cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Principal Component of Quality of Life Measures Is Associated with Survival for Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Radiation Therapy

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) metrics can be associated with survival in head and neck cancer (HNC); however, the impact of HRQOL recovery and the relevant HRQOL domains regarding outcome are unclear. Methods: Using a single-institution database, we retrospectively reviewed HNC patients treated with definitive or postoperative radiation therapy between 2013 and 2018. The recovery of individual HRQOL domains were determined by the ratio of the post-treatment to baseline scores. Univariate and Multivariate Cox regression were used to analyze survival outcomes. Principal component analysis was used to adjust for multicollinearity of HRQOL domains. Results: In 218 HNC patients who received radiation therapy, median follow-up was 24.8 months (interquartile range (IQR) 14.5–32.0). Principal component analysis evaluating the recovery of HRQOL domains revealed two independent principal components (PC), PC1 and PC2. PC1, which received contributions from the functional domains; physical (PF), role (RF), emotional (EF), cognitive (CF), and global health status (GQOL) was significantly associated with disease-free (HR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.61–0.98, p = 0.034) and overall survival (HR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.65–0.91, p = 0.004) on multivariate analysis and PC2, had no correlation with outcome and was mainly represented by social functioning. Unplanned hospitalization was significantly associated with lower PC1 scores (β = −0.997, Std. Error = 0.244, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that post-treatment recovery of HRQOL domains were associated with overall survival (OS) in HNC. PC1 is an attractive clinical tool to assess the recovery across multiple different HRQOL and the relationship with survival. Future prospective studies may identify patients who could benefit from additional rehabilitation based on PC1 score.
Midlatitude Continental CAPE Is Predictable From Large-Scale Environmental Parameters

A recent study by Agard and Emanuel (2017) proposed a simple equation for a quantity that scales with convective available potential energy (CAPE) that can be directly calculated from a limited num...
The Struggle is Real: An Investigation of Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Challenging Behaviors Through Reflective Writing

Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations, often due to the emotional investment of managing and caring for a classroom of students. In addition to environmental stressors, teacher wellbeing is impacted by relationships with students. While the relation between challenging student behaviors and adverse outcomes for both teachers and students is well-established, less is known about teachers’ mental representations and perceptions of challenging behaviors. This study examines preschool teachers’ perceptions and interpretations of challenging student behaviors through a reflective writing exercise. Eight Head Start teachers provided reflections on their relationship with a specific student displaying challenging behavior. Through content analysis, we found four distinct themes: balance, malleability, valence, and relational flexibility. Taken together, these themes suggest that, while all teachers’ mental representations of their relationship with students are impacted by the challenging behavior, their perceptions of the types of behaviors identified as challenging, the attribution of the challenging behavior, the tone used to describe the relationship, and the beliefs around sources of and solutions for the challenging behavior, vary considerably. By gaining a deeper understanding of teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with students displaying challenging behaviors through reflective writing, these findings provide the groundwork for interventions capable of improving overall classroom interaction quality, teacher wellbeing, and student learning and development.
A selenophene-containing conjugated organic ligand for two-dimensional halide perovskites.

A selenophene-containing conjugated organic ligand, 2-(4′-methyl-5′-(5-(3-methylthiophen-2-yl)selenophen-2-yl)-[2,2′-bithiophen]-5-yl)ethan-1-aminium (STm), was synthesized and incorporated into a Sn(II)-based two-dimensional perovskite, (STm)2SnI4. The band offset between the perovskite and ligand can be fine-tuned by introducing the STm ligand. Both field-effect transistor and light-emitting diode devices based on (STm)2SnI4 films exhibit high performance and enhanced operational stability.
In Vitro Studies with Modoc Virus in Vero Cells: Plaque Assay and Kinetics of Growth, Neutralization, and Thermal Inactivation

A sensitive and quantitative assay system is described for plaquing Modoc virus in Vero cells. Neutralizing antibodies to Modoc virus could be detected by using this in vitro system by their interference with viral plaque formation. Virus was readily neutralized within 30 min at 37 C by a 1:10 dilution of hyperimmune hamster serum. The rate of neutralization and the total amount of virus neutralized was not altered significantly by the addition of 20 U of guinea pig complement to the hyperimmune hamster serum. A study of the growth of Modoc virus in Vero cells is also presented. After an initial latent period of 20 h, viral titer increased exponentially for 20 h. By 83 h after infection, 8,000 plaque-forming units of virus were detected per cell. The stability of viral infectivity in phosphate-buffered saline at pH 7.4 was evaluated. No reduction in viral titer was detected after 3 days at 7 or 22 C. A continuous decrease in infectivity at 37 C was observed, however, throughout the observation period.
Price and advertising strategy of a national brand against its private-label clone

