cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Revisiting the Beighton Criteria: Does Ligamentous Laxity Testing Correlate With Shoulder Range of Motion Norms in a North American, Pediatric Population?

BACKGROUND Ligamentous laxity testing using the Beighton score is frequently used as part of the pediatric shoulder examination. However, the relationship between generalized ligamentous laxity (GLL) and shoulder range of motion (ROM) remains unexamined in children, and normative data for these clinical tests have not been well established. In this study, we establish normative data for shoulder range of motion and GLL in a healthy, diverse pediatric population and investigate whether Beighton testing correlates with shoulder ROM in children. METHODS Healthy subjects age 2 to 18 years with isolated lower extremity complaints were recruited. Passive shoulder ROM measurements for forward flexion (FF), abduction (ABD), internal rotation (IR), external rotation (ER), and extension (EXT) were obtained using a long-armed goniometer. The Beighton score was obtained, with a positive test defined as ≥5. Descriptive statistics were used to stratify data on the basis of age and sex. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated. Spearman's r was calculated to determine correlations between the Beighton score and shoulder ROM. Predictive indices of a positive Beighton test to identify patients with high shoulder mobility (ROM in the top 15 percentile, or 1 SD above the mean) were calculated. RESULTS A total of 202 subjects were enrolled and evaluated. Passive ROM norms by age and sex were determined. Intraclass correlation coefficients for all shoulder ROM measurements were substantial to excellent. Female individuals had greater ROM than age-matched male individuals, but this trend was largely statistically insignificant. Pearson's correlation between age and shoulder ROM was significant for FF, ABD, EXT, and ER (r=-0.52 to -0.20, P<0.001). Based on a Beighton score of ≥5, the prevalence of GLL was 10% in male and 15% in female individuals. Spearman's correlation between Beighton score and shoulder ROM was significant for 3 of 5 ROM measurements: FF, ER, and EXT (r=0.30 to 0.39, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Normative pediatric shoulder ROM and joint laxity data have been established in a healthy, diverse population of children. Beighton testing exhibits only a weak to moderate correlation, despite statistical significance, with shoulder ROM and is poorly predictive for high ROM in children. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level I- Diagnostic.
Asian Americans, Admissions, and College Choice: An Empirical Test of Claims of Harm Used in Federal Investigations:

The Coalition of Asian American Associations (CAAA) and Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE), two small but vocal groups of Asian Americans, have argued against affirmative action practice...
An open trial of app-assisted acceptance and commitment therapy (iACT) for eating disorders in type 1 diabetes.

Eating disorders (EDs) among individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) increase the risk of early and severe diabetes-related medical complications and premature death. Conventional eating disorder (ED) treatments have been largely ineffective for T1D patients, indicating the need to tailor treatments to this patient population and the unique conditions under which ED symptoms emerge (in the context of a chronic illness with unrelenting demands to control blood glucose, diet and exercise). The current study was a pilot open trial of iACT, a novel intervention for EDs in T1D grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). iACT was based on the premise that ED symptoms emerge as individuals attempt to cope with T1D and related emotional distress. iACT taught acceptance and mindfulness as an alternative to maladaptive avoidance and control, and leveraged personal values to increase willingness to engage in T1D management, even when it was upsetting (e.g., after overeating). A tailored mobile application (“app”) was used in between sessions to facilitate the application of ACT skills in the moment that individuals are making decisions about their diabetes management. Adults with T1D who met criteria for an ED completed 12 sessions of iACT (with three optional tapering sessions). In addition to examining whether treatment was acceptable and feasible (the primary aim of the study), the study also examined whether iACT was associated with increased psychological flexibility (i.e., the ability to have distressing thoughts/feelings about diabetes while pursuing personally meaningful values), and improvements in ED symptoms, diabetes management and diabetes distress. Treatment was acceptable to T1D patients with EDs and feasible to implement. Participants reported increased psychological flexibility with diabetes-related thoughts/feelings, and less obstruction and greater progress in pursuing personal values. There were large effects for change in ED symptoms, diabetes self-management and diabetes distress from baseline to end-of-treatment (Cohen’s d = .90–1.79). Hemoglobin A1c also improved, but the p-value did not reach statistical significance, p = .08. Findings provide preliminary evidence for iACT to improve outcomes for T1D patients with EDs and support further evaluation of this approach in a controlled trial. NCT02980627 . Registered 8 July 2016.
Mechanical Circulatory Support in High-Risk Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

The use of mechanical circulatory devices to support high-risk elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become more common as the group of patients considered inoperable or high risk for surgical revascularization has grown. Most of the data examining outcomes in high-risk PCI are observational and retrospective. Limited prospective randomized studies have been unable to show improved clinical outcomes with routine mechanical circulatory support (MCS) in patients with a high burden of coronary artery disease and reduced ejection fraction. The role for MCS in high-risk PCI continues to evolve as understanding of the appropriate groups for this therapy evolves.
Presentation of External Ear Rosai-Dorfman Disease With Laryngeal Involvement.

