cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nasal Valve Suspension: An Effective Treatment for Nasal Valve Collapse

Objective: To evaluate a new operative technique for treating nasal valve collapse for safety and effectiveness. Design: A nonrandomized pilot study of patients with complaints of nasal airway obstruction, a positive Cottle maneuver, and clinical findings of nasal valve collapse. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 20 months. Setting: Academic medical center, including a Veterans Affairs hospital. Patients: Twelve men aged 38 to 73 years (mean age, 59.3 years). Main Outcome Measures: Subjective self-assessment scores for nasal airflow were collected on a 10-point scale. Anterior rhinomanometry, acoustic rhinometry, and photographic analysis provided objective data. Intervention: The procedure involves accessing the orbital rim by a transconjunctival incision, then passing sutures from the nose to this incision where they may be affixed to the orbital rim. The collapsing tissue of the nasal valve is thus supported and collapse is prevented. Results: All patients reported immediate subjective improvement in their symptoms of nasal obstruction; this was reflected in their self-assessment scores. The rhinomanometry showed reduced nasal resistance in 10 (83%) of 12 patients. The acoustic rhinometry showed an increase in minimum cross-sectional area in 2 (33%) of 6 patients, with the others remaining stable. The photographic analysis revealed mild widening of the midthird of the nose in 6 of 12 patients, although this was not of concern to the patients. There were no major complications. Conclusion: Nasal valve suspension is a safe and effective procedure for treatment of nasal valve collapse. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1996;122:1342-1346
The Effects of Atypical Antipsychotics on Serum Prolactin Levels

Hyperprolactinemia may be a concern in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. The side effects associated with high prolactin levels can have a negative impact on patient compliance with treatment. Atypical antipsychotics as a group cause less hyperprolactinemia than conventional antipsychotics, yet there is considerable variation among specific drugs. Risperidone at higher doses has been shown to produce increases in prolactin similar to conventional antipsychotics. At the other end of the spectrum, clozapine and quetiapine produce minimal sustained increases in prolactin that are no different from placebo. However, correlations between prolactin elevations and clinical symptoms have not been well-established. This paper reviews the published literature regarding prolactin levels in treated and untreated patients with schizophrenia and the relationship of prolactin and dopamine. It concludes with an overview of the effects of specific atypical antipsychotics on prolactin levels in patients with schizophrenia.
Circle of time: errors in the use of the pregnancy wheel

Objective: Despite the accuracy of pregnancy dating by ultrasound, obstetricians commonly use the pregnancy wheel for the assessment of gestational age at each visit. However, there has been limite...
New Directions for Self-Regulation of Learning in Postsecondary Education.

This chapter highlights the major contributions of this volume on self-regulation of learning and provides new directions for cutting-edge theoretical and empirical work that could serve to facilitate self-regulation of learning in postsecondary education.
Tip Graft: A 20-year Retrospective

This paper chronicles a personal experience with nasal tip grafts over 20 years. In the first period (1968-1975), the original graft was designed for use in secondary rhinoplasty cases to obtain both projection of the tip and increased angulation at the columellar-lobular junction. The use was soon expanded to primary patients with inadequate tip projection. During the middle period (1975-1982), the applications for tip grafting were expanded to include many kinds of tip problems (both primary and secondary), cleft lip noses, and various ethnic noses, especially those with thick skin. The incidence of postoperative displacement and/or visibility of the graft was reduced as multiple grafts of solid, bruised, and crushed cartilage became routine. Ear cartilage was first used and ethmoid was abandoned as a primary graft. The incidence of infection was significantly reduced. The current period (1982-1991) is marked by refinements in technique and materials. Greater versatility with graft composition and materials makes possible a variety of tip configurations, custom-made for individual requirements.
HOW MAGGOTS MOVE : ALLOMETRY AND KINEMATICS OF CRAWLING IN LARVAL DIPTERA

Abstract We describe the kinematics and allometry of limbless locomotion in the larvae of four species of Diptera: Drosophila melanogaster, Musca domestica, Protophormia terraenovae and Sarcophaga bullata . In the small species, D. melanogaster and M. domestica , crawling involves a series of telescoping peristaltic movements; in the two larger species, it consists of a combination of telescoping and caterpillar-like movements. Speed, contractions per second and the distance traveled per contraction are correlated with mass. We contrast these relationships to the kinematics of caterpillar and limbed insect locomotion. Crawling by larval flies is notable for its low speed compared to limbed insects and for the fact that both contraction frequency and the distance traveled per contraction increase with speed.
Phenomenological Regge trajectories in direct channel pion-proton elastic scattering