Abstract Price and advertising strategies of a national brand challenged by a private-label clone in a frequently purchased consumer package good category are examined. The situation is developed in the framework of a signaling game, in which the national brand manufacturer is a signal (advertising) sender and the consumer is a receiver. The game is solved for the separate, pooling, and hybrid equilibria. Applications of the perfect Bayesian equilibrium criterion and other refinement concepts led to a unique separating equilibrium. This result suggested that if the quality of a national brand is superior to that of its private-label clone, its manufacturer should advertise more than it would if its product were similar to the clone in quality. The level of advertising must be just high enough to maintain differentiation from the clone-quality national brand manufacturer, for which advertising is inefficient because of low product quality. Consumers, after observing the high level of advertising, realize that the clone-quality national brand manufacturer would not have spent that much advertising and hence are willing to pay a premium for the difference in quality. Consequently, the superior quality national brand can charge a higher price and increase its profit.
Reduced Expression and Activation of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels Contributes to Blunted Baroreflex Sensitivity in Heart Failure Rats

Voltage-gated sodium (Na(v)) channels are responsible for initiation and propagation of action potential in the neurons. To explore the mechanisms of chronic heart failure (CHF)-induced baroreflex dysfunction, we measured the expression and current density of Na(v) channel subunits (Na(v)1.7, Na(v)1.8, and Na(v)1.9) in the aortic baroreceptor neurons and investigated the role of Na(v) channels in aortic baroreceptor neuron excitability and baroreflex sensitivity in sham and CHF rats. CHF was induced by left coronary artery ligation. The development of CHF (6-8 weeks after the coronary ligation) was confirmed by hemodynamic and morphological characteristics. Immunofluorescent data indicated that Na(v)1.7 was expressed in A-type (myelinated) and C-type (unmyelinated) nodose neurons, but Na(v)1.8 and Na(v)1.9 were expressed only in C-type nodose neurons. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot data showed that CHF reduced mRNA and protein expression levels of Na(v) channels in nodose neurons. In addition, using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique, we found that Na(v) current density and cell excitability of the aortic baroreceptor neurons were lower in CHF rats than that in sham rats. Aortic baroreflex sensitivity was blunted in anesthetized CHF rats, compared with that in sham rats. Furthermore, Na(v) channel activator (rATX II, 100 nM) significantly enhanced Na(v) current density and cell excitability of aortic baroreceptor neurons and improved aortic baroreflex sensitivity in CHF rats. These results suggest that reduced expression and activation of the Na(v) channels are involved in the attenuation of baroreceptor neuron excitability, which subsequently contributes to the impairment of baroreflex in CHF state.
The minimally invasive lumbar decompression procedure: whimsy or genuine invention?

The article by Levy and Deer in this issue of Pain Medicine ⇓ concerning the safety evaluation of a new technique treating symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis has many merits, not the least bringing to the reader's attention a new minimally invasive intervention for patients in pain for whom treatment modalities are limited. It also raises several issues symptomatic of the state of clinical research in this country that may negatively affect the development of our specialty, pain medicine. The new technique, known as minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD), which reportedly works through a percutaneous remodeling of the ligamentum flavum and the lamina, is done under fluoroscopy. After 510k Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new device approval, several clinical trials have been undertaken in the last 4 years for testing the safety and efficacy of MILD, leading to more than 10 publications, most reporting positive outcomes, with minimal or no complications. Investigators were recruited by the manufacturer, Vertos Medical, and some also became consultants to the company. All followed clinical protocols endorsed by the manufacturer, until this year, when one of them, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Saskatchewan and a colleague, published his own MILD series in the journal Neurosurgery ⇓. This report stated that 60% of the patients enrolled in the trial required a laminectomy within 18 months and, therefore, concluded “that the failure rate (of MILD) is unacceptably high.” I am not aware of the detailed interaction between this Canadian investigator and …
Antibacterial Action of Nitric Oxide-Releasing Chitosan Oligosaccharides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa under Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditions

Chitosan oligosaccharides were modified with N-diazeniumdiolates to yield biocompatible nitric oxide (NO) donor scaffolds. The minimum bactericidal concentrations and MICs of the NO donors against Pseudomonas aeruginosa were compared under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Differential antibacterial activities were primarily the result of NO scavenging by oxygen under aerobic environments and not changes in bacterial physiology. Bacterial killing was also tested against nonmucoid and mucoid biofilms and compared to that of tobramycin. Smaller NO payloads were required to eradicate P. aeruginosa biofilms under anaerobic versus aerobic conditions. Under oxygen-free environments, the NO treatment was 10-fold more effective at killing biofilms than tobramycin. These results demonstrate the potential utility of NO-releasing chitosan oligosaccharides under both aerobic and anaerobic environments.
Kontinuierliche Elektronenstrahlung in Gasentladungen