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare benign systemic histiocytic proliferation characterized by massive lymph node enlargement and sometimes associated with extranodal involvement. Even though it ...
Understanding Public Attitudes Toward COVID-19 with Twitter

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a part of our everyday life in the year of 2020. Many people have turned to online social media platforms to share what they think and how they feel about the sudden impact the pandemic has brought upon us. This project aims to study public attitudes toward COVID-19 on Twitter, a popular social network platform. In particular, it focuses on discovering what issues around COVID-19 people are discussing, why they are interested in such topics, and how their emotions have evolved over time. The study further seeks to reveal potential associations between the breakout and any hidden idea previously unknown to the general public. The dataset was created by collecting approximately 150,000 tweets with keywords or hashtags related to COVID-19 over a course of four weeks with Python and Twitter API. A comprehensive analysis of the tweets was performed using natural language processing methodologies including topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and word embedding. The results suggest that many people may be failing to practice appropriate safety measures to stop the spread, despite their high interests in the COVID-19 crisis. In other words, their proactive online actions are not influencing their offline, real-life behaviors.
Developing the Experience Impact Scale: A qualitative study using a study abroad and international internship program

Recent work has identified different experience types, including experience classifications of ordinary, memorable, meaningful, and transformative. This study further clarifies the experience typol...
The Early History of the Law of Bills and Notes: Transferability and negotiability

In the previous chapters, little attention has been devoted to a subject that is commonly taken to be the main point of interest in the history of the law of bills and notes, the development of the principle of negotiability. This omission is quite intentional. One of the premises of this book is that a major flaw in the traditional accounts of the development of the law of bills and notes is the preoccupation with the concept of negotiability. This chapter attempts to place this issue in proper perspective by examining the issues concerning the transfer of bills and notes that were and were not matters of real concern in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. TRANSFERABILITY Indorsement Precisely how and when the practice of indorsing bills developed is not entirely clear, even though the point has probably attracted far greater attention from legal and economic historians than it truly warrants. Historians of continental business practice have found isolated instances of indorsed bills dating from the early sixteenth century, but it is generally thought that the practice did not become common on the continent until after 1600. Evidence on English practice suggests a similar date. Contrary to the usual view that the main theme of the early history of the law of bills was the struggle against the common law principle that choses in action are not assignable, the practice of transferring bills seems to have been accommodated by the common law courts with relatively little difficulty.
Stress Versus Resistivity at Liquid Helium Temperature

Summary The effects of stress and magnetic field on the resistivity of copper and high purity aluminum are shown in a series of curves. Magnetic fields from 0 to 20 kG and stress levels from 0 to 2100 kg/cm 2 were investigated. All tests were conducted at 4.2° K. each sample was identified by composition and by resistance ratio (R 300°K /R 4.2°K ).
Swelling Simulation Studies of Type 316 Stainless Steel

The effects of some compositional and processing variations on the irradiation-induced swelling of 20 percent cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel have been investigated. Bombardment by 5-MeV nickel ions was used to simulate the fast neutron irradiation which occurs in breeder reactor core components. Swelling in cold-worked Type 316 was found to be lowered by additions of silicon and molybdenum. Swelling was also reduced by increasing the solution-annealing temperature prior to the final cold-working operation.
Improving Patient-Centered Care: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Prior Use and Interest in Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches Among Hospitalized Oncology Patients.

Abstract Objectives: To describe cancer inpatients' prior-year use of complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies and interest in receiving CIH therapies while in the hospital. Design: Observational, cross-sectional survey of prior-year use of 12 different CIH approaches and interest in receiving any of 7 CIH services in the hospital. Setting: Surgical oncology ward of an academic medical center. Participants: 166 hospitalized oncology patients, with an average age of 54 years. Results: The most commonly used CIH approach was vitamins/nutritional supplements (67%), followed by use of a special diet (42%) and manual therapies (39%). More than 40% of patients expressed interest in each of the therapies if it was offered during their hospital stay, and 95% of patients were interested in at least one. More than 75% expressed interest in nutritional counseling and in massage. CIH use and interest varied somewhat by demographic and clinical characteristics. Conclusion: Rates of CIH use among patients w...
Identification of an AUUUA-specific messenger RNA binding protein

An important control point in gene expression is at the level of messenger RNA (mRNA) stability. The mRNAs of certain regulatory cellular proteins such as oncogenes, cytokines, lymphokines, and transcriptional activators are extremely labile. These messages share a common AUUUA pentamer in their 3' untranslated region, which confers cytoplasmic instability. A cytosolic protein was identified that binds specifically to RNA molecules containing four reiterations of the AUUUA structural element. This protein consists of three subunits and binds rapidly to AUUUA-containing RNA. Such protein-RNA complexes are resistant to the actions of denaturing and reducing agents, demonstrating very stable binding. The time course, stability, and specificity of the protein-AUUUA interaction suggests the possibility that the formation of this complex may target susceptible mRNA for rapid cytoplasmic degradation.
Fabrication of Highly Reflective Composite Polyimide Films via in Situ Reduction of Matrix Constrained Silver(I)

