cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Economic reform: Political environment and the efficacy of economic conditionalities

This paper presents a public choice model that consists of a special interest group that benefits from distortionary economic policies, the general public who suffers from such policies, and a government that implements these policies. The paper examines how these actors respond to externally imposed conditions that force the government either to implement economic reforms or face the loss of outside assistance. Depending on the domestic political environment, the imposition of economic conditionalities may prove effective, unnecessary, or even counterproductive.
Wenckebach atrioventricular block (Mobitz type I) in children and adolescents

Abstract Mobitz type I atrioventricular block in children, adolescents and young adults without overt heart disease or drug intoxication has been considered less significant than Mobitz type II block. In highly trained athletes and some nonathletes it has been presumed to be a benign manifestation of heightened vagal tone. Experience with 16 young patients, 6 female and 10 male, tends to alter the concept of benignity. Known onset of Wenckebach and varying first degree block was between 6 months and 17 years of age. Of eight patients followed up for 5 to 18 years, five have fixed complete heart block and three first degree block. Of eight followed up for 1 to 4 years, two have fixed complete heart block and the others varying first, second and third degree block. Two have required a pacemaker implant. On intracardiac electrography performed in seven patients, four manifested during sinus rhythm a Wenckebach response to atrial pacing at abnormally slow rates; in addition, the His bundle electrograms showed A-H delay in one patient, H-V delay in two patients and delay in both intervals in one patient. Of three patients studied during complete heart block all manifested A-H block and one also H-V prolongation. The occurrence of Wenckebach block in 7 of 16 children and adolescents before the development of fixed complete heart block suggests that such block is probably more common than heretofore recognized and may be a phase in the natural history of the development of idiopathic heart block. It often represents significant disease of the cardiac conduction system, which may be progressive, and it has a guarded prognosis.
HUMORAL IMMUNE RESPONSE TO HEPATITIS B VACCINE IN HIV SERONEGATIVE CHILDREN WITH HEMOPHILIA A AND B. † 948

In order to determine the frequency and timing of the loss of detectable antibody response to hepatitis B in children with hemophilia A and B following 1° immunization with hepatitis B vaccine, we conducted a retrospective study of patients with hemophilia followed regularly at Children's Hospital of Michigan comprehensive hemophilia center. Of 98 patients (pts) with hemophilia A (69 pts) and hemophilia B (29 pts), 16 pts (16%) acquired their antibody against hepatitis Bs antigen (HBsAg) following a natural infection. The remaining 82 pts (84%) received a complete 1° immunization series against hepatitis B with either the plasma derived or the recombinant vaccines. 80 of 82 became immunized following the 1° immunization series. 70 of 80 pts(87.5%) who became immune maintained detectable levels of antibody against HBV 1-14 years (median 5 yrs) following the complete 1° immunization series. 10/80 pts (12%) lost detectable antibody response to HBsAg 2-8 yrs (median 4 yrs), after having established humoral immune response. 2/82 pts (2.4%) never acquired detectable antibody against HBsAg following a complete 1° immunization series. All vaccines were administered into the anterolateral thigh muscle. Therefore, 12/82 pts (15%) either lost their acquired detectable antibody response or never seroconverted after the completion of the 1° immunization series as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of these 12 pts, only 1 pt is HIV positive and 6 pts are seropositive for hepatitis C antibody. 10/12 pts have been re-immunized and 6 of the 10 have shown positive antibody response to the booster vaccines. All pts who seroconverted following a natural infection maintained a detectable antibody response to HBsAg. Since HBs antibody levels fall over a period of time following immunization, sometimes to undetectable levels in pts with hemophilia, and since pts with hemophilia still remain at increased risk of acquiring hepatitis B infection, periodic screening of antibody titer against HBsAg should be part of the routine laboratory follow-up of pts with hemophilia, even after completion of 1° immunization series. Booster doses should then be given when appropriate.
Direct Imaging of Dislocation Core Structures by Z-Contrast STEM

The development of Z-contrast imaging in the scanning transmission electron microscope has enabled dislocation core structures to be visualized with increasing detail. In single-component systems, core structures have been generally found to be as expected from simple considerations or theoretical predictions. In more complex structures, however, cores are generally seen to take on configurations that were not previously anticipated, utilizing reconstructions or non-stoichiometry to lower the elastic strain field. We present an overview of these developments in a variety of materials. In suitable circumstances, impurity segregation sites have been directly imaged at dislocation cores. More generally, electron energy loss spectroscopy gives detailed, atomic-resolution information on stoichiometry and impurity concentrations. These additional variables introduce additional degrees of freedom into the whole issue of structure/property relationships. We show examples of an impurity-induced core structure tran...
Physical and mental health effects of family caregiving.