Wir glauben gezeigt zu haben, das zur Erklarung des Andersonschen Stromdichtekontinuums keine andere Moglichkeit besteht als die Elektronenstrahlung im Felde der Entladungsionen, sei es in der Form der frei-frei-Strahlung oder in der der frei-gebunden-Strahlung. Die Andersonsche Entladung stellt damit tatsachlich das einzige bisher bekannte im Laboratorium beobachtbare Analogon zu einer Sternatmosphare dar, nur das das dort vorhandene thermodynamische Gleichgewicht in der Entladung fehlt. Aus diesem Grunde ist ein exakter Vergleich von Theorie und Beobachtung bezuglich der Strahlungsintensitaten nicht moglich. Immerhin ergibt die Rechnung, das der Beitrag der frei-frei-Strahlung zur Gesamtstrahlung nur klein ist, und das die bei der Wiedervereinigung von Ionen und Elektronen in die verschiedenen angeregten Zustande emittierte kontinuierliche Strahlung einen wesentlichen Anteil liefert. Unter Berucksichtigung des Effektes der verschiedenen optischen Tiefe lassen sich aus dieser Theorie alle bekannten Eigenschaften des Kontinuums sowie der Andersonschen Entladung erklaren.
Periodic solutions to nonlinear wave equations with spatially dependent coefficients

This paper investigates the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions to a periodic boundary value problem for a system of nonlinear wave equations with spatially dependent coefficients. Priori estimates of weak solutions are also established for the periodic boundary value problem. The arguments rely on spectral properties of the corresponding wave operator and a global inverse function theorem. The results presented in this paper extend the ones known in the literature in that eigenvalues of nonlinear perturbing terms appeared in the system of nonlinear wave equations can be chosen from the spectrum of the underlying wave operator.
Phospholipid composition controls thromboplastin sensitivity to individual clotting factors.

Summary. Background: Tissue factor is the active ingredient in thromboplastin reagents used to perform prothrombin time (PT) clotting tests to monitor oral anticoagulant therapy and to screen for clotting factor deficiencies. Thromboplastins are complex mixtures prepared from extracts of brain or placenta, although newer thromboplastins contain recombinant tissue factor incorporated into phospholipid vesicles. Thromboplastins can vary widely in their sensitivity to reductions in the levels of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors. A system to compensate for this, the International Sensitivity Index (ISI) and International Normalized Ratio (INR), has revolutionized the monitoring of oral anticoagulant therapy. The INR system is also sometimes used to monitor coagulopathies in patients with sepsis or liver failure, applications for which it was not originally designed and for which it has not been rigorously validated. Objectives: To better understand thromboplastin performance, we systematically investigated which properties of recombinant thromboplastins influence their sensitivities to changes in the levels of specific clotting factors. Results: We now report that relative sensitivities to changes in the plasma levels of factors V, VII, X (FV, FVII, FX) and prothrombin are differentially influenced by a recombinant thromboplastin’s content of phospholipid and sodium chloride. Furthermore, thromboplastins of similar ISI values may exhibit quite different sensitivities to each of these clotting factors. Conclusions: Differing sensitivities of thromboplastin reagents to individual clotting factor levels have implications for monitoring of oral anticoagulant therapy and interpreting results of the PT assay.
Dynamics and Nutritional Ecology of a Nanoflagellate Preying Upon Bacteria

Ingestion and growth rates of the nanoflagellate predator Ochromonas danica feeding on the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens were quantified in laboratory cultures. Bacterial prey were grown under four nutritional conditions with respect to macronutrient elements: C-limited, N-limited, P-limited, and balanced. Ingestion and growth rates were saturating functions of prey abundance when preying upon nutritionally balanced, C-limited, and P-limited bacteria but were unimodal functions of abundance when preying on N-limited bacteria. At saturating prey concentrations, the ingestion rate of C-limited prey was about twice that of prey in other nutritional states, while at subsaturating prey concentrations, the ingestion rates of both C- and N-limited prey were higher than those of prey in other nutritional states. Over all prey concentrations, growth was most rapid on balanced and C-limited prey and generally lowest for P-limited prey. Due to the unimodal response of growth rate to abundance of N-limited prey, growth rate on N-limited prey approached that obtained on balanced and C-limited prey when prey were available at intermediate abundances. The accumulation of recycled N increased with the growth rate of O. danica. Recycling of N was highest when O. danica was feeding upon P-limited prey. The accumulation of recycled P increased with growth rate for balanced and N-limited prey, but not for P-limited prey, which consistently had low accumulation of recycled P. The low growth rate and negligible recycling of P for O. danica preying on P-limited prey is consistent with the theory of ecological stoichiometry and resembles results found for crustacean zooplankton, especially in the genus Daphnia. Potentially, the major predators of bacterioplankton and a major predator of phytoplankton play analogous roles in the trophic dynamics and biogeochemistry of aquatic ecosystems.
FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND FOREIGN TRADE

