factorial vignette survey related video vignettes of RN–LPN collaboration in nursing home care to RN perceptions of: 1) current practice in their home; and 2) preferred practice in their home ( N = 444 rated vignettes of nursing practice). Current practice ranged from collaboration with few or poor-quality connections and a lack of differentiation between RN and LPN roles (low-capacity practice) to strong RN–LPN connections and clearly differentiated roles (high-capacity practice); RNs identified high-capacity practice as preferred. Interventions that bring together RNs and LPNs to learn new ways of giving care by differentiating roles while also strengthening connections show promise as levers for changing quality of care in nursing homes.
Cardiovascular diseases in China

Statistics from the National Population Census of China revealed a significant increase in the Chinese population, from 590 million in 1953 to 1.26 billion in 2000. The average life expectancy increased to 71.4 years in 2000 compared with the expectancy of 68.6 years a decade before. World Health Organization statistics on the death rate for total cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke in men and women aged 35-74 years revealed discrepancies between rural and urban parts of China. The China Multicenter Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Epidemiology indicated that cardiovascular disease was the major cause of death for both men and women, with stroke accounting for over 40% of deaths. Ischemia was shown to be the most common subtype of stroke in both sexes. Smoking was an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organization reported that the death rate attributable to tobacco was 6.0% worldwide and 9.2% in China in 1990. The latter is projected to reach 16.6% by 2020. In China, the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, the two key risk factors of cardiovascular disease, have also increased significantly in the past 20 years. In addition, elevated blood pressure and plasma cholesterol were two important determinants of increased cardiovascular disease in eastern Asia. These studies indicate that an integrated management of comprehensive risk is urgently required to address China's increasing cardiovascular disease burden.
Live distributed objects

Distributed multiparty protocols such as multicast, atomic commit, or gossip are currently underutilized, but we envision that they could be used pervasively, and that developers could work with such protocols similarly to how they work with CORBA/COM/.NET/Java objects. We have created a new programming model and a platform in which protocol instances are represented as objects of a new type called live distributed objects: strongly-typed building blocks that can be composed in a type-safe manner through a drag and drop interface. Unlike most prior object-oriented distributed protocol embeddings, our model appears to be flexible enough to accommodate most popular protocols, and to be applied uniformly to any part of a distributed system, to build not only front-end, but also back-end components, such as multicast channels, naming, or membership services. While the platform is not limited to applications based on multicast, it is replication-centric, and reliable multicast protocols are important building blocks that can be used to create a variety of scalable components, from shared documents to fault-tolerant storage or scalable role delegation. We propose a new multicast architecture compatible with the model and designed in accordance with object-oriented principles such as modularity and encapsulation. The architecture represents multicast objects as compositions of smaller objects, glued using a decentralized membership mechanism. The benefits include support for heterogeneous networks by allowing a single multicast protocol instance to simultaneously leverage different mechanisms in different parts of the Internet. Finally, we describe and evaluate a scalable reliable multicast prototype that incorporates a novel approach to scaling with the number of protocol instances by leveraging regular patterns of overlap. The system achieves exceptional performance, scalability, and stability in the presence of perturbations, in part thanks to a novel application of techniques such as priority scheduling or pull-based processing. We describe a previously unnoticed relationship between memory overheads and scheduling and the performance and scalability of a reliable multicast protocol. Our results demonstrate that to build a new global Web operating system that the live objects vision leads to, the distributed protocol and the local system architecture cannot be treated in isolation.
SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI: ANTIGEN-PRESENTING CELLS EMIGRATING FROM SKIN EXPOSED TO ATTENUATED CERCARIAE ACTIVATE LYMPHOID CELLS AND TRANSFER PROTECTION IN C57Bl/6 MICE

C57Bl/6 mice develop significant levels of protection to a challenge infection after percutaneous exposure to irradiated Schistosoma mansoni cercariae. Although some circumstantial evidence has suggested that antigen-presenting cells (APCs) within the skin play a role in priming anti-schistosomula effector mechanisms, no direct evidence has been presented. In this study, we describe efforts to directly test whether skin-resident APCs exposed to irradiated cercariae are capable of mediating responses consistent with previously proposed mechanisms associated with delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions. We demonstrate that a population of APCs emigrates from the skin after percutaneous vaccination and that these cells are able to induce proliferation of S. mansoni–specific lymphocytes. We describe our experiments conducted to confirm that proliferation is dependent on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class-II interactions and cell-to-cell contact between APCs and lymphocytes. Immunohistological staini...
Experimentally Induced Retinal Projections to the Ferret Auditory Thalamus: Development of Clustered Eye-Specific Patterns in a Novel Target

We have examined the relative role of afferents and targets in pattern formation using a novel preparation, in which retinal projections in ferrets are induced to innervate the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN). We find that retinal projections to the MGN are arranged in scattered clusters. Clusters arising from the ipsilateral eye are frequently adjacent to, but spatially segregated from, clusters arising from the contralateral eye. Both clustering and eye-specific segregation in the MGN arise as a refinement of initially diffuse and overlapped projections. The shape, size, and orientation of retinal terminal clusters in the MGN closely match those of relay cell dendrites arrayed within fibrodendritic laminae in the MGN. We conclude that specific aspects of a projection system are regulated by afferents and others by targets. Clustering of retinal projections within the MGN and eye-specific segregation involve progressive remodeling of retinal axon arbors, over a time period that closely parallels pattern formation by retinal afferents within their normal target, the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). Thus, afferent-driven mechanisms are implicated in these events. However, the termination zones are aligned within the normal cellular organization of the MGN, which does not differentiate into eye-specific cell layers similar to the LGN. Thus, target-driven mechanisms are implicated in lamina formation and cellular differentiation.
Eating and physical activity practices in risk of overweight and overweight children: compliance with US Department of Agriculture food guide pyramid and with National Association for Sport and Physical Activity guidelines for children

The purpose of this study was to identify eating and physical activity patterns associated with overweight elementary school children in Fort Worth, Tex, by comparing those with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) dietary guidelines and National Association for Sport and Physical Activity guidelines for children. Among 1018 participants, 56% were girls; the percentages of normal, risk of overweight, and overweight were 69.3%, 15.4%, and 14.9%, respectively. Most of the children were Hispanic (56.1%). Only 25% and 8.7% of all children met the USDA guidelines for fruits and vegetables, respectively. More girls met USDA guidelines for fruit and vegetable servings than boys, whereas more boys met the National Association for Sport and Physical Activity guidelines than girls. Engaging in physical activity more than 1 hour a day significantly decreased the likelihood of being at risk for overweight or overweight (adjusted odds ratio for overweight, 0.59; risk of overweight, 0.66). African American children were almost twice more likely to be overweight than white children (odds ratio, 1.98).