cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prophylaxis and treatment of CMV infections in transplantation

Human cytomegalovirus [CMV] infection is a common occurrence in persons with or without immunocompromising diseases or treatments, but CMV rarely produces disease in the immunocompetent individual1 When disease does occur it is usually associated with unusual situations such as fetal life, post-trauma or post-surgical exposure to primary CMV infection, or in the young adult with children in day-care.2 Thus, in normal persons, symptomatic disease occurs only following primary infection, and the most severe diseases are only seen in association with other compromising medical conditions. This is true also in recipients of marrow or solid organ transplants in which primary infection and degree of immunocompetence are the most important factors for determining outcome
Immunological and Pharmacological Management of Allergic Diseases

Allergic rhinitis is an immediate-type, IgE-mediated reaction involving the nasal mucosa. It is usually associated with a similar type involvement of the conjunctiva, and often of the mucosa of the oropharynx. Symptoms consist of rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal congestion, pruritis of the nose and conjunctiva, lacrimation, and pruritis of the oropharynx. Physical examination usually shows edematous nasal mucosa which is often pale and bluish in appearance, in contrast to the normal pink appearance of the mucosa. The conjunctiva is erythematous. A major diagnostic aid in allergic rhinitis is a history of seasonal occurrence or the occurrence of symptoms in relation to an identified exposure to allergen such as animals. The diagnosis is primarily made by such a history and confirmed by demonstration of the presence of IgE antibodies by cutaneous testing which demonstrates an immediate-type, wheal-and-flare reaction. In vitro laboratory tests, demonstrating serum IgE antibody, may provide equivalent information with certain allergens. A typical case of allergic rhinitis usually does not provide a difficult diagnostic problem when there is a clear seasonal and geographic or environmental relation of the symptoms. Perennial allergic rhinitis may be more difficult to define, particularly if the cause of the nasal symptoms is nonallergic rhinitis occurring in the subject who has IgE antibodies against common inhalant antigens.
Object exploration facilitates 4-month-olds' mental rotation performance

How do infants learn to mentally rotate objects, to imagine them rotating through different viewpoints? One possibility is that development of infants’ mental rotation (MR) is facilitated by visual and manual experience with complex objects. To evaluate this possibility, eighty 4-month-olds (40 females, 40 males) participated in an object exploration task with Velcro “sticky mittens” that allow infants too young to grasp objects themselves to nonetheless explore those objects manually as well as visually. These eighty infants also participated in a visual habituation task designed to test MR. Half the infants (Mittens First group) explored the object prior to the MR task, and the other half afterwards (Mittens Second group), to examine the role of immediate prior object experience on MR performance. We compared performance of male and female infants, but found little evidence for sex differences. However, we found an important effect of object exploration: The infants in the Mittens First group who exhibited the highest levels of spontaneous object engagement showed the strongest evidence of MR, but there were no consistent correlations between these measures for infants in the Mittens Second group. These findings suggest an important contribution from object experience to development of MR.
Electrodiffusion-Mediated Swelling of a Two-Phase Gel Model of Gastric Mucus

Gastric mucus gel is known to exhibit dramatic and unique swelling behaviors in response to the ionic composition of the hydrating solution. This swelling behavior is important in the maintenance of the mucus layer lining the stomach wall, as the layer is constantly digested by enzymes in the lumen, and must be replenished by new mucus that swells as it is secreted from the gastric wall. One hypothesis suggests that the condensed state of mucus at secretion is maintained by transient bonds with calcium that form crosslinks. These crosslinks are lost as monovalent cations from the environment displace divalent crosslinkers, leading to a dramatic change in the energy of the gel and inducing the swelling behavior. Previous modeling work has characterized the equilibrium behavior of polyelectrolyte gels that respond to calcium crosslinking. Here, we present an investigation of the dynamic swelling behavior of a polyelectrolytic gel model of mucus. In particular, we quantified the rate at which a globule of initially crosslinked gel swells when exposed to an ionic bath. The dependence of this swelling rate on several parameters was characterized. We observed that swelling rate has a non-monotone dependence on the molarity of the bath solution, with moderate concentrations of available sodium inducing the fastest swelling.
Evaluating a novel surgical risk assessment curriculum for medical students.

Abstract Purpose Predicting surgical risk is challenging. There is no curriculum to teach risk assessment to students. We hypothesize that a risk assessment curriculum will improve medical students’ confidence in and familiarity with assessing risk, and help identify barriers to assessing risk. Methods Third year surgery clerkship students participated in a risk-assessment workshop. Students completed pre- and post-intervention surveys assessing their familiarity with models, and confidence in predicting postoperative complications. Additionally, they completed a retention survey 12-weeks following the session. Results Following the session, confidence in predicting post-operative morbidity and mortality improved from Conclusions This novel risk assessment curriculum improved student confidence towards assessing risk up to three months following the session. Additionally, this study highlights that barriers exist to using risk assessment tools clinically.
Quantifying successional change and ecological similarity among Cretaceous and modern cold-seep faunas