This dissertation describes an investigation of the possibility of using a direct channel Regge pole theory to describe low energy scattering data. The model amplitude which is derived is similar to the modified Regge representation proposed by Mukherjee but is different in two important respects: (a) The Mukherjee representation does not apply to a process in which the particles may have spin whereas the one presented here applies to the helicity amplitudes of the general Jacob-Wick expansion. (b) The Reggeization of a signature helicity amplitude does not lead to a signatured model except in the spinless case. It is shown how to insure the preservation of signature by including an appropriate part of the background integral. A preliminary numerical investigation of the pion-proton elastic scattering process is discussed and it is found that there is soem likelihood of the success of a more extensive numerical study. (author)
Redox Biochemistry of Hydrogen Sulfide

H2S, the most recently discovered gasotransmitter, might in fact be the evolutionary matriarch of this family, being both ancient and highly reduced. Disruption of γ-cystathionase in mice leads to cardiovascular dysfunction and marked hypertension, suggesting a key role for this enzyme in H2S production in the vasculature. However, patients with inherited deficiency in γ-cystathionase apparently do not present vascular pathology. A mitochondrial pathway disposes sulfide and couples it to oxidative phosphorylation while also exposing cytochrome c oxidase to this metabolic poison. This report focuses on the biochemistry of H2S biogenesis and clearance, on the molecular mechanisms of its action, and on its varied biological effects.
Method for Computing Energy Release Rate Using the Elastic Work Factor Approach

The elastic work factor ηel concept was applied to composite structures for the calculation of total energy release rate by using a single specimen. Cracked lap shear specimens with four different unidirectional fiber orientation were used to examine the dependence of nel on the material properties. Also, three different thickness ratios (lap/strap) were used to determine how geometric conditions affect ηel. The ηel values were calculated in two different ways: compliance method and crack closure method. The results show that the two methods produce comparable ηel values and while ηel is affected significantly by geometric conditions, it is reasonably independent of material properties for the given geometry. The results also showed that the elastic work factor can be used to calculate total energy release rate using a single specimen.
The Coming of Age of the Class III Antiarrhythmic Principle: Retrospective and Future Trends

Abstract Antiarrhythmic drug therapy is in a state of continuous flux. In the last decade or so, numerous experimental and clinical studies have revealed that drugs that act by delaying conduction, while markedly suppressing ventricular arrhythmias, have the proclivity to increase mortality in subsets of patients with significant cardiac disease. The adverse impact on mortality was confirmed by placebo-controlled randomized trials as well as metaanalysis of smaller randomized clinical trials. The latter indicated that β blockers exert a beneficial effect on mortality. Benefit from drugs that lengthen repolarization, especially drugs that have the additional property of blocking sympathetic excitation, was also seen in relatively small numbers of patients. Sotalol and amiodarone fell into this category of antiarrhythmic drugs. There were 2 major consequences that stemmed from the results of these trials. First, the endpoint of clinical trials shifted to total mortality from surrogates such as defined degree of suppression of ventricular arrhythmias. Second, concern regarding increases in mortality produced by class I drugs engendered a shift in favor of drugs that prolong repolarization. Such a shift was bolstered by the growing body of data that established the efficacy of sotalol and amiodarone as potent agents for the control of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. They were both found to be superior to class I agents. The perception that the critical factor that mediates their efficacy is the homogeneous prolongation of repolarization has led to the synthesis and characterization of so-called pure class III agents, which include d -sotalol and other I Kr blockers such as dofetilide, sematilide, E-4031, and almokalant, among numerous others. The increase in mortality produced by d -sotalol in patients with myocardial infarction and lowered ejection fraction and in patients with and without heart failure has led researchers to question how to design future antiarrhythmic molecules. In the search for an ideal antifibrillatory agent, should emphasis be placed on simple molecules such as pure class III agents or on those with more complex profiles, such as sotalol and amiodarone, which exhibit antiadrenergic actions and the ability to prolong cardiac repolarization? The available data are in favor of the latter approach. (Am J Cardiol 1996;78 (suppl 4A):17–27)
Laser-Induced Optical Emissions Of CVD Diamond Studied In The Raman Microprobe

A multichannel-detection Raman microprobe, with laser-excitation at 514.5 nm, is employed in the rapid characterization of the microstructural and compositional perfection of diamond deposits prepared by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Examined are single microcrystals of CVD diamond and polycrystalline thin diamond films deposited on silicon ((111) Si) and polycrystalline mullite (3Al 2 O 3 .2SiO 2 ) substrates. Reported are the results from a series of films grown under constant deposition conditions of substrate temperature (750 °C), gas pressure (40 torr), and gas flow rate (52 sccm), but employing varying gas compositions with CH 4 :H 2 ratios of 0.1 to 1.0 percent. The analysis focuses on the Raman range from 800 to 2000 cm -1 to establish the purity of the diamond phase based on the observation of characteristic carbon (i.e., sp 3 , sp 2 , and sp bonding) signatures and the level of the spectral background. A second spectral range from 5600 to 6200 cm -1 (Raman shift) is examined to monitor the presence of a photoluminescence (PL) band centered at 738 nm (1.68 eV) attributed to a lattice vacancy in diamond. The spectra characterizing the laser-excited optical emissions are correlated with the structure and morphology of these depositions established by several other characterization techniques. The conclusions drawn with respect to structural imperfections of the diamond phase are related to the deposition parameters employed and the resulting nucleation and growth processes involved.
Changes in plasma composition during the expansion into the first vacuum stage of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer

The effects of collisions on the composition of the plasma passing through the first vacuum stage of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer were monitored in three sets of experiments. Rates of collisional quenching of an excited state in the neutral calcium atom were estimated from changes in experimental fluorescence lifetimes. Intensities from collisionally-assisted fluorescence provided evidence of energy transfer between excited states. Changes in analyte number density along the axis of the supersonic expansion in the first vacuum stage provided evidence that ion-electron recombination occurs to a significant extent during the expansion. Together, the experiments create a picture of the first vacuum stage in which collisions play an important role in shaping the composition of the plasma that is ultimately delivered to the mass analyzer.
Bone structure and fracture risk: do they go arm in arm?

increased cortical and trabecular thickness and greater cortical density at both the distal radius and the distal tibia. (12,13) In the current study, 29 Chinese-American and 68 white postmenopausal women were evaluated. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) at the spine, hip, and radius was measured using dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and bone microstructure at the distal radius and tibia was assessed using HR-pQCT. As expected, the Chinese-American women were shorter and weighed less than the white women. Surprisingly, however, aBMD was similar between the two groups at all skeletal sites. Postmenopausal Chinese-American women had approximately 10% smaller bone cross-sectional area but 5% to 6% higher cortical density and 16% to 18% higher cortical thickness than whites. Chinese-American women also had fewer trabeculae at the distal radius and fewer but thicker trabeculae at the distal tibia compared with whites. Differences in bone cross-sectional area were attenuated somewhat after adjusting for the shorter stature and lower weight of the Chinese-American women, whereas differences in cortical and trabecular thickness were largely unaffected. The net result of these differences in bone morphology, evaluated by finite-element analysis (FEA), showed similar compressive stiffness in the two groups, suggesting that the smaller cross-sectional area in Chinese-American women was compensated for by their increased cortical and trabecular thicknesses. The study provides novel insights into differences in bone structure by ethnicity, yet several issues should be considered when interpreting the results, including (1) the modest sample size, (2) the limitations of HR-pQCT measurements and assumptions used for derivation of some microarchitecture features, and (3) lack of information on tissue material properties. The authors examined a relatively small convenience sample of only 29 Chinese-American subjects who were, on average, 2 years younger and tended to be closer to the menopause than the white women. After adjusting the analyses for age and body mass index (BMI), the strength of some of the ethnicity-related differences was attenuated, although most of the differences
Gastrin-releasing peptide receptor in breast cancer mediates cellular migration and interleukin-8 expression.

Background Breast cancers aberrantly express gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) hormone and its cognate receptor, gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R). Experimental evidence suggests that bombesin (BBS), the pharmacological homologue of GRP, promotes breast cancer growth and progression. The contribution of GRP-R to other poor prognostic indicators in breast cancer, such as the expression of the EGF-R family of growth factors and hormone insensitivity, is unknown. Materials and Methods Two estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer cell lines were used. MDA-MB-231 overexpress both EGFR and GRPR, whereas SK-BR-3 cells express EGF-R but lack GRP-R. Cellular proliferation was assessed by Coulter counter. Chemotactic migration was performed using Transwell chambers, and the migrated cells were quantified. Northern blot and real-time PCR were used to evaluate proangiogenic factor interleukin-8 (IL-8) mRNA expression. Results In MDA-MB-231 cells, GRP-R and EGF-R synergize to regulate cell migration, IL-8 expression, but not cell proliferation. In SK-BR-3 cells, ectopic expression of GRP-R was sufficient to increase migration and IL-8 mRNA. Conclusions These data suggest relevant roles for GRP-R in ER-negative breast cancer progression. Future mechanistic studies to define the molecular role of GRP-R in breast cancer metastasis provide novel targets for the treatment of ER-negative breast cancers.
Viewing conditions and hemisphere asymmetry for the lexical decision.

