cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analytical expressions for the disjoining pressure between particle-stabilized fluid–fluid interfaces and composite materials

A method based on a hybrid Hamaker–Lifshitz approach is developed to derive numerical and analytical expressions of the disjoining pressure (i.e. van der Waals forces per unit area) of the thin film between two drops having micro/nanoparticles straddling their interfaces, as a function of the particle concentration, dimension and core material. This is useful to determine the ability of nanoparticles to stabilize immiscible polymer blends against coalescence, thus in the design of effective nanoparticle stabilizers. The system is modelled as two facing half spaces (i.e., two surfaces or walls with infinite depth) with 2D-lattices of spherical particles straddling the interfaces, interacting through a matrix. The method is also applied to the case of two compound half spaces with 3D-lattices of spherical inclusions to validate the method by comparison with well known effective medium expressions. This is also a model for drops with particles dispersed in their bulk or two interacting colloidal/nanocrystals. Our approach is promising for its ability to deal with complex geometries and with the presence of an intervening medium in a simple way, leading to analytical expressions that can be used both in experiments and in numerical simulations of coalescence; and it is especially applicable to polymeric systems having no strong dipole interactions. Multi-body interactions are only included by evaluating the Hamaker constants through the Lifshitz approach.
A double crystal; monochromator using tangentially bent crystals in combination with toroidal mirror focusing

Abstract The trend in beamline design has been to systems of greater complexity and cost, albeit with very large increases in performance. Here we present a design that attempts to simplify the system to a minimum, while preserving extremely high performance. This is achieved through placement of all optics close to the source inside the shield wall, the use of a tangentially bent 2 crystal monochromator, and a 1 : 1 focusing toroidal mirror.
Comparison of rabbit coronary arterial relaxation induced by acetylcholine and lemakalim: activation of ATP sensitive potassium channels.

Study objective — The purpose was to assess the role of ATP sensitive potassium channels (KATP) in endothelium dependent vasodilatation induced by acetylcholine, or endothelium independent vasodilatation induced by lemakalim in rabbit coronary arteries. Design — The effect of glibenclamide, a specific inhibitor of KATP, on coronary artery relaxation induced by acetylcholine or lemakalim was investigated. The relaxing effectiveness of acetylcholine and lemakalim on coronary arteries precontracted with KCI (K+) or prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α was compared. Experimental materials — Left epicardial coronary arteries from male New Zealand white rabbits (2.5-3.0 kg), killed by an overdose of pentobarbitone, were dissected free of connective tissue. Rings suspended in organ baths for the measurement of isometric tension. Measurements and main results — K+ (30 mmol·litre−1) and PGF2α (3 μmol·litre−1) caused comparable contraction (p>0.05) in endothelium intact or endothelium denuded coronary arterial rings. Acetylcholine induced relaxation was greater in endothelium intact rings precontracted with PGF2α than with K+ and was abolished by the removal of endothelium. Relaxations induced by acetylcholine (0.1 and 0.3 μmol·litre−1) were reduced from 82(SEM 2.7)% and 93(2.8)% to 71(2.4)% and 82(2.7)% (p<0.05), and to 63(3.2)% and 79(4.5)% (p<0.05 or <0.01) by glibenclamide (3 and 10 μmol·litre−1) respectively in PGF2α precontracted rings; and also attenuated (p<0.05 or <0.01) in K+precontracted rings. Lemakalim induced relaxation was greater in endothelium denuded rings precontraded with PGF2α than with K+ and was markedly reduced by glibenclamide (p<0.01). Conclusions — These results suggest that activation of KATP may partially be involved in endothelium dependent relaxation induced by acetylcholine in rabbit coronary arteries. Lemakalim-induced endothelium independent relaxation results mainly from activation of KATP.
Radical Islam in the Former Soviet Union

Radical Islam in the Former Soviet Union, edited by Galina Yemelianova. Abingdon: Routledge, 2010, xviii + 275 pp., ISBN10: 0-415-42174-8, ISBN13: 978-0-415-42174-4 (No. 18 of the Routledge Contemp...
Space Partitioning within Populations of Sea Anemones (Genus: Anthopleura) in the California Rocky Intertidal Zone

The spatial patterns of sea anemones (genus: Anthopleura) were analyzed off the rocky intertidal of California. A. elegantissima partitions space in a regular or even pattern and interferes with conspecifics. Its associate A. xanthogrammica shows no signs of interference with conspecifics or congenerics and displays a clumped spatial distribution.
Noninvasive quantification and optimization of acute cell retention by in vivo positron emission tomography after intramyocardial cardiac-derived stem cell delivery.