Optically reflective composite polyimide films have been prepared by casting a dimethylacetamide solution of silver(I) acetate, hexafluoroacetylacetone, and the poly(amic acid) derived from 3,3‘,4,...
The effect of age and menopause on bone mineral density of the proximal femur

Although the menopause has been associated with increased bone loss at several skeletal sites, it has not previously been noted in the hip, yet estrogen therapy has been reported to reduce the incidence of hip fractures. We investigated the effect of age and menopause on bone loss in the proximal femur by measuring bone mineral density (BMD) of the femoral neck, Ward's triangle, and trochanter by dual-photon absorptiometry in 263 normal women aged 20–84. Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant decrease in BMD of the femoral neck and Ward's triangle with age in both pre- and postmenopausal women (p < 0.001). In the trochanter the decrease with age was significant only in postmenopausal women (p < 0.001). Further analysis revealed that BMD decreased faster at all sites in the early postmenopausal years. During the first 6 years postmenopause, the decrease in BMD of the femoral neck and trochanter was 3–10 times higher than the change in the decade prior to menopause. About 20% of the lifetime femoral neck loss and 30% of the trochanteric loss occurred in the early postmenopausal period. It is concluded that both age and menopause are major determinants of BMD in the proximal femur. These findings could explain why estrogen therapy has been reported to prevent hip fracture. The rapid early postmenopausal loss in BMD of the proximal femur demonstrates the importance of starting estrogen replacement therapy immediately after menopause for maximum effect.
Do Risky Microfinance Borrowers Really Invest in Risky Projects? Experimental Evidence from Bolivia

AbstractThis paper reports the results of an experiment testing a fundamental assumption in Stiglitz and Weiss’ (1981) model of credit rationing: that defaulting borrowers are associated with investment in risky projects. Through an artefactual field experiment with 200 Bolivian microfinance borrowers, we observe that subjects from real-world delinquent borrowing groups do not prefer risky projects to safer ones significantly more than subjects from repaying groups. Instead, our results support more recent behavioural theories of credit market failure. Implications are that defaulting microfinance borrowers may be those who take too little investment risk rather than those who take too much.
Study on Optimization of Dynamic Characteristics of Turbo Generator Foundation

The dynamic characteristics of turbo generator foundation have an important impact on safe operation of power plant. The study first used the vibration mode superposition method to solve the structural vibration response and sensitivity through establishing the dynamic equations and optimization model of the foundation, and then determined the optimization variables, constraints and objectives according to the process conditions, and at last undertook multivariate optimization research on a 1000MW turbo-generator foundation. Finally, an optimization scheme which reduces both the linear displacement of foundation vibration and the amount of concrete used was obtained. The analysis results showed that the optimization method adopted in this study had higher efficiency and could achieve better technical and economic benefits.
Picosecond infrared vibrational photon echoes and lifetime measurements using the Stanford superconducting-accelerator-pumped free-electron laser

ABSTRACTThe first infrared vibrational photon echo experiments conducted in a liquid and a glass are reported. The experiments were performed on the CO stretching mode of tungsten hexacarbonyl at 5 . 1 t m (1960 cm1) in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran over the temperature range 300 K to 16 K using picosecondpulses from the free electron laser at Stanford University. In addition, the first vibrational population relaxation measurements spanning a temperature range that takes a system from a liquid to a supercooledliquid to a glass are reported. 1. INTRODUCTION Molecular vibrations are involved in a vast number of physical, chemical, and biological processes. Coupling between molecular vibrations and external mechanical degrees of freedom (heat bath) is responsible for the flow of energy into and out of molecules and for thermally activated processes. In spiteof the importance of the coupling of molecular vibrations to a heat bath, relatively little is known about thedynamic aspects of molecular vibrations in condensed matter systems. What is known is mainly restrictedto vibrational lifetime measurements in crystalline solids at low temperature.'
Influenza virus proton channels

The M2 ion channel proteins of influenza A and B viruses are essential to viral replication. The two ion channels share a common motif, HXXXW, that is responsible for proton selectivity and activation. The ion channel for the influenza A virus, but not influenza B virus, is inhibited by the antiviral drug amantadine and amantadine-resistant escape mutants form in treated influenza A patients. The studies reviewed suggest that an antiviral compound directed against the conserved motif would be more useful than amantadine in inhibiting viral replication.
Interprofessional conflict, accommodation, and the flow of capital: The ASB vs The securities industry and its lawyerS☆

