cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolation and characterization of corynebacteria from burned children.

Abstract A total of 221 strains of corynebacteria were isolated and characterized by methods which included tests encompassing five schemes proposed for grouping cutaneous diphtheroids. Seventy-one strains (group I) were isolated from the hospital air in patient areas and from the normal skins of children admitted for reconstructive surgery of old healed burns and from the normal skins of nursing personnel. One hundred and fifty strains (group II) were isolated from various clinical specimens and from normal skins of a population of acutely burned children. The majority of the strains in group I were lipophilic and contained the largest number of fluorescent strains. Among the group II strains, there was a subgroup which was nonsusceptible to oxacillin, lincomycin, erythromycin, and kanamycin and also had in common the fermentation of glucose and galactose, reduction of both nitrate and nitrite, and growth on 40% bile agar. These strains were the most commonly recognized types isolated from acutely burned patients and possibly originated from the patient's intestinal tract. Data indicated that the air was not a means of transmission for these corynebacteria among acute patients. Corynebacteria were isolated from 11% of the burn wound cultures by using a selective medium but were found in 66% of the acute patients. Over 90% of the strains in groups I and II did not conform sufficiently with described characteristics of common human indigenous corynebacteria to be accurately speciated.
Options to Increase Freshwater Supplies and Accessibility

Water is the essence of life. Space programs internationally have a focus on finding evidence that at one time water in rivers/streams and oceans existed on the moon, Mars, asteroids, and other planetary orbs. The missions to these space bodies are driven by scientific curiosity, possible economic gain from processes developed in a gravity-free environment, by an evaluation of the practicability of colonization of extraterrestrial neighbors to ease the problems from overpopulation on Earth, and to assess their natural resources. The positive evidence that water has flowed on these space bodies comes from multiple observations and chemical analyses by robotic explorers. There is water on Earth to sustain a growing population if it can be accessed, if it can be kept free of pollution, and if it is allocated and managed so as to be a sustainable resource for human consumption and a necessary support for agricultural and industrial development.
Exploring human-system resiliency in air traffic management technologies

In the safety-critical environment of air traffic control, increases in system efficiency in the form of cost, capacity, and safety are primary drivers for integrating automated decision support tools (DSTs) into the National Airspace System (NAS). However, increased use of automation brings new concerns, including the impact on operator situation awareness, over- or under-reliance on automation, and the ability of the system to recover to a suitable performance level when faced with degradation or off-nominal situations. Such effects may create a brittle system—one that performs well under normal conditions but poorly when faced with degraded or adverse situations. As automated tools become critical components in air traffic management, it will be necessary to have clear guidelines to aid the development of human-computer systems to protect against system brittleness. This work identifies key factors that contribute to human-system resiliency and proposes a series of relationships between these factors to provide a framework for guiding the development of system resiliency requirements in the context of air traffic management. The identification of such relationships will facilitate the development of guidance intended to help stakeholders proactively incorporate resiliency into human-automation systems that are being developed currently and in the future as part of the NextGen air traffic modernization effort.
Comparing High-Resolution Microscopy Techniques for Potential Intraoperative Use in Guiding Low-Grade Glioma Resections

Background and Objectives Fluorescence image-guided surgery (FIGS), with contrast provided by 5-ALA-induced PpIX, has been shown to enable a higher extent of resection of high-grade gliomas. However, conventional FIGS with low-power microscopy lacks the sensitivity to aid in low-grade glioma (LGG) resection because PpIX signal is weak and sparse in such tissues. Intraoperative high-resolution microscopy of PpIX fluorescence has been proposed as a method to guide LGG resection, where sub-cellular resolution allows for the visualization of sparse and punctate mitochondrial PpIX production in tumor cells. Here, we assess the performance of three potentially portable high-resolution microscopy techniques that may be used for the intraoperative imaging of human LGG tissue samples with PpIX contrast: high-resolution fiber-optic microscopy (HRFM), high-resolution wide-field microscopy (WFM), and dual-axis confocal (DAC) microscopy. Materials and Methods Thick unsectioned human LGG tissue samples (n = 7) with 5-ALA-induced PpIX contrast were imaged using three imaging techniques (HRFM, WFM, DAC). The average signal-to-background ratio (SBR) was then calculated for each imaging modality (5 images per tissue, per modality). Results HRFM provides the ease of use and portability of a flexible fiber bundle, and is simple and inexpensive to build. However, in most cases (6/7), HRFM is not capable of detecting PpIX signal from LGGs due to high autofluorescence, generated by the fiber bundle under laser illumination at 405 nm, which overwhelms the PpIX signal and impedes its visualization. WFM is a camera-based method possessing high lateral resolution but poor axial resolution, resulting in sub-optimal image contrast. Conclusions Consistent successful detection of PpIX signal throughout our human LGG tissue samples (n = 7), with an acceptable image contrast (SBR >2), was only achieved using DAC microscopy, which offers superior image resolution and contrast that is comparable to histology, but requires a laser-scanning mechanism to achieve optical sectioning. Lasers Surg. Med. 47:289–295, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Emergency Department Crowding and Outcomes After Emergency Department Discharge

