cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
N‐acetyl cysteine protects against injury in animal model of transient focal cerebral ischemia

Ischemic cerebrovascular disease (stroke) is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability worldwide (or developing countries). The purpose of this study is to investigate the therapeutic potential of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a precursor of glutathione, and a potent antioxidant, in tissue protection against transient focal cerebral ischemia model in rats. Our laboratory has already demonstrated the efficacy of NAC against induction of proinflammatory cytokines, iNOS, and production of NO in cultured cells. In this study, 250–300 g male Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to 45 min of reversible focal cerebral ischemia through middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. The protective effect of NAC is supported by reduced infarct volume as well as the suppression of TNF-α and iNOS in the treated animals. Pretreatment with NAC reduced the infarct size by 49.6% as compared to the saline treated group along with reducing the neurological evaluation score by more than 50%. Our results suggest that preadministration of NAC attenuates focal cerebral ischemia by protecting cells against free radical damage. Acknowledgements: Supported by NIH grants NS-40144, NS-40810, NS-22576, NS-34741 and NS-37766.
Is fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of multiple thyroid nodules justified?

Background: The clinical management of patients with solitary thyroid nodule is well established; however, the evaluation of patients with multiple thyroid nodules is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess if there is a correlation between the risk of malignancy and number of thyroid nodules. Design: The study cohort included 2884 patients (2410 females and 474 males) with 3274 thyroid nodules that underwent FNA under ultrasound guidance between November 1997 and April 2004. Multiple thyroid nodules were aspirated in 360 patients; 2 in 332 (291 females, 41 males), 3 nodules in 26 (23 females, 3 males), and 4 nodules in 2 patients (1 female, 1 male). Subsequent information regarding the histological diagnosis was obtained in the cases that underwent surgical excision. Results: The average age for patients with single or multiple nodules was the same (51 yr). The FNA specimens were diagnosed as benign (n=1663, 51%), neoplasm (n=880, 27%), suspicious for neoplasm or papillary carcinoma (n=234, 7%), malignant (n=187, 6%), and non-diagnostic (n=310, 9%). Surgical excision was performed in 1135 patients: 993 patients with single nodules and 142 patients with multiple nodules. The surgical pathology diagnosis was benign in 656 nodules (52%) and malignant in 596 nodules (48%). In the malignant category 153 tumors were papillary microcarcinoma (<1 cm). Excluding these cases, the malignancy rate was 39% in patients with single nodules, 41% with two nodules, and 21% with three nodules. Conclusions: The cancer risk is similar for patients with one or two nodules over 1 cm and decreases with three or more thyroid nodules.
Relation of Major Volcanic Center Concentration on Venus to Global Tectonic Patterns

Global analysis of Magellan image data indicates that a major concentration of volcanic centers covering about 40 percent of the surface of Venus occurs between the Beta, Atla, and Themis regions. Associated with this enhanced concentration are geological characteristics commonly interpreted as rifting and mantle upwelling. Interconnected low plains in an annulus around this concentration are characterized by crustal shortening and infrequent volcanic centers that may represent sites of mantle return flow and net downwelling. Together, these observations suggest the existence of relatively simple, large-scale patterns of mantle circulation similar to those associated with concentrations of intraplate volcanism on earth.
Profiling of MOCVD- and MBE-grown VCSEL wafers for WDM sources

We compare vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers grown by molecular beam epitaxial methods to those grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition methods as sources for wavelength-division multiplexing systems.
GEOPHAGY AMONG THE TIV OF NIGERIA1

ABSTRACT The practice of geophagy, widespread among tropical peoples, has apparently been hitherto unreported among the Tiv of Nigeria. The custom is often recorded simply as a component of a culture, but this study suggests that it has a nutritional role, and that it thus has an origin outside the culture itself. Geophagical clays generally are mined from the B soil horizon. Although used in making pottery and taken as an antidiarrhoetic, they are primarily eaten by Tiv women during the early months of pregnancy. Analysis of two samples reveals considerable amounts of calcium and magnesium. Since the Tiv live in an environment having calcium-deficient soils and are one of the nonmilk-drinking tribes of Africa, the practice of geophagy by pregnant women appears suitably adapted to local environmental conditions and tribal customs and, in the absence of other plausible explanations, it appears to have been derived from a specific, determinable cause: physiologic need.
A geometric approach to modeling microstructurally small fatigue crack formation: III. Development of a semi-empirical model for nucleation