Objectives The aim of this study was to quantify acute myocardial retention of cardiac-derived stem cells (CDCs) and evaluate different delivery methods with positron emission tomography (PET). Background Success of stem cell transplantation for cardiac regeneration is partially limited by low retention/engraftment of the delivered cells. A clinically applicable method for accurate quantification of cell retention would enable optimization of cell delivery. Methods The CDCs were derived from syngeneic, male Wistar Kyoto (WK) rats labeled with [ 18 F]-fluoro-deoxy-glucose ( 18 FDG) and injected intramyocardially into the ischemic region of female WK rats after permanent left coronary artery ligation. The effects of fibrin glue (FG), bradycardia (adenosine), and cardiac arrest were examined. Imaging with 18 FDG PET was performed for quantification of cell retention. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the male-specific SRY gene was performed to validate the PET results. Results Myocardial retention of cells suspended in phosphate-buffered saline 1 h after delivery was 17.6 ± 11.5% by PCR and 17.8 ± 7.3% by PET. When CDCs were injected immediately after induction of cardiac arrest, retention was increased to 75.6 ± 18.6%. Adenosine slowed the ventricular rate and doubled CDC retention (35.4 ± 5.3%). A similar increase in CDC retention was observed after epicardial application of FG at the injection site (37.5 ± 8.2%). The PCR revealed a significant increase in 3-week cell engraftment in the FG animals (22.1 ± 18.6% and 5.3 ± 3.1%, for FG and phosphate-buffered saline, respectively). Conclusions In vivo PET permits accurate measurement of CDC retention early after intramyocardial delivery. Sealing injection sites with FG or lowering ventricular rate by adenosine might be clinically translatable methods for improving stem cell engraftment in a beating heart.
Objective Measurement And Characterization Of Scratch Standards

The manufacture of scratch standards for use with MIL-0-13830A has been hampered by the lack of an objective measurement technique. The U.S. National Bureau of Standards has therefore undertaken a comprehensive program to provide quantitative measurements of the light scattered by the scratches and to correlate them with assessments made by trained observers. In this paper, I apply scalar diffraction theory to developing design criteria for a polar scanning apparatus, describe an apparatus that includes a novel optical system, and show scans from one full set of secondary standards. Comparing these scans with the visual assessments is not straightforward.
Hygrothermal stresses and strains in axisymmetric composite shells

Abstract A numerical procedure is presented for calculating the hygrothermal stresses and strains in laminated composite shells of revolution with axisymmetric temperature and moisture distributions. The procedure is based on a shell theory developed previously by Doxsee, and utilizes a displacement-based finite element method of solution of the governing equations. The stresses and strains in isotropic, orthotropic, and [0/90/0/90] graphite-epoxy composite cylinders were calculated using different levels of approximation for the displacements. The stresses and strains thus obtained were compared to values given by existing analytical solutions. These comparisons illustrate the accuracies of the shell theory and the numerical procedure, and show the importance of selecting the proper approximation for the displacements. The results also demonstrate that transverse shear and transverse normal strains must be taken into account to achieve good accuracy.
Effect of pharmacological agents and fasting on pancreatic islet norepinephrine in the golden hamster.

Using a specific and sensitive radioenzymatic assay that utilizes the partially purified enzyme phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase, studies were done to determine if pharmacological agents and/or fasting alter the norepinephrine concentration of collagenase-isolated golden hamster pancreatic islets. The norepinephrine concentration (42.1±8.07 μmol/kg net weight, mean±SEM) and the monoamine oxidase activity (5,407±530 pmol product /mg tissue/min) of hamster pancreatic islets was at least five times higher than acinar pancreas, kidney, heart, median eminence or cerebral cortex. The catechol-o-methyltransferase activity of hamster islets (7±2.3 pmol product/mg tissue/min) was one half or less than the other tissues. Islet norepinephrine was not increased by two days administration of the monoamine oxidase inhibitor tranylcypromine. Islet norepinephrine concentration was increased 2-fold by administration of the norepinephrine precursor DL-threo-dihydroxyphenylserine. This increase was enhanced by prior administration of tranylcypromine (3.5-fold) and prevented by prior administration of the decarboxylase inhibitor N1-(DL-seryl)-N2-(2,3,4-trihydroxybenzyl) hydrazine (RO-4-4602). There was a good correlation between the islet norepinephrine concentration and the plasma glucose concentration after pharmacological agents. Reserpine administration markedly depleted the islet norepinephrine concentra tion. Fasting of 24, 48 and 72 h did not alter the norepinephrine concentration in islets and heart. It is concluded that the pancreatic islets of the hamster have an active noradrenergic system, but that islet norepinephrine does not appear to play an important role in the impaired insulin secretion of fasting hamsters.
SU‐E‐T‐641: Investigation Study of Tomotherapy Optimization Plan with Selections of Pitch, Modulation and the Avoidance in Lung Radiosurgery Cases