THE United States as a foreign trading nation has experienced a remarkable change during the past decade. Previous to the European War we were interested primarily in the development of domestic business. There is little reason why any business man should sell his products in unknown Brazil or in far distant China, when his next door neighbor will buy them at the price he asks, and stands ready to take them to the extent they are produced. We sell abroad only when, for some specific reason, there is not an adequate domestic market. This situation has been changing gradually for a considerable period of time. Increasingly we have needed foreign markets. The recent war merely hastened a development already in progress. By force of circumstances we became foreign traders within a few months instead of a few decades. This role of the United States as a foreign trading nation carries a significance for our foreign language teachers. Americans have not been internationally minded. Not coming into direct contact with the business problems of the outer world nor with its political entanglements, we have maintained an isolation of thought which has prevented our seeing the problem of the foreigner, to say nothing of understanding his solution of it. In addition to the necessity for understanding international problems, the man who is to succeed in foreign trade must also be able to speak the language in which his customers do business. In these two fields the teacher of foreign languages in the United States finds enlarged opportunities for his work. He must prepare the business man of the future who is to deal with foreign nations, first, to understand these nations and their problems, and second, to talk with foreigners in their native tongue. In discussing the importance of the modern language teacher in this utilitarian side of his profession, namely, his effort to acquaint students with international problems and foreign
A climatological analysis of emergency homeless shelter openings in Long Beach, California, USA

Abstract Exposure to cold presents a serious risk to homeless persons, particularly on cold, rainy winter nights. Emergency homeless shelters operate in cities throughout the United States to provide residents refuge from dangerous weather; however, few of these shelters appear to have incorporated rigorous climatological analysis into their scheduling procedures. We have analyzed historical climate data for Long Beach, California, where limited funding and highly variable winter weather present serious challenges to shelter operators. Our analysis indicates that the existing schedule of shelter availability, between December 1 and March 15, is fairly effective in incorporating a large number of days where the temperature is below 4.4 °C (40 F) or precipitation occurs. On the other hand, we suggest that the schedule should be adjusted somewhat by accounting for both human and climatological factors. Human factors include the seasonal lag in cultural adaptation to cold and occasional unexpected delays in resource availability that prevents shelters from opening by December 1. Climatological factors include the significant variation in dangerous winter weather caused by El Nino-Southern Oscillation cycles, and perhaps, the long-term impact of climate change. Specifically, opening shelters a week or more earlier, particularly during La Nina years, would likely decrease the risk of cold-exposure to the affected homeless population. We feel that our approach could be applied effectively to aid emergency-shelter operators throughout the country, given their need to maximize access during the most dangerous weather conditions despite limited resources.
Botany: a record-breaking pollen catapult.

The release of stored elastic energy often drives rapid movements in animal systems1,2, and plant components employing this mechanism should be able to move with similar speed. Here we describe how the flower stamens of the bunchberry dogwood (Cornus canadensis) rely on this principle to catapult pollen into the air as the flower opens explosively3,4,5. Our high-speed video observations show that the flower opens in less than 0.5 ms — to our knowledge, the fastest movement so far recorded in a plant.
Oxidation Characteristics of Fe–18Cr–18Mn-Stainless Steel Alloys

Air oxidation studies of Fe–18Cr–18Mn stainless steels were conducted at 525, 625, and 725 °C. Alloys were evaluated with respect to changes in oxidation properties as a result of interstitial additions of nitrogen and carbon and of minor solute additions of silicon, molybdenum, and nickel. Interstitial concentrations possibly had a small, positive effect on oxidation resistance. Minor solute additions significantly improved oxidation resistance but could also reduce interstitial solubility resulting in formation of chromium carbides. Loss of solute chromium resulted in a slight reduction in oxidation protection. Oxidation lasting over 500 h produced a manganese rich, duplex oxide structure: an outer sesquioxide and an inner spinel oxide.
Social Goals and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services are obviously important in sus-taining human life on earth (Daily 1997; Costanzaand others 1997a). The big questions include: howimportant? Over what temporal and spatial scales?What are the limits of humanity’s ability to substi-tute for them? At what levels of stress do they flip tosome other (less desirable) state? All of these ques-tions require the ability to understand and modelthe interconnected, coevolving system of humansand nature (Costanza and others 1993, 1997b). Inaddition, the answers to these questions are notpurely academic. We humans have to make choicesand trade-offs concerning ecosystem services, andthis implies and requires ‘‘valuation,’’ because anychoice between competing alternatives implies thatthe one chosen was more highly ‘‘valued.’’ That thealternatives are ‘‘competing’’ is important, because ifwe can find a ‘‘win–win’’ solution then no realchoice is required, and we can avoid valuation. Butmost environmental decisions involve the problemof having to weigh and aggregate the myriad differ-ent kinds of ‘‘benefits’’ of a proposed action againstits ‘‘costs.’’ In most cases, these benefits and costs areboth poorly understood and poorly quantified. Inaddition, the future vision and social goals thatdefine the degree to which something is a benefit ora cost are themselves evolving and changing. Indoing valuation of ecosystem services, we need toconsider a broader set of goals that include ecologi-cal sustainability and social fairness, along with thetraditional economic goal of efficiency.
Reliability modeling of silicon or glass interposers to printed wiring board interconnections