It has been observed during fatigue cracking of AA 7075-T651 that a small percentage of Al7Cu2Fe particles crack during manufacturing or very early in their life. Some of the cracked particles eventually nucleate cracks into the surrounding microstructure, and among these the number of cycles required for nucleation varies widely. It is important to comprehend the mechanics underpinning the observed variation so that the subsequent propagation stage can be accurately modeled. To this end, finite element models of replicated grain and particle geometry are used to compute mechanical fields near monitored cracked particles using an elastic–viscoplastic crystal plasticity model that captures the effect of the orientation of the grains near each monitored particle. Nonlocal, slip-based metrics are used to study the localization and cyclic accumulation of slip near the cracked particles providing mechanics-based insight into the actuation of the nucleation event. A high slip localization and cyclic accumulation rate are found to be a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for nucleation from cracked particles. A sufficient local driving stress must also be present, which is strongly dependent on the local microstructure and accumulated slip. Furthermore, the simulation results elucidate a quantitative relationship between the slip accumulated during fatigue loading and a consequential reduction of the critical local driving stress for nucleation, providing a physical basis for the fatigue damage concept. The observed nucleation direction is orthogonal to the computed local maximum tangential stress direction, as expected for this alloy. The main result is a semi-empirical model for the number of cycles required for nucleation, which is dependent on the maximum tangential stress and cyclic slip-accumulation rate near a cracked particle.
Foster parents teaching foster parents: Communication and conflict resolution skills training

The purpose of the present study was to examine a model of foster parent training in which specific therapeutic parenting skills (communication and conflict resolution) were taught to foster parents by other previously trained foster parents. A comparison was made of how well these skills were learned under this condition as compared to when instructors were mental health professionals. Pre-to posttest measures revealed that foster parents who received training from either the professional or nonprofessional staff showed greater acquisition of these skills than did a comparison group of untrained foster parents, and that trained foster parents and professional staff did not differ substantially in their ability to transmit these skills.
Biophysics in Order: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Undergraduate Student Engagement in Research

There is a growing recognition among university educators that early exposure to research facilitates student engagement, reinforces learned material, and provides critical training that is otherwise not provided in a traditional class setting. Unfortunately, by the nature of graduate education, undergraduates are rarely afforded opportunities to formally interact with university researchers. The ORDER (On Recent Discoveries by Emory Researchers) program is taught by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers under the guidance of faculty and aims to provide an interdisciplinary, research-based course to undergraduate freshmen and upperclassmen. During the freshmen seminar course, students propose a research question and actively conduct experiments to address their hypotheses. The capstone of the course is a research report and formal presentation of their results, specifically intended for a broad audience. The course was adapted for upperclassmen to focus on students creating and presenting a research proposal which they can use to guide the transition after their baccalaureate education.Here, we discuss the integration of a single-molecule biophysics module into the ORDER curriculum taught in the 2012-2013 academic year at Emory University. “iSearch: Illuminating Identity” was a course designed by teacher-scholars from disciplines ranging from Neuroscience and Physics to Psychology and Spanish. Each teacher-scholar exposed undergraduate students to his/her specific research pursuits and mentored undergraduate students through the research process. The undergraduate students came from a broad assortment of academic programs offered at the university. Further, we present the layout of the course, the active methods used to engage students, the lessons learned from collaboratively teaching a research-based course, and the educational benefits for the teacher-scholars. In particular, we detail the single-molecule biophysics module and present pre- and post-survey results from students probing their interest and understanding of the biophysics research field.
Advances in systemic therapy of small cell cancer of the lung.

Over the last 20 years, progress in the therapy of small cell lung cancer has been painfully slow. Despite dramatic initial responses to chemotherapy, most patients relapse quickly with an overall 5-year survival of about 5%. Recent trials however offer some hope at changing this picture. Combining standard regimens with newer agents has doubled median survival in some cases. The use of novel targeted agents holds the promise of significantly increasing the survival in this disease, with manageable toxicity. This review outlines current treatment strategies, summarizes recent clinical trials and offers a view of what the next 5 years may hold for the treatment of small cell lung cancer .
Failure scenario as a service (FSaaS) for Hadoop clusters

As the use of cloud computing resources grows in academic research and industry, so does the likelihood of failures that catastrophically affect the applications being run on the cloud. For that reason, cloud service providers as well as cloud applications need to expect failures and shield their services accordingly. We propose a new model called Failure Scenario as a Service (FSaaS). FSaaS will be utilized across the cloud for testing the resilience of cloud applications. In an effort to provide both Hadoop service and application vendors with the means to test their applications against the risk of massive failure, we focus our efforts on the Hadoop platform. We have generated a series of failure scenarios for certain types of jobs. Customers will be able to choose specific scenarios based on their jobs to evaluate their systems.
Alterations in the estrogen environment of the testis contribute to declining sperm production in aging rats.

AbstractTesticular function, specifically, production of testosterone by Leydig cells, diminishes during aging. Estradiol is also produced by the testis and potentially acts in an autocrine or paracrine manner to help regulate spermatogenesis. However, changes in estradiol concentration or receptor expression within the testis during aging remain unclear. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the estrogen environment of the testis is altered during aging and that these changes are associated with declining sperm production. Sprague Dawley rats were examined at three, 15, 18, and 21 months of age to detail changes in sperm production and testicular concentration of testosterone and estradiol; five rats were used at three and 21 months and three rats were used at 15 and 18 months. Daily sperm production declined 49% from 15 to 21 months of age. Testicular concentrations of estradiol declined 53% from 15 to 21 months of age; testosterone concentrations were not significantly different. These re...
Studies in the etiology of extrahepatic biliary atresia: time-space clustering.