Study objective We assess whether a panel of emergency department (ED) crowding measures, including 2 reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is associated with inpatient admission and death within 7 days of ED discharge. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of ED discharges, using data from an integrated health system for 2008 to 2010. We assessed patient transit-level (n=3) and ED system-level (n=6) measures of crowding, using multivariable logistic regression models. The outcome measures were inpatient admission or death within 7 days of ED discharge. We defined a clinically important association by assessing the relative risk ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) difference and also compared risks at the 99th percentile and median value of each measure. Results The study cohort contained a total of 625,096 visits to 12 EDs. There were 16,957 (2.7%) admissions and 328 (0.05%) deaths within 7 days. Only 2 measures, both of which were patient transit measures, were associated with the outcome. Compared with a median evaluation time of 2.2 hours, the evaluation time of 10.8 hours (99th percentile) was associated with a relative risk of 3.9 (95% CI 3.7 to 4.1) of an admission. Compared with a median ED length of stay (a CMS measure) of 2.8 hours, the 99th percentile ED length of stay of 11.6 hours was associated with a relative risk of 3.5 (95% CI 3.3 to 3.7) of admission. No system measure of ED crowding was associated with outcomes. Conclusion Our findings suggest that ED length of stay is a proxy for unmeasured differences in case mix and challenge the validity of the CMS metric as a safety measure for discharged patients.
Education of the Child Neurologist: Traumatic Brain Injury

As traumatic brain injury is among the most common causes of pediatric mortality and neurologic morbidity, the well-trained child neurologist should have a solid foundation of the pathogenesis of traumatic brain injury and be competent in the acute and chronic management of children and adolescents who experience a traumatic brain injury. This article outlines the training goals and core knowledge of traumatic brain injury that should be attained by those training in child neurology by the completion of their formal training.
Fine Needle Aspiration of the Thyroid: Correlation with Final Histopathology in a Surgical Series of 797 Patients

Background Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is accepted as the diagnostic procedure of choice in the management of patients with thyroid nodules. Follicular/Hurthle cell neoplasms have traditionally been grouped under the category of indeterminate FNA results. This study examined the experience with FNA in a large cohort of patients undergoing thyroidectomy before adoption of the Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (BSTC) at a single academic medical center. Study Design A retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 797 consecutive patients with dominant nodules >1 cm who underwent FNA and thyroidectomy from 2003 to 2009 was performed. Patients were categorized into groups based on FNA results: malignant, benign, indeterminate, and nondiagnostic. The indeterminate group had FNA results that included follicular neoplasm, Hurthle cell neoplasm, and suspicion of papillary thyroid cancer. FNA results were compared with final histopathology after thyroidectomy. Results FNA results included 147 (18%) positive for malignancy, 255 (32%) benign, 358 (45%) indeterminate, and 37 (5%) nondiagnostic. The overall malignancy rate on final histopathology was 369 of 797 (46%). Overall, there was a false positive rate of 2% and false negative rate of 8.6%. Among the 358 indeterminate FNA results, carcinoma was found in 81 (36%) of 223 follicular neoplasms, 18 (36%) of 50 Hurthle cell neoplasms, and 78 (92%) of 85 that were suspicious for papillary thyroid cancer. When FNA was nondiagnostic, cancer was present in 9 of 37 (24%). Among 39 patients with benign FNA who had cancer on final histopathology, 22 of 255 (8.6%) had cancer in the index thyroid nodule, and 81% of cancers were >1 cm. Conclusions Patients with FNA and dominant nodules >1 cm, who underwent thyroidectomy, had an overall rate of thyroid malignancy of 46%. There was a cancer prevalence of 8.6% in patients with benign FNA results referred for surgical resection. Despite not yet implementing the BSTC at this medical center, the majority of thyroidectomies were adequately performed for indeterminate FNAs with underlying malignancy.
Experimental evidence of the influence of the surface chemistry of the packing material on the column pressure drop in reverse-phase liquid chromatography

Abstract The permeabilities of six columns packed with different packing materials (neat silica, C1 endcapped silica at 3.92 μ mol/m2, C18 bonded and endcapped silica with 0.42, 1.01, 2.03, and 3.15 μ mol/m2 of C18 bonded chains) were measured. All these materials derive from the same batch of spherical particles, 5 μ m in diameter. The columns have the same tube inner diameter ( ϕ = 0.460 ± 0.003 cm) and length ( L = 15.000 ± 0.003 cm). The experimental conditions were the same, flow-rate ( F v = 1.000 ± 0.003 mL/min) and temperature (295 K). Nevertheless, it was found that the column permeability decreases significantly, by about 25%, from the neat silica column to the one packed with the highest density of C18-bonded silica (3.15 μ mol/m2). The results measured on two duplicate columns were very reproducible. Accurate ( ± 0.5 %) measurements of the hold-volumes with concentrated and dilute solutions of NO 3 − showed that the columns had all nearly the same external porosity. The result cannot be explained by the error made on the volume of the column tube either as it was measured accurately for all the columns. The residual explanation is that the interstitial velocity distribution between the packed particles depends on the chemical nature of the external surface of these particles.
Induced Formation of Chelating Agents by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Grown in Presence of Thorium and Uranium