Purpose: Every Tomotherapy treatment planner deserves the best results to deliver the prescribed dose to cover target and minimize the dose to OAR's. The goal is not only to meet the prescription but to provide the higher standard of treatment plan ideally. Tomotherapy planning system provides variety of functions to allow planners have different options to reach such goal. However, the question is how the best optimized plan will be presented to clinician for final approval. This study investigated eight cases of lungradiosurgery. Three main factors to choose are pitch, modulation and expansion of PTV avoidance. The highest score of optimized plan will be selected based on certain criteria on four objects has been met. Methods: Eight cases of lungradiosurgery treatment plans were selected. The hyperfractionate of 60Gy in five treatments were used in this study. The base line was set with 1cm extension of contours of avoidance of PTV superiorly and inferiorly and compare against the ones without. Four scoring objects are: DVH of PTV, tumor_reside lung, contra lung, both lungs. Spinal cord sparing was additional object to be evaluated. Different trials on the various pitch values and modulation were applied for comparison.Results: The study showing 1cm avoidance extension, minimal pitch of 0.215 with modulation factor between 2.1 and 2.4 has higher score in target coverage with tighter isodose and lower DVH curves to four highlighted OAR's in this study. Conclusions: The nature of Tomotherapy treatment affords promising conformal radiotherapy treatment. However, the treatment can be deliberate by using optimal parameters to meet the objectives. In order to achieve the optimized Tomotherapy plan, the effort to select lower pitch and higher modulation need to be set for the preparation of Tomotherapy beamlets.
Structure effects in the charge radius of spherical nuclei

Abstract Isotope and isomer shifts of the nuclear charge radius are calculated using the pairing plus quadrupole model. To accomplish this, the nuclear system is divided into a core plus a few valence particles. Monopole polarization of the core by the particles is taken into account in a phenomenological manner by assuming that the particles interact independently with the core. Quadrupole polarization of the core by the particles is estimated with the help of an effective quadrupole charge determined by fitting B (E2) transition rates of even-mass nuclei. The independent particle configuration of the valence nucleons is admixed by the pairing plus quadrupole interaction and the resulting wave functions are used to calculate isotope and isomer shifts of the charge radius. The results of even-mass to even-mass isotope shifts show good agreement with experiment, while the odd-even staggering effects observed in the isotope shift cannot be obtained. Good agreement is obtained for the few isomer shifts which have been measured.
Collisional excitation of interstellar molecules - Linear molecules CO, CS, OCS, and HC3N

Rates for excitation of CO, CS, OCS, and HC3N by collisions with He atoms and H2 molecules are presented. These have been obtained from extensive theoretical calculations using methods of known reliability. In general, rates necessary for modeling interstellar molecular clouds with kinetic temperatures to 100 K have been included. Methods for fitting these rates in more compact form are discussed.
Effective Techniques for Static Race Detection in Java Parallel Loops

Despite significant progress in recent years, the important problem of static race detection remains open. Previous techniques took a general approach and looked for races by analyzing the effects induced by low-level concurrency constructs (e.g., java.lang.Thread). But constructs and libraries for expressing parallelism at a higher level (e.g., fork-join, futures, parallel loops) are becoming available in all major programming languages. We claim that specializing an analysis to take advantage of the extra semantic information provided by the use of these constructs and libraries improves precision and scalability. We present IteRace, a set of techniques that are specialized to use the intrinsic thread, safety, and dataflow structure of collections and of the new loop parallelism mechanism introduced in Java 8. Our evaluation shows that IteRace is fast and precise enough to be practical. It scales to programs of hundreds of thousands of lines of code and reports very few race warnings, thus avoiding a common pitfall of static analyses. In five out of the seven case studies, IteRace reported no false warnings. Also, it revealed six bugs in real-world applications. We reported four of them: one had already been fixed, and three were new and the developers confirmed and fixed them. Furthermore, we evaluate the effect of each specialization technique on the running time and precision of the analysis. For each application, we run the analysis under 32 different configurations. This allows to analyze each technique's effect both alone and in all possible combinations with other techniques.
DIMERIZATION OF THE HUMAN CYTOMEGALOVIRUS PROTEASE : KINETIC AND BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CATALYTIC HOMODIMER

The single-chain 28 kDa human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) protease catalytic domain containing the A143Q mutation has been kinetically and conformationally characterized. The specific activity of the HCMV A143Q protease (HCMVp) increases as the protease concentration increases, suggesting that this protease oligomerizes at high protein concentration to form a more active species. Both cross-linking and light-scattering studies of HCMVp show the existence of a homodimer with an apparent molecular mass of 56 kDa under low ionic strength and high protein concentration. The cosolvent and solute effects of glycerol, trisodium citrate, and NaCl as well as the temperature effects on the HCMVp activity and quaternary structure were investigated. The effects induced by cosolvents and temperature can largely be explained by their influences in the dimerization or oligomerization state of HCMVp. The dissociation constant (Kd) for the HCMVp homodimer was determined to be 8 +/- 1 microM with all activity attributed to the dimeric form. Monomeric HCMVp is inactive. This report demonstrates that in vitro, HCMV A143Q protease exists as an obligate catalytic homodimer. This protease dimerization may have regulatory significance during viral replication.
Direct Observation of Preceramic and Organic Binder Decomposition in 2‐D Model Microstructures