Accurately recognizing analogues between fossil and modern ecosystems allows paleoecologists to more fully interpret fossil assemblages and modern ecologists to leverage the fossil record to address long-term ecological and environmental changes. However, this becomes increasingly difficult as taxonomic turnover increases the dissimilarity between ecosystems. Here we use a guild-based approach to compare the ecological similarity of Cretaceous cold-seep assemblages preserved in the Pierre Shale surrounding the Black Hills and modern cold-seep assemblages from five previously recognized biofacies. We modify modern assemblage data to include only those taxa with fossilizable hard parts greater than 5 mm in length to make these modern data sets more comparable to potential fossil analogues. We find that while the Black Hills assemblages are more similar in ecological guild composition to the modern thyasirid biofacies, subsets share similarities in ecological structure to the lucinid and mussel-bed biofacies. The fossil seep assemblages are also more similar to one another than are modern assemblages belonging to the same biofacies, despite greater geographic and temporal dissimilarity among the fossil samples. Furthermore, guild-level ordination analyses show a secondary faunal gradient that reflects community succession in the hard substrate–dominated modern assemblages and reveals a parallel faunal gradient in the soft sediment–dominated Cretaceous assemblages, consistent with a gradient in the influence of seep fluids on the faunas. Thus, while the Black Hills assemblages are quite homogeneous in their composition, they capture ecological variation similar to successional patterns in modern seep systems.
Coherence switching of a degenerate VECSEL for multimodality imaging

We demonstrate a VECSEL-based degenerate laser with tunable spatial coherence. The low spatial coherence illumination is used for traditional high-speed video-microscopy and high spatial coherence illumination to extract dynamic information of blood flow in Xenopus.
Neurogranin Regulates Alcohol Sensitivity Through AKT Pathway in the Nucleus Accumbens

Dysfunction of glutamate neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Neurogranin (Ng) is exclusively expressed in the brain and mediates N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypo-function by regulating the intracellular calcium-calmodulin (Ca2+ -CaM) pathway. Ng null mice (Ng-/- mice) demonstrate increased alcohol drinking compared to wild-type mice, while also showing less tolerance to the effect of alcohol. To identify the molecular mechanism related to alcohol seeking, both in vivo microdialysis and label-free quantification proteomics comparing Ng genotype and effects of alcohol treatment on the NAc are utilized. There is significant difference in glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission between genotypes; however, alcohol administration normalizes both glutamate and GABA levels in the NAc. Using label-free proteomics, 427 protein expression changes are identified against alcohol treatment in the NAc among 4347 total proteins detected. Bioinformatics analyses reveal significant molecular differences in Ng null mice in response to acute alcohol treatment. Ingenuity pathway analysis found that the AKT network is altered significantly between genotypes, which may increase the sensitivity of alcohol in Ng null mice. The pharmacoproteomics results presented here illustrate a possible molecular basis of the alcohol sensitivity through Ng signaling in the NAc.
CHAPTER 13 – Film Formation

Publisher Summary One of the most technologically important aspects of sol-gel processing is that, prior to gelation, the fluid sol or solution is ideal for preparing thin films by such common processes as dipping, spinning, or spraying. Compared to conventional thin film forming processes such as CVD, evaporation, or sputtering, sol-gel film formation requires considerably less equipment and is potentially less expensive; however the most important advantage of sol-gel processing over conventional coating methods is the ability to control precisely the microstructure of the deposited film, i.e., the pore volume, pore size, and surface area. This chapter discusses the fundamental physics and chemistry underlying thin film formation from solution-derived precursors. The physics of film formation examines the dipping and spinning processes with respect to such parameters as withdrawal rate, spin speed, viscosity, surface tension, and evaporation rate.
Additional prophylactic antibiotics do not decrease surgical site infection rates in pediatric patients with appendicitis and cholecystitis.

Background Administration of antibiotics within an hour of incision is a common quality metric for reduction of surgical site infections (SSI). Many pediatric patients who undergo surgery for an acute intraabdominal infection are already receiving treatment antibiotics. For these patients, we hypothesized that additional prophylactic antibiotic coverage would not decrease rates of SSI. Methods Single institution retrospective review of patients Results Of 363 patients, 261 received pre-operative prophylactic antibiotics and 92 received treatment antibiotics only. There was no difference in rates of organ space SSI (4.3% no prophylaxis vs 4.4% prophylaxis, p = 0.97) or superficial SSI (1.1% no prophylaxis vs. 0.7% prophylaxis, p>0.999). One patient who received prophylactic antibiotics was readmitted on post-operative day 29 with C. difficile colitis. There was no difference in rates of intraoperative allergic reaction or readmission. Conclusion In pediatric patients receiving treatment antibiotics for acute intraabdominal infection, additional prophylactic antibiotics may not reduce SSIs.
Abnormal movements and diaphragmatic flutter in a case of suspected induced illness

A 6-month-old girl presented to hospital via ambulance with a decreased conscious level (initial Glasgow Coma Scale of 3) and an abnormal breathing pattern described as diaphragmatic flutter. She then developed abnormal movements and continued to have episodes of fluctuating conscious levels so was transferred to a tertiary hospital paediatric intensive care unit for further investigation. During her 16-day stay in hospital, she continued to experience discrete episodes of drowsiness, bradycardia, unusual breathing patterns and abnormal movements which were associated with agitation, tachycardia, hypertension and insomnia. The patient underwent extensive investigation for her symptoms and, after some delay in waiting for initial results before considering a urine drug screen, she was ultimately found to have lisdexamfetamine and clonidine in her urine drug screen. Her symptoms subsequently resolved after her mother's visits were restricted.
Fluctuating Code Status: Strategies to Minimize End-of-Life Conflict in the Neurocritical Care Setting.