Abstract In an earlier paper, Martens and McEnroe (1991) found that the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) substantially rewrote major sections of the exposure draft (ED) of Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 54 to accommodate the wishes of a special interest group, the legal profession. This study involves a similar examination of the development of SAS 72, from its status as an ED to its release as an official auditing promulgation. Specifically, an analysis is made of the positions existing in the ED for SAS 72, the comments submitted to the ASB, and the changes made to the final SAS in light of those comments. The results indicate that the ASB once again accommodated the desires of a special interest group; in this case, the securities industry and its lawyers. A reason for the accommodation is proposed in the context of certain sociological theories of the professions. It is suggested that the ASB, acting as an agent of capital, was convinced that a less restrictive standard was necessary in order to facilitate the role that underwriters play in the flow of investment capital.
Minority Preservice Teachers' Conceptions of Teaching Science: Sources of Science Teaching Strategies.

This study explores five minority preservice teachers’ conceptions of teaching science and identifies the sources of their strategies for helping students learn science. Perspectives from the literature on conceptions of teaching science and on the role constructs used to describe and distinguish minority preservice teachers from their mainstream White peers served as the framework to identify minority preservice teachers’ instructional ideas, meanings, and actions for teaching science. Data included drawings, narratives, observations and self-review reports of microteaching, and interviews. A thematic analysis of data revealed that the minority preservice teachers’ conceptions of teaching science were a specific set of beliefs-driven instructional ideas about how science content is linked to home experiences, students’ ideas, hands-on activities, about how science teaching must include group work and not be based solely on textbooks, and about how learning science involves the concept of all students can learn science, and acknowledging and respecting students’ ideas about science. Implications for teacher educators include the need to establish supportive environments within methods courses for minority preservice teachers to express their K-12 experiences and acknowledge and examine how these experiences shape their conceptions of teaching science, and to recognize that minority preservice teachers’ conceptions of teaching science reveal the multiple ways through which they see and envision science instruction.
A Comparison of Heuristic Methods for Service Facility Locations

Most segments of service industry are experiencing intense competition. Both researchers and practitioners have focused their attention on improving service operations. Proper location for a service facility is a major factor affecting the competitive position of a service operation. This article discusses the facility location problems and presents a simple heuristic that can be used to locate service facilities. The article reports the results of a simulation study which compared the performance of the proposed heuristic and another heuristic for locating service facilities with respect to computer processing time and explores how close the solutions are to the optimum solution. The results of the simulation indicate that the proposed heuristic is more efficient with respect to CPU time required to solve problems and gives more accurate results.
Molecular Cloning and Functional Characterization of a Novel CC Chemokine, Stimulated T Cell Chemotactic Protein (STCP-1) That Specifically Acts on Activated T Lymphocytes

A novel human chemokine STCP-1 (stimulated T cell chemotactic protein) was isolated from an activated macrophage cDNA library. The chemokine has four cysteines positioned in a manner that identifies STCP-1 as a member of the CC chemokine family. The amino acid sequence shows 34% identity with RANTES. The gene consists of 3 exons and 2 introns with the position of intron/exon boundaries similar to that of RANTES. The gene is expressed as a 3.4-kilobase transcript on lymph node, thymus, and Appendix. STCP-1 induces Ca2+ mobilization in a small percentage of primary activated T lymphocytes, but on repeated stimulation the percentage of T lymphocytes that respond to STCP-1 increases. The chemokine STCP-1 does not induce Ca2+ mobilization in monocytes, dendritic cells, neutrophils, eosinophils, lipopolysaccharide-activated B lymphocytes, and freshly isolated resting T lymphocytes. Similarly, STCP-1, while acting as a mild chemoattractant for primary activated T lymphocytes, is a potent chemoattractant for chronically activated T lymphocytes but has no chemoattractant activity for monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and resting T lymphocytes. As STCP-1 acts specifically on activated T lymphocytes, it may play a role in the trafficking of activated/effector T lymphocytes to inflammatory sites and other aspects of activated T lymphocyte physiology.
Change and the Corporeal in Seventeenth‐ and Eighteenth‐Century Gender History: Or, Can Cultural History Be Rigorous?

This essay is a methodological evaluation of the procedures and presuppositions informing the social and cultural history of gender, as exemplified in recent scholarship about the transformations of sex and gender in Britain from the early modern period through the long eighteenth century. It suggests answers to two questions: how can we write the cultural history of gender while maintaining both rigour in the enterprise and an awareness of its limits? And where might we go when these limits suddenly appear to undermine the very foundational presuppositions on which the whole cultural-historical project is built?
ABSORPTION RATE OF HORMONECHOLESTEROL PELLETS