Thirty new cases of extrahepatic biliary atresia in the north Texas area between 1972 and 1980 were analyzed for evidence of time-space clustering. A preponderance of affected infants from rural counties ( P −7 ) and during the fall ( P
Stability of mRNA/Cationic Lipid Lipoplexes in Human and Rat Cerebrospinal Fluid: Methods and Evidence for Nonviral mRNA Gene Delivery to the Central Nervous System

Clinical applications of gene therapy require advances in gene delivery systems. Although numerous clinical trials are already underway, the ultimate success of gene therapies will depend on gene transfer vectors that facilitate the expression of a specific gene at therapeutic levels in the desired cell populations without eliciting cytotoxicity. In clinical applications for which transient expression is desirable, mRNA delivery is of particular interest. We have shown cationic lipid-mediated mRNA delivery to be feasible, efficient, and reproducible in vitro. mRNA delivery to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in vivo would provide a means of vector distribution throughout the central nervous system (CNS). This study examined the functional integrity and protection from degradation of mRNA/cationic complexes (lipoplexes) in human cerebrospinal fluid (hCSF) in vitro and expression of these lipoplexes in vivo. Results obtained from gel electrophoresis indicate that cationic lipids protect mRNA transcripts from RNases in hCSF for at least 4 hr. This is in contrast to the total disappearance of nonlipid-complexed mRNA in less than 5 min. We confirmed the importance of RNase activity by incubating mRNA transcripts encoding luciferase or green fluorescent protein (GFP) in hCSF to which RNase inhibitors had been added. After incubation, these solutions were used to transfect Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in vitro. Next, assays for both GFP and luciferase were used to demonstrate functional integrity and translation of the mRNA transcripts. Finally, we delivered in vitro transcribed mRNA vectors encoding for Hsp70 and luciferase to the lateral ventricle of the rat in a series of preliminary in vivo experiments. Initial immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrates that the distribution, uptake, and expression of reporter sequences using lipid-mediated mRNA vector delivery is extensive, as we earlier reported using similar methods with DNA vectors but that the expression may be less intense. Expression was noted in coronal sections throughout the rat brain, confirming the potential for lipid-mediated mRNA delivery to the CNS. These findings confirm that complexing mRNA with cationic lipid before exposure to CSF confers protection against RNase activity, facilitating distribution, cellular uptake, and expression of mRNA delivered into the CNS.
Accumulation of MVM gene products is differentially regulated by transcription initiation, RNA processing and protein stability

The accumulation and stability of minute virus of mice (MVMp) RNA and protein as well as comparative strengths of the two viral promoters have been analyzed in highly synchronous infections of murine A9 fibroblasts. Results indicate that there is a temporal phasing of the accumulation of MVM RNA and protein: the RNA products of the P4 promoter appear prior to the products of the P38 promoter and NS1 and NS2 appear prior to the capsid proteins. Total and cytoplasmic spliced RNA accumulate similarly, although there is a lag in cytoplasmic accumulation of about 2 hr. Total RNA contains abundant unspliced R1 and R3 which are confined to the nucleus. There is no detectable difference in the ratio of the various spliced versions of each RNA species throughout infection. R2 accumulates faster and in a greater amount than R1 in both total and cytoplasmic RNA even though they are generated from the same promoter. During this same period, however, NS1 and NS2 accumulate to similar levels during 1-hr pulses. The stabilities of all MVM RNA species produced at both 9 and 12 hr postrelease are equivalent. Late in infection R3 accumulates faster and in greater amounts than the combined products of the P4 promoter, by approximately two- to threefold. This increase can be accounted for by an increase in the frequency of initiation from the P38 promoter, relative to P4, as assayed by nuclear run-on experiments. Therefore, the steady-state levels of the individual viral proteins during infection is controlled by specific regulation at the level of the initiation of transcription, RNA processing, and protein stability.
Study of Flame Retardancy of Carbon Nanopaper Sheets in Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyester Composites

In recent years, more severe requirement of budget and safety from industrial fields, especially space exploration and defense field, demand a new class of materials whose characteristics can satisfy both various engineering requirement and strict safety standard. The latter demands materials to have good thermal properties and significantly improved fire retardant property. In this research, multifunctional materials with layered structures are made from polyester resin, glass fiber mats and carbon nanofibers (CNFs). CNFs are added to the resin component of the composite laminates as additives in pulverised form and carbon nanofiber paper sheets (CNFS), respectively. Their flammability behaviors are investigated with cone calorimeter under well-controlled combustion conditions. And their heat release rate and other test parameters are compared and discussed, such as ignition time, heat release rate (HRR), peak heat release rate (PHRR), and so on. Although its PHRR is sharply increased to higher level for CNFS enforced composite laminates, its HRR curve is lowered greatly in most flaming time. Therefore, the pre-incorporated CNFS may act as an excellent insulator and mass transport barrier, improving the flame retardant property.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Low-loss hollow-core silica/air photonic bandgap fibre