Trend towards ultra-miniaturization of packages and systems has necessitated the use of high I/O interposers or packages made of either silicon or glass [1]. However, both of these materials have low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) compared to organic boards, thereby raising interconnection reliability concerns when assembled directly on the organic system boards. This paper presents an approach to address these reliability problems by using novel build-up dielectrics with low Young's Modulus to reduce the strains induced in the solder ball interconnections to the board. This proposed approach is compatible with surface mount technology and also helps the handling and metallization of thin silicon/glass substrates. Finite element method has been used to analyze the effectiveness of the compliant dielectrics, laminated onto silicon or glass substrates. Parametric study has been performed to analyze the influence of material properties and geometry parameters on the reliability of the SMT interconnections.
Non-directional motion detectors can be used to mimic optic flow dependent behaviors

Insect navigational behaviors including obstacle avoidance, grazing landings, and visual odometry are dependent on the ability to estimate flight speed based only on visual cues. In honeybees, this visual estimate of speed is largely independent of both the direction of motion and the spatial frequency content of the image. Electrophysiological recordings from the motion-sensitive cells believed to underlie these behaviors have long supported spatio-temporally tuned correlation-type models of visual motion detection whose speed tuning changes as the spatial frequency of a stimulus is varied. The result is an apparent conflict between behavioral experiments and the electrophysiological and modeling data. In this article, we demonstrate that conventional correlation-type models are sufficient to reproduce some of the speed-dependent behaviors observed in honeybees when square wave gratings are used, contrary to the theoretical predictions. However, these models fail to match the behavioral observations for sinusoidal stimuli. Instead, we show that non-directional motion detectors, which underlie the correlation-based computation of directional motion, can be used to mimic these same behaviors even when narrowband gratings are used. The existence of such non-directional motion detectors is supported both anatomically and electrophysiologically, and they have been hypothesized to be critical in the Dipteran elementary motion detector (EMD) circuit.
The Age of Lincoln – By Orville Vernon Burton

In this detailed and insightful synthesis of nineteenth‐ century America, the author examines how Abraham Lincoln's “hopeful determination of the human spirit” shaped nineteenth‐century America but...
A Discrete Wavelet Transform Without Edge Effects Using Wavelet Extrapolation.

The Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is of considerable practical use in image and signal processing applications. For example, significant compression can be achieved through the use of the DWT. A fundamental problem with the DWT, however, is the treatment of finite length data sequences. Commonly used techniques such as circular convolution and symmetric extension can produce undesirable edge effects which propagate into the interior of the transformed data as the number of DWT iterations increases.
Case Report: Chronic Acinetobacter Calcoaceticus Var Anitratus Pneumonia

Gram-negative bacteria most often affect the lung in an acute, suppurative process; however, these organisms may also produce chronic pneumonia. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus has not been reported previously as a cause of chronic pneumonia. We present a patient with fatal, chronic community-acquired Acinetobacter pneumonia with chest wall invasion at autopsy.
Evaluation of voice prosthesis placement at the time of primary tracheoesophageal puncture with total laryngectomy

Objectives/Hypothesis: Primary tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP) is a well-described and accepted method of surgical voice restoration and is standardly completed with a catheter placement intraoperatively, which is replaced with a prosthesis at a later date. This study evaluates the intraoperative placement of the voice prosthesis at the time of the primary TEP in an effort to understand the potential advantages and disadvantages of voice prosthesis placement at the time of primary TEP completed in conjunction with total laryngectomy. Study Design: Retrospective chart review within an academic medical center. Methods: After approval by the institutional review board of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a retrospective chart review was completed of all cases of primary tracheoesophageal prosthesis placement completed in conjunction with primary tracheoesophageal puncture performed at the time of total laryngectomy. Results: Thirty patients were identified, 29 of whom underwent laryngectomy for advanced laryngeal carcinoma. Twenty-eight of 29 patients received preoperative full-dose radiation therapy. Twenty-nine of 30 patients had a 20F classic Indwelling Blom-Singer prosthesis (InHealth Technologies, Carpinteria, CA) placed. One had placement of 16F Indwelling Blom-Singer prosthesis. No complications were noted with intraoperative prosthesis placement. No prostheses were dislodged in the postoperative period. Twenty-nine of 30 subjects had initial success with tracheoesophageal voice production. At 1-year follow-up, 23/30 subjects (77%) had successful voice restoration. Five failed because of recurrent disease, one subject never achieved successful voice, and one subject wanted the prosthesis removed although successful voice was achieved. Twenty-three of 25 (92%) disease-free subjects had functional voice restoration at 1-year post-total laryngectomy and primary prosthesis placement. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the voice prosthesis can be safely and effectively placed intraoperatively at the time of primary TEP and laryngectomy. Initial voice acquisition rates were high and long-term success was well within the acceptable range. Laryngoscope, 2009
Retinal gangliosides in RCS mutant rats.