THE METHOD OF ADMINISTRATION of hormones in the form of subcutaneous im-plants of solid pellets, introduced in 1937 (1) has found many interesting and useful experimental and clinical applications (2–7). One of the disadvantages of the technic is that pellets of some hormones are absorbed too rapidly; this indicates overdosage as wellas insufficient length of activity. Forbes (8) recently studied the absorption of hormone pellets in rats. The pellets were made by compression and weighed 6 to 10 mg. He found that 90% absorption occurred in 27 days withdesoxycorticosterone acetate, in 51 days with stilbestrol, and in 61 days with testosterone propionate. The problem of retarding the absorption of hormone pellets has received attention at the National Cancer Institute since 1939, in connection with experiments on the effect of stilbestrol and other hormones on the development of tumors in mice (9–11).
The subtleties of water in small spaces

The transport of fluids through conduits conjures up notions of pumps, pipes, and valves for students of the engineering sciences. It also represents a basic physical process that can be described by continuum hydrodynamics as long as the diameter of the “pipe” is much larger than any relevant length scale in the fluid, and, for many practical situations, it is. In fact, although the reasons are far from clear, continuum hydrodynamics can make accurate predictions even outside of the range of physical scenarios where it is expected to apply. One notable example is the success of the Stokes-Einstein(-Debye) model that relates the diffusivity of a dilute probe particle to the viscosity of the solvent. Although strictly valid only for Brownian particles that are much larger than the solvent molecules, it also works well for probe particles that are of similar size or even smaller (1). Moreover, experiments have shown that macroscopic hydrodynamics can reliably describe the flow of fluids through channels with cross-sectional dimensions that range from tens to hundreds of micrometers (2). The success of the continuum approach for modeling microfluidics has led some to suggest that the design paradigm for the engineer will soon be to “scale down” rather than “scale up” (3). However, one cannot simply scale down ad infinitum. For transport through sufficiently narrow channels (tens of nanometers), microscopic fluctuations play an important role, and it no longer makes sense to describe the permeant …
Activity of all JNK isoforms contributes to neurite growth in spiral ganglion neurons

Abstract Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a multifunctional protein kinase crucial for neuronal apoptosis as well as neurite growth. We have previously shown that JNK activity is correlated with spiral ganglion neuron (SGN) apoptosis following hair cell loss in rats ( Alam et al., 2007 ) implying that JNK inhibition may have therapeutic potential to protect SGNs in deaf individuals. Here we investigated the role of JNK in neurite outgrowth from cultured neonatal rat and mouse SGNs. We show that JNK is required for initial growth of neurites and for continued extension of already established neurites. The effect of JNK inhibition on neurite growth is rapid and is also rapidly reversible after washout of the inhibitor. Using phosphoJNK immunoreactivity as an indicator, we show that JNK is activated in growth cones within 30 min after transfer to medium lacking neurotrophic stimuli (5 K medium) but activation in the nucleus and soma requires hours. By transfecting epitope-tagged JNK1, JNK2, or JNK3 isoforms into SGNs, we found that all are present in the nucleus and cytoplasm and that there is no preferential redistribution to the nucleus after transfer to 5 K medium. Cotransfection of dominant-negative (dn) JNK1 and JNK2 into SGNs reduced neurite growth, although transfection of dnJNK1 or dnJNK2 alone had no significant effect. SGNs cultured from JNK3−/− mice showed reduced neurite growth that was further reduced by transfection of dnJNK1 and dnJNK2. This indicates that all three JNK isoforms promote SGN neurite growth although there may be functional redundancy between JNK1 and JNK2.
A case‐control study of serum vitamins A, E, and C in lung cancer patients

In a case-control study, serum levels of vitamins E, C, and A, carotenoids, total cholesterol, and retinol-binding protein along with smoking levels were studied on 59 persons newly diagnosed with lung cancer and also on matched hospitalized controls. The relative risk for smoking increased with the number of pack years of cigarettes smoked. Cases had significantly lower serum levels of carotenoids, vitamin E, and total cholesterol. Adjustment for serum cholesterol levels diminished the case-control difference for serum carotenoid levels and reduced the case-control difference for serum vitamin E levels. The results indicate that serum vitamin E may also be associated with lung cancer, possibly to a greater degree than serum retinol (vitamin A) is associated with lung cancer.
Single Cation Adsorption Equation for the Solution–Metal Oxide Interface

Abstract Simultaneous solution of the Gibbs–Lewis thermodynamic equations for equilibrium proton and cation complexation at the solution–metal oxide interface results in a single cation adsorption equation in closed mathematical form. The simple form of the cation adsorption equation allows direct assessment of cation adsorption dependence on: (1) solution pH, (2) protonation differences of metal oxide surfaces, (3) differences in adsorption affinity for different cations, (4) concentration of solid versus cations in the dispersion, etc. Experimental and calculated cation adsorption results are compared. From a knowledge of the cation adsorption behavior combined with electrostatic potential equations, the electrostatic behavior in an interfacial system can also be determined. The resulting solution and interfacial electrostatic potential equations are single equations in closed mathematical form expressed as explicit functions of solution and interfacial variables. The dependence of these variables on solution and interfacial electrostatic potential is also examined.
Quantitative description of ultrafiltration in a rotating filtration device