Chelating agents produced by microorganisms enhance the dissolution of iron and increase its mobility and bioavailability. Since there are some similarities in the biological behavior of ferric, thorium and uranuyl ions, microorganisms resistant to thorium and uranium and capable of growing in their presence may produce sequestering agents for these metals in a manner similar to those produced for iron. Such complexation would increase the mobility and bioavailability of thorium and uranium in the environment.Pseudomonas aeruginosa species are resistant to certain heavy metals and have also been found in thorium, uranium and plutonium contaminated areas. In the present work, the ability ofP. aeruginosa to elaborate sequestering agents in medium containing thorium or uranium salts was tested. Addition of 10, 100, and 1,000 ppm of uranium or thorium to culture medium increased the lag period of the organism as the concentration of the metal increased. At concentrations of 1,000 ppm and higher, there was an extended lag period followed by reduction in growth. Uranium has a stronger inhibitory effect on growth of the organism than thorium at similar concentrations. Analyses of the culture media have shown, that relative to the control and under the experimental conditions used, the microorganisms have produced several new chelating agents for thorium and uranium. Some of the bacterially produced compounds resemble, but are not identical to the known iron chelating siderophores isolated from microorganisms, and some of their chemical properties are discussed in this report.
MUSER: A prototype musical score recognition system using mathematical morphology

Music representation utilizes a fairly rich repertoire of symbols. These symbols appear on a score sheet with relatively little shape distortion, differing from the prototype symbol shapes mainly by a positional translation and scale change. The prototype system we describe in this article is aimed at recognizing printed music notation from digitized music score images. The recognition system is composed of two parts: a low-level vision module that uses morphological algorithms for symbol detection and a high-level module that utilizes prior knowledge of music notation to reason about spatial positions and spatial sequences of these symbols. The high-level module also employs verification procedures to check the veracity of the output of the morphological symbol recognizer. The system produces an ASCII representation of music scores that can be input to a music-editing system. Mathematical morphology provides us the theory and the tools to analyze shapes. This characteristic of mathematical morphology lends itself well to analyzing and subsequently recognizing music scores that are rich in well-defined musical symbols. Since morphological operations can be efficiently implemented in machine vision systems that have special hardware support, the recognition task can be performed in near real-time. The system achieves accuracy in excess of 95% on the sample scores processed so far with a peak accuracy of 99.7% for the quarter and eighth notes, demonstrating the efficacy of morphological techniques for shape extraction.
Degradation of the organotin polyether derived from dibutyltin dichloride and hydroxyl-capped poly(ethylene glycol) in trypsin and evaluation of trypsin activity employing light scattering photometry and gel electrophoresis

The degradation of water soluble organotin polyether in the presence of trypsin was studied. The polymer was found to be stable to 4 days, the typical cancer cell line testing time. This is consistent with polymer activity against cancer cell lines being a result of the non-degraded chain and not controlled release of the organotin moiety. As a control trypsin activity was studied employing light scattering photometry and gel electrophoresis. The trypsin was active degrading bovine serine albumin.
Effect of Electrolytes on the Pyrene Solubilization Capacity of Dodecyl Sulfate Micelles

Micellar aggregation numbers for ionic surfactants are sensitive to both the ionic strength and the type of counterion present. The current study considers the effects of electrolyte conditions on solubilization of pyrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, in micellar dodecyl sulfate surfactant solutions. We use ultraviolet−visible spectrophometry to measure the pyrene solubilizing powers, and we use an excimer fluorescence technique both to measure the micellar aggregation numbers in the presence of pyrene solubilizates and to measure the pyrene solubilization capacities. The aggregation number increases with increasing concentration of background electrolyte. When considering different types of counterions (NH4+, Na+, and Li+), the aggregation number increases with increasing counterion binding affinity. We estimate the latter by electrical conductivity measurements. In all cases of varying electrolyte conditions examined, the solubilization capacity increases siginficantly with increasing aggregation ...
Ultrastructural features of neurons in the C57BL/6J mouse anteroventral cochlear nucleus: young mice versus old mice with chronic presbycusis.