Background:There are multiple factors that may cause end-of-life conflict in the critical care setting. These include severe illness, family distress, lack of awareness about a patient’s wishes, pr...
Low-Impedance Graphene – PEDOT-PSS Electrodes for Neural Recording and Stimulation in Implantable Medical Devices

Flexible electrode arrays with low impedance are becoming critical to enhance single-neuron sensing with high sensitivity. Such electrodes should be scalable to micron dimensions and yet retain low impedance. The key to accomplish this is to achieve: a) higher effective surface area to obtain high capacitance, b) chemically stable and biocompatible materials with no adverse reactions and toxicity, and c) mechanically compliant structures for minimal scar tissue formation. Nanostructured electrode arrays with emerging materials such as graphene and PEDOT -PSS are projected to meet all these requirements. Graphene - PEDOT-PSS films were transferred onto flexible LCP (liquid crystal polymer) substrates to form neural electrode recording arrays. These electrodes were subsequently integrated with flexible passive wireless neural recording sensors to form low-impedance (<1 Ohms-cm2) neural recording units. Impedance enhancements were simulated and validated with an electrochemical analyzer in a phosphate buffered saline PBS solution. In addition, evoked potentials during pulse stimulation were recorded to show improved signal - noise ratio with low-impedance electrodes.
Looking to the Future: Will Behavior Analysis Survive and Prosper?

Behavior analysis as a discipline currently is doing relatively well. How it will do in the future is unclear and depends on how the field, and the world at large, changes. Five current characteristics of the discipline that appear to reduce the probability that it will survive and prosper are discussed and suggestions for improvement are offered. The areas of concern are (a) the small size and limited power of the discipline, (b) the growing focus of applied behavior analysis on autism spectrum disorders and little else, (c) the esoteric nature of much basic research, (d) the proliferation of "applied" research that really isn't applied, and (e) the widespread use of imprecise and potentially harmful technical language.
Stem cell research gets nod, source of cells remains controversial.

A judge has ruled that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan cannot be sued by a woman who is unable to collect a negligence award of $2.2 million. The family of Alana Marble successfully sued her physician, Dr. Simon Krige, but he had no malpractice insurance and has since returned
Transportation Operations and Control

Before, during, and after any disaster, operation of the transportation network is critical to successful preparedness, response, and initiation of recovery operations. These operations are by nature multimodal, multiagency, multijurisdictional, and likely to engage both public and private sectors. Further, such operations may depend upon core elements outside of transportation itself, such as communications capability and debris removal. Technology can play a critical role in understanding the situation, making the right decisions, and carrying out or facilitating effective disaster response operations. Keywords: transportation; operations; response; emergency; disaster; monitoring; control; evacuation
Strong coupling to multiple phonon modes in high-temperature superconductors

The spectra of the second derivative of tunneling current ${d}^{2}I∕d{V}^{2}$ in the high-temperature superconductors $\mathrm{Y}{\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}}$ and ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}\mathrm{Ca}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{8+\ensuremath{\delta}}$ show clear dip and peak features due to strong coupling to the bosonic modes mediating electron pairing. The energy positions of nearly all the peaks in $\ensuremath{-}{d}^{2}I∕d{V}^{2}$-like spectra match precisely with those in the phonon density of states obtained by inelastic neutron scattering. The results demonstrate that the bosonic modes mediating the electron pairing are phonons and that high-temperature superconductivity arises primarily from strong coupling to multiple phonon modes.
Purification and Characterization of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide-dependent Methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase from Clostridium formicoaceticum

Abstract Methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase from the obligate anaerobic mesophile Clostridium formicoaceticum has been purified to homogeneity. It has a molecular weight of 60,000 ± 3,000 and consists of two subunits of equal molecular weight. The sedimentation constant s020, w is 3.8 S, the partial specific volume is 0.74 ml per g, and the Stokes radius is 33.2 A. The enzyme is specific for NAD, and with NADP there is no activity. NADP is only slightly inhibitory at concentrations above 10-2 m. The pure enzyme has an activity of 1,400 µmoles min-1 mg-1 at 37°, pH 7. It is active only with l, l-5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate, and the d, l-isomer does not affect the reaction. The apparent Km for NAD is 7.9 x 10-4 m and for l, l-5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate 6.6 x 10-5 m at 37° in 0.2 m potassium maleate, pH 7. The temperature optimum is about 45°. Below this temperature the enzyme exhibits a linear relationship in an Arrhenius plot, and the apparent activation energy is 8,500 cal mole-1.
Impact of preoperative anemia on outcomes in patients undergoing elective cranial surgery.