A correlation was developed to quantitatively describe the flux in a high-speed rotating filtration device using a minimum set of parameters. The experimental results were found to be consistent with the concentration polarization (CP) model. Beyond a threshold pressure flux ceases to depend on membrane permeability. The CP model was modified to include the concentration dependence of the diffusivity. This approach was found to be consistent with the strong dependence of flux on pH. Protein concentration in the polarized layer adjacent to the membrane surface was estimated using a procedure that corrects for some of the inconsistencies in the methods usually applied. Four dimensionless numbers were necessary to correlate the experiments with good accuracy. Previously-reported correlations used only three dimensionless numbers. Usage of four numbers could be justified by dimensional analysis. Finally, the performance of rotary or vortex filtration was compared to that of other configurations.
Comment to "Endogenous Viral Etiology of Prion Diseases"

This note is intended as a comment to a paper in Nature Precedings entitled "Endogenous viral etiology of prion diseases":http://precedings.nature.com/documents/3887/version/1 . Because it contains illustrations that could not be displayed in the comments section of that paper, I’m posting this comment here as a PDF document.
Augmented Adenovirus-Mediated Gene Transfer to Atherosclerotic Vessels

Abstract Vascular endothelium is an important target for gene transfer in atherosclerosis. In this study, we examined gene transfer to normal and atherosclerotic blood vessels from two species, using an organ culture method. Using normal aorta, we determined optimal dose, duration of exposure to adenovirus, and duration of incubation of vessels in tissue culture. Aortas from normal and atherosclerotic monkeys were cut into rings and incubated for 2 hours with a recombinant adenovirus, carrying the reporter gene for β-galactosidase driven by a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. After 20 hours of incubation, transgene expression was assessed with a morphometric method after histochemical staining and a chemiluminescent assay of enzyme activity. Expression of β-galactosidase after histochemical staining, expressed as percentage of total cells, was similar in adventitial cells of normal monkeys (21±4%, mean±SE%) and atherosclerotic monkeys (25±12%). Transgene expression in endothelium was higher in atherosclerotic than in normal vessel (53±3% versus 27±7%, P <.05). Chemiluminescent assay indicated greater β-galactosidase activity (2.5±0.6 mU/mg of protein) in the intima and media of atherosclerotic than normal vessels (0.6±0.2 mU/mg of protein, P <.05). Aortas from normal (n=6) and atherosclerotic (n=5) rabbits also were examined. Transgene expression (after histochemical staining) in endothelium was much greater in atherosclerotic than normal rabbits (39±3% versus 9±2%, P <.05) and expression in adventitial cells was similar (normal 23±2%, atherosclerotic 24±4%). Chemiluminescent assay indicated greater β-galactosidase activity (1.2±0.4 mU/mg of protein) in the intima and media of atherosclerotic than normal vessels (0.2±0.1 mU/mg protein, P <.05). These findings suggest that an adenoviral vector with a CMV promoter provides similar transgene expression in adventitia of both normal and atherosclerotic vessels. Gene transfer to the endothelium was much more effective in atherosclerotic than in normal vessels. Thus it may be possible to achieve greater transgene expression in atherosclerotic than in normal arteries.
Donepezil Treatment Restores the Ability of Estradiol to Enhance Cognitive Performance in Aged Rats: Evidence for the Cholinergic Basis of the Critical Period Hypothesis

Recent studies suggest that the ability of estradiol to enhance cognitive performance diminishes with age and/or time following loss of ovarian function. We hypothesize that this is due, in part, to a decrease in basal forebrain cholinergic function. This study tested whether donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor, could restore estradiol effects on cognitive performance in aged rats that had been ovariectomized as young adults. Rats were ovariectomized at 3 months of age, and then trained on a delayed matching to position (DMP) T-maze task, followed by a configural association (CA) operant condition task, beginning at 12-17 or 22-27 months of age. Three weeks prior to testing, rats started to receive either donepezil or vehicle. After one week, half of each group also began receiving estradiol. Acclimation and testing began seven days later and treatment continued throughout testing. Estradiol alone significantly enhanced DMP acquisition in middle-aged rats, but not in aged rats. Donepezil alone had no effect on DMP acquisition in either age group; however, donepezil treatment restored the ability of estradiol to enhance DMP acquisition in aged rats. This effect was due largely to a reduction in the predisposition to adopt a persistent turn strategy during acquisition. These same treatments did not affect acquisition of the CA task in middle-aged rats, but did have small but significant effects on response time in aged rats. The data are consistent with the idea that estrogen effects on cognitive performance are task specific, and that deficits in basal forebrain cholinergic function are responsible for the loss of estradiol effect on DMP acquisition in aged ovariectomized rats. In addition, the data suggest that enhancing cholinergic function pharmacologically can restore the ability of estradiol to enhance acquisition of the DMP task in very old rats following long periods of hormone deprivation. Whether donepezil has similar restorative effects on other estrogen-sensitive tasks needs to be explored.
Temporal effects in the estimation of pulmonary diffusing capacity.