Photonic bandgap structures use the principle of interference to reflect radiation. Reflection from photonic bandgap structures has been demonstrated in one, two and three dimensions and various applications have been proposed1,2,3,4. Early work in hollow-core photonic bandgap fibre technology5 used a hexagonal structure surrounding the air core; this fibre was the first demonstration of light guided inside an air core of a photonic bandgap fibre. The potential benefits of guiding light in air derive from lower Rayleigh scattering, lower nonlinearity and lower transmission loss compared to conventional waveguides. In addition, these fibres offer a new platform for studying nonlinear optics in gases6. Owing largely to challenges in fabrication, the early air-core fibres were only available in short lengths, and so systematic studies of loss were not possible. More recently, longer lengths of fibre have become available7,8 with reported losses of 1,000 dB km-1. We report here the fabrication and characterization of long lengths of low attenuation photonic bandgap fibre. Attenuation of less than 30 dB km-1 over a wide transmission window is observed with minimum loss of 13 dB km-1 at 1,500 nm, measured on 100 m of fibre. Coupling between surface and core modes of the structure is identified as an important contributor to transmission loss in hollow-core photonic bandgap fibres.
On the tidal effects in the motion of artificial satellites

Trigonometrical expansion for calculation of tidal effects on motion of artificial satellites
New Anabaena and Nostoc cyanophages from sewage settling ponds

We have isolated, from sewage settling ponds, 16 cyanophages for heterocyst forming, filamentous cyanobacteria of the genera Anabaena and Nostoc. These phages fall into three groups based on morphology, host range, one-step growth curves, and restriction digests. On the basis of these criteria they can be distinguished from cyanophages A-1(L), A-4(L), N-1, and AN-10 which we received from other laboratories. Certain of the newly described phages are similar in morphology to the short-tailed LPP cyanophages, and others to the long-tailed AS cyanophages.
Measuring Validity of Reasoning Process for Transportation Planning Using Bayesian Inference and Dempster-Shafer Theory

When evaluating the validity of the reasoning process of a transportation plan, a reasoning map facilitates discourse. If the truth values are attached to the premise and each link of the map, the overall truth of the reasoning process can be measured. The map is useful to examine the sensitivity of the truth with respect to the changes in knowledge and opinions. In calculating the truth, Bayesian inference measures it in probability measure. Demspter-Shafer (D-S) theory measures it in Belief and Plausibility. This paper examines the differences between these two methods using an example that deals with selection of the mode of public transportation in a large commercial complex.
Time-domain holographic data storage

We describe a practical approach to 2D image storage in a coherent time-domain optical memory, which can be readily implemented with existing technologies. In this approach, images are stored spectroholographically in narrow (< 1 MHz) frequency channels of a time-domain storage material, with one image per channel. Advantages of this approach include fast single-frame recording time, variable playback speeds, random frame access, and the ability to perform in-memory image processing. Experimental results demonstrating high- resolution, high-fidelity, single-channel image storage with the use of a low-power, single- frequency ring laser are presented.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Considerations in establishing allowed cumulative outage times for components

Abstract The safety performance of operating nuclear power plants is strongly affected by the unavailability of safety systems designed to mitigate accident conditions. The unavailability of these safety systems during plant operation is controlled by plant technical specifications (TSs). At present, when the plant is operating, a safety component is permitted to be down for maintenance or repair only for a limited time specified by the plant TS and known as the allowable outage time (AOT). If the component is still down when the AOT limit is reached, then an action such as plant shutdown must be taken to rectify the situation. An alternative to a fixed AOT is to establish an allowed cumulative outage time for the component. In assigning an allowed cumulative outage time (ACOT) to a component for some operating time period, the component may undergo as many corrective maintenances and repairs as deemed necessary by plant personnel as long as the cumulative outage times does not exceed the ACOT. Implementation of an ACOT policy over present AOTs offers several flexibilities in managing component downtimes and controlling the associated safety impact. To evaluate the feasibility of establishing ACOTs as a potential regulatory alternative, the following issues need to be examined: (1) the capability of an ACOT process to control plant risk, (2) development of methods and approaches for selection of ACOT limits, (3) consideration of action statements that can be associated with an ACOT limit, and (4) implementation requirements of an ACOT as compared to an AOT. This paper provides a technical summary of an effort undertaken by Brookhaven National Laboratory to address the aforenoted issues under the auspices of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The paper identifies specific approaches for the determination of an ACOT limit and evaluates the potential benefits and potential problems for implementation of an ACOT system.
Neutron irradiation studies of avalanche photodiodes using californium-252

Abstract Californium-252 is a convenient and copious source of neutrons of energies around 1 MeV, and provides many advantages over reactors for neutron irradiation studies of detector components. We describe here an experimental setup at Oak Ridge National Laboratory which has been constructed to study the performance of avalanche photodiodes in neutron fluences up to 10 13 neutrons/cm 2 , similar to what is expected in parts of the CMS detector at the LHC. An irradiation study of some avalanche photodiodes is discussed, followed by a brief summary of results obtained.
Ceramide Biosynthesis Is Required for the Formation of the Oligomeric H+-ATPase Pma1p in the Yeast Endoplasmic Reticulum