The associations between physical and psychological health and being an informal caregiver are well established.1,7 In this article, caregiving denotes care that is provided by a family member or friend rather than by a professional who is reimbursed for services. Clinical observation and early empirical research showed that assuming a caregiving role can be stressful and burdensome.8,9 Caregiving has all the features of a chronic stress experience: It creates physical and psychological strain over extended periods of time, is accompanied by high levels of unpredictability and uncontrollability, has the capacity to create secondary stress in multiple life domains such as work and family relationships, and frequently requires high levels of vigilance. Caregiving fits the formula for chronic stress so well that it is used as a model for studying the health effects of chronic stress.2 Caregivers are a critical national health care resource. Families often are a primary source of home care and support for older relatives, contributing services that would cost hundreds of billions of dollars annually if they had to be purchased.10,12 Nurses’ role in home health care has expanded from being primary caregivers to teaching and assisting family members to provide care. Similarly, social workers now play a critical role in providing advice and support to caregivers. Evidence on the health effects of caregiving gathered over the last two decades has helped convince policymakers that caregiving is a major public health issue. Professional advocacy group, including nurses and social workers, have been instrumental in raising awareness about this issue.
Mineralized spherules in the cells and matrix of calcifying cartilage from developing bone

Fresh tibias and occipital bones from newborn mice and rats, as well as from 18-day-old mouse and chick embryos, were stained with 10% GBHA and 5% AgNO3 solutions to localize calcium and phosphate or carbonates in sphenules within the cytoplasm of chondrocytes and in the matrix of the calcifying cartilages. The mineralized spherules in the matrix adjacent to the hypertrophied chondrocytes were approximately 0.5 to 1 μ in diameter. This was comparable in size to the spherules found within the cytoplasm of the chondrocytes. The spherules within the core of the spicules distal to the hypertrophied chondrocytes were about 2–3 μ in diameter. The larger spherules were shown to contain an organic core which stained metachromatically with toluidine blue and was also stained with aldehyde fuchsin. The spherules were not visible after PAS reactions due to the intense staining. The labile GBHA and silver acetate positive spherules localized in the chondrocytes may be the source of the extracellular mineralized spherules.
Tagging of small animals with radioisotopes for tracking purposes: a literature review.

Abstract A review of the literature (36 references) shows that minute radioisotope sources attached externally to or inserted subcutaneously in small animals may be used for tracking purposes.
Collapse and fragmentation of molecular cloud cores. 2: Collapse induced by stellar shock waves

The standard scenario for low-mass star formation involves 'inside-out' collapse of a dense molecular cloud core following loss of magnetic field support through ambipolar diffusion. However, isotopic anomalies in presolar grains and meteoritical inclusions imply that the collapse of the presolar cloud may have been triggered by a stellar shock wave. This paper explores 'outside-in' collapse, that is, protostellar collapse initiated directly by the compression of quiescent dense cloud cores impacted by relatively slow stellar shock waves. A second-order accurate, gravitational hydrodynamics code has been used to study both the spherically symmetrical and three-dimensional evolution of initially centrally condensed, isothermal, self-gravitating, solar-mass cloud cores that are struck by stellar shock waves with velocities up to 25 km/s and postshock temperatures of 10 to 10,000 K. The models show that such mild shock waves do not completely shred and destroy the cloud, and that the dynamical ram pressure can compress the cloud to the verge of self-gravitational collapse. However, compression caused by a high postshock temperature is a considerably more effective means of inducing collapse. Shock-induced collapse produces high initial mass accretion rates (greater than 10(exp -4) solar mass/yr in a solar-mass cloud) that decline rapidly to much lower values, depending on the presence (approximately 10(exp -6) solar mass/yr) or absence (approximately 10(exp -8) to 10(exp -7) solar mass/yr) of an infinite reservoir of mass. Stellar mass accretion rates approximately 10(exp -7) solar mass/yr have been previously inferred from the luminosities of T Tauri stars; balanced mass accretion (stellar rate = envelope rate) at approximately 10(exp -7) solar mass/yr could then be possible if accretion occurs from a finite mass reservoir. Fluid tracers are used to determine what fraction of the stellar shock material is incorporated into the resulting protostellar object and disk; roughly half the impinging material is injected into the collapsing cloud core when there is a high postshock temperature. The models are consistent with a scenario where an AGB star wind triggered the collapse of the presolar cloud while injecting about 0.01 solar mass of matter derived from the AGB star envelope, as has been separately inferred on the basis of nucleosynthesis calculations.
Zeros of certain Drinfeld modular functions

For every positive integer m, there is a unique Drinfeld modular function, holomorphic on the Drinfeld upper-half plane, jm(z) with the following t-expansion jm(z)=1tm(q−1)+∑i=1∞cm(i)ti(q−1). These functions are analogs of certain modular functions from the classical theory that have many fascinating properties. For example, they are used to prove the famous denominator formula for the Monster Lie algebra. Here we prove that (as in the classical case) the zeros of jm(z) in the fundamental domain F of the Drinfeld upper-half plane Ω for Γ:=GL2(Fq[T]) F:={z∈Ω:|z|=inf{|z−a|:a∈Fq[T]}⩾1}, are on the unit circle |z|=1. Moreover, if q is odd, the zeros are transcendental over Fq(T).
Statistical analysis of micro-luminescence maps of implanted optical centers in diamond