: The distribution of retinal gangliosides was studied in normal and mutant rats with retinal dystrophy at 30 and 180 days of age. The loss of photoreceptor cells in the retinal dystrophic RCS rats was not associated with a significant reduction in the relative distribution of any of the major retinal gangliosides. The loss of photoreceptors, however, caused a marked increase in total retinal ganglioside concentration. These findings suggest that photoreceptor cells contain a low concentration of gangliosides and that no major retinal ganglioside is localized or concentrated in these cells. The cellular localization and function of the most abundant retinal ganglioside, GD3, is discussed.
Management of Neuromas of the Upper Extremity

Neuromas primarily arise from iatrogenic injury, trauma, or chronic irritation. Given the disabling symptoms of neuromas, an array of treatment strategies exist, with varied results. Successful treatment relies on accurate identification of the offending nerve, containment of the regenerating fascicles, and cessation of mechanical or other noxious stimuli over the regenerating nerve end. The choice of treatment depends in part on the nerve affected, whether it involves critical or noncritical sensation, and its location.
Large overlapping tandem genetic duplications in Salmonella typhimurium.

Abstract A number of glycyl-tRNA synthetase (glyS) mutants have been isolated as glycine auxotrophs in Salmonella typhimurium. One of the mutants, glyS141, has a glycyl-tRNA synthetase with a Km for glycine that is 700 times higher than the wild-typeKm. Prototrophic revertants glyS141 occur at high spontaneous frequencies (>5 × 10−5). The majority of these revertants contain large tandem duplications including the mutant glyS gene. Some of the duplications cover at least 22% of the chromosome. The duplications overlap with a large duplication isolated previously by a different selection procedure (Straus & Hoffmann, 1975). Evidence has been obtained which suggests that formation of the duplications may occur by recA-dependent recombination. The Gly+ phenotype of revertants carrying the duplications does not appear to be explainable simply by the increased gene dosage of glyS.
Surgical staging of genitourinary tumors

Regional retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy usually is performed with radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma and sometimes is performed with nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial tumors; however, no therapeutic benefit has been proven. Pelvic lymphadenectomy usually is performed with radical cystectomy for bladder cancer and may confer therapeutic benefit on patients having only minimal nodal involvement. A limited extraperitoneal pelvic lymphadenectomy, including only the nodes surrounding the obturator nerves, is performed in prostate cancer patients who are considered to be potential candidates for radical prostatectomy, but is of doubtful therapeutic benefit. The effectiveness of chemotherapy for germ-cell testicular tumors has diminished the utilization of routine surgical staging and also has decreased the scope of lymphadenectomy when performed. The substantial complications associated with traditional ilioinguinal lymphadenectomy for carcinoma of the penis and the unreliability of aspiration or excisional node biopsy have militated against routine surgical staging of patients having clinically negative nodes. This policy should be reconsidered in light of suboptimal treatment results and newer surgical techniques.
Uranium distribution and 'excessive' U-He ages in iron meteoritic troilite

Fission tracking techniques were used to measure the uranium distribution in meteoritic troilite and graphite. The obtained fission tracking data showed a heterogeneous distribution of tracks with a significant portion of track density present in the form of uranium clusters at least 10 microns in size. The matrix containing the clusters was also heterogeneous in composition with U concentrations of about 0.2-4.7 ppb. U/He ages could not be estimated on the basis of the heterogeneous U distributions, so previously reported estimates of U/He ages in the presolar range are probably invalid.
Some examples inL p spectral geometry

We construct surfaces $$T_{x_0 }^p $$ with volume, first eigenvalue, andL p norm of the curvature bounded independent ofx 0, but whose Cheeger constant tends to 0 asx 0 tends to infinity.
Physics of gate leakage current in N-polar InAlN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors

A physics based model of the gate leakage current in N-polar InAlN/GaN heterojunction field effect transistors is demonstrated. The model is based on the space charge limited current flow dominated by the effects of deep traps in the InAlN surface layer. The model predicts accurately the gate-leakage measurement data of the N-polar InAlN/GaN device with InAlN cap layer. In the pinch-off state, the gate leakage current conduction through the surface of the device in the drain access region dominates the current flow through the two dimensional electron gas channel. One deep trap level and two levels of shallow traps are extracted by fitting the model results with measurement data.
Percutaneous Stenting of a Vertebral Artery Supplying the Entire Brain

A63-year-old woman was referred for evaluation of a transient ischemic attack with right arm and leg involvement. On examination, she had a right neck bruit. The head CT scan showed a small, old ischemic infarction in the periventricular area of the right frontal lobe. Digital substraction angiography …
Asimow, Jahren, and Randerson receive 2005 James B. Macelwane Medal