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy was used to examine “bushy” and “multipolar” neurons in the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN) of young (2-month-old) and old (2-year-old) C57BL/6J mice, a strain that develops profound peripheral sensorineural auditory impairment during the second year of life. Two features differed with age irrespective of cell type or location within the AVCN: there was an increase in the incidence of neurons with heterochromatic nuclei and an increase in the percent of the neuron occupied by lipofuscin. Two features differed with age in multipolar cells only: there was a decrease in the roundness of nuclei and an increase in the number of nuclear invaginations. Some features differed with age to a greater extent in the dorsal portion of the AVCN: there were decreases in the length of terminals on bushy cells, and in the percentage of soma surface apposed by terminals, and increases in the incidence of neurons contacted by myelinated axons, in mean synaptic vesicle density, and in the amount of lipofuscin in bushy cells. Some features did not differ with age: the mean area of mitochondria, percentage of cytoplasm occupied by mitochondria, size of dense synaptic junctions, and for bushy cells only, nuclear shape and invaginations and width of perinuclear cisternae. Aging per se, chronic presbycusis, and neuronal type play roles in determining age-related changes in AVCN neurons.
Investigation of radiation models in entrained-flow coal gasification simulation

Abstract Adequate modeling of radiation heat transfer is important in CFD simulation of coal gasification process. In an entrained-flow gasifer, the non-participating effect of coal particles, soot, ashes, and reactive gases could significantly affect the temperature distribution in the gasifier and hence affects the local reaction rate and life expectancy of wall materials. For slagging type gasifiers, radiation further affects the forming process of corrosive slag on the wall which can expedite degradation of the refractory lining in the gasifier. For these reasons, this paper focuses on investigating applications of five different radiation models to coal gasification process, including Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM), P-1 Radiation Model, Rosseland Radiation Model, Surface-to-Surface (S2S) Radiation Model, and Discrete Ordinates (DO) Radiation Model. The objective is to identify the pros and cons of each model’s applicability to the gasification process and determine which radiation model is most appropriate for simulating the process in entrained-flow gasifiers. The Eulerian–Lagrangian approach is applied to solve the Navier–Stokes equations, nine species transport equations, and seven global reactions consisting of three heterogeneous reactions and four homogeneous reactions. The coal particles are tracked with the Lagrangian method. Six cases are studied—one without the radiation model and the other five with different radiation models. The result reveals that the various radiation models yield uncomfortably large uncertainties in predicting syngas composition, syngas temperature, and wall temperature. The Rosseland model does not yield reasonable and realistic results for gasification process. The DTRM model predicts very high syngas and wall temperatures in the dry coal feed case. In the one-stage coal slurry case, DTRM result is close to the S2S result. The P1 method seems to behave stably and is robust in predicting the syngas temperature and composition; it yields the result most close to the mean, but it seems to underpredict the gasifier’s inner wall temperature.
Arc/Arg3.1: Linking Gene Expression to Synaptic Plasticity and Memory

Arc/Arg3.1 is an effector immediate-early gene implicated in the consolidation of memories. Although cloned a decade ago, the physiological role of Arc/Arg3.1 in the brain has remained elusive. Four papers in this issue of Neuron address this function. These studies show that Arc/Arg3.1 regulates endophilin 3 and dynamin 2, two components of the endocytosis machinery. Genetic ablation of Arc/Arg3.1 in mice or overexpression in culture suggest that Arc/Arg3.1 regulates AMPA receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity. Finally, Arc/Arg3.1 knockout mice show memory retention deficits. These recent developments provide new insights into the function of this popular activity-dependent neuronal marker.
Detector Powering in the 21st Century Why stay stuck with the Good old 20th Century methods

Abstract Future Collider Physics Detectors are envisioned with large granularity but we have a power delivery problem unless we fill a large fraction of the detector volume with copper conductors. LHC detector electronics is powered by transporting direct current over distances of 30 to 150 meters. This is how Thomas Alva Edison powered his light bulb. For example, CMS ECAL uses 50 kiloamps at 2.5 volts, supplied over a cable set with a transmission efficiency of only 30%. The transmission loss becomes waste heat in the detector that has to be removed. We have been exploring methods to transmit the DC power at higher voltage (low current), reducing to the final low voltage (high current) using DC-DC converters. These converters must operate in high magnetic fields and high radiation levels. This requires rad hard components and non-magnetic (air core) inductors.
Multiline, superbroadband and sun-color oscillation of a LiF:F(2)(-) color-center laser.

We report experimental and theoretical studies of the temporal, spectral, and spatial features of a superbroadband laser. The results obtained show that the superbroadband room-temperature operable LiF:F2- color-center laser can provide low-coherence, high-intensity laser radiation with a spectral width of 1400 A centered at 1.14 µm and 700 A in the visible range from green to red and exhibit good spatial collimation with a divergence of between 5 and 6 mrad. Oscillation of all the lines of a superbroadband spectrum is completely synchronous and occurs almost simultaneously with the pump pulse, exhibiting 4–9-ns pulse delay at 20-ns pump pulse duration. Second-harmonic generation of superbroadband oscillation spectrum was realized with an overall efficiency of 10%.
Photometric methods for measuring the thermal maturity on strew-mounted kerogen slides