Object The objective of this study was to assess whether preoperative anemia in patients undergoing elective cranial surgery influences outcomes in the immediate perioperative period (≤ 30 days). Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) was used to identify 6576 patients undergoing elective cranial surgery between 2006 and 2011. Propensity scores were used to match patients with moderate to severe anemia (moderate-severe) or mild anemia with patients without anemia. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict the outcomes of interest. Sensitivity analyses were used to limit the sample to patients without perioperative transfusion as well as those who underwent craniotomy for definitive resection of a malignant brain tumor. Results A total of 6576 patients underwent elective cranial surgery, of whom 175 had moderate-severe anemia and 1868 had mild anemia. Patients with moderate-severe (odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–2.8) and mild (odds ratio 1.5, 95% CI 1.3–1.7) anemia were more l...
A Sharp Inequality for Conditional Distribution of the First Exit Time of Brownian Motion

Let $U$ be a domain, convex in $x$ and symmetric about the y-axis, which is contained in a centered and oriented rectangle $R$. \linebreak If $\tau_A$ is the first exit time of Brownian motion from $A$ and $A^+=A\cap \{(x,y):x>0\}$, it is proved that $P^z(\tau_{U^+}>s\mid \tau_{R^+}>t)\leq P^z(\tau_{U}>s\mid \tau_{R}>t)$ for every $s,t>0$ and every $z\in U^+$.
Self-Stabilization by Local Checking and Global Reset (Extended Abstract)

We describe a method for transforming asynchronous network protocols into protocols that can sustain any transient fault, i.e., become self-stabilizing. We combine the known notion of local checking with a new notion of internal reset, and prove that given any self-stabilizing internal reset protocol, any locally-checkable protocol can be made self-stabilizing. Our proof is constructive in the sense that we provide explicit code. The method applies to many practical network problems, including spanning tree construction, topology update, and virtual circuit setup.
Gene VI of Figwort Mosaic Virus Activates Expression of Internal Cistrons of the Full-length Polycistronic RNA Transcript

Figwort mosaic virus (FMV) is a caulimovirus with a circular double-stranded DNA genome of about 8 kilobase pairs (kbp) (Richins et al., 1987). Like CaMV, the genome is expressed as two sets of genes (Gowda et al., 1989). The first set consists of a group of six genes (VII and I through V) closely spaced on a major polycistronic transcript which spans the entire viral genome. The second set consists of gene VI which has its own promoter and is transcribed as a separate monocistronic transcript (Fig. 1). This suggests that gene VI may have some early function in the replication cycle. The product of this gene of FMV accumulates in viral inclusion bodies, similar to those of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV), the type member of caulimovirus group. Although the role of gene VI of CaMV in disease induction and the host range determination is well documented (Daubert et al., 1984; Schoelz et al., 1986)), its molecular function has only recently been studied. As presented here and by Hohn et al., for CaMV in this volume, as well as a previous report (Hohn et al., 1989), gene VI appears to activate the expression of internal genes of the polycistronic transcript. This role has been demonstrated by the electroporation of viral genome-reporter gene constructs into plant protoplasts. For example, a plasmid containing the promoter of the major RNA transcript, the long intergenic region and gene VII (Fig. 2) followed by the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene as a downstream cistron, shows little CAT activity following electroporation into plant protoplasts unless a separate plasmid expressing gene VI of FMV is included in the electroporation mixture.
Methods for direct observation and single-stage surface replication of pollen exines

Abstract Pollen exines may be observed directly with the electron microscope following treatment with 2–3 N hydroxide for 2–20 h. The resulting information is easily interpreted and certain details of exine stratification, pore-membrane structure, and channels through the exine wall are apparent that could otherwise be obtained only by elaborate reconstructions from serial thin-sections. Also, a fast and simple method of making single-stage surface replicas is described in which the pollen walls are dissolved with hot 2-aminoethanol and washed with hot distilled water.
Monitoring and governance of private banks

Abstract In this paper I examine regulation and corporate governance mechanisms at a sample of non-publicly traded state member banks in 2006. Using a simultaneous regression approach, results show that insider representation on the board has a positive influence on both director and executive compensation in commercial banks. Regulatory ratings, however, are only related to bank performance—not to board structure or compensation schemes. This may be attributed to less information asymmetry between managers and owners at private banks. Also, directors are rewarded for strong CAMELS ratings. The governance structure of private banks is not affected by regulatory ratings; however, the percent of insiders on the board influences actions of the board to a large extent.
The perils of ‘race’ and ‘racism’ as variables

(1981). The perils of ‘race’ and ‘racism’ as variables. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 378-380.
Diffusion current at the tubular band electrode by the integral equation method