We report on an approach to determine the number of optical emitters based on establishing the proper relationship between the statistics of implanted ions and the signal from optical centers (e.g. photoluminescence) collected at different points in the sample. Knowing the number of implanted ions, one can estimate the probability for an ion to create an optical center—the conversion efficiency. The micro-luminescence mapping and statistical analyses were performed on a model Xe optical center in diamond and the conversion efficiency was estimated to be about 30%.
Earthworm populations and species distributions under no-till and conventional tillage in Indiana and Illinois

Earthworms often play an important role in maintaining or improving soil physical conditions, and earthworm populations often increase under reduced tillage systems. The objective of our study was to determine earthworm populations and species distributions under long-term no-till vs conventional tillage on a variety of soil types in the states of Indiana and Illinois, U.S.A. Fourteen paired sites were located on farmers' fields. Each paired site consisted of a no-till and conventional tillage field on the same soil type, located as close together as possible. Fields were in corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max) rotation, and earthworm counts were made in the spring following a soybean crop. Populations of shallow-dwelling earthworms (endogees) ranged from 2 to 343 earthworms per m−2. Of the 14 paired sites, eight sites had higher earthworm populations in no-till than conventional, four sites had roughly equal populations in both systems, and two sites had slightly lower populations in no-till than conventional. At most sites, shallow-dwelling species were dominated by Apporectodea tuberculata and A. trapezoides. Some of the sites also had significant populations of Lumbricus rubellus. The presence or absence of significant L. terrestris populations was noted by observing middens. Nine no-till and three conventional sites showed significant activity of L. terrestris. Implications for tillage management and the need for additional applied research are discussed.
Human pancreatic proteins: Amylase, proelastase, and trypsinogen

Abstract Alpha-amylase exists in human pancreatic juice in multiple molecular forms. Up to six isoenzymes have been demonstrated by polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis and starch-digestion zymograms. Five of the isoenzymes account for most of the amylase present, but analysis of higher amylase loads reveals the sixth form. The isoenzymes are not artefacts due to proteolysis nor to photocatalyzed polymerization of sample gels prior to electrophoresis. Comparison of the isoenzymes of human pancreatic amylase with those of human parotid amylase on polyacrylamide disc gels shows no common bands. Both human amylases are retarded on columns of Bio-Gel P-150 beyond the elution volume expected for molecules of their reported sizes, the pancreatic enzyme being held slightly longer than the parotid enzyme. Proelastase has been demonstrated among the more basic proteins. The proelastase is activated by bovine trypsin to a specific enzymatic activity approximately onesixth that of crystalline porcine elastase. A pro-ATEEase is closely associated with the proelastase fraction. A human trypsinogen was isolated from the anionic protein fraction. It can be activated by bovine trypsin, porcine enterokinase, or spontaneously during prolonged incubations. The specific enzymatic activity of the human trypsin studied is lower than that of the bovine enzyme.
DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING FOR PROCESS OPTIMIZATION 1. AN ALGORITHM FOR DESIGN OF MULTI‐STAGE GRAIN DRYERS

A dynamic programming algorithm for determining the optimum operational parameters and size of a multi-stage concurrent flow dryer with intermediate tempering stages was developed. The objective function was based on energy and capital costs. The operational parameters were constrained by the desired final moisture content and the maximum allowable value of important grain quality factors. The two- and three-stage concurrent flow dryers have a higher investment cost than the single stage unit, but were less expensive to operate due to the decreased grainflow rate in the single-stage unit. On the basis of operating cost, the multi-stage concurrent flow dryer was preferable to a comparable crossflow dryer for drying corn.
Teaching Islam – Edited by Brannon M. Wheeler

Books reviewed: Teaching Islam. Edited by Brannon M. Wheeler. American Academy of Religion Teaching Religious Studies Series. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. ix + 226 pages. ISBN 0-19-515225-5. $24.95.
Morphological differentiation between the larval forms of two cryptic species of dusky salamander (Desmognathus)

Desmognathus quadramaculatus and D. folkertsi are cryptic salamander species that occur sympatrically across the entire range of the latter species. However, the larval form of D. folkertsi has never been formally described, and studies of salamander larval communities within its range require the ability to distinguish it from its cryptic relative. We conducted morphometric analyses in order to compare the larval forms of these two species living in allopatry and searched for characters that may be useful in distinguishing them in the field. Larvae of D. quadramaculatus had a larger average body size than D. folkertsi, and larger specimens of the former species had redder tail fins. MANCOVA indicated significant differences in a suite of 22 morphological characters between the two species. Additional principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant function analysis (DFA) indicated strong separation of factor and discriminant scores, respectively. Besides body size and tail-fin color, the best potential field character appears to be the forelimb length (FLL)/snout-vent length (SVL) ratio with larvae of D. quadramaculatus having a ratio above 0.2 and those of D. folkertsi having a lower ratio. However, these differences need to be confirmed in sympatry before they can be completely relied upon as useful field characters.
Ethanol consumption reduces the adverse consequences of self-administered intravenous cocaine in rats