Abstract The optical examination of strew-mounted kerogen slides is essential for evaluating the source quality and thermal maturity of potential source rocks. The methods currently used to assess thermal maturity on kerogen slide should be improved because the data currently obtained are qualitative and operator-dependent. The use of two photometric methods to measure the thermal maturity of kerogen on strew-mounted slides are introduced. The kerogen analyst can measure the transmittance of spore/pollen and the reflectance of vitrinite on a kerogen slide and convert the data to a calibrated thermal maturity scale, TAI (Thermal Alteration Index). The advantages of using the photometrically measured transmittance and reflectance to assess the thermal maturity of a sample are (1) the method is semi-quantitative, (2) the parameters measured are physically defined and are easy for interlaboratory comparison of the data, (3) the parameters measured supplement each other, and (4) this method is applicable at all levels of maturity. Major limitations of this photometric methods are (1) the vitrinite reflectance is less reliable when measured from the kerogen slides of immature samples, and (2) the palynomorph transmittance is thickness-dependent.
Difficult Intubation from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease in Adults

Two cases of difficult intubation are presented. Both cases presented with red swollen arytenoids, swollen false vocal cords, and subglottic stenosis. Tracheal intubation could not be achieved for these reasons. Both patients were placed on gastrointestinal prokinetic drugs and histamine-two blocker, as a diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) was made. In one case, follow-up by an otolaryngotic surgeon showed reversal of the above findings. In the other case, one tracheal intubation was achieved eventually. GERD occurs frequently. Clinicians need to maintain a high index of suspicion for GERD-related airway changes so as to avoid potential difficult intubations.
Clofibrate, caloric restriction, supersaturation of bile, and cholesterol crystals

Lipid composition, cholesterol saturation, and cholesterol crystal formation of gallbladder bile were studied in seven type-IV hyperlipoproteinemic subjects who did not have gallstones. Thereafter, biliary cholesterol solubilization was overloaded, first by clofibrate and then by caloric restriction treatment. Initially increased cholesterol saturation was still increased by both clofibrate and caloric restriction treatment, but none of the subjects developed cholesterol crystals in bile, indicating that they had a mechanism to maintain cholesterol in solution in the bile despite remarkable supersaturation. This suggests that the patients who are at risk of developing gallstones can be better selected by cholesterol crystal analysis of bile samples than by analysis of lipid composition of bile.
The design of an optimal first-order quantizer structure for use in a recursive digital filter

Presented in [1] is a structure useful to increase SNR of a recursive filter with poles close to the unit circle. Presented within this note is a procedure to choose the quantizer coefficient optimally for arbitrarily located poles. The procedure is optimal in the sense that a system loss in SNR is not possible for any pole locations when compared to the Structure without the quantizer.
Improving CHN measurements in carbonate-rich marine sediments

CHN elemental analysis is a common and effective method for determining total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), inorganic carbon (IC) by difference, and total nitrogen (TN) in marine sediments. In this article, we identify and describe three problems related to CHN measurement in carbonate-rich (>30% CaCO3) marine sediments and suggest mitigation methods to obtain the most accurate measurements of TC, TOC, IC, and TN. These problems involve (1) sample size limitations, (2) incomplete carbonate digestion during in-situ acid addition, and (3) nitrogen contamination during acid additions. Carbonate-rich marine sediments often have low TOC and TN content and are susceptible to incomplete combustion, due to their high IC (CaCO3) content, and require careful sample size selection to optimize analysis. Incomplete digestion of carbonate prior to TOC analysis can introduce significant error into the measurement, and here we propose a testing methodology to ensure effective carbonate digestion. Atmospheric contamination of sulfurous acid, used for carbonate digestion, is also observed and modeled, and we suggest steps to minimize this contamination. Overall, our results allow for the development of sediment-specific protocols for accurate CHN measurements in carbonate-rich marine sediments.
Host Instar Susceptibility and Selection and Interspecific Competition of Three Introduced Parasitoids of the Mealybug Paracoccus marginatus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

ABSTRACT Three previously introduced parasitoids (Acerophagus papayae Noyes and Schauff, Anagyrus loecki Noyes and Menezes, and Pseudleptomastix mexicana Noyes and Schauff [Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae]) of the mealybug Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara de Willink (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) were studied for their host instar susceptibility and sex ratio, host instar selection, and interspecific competition in the laboratory. All three parasitoids were able to develop in the second instars, third-instar females, and adult females of P. marginatus. No progeny emerged from first-instar mealybugs. The proportion of female emergence was increased with increasing host size. Parasitoids selected their host instars for oviposition when they had a choice. Between secondand third-instar hosts, A. papayae and P. mexicana had significantly higher parasitism in second-instar mealybugs, whereas A. loecki had higher parasitism in the third-instar mealybugs. When competed with either one or two parasitoid species, A...
DNA synthesis of adult mammalian cardiac muscle cells in long-term culture.