Abstract The integral equation method is used to compute the transient diffusion current at the tubular band electrode, a geometry consisting of a band electrode inlaid concentrically around the inside wall of an infinitely long insulating tube. When the ratio μ of diameter-to-width of the tubular band electrode is large (at least 100) the transient current closely resembles that obtained at the planar band electrode, with deviation becoming apparent only at very long time. For μ > 2 the edge effect enhancement of the diffusion current more than compensates for the depletion effect and the limiting current exceeds the Cottrell current at longer times, the net enhancement being proportional to μ. For μ t −1 2 dependence (i.e. a second Cottrell region), corresponding to complete depletion of the electroactive species within the solution space encompassed by the electrode and the resulting rectilinear diffusion of the species from each direction within the tube.
Response to the Letter to the Editor. The Relevance of Animal Models to Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Response to the Letter to the Editor. The Relevance of Animal Models to Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Central actions of adipocyte hormones

Adipose tissue secretes a variety of proteins with important roles in metabolism, reproduction, immunity and cardiovascular function. The endocrine function of adipose tissue, especially that of leptin, is linked to energy storage and thus might provide insights into obesity and other diseases associated with energy imbalance. This review highlights the current understanding of the actions of leptin in the brain, with particular emphasis on transport across the blood-brain barrier, signal transduction, neuropeptide targets and roles during fasting and obesity. Moreover, data pertaining to the potential central effects of adiponectin, cytokines and resistin on energy homeostasis, glucose and lipid metabolism are discussed.
Strength in Numbers?: Representation and Redistribution in the European Union

The European Union should provide an especially useful case for comparative analysis. Small states are rather severely over-represented in both legislative chambers, and allegiances to federation-wide political parties that might cut against pure regional self-seeking are absent. Moreover, although not as dramatic as in the United States, frequent reapportionment associated with successive enlargements allows for the examination of changes over time. The next section introduces some data on legislative malapportionment, placing European institutions in a comparative context. The third section explains why a link between representation and redistribution might exist in the first place, and makes some specific arguments about the European Union. The fourth section analyzes the distribution of agricultural and regional development expenditures, total expenditures, and net transfers. Like the other studies cited above, it examines the effect of representation by examining votes per capita in both legislative chambers. Unlike other studies, it also uses indices of voting power. The final section discusses implication, conclusions, and avenues for further research.
Color symmetry and group theory

The theory of color symmetry is developed in this paper from a group theoretical point of view. The transitive colorings of a design are classified by the subgroups of the symmetry group. A theory of compound coloring is developed. The theory of partial color symmetry is used to analyze the effect of restricting or enlarging the symmetry group involved.
Lead perchlorate as a neutrino detection medium

Lead can be an ideal medium for the detection and study of neutrinos. Such a detector may be realized through the use of a lead perchlorate (Pb(ClO4)2) solution as a Cherenkov radiator. The basic physical properties of lead perchlorate solution are given and preparation of the solution for use in a Cherenkov detector is described. Results from investigations of light transmission in lead perchlorate solutions are also presented.
Classical conditioning in the fetal rat with a long delay between presentation of CS and US

A single paired presentation of the artificial nipple and milk results in classical conditioning of changes in perioral responsiveness in the E20 rat fetus. This classical conditioning is evidenced by a reduction in responding to perioral tactile stimulation. The results of Experiment 1 confirmed the specificity of milk as an unconditioned stimulus to support classical conditioning. Experiment 2 demonstrated that single-trial classical conditioning with the artificial nipple CS and milk US was possible with a delay of 30 s between nipple and milk presentations. Further, measurements of fetal motor behavior during the delay between CS and US presentations indicated that a single 15-s presentation of the artificial nipple increased movements of the mouth for 30 s after removal of the artificial nipple. Experiment 3 demonstrated that three exposures to the artificial nipple prolonged the expression of mouthing for up to 120 s and made possible single trial classical conditioning with a delay of 120 s between CS and US presentations. The capacity of the fetal CNS to maintain a “behavioral trace” for an ecologically important stimulus, such as the nipple, could have adaptive significance in the early development of motivated behavior. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 30: 49–59, 1997
Laser-Induced Melting and Phase Explosion in Liquid Metal Films

We develop a mathematical model of liquid flow and phase change phenomena during fabrication of micro- and nanochannels by laser-induced melting and evaporation of thin metal films deposited on glass substrates. Channels of cross-sectional sizes between several hundred nanometers and a few micrometers can be manufactured by wet etching or contact photolithography after the desired pattern is created by the laser in the metal film. Interaction of the laser beam with the metal film is a complicated process, characterized by high temperature gradients. In this work we investigate the regime where phase explosion takes place in a small region of the metal film surrounded by a pool of molten metal. In the melt region, both evaporation from the surface and viscous flow induced by thermocapillary stresses take place; all these processes are incorporated into the model. Evolution of the surface of the molten film is investigated, and the impact of phase explosion on the flow is discussed.© 2008 ASME
Redistribution of synaptic vesicle antigens is correlated with the disappearance of a transient synaptic zone in the developing cerebral cortex