Human drug users report that the initial positive effects of cocaine are followed by a dysphoric state characterized by anxiety and drug-craving. As a means of presumably attenuating these negative aftereffects, 50–90% of cocaine users choose to co-administer ethanol during cocaine binges. This co-administration reportedly prolongs the “high” and diminishes the “low” associated with cocaine use. The current study was intended to assess whether this phenomenon could be modeled in the animal laboratory. We have previously shown that animals running a straight alley for an intravenous cocaine reward develop a unique approach-avoidance “conflict” behavior that is characterized by stop and retreat behaviors as the subjects approach the goal box. The retreats are thought to reflect the concurrent positive (reward) and negative (anxiety) associations with the goal box and can be dose-dependently reduced by pretreatment with diazepam, which presumably attenuates the anxiety stemming from the conflict. To test the role of ethanol in reducing cocaine-induced anxiety, rats were trained to run a straight-arm alley for a single daily injection of cocaine (1.0 mg/kg IV). Rats that had the opportunity to then drink either an 8% or a 4% sucrose–ethanol solution immediately following their daily runway trial came to exhibit fewer retreats than rats that did not drink ethanol following their cocaine injection. These results suggest that ethanol effectively reduces the development of approach-avoidance conflict in animals running an alley for IV cocaine, a result that may account for the prevalence of cocaine–ethanol co-administration in humans.
Cross-Layer Design of MANETs: The Only Option

The current Internet protocol (IP) architecture model for mobile ad hoc network (MANET) routing protocol development ignores cross-layer effects by seeking to emulate as closely as possible the wireline architecture. Nevertheless, cross-layer effects are unavoidable and it is actually desirable to exploit these interactions to achieve greater performance. Further, support for cross-layer information flow is necessary for many of the applications envisioned for MANETs. We review the purpose of the IP architecture and argue that the MANET architecture model is not only unsuitable for exploiting cross-layer effects it also violates the very intent of the IP architecture. By focusing the standardization effort on making routing solutions and placing them at the point of integration, just above IP in the protocol stack, it effectively stifles the IP development goals of supporting local subnetwork optimization and long term innovation. We review issues of cross-layer design and then propose an alternative standardization effort that would preserve the opportunity for innovation while ensuring the integration of MANET subnetworks into larger integrated heterogeneous IP networks. Our proposal places MANET into its own subnetworking layer and then divides standardization into four parts: the interface to the MANET subnetwork, a heterogeneous routing protocol, mechanisms for cross-layer information flow, and a combined logical and spatially hierarchical addressing scheme. We identify several more radical MANET design proposals that depart substantially from the current model. All could be integrated into a larger heterogeneous IP network using our protocol approach
Low temperature microwave surface resistance of Y1Ba2Cu3Oy and La1.85Sr0.15CuO4

Abstract Measurements of the microwave surface resistance R δ at 9.58 GHz of polycrystalline Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O y and La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 over a wide range in temperature from 4.2 K to 100 K are reported. The temperature dependence of these materials are anomalous, over the entire temperature range, though very similar. R δ is large at all temperatures, gradually decreasing by about 2 orders of magnitude from T c to 4.2 K. The lowest values measured were R δ (4.2 K ) = 4.89×10 −3 Ω for Y 1 Ba 2 Cu 3 O y and 1.13×10 −2 Ω for La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 . Analysis of R δ for an exponential temperature dependence at low temperatures does not indicate a clear and unique quasiparticle gap. We suggest that the highly anisotropic granularity of these materials may contribute strongly to the absorption mechanism.
Bone resorption stimulated by elevated serum 1,25-(OH)2-vitamin D concentrations in healthy men

We evaluated whether calcitriol administration to healthy men stimulates bone resorption. We compared serum 1,25-(OH)2-D concentrations, Ca and PO4 balances, and urinary hydroxyproline excretion rates in four healthy men adapted to a low Ca diet providing only 4.0 +/- 0.2 SD mmoles Ca/day to those in four healthy men eating a comparable diet (4.2 +/- 0.9 mmoles Ca/day) during the chronic oral administration of calcitriol, 0.75 micrograms every 6 hr. Serum 1,25-(OH)2-D levels averaged 94 +/- 16 pM during the control studies and 209 +/- 35 pM during calcitriol administration. Net intestinal Ca absorption averaged 0.5 +/- 0.3 mmoles/day during control and 1.8 +/- 0.5 mmoles/day during calcitriol (P less than 0.005), but urinary Ca excretion averaged 8.7 +/- 2.0 mmoles/day during calcitriol as compared to 2.9 +/- 1.4 mmoles/day during control (P less than 0.005). Thus, mean Ca balance, which averaged -2.4 +/- 1.2 mmoles/day during control, was more negative during calcitriol at -6.3 +/- 2.4 mmoles/day (P less than 0.05). Average daily PO4 balances averaged +7.7 +/- 1.5 mmoles/day during control but only tended to be negative during calcitriol at -1.1 +/- 5.4 mmoles/day, (NS). Urinary hydroxyproline excretion averaged 0.26 +/- 0.03 mmoles/day during control and 0.49 +/- 0.06 during calcitriol (P less than 0.001). We conclude that elevated serum 1,25-(OH)2-D concentrations in healthy men eating low Ca diets stimulate bone resorption.
Determination of Diodrast in Whole Blood.