Steady state estimates of the pulmonary diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco) require measurement of the uptake and the average alveolar partial pressure of carbon monoxide (PACO). The expired alveolar sample obtained by different experimental methods and/ or breathing patterns rarely represents the actual PACO. It is widely accepted that nonuniform distribution of ventilation, diffusion and perfusion causes discrepancies in the measurement of diffusing capacity. An additional source of error in choosing PACO arises in the sampling time chosen by the experimental method. A theoretical study of a ramp-with-pause and a square breathing pattern demonstrates that the sample-time error exists even in the homogeneous lung. The study shows for the homogeneous lung that the correct fractional concentration of alveolar carbon monoxide ( FAV) occurs at a time ( TAV), one-half of a breathing period after the effective inspiration time ( TI) for the two very different breathing patterns. T, is well-defined in relation to any breathing pattern which can be approximated by ramps and pauses. If TAV and the sample time chosen by the experimental method are known, then the measured DLCO can be corrected to the actual diffusing capacity (DL). The theory agrees with experimental results and computer simulations of inhomogeneous lungs from the literature. This agreement suggests that the theory for the homogeneous lung is also relevant to the inhomogeneous lung.
Very Late Antigen-1 Mediates Corneal Lymphangiogenesis

Lymphatic research denotes a field of new discovery in recent years largely because of the advancement of technology and the discovery of several lymphatic-specific molecules including lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1 (LYVE-1).1–8 In parallel to the blood circulatory system, the lymphatic network penetrates most tissues in the body and plays critical roles in a broad spectrum of functions, which include but are not limited to immune responses, fat and vitamin absorption, and body fluid regulation. Numerous diseases and conditions are therefore associated with lymphatic dysfunctions, such as cancer metastasis, inflammation, transplant rejection, hypertension, obesity, and lymphedema.1,3–5,9–12 To date, there is no effective treatment for lymphatic disorders and a continuing and increasing demand for new therapeutic protocols. Because of its accessible location and transparent nature, the cornea provides an optimal site for lymphatic research. The normal cornea does not have lymphatic vessels; however, lymphangiogenesis (LG; the development of new lymphatic vessels) can be induced in this tissue after inflammatory, traumatic, chemical, or infectious damage.3,13,14 LG also constitutes the afferent arm of the immune reflex arc of corneal transplantation immunity,3,14,15 and, most recently, it has been demonstrated that LG is a primary mediator of corneal transplant rejection.16 LG is a complex process involving lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) proliferation, migration, adhesion, and interaction with the extracellular matrix. Integrins are a diverse family of heterodimeric cell surface transmembrane glycoproteins that mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions.17,18 The specific roles of integrins in LG are still largely unknown. VLA-1 (very late antigen-1), also known as integrin α1β1, is a receptor for collagen and laminin. Its expression in adults is primarily in mesenchymal cells, such as fibroblasts, microvascular endothelium, and some activated cells of the immune system.19–21 Previously, we reported an observation that transplantation-associated LG is suppressed in VLA-1 knockout mice.22 However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are yet to be determined. In this article, we report the new findings that VLA-1 is critically involved in LG processes. Its expression is upregulated during corneal inflammation, and its blockade suppresses corneal inflammatory LG and macrophage infiltration in vivo and several LEC functions in vitro.
GREATER NONESTERIFIED FATTY ACID RESPONSE IN MEN WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE.

Abstract In a randomly designated sample of men carefully matched for age, occupation and social background, subjects who had recovered from clinically typical coronary occlusions had higher concentrations of triglycerides in their serum than those who had not had such an illness. Their levels of nonesterified fatty acids were also initially higher and rose to higher levels in response to the moderately challenging sedentary tasks performed throughout a morning.
The reliability of dietary data for self- and next-of-kin respondents.

Abstract BACKGROUND: In case–control studies, recalled dietary data from next-of-kin are sometimes used as a surrogate measure of exposure; however, there is limited evidence comparing the ability of study participants and next-of-kin surrogates for the reliability of their responses with respect to past dietary recall. METHODS: We compared dietary information from 303 subjects who were administered a food frequency questionnaire in 1980 with that from 196 of the same subjects and 107 next-of-kin of deceased subjects 5 years later, but with reference to 1980 diet. Agreement between 1980 and 1985 reporting with respect to food groups, food preparation methods, and adherence to special diets was primarily assessed using the kappa statistic. RESULTS: The concordance between 1980 and 1985 reporting of specific food groups was generally poor. Regarding various methods of cooking meats and the use of different types of cooking fats, next-of-kin respondents showed very poor agreement with the reporting of their deceased relatives, and within-subject agreement was also poor for frying meats, baking meats, and for cooking with margarine and vegetable oil. Subjects and next-of-kin were able to reproduce earlier reporting of a special ulcer diet, but not diabetic or low-salt diets. Overall, subjects tended to have better agreement with their own earlier reporting than did next-of-kin, and spouses were found to be more reliable next-of-kin respondents than other relatives. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary data collected retrospectively from next-of-kin may be unreliable.
Quality Assurance: Much More than Testing: Good QA is not only about technology, but also methods and approaches.