To examine the distribution of synaptic vesicle antigens during development of the cerebral cortex, antibodies against synapsin I and p65 were used on sections of cat cerebral cortex between E40 and adulthood. In the adult, the layers of the cerebral cortex are immunoreactive for each of these antigens, while the white matter is free of staining. In contrast, the fetal and neonatal pattern of immunostaining is reversed: the cortical plate (future cortical layers) is devoid of immunoreactivity, while the marginal (future layer 1) and the intermediate zones (future white matter) are stained. Electron microscopic immunohistochemistry shows that immunolabeling is associated with presynaptic nerve terminals in the adult and during development. These observations suggest that during development the white matter is a transient synaptic neuropil and that a global redistribution of synapses takes place as the mature pattern of connections within the cerebral cortex emerges.
THE BREAKDOWN OF MACROPHYTES IN A RESERVOIR WETLAND

Weight losses from leaf laminae and petioles of Nelumbo lutea (Wild.) Pers., and from leaves of Ludwigia leptocarpa (Nutt.) Hara. and Typha angustifolia L., were measured by exposing air-dried leaf material in nylon mesh bags at upper (exposed 25 days, inundated 40 days) and lower (inundated 154 days) wetland sites in a Texas reservoir. No significant differences (P < 0.05) were found between sites, so data were combined to yield estimates of plant litter breakdown for the entire wetland. Breakdown rates (in percentage of ash free dry weight lost per day) for the 4 litter types were: Nelumbo leaves — 0.0108 ± 0.0016; Ludwigia — 0.0050 ± 0.0007; Typha — 0.0047 ± 0.0006; Nelumbo — petioles 0.003 ± 0.0010. Times required for a 95% loss of litter, based on an exponential model, are 278 days, 600 days, 638 days and 909 days for these 4 litter types, respectively. These rates are comparable to those reported for emergent aquatic macrophytes in other lakes and wetlands. Colonization of decaying wetland plants was dominated by the gatherers, Chironominii (54%) and Caenis sp. (26%).
The impact of the Scottish independence referendum on ethnoregionalist movements in the British Isles

Following the Scottish National Party's realisation of a parliamentary majority, a referendum on Scottish independence will be held in 2014. As an example of ethnopolitical mobilisation, the outcome of this event will reasonably impact upon other regional movements in the British Isles and beyond. However, any such impact of the referendum will be largely a function of the current state of ethnopolitical mobilisation in those regions, which varies widely across the cases of Wales, Cornwall, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, the Western Islands of Scotland, and Orkney and Shetland. The constitutional issues raised by a Scottish secession will, along a different vector, stimulate discussion and nationalism in both the ‘Celtic Fringe’ and the English core of the UK. Meanwhile, the Western Isles, and in particular Orkney and Shetland, as constituent parts of Scotland, will be more directly influenced by any institutional changes.
Standardizing basic concepts in sociology

The idea of standardizing concepts in sociology is not new, but we have made little progress, despite the early hopes of such theorists as Durkheim and Weber. This article refutes the arguments of some who contend that we do not need standard concepts, we cannot make standard concepts, social phenomena are too complex and changeful, sociologists are too individualistic and sociological concepts are too context-dependent. The author proposes that the American Sociological Association appoint a Committee on Basic Sociological Concepts to investigate and recommend the official adoption of a basic conceptual language in American sociology.
On hydrogen-induced plastic flow localization during void growth and coalescence

Abstract Hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity (HELP) is recognized as a viable mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement. A possible way by which the HELP mechanism can bring about macroscopic material failure is through hydrogen-induced accelerated void growth and coalescence. Assuming a periodic array of spherical voids loaded axisymmetrically, we investigate the hydrogen effect on the occurrence of plastic flow localization upon void growth and its dependence on macroscopic stress triaxiality. Under a macroscopic stress triaxiality equal to 1 and prior to void coalescence, the finite element calculation results obtained with material data relevant to A533B steel indicate that a hydrogen-induced localized shear band forms at an angle of about 45 ∘ from the axis of symmetry. At triaxiality equal to 3, void coalescence takes place by accelerated hydrogen-induced localization of plasticity mainly in the ligament between the voids. Lastly, we discuss the numerical results within the context of experimental observations on void growth and coalescence in the presence of hydrogen.
Detailed mapping of the Rfv-1 gene that influences spontaneous recovery from Friend retrovirus-induced leukaemia.