ConclusionAlpert's method for the determination of D in plasma may be applied to the determination of D in whole blood of dogs by the use of a simple correction factor based on the hematocrit determination of cell volume.
“Being Wrong and Being Right: A Response to Larry Rasmussen and Robin Lovin”

Larry Rasmussen and Robin Lovin have offered compelling perspectives on Reinhold Niebuhr's legacy, asking whether he was wrong or right on the economy, and whether Stanley Hauerwas's analysis of Niebuhr's work is wrong or right. In this reply, Scott Paeth argues that Niebuhr was a complex theological thinker and social critic, and is best understood as a "pragmatic idealist" who was willing to change strategies in response to changing circumstances. He was also quintessentially a public theologian who, contrary to the arguments of Stanley Hauerwas, was a vociferous critic of his social context rather than an assimilated spokesperson for it. Finally, Paeth offers some suggestions about what Reinhold Niebuhr's legacy might mean in light of the American election of 2004.
The Impact of Integrated Electronics in Medicine

There are two salient points which convey the essence of the impact of integrated electronics in medicine. First, the quality and availability of health care are becoming increasingly dependent on radically new diagnostic, monitoring, and prosthetic instruments provided by electronics. Second, many of these new instruments, such as ultrasonic imaging systems, blood flowmeters, and artificial inner ears, impose very stringent performance requirements, which can be met only through innovative application of integrated electronics. In summary, the initial impact of integrated electronics on health care is now visible, and consequently it is apparent that we are beginning a new era of revolutionary advances in medical instrumentation. Health care may indeed present the most promising opportunity to improve the quality of life in our society through electronics.
Taste Perception, Race, and Ethnicity: A Novel Link to Differences in Cardiometabolic Risk?

The search for biological attributes that contribute to the obesity epidemic in the United States that disproportionately affects racial and ethnic groups is of great public health importance. The understanding of taste perception, its influence on eating behavior, and its contribution to obesity and obesity-related disease has increased with research in taste physiology and genetics. Additionally, newer methods for psychophysical assessments of taste perception and preference allow for valid comparisons across groups. Emerging evidence of ethnic differences in sensory taste experiences provide the basis for future studies to explore the mechanisms by which taste may contribute to existing health disparities and differences in cardiometabolic risk.
Modeling of AA5083 Material-Microstructure Evolution During Butt Friction-Stir Welding

A concise yet a fairly comprehensive overview of the friction stir welding (FSW) process is provided. This is followed by a computational investigation in which FSW behavior of a prototypical solution-strengthened and strain-hardened aluminum alloy, AA5083-H131, is modeled using a fully coupled thermo-mechanical finite-element procedure developed in our prior study. Particular attention is given to proper modeling of the welding work-piece material behavior during the FSW process. Specifically, competition and interactions between plastic-deformation and dynamic-recrystallization processes are considered to properly account for the material-microstructure evolution in the weld nugget zone. The results showed that with proper modeling of the material behavior under high-temperature/severe-plastic-deformation conditions, significantly improved agreement can be attained between the computed and measured post-FSW residual-stress and material-strength distribution results.
Fanconi anemia proteins FANCD2 and FANCI exhibit different DNA damage responses during S-phase

Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway members, FANCD2 and FANCI, contribute to the repair of replication-stalling DNA lesions. FA pathway activation relies on phosphorylation of FANCI by the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase, followed by monoubiquitination of FANCD2 and FANCI by the FA core complex. FANCD2 and FANCI are thought to form a functional heterodimer during DNA repair, but it is unclear how dimer formation is regulated or what the functions of the FANCD2–FANCI complex versus the monomeric proteins are. We show that the FANCD2–FANCI complex forms independently of ATR and FA core complex, and represents the inactive form of both proteins. DNA damage-induced FA pathway activation triggers dissociation of FANCD2 from FANCI. Dissociation coincides with FANCD2 monoubiquitination, which significantly precedes monoubiquitination of FANCI; moreover, monoubiquitination responses of FANCD2 and FANCI exhibit distinct DNA substrate specificities. A phosphodead FANCI mutant fails to dissociate from FANCD2, whereas phosphomimetic FANCI cannot interact with FANCD2, indicating that FANCI phosphorylation is the molecular trigger for FANCD2–FANCI dissociation. Following dissociation, FANCD2 binds replicating chromatin prior to—and independently of—FANCI. Moreover, the concentration of chromatin-bound FANCD2 exceeds that of FANCI throughout replication. Our results suggest that FANCD2 and FANCI function separately at consecutive steps during DNA repair in S-phase.
Experimental patch grafts of the canine inferior vena cava

Summary o 1. Twenty-nine dogs were subjected to patch grafts of the inferior vena cava employing patches of woven Teflon or fresh autogenous vein. 2. The most striking difference between the two groups was that the autogenous patches healed with much less scarring and narrowing of the lumen than did the Teflon patches. At three weeks, 8 of 9 autogenous vein patches had healed with little or no narrowing of the lumen, whereas the same was true of only 2 of 15 of the Teflon patches.
The complete blood cell count: a powerful diagnostic tool

In conclusion, the CBC can be a powerful diagnostic tool. Appropriate evaluation of all aspects of the CBC can lead to a specific diagnosis or assist in ruling out many diseases. To gain the full benefit of the CBC, it must be used in conjunction with a good history and physical examination as well as with additional components of the minimum database, which include a chemistry panel and urinalysis.
Intention of inactive registered nurses to return to nursing.