The yeast plasma membrane H+-ATPase Pma1p is one of the most abundant proteins to traverse the secretory pathway. Newly synthesized Pma1p exits the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via COPII-coated vesicles bound for the Golgi. Unlike most secreted proteins, efficient incorporation of Pma1p into COPII vesicles requires the Sec24p homolog Lst1p, suggesting a unique role for Lst1p in ER export. Vesicles formed with mixed Sec24p-Lst1p coats are larger than those with Sec24p alone. Here, we examined the relationship between Pma1p biosynthesis and the requirement for this novel coat subunit. We show that Pma1p forms a large oligomeric complex of >1 MDa in the ER, which is packaged into COPII vesicles. Furthermore, oligomerization of Pma1p is linked to membrane lipid composition; Pma1p is rendered monomeric in cells depleted of ceramide, suggesting that association with lipid rafts may influence oligomerization. Surprisingly, monomeric Pma1p present in ceramide-deficient membranes can be exported from the ER in COPII vesicles in a reaction that is stimulated by Lst1p. We suggest that Lst1p directly conveys Pma1p into a COPII vesicle and that the larger size of mixed Sec24pLst1p COPII vesicles is not essential to the packaging of large oligomeric complexes.
Plant Growth Inhibitor from Abrus precatorius Seeds

None 2.5 i 0.3 1.5 i 0.2 0.3 i 0.1 0.6 i 0.2 Passed through Dowex-12.4 ? 0.6 1.7 ? 0.2 2.6 i 0.4 1.5 i 0.2 (H+) Dowex-12.4 ?t 0.6 1.5 i 0.2 0.4 i 0.2 0.5 i 0.2 (NH4+) Dowex-502.4 4 0.6 1.5 i 0.3 1.4 i 0.4 2.0 i 0.3 (OH-) Dowex-502.9 i 0.4 1.5 i 0.3 0.4 i 0.2 0.8 i 0.2 (acetate) of species. None of the compounds correspond to known growth or germination inhibitors. Extracts from jequirity bean embryos were prepared by soaking embryos in deionized water (1 embryo/ml) for 12 hr at 3 C. The imbibing medium which contains the inhibitor(s) was boiled to denature abrin, the protein which is toxic to
The value of redundant measurement in compressed sensing

The aim of compressed sensing is to recover attributes of sparse signals using very few measurements. Given an overall bit budget for quantization, this paper demonstrates that there is value to redundant measurement. The measurement matrices considered here are required to have the property that signal recovery is still possible even after dropping certain subsets of D measurements. It introduces the concept of a measurement matrix that is weakly democratic in the sense that the amount of information about the signal carried by each of the designated D-subsets is the same. Examples of deterministic measurement matrices that are weakly democratic are constructed by exponentiating codewords from the binary second order Reed Muller code. The value in rejecting D measurements that are on average larger, is to be able to provide a finer grid for vector quantization of the remaining measurements, even after discounting the original budget by the bits used to identify the reject set. Simulation results demonstrate that redundancy improves recovery SNR, sometimes by a wide margin. Optimum performance occurs when a significant fraction of measurements are rejected.
Propofol versus midazolam for monitored sedation: a comparison of intraoperative and recovery parameters.

Abstract Study Objective: To compare intraoperative and recovery parameters in patients who received either propofol infusion (PI), propofol bolus (PB), or midazolam bolus (MZ) for sedation. Design: Randomized clinical study. Setting: Medical/surgical patients in a specialized hospital. Patients: Ninety patients, aged 18 to 85 years, scheduled for central venous access for chemotherapy and/or total parenteral nutrition. Interventions: In 30 patients, sedation was induced with MZ 0.02 mg/kg intravenously (IV), repeated every 2 to 3 minutes to achieve a sedation level of 3 (eyes closed, responds to verbal stimulus) (SL3). Maintenance was with MZ 0.005 mg/kg IV, repeated as necessary to maintain SL3. In both propofol groups (30 patients each), induction of sedation was with a bolus of propofol 0.75 to 1.0 mg/kg IV. Maintenance in the PB group was with propofol 0.25 mg/kg IV, repeated as necessary to maintain SL3. Maintenance in the PI group was with propofol 2 to 4 mg/kg/hr or 33 to 66 μg/kg/min to maintain SL3. Measurements and Main Results: Blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and sedation level were monitored each minute for 5 minutes and then at 5-minute intervals during the procedure. A right atrial blood sample was taken for pH and partial pressure of carbon dioxide at maximum sedation. Adequate sedation was achieved in all three groups. The time to reach SL3 was significantly shorter in the PB group than in the PI and MZ groups ( p and p p p p vs . the PI group in time to standing). Psychomotor recovery, judged by digit symbol substitution tests, was significantly faster in the PB and PI groups ( p vs . the MZ group). Amnesia, measured by picture recall, was significantly greater in the MZ group than in the PI and PB groups ( p Conclusion: The PI, PB, and MZ groups all gave excellent sedation for patients undergoing surgical procedures with local anesthesia. Amnesia was greatest with midazolam, and recovery was more rapid with propofol.
The Growth of Tense Productivity.