Quality assurance isn’t just testing, or analysis, or wishful thinking. Although it can be boring, difficult, and tedious, QA is nonetheless essential. Ensuring that a system will work when delivered requires much planning and discipline. Convincing others that the system will function properly requires even more careful and thoughtful effort. QA is performed through all stages of the project, not just slapped on at the end. It is a way of life.
Deflection behavior of Fabry-Perot pressure sensors having planar and corrugated membrane

Micromachined Fabry-Perot microcavity structures have been investigated for use as pressure sensors. For the application of pressure sensors, the devices are categorized based on the shape and location of the deflecting diaphragm. Discussed here are planar bottom, planar top, and corrugated top diaphragm Fabry-Perot microcavity structures. Output signal degradation as a function of pressure, referred to as the signal averaging effect, caused by the non-planar deflection of an edge-clamped diaphragm, is reduced using planar top diaphragm structures, as compared to planar bottom diaphragm structures. This is achieved by improving the flatness of the deflecting diaphragm in the optically sampled area of the planar top diaphragm structures by adjusting the ratio of the top diaphragm area to the bottom diaphragm area. Corrugation of the top diaphragm structure further enhances flat deflection. However, the corrugated structures induce a static deflection of the diaphragm due to localized internal stress generated by the asymmetry of the corrugation on the diaphragm, referred to as the zero- pressure offset effect. The existence and influence of these parasitic effects have been observed using real-time measurements of the diaphragm deflection.
State-selective single-electron capture in Ne4+-He collisions

Abstract A cold-target recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy technique (COLTRIMS), capable of measuring simultaneously the energy-gain and the scattering angle of the projectile products, has been used for the study of state-selective single-electron capture from He by 8 keV Ne4+ ions. The dominant reaction channel is due to single-electron capture into the 3s 4P state of the Ne3+ from the ground state incident Ne4+ ions. Also, there is clear evidence of capture into the 3s 2P state. State-selective differential cross-sections for capture into the 3s 4P and 2P states have also been measured and compared with the semi-classical multichannel Landau–Zener calculations.
IMPACT STUDY BY VARIOUS BRIDGE MODELS

In previous studies of train-bridge interactions, impact percentages for member forces have been obtained by use of a pin-connected truss model and for both member forces and moments by use of a rigid joint truss model. The purpose of this study is three-fold: (a) to investigate if improved results can be obtained by use of semirigid connections at the ends of the floor beams and stringers; (b) to develop partial bridge models, for studying impacts and the range of forces and moments in members subjected to fatigue; (c) to employ a partial bridge model to study the influences of various factors on the impact factors and stress ranges of the various members and connections of the truss bridge. Descriptions of the bridge and vehicle models and the associated equations of motion are briefly stated, and results from the various bridge models are compared.
Recent progress on the VOYAGER system

The VOYAGER speech recognition system, which was described in some detail at the last DARPA meeting [9], is an urban exploration system which provides the user with help in locating various sites in the area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The system has a limited database of objects such as banks, restaurants, and post offices and can provide information about these objects (e.g., phone numbers, type of cuisine served) as well as providing navigational assistance between them. VOYAGER accepts both spoken and typed input and responds in the form of text, graphics, and synthesized speech. Since the last meeting, we have made developments to VOYAGER that have had an impact on the usability of the system.
Choline, Methionine and Sulphate Interrelationships in Poultry Nutrition1—A Review

This review has dealt with the importance of methionine, choline and sulphate in poultry. The interrelationship between methionine and choline and between the sulphur amino acids and inorganic sulp...
MessyDesk and MessyBoard: two designs inspired by the goal of improving human memory

MessyDesk is a replacement desktop that invites free-form decoration. MessyBoard is a large, projected, shared bulletin board that is decorated collaboratively by a small group of users.We built these programs with the goal of helping people remember more of the content that they access through a computer. Our approach is to embed content within distinct contexts. For instance, a computer with multiple projection screens could surround the user with panoramic vistas that correspond to projects that the user is working on. Since few people are willing to create their own context, we created MessyDesk and MessyBoard in order to entice people to decorate.Though we have not yet evaluated the impact of either program on users' memories, we have observed people using these programs over a several week period. From anecdotal evidence, we believe that MessyDesk may be a good tool for decoration and information management. MessyBoard became popular when we projected the board on the wall in our lab. We have seen that different research groups use it differently. One group uses it mostly for jokes and games, and another group uses it for long design discussions. It is good for scheduling, and supports factual as well as emotional communication among group members.