A mail survey of inactive registered nurses who indicated they were either not employed or employed in a nonnursing field was conducted in the state of Alabama. Results of a multiple regression prediction model indicate their intention to return to nursing is affected by career satisfaction/commitment, demographic, and work history variables. The primary reasons for leaving the nursing field were more personal (i.e., pregnancy/child rearing) than professional. However, professional factors predominated when all the reasons for leaving or returning to the field were identified. Implications for management and policy are discussed.
Cancer, autoimmunity and IgA-deficiency related by a common antigen–antibody system

WORKERS1–5 have reported IgG-precipitating antibodies against predominantly high molecular weight ruminant immunoglobulins to be present in the sera of certain patients with IgA deficiencies. The most frequently identified antigen is bovine IgM but we have also found a high frequency of precipitating antibodies to bovine associated mucoprotein (BAMP) (Table 1). Immunochemical studies have demonstrated that the antibodies to these two proteins are entirely distinct and that antibodies to BAMP in human sera can only precipitate with a fraction of the antigenic determinants detected by antisera raised in rabbits against BAMP.
Critical-point phonons of diamond

The phono-dispersion curves derived from neutron-scattering experiments performed on diamond are not accurate enough to yield the exact frequencies of critical-point (CP) phonons and, thus, to provide a satisfactory interpretation of second-order optical spectra. A self- consistent analysis of such spectra proved to be difficult because it is not a straightforward task to assign second-order absorption and scatter features to specific two-phonon summations. A more effective method for obtaining accurate CP-phonon frequencies involves investigating defect-activated one-phonon absorptions; in this paper, the authors take advantage of the availability of chemically vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond for the purpose of locating and assigning infrared (IR) absorption features in the one-phonon region to CP phonons at the Brillouin-zone boundary. Fourier-transform IR absorbance spectra of CVD diamond exhibit a complex structure at wavenumbers below the 1333-cm -1 band-mode cutoff, which is induced by nitrogen-associated defect centers and yields the precise positions of sixteen zone-edge CP phonons. In conjunction with the triply-degenerate zone-center mode, this set of phonons then provides the basis for predicting the positions of second-order optical features through simple summations. Taking the selection rules into account, the procedure yields excellent results, not only in terms of CVD-diamond IR spectra, but also in regard to earlier measurements of the intrinsic two-phonon absorption coefficient of type-IIa natural diamond and the second-order polarization-dependent Raman-scatter characteristics recorded by Solin and Ramdas.
Homing of primitive hematopoietic cells in non-myeloablated murine recipients

Abstract Investigations into the homing of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) following transplantation have most commonly been performed in myeloablated recipients. Recent success of bone marrow (BM) transplantation in non- or minimally-myeloablated recipients has increased interest in examining homing patterns of HSC in non/myeloablated hosts. To this end, low-density murine BM cells were stained with PKH2 and transplanted into lethally-irradiated (18 hr post-irradiation) or non-irradiated syngeneic recipients, which were sacrificed at various time points post-transplantation (PT). Cells harvested from the peripheral blood (PB), BM, and spleen were analyzed for recovery of donor cells, adhesion molecule profile, cell cycle status, and proliferation history. Despite relative enrichment of donor cells in myeloablated tissues, recovery from all 3 tissues of donor cells up to 24 hr PT was similar between myeloablated and non-ablated recipients. Recovery ranged from 6 to 10% of the original graft, with 60–90% of the recovered cells homing to BM. Recovery of donor Sca-1+ lin− cells from BM was up to 8-fold higher than recovery total donor cells in both transplant settings, suggesting specific homing of primitive phenotypes. Interestingly, recovery of Sca-1+ lin− cells was greater in non-myeloablated recipients compared to irradiated recipients. Analysis of cell cycle status of donor cells recovered from BM, spleen, or PB revealed a high degree of quiescence, while BRD-U incorporation indicated that 10 to 30% of these cells had cycled in vivo by 24 hr PT. Examination of adhesion molecule expression of BM-homed Sca-1+ cells revealed that phenotypes enriched for long-term engraftment potential, such as Sca-1+ lin− CD43+ cells, homed preferentially to the marrow of non-irradiated recipients compared to that of irradiated hosts. These data suggest that while homing in myeloablated recipients may represent a random process due to radiation damage of stroma and/or endothelial cells, homing in non-myeloablated recipients may better portray natural trafficking patterns of HSC in vivo.
Early rehabilitative management of the maxillectomy patient.