Preceramic and organic binder decomposition processes were studied during thermolysis to determine how the physico-chemical properties of the binder affected the microstructural development of the ceramic component. Specifically, the behavior of two organic polymers, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and a cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (x-PMMA), and two preceramic polymers, polycarbosilane (PCS) and vinylic polysilane (VPS) was observed as a function of temperature. Binder-filled two-dimensional (2-D) model microstructures were fabricated to simulate ceramic green bodies whose pores were completely filled with binder. Examination of these 2-D samples by hot-stage optical microscopy enabled direct observations of pore development and changes in polymer morphology during binder thermolysis. These observations revealed that the mass transport processes involved during thermolysis as well as the developing microstructural features, depend on the properties of the binder system during thermal decomposition. The organic polymers were investigated because of their chemical similarity and markedly different physical behavior upon heating. It was shown that thermoplastic polymers (e.g., PMMA) are influenced by capillary forces during thermolysis, while thermosetting polymers (e.g., x-PMMA) do not flow within these porous microstructures. Both of the preceramic polymers displayed a range of physical behavior over the temperatures Studied. The decomposition chemistry and weight loss at a given temperature combined with the associated physical behavior had a dramatic effect on the final distribution of the pyrolyzed product (amorphous silicon carbide and glassy carbon) formed during thermolysis. The pyrolysis product formed from PCS was observed to segregate to the smaller pore channels in the 2-D microstructures, while the pyrolysis product formed from VPS was observed to be homogeneously distributed in these model microstructures. This work offers guidelines to improve the microstructural homogeneity of ceramic–ceramic composites derived from particulate–preceramic polymer green bodies.
Members of the Wnt, Fz, and Frp gene families expressed in postnatal mouse cerebral cortex

The functions of Wingless-Int (Wnt) signaling, studied intensely in embryonic brain development, have been comparatively little investigated in the postnatal brain. We report remarkably patterned gene expression of Wnt signaling components in postnatal mouse cerebral cortex, lasting into young adulthood. Wnt genes are expressed in gene-specific regional and lamina patterns in each of the major subdivisions of the cerebral cortex: the olfactory bulb (OB), the hippocampal formation, and the neocortex. Genes encoding Frizzled (Fz) Wnt receptors, or secreted Frizzled-related proteins (sFrps), are also expressed in regional and lamina patterns. These findings suggest that Wnt signaling is active and regulated in the postnatal cortex and that different cortical cell populations have varying requirements for a Wnt signal. The OB, in particular, shows gene expression of a large variety of Wnt signaling components, making it a prime target for future functional studies. The penultimate components of the canonical Wnt pathway are the Tcf/Lef1 transcription factors, which regulate transcription of Wnt signaling target genes. Surprisingly, we found little Tcf/Lef1 expression in the postnatal neocortex. These observations suggest that noncanonical Wnt pathways predominate, which will require functional testing. However, Lef1 is widely expressed in the dorsal thalamus, and Wnt ligands and receptors are expressed, respectively, in cortical areas and thalamic nuclei that are interconnected. Thus, canonical Wnt signaling could be utilized in a major cortical input by Fz- and Lef1-expressing thalamic cells that innervate the Wnt-expressing cortex.
Deficiency of sunlight and vitamin D

Fortification of foods and advice on sensible sun exposure are urgently needed At the turn of the 20th century more than 80% of children living in the industrialised cities of the Western hemisphere had rickets.1 2 Rickets became extremely rare in the United Kingdom, Europe, and United States after it was realised that exposure to ultraviolet light was the major source of vitamin D, and after the fortification of milk and other foods with vitamin D.2 At least a billion people worldwide are estimated to be vitamin D deficient, mainly because of inadequate exposure to sunlight and inadequate fortification of food with vitamin D.1 3 4 5 Skin pigmentation absorbs ultraviolet light, thereby reducing vitamin D production; this can be a problem for certain racial groups who now live in the Northern hemisphere. Human breast milk contains very little vitamin D and women with vitamin D deficiency provide no vitamin D for their infant. Such infants will be at high risk of developing rickets if they are exclusively breast fed. Rickets is the most overt sign of severe vitamin D deficiency in Europe—around 1-5% of children with vitamin D deficiency have skeletal signs of rickets and probably 10-25% of adults with vitamin D deficiency have symptomatic osteomalacia. Vitamin D deficiency causes secondary hyperparathyroidism and increases …
Sulfur isotope signatures in gypsiferous sediments of the Estancia and Tularosa Basins as indicators of sulfate sources, hydrological processes, and microbial activity