SUMMARY Using H-2 recombinant and mutant mice, the Rfv-1 gene influencing spontaneous recovery from Friend retrovirus (FV)-induced leukaemia was mapped in the D locus. Two D b alleles were required for full recovery, and a single Dd transgene did not convey increased susceptibility to FV in the presence of homozygous Db/b genotype. The results suggest that an increase in the expression of Db may lead to more effective stimulation of FV-specific CTL.
8.4: Presentation session: Plenary speaker — BRAiN measurement and imaging technologies and making a difference: Identifying and closing the knowledge gaps discussion/forum: “Stimulating neurons with light: Current state and future challenges”

The use of infrared laser pulses provides a novel method to induce electrical activity (EP/AP) in neurons. This method has been shown to have several fundamental advantages over traditional electrical stimulation, including the spatial precision of stimulation that can be achieved in a non-contact fashion, and the lack of a stimulation artifact on the recording electrodes in classic stimulation-recording experiments. Thus this approach holds promise for a new paradigm in neural interfaces. An overview of the concepts and applications of optical nerve stimulation will be presented. Characterization of optical stimulation and physiological validation will be shown. The underlying biophysical mechanisms of optical stimulations appear to be thermally mediated. I will present our work on mechanistic studies as well as on the applications in the peripheral nervous system (stimulation of motor neurons and stimulation of sensory nerves in the cochlea), stimulation in the CNS, and the development of a stand-alone optical nerve stimulator.
THE 24-HOUR VARIATION OF PLASMA LH AND FSH IN PRECOCIOUS PUBERTY (PP)

The diurnal pattern of plasma LH and FSH in PP of diverse etiology is of both theoretical and practical interest. Plasma LH and FSH levels were measured hourly by radioimmunoassay in 2 boys with PP due to Leydig cell tumor, 1 girl with precocious menstruation due to ovarian tumor, 1 girl with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) prior to cortisone therapy, 1 boy with idiopathic isosexual precocity and 3 normal prepubertal children. Bone age was below 11 years in all studied subjects. In idiopathic PP FSH and LH levels, and especially secretory spikes were as expected for the stage of puberty with peak values of 17 and 8.8 mIU/ml respectively. In the 3 cases of “neoplastic” PP and in the girl with CAH peak FSH values were 1.7, 1.7, 1.4, 2 mIU/ml and peak LH values were 1.4, 2, 1, 1.7 mIU/ml respectively. The values were slightly lower than those found in the 3 prepubertal children. The findings suggest that gonadotrophins levels are low in “peripheral” PP and they may contribute to the differential diagnosis of PP, provided bone age is below 11 yrs.
Bearing-compass formation control: A human-swarm interaction perspective

The paper considers the distributed formation control problem given bearing-only sensing of nearby agents with respect to a global vector frame, provided by a compass. We propose a bearing-compass control law and prove its convergence to a formation that is unique up to translation and scaling. We present results that describe the formation's evolution in terms useful to a human operator, focusing on scale, translation and rotation of the formation. The results are supported with a number of illustrative examples.
Ab initio studies of the protonation of CO, N2 and NO+: Calculation of the minimum energy reaction paths

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations employing a 4-31G basis set have been used to study the minimum energy paths for the formation of HCO+, COH+, and HCOH2+ from CO by protonation. The protonation of N2 to give NNH+ and HNNH2+ and of NO+ to form HNO2+ and NOH2+ have also been investigated. All species formed have linear equilibrium geometries and the minimum energy path for approach of the proton is along the line-of-centers of the heavy atoms. Energy barriers to the formation of the various species are given, where appropriate, and changes in geometry, ordering of molecular orbitals and orbital occupancy are discussed.
Feeding Habits of Larval and Fingerling Striped Bass and Zooplankton Dynamics in Fertilized Rearing Ponds

Abstract Fertilization of freshwater striped bass rearing ponds with cottonseed meal or chicken manure and chicken litter in combination with liquid inorganic fertilizers and zooplankton inoculation were evaluated in 10 0.04-ha (0.10 acre) ponds over a 4-week period. Chlorophyll α levels and pH were significantly higher, and alkalinity and Secchi disk visibility significantly lower, in ponds fertilized with cottonseed meal. Ponds fertilized with cottonseed meal produced more crustacean zooplankton than did ponds fertilized with chicken manure and chicken litter. Fish survival and production averaged 63% and 49 kg/ha (43.7 lbs/acre) in ponds fertilized with cottonseed meal and 46% and 26 kg/ha (23.3 lbs/acre) in ponds fertilized with chicken manure and chicken litter. Adult copepods and small cladocerans were the dominant food items found in the diets of the fish.
Thermomicropolar flow of a nematic liquid crystal in a flexible stenosed tube

Abstract Flow of a thermomicropolar nematic liquid crystal in an isotropic elastic tube with a stenosis is analyzed in this paper. Balance laws, the constitutive equations, and the energy equation, appropriate to nematic liquid crystals as well as the equations of motion for the elastic tube are presented. The mathematical analysis consists in taking a finite Hankel transform on the radial coordinate and Laplace transform on the time variable. The velocity and the microgyration velocity fields in the transform space are found to depend on the microrotation field. The governing equation for the microrotation gradient in the transform space is found to be a convolution type Volterra integrodifferential equation which is approximately solved with short-time-range approximation. Explicit analytical solutions for velocity, microgyration velocity, microrotation and temperature fields are obtained upon carrying out the inverse transforms. Solutions for large times are obtained as well.
Essential fatty acid requirements of cells in tissue culture: a review.