Abstract Exposure duration, retinal eccentricity and stimulus size were systematically varied to assess the contribution of viewing conditions to the lexical decision asymmetry. Contrary to Sergent's hypothesis ( Psychol. Bull. 93 , 481–512), the RVF advantage was unaltered over the range of conditions tested. This suggests that hemisphere differences in the ability to extract information from degraded signals cannot account for the asymmetry in this task. The results are compatible with the view that the lexical decision asymmetry arises from a relatively late stage of processing in which the information is no longer represented in sensory form.
Study of Synaptic Behavior in Doped Transition Metal Oxide-Based Reconfigurable Devices

We report the synaptic characteristics of novel two-terminal reconfigurable devices fabricated using a doped transition metal oxide. These devices demonstrate short-term plasticity, frequency-dependent synaptic augmentation, long-term potentiation, and long-term depression, and have a potential to show spike timing-dependent plasticity that are macroscopically similar to a biological synapse. The underlying mechanism behind the observed synaptic characteristics was studied using charge transport characterization. Based on this study, a fundamental correlation between the governing device physics and the synaptic characteristic has been established. We believe that by carefully engineering the dopants, the synaptic transmission of these devices can be modulated, which will provide a viable route to replicate the functional diversity of a biological neural system on chip.
Exposures while applying commercial disinfectants

Measurements were made on 40 applicators applying chemical disinfectants to floors, walls, other hard surfaces, or carpeting by high-pressure spray, low-pressure spray, mopping, wiping, or aerosol spray. Inhalation exposure was assessed with air samples. Clothing and skin deposition was assessed with dermal gauze dosimeters attached both outside applicators' work clothing and inside their clothing against their skin. As is typical of agricultural pesticide applications, the airborne route of exposure was very low, usually below the chemical limit of detection. The primary route of exposure and dosing was to the skin. The normal work clothing worn by applicators consistently reduced clothing deposition to lower values reaching the skin. The effects of chemical detection limits and short use durations caused the analyte on many individual dosimeters to be below the method detection limit. Mean measured total dose of the active ingredient onto the skin (ranging from 0.1 to 26 mg per task) was converted to eq...
On the use of stochastic approximation Monte Carlo for Monte Carlo integration

The stochastic approximation Monte Carlo (SAMC) algorithm has recently been proposed as a dynamic optimization algorithm in the literature. In this paper, we show in theory that the samples generated by SAMC can be used for Monte Carlo integration via a dynamically weighted estimator by calling some results from the literature of nonhomogeneous Markov chains. Our numerical results indicate that SAMC can yield significant savings over conventional Monte Carlo algorithms, such as the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, for the problems for which the energy landscape is rugged.
On magnetothermal instability in cluster cooling flows

Lagrangian techniques appropriate to a local calculation are used to show that a weak ordered magnetic field can result in a generic condensational mode in cluster cooling flows. However, thermal instability appears possible only if the conductivity is well below its Spitzer value, for all nonradial wavenumbers. Wavenumbers not subject to conductive damping are subject to buoyant oscillations. It is shown that when instability is present, lateral magnetic confinement of high thermal pressure regions in the plasma by radial magnetic field lines is responsible in at least equal measure with radially directed magnetic tension for the suppression of oscillations and the reappearance of local condensational modes. The general importance of even very modest magnetic fields for destabilizing thermal time scale perturbations is emphasized.
Peroxynitrite-Mediated Synaptosomal Calcium Oscillation Effect of Hypothermia 180

Background: Studies suggest that peroxynitrite (ONOO-), formed from superoxide and nitric oxide (NO) is a mediator of oxidant-induced cellular injury. Hypothesis: 3 morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), which releases superoxide and NO simultaneously will increase calcium oscillation in synaptosomes and hypothermia will inhibit this phenomenon. Subjects: 58 days guinea pig fetuses. Method: Cortical synaptosomes were prepared from fetal brain tissue, loaded with Fura-2/AM and divided into 3 groups Two groups were incubated at pH 7.4, 37 °C for 1 hr, with (S37 or without (C37) SIN-1 (100 μM). A third group, treated with SIN-1 was incubated at 27 °C (S27. Intrasynaptosomal calcium ([Ca2+]i) was measured fluorometrically. Synaptosomal viability was documented by measuring mitochondria activity (MTT reduction). Results: Mitochondria activity was not affected by SIN-1. The Ca2+ increase in C37, S37 and S27 was 419 ± 113, 1453 ± 133 and 647 ± 239 pM/sec, respectively. The calcium oscillation was higher in S37 vs C37(p<0.001), and was significantly inhibited in S27 vs S37(p<0.01). Conclusion: The results suggest that SIN-1, via ONOO- production, modifies the calcium permeability of synaptosomal membrane, including calcium ion channels such as NMDA receptor, and results in an increased [Ca2+]i. This mechanism is temperature dependent. We speculate that ONOO -mediated increasing Ca2+ will lead to stimulation of phospholipase A2 and NO synthase, which further initiate ONOO production (Funded by NIH-HD-20337)
Sweet Chariot: Slave Family and Household Structure in Nineteenth-Century Louisiana