Abstract In order to reconstruct paleo-environmental conditions for the saline playa lakes of the Rio Grande Rift, we investigated sediment sulfate sources using sulfur isotope compositions of dissolved SO 4 2 - ions in modern surface water, groundwater, and SO 4 2 - precipitated in the form of gypsum sediments deposited during the Pleistocene and Holocene in the Tularosa and Estancia Basins. The major sulfate sources are Lower and Middle Permian marine evaporites (δ34S of 10.9–14.4‰), but the diverse physiography of the Tularosa Basin led to a complex drainage system which contributed sulfates from various sources depending on the climate at the time of sedimentation. As inferred from sulfur isotope mass balance constraints, weathering of sulfides of magmatic/hydrothermal and sedimentary origin associated with climate oscillations during Last Glacial Maximum contributed about 35–50% of the sulfates and led to deposition of gypsum with δ34S values of −1.2‰ to 2.2‰ which are substantially lower than Permian evaporates. In the Estancia Basin, microbial sulfate reduction appears to overprint sulfur isotopic signatures that might elucidate past groundwater flows. A Rayleigh distillation model indicates that about 3–18% of sulfates from an inorganic groundwater pool (δ34S of 12.6–13.8‰) have been metabolized by bacteria and preserved as partially to fully reduced sulfur-bearing minerals species (elemental sulfur, monosulfides, disulfides) with distinctly negative δ34S values (−42.3‰ to −20.3‰) compared to co-existing gypsum (−3.8‰ to 22.4‰). For the Tularosa Basin microbial sulfate reduction had negligible effect on δ34S value of the gypsiferous sediments most likely because of higher annual temperatures (15–33 °C) and lower organic carbon content (median 0.09%) in those sediments leading to more efficient oxidation of H2S and/or smaller rates of sulfate reduction compared to the saline playas of the Estancia Basin (5–28 °C; median 0.46% of organic carbon). The White Sands region of the Tularosa Basin is frequently posited as a hydrothermal analogue for Mars. High temperatures of groundwater (33.3 °C) and high δ18O(H2O) values (1.1‰) in White Sands, however, are controlled predominantly by seasonal evaporation rather than the modern influx of hydrothermal fluids. Nevertheless, it is possible that some of the geochemical processes in White Sands, such as sulfide weathering during climate oscillations and upwelling of highly mineralized waters, might be considered as valid terrestrial analogues for the sulfate cycle in places such as Meridiani Planum on Mars.
The Utility of Social Class, Race, and Gender in Clinical Practice: A Case Study Involving Intraracial Dyads

This article focuses on clinical work involving a male Black practitioner and a male Black client in which issues of social class, race, and gender were prominent in the treatment process. Three questions raised by the client early in the therapeutic encounter informed assessment, treatment, and the clinician's countertransference. Tenets from self-psychology, relational theory, intersubjectivity, and sociocultural factors relative to Black men are used to ground the discussion. Finally, the article illustrates why intraracial therapy should be understood in the context of the delivery of culturally competent services, highlighting how the intersection of a client's psychological issues, social class, race, and gender can emerge as functional features in psychotherapeutic work.
Local and Cosmopolitan Physicians

La theorie du localisme-cosmopolitanisme est appliquee a l'identification des types de medecin. L'analyse factorielle, le coefficient de concordance de Kendall ainsi que les gamma et chi-carres sont utilises selon diverses combinaisons pour identifier des constellations de variables. On identifie deux types de medecins qui sont statistiquement bien differencies: le professionnel de la medecine (cosmopolitain) et le politicien de la medecine (local). Une demonstration empirique s'ensuit laquelle etablit que les cosmopolitains ont une attitude plus liberate que les locaux vis-a-vis les problemes sociaux et medicaux et une attitude plus critique vis-a-vis les regimes d'assurance maladie. The theory of localism-cosmopolitanism is applied to the identification of physician-types. Factor analysis, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, gamma and chi-square are used in combination to identify variable clusters. Two statistically distinct types were found, the professional (cosmopolitan) and the medical politician (local). Empirical evidence is presented which indicates that cosmopolitans tend to be more liberal than locals in attitudes toward certain medical-social issues, and more critical of health insurance plans.
Sellers and Servants: Working Women in Lima, Peru

Sellers and Servants: Working Women in Lima, Peru. Ximena Bunster and Elsa M. Chaney. Photography by Elian Young. Granby, MA: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, Inc., 1989 (originally published 1985). 262 pp. $18.95 (paper). ISBN 0–89789–171–6.
Rheumatic infection in childhood: Influence of type of onset and calendar year of onset

The course of 583 children who suffered from rheumatic infection which originated during the years 1922 to 1936 has been described. Ninety-four and eight-tenths per cent of these children have been followed for a minimum period of three years and an average period of 9.6 years since the primary manifestation. At the end of this time, 64.2 per cent presented signs of valvular heart disease and 21.7 per cent had died of rheumatic infection. An additional 3.5 per cent had died of bacterial endocarditis or other infection associated with active rheumatism. The course of the disease was modified by the type of onset; acute carditis presented the most ominous prognosis and chorea the most favorable. Children with a diagnosis of potential heart disease at the onset frequently tended to retain their freedom from signs of heart disease, in spite of recurrences. A trend toward a decrease in the severity of rheumatic infection has been noted during the period of observation; this has been manifest especially among patients whose primary symptoms were arthritic. This improvement in the course of the disease cannot be ascribed to racial variation, relative changes in type of onset, progressive decline in recurrences, or a modification of the policy of the hospital in regard to admissions. Although it is part of a downward trend in mortality from heart disease among young people throughout the United States registration areas, the decrease in mortality at the Children's Hospital has been greater than that in Pennsylvania as a whole. Within recent years an attempt has been made at the Children's Hospital to concentrate attention on the child with the first manifestation of rheumatism, however mild. Such children have been kept at rest in bed and their activity restricted for longer periods of time. Whether such intensive supervision of the child with early signs of the disease has accelerated the natural trend to improvement is a subject for speculation. A recently adopted, conservative attitude toward tonsillectomy seems at least to have had no unfavorable influence. The experience at the Children's Hospital with patients who were transferred to a convalescent home would seem to indicate that, although such convalescent care may serve a valuable purpose in ensuring stabilization of the infection in the child who has recovered from an acute attack, it is no substitute for absolute bed rest for the child with any degree of active infection. In spite of the seeming decline in severity, rheumatic infection still remains the most serious disease which attacks children past the age of infancy.5,6 In the most favorable period of the present study (1932–1936), almost 7 per cent of the rheumatic children had died by the end of the first year, and 10 per cent by the end of the third year, at which time 50 per cent of the group had presented obvious signs of rheumatic heart disease.
Report of Two Cases of Myxedema with Extreme Hypercholesteremia; One Complicated by Xanthoma Tuberosum