Abstract Combined surgical and prosthodontic management of the maxillectomy patient is mandatory. Prosthodontic treatment should begin in the preoperative period if the patient is to be provided with the best rehabilitative care. The use of preoperative evaluation and/or treatment is the key to providing successful rehabilitation services. If the patient's disease is cured but he is left a recluse because of his physiologic, esthetic, and psychological deficiencies, how valuable has the cure been to the patient?
Our "energy-Ca(2+) signaling deficits" hypothesis and its explanatory potential for key features of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has not been explained by any current theories, so new hypotheses are urgently needed. We proposed that “energy and Ca2+ signaling deficits” are perhaps the earliest modifiable defects in brain aging underlying memory decline and tau deposits (by means of inactivating Ca2+-dependent protease calpain). Consistent with this hypothesis, we now notice that at least eight other known calpain substrates have also been reported to accumulate in aging and AD. Thus, protein accumulation or aggregation is not an accidental or random event, but occurs naturally and selectively to a peculiar family of proteins, corroborating the proposed changes of calpain. Why are only calpain substrates accumulated and how can they stay for decades in the brain without being attacked by many other non-specific proteases there? We believe that these long-lasting puzzles can be explained by calpain’s unique properties, especially its unusual specificity and exclusivity in substrate recognition, which can protect the substrates from other proteases’ attacks after calpain inactivation. Interestingly, the energy-Ca2+ deficits model, in essence, may also explain tau phosphorylation (by calcineurin inactivation) and the formation of amyloid plaques. Our studies suggest that α-secretase is an energy-/Ca2+-dual dependent protease and is also the primary determinant for Aβ levels. Finally we discuss why “β- and γ-secretases”, the current enthusiastic study focuses, are unlikely to be responsible for Aβ genesis or be “positively identified” by biological laws. Overall, the study suggests that our hypothesis can coherently explain several basic AD features, thus pointing to a new strategy for AD prevention.
Rheology and phase behaviour of blends of poly(ethylene oxide) with poly(vinyl acetate) and with poly(vinyl acetate-ran-ethylene)

Abstract The dynamic viscoelastic properties of blends of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and with poly(vinyl acetate-ran-ethylene) (PVAE) were measured, using a cone-and-plate rheometer in the oscillatory shear mode. For the study, two grades of PEO, one with weight-average molecular weight MW = 20 000 (PEO20) and the other with MW = 100 000 (PEO100), were used. The PVAE used was found to be amorphous, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry, and it had MW = 12 600, as determined by gel permeation chromatography, and 73.4 wt% vinyl acetate, as determined by elemental analysis. It was found that the amorphous phase of the PEO20/PVAc blend system has one glass transition temperature Tg over the entire range of blend compositions, whereas the amorphous phase of the PEO100/PVAc blend system has one Tg for blend compositions up to 50 wt% PVAc, but two Tg values for blends with greater amounts of PVAc. Melting-point depression measurements were conducted to determine the Flory interaction parameter χ to be: (a) −0.211 for PEO20/PVAc pair; (b) −0.069 for PEO100/PVAc pair; (c) −0.027 for PEO20/PVAE pair; and (d) −0.024 for PEO100/PVAE pair. Our experimental results show that plots of the logarithm of zero-shear viscosity versus blend composition at constant temperature exhibit negative deviations from linearity for the PEO20/PVAc blend system, but positive deviations from linearity for both PEO20/PVAE and PEO100/PVAE blend systems. These experimental observations are interpreted using a molecular viscoelasticity theory recently developed by Han and Kim.
Culture and recovery of macrophages and cell lines from tissue culture-treated and -untreated plastic dishes☆

Macrophages can be separated from other cell types by their ability to readily attach and spread on glass or on plastic surfaces which are treated for optimal growth of cultured cells (tissue culture-treated plastic). To detach macrophages from these surfaces, techniques must be used which require prior preparation of special flasks or vessels, utilize expensive equipment, are time-consuming and almost uniformly require that the macrophages be exposed to various chemicals. We now report that macrophages can be enriched and recovered efficiently after attachment to disposable polystyrene bacteriologic petri dishes simply by gentle scraping with a rubber policeman. In this paper we compare this method to others currently in use in which resident peritoneal cells, peritoneal exudate cells or cells from bone marrow-derived cultures are detached from treated dishes using cold shock, chelating agents and lidocaine. In all studies, advantages were noted when cells were incubated in untreated dishes and detached by gentle scraping. In addition, untreated dishes supported the growth of adherent cell lines IC-21 and L929B and yielded large numbers of cells, with high viability, which were easily harvested.
Effort‐allocation analysis of the seven‐day fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) and Ceriodaphnia dubia toxicity tests