Sweet Chariot is a pathbreaking analysis of slave families and household composition in the nineteenth-century South. Ann Malone presents a carefully drawn picture of the ways in which slaves were constituted into families and households within a community and shows how and why that organization changed through the years. Her book, based on massive research, is both a statistical study over time of 155 slave communities in twenty-six Louisiana parishes and a descriptive study of three plantations: Oakland, Petite Anse, and Tiger Island. Malone first provides a regional analysis of family, household, and community organization. Then, drawing on qualitative sources, she discusses patterns in slave family household organization, identifying the most significant ones as well as those that consistantly acted as indicators of change. Malone shows that slave community organization strongly reflected where each community was in its own developmental cycle, which in turn was influenced by myriad factors, ranging from impersonal economic conditions to the arbitrary decisions of individual owners. She also projects a statistical model that can be used for comparisons with other populations. The two persistent themes that Malone uncovers are the mutability and yet the constancy of Louisiana slave household organization. She shows that the slave family and its extensions, the slave household and community, were far more diverse and adaptable than previously believed. The real strength of the slave comunity was its multiplicity of forms, its tolerance for a variety of domestic units and its adaptability. She finds, for example, that the preferred family form consisted of two parents and children but that all types of families and households were accepted as functioning and contributing members of the slave community. ""Louisiana slaves had a well-defined and collective vision of the structure that would serve them best and an iron determination to attain it, "" Malone observes. ""But along with this constancy in vision and perseverance was flexibility. Slave domestic forms in Louisiana bent like willows in the wind to keep from shattering. The suppleness of their forms prevented domestic chaos and enabled most slave communities to recover from even serious crises."" |Sweet Chariot is a pathbreaking analysis of slave families and household composition in the nineteenth-century South. Ann Malone presents a carefully drawn picture of the ways in which slaves were constituted into families and households within a community and shows how and why that organization changed through the years. Her book, based on massive research, is both a statistical study over time of 155 slave communities in twenty-six Louisiana parishes and a descriptive study of three plantations: Oakland, Petite Anse, and Tiger Island.
Limit-like predictability for discontinuous functions

Our starting point is the following question: To what extent is a function's value at a point x of a topological space determined by its values in an arbitrarily small (deleted) neighborhood of x? For continuous functions, the answer is typically "always" and the method of prediction of f(x) is just the limit operator. We generalize this to the case of an arbitrary function mapping a topological space to an arbitrary set. We show that the best one can ever hope to do is to predict correctly except on a scattered set. Moreover, we give a predictor whose error set, in To spaces, is always scattered.
Dextromethorphan: Enhancing its systemic availability by way of low‐dose quinidine‐mediated inhibition of cytochrome P4502D6

There has been a substantial amount of interest in the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective actions of dextromethorphan. Its therapeutic efficacy, however, is limited by its extensive first-pass elimination by way of the cytochrome P4502D6 enzyme in humans. The purpose of this research was to determine whether quinidine (a selective inhibitor of cytochrome P4502D6) could improve dextromethorphan systemic delivery in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a neurodegenerative disease). In the absence of quinidine, 60 mg dextromethorphan every 12 hours resulted in plasma concentrations of only 12 +/- 13 ng/ml (range, less than 5 to 40 ng/ml; n = 7). The same dose of dextromethorphan in the presence of 75 mg quinidine every 12 hours resulted in dextromethorphan plasma concentrations of 241 +/- 94 ng/ml (range, 157 to 402 ng/ml; n = 5). The achievement of higher dextromethorphan plasma concentrations was also associated with an increased occurrence of adverse effects in some patients. Based on the brain/plasma ratio for dextromethorphan in rats, it is estimated that brain dextromethorphan concentrations of 1.0 to 10 micrograms/gm may be attainable in humans by inhibition of cytochrome P4502D6 activity with quinidine.
The Ti8C12 Metcar: A New Model Catalyst for Hydrodesulfurization

Elementary reaction steps and barriers for thiophene hydrodesulfurization (HDS) on a Ti8C12 nanoparticle were investigated using density functional theory. It is found that despite its high carbon concentration Ti8C12 displays a superior catalytic potential for hydrodesulfurization. Compared to the industrial catalysts, the hydrogen dissociation and C−S bond cleavage on Ti8C12 are more facile, and the removal of sulfur is energetically comparable. Our results also show that the catalytic activity of Ti8C12 can be associated with its unique structure that is quite different from that of bulk metal carbides.
Nasal-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Is Not an Absolute Requirement for the Induction of Rat Tear IgA Antibody Responses

Purpose/Aim of study: The purpose of this work was to determine whether rat nasal-associated lymphoid tissue is required for the induction of tear IgA responses.Materials and Methods: Particulate antigen in the form of DNP-BSA encapsulated in cationic microparticles was applied topically to the eyes (ocular topically) of rats that had the nasolacrimal ducts temporarily plugged with chromic gut suture material. Eye washes and serum were monitored for development of antigen specific IgA and IgG, respectively. To track the particulate uptake, fluorescent latex beads were applied topically to the eyes of plugged and unplugged animals. The nasal-associated lymphoid tissue and the draining lymph nodes were then examined for the presence of the fluorescent beads.Results: It was found that the chromic gut suture was effective in blocking the passage of antigen into the nasopharyngeal cavity for at least 24 hr. Tear antigen-specific IgA levels found in the eyes of plugged animals were not significantly lower from ...
General rules for the arrangements and gating motions of pore-lining helices in homomeric ion channels