Abstract Animals maintained on fat-free diets develop deficiency symptoms which can be cured by administration of the essential fatty acids (EFA). The function of these compounds at the cellular level can be examined conveniently using the technique of tissue culture. The requirement of cultured cells for essential fatty acids is reviewed and some experiments related to the properties of EFA-deficient cells are described. Although isolated cases where EFA are apparently required have been reported, the majority of cell types studied so far grow well in the absence of these compounds. EFA-deficient tumor cells also grow normally both in vivo and in vitro . Furthermore, many types of cells grown in chemically defined lipid-free media contain no polyunsaturated acids of any kind. The EFA-deficient cultured cells have essentially normal growth rates and their morphological appearance both in the light microscope and by electron microscopy is indistinguishable from that of normal cells. Respiration and mitochondrial function and other physical and metabolic characteristics are not significantly different although isolated mitochondrial preparations from deficient cells are sometimes less stable than from controls. The results indicate that polyunsaturated fatty acids are probably not indispensible to the normal functioning of the individual cell. Their essentiality in vivo is related to their role as precursors of the prostaglandins although the possibility that they perform additional essential functions in intact tissues is still an open question.
Fast analog circuit synthesis using sensitivity based near neighbor searches

We present an efficient analog synthesis algorithm employing regression models of circuit matrices. Circuit matrix models achieve accurate and speedy synthesis of analog circuits. In this paper, synthesis is accelerated by eliminating numerous computations of the matrix elements during a synthesis run. Computations are avoided by reusing exact or nearby design points visited during previous synthesis iterations. Hashing and multidimensional nearest neighbor lookup are used in incremental evaluation of design solutions encountered during synthesis. Sensitivity of the design variables is considered for locating a neighboring solution. Neighbor lookup is efficiently performed using box-decomposition trees. The proposed method is used to synthesize three benchmark circuits. Results show that with hashing and neighbor lookup, synthesis is 6x--13x faster than with the use of matrix models alone.
Improved catalytic performance of CaO and CeO2 promoted Ni catalyst on gasifier bed material for tar removal from producer gas

Abstract A new catalytic material containing the mixture of Ni, CaO and CeO 2 for catalyzing commercial gasifier bed material (Carbo HSP) was synthesized and characterized by XRD, TPR/TPO, TPD and SEM techniques. The catalyst performance for tar removal in simulated producer gas mixture via steam reforming was tested in a lab-scale fix-bed reactor at atmospheric pressure and over a temperature range from 600 to 800 °C. The combination of Ni-CaO-CeO 2 had significantly higher activity for toluene removal as compared to Ni, Ni-CaO or Ni-CeO 2 systems. At 700 °C, the optimum composition 2.5 wt.% (Ni20Ca60Ce20) displayed 68% and 52% conversions for C 7 H 8 and C 2 H 4 respectively, leading to the highest CO 2 selectivity. This catalyst composition shows only 7% (from 100% to 93%) deactivation in activity after 48 h in time-on-stream at 800 °C. After regeneration with an O 2 /H 2 sequence, the conversion recovers to 100% and decreased only to 95% after 48 h in time-on-stream. Ni activity and stability are enhanced from the individual roles of CaO and CeO 2 . The CeO 2 can act as redox component that provides for a higher H 2 O dissociation leading to carbon oxidation and the CaO can enhance the basicity of the catalyst as well as provide for a higher dispersion of Ni metal. The catalytic steam reforming of tars also results in a higher H 2 -to-CO ratio.
Evidence of alloy formation during reduction of platinized tin oxide surfaces

Ion scattering spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis have been used to examine a platinized tin oxide catalyst surface before, during, and after reduction by annealing under vacuum at 250 to 450 C. These techniques were then used to examine the reduced surface after a room-temperature, low-pressure oxygen exposure. The spectral results and the behavior of the reduced surface toward oxygen exposure both indicate that a Pt/Sn alloy is produced during reduction.
A simple HPLC method using a microbore column for the analysis of doxorubicin

Doxorubicin is one of the most potent anti-tumor agents generally used in the treatment of bone cancer. A simple and sensitive HPLC method was developed and validated for the assay of doxorubicin. The method used a C18 Luna microbore column (50 x 1 mm) with a fluorescent detector (505 nm Ex. and 550 nm Em.). The mobile phase consisted of water-acetonitrile-acetic acid (80:19:1, v/v/v, pH 3.0) and the flow rate was 0.1 ml min(-1). Daunomycin was used as the internal standard. This isocratic system required a 10-min run-time, giving a detection limit of 0.02 ng (0.035 pmol per injection). Standard curves were linear over the concentration range of 0.01-0.1 microg ml(-1). Relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) for the within-day, day-to-day precision, and the accuracy measurement for the assay were less than 4.0, 3.2, and 4.1%, respectively. This HPLC method was used to study the in vitro release characteristics of doxorubicin from implantable drug delivery system.
Report of the ACA Ethics Committee: 1992-1993.

The activities of the American Counseling Association (ACA) Ethics Committee are summarized for the year 1992–1993. Complaints received and adjudicated by the committee as well as formal inquiries regarding ethical conduct are summarized.