Abstract Adult rat cardiac ventricular muscle cells were isolated and cultured in monolayer for 30–45 days. Most of the cardiac muscle cells undergo external and internal structural alterations, resembling embryonic/neonatal cardiac muscle cells in culture (Nag and Cheng, (1981) ; Nag et al. , (1983)). These cultured cells underwent DNA synthesis and mitosis as revealed by autoradiography studies that involved the exposure of the cells to [ 3 H]-thymidine for 24 hr prior to the termination of the culture at selected intervals. During the first week of culture, cardiac muscle cells showed less than 5% labeled cells. The labeling index of myocytes attained a peak in the second week of culture, exhibiting approximately 23% labeled cells. The labeling indices of cardiac muscle cells declined over the period of 30 days of culture. During the end of the incubation period, approximately 4% of the myocytes were labeled. When the extent of the total cell population involved in DNA synthesis was examined by exposing the cells to [ 3 H]-thymidine continuously for long periods of time, it was observed that approximately 26% of the cardiac muscle cells regained the capacity for DNA synthesis during 1–10 days of culture. From day 1 to day 14, approximately 29% of the total muscle cell population was labeled. When the cells were exposed to the radioactive isotope continuously for 30 days, approximately 31% of the cells incorporated radioactive isotope, showing their capacity for DNA synthesis. Approximately 90% of the cardiac muscle cells in long-term culture contained more than one nucleus. The nuclei were often observed in multiples of two. Labeled mitotic apparatus was observed in cardiac myocytes, indicating the replication of DNA, followed by karyokinesis. Although our earlier studies (Nag and Cheng, (1981)) demonstrated for the first time that the adult cardiac muscle cells, previously thought to have lost the capacity to replicate DNA, are capable of DNA synthesis in culture, the present studies have portrayed in detail of the profile of DNA synthesis in adult cardiac muscle cells over a period of long-term culture.
Nonvolatile Silicon Memory Using GeO x -Cladded Ge Quantum Dots Self-Assembled on SiO 2 and Lattice-Matched II–VI Tunnel Insulator

This paper presents fabrication and characterization of a quantum dot-based floating gate nonvolatile memory device with site-specific self-assembly of germanium oxide-cladded germanium (GeOx-Ge) quantum dots on SiO2 and ZnS/ZnMgS/ZnS (II–VI lattice-matched high-κ dielectric) tunnel insulator material. These monodispersed and individually cladded quantum dots have the potential to store charge uniformly in the floating gate and are well suited for nonvolatile memory applications.
THE PATTERN OF MORTALITY CHANGE IN LATIN AMERICA

Using 69 new life tables recently made by Arriaga for Latin American countries by stable-population methods, the authors examine the mortality trends for more countries and more periods of history than have previously been available for analysis. For the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the new tables yield a substantially lower life-expectancy than that shown by previously published life tables; for recent decades the difference is smaller, though in the same direction. As a consequence, the new tables show a speed of mortality decline in Latin America greater than the speed hitherto assumed. When the trend is analyzed in terms of economic development, it appears that the decline was extremely slow in the more backward Latin American countries until around 1930, whereas in the more advanced countries of the region, a more rapid decline had set in before that. After 1930, however, in both groups of countries the pace of decline was faster than ever, and it was virtually the same for both groups, suggesting that after that date public health measures were exerting a strong influence independently of local economic development. This result is confirmed by comparison with the past history of now developed countries; the mortality decline in Latin America after 1930 was much faster than it was historically at the same level in the industrial countries. As compared with other underdeveloped countries today, the unprecedented decline of mortality in Latin America is typical. In most underdeveloped countries, whether in Latin America or elsewhere, mortality change seems increasingly independent of economic improvement and more dependent on the importation of preventive medicine and public health from the industrial countries.
A balanced approach to region estimation with tables for the normal model

Practitioners of statistics are too often guilty of routinely selecting a 95% confidence level in interval estimation and ignoring the sample size and the expected size of the interval. One way to balance coverage and size is to use a loss function in a decision problem. Then either the Bayes risk or usual risk (if a pivotal quantity exists) may be minimized. It is found that some non-Bayes solutions are equivalent to Bayes results based on non-informative priors. The decision theory approach is applied to the mean and standard deviation of the univariate normal model and the mean of the multivariate normal. Tables are presented for critical values, expected size, confidence and sample size.
Media Ownership Regulations and Local News Programming on Broadcast Television: An Empirical Analysis

This study analyzes the provision of local news programming on local television and its relation with station ownership characteristics and market conditions. The results show that station financial strength and market competition have a significant, positive relation with the quantity of local news programming. However, there is little evidence that ownership characteristics (e.g., duopoly ownership and ownership by one of the big 4 broadcast networks) contribute to local news production. The findings call into question one of the underlying rationales of the Federal Communication Commission's current policies toward more relaxed national and multiple ownership rules. This research was supported by grants from the Ford Foundation's Media, Arts, and Culture Unit, Fordham University's Graduate School of Business Summer Research Grant Program, and the Howard R. Marsh Center in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan.
Uniform monotonicity of norms and the strong “zero-two” law