AMODERATE elevation of the blood cholesterol level is an almost constant and diagnostic finding in clinical myxedema. Hurxthal and Simpson (1) concluded that the average normal fasting value for plasma cholesterol is 180 mg. per 100 cc. and that a level of 300 mg. of cholesterol per 100 cc. of blood is well above the average range. Of 404 patients with cholesterol values of 300 mg., or more who were studied over a 7-year period, the majority had a value below 500 mg. and in only 4 cases was it above 700 mg. Sixty-four per cent of those with elevated cholesterol levels were thought to be examples of thyroid deficiency. Escamilla (2) reported the case of a patient with severe myxedema who had an initial fasting level of 953 mg. per cent and a B.M.R. of 38 per cent minus. We are reporting the cases of two patients with spontaneous myxedema whose fasting blood cholesterol levels were 667 mg. per cent and 926 mg. per cent; both demonstrated the inverse ratio of cholesterolemia and basal metabolic rates, the la...
Conjugated hyperbilirubinemia/A dilemma in the preterm nursery. † 934

In a consecutive sample of all preterm infants < 1500 gms (76) admitted to our premature nurseries from July 1995 to June 1996, 13 patients (19%) demonstrated peak levels of direct bilirubin ranging from 2.0≈12.5 mg/dl(mean 6.9 ± 2.8 SD). There were 11 deaths. Significant differences were observed between the total and affected populations in sex (M/F), gestational age (GA), birthweight (BW), days to full enteral feeding (FE), duration of total parenteral nutrition(TPN), and discharge or death (D/C).Table
Laser-assisted fabrication of new slab-coupled lithium niobate optical waveguide

Abstract Recently a new type of lithium niobate waveguide was suggested for potential nonlinear optic applications. The waveguide consists of a uniform large core and a leaky coupled slab for realizing a lateral optical confinement to support the fundamental spatial mode propagation. Inside the waveguide, the slab layer is required to have a refractive index slightly lower than that of the core, but higher than that of the substrate. Lithium niobate doped with magnesium oxides shows an increased refractive index that is dependent on the dopant's concentration. Therefore, in order to fabricate such waveguides, the pulsed laser deposition approach was used to study the growth of such composition-modified lithium niobate as the slab layer. The as-grown films were characterized on its expitaxy, structure, and optical performance, via X-ray diffraction analysis, optical guiding experiment, etc.
Novel Targets for Lung Cancer Therapy: Part I

Lung cancer is the second most common form of cancer in the United States, and although it accounts for 15% of all cancers, it is the most lethal, accounting for approximately 28% of cancer deaths. In 2002, it is estimated that 177,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and an estimated 160,000 men and women will die from the disease. This mortality rate is greater than that attributable to colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer combined. Systemic treatments for lung cancer with standard chemotherapy agents are still relatively ineffective. Agents targeting novel proliferative and survival pathways in lung cancer are needed to improve treatment outcomes. In recent years, numerous agents inhibiting aberrant processes in tumor cells have undergone clinical evaluation. This review is the second of a two-part series that summarizes pertinent preclinical and clinical information on novel drugs that target critical abnormalities in lung cancer. In this article, agents that were developed to inhibit various aspects of tumor protein trafficking and protein degradation, cell cycle regulation, angiogenesis, and antigenicity are described. Future approaches to treatment are suggested.
An approach to ordinal decision making

Abstract We describe the problem of decision making under ignorance and discuss the need of introducing a decision attitude or disposition in solving this problem. We show the OWA operators provide a general framework for evaluating the alternatives when the payoffs are numeric values. We then turn to the problem of decision making when the payoffs are linguistic values drawn from an ordinal scale. A solution to this problem is then suggested using an ordinal version of the OWA aggregation method. We emphasize the role of the OWA weighting vector as a means for introducing the decision maker's attitude and investigate the representation of various prototypical decision attitudes. Two measures are provided for classifying the OWA weighting vectors used in the aggregations. The first of these measures is the degree of optimism implied by the vector. The second measures the degree of dispersion associated with the vector. In this work the interpretation of the decision making attitude, via the OWA weighting vector, as a kind of probability distribution is highlighted. In particular the ith component in the vector is interpreted as the probability that the ith best outcome will occur. This view helps unify the problems of decision making under ignorance and decision making under uncertainty and allows us to see the evaluation of an alternative, in both cases, as the formulation of an expected value. Furthermore this interpretation leads to a viewing of the measure of dispersion as a kind of entropy. In the ordinal environment this leads to the development of a new measure of entropy for ordinal probabilities.
The Alternatives for Wellness Centers: Drown in Data or Develop a Reasonable Electronic Documentation System