The pore-lining helix (PLH) bundles are central to the function of all ion channels, as their conformational rearrangements dictate channel gating. Here we explore all plausible oligomeric arrangements of the PLH bundles within homomeric ion channels by building models using generic restraints. In particular, the distance between two neighbouring PLHs was bounded both below and above in order to avoid steric clash and allow proper packing. The resulting models provide a theoretical representation of the accessible space for oligomeric arrangements. While the represented space is confined, it encompasses nearly all the ion channel PLH bundles for which the structures are currently known. For a multitude of channels, gating models suggested by paths within the confined accessible space are in qualitative agreement with those established in previous structural and computational studies.
Testing goodness-of-fit for the power law process

Exact goodness-of-fit tests for the power law process, a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with intensity function , can be constructed by making one of two transformations of the event times. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cramer-von Mises or Anderson-Darling test can then be applied to these transformed variables. In this article it is shown that these two transformations lead to the same test statistics in one particular case. The results of a simulation study show that these tests have very low power when the alternative hypothesis is a renewal process. A transformation of these transformed variables, suggested by Durbin, increases the power substantially.
Correlation of charge transport and sensing behavior in organic semiconductor field-effect chemical sensors

Pentacene based organic thin-film transistors were used to study the effects of polar analytes on charge transport behavior during vapor sensing. Four analytes were tested with various dipole moments and polarization properties. The analytes include, ethyl acetate, ethanol, cyclohexane, and styrene. While the ethanol and ethyl acetate molecules, with the larger dipole moment, have a more significant effect on the sensing behavior, a non-polar molecule such as styrene, which is polarizable, also has the ability to produce a response. The non-polar molecule, cyclohexane produced no significant response. This study helps provide a physical basis and insight into the analyte/organic semiconductor interactions for the organic transistor based sensor response.
A Multimodal Approach in the Diagnosis of Patients with Hematopoietic Disorders

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of relatively ill-defined hematopoietic disorders in which both qualitative and quantitative defects of the hematopoietic cells cause bone marrow dysfunction. With an incidence estimated to be approximately 1 per 100,000 persons per year, MDS mainly affects the elderly. Myelodysplastic syndromes share many features with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia; in fact, a proportion of patients with MDS eventually develop acute myeloid leukemia. To illustrate a multimodal approach in the diagnosis of patients with hematopoietic disorders, we describe a 66-year-old patient with a question of myelodysplastic syndrome, leukemia, and two translocations involving chromosome 10: t(5;10) and t(7;10). These structural rearrangements effectively gave rise to monosomy for part of the long arm of chromosome 5 and for the long arm of chromosome 7. Findings of del(5q) and del(7) in MDS have been reported in the literature. The results of chromosome morphometry, which was conducted to compare the lengths of all relevant chromosome segments, are consistent with the hypothesized chromosomal abnormalities. The investigational technique of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using both painting and α-satellite probes, was used as an adjunct to conventional cytogenetics to further delineate the nature of the chromosome abnormalities observed in the GTG-banded studies. Confirmatory studies utilizing the new technique of spectral karyotyping (SKY) were also carried out. Thus, the multimodal approach of hematopathology, GTG-banding, chromosome morphometry, FISH, and SKY can be very useful for delineating complex cytogenetic cases.
Chain structure and entanglement

Description de la jonction d'un enchevetrement moleculaire par un contact binaire en crochet de nœuds de Kuhn. Equation N v =3•C ∞ 2 donnant le nombre de liaisons de squelette dans un brin d'enchevetrement en fonction du rapport C ∞ caracteristique de la chaine et montrant que l'enchevetrement est surtout controle par la tortuosite de la chaine. Verification avec les valeurs experimentales obtenues a partir des modules de plateau de 44 polymeres
Some Physiological Correlates to Regular and Irregular Phonation at the End of an Utterance

Summary This article examines respiratory and acoustic events at the ends of utterances that coincide with the end of a breath. All utterances end with a vowel. Between the start of the final fall in signal amplitude and the end of phonation, the alveolar pressure falls by 1.2–2.6 cm H 2 0, on average, and glottal area increases by a factor of 4.0 (median). The mean glottal area at the end of phonation ranges from 9.6 to 13.5 mm 2 across subjects. Physiological correlates are examined for utterances that end with regular and with irregular phonation. Irregular phonation is usually produced with brief intervals of adduction followed by longer intervals of abduction and/or with incomplete closure of the folds. This physiological correlate to irregular phonation is not consistent with descriptions of vocal fry or creaky voice in which the vocal folds are tightly adducted over most of the cycle. The rise in average glottal area and drop in alveolar pressure were similar for utterances that ended with regular phonation and those that ended with irregular phonation. These data suggest that a similar phonation-ending gesture underlies both groups of utterances. This gesture includes abduction of the vocal folds and a drop in alveolar pressure.
The capacitated lot sizing problem with setup carry-over

