cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adrenalcortical influence on rat brain tryptophan hydroxylase activity

Abstract Tryptophan hydroxylase activity in the midbrain of the rat increases as a consequence of electric foot shock, ether anesthesia, and cold exposure, all of which elevate plasma corticosterone levels. Bilateral adrenalectomy prevents this stress-induced increase in enzyme activity. Tryptophan hydroxylase activity and plasma corticosterone are both elevated at 6 p.m. compared to 8 a.m. Administration of corticosterone increases tryptophan hydroxylase activity in normal rats. Parachlorophenylalanine inhibits the stress-induced tryptophan hydroxylase activity. Tryptophan was found not to be directly involved in the stimulation of tryptophan hydroxylase activity but may be involved in the depression of tryptophan hydroxylase activity. Evidence is provided for suspecting that the serotonin neuronal system and the pituitary-adrenal endocrine system may participate in a reciprocal control loop.
Liquid Crystal Display Applications: The First Hundred Years

Abstract Although liquid crystal materials have been known for 100 years, large-scale applications for the materials in the form of electronic displays did not occur until the mid-1970s when compact, attractive calculators and watches with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) reached the marketplace and soon became household items. Now, some 12 years later, low cost LCDs are being made by the hundreds of millions. Today, we see more sophisticated LCDs appearing in such products as portable computers and hand-held color TV sets; the fabled liquid crystal TV on a wall appears to be only a few years in the future. This paper deals with a review of the liquid crystal applications which have resulted from research carried out over the past 25 years. It presents a liquid crystal research pioneer's assessment of how applications were envisioned in the past, how they actually developed and what we might expect in the future.
Corn Starch, Candida albicans, and Diaper Rash

The growth of Candida albicans experimentally inoculated onto the skin of human volunteers was not enhanced by the addition of either cornstarch powder or talcum powder. Sufficient nutrients for growth of C. albicans exist on human skin, provided sufficient moisture is present. Cornstarch and talc powders were shown to minimize frictional injury experimentally induced in human volunteers. These studies indicate that cornstarch and talc powders do not enhance the growth of yeasts on human skin and do provide protection against frictional injury.
Candida mediastinitis after a cardiac operation.

Abstract Candida mediastinitis is a rare condition characterized by a high mortality and chronic morbidity. Including the present review, only 39 cases have been described, 67% occurring after a cardiac operation. Candida mediastinitis has a 55% mortality in the postoperative setting and a mortality of 92% among patients without a prior cardiac procedure. Although no patient survived Candida mediastinitis without surgical drainage of the mediastinum, survival was 85% among 13 patients who underwent operative mediastinal drainage. Chronic wound infection developed in 6 survivors of operative drainage without muscle flap closure, but in all patients closed with vascularized flaps, healing ultimately occurred. Aggressive surgical management with mediastinal drainage, sternal debridement, and early wound closure with vascularized flaps are essential to minimize the otherwise high morbidity and mortality of Candida mediastinitis.
Some remarks on the shape-from-shading problem in computer vision☆

The Shape-from-Shading Problem in Computer Vision (see Horn [ 11) deals with the reconstruction of the shape of an object from a two dimensional image. We consider an object illuminated by a point source, the reflected light being recorded on a photographic plate at a fixed position. The intensity of the reflected light is a function of the position of the source, the position of the plate, and the normal to the surface of the object. If the surface is given as u = U(X, JJ), this leads (see Horn [I]) to a first order partial differential equation of the form
Histological Studies of Bone from Normocalcemic Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Patients with Increased Circulating Parathyroid Hormone

Quantitative histological evaluations were made of nondecalcified iliac crest needle biopsies were obtained from 16 untreated, normocalcemic, normophosphatemic postmenopausal osteopenic females. Six of the patients had elevated circulating immunoreactive parathyroid hormone. Morphometric parameters, which were significantly increased in the hyperparathyroid group compared with the euparathyroid patients were the cortical osteoclast count and the percentage of trabecular surface covered by active or inactive osteoid. In addition, in all patients, the cortical osteoclast count, and the per cent of trabecular surface covered by osteoid and inactive osteoid were directly related to levels of immunoreactive parathyroid hormone. These data suggest that progressive osteopenia in some patients with crush fracture, or postmenopausal or senile osteoporosis, may be conditioned by an osteoclastosis, elevations in circulating parathyroid hormone, and a relative increase in poorly mineralized osteoid tissue. As such they emphasize the heterogeneity of a so-called "osteoporotic population" and stress the need for specific histological morphometric evaluation