Measuring and quantifying the outcomes of care are becoming essential activities for the ongoing operation of nurse-managed health centers. Centers need a data collection system to collect meaningful data that assist with the development of programs and services, measure clinical outcomes, and promote health policy. Accomplishing these objectives is especially difficult in a health and wellness setting designed for an aging population. When tracking the care process over time, it is possible to drown in the data, especially qualitative data. This article describes the experiences of advanced practice nurses as they explored alternatives and devised a system to collect and manage qualitative and quantitative data using the Omaha System in a health and wellness setting for older adults. To be successful, nurse managed health centers and all providers must systematically evaluate their data and information needs as well as available systems and then implement an action plan.
Understanding the risk of second malignant tumors in children with Hodgkin's disease.

Today there is much concern over the potential late effects that cancer survivors might face. Perhaps the most discussed is that of second malignant tumors occurring in individuals cured of their first cancers. Most available data come from the survivors of Hodgkin’s disease, for which survival rates after appropriate therapy are now are in the range of 90% and greater, providing large cohorts of long-term survivors at risk for subsequent events. These remarkable cure rates have come from both the use of high-dose radiation therapy and, more recently, from combinations of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But what are the risks of late effects? How should the physician accurately portray risk of an adverse long-term effect when seeking to obtain informed consent from a patient and family being evaluated for treatment given with curative intent? Risk most commonly is described as relative risk, using standardized incidence ratios. However, as Constine et al. appropriately discuss in their manuscript, ‘‘Subsequent malignancies in children treated for Hodgkin’s disease: Associations with gender and radiation dose’’ (1), an elevated relative risk is not accurate when the expected risk is unusually low, as in the case of breast cancer in young girls. Absolute excess risk (AER) based on a fixed follow-up time, for example at 20 years, gives a more useful prediction, as it provides an estimate which one can quantify. AER = (observed expected cases)/person-years of observation 10 4 . Although this still is confusing to a patient and parent, it does provide the most useful estimate of risk. But how should physicians explain increased risk in proper context when dealing with treatment options for malignant disease? This issue is addressed by Constine et al. in their article on subsequent malignancies in children treated for Hodgkin’s disease. Most importantly we learn that being female puts one at increased risk for developing a second malignancy after successful treatment of Hodgkin’s disease, with an AER of 107 for girls vs. just 30 for boys. To date the literature has suggested that this increased risk is related to subsequent breast
Thermodynamic requirements for maximum internal combustion engine cycle efficiency. Part 1: Optimal combustion strategy

This is the first of a two-part study that examines, from the exergy management standpoint, the fundamental thermodynamic requirements for maximizing internal combustion (IC) engine cycle efficiency. The optimal cycle is shown to comprise three distinct engine architectural elements - reactant preparation, combustion, and work extraction from the products - each of which can be analysed separately. This study shows, based on dynamical system optimization, that it is the equilibrium thermodynamics (specifically, the constant-internal energy-volume (UV) product state at the end of combustion) and not chemical kinetics (i.e. reactions taking place during combustion) that ultimately dictates the amount of exergy destroyed due to combustion. The strategy for minimizing this destruction term reduces to carrying out reactions at the highest possible internal energy state - following what may be called the `extreme state' principle - so as to minimize the corresponding constant-UV entropy change from reactants to equilibrium products. The extreme state principle remains unaltered when system inhomogeneity (from fuel vaporization and mixing with air) and heat loss are accounted for. Based on this optimal combustion strategy, the companion paper examines the remaining elements of the engine cycle (reactant preparation and work extraction) so as to improve overall cycle efficiency.
Resolved Spectroscopy of the Narrow-Line Region in NGC 1068. II. Physical Conditions near the NGC 1068 “Hot Spot”*