Water quality-based limits are receiving greater emphasis in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. These permits often contain requirements for conducting acute or chronic toxicity tests of wastewater and/or ambient receiving waters. In this paper, we analyze the effort (in person-hours per test-ph/t) required to conduct the 7-d fathead minnow (Pimephales pro-melas) larval survival and growth test, the 7-d Ceriodaphnia dubia survival and reproduction test, and various tasks that are associated with these two static-renewal tests (e.g., maintaining cultures of the test animals, water chemistry analyses, quality assurance/quality control needs, sampling, and reporting). This analysis shows that all of these tasks require 53.6 ph/t. For six samples (e.g., five ambient samples plus a control, or five concentrations of an effluent plus a control), the fathead minnow test requires 6.9 ph/t and the Ceriodaphnia test requires 5.8 ph/t. The effort needed to maintain fathead minnow cultures is approximately equal to that needed to maintain C. dubia cultures (5.6 vs. 5.8 ph/t). Effort expended on other components of the testing includes 7.0 ph/t for water chemistry analyses (six samples), 5.5 ph/t for test preparation and takedown, 4.0 ph/t for QA/QC, 6.0 ph/t for report writing, and 7.0 ph/t for sampling. In addition, the analysis explores the economies of scale in conducting the two toxicity tests. Finally, the study provides guidance for those who plan to conduct these tests and for those sponsors who may need a better understanding of the basis for the costs involved.
Fermion pair production in QED and the backreaction problem in (1+1)-dimensional boost-invariant coordinates revisited

We study two different initial conditions for fermions for the problem of pair production of fermions coupled to a classical electromagnetic field with backreaction in ($1+1$)-dimensional boost-invariant coordinates. Both of these conditions are consistent with fermions initially in a vacuum state. We present results for the proper-time evolution of the electric field $E$, the current $J$, the matter energy density $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$, and the pressure $p$ as a function of the proper time for these two cases. We also determine the interpolating number density as a function of the proper time. We find that when we use a ``first-order adiabatic'' vacuum initial condition or a ``free-field'' initial condition for the fermion field, we obtain essentially similar behavior for physically measurable quantities. The second method is computationally simpler, it is twice as fast and involves half the storage required by the first method.
High-efficiency loading, transfection, and fusion of cells by electroporation in two-phase polymer systems

A method to concentrate drugs, DNA, or other materials with target cells in two-phase polymer systems for high-efficiency electroloading is described. The two-phase polymer system is utilized for cell and loading material selection, as well as for cell aggregation before electrofusion. The phase mixing of several water-soluble polymers is characterized, and the polyethylene glycol-Dextran (PEG m.w. 8,000 + Dextran m.w. 71,000) mixture is selected to illustrate the advantage of the two-phase systems. Fluorescently labeled Dextran or DNA is loaded into Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and JTL cells, using electroporation in either the two-phase polymer system or the conventional single-phase suspension. The loading efficiency is 4 to 30 times higher for the two-phase system, with the best advantage at lower applied field range. Transfections of CHO, COS, Melan C, and JTL lymphoid cells using pSV-beta-galactosidase (for CHO and COS), pBK-RSV-tyrosinase, and pCP4-fucosidase plasmids, respectively, by electroporation in the two-phase polymer system and the conventional single-phase electroporation method, are compared. The former method is far superior to the latter in terms of efficiency. The threshold and optimal field strengths for the former are significantly lower than those for the latter method, so the former method is more favorable in terms of equipment requirement and safety. Electrofusion efficiency in the two-phase system is comparable to that in polyethylene glycol suspension alone and is a significant improvement from the conventional electrofusion method with dielectrophoresis. The two-phase polymer method is, therefore, a valuable technique for gene delivery to a limited cell source, as in ex vivo gene therapy.
Education for Home-Care Providers

Continuing education for home-care nurses is necessary because of the many different levels of educational preparation among nurses working in this practice setting and the lack of a structured orientation program at many agencies. Unique educational needs include the need to feel confident with physical assessment skills, nursing diagnosis, family dynamics, patient teaching, and counseling. Competence in the use of computers and documentation forms also is a necessity. The development of any educational program should include identification of the target audience, needs assessment, planning and design of the program, strategy for implementation, and an evaluation strategy.
Cognitive channels with oblivion constraints

The paper considers a network with two coexisting Gaussian point-to-point links where one link, termed the secondary link, is permitted to transmit if it does not significantly degrade the communication of the other link, termed the primary link. The capacity of the secondary link is upper and lower bounded under different models for the cognition/knowledge the secondary system has about the primary system. The primary system is assumed to be oblivious of the presence of the secondary system (to support legacy systems). Upper bounds are obtained by relaxing the oblivion constraint for the primary link. Lower bounds are derived by suitably modifying known achievable regions without oblivion constraint so that the oblivion constraint for the primary link is met. For certain models of cognition and for certain parameter ranges upper and lower bounds meet.
Wash criteria and the analytic hierarchy process

In the application of the analytic hierarchy process, a wash criterion is one where all alternatives are equally preferred with respect to that criterion. In the case where the wash criterion is a subcriterion, we address the effect of removing it from the hierarchy. Eliminating an important subcriterion may affect the importance of the criterion of which it was a part. If a wash subcriterion is eliminated, the pairwise comparisons with respect to the criteria must be reassessed. After reassessment, the overall rank order of objects may or may not be affected by excluding wash subcriteria. If the criteria are not reassessed, we argue that wash subcriteria should not be eliminated.