It is my great pleasure to present my friend and colleague, Paul Asimow, recipient of one of this year's three James B. Macelwane Medals. Paul is a petrologist interested in the origins and evolution of basaltic magmas, and he is being recognized for a series of profoundly insightful papers on the energetics of decompression melting and how it controls the compositions of the oceanic crust and upper mantle. The significance of what Paul has done comes from the simplicity of the question that first inspired him: How should we describe the way the mantle melts as it upwells during convection? The importance of the problem is obvious; this is how the Earth makes most of its crust, and so it is the starting point for most of geology But does it sound like something we already understand? Wasn't I taught this as an undergraduate? Paul's first and perhaps most important contribution was to recognize, as a second-year graduate student working with Ed Stolper [California Institute of Technology (Caltech),Pasadena],that the explanation of mantle melting we were telling each other was a Rube Goldberg device masquerading as physical theory.
The relationship of EEG sleep to vital depression

Abstract EEG sleep and clinical characteristics of 111 depressed inpatients with primary unipolar depression were examined in relation to several proposed definitions of endogenous depression (RDC criteria; DSM-III melancholia; and Nelson-Charney criteria). While each of these clinical schema demonstrated specific relationships to the EEG sleep findings in the overall group, the group with DSM-III melancholia showed definite REM sleep abnormalities, especially with REM activity and distribution. Further studies with sleep, neuroendocrine, and neurochemical measures are indicated in order to confirm the biologic ‘substrate’ of melancholia or vital depression.
Traceability, quality assurance, and standards

Abstract The development of traceability in low-level radioactivity measurements is discussed. The role that the development of large quantities of natural matrix standards can play is also discussed.
The relationship of total dust, free silica, and trace metal concentrations to the occupational respiratory disease of bituminous coal miners.

The final report of the long-range study of lung tissue from deceased bituminous coal miners from Raleigh County, West Virginia, conducted by the Cincinnati Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is presented. A follow-up study of 19 miners and 15 female residents of the representative mining communities, as controls, is also presented. The tissues were analyzed for total dust, coal, free silica, ten trace elements, and hydroxyproline. Data from 64 cases reported earlier were pooled with this information for statistical studies. The following factors were considered: duration of mining experience, period from retirement to death, severity of respiratory disease, and levels of dust exposure (by job classification). Smoking history was not included, since the number of nonsmokers in the sample was statistically not significant.
Human experience in disablement: the imperative of the ICIDH

SummaryThe ICIDH recognizes that the perspectives of people whose lives are personally shaped by disablement are critical to improving our understanding of disease consequences. However, this ‘insider's perspective’ has received comparatively little attention in medical research. This article suggests that the weight of medical history mitigates against human experience as a focus of investigation, traces the history of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) from this perspective, and suggests that these historical influences are still operative in disablement studies. The ICIDH's inclusion of the insider's perspective represents a significant departure from traditional ways of thinking in medical science, and allows for important changes in the discourse about disablement. This article uses phenomenological theory to show how the insider's perspective might be more fully integrated into clinical research and theory development. Finally, this article suggests modifications to the ICIDH that wo...
IPSILATERAL FRACTURES OF THE TALUS AND CALCANEUS

Nine ipsilateral fractures of the talus and calcaneus were treated at Tampa General Hospital between 1991 and 1994 and entered into the trauma registry of this level I trauma center. During this sa...
Devices using ternary or multinary compounds

Abstract The optical properties of ternary and multinary compounds make them particularly useful for many optical, acoustic, electro-optic, and electronic devices. In the group of ternary chalcogenides discussed, semiconducting to semi-insulating properties are ixhibited with band gaps from narrow ( In recent investigations at our laboratory we predicted and subsequently measured a large EO coefficient (approximately 50 pm/V) in a ternary chalcogenide which suggests a potential for increased device efficiency. It also points to the need for continuing and expanding studies concerning crystal growth and characterization of ternary and multinary compounds.
Structural requirement of monophosphates for inhibition of Na+-Pi cotransport in renal brush border membrane

Using the chemical structural analogs of phosphonoacetic acid (PAA) and related phosphonate compounds, we investigated which structural features are required for competitive inhibition of Na+-Pi cotransport in rat renal cortical brush border membrane (BBM) vesicles (BBMV). The effects of compounds on [Na+0 >Nai+]-gradient-dependent 32Pi uptake by BBMV were examined using various inhibitor-to-32Pi concentration ratios in the transport assay medium. The replacement of a phosphono-group with an arsono-group in PAA, or the substitution of a carboxylic group in PAA by an amino or hydroxyl group, totally abolished the inhibitory action on Na+-Pi cotransport. Decreased electro-negativity of carboxyl in PAA by coupling with hydrazine or hydroxylamine lowered the inhibitory potenty of PAA. Substitution of H at the α-carbon of PAA with ethyl or p-Cl-phenyl groups completely abolished the inhibitory activity, whereas α-halogenation with Br greatly increased the inhibitory potency of PAA, close to that of phosphonoformic acid (PFA). The inhibition by all the active tested monophosphates was strictly competitive. The tested compounds displaced [14C]PFA pre-bound onto BBMV in the presence of 100 mM NaCl. The ability of monophosphates to inhibit Na+-Pi cotransport across BBM and the binding of [14C]PFA were closely correlated (r = 0.925; P < 0.001). These results show that: (a) strong electronegativity at both ends of the PAA molecule is needed for inhibitory action, (b) an α-aliphatic or aromatic substituent at the α-carbon probably hinders the acess of the inhibitor to the Pi-binding site of the Na+-Pi cotransporter in BBM, whereas (c) an α-electrophilic substituent—Br—enhances the inhibitory potency of PAA. The tested compounds inhibited Na+-Pi cotransport by binding, in the presence of Na+, on the same site on the luminal surface of BBM as did PFA and, by extension, Pi.
Diffusion of titanium in modified hastelloy N