Although there is a significant amount of literature on the capacitated lot sizing problem, there has been insufficient consideration of planning problems in which it is possible for a lot size, or production run, to continue over consecutive time periods without incurring multiple setups. While there are papers that consider this feature, they typically restrict production to at most one product in each period. We present a set of mixed integer linear programs for the capacitated lot sizing problem that incorporate setup carry-over without restricting the number of products produced in each time period. Efficient reformulations are developed for finding optimal solutions, and a Lagrangian decomposition heuristic is provided that quickly generates near-optimal solutions. The computational results demonstrate that incorporating setup carry-over has a significant effect on both cost and lot sizes.
Detecting and Locating Faulty Nodes in Smart Grids Based on High Frequency Signal Injection

An on-line method for detecting and locating a faulty node in the utility grid is proposed for smart grids. The method is based on injection of high frequency (A-Band) current signal into the grid that would impose voltages (less than 1V according to EN50065-1 standard) on the nodes to determine changes in the impedance characteristics. This detection is accomplished on-line without interrupting the power flow in the network. The developed algorithm has been implemented within an electrical power system model. This low voltage network model has been tested with different fault scenarios. The proposed procedure is able to detect the faulty nodes with high accuracy.
Effect of Aphid Behavior on Efficiency of Transmission of Soybean mosaic virus by the Soybean-Colonizing Aphid, Aphis glycines

The soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) was a poor vector (0.83% transmission) when the aphids were allowed overnight acquisition feed on Soybean mosaic virus (SMV)-infected soybean leaves. However, A. glycines was shown to be a very efficient vector (34.72% transmission) when individual aphids were allowed a 1-min acquisition probe on the same infected leaves used for the feeding treatment. Similar results were obtained with Myzus persicae and tobacco in transmission experiments of the potyviruses Tobacco etch virus (feeding: 1.36%; probing: 45.5%) and Tobacco vein mottling virus (feeding: 2.0%; probing: 47.5%). A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was developed to detect SMV in single soybean aphids using a pair of primers designed to amplify a 469-bp PCR fragment in the coding region of SMV coat protein. In contrast to the low transmission rate obtained with the soybean aphids that acquired virus through overnight feeding, RT-PCR detected SMV in 100% of these aphids. Interestingly, the rate of SMV detection by RT-PCR in aphids that were allowed a 1-min acquisition probe (31.67%) coincided with percent transmission (34.72%). The practical application of RT-PCR in detecting nonpersistently transmitted viruses and its implications for virus epidemiology are discussed.
Complementary credit networks and macroeconomic stability: Switzerland's Wirtschaftsring

Abstract The Swiss Wirtschaftsring (“Economic Circle”) credit network, founded in 1934, provides residual spending power that is highly counter-cyclical. Individuals are cash-short in a recession, and economize by greater use of WIR-credits. A money in the production function (MIPF) specification implies that transactions in WIR form a stabilizing balance that makes up for the lack of ordinary currency. Thus, unlike the ordinary money, WIR money is negatively correlated with GDP in the short run. This implication is confirmed by empirical estimates. Such credit networks play a stabilizing role that should be considered in monetary policy.
A p53-dependent S-phase checkpoint helps to protect cells from DNA damage in response to starvation for pyrimidine nucleotides

Normal mammalian cells arrest primarily in G1 in response to N-(phosphonacetyl)-l-aspartate (PALA), which starves them for pyrimidine nucleotides, and do not generate or tolerate amplification of the CAD gene, which confers resistance to PALA. Loss of p53, accompanied by loss of G1 arrest, permits CAD gene amplification and the consequent formation of PALA-resistant colonies. We have found rat and human cell lines that retain wild-type p53 but have lost the ability to arrest in G1 in response to PALA. However, these cells still fail to give PALA-resistant colonies and are protected from DNA damage through the operation of a second checkpoint that arrests them reversibly within S-phase. This S-phase arrest, unmasked in the absence of the G1 checkpoint, is dependent on p53 and independent of p21/waf1.
A prospective study of folate and vitamin B6 and risk of myocardial infarction in US physicians.