Purpose This study tests empirical predictions of a maturational model for the growth of tense in children younger than 36 months using a type-based productivity measure. Method Caregiver–child lan...
Tuning the CuxO nanorod composition for efficient visible light induced photocatalysis

A facile, low cost, and convenient method to fabricate CuxO (x = 1, 2) nanorod (NR) arrays is demonstrated by thermally oxidizing Cu NRs fabricated by oblique angle deposition. The single phase Cu2O and CuO, and mixed phase Cu2O/CuO polycrystalline NRs can be tuned simply by varying the thermal oxidation temperature. These CuxO NRs exhibit excellent visible light photocatalytic activity for both cationic (methylene blue) and anionic (methyl orange) dye degradations. When used as a photocathode, they also show good photoelectrochemical performance, especially the mixed phase Cu2O/CuO NRs. The maximum stable photocurrent density is observed to be 0.24 mA cm−2 under a simulated solar light. Incident photon-to-current efficiencies are found to be 20% and 44% at incident light wavelengths λ = 500 nm and 400 nm, respectively. These results show that the CuxO NRs fabricated through the oxidation method can be a suitable candidate for efficient visible light active photocatalysts for energy applications as well as for wastewater treatment.
Cavity growth on a sliding grain boundary

Cavity growth on a sliding grain boundary to which a normal stress is applied is found to be faster than that on a stationary grain boundary. The morphology of the cavity contains an asymmetric crack-like tip which prompts surface diffusion locally when the sliding is dominant, and the growth rate becomes proportional to the third power of the normal stress independent of the sliding rate. Since the sliding rates of all grain boundaries are statistically comparable, only the normal stress dependence remains important. The conditions which favor the present mechanism are examined and shown to be in good agreement with the experimental evidence in creep cavitation.
Attacking latent HIV: towards eradication of HIV infection

Targeting latent infection within resting CD4+ T cells might lead to better control, and perhaps eradication of HIV infection. Histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) plays a central role maintaining HIV latency. HDAC inhibition augments HIV promoter and viral expression without global T cell activation or increased de novo HIV infection. We tested the ability of the HDAC inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) to deplete replication-competent HIV in vivo within the resting CD4+ T cell pool in stably aviremic, patients on standard combination antiretroviral therapy (ART). We intensified therapy by the addition of enfuvirtide (T-20) agent prior to VPA treatment. Four volunteers with plasma HIV RNA 46 months added T-20 for 4–6 weeks, and then VPA to their therapy for 3 additional months. The frequency of replication-competent HIV in resting CD4+ T cells was enumerated by limiting-dilution culture of maximally activated resting CD4+ T cells. Repeated assays within patients did not demonstrate a decline of resting cell infection on ART. A significant decline (mean reduction 75%; range 68% to >84%) occurred in three of four patients after treatment with T-20 and VPA. Initial data in ongoing studies of ART and VPA without intensification demonstrate depletion of latent infection in some patients. Laboratory studies of other HDAC inhibitors and of other mechanisms that contribute to persistent, quiescent proviral infection suggest that clinical strategies may eventually be developed that can induce expression and clearance of HIV, and avoid the need for lifelong ART in some patients.
Computational analysis of insect impingement patterns on wind turbine blades

Wind turbines experience significant power loss due to insect contamination on the blades. In order to estimate power losses, computational fluid dynamics software or empirical models are used to compute drag increases due to roughness-induced boundary-layer transition. These models require knowledge of the expected levels and location of insect contamination on the blade surface. This is generally unknown, making power loss predictions unreliable. The present study develops a computer simulation to predict this information and uses this tool to simulate insect impingement for a variety of turbine operating conditions. The simulation code combines an invsicid panel method with a Lagrangian insect particle simulation module to first solve for the turbine velocity field and then track insect paths through this field. The effects of blade thickness, angle of attack and insect size are studied for 2D airfoil sections. The simulations show that increasing blade thickness leads to a larger chordwise extent of insect impingement yet lower maximum levels of contamination. Increasing insect mass is also found to increase the chordwise extent of impingement. These results are consistent with previous wind tunnel results and theoretical predictions. The model is then applied to a representative 5-MW turbine model to determine spanwise variation in contamination. Results agree qualitatively with field observation, suggesting that this technique may be used in the future to more accurately predict power losses on turbines. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of substitutents of α-alkyl sidechains on furan-diazoester interactions

Abstract Reactions of various α-alkyl-substituted furans with ethyl diazoacetate or methyl diazopropionate in the presence of Rh2(OAc)4, followed by iodine-induced isomerization, yielded a variety of functionalized 1,3-diacyl-butadienes (furan ring-unravelled products). Though with furfural and 2-acetylfuran the reaction took place at the sidechain, with furfural acetal both the furan as well as acetal moities participated.
The effect of inguinal lymphatic manipulation on regional lymph flow patterns.