Diffusion coefficients of 44Ti in titanium-modified Hastelloy N have been determined over the temperature range of 800–1250 °C by standard procedures involving serial sectioning by latheing or grinding and counting by gamma spectroscopy. The data were fitted to the Arrhenius expression D = (15.3 ± 2.2) exp (−73 000 ± 3300/RT) cm2/sec. Results were used to predict the maximum loss by diffusion of titanium from the alloy in a typical molten-salt breeder reactor at 700 °C. They are also compared with published diffusion data on similar systems.
Magnetic reversal and domain structure in perpendicular AF-coupled films

Abstract Contrary to in-plane multilayer systems with antiferromagnetic (AF) interlayer coupling perpendicular AF-coupled systems create demagnetization fields that prefer a ferromagnetic (FM) alignment of adjacent layers. This provides an opportunity to compensate AF-exchange versus demagnetization energy, thus allowing the coexistence of two very different ground states, one FM and one AF in nature. The general physics of perpendicular AF-coupled systems is introduced, discussed, and exploited via a model system: [(Co/Pt) X −1 Co/Ru] N multilayers. By varying X and N we confirm experimentally the existence and stability of the two-ground-state system within a narrow transition region.
Synaptotagmin's Role as the Ca2+ Sensor in Regulated Exocytosis

Exocytosis of neurotransmitters is triggered by the initial influx of Ca2+. Synaptotagmin I is known to bind Ca2+ and the phospholipid membrane to modulate this process. The mechanism, however, for this information transduction is not well known. We seek to understand how this information is conveyed through the protein. A single point mutation, Y180F, has been made to correlate with a mutant that has been seen in vivo to display diminished physiological function. This mutant will be utilized as a probe as we seek to ascertain the mechanism of the signal transduction. The Y180F mutation is located in the binding pocket of the first C2 domain of synaptotagmin. It was hypothesized that this mutation abolishes the hydrogen bonding potential between this position and His237 and that the lack of hydrogen bonding will lead to a drastic decrease in stability in the binding pocket. This mutation is predicted to manifest itself as a reduction in the domain's calcium ion affinity. To test these predictions, Ca2+ and phospholipid binding assays for wild type C2A and Y180F will be carried out and monitored via steady state fluorescence as well as protein denaturation assays. Partition functions will be derived to quantify the results so a thermodynamic comparison can be carried out.
Intraductal neoplasms of the pancreas

background Since 1980 a group of pancreatic tumors have been termed intraductal papillary mucinous tumors (IPMT). Because these tumors occupy an intraductal position they are demonstrated by pancreatography to reside in the main pancreatic duct (MPD) or side branch ducts (SBD). Lesions of IPMT result in abdominal pain or pancreatitis symptoms because mucin production or papillary growth results in ductal obstruction. Only 104 cases had been reported in the literature by 1996 but more are being presented in abstract form. We reviewed our own 33 cases to assist defining operative decision-making criteria. methods All cases of IPMT between 1989 and 1997 were reviewed for clinical presentation, anatomy by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and computed tomography, histologic findings, and long-term outcomes. results Our cases were older (65 years) and presented with disease centered mainly in the head of the gland. Clinical presentation was epigastric pain (82%), pancreatitis (56%), weight loss (36%), diabetes (27%), and jaundice (9%). Operations were pancreatectomy in 31 (Whipple n = 15, total n = 5, distal n = 10, local n = 1), bypass only (n = 1), and no operation (n = 1). Malignancy was found in 14 of 33 (42%). Factors significantly associated (P conclusion Malignancy is common with IPMT and is more likely to be present with the clinical history of alcohol abuse or jaundice and if the tumor involves both the MPD and the SBD. The prognosis after resection is better than pancreatic cancer but the 19% recurrence of symptoms was equally seen with benign or malignant cases owing to residual disease in pancreatic remnants. The amount of resection should be extensive in patients likely to have malignancy (alcohol, jaundice, MPD + SBD). In those likely to redevelop symptoms, ie, those with preoperative pain, a careful assessment should be made via imaging studies for extent of disease.