Abstract Recently, Rainer Wittmann proved a strong “zero-two” law for positive contractions of Lp-spaces, 1 ⩽ p
Decreased Resistance to Edwardsiella ictaluri Infection in Channel Catfish Intraperitoneally Administered an Oil Adjuvant

Abstract The effects of intraperitoneal injection of squalene, an oil adjuvant, on nonspecific mortality of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and on their resistance to experimental Edwardsiella ictaluri infection were studied. Yearling channel catfish were assigned to control (N = 22) or squalene (N = 25) treatment groups, and mortality was monitored for 14 d following treatment. On day 14 both groups were infected with E. ictaluri, the causative agent of enteric septicemia of catfish, and mortality was monitored for an additional 11 d. Before infection, mortality did not differ between groups. After E. ictaluri infection, fish that received squalene were at a substantially higher risk of dying than control fish (relative risk after squalene treatment = 6.86). These results suggest that intraperitoneal administration of squalene, although not directly toxic, decreased resistance to E. ictaluri infection.
Some azo dyes from naphthidine: (4,4′‐diamino‐binaphthyl‐1)

Five azo dyes are described in this paper. They are made by diazotizing naphthidine and coupling with salicylic acid, naphthionic acid, Schaffer's acid, resorcinol, and 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone. Except the pyrazolone dye, which is applicable only to the dyeing of cotton, the remaining four give beautiful colours with wool, silk, or cotton without the use of a mordant.
A Kantian System? Democracy and Third-Party Conflict Resolution

While constructivist scholars have recognized an important role for norms in international relations, they have not considered the changing proportion of democratic states in the international system as a potential source of norm formation. I argue that democratic norms become international norms as the proportion of democratic states in the international system increases, focusing on the democratic norm of third party dispute resolution. I reach the novel conclusion that non-democratic states are more likely to behave like democratic states, adopting democratic norms, as the proportion of democracies increases. Empirical analysis of peaceful settlement attempts of territorial claims in the Americas supports this hypothesis. Third party settlement is sixteen times more likely for non-democratic dyads when the proportion of democracies in the system is 50% than when the proportion is zero. My theory and empirical results offer new insight into the democratic peace literature and the constructivist literature on international norms.
Electrophysiological studies of thymectomized and nonthymectomized acetylcholine receptor-immunized animal models of myasthenia gravis.

Abstract White New Zealand rabbits were immunized with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) purified from the electric organs of either the Electrophorous electricus (eel) or Torpedo californica (torpedo). Approximately 4 days after a second injection of 100 μg AChR in complete Freund's adjuvant, the immunized animals developed weakness of the peripheral muscles which was aggravated by repetitive activity and was partially alleviated by anticholinesterases such as edrophonium or pyridostigmine. Electromyograms taken from the anterior tibialis muscle demonstrated a decrement of the compound action potentials at a stimulation frequency of 5 Hz which was reversed by the intravenous administration of 1 mg pyridostigmine. If the animals were not treated with anticholinesterases they died within a couple of days. Biopsies of the intercostal muscle were done under Nembutal anesthesia, and intracellular recordings revealed subliminal end-plate potentials (EPPs) and miniature end-plate potentials (MEPPs) of greatly diminished amplitudes. At some neuromuscular junctions no MEPPs were detected, and in other junctions MEPPs were seen but no EPP was evoked upon nerve stimulation. Muscles from two immunized rabbits showed spontaneous muscle action potentials occurring at 1 to 2 Hz. Serum from the rabbits immunized with torpedo or eel AChR, when applied to in vitro preparations of the eel electroplaque or frog cutaneous pectoris muscle, caused a decrease in postjunctional membrane sensitivity to carbamylcholine and reduced the MEPP and EPP amplitudes even after heat inactivation of the serum complement (56°C for 30 min). In addition to a decrease in chemosensitivity, an enhancement of receptor desensitization occurred in the neuromuscular junctions of serum-treated frog muscles. Thymectomies on adult rabbits prior to the immunization had the effect of delaying the onset of myasthenia in two of six rabbits, and in three of six rabbits only mild myasthenia occurred. The blood antibody titers to AChR were similar in both the thymectomized and nonthymectomized rabbits.
A comparison of two methods for demodulating a target AIS signal through a collision with an interfering AIS signal

Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are commonly used in navigation for collision avoidance, and AIS signals (GMSK modulation) contain a vessel's identity, position, course and speed - information which is also vital in safeguarding U.S. ports. AIS systems employ Self Organizing Time Division Multiple Access (SOTDMA) regions in which users broadcast in dedicated time slots to prevent AIS collisions. However, AIS signals broadcast from outside a SOTMDA region may collide with those originating inside, and demodulation in co-channel interference is desirable. In this article we compare two methods for performing such demodulation. The first method involves Laurent's Amplitude Modulated Pulse (AMP) decomposition of constant amplitude binary phase modulated signals. Kaleh has demonstrated that this method is highly accurate for demodulating a single GMSK signal in additive Gaussian white noise (AWGN). Here we evaluate the performance of this Laurent-Kaleh method for demodulating a target AIS signal through a collision with an interfering AIS signal. We also introduce a second, far simpler demodulation method which employs a set of filters matched to tribit states and phases of GMSK signals. We compute the bit error rate (BER) for these two methods in demodulating a target AIS signal through a collision with another AIS signal, both as a function of the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR), and as a function the carrier frequency difference (CFD) between the two signals. Our experiments show that there is no outstanding advantage for either of these methods over a wide range of SIR and CFD values. However, the matched filter approach is conceptually much simpler, easier to motivate and implement, while the Laurent-Kaleh method involves a highly complex and non-intuitive signal decomposition.
Rapid polymeric surfactant characterization using a novel flow-injection system with dynamic surface tension detection

Abstract Substantial improvements in a dynamic surface tension detector (DSTD) are presented, providing the rapid measurement of the dynamic surface tension of flowing liquids. The dynamic surface tension is determined by measuring a differential pressure across the liquid–air interface of growing drops. A novel calibration procedure is described and implemented. Differential pressure signals from three drops (water, standard, and analyte) are utilized to make the dynamic surface tension measurement, thereby eliminating the need for optical imaging as required by current methods. Furthermore, corrections for drop elongation are not required, since the growing drops are precisely detached by an air burst actuation method in a regime where the surface tension forces significantly dominate gravitational forces. Drops that would fall with a volume of about 10 μl due to gravity, are precisely detached earlier at a volume as low as 1 μl. Two model surfactant systems, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyoxyethylene-20-cetyl ether (Brij® 58), are evaluated to demonstrate the significance of these improvements to the DSTD. Using 0.5–3.0 mM SDS solutions, the precision of the instrument is demonstrated, with a precision of 0.2 dyn/cm routinely obtained. A reproducible method to perform stress-relaxation experiments of surfactant systems, similar to those reported in the literature, is demonstrated using Brij® 58 solutions. Additional characterization of Brij® 58 solutions above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) is presented, providing insight into the impact that micelles have on dynamic surface properties. Finally, combination of a flow-injection system with the DSTD provides information-rich, multi-dimensional data. The smaller drop volume provided by automated drop detachment results in excellent data density for rapid chemical analysis. The flow-injection system with the DSTD provides rapid characterization of polymeric surfactant solutions above the CMC based on diffusional properties of the micelles and on surface active properties of the micelle/monomer system.
On a representation of fully nonlinear elliptic operators in terms of pure second order derivatives and its applications

We give a method of representing fully nonlinear elliptic operators given by boundedly inhomogeneous functions in terms of operators acting only on pure second order derivatives. We also discuss possible applications of such representations to using .finite di.erence approximations for solving the corresponding equations.
Interstellar absorption lines toward gamma Arae

The available data on interstellar absorption lines in the spectrum of gamma Ara observed from the ground and with the Copernicus telescope have been analyzed to give column densities of various ion stages of H, C, N, O, Na, Mg, Si, P, S, Ar, Ca, Mn, and Fe. The element abundances with respect to H nuclei in H I regions are similar to the values for zeta Oph, with depletions relative to the sun tending to increase with increasing condensation temperature. For example, toward gamma Ara, Fe is depleted by a factor of 50; Mg, Si, and Mn by about 10; and S, P, and N little or none. Interstellar Si IV and probably S IV appear stronger than in most other stars, but still their low ratios to Si III and S III suggest that soft X-rays and low-energy cosmic rays are not important sources of ionization. The width of the O VI lines and the absence of N V have been interpreted as evidence for a collisionally ionized region with a temperature between 300,000 and 700,000 K containing at least 0.0004 of the total interstellar column density.
An 86-bp VNTR within IDUA is the basis of the D4S111 polymorphic locus.

The gene for the lysosomal glycosidase [alpha]-L-iduronidase (EC 3.2.1.76; gene symbol, IDUA) is located on human chromosome 4 at 4p16.3, about 1100 kb from the telomere. Deficiency of IDUA results in the autosomal recessive disorder mucopolysaccharidosis type I. The authors have recently isolated the IDUA cDNA and the IDUA gene. The IDUA gene spans about 19 kb and has been shown to be coincident with the highly polymorphic multialliele locus D4S111, which is used in Huntington disease diagnosis. Polymorphisms at D4S111 are detected by p157.9, a plasmid subclone of the cosmid A157.1, which contains the IDUA gene. To fully characterize a repetitive element found in the second intron of the IDUA gene, they isolated and sequenced a 2.2-kb PstI restriction fragment that is entirely contained within the second of this 2.2-kb fragment and shows that it contains seven copies of an 86-bp repeat and that the polymorphism detected by p157.9 at D4S111k is a VNTR resulting from variation in the number of this repeat. 7 refs., 1 fig.