Abstract Purpose: Because of the proximity of the inguinal lymphatics and the femoral vessels, lymph vessel manipulation during inguinal dissection is unavoidable, and this project was undertaken to evaluate the consequences. Methods: Thirty-five greyhound dogs underwent popliteal lymph node dissection, cannulation with microvascular silastic tubing, and infusion of 2.5% Patent blue violet (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) (visual enhancement) and technetium 99m—labeled human serum albumin (HSA). Animals underwent inguinal exploration with no manipulation (group 1; n = 9), local lymphatic ligation (group 2; n = 11), or radical excision and ligation (group 3; n = 15) of the inguinal lymph vessels. Lymphatic flow was calculated by 99m Tc-HSA clearance (counts per minute) at the popliteal, inguinal, and iliac regions, before and after lymph vessel manipulation and was converted into percent change between the regions. Results: There was statistically reduced intralymphatic radioactivity in groups 2 and 3 compared with group 1 ( p Conclusions: This demonstrates that lymphatic flow in this experimental model is significantly reduced when major channels are identified and ligated, although radical obliteration does not reduce flow more significantly than local ligation, implying that there is an alternate pathway for lymph flow. (J VASC SURG 1993;17:896-901.)
Mechanisms of decreased expression of transforming growth factor-beta receptor type I at late stages of HPV16-mediated transformation.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling is disrupted in many cancers, including cervical cancer, leading to TGF-β resistance. Although initially sensitive, human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) immortalized human keratinocytes (HKc/HPV16) become increasingly resistant to the growth inhibitory effects of TGF-β during in vitro progression to a differentiation resistant phenotype (HKc/DR). We have previously shown that loss of TGF-β sensitivity in HKc/DR is attributed to decreased expression of TGF-β receptor type I (TGF-β RI), while the levels of TGF-β receptor type II (TGF-β RII) remain unchanged. The present study explored molecular mechanisms leading to reduced TGF-β RI expression in HKc/DR. Using TGF-β RI and TGF-β RII promoter reporter constructs, we determined that acute expression of the HPV16 oncogenes E6 and E7 decreased the promoter activity of TGF-β RI and TGF-β RII by about 50%. However, promoter activity of TGF-β RI is decreased to a greater extent than TGF-β RII as HKc/HPV16 progress to HKc/DR. Reduced TGF-β RI expression in HKc/DR was found not to be linked to mutations within the TGF-β RI promoter or to promoter methylation. Electrophoretic mobility shift and supershift assays using probes encompassing Sp1 binding sites in the TGF-β RI promoter found no changes between HKc/HPV16 and HKc/DR in binding of the transcription factors Sp1 or Sp3 to the probes. Also, Western blots determined that protein levels of Sp1 and Sp3 remain relatively unchanged between HKc/HPV16 and HKc/DR. Overall, these results demonstrate that mutations in or hypermethylation of the TGF-β RI promoter, along with altered levels of Sp1 or Sp3, are not responsible for the reduced expression of TGF-β RI we observe in HKc/DR. Rather the HPV16 oncogenes E6 and E7 themselves exhibit an inhibitory effect on TGF-β receptor promoter activity.
Towards realizing a low cost and highly available datacenter power infrastructure

Realizing highly available datacenter power infrastructure is an extremely expensive proposition with costs more than doubling as we move from three 9's (Tier-1) to six 9's (Tier-4) of availability. Existing approaches only consider the cost/availability trade-off for a restricted set of power infrastructure configurations, relying mainly on component redundancy. A number of additional knobs such as centralized vs. distributed component placement and power-feed interconnect topology also exist, whose impact has only been studied in limited forms. In this paper, we develop detailed datacenter availability models using Continuous-time Markov Chains and Reliability Block Diagrams to quantify the cost-availability trade-off offered by these power infrastructure knobs.
Flew and the Free Will Defence

In a recent paper Anthony Flew gives an argument which can be outlined as follows: 1. Any attempt to give a ‘free will defence’ (to rebut the argument from evil against God's existence) must be based either on a compatibilist notion of free will or a libertarian, incompatibilist, notion of free will. 2. A free will defence based on a compatibilist notion of free will must fail, for on a compatibilist view of free will, God could make creatures who were free but never chose evil. 3. A free will defence based on a libertarian notion of free will might have other difficulties, but on a libertarian view of free will God could not both leave men free and bring it about that they never chose evil. 4. But a free will defence based on an incompatibilist, libertarian notion of free will can be rejected, since: ( a ) It is not clear that the ordinary use of such key terms as ‘action’ and ‘choice’ carry any implications of libertarian free will. ( b ) If such terms did carry the implication of libertarian free will it becomes hard to see how anyone could be in a position to know that a choice had been made or an action performed. ( c ) The possession of libertarian free will by created beings seems to be incompatible with the essential theistic doctrine that all created beings are always utterly dependent on God as their sustaining cause. 5. Therefore the free will defence fails.
Salinity acclimation and free amino acid enrichment of copepod nauplii for first-feeding of larval marine fish