The physical conditions near the optical continuum peak ("hot spot") in the inner narrow-line region of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 are examined using ultraviolet and optical spectra and photoionization models. The spectra were taken with the Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) through the 01 × 520 slit, covering the full STIS 1200-10000 A waveband, and are from a region that includes the hot spot, extending 02, or ~14 pc (for H0 = 75 km s-1 Mpc-1), in the cross-dispersion direction. The spectra show emission lines from a wide range of ionization states for the most abundant elements, similar to archival Faint Object Spectrograph spectra of the same region. Perhaps the most striking feature of these spectra is the presence of strong coronal emission lines, including [S XII] λ7611, which has hitherto been identified only in spectra of the solar corona. There is an apparent correlation between ionization energy and velocity of the emission lines with respect to the systemic velocity of the host galaxy, with the coronal lines blueshifted, most other high-excitation lines near systemic, and some of the low-ionization lines redshifted. From the results of our modeling, we find that the emission-line gas is photoionized and consists of three principal components: (1) one in which most of the strong emission lines, such as [O III] λ5007, [Ne V] λ3426, and C IV λ1550, arise; (2) a more tenuous, highly ionized component, which is the source of the coronal-line emission; and (3) a component, which is not coplanar with the other two, in which the low-ionization and neutral lines, such as [N II] λ6548 and [O I] λ6300, are formed. The first two components are directly ionized by the EUV-X-ray continuum emitted by the central source, while the low-ionization gas is ionized by a combination of highly absorbed continuum radiation and a small fraction of unabsorbed continuum scattered by free electrons associated with the hot spot. The combination of covering factor and Thomson optical depth of the high-ionization components is insufficient to scatter the observed fraction of continuum radiation into our line of sight. Therefore, the scattering must occur in an additional component of hot plasma, which contributes little or no UV/optical line emission.
Cortical interstitial cell interactions induce sensitivity of hydronephrotic kidney to bradykinin.

Cortical interstitial cell interactions induce sensitivity of hydronephrotic kidney to bradykinin. The mechanism of the increased prostaglandin production and induction of sensitivity to bradykinin by the cortex of the hydronephrotic rabbit kidney was investigated using tissue culture techniques. Cortical interstitial cells from normal, unilaterally hydronephrotic and contralateral kidneys were grown in tissue culture. Cells derived from hydronephrotic kidneys, but not normal or contralateral, increased PGE 2 production when incubated with bradykinin. Of the two cell types, fibroblasts and macrophages, grown from hydronephrotic expiants, neither increased prostaglandin production when grown alone in tissue culture. Recombining the two cell types restored bradykinin responsiveness. Bradykinin responsiveness could be induced in either normal or contralateral cell cultures when macrophages from the hydronephrotic kidney were added to cultures of cells from normal or contralateral cortex. The data indicate unique characteristics of hydronephrotic macrophages are involved in the induction of bradykinin responsiveness in the cortex of the ureter-ligated kidney.
Bond Valence Sums in Coordination Chemistry. Sodium−Oxygen Complexes

A new R0 value for Na−O bonds of 1.756(42) A was determined from 301 NaOn complexes. The bond valence sum analysis suggests a covalent interaction of the Na+ ion with aromatic rings and/or organic anions. The BVS analysis of Na(15-crown-5)+ cation complexes requires additional bonding interactions which can be used to explain the enhanced stability of the cation complex both in solution and in the solid state relative to that in the gas phase.
Practices of vitamin D recommendation in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Reports of vitamin D deficiency rickets, although rare in the United States, have increased over the past few years, including in children living in climates with abundant sunshine. The purpose of this study was to describe vitamin D recommendation practices among pediatric health care providers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of the 155 providers surveyed, 52.3% did not recommend vitamin D for exclusively breastfed babies. Providers who were more likely to recommend supplementation were doctors of medicine, were female, specialized in pediatrics, were of Hispanic ethnicity, had previously practiced and trained in states less sunny than Nevada, had graduated from training 21 or more years previously, had taken histories of infants’ sun exposure, and had clinical experience with cases of rickets. Providers demonstrated a knowledge deficit for questions that dealt with preventive measures. J Hum Lact. 20(1):56-61.
Validated High-Throughput Screening of Drug-Like Small Molecules for Inhibitors of ErbB2 Transcription

A whole cell high-throughput screening assay was developed and tested against >2,000 structurally and functionally diverse drug-like small molecules to identify lead compounds capable of cell permeability and selective silencing of ErbB2 transcription. Screening employed reporter sublines clonally selected from ErbB2-negative MCF7 breast cancer cells after stable genomic integration of the ErbB2 proximal promoter driving a luciferase reporter; anti-ErbB2 activities (50% inhibitory concentration values) were compared to inhibition of control MCF7 sublines bearing integrated reporters driven by either a mutated ErbB2 promoter or the cyclin D1 promoter. Of the seven resulting lead compounds, four emerged from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)/ Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) Structural Diversity Set (NSC-131547, NSC-176328, NSC-259968, and NSC-321237); three others emerged from a panel of anticancer compounds with known mechanistic actions and included a minor groove DNA-binding antibiotic (NSC-58...
Fine Structure in the Optical-Absorption Edge of Silicon

Investigation of the dependence of the photocurrent generated in silicon p-n junctions on the energy of the incident photons to obtain details concerning the fine structure in the indirect optical-absorption edge of silicon. It is found that at room temperature there are three prominent thresholds in the absorption tail. The first, which is not too well defined, occurs at 0.91 eV, the second at 0.99 eV, and the third at 1.026 eV. The dependence of the absorption coefficient on the photon energy following the latter two thresholds is found to differ from that found by Mcfarlane et al. (1958). The threshold energies and temperature dependence of the absorption coefficient suggest that two- and three-phonon processes give rise to the absorption tail. In the transverse-optical phonon-absorption region more structure is found in the absorption coefficient than is accounted for by the theory.