To assess prospectively the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) associated with decreased plasma levels of folate and pyridoxal phosphate (PLP, a form of vitamin B6) in relation to elevated levels of total homocysteine (tHcy).Nested case-control study using prospectively collected blood samples.Participants in the Physicians' Health Study.14,916 male physicians, aged 40-84 years, with no prior MI or stroke provided plasma samples at baseline and were followed for 7.5 years. Samples from 333 men who subsequently developed MI, and their paired controls matched by age and smoking, were analyzed for folate and PLP levels.Acute MI or death due to coronary disease.In a model controlling for diabetes, angina, hypertension, Quetelet's index, and total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, men with the lowest 20% of folate levels (< 2.0 ng/mL) had a relative risk of 1.4 (95% confidence interval 0.9-2.3) compared with those in the top 80%. For the lowest 20% of vitamin B6 values, the relative risk was 1.5 (95% CI: 1...
Predictors of Ascertainment of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across Nine US Communities

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) prevalence estimates derived from a single data source under-identify children and provide a biased profile of case characteristics. We analyzed characteristics of 1,919 children with ASD identified by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Cases ascertained only at education sources were compared to those identified at health sources. 38 % were education-only. These were older at their earliest evaluation (54.5 vs. 42.0 months, p < 0.001) and earliest ASD diagnosis (62 vs. 53 months, p < 0.001). More lived in census blocks with lower adult education (p < 0.001). Lower educational attainment of adults in census blocks of residence of education-only cases suggests disparities in access to clinical services with the schools providing crucial services to many families.
Dynamic composable computing

In the last 10 years, personal computing has evolved from being primarily a desktop activity to a highly mobile one: the laptop computer, despite its large size and significant weight, has been the most popular mobile platform to date. While smart phones and MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) have made in-roads into general computing applications, their use is limited to a few key tasks (e.g., calendar, rolodex, mp3 player) that are suited to the small size of their keypad and screen. However, given ever increasing processing and storage capabilities, the potential of these devices far exceeds the computational needs of these applications, and a significant problem facing the mobile industry is how to give users access to a full personal computing experience [9] with the mobility afforded by a smart phone or MID.
The functional anatomy and evolution of the mammalian humero-ulnar articulation

Major stages in the structural and functional evolution of the mammalian humero-ulnar joint are described on the basis of paleontological and cineradiograhic evidence. In pelycosaurs (the earliest known fossil reptiles with mammalian affinities), the humerus projected laterad and more or less horizontally; locomotor movements were principally rotation about its proximodistal axis. Because the forearm moved in a plane perpendicular to this axis, the flexed elbow was subjected to substantial torque. The humero-ulnar joint consisted of two pairs of facets that engaged upon humeral rotation and was principally a stabilizing rather than a flexion-extension mechanism. Cynodonts (advanced mammal-like reptiles ancestral to mammals) possessed an ulnar condyle rather than a trochlea. A condylar humero-ulnar articulation, usually with a spiral configuration, was retained by early mammals and persists in slightly modified form among modern prototherians. The spiral joint allows the ulna to extend in a sagittal plane as the humerus rotates, adducts, and elevates. The primitive therian trochlea evolved by enlargement of the intercondylar groove separating the ulnar and radial condyles and by retention of part of the ulnar condyle mechanism. Cineradiography demonstrates the relationship of diverse types of mammalian humero-ulnar joints to limb posture and excursion characteristics.
Glutamatergic regulation prevents hippocampal-dependent age-related cognitive decline through dendritic spine clustering

The dementia of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) results primarily from degeneration of neurons that furnish glutamatergic corticocortical connections that subserve cognition. Although neuron death is minimal in the absence of AD, age-related cognitive decline does occur in animals as well as humans, and it decreases quality of life for elderly people. Age-related cognitive decline has been linked to synapse loss and/or alterations of synaptic proteins that impair function in regions such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. These synaptic alterations are likely reversible, such that maintenance of synaptic health in the face of aging is a critically important therapeutic goal. Here, we show that riluzole can protect against some of the synaptic alterations in hippocampus that are linked to age-related memory loss in rats. Riluzole increases glutamate uptake through glial transporters and is thought to decrease glutamate spillover to extrasynaptic NMDA receptors while increasing synaptic glutamatergic activity. Treated aged rats were protected against age-related cognitive decline displayed in nontreated aged animals. Memory performance correlated with density of thin spines on apical dendrites in CA1, although not with mushroom spines. Furthermore, riluzole-treated rats had an increase in clustering of thin spines that correlated with memory performance and was specific to the apical, but not the basilar, dendrites of CA1. Clustering of synaptic inputs is thought to allow nonlinear summation of synaptic strength. These findings further elucidate neuroplastic changes in glutamatergic circuits with aging and advance therapeutic development to prevent and treat age-related cognitive decline.
An Interpretive Approach to Meanings of Prices

Austrian economists have repeatedly argued that the price mechanism is not just an allocative, but also a communicative system: as a solution to the dispersed knowledge problem, prices convey meanings which serve as guideposts to economic action. The analysis of these meanings has been restricted to economic meanings such as profit opportunities and incentives, however. In this paper I show that prices also convey social and cultural meanings. This calls for an interpretive approach, which a younger generation of Austrian economists has advocated. To illustrate, I provide a thick description of price setting on the market for contemporary art. I show that collectors, art dealers, and artists communicate meaningfully via prices about issues such as the quality of artworks or the status hierarchies which structure the art world.