Abstract Live foods used in a marine fish hatchery must provide the nutrients needed for the rapidly developing larvae. Marine pelagic fish eggs can contain up to 50% of their total amino acid pool as free amino acids (FAA), of which most is used up shortly after the onset of exogenous feeding as a source of energy. Copepod nauplii are richer in FAA than many traditional foods given to marine fish larvae. However, copepod nauplii can be difficult to produce in mass quantities in the hatchery and are more readily available by capture from the wild. The process of capture and acclimation may impact the nutrient quality of such nauplii. This study describes the FAA profile of nauplii of Apocyclops panamensis collected from low salinity fertilized brackish-water ponds, the effects of acclimation from 6.6‰ to 30‰ seawater on the FAA profile, and the feasibility of direct enrichment of nauplii with isoleucine, leucine, lysine and valine. Nauplii were exposed to four treatment protocols over a 3 h period and sampled for FAA profiles, 1) no salinity change, 2) direct transfer to 30‰, 3) acclimated to 30‰, and 4) acclimated + FAA enrichment. Nauplii collected from 6.6‰ salinity ponds had a mean total FAA content of 27.22 ± 5.85 nmol · mg −1 w.w. nauplii at the time of collection. Forty-two percent of the total was comprised of essential amino acids of which arginine, lysine, leucine and valine were the most prevalent, and 55% were non-essential amino acids, primarily glutamic acid, alanine, proline, asparagine and glycine. A direct transfer of nauplii from a salinity of 6.6‰ to 30‰ resulted in a significant reduction in total FAA (TFAA) particularly in essential FAA (EAA). Acclimation of nauplii from a salinity of 6.6‰ to 30‰ over 3 h resulted in a significant increase in TFAA and particularly in non-essential FAA (NEAA). The addition of isoleucine, leucine, lysine and valine to the holding water during acclimation further increased their concentrations in the nauplii after a 3 h exposure.
Rough surface wavelength measurement through self mixing of Doppler microwave backscatter

A microwave backscatter technique is presented that has the ability to sense the dominant surface wavelength of a random rough surface. The purpose of this technique is to perform this measurement from an aircraft or spacecraft, wherein the horizontal velocity of the radar is an important parameter of the measurement system. Attention will be directed at water surface conditions for which a dominant wavelength can be defined, then the spatial variations of reflectivity will have a two dimensional spectrum that is sufficiently close to that of waves to be useful. The measurement concept is based on the relative motion between the water waves and a nadir looking radar, and the fact that while the instantaneous Doppler frequency at the receiver returned by any elementary group of scatterers on a water wave is monotonically changing, the difference in the Doppler frequency between any two scattering "patches" stays approximately constant as these waves travel parallel to the major axis of an elliptical antenna footprint. The results of a theoretical analysis and a laboratory experiment with a continuous wave (CW) radar that encompasses several of the largest waves in the illuminated area show how the structure in the Doppler spectrum of the backscattered signal is related to the surface spectrum and its parameters in an especially direct and simple way when an incoherent envelope detector is the receiver.
Introduction: The Use of Policing Indicators in the Developing World

This introduction, to the following set of four papers, discusses the origins of performance indicators as used as a tool to promote police accountability. It discusses different ways of conceptual...
Tomobronchography:A Study In Comparative Sectional Roentgenology

SUMMARY In this study five cases are presented, introducing a diagnostic technique–“tomo-bronchography”. An attempt is made to illustrate that additional data may be provided. Other diagnostic possibilities of the application of the principle are mentioned, such as in angiocardiography.
Use of Alternative Therapists Among People in Care for HIV in the United States

Objectives. This study examined the influence of sociodemographic, clinical, and attitudinal variables on the use of alternative therapists by people in care for HIV. Methods. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of baseline data from the nationally representative HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study were conducted. Results. Overall, 15.4% had used an alternative therapist, and among users, 53.9% had fewer than 5 visits in the past 6 months. Use was higher for people who were gay/ lesbian, had incomes above $40000, lived in the Northeast and West, were depressed, and wanted more information about and more decisionmaking involvement in their care. Among users, number of visits was associated with age, education, sexual orientation, insurance status, and CD4 count. Conclusions. Among people receiving medical care for HIV, use of complementary care provided by alternative therapists is associated with several sociodemographic, clinical, and attitudinal variables. Evaluation of the coordination of provider-based alternative and standard medical care is needed. (Am J Public Health. 2003;93:980‐987) health problems in relation to CAM use, although many studies have concluded that people infected with HIV use CAM to promote emotional well-being. Available evidence suggests no association between depressive symptoms and CAM use among people infected with HIV 16,21 ; however, in 1 study, users of CAM providers (as opposed to users of self-prescribed herbal, mineral, and vitamin supplements) were particularly likely to say that they used CAM to relieve stress and depression. 9
Applications of the white light speckle method to interior displacement measurement

AbstractThe white light speckle method is used to obtain the interior displacement at different planes of a block with a central idented load, and of a prismatic bar of square cross section under torsion. The problem of decorrelation of speckles due to tilt is not encountered in this method, resulting in reasonable fringe patterns, and good agreement between the displacements obtained with this method and that predicted by the theory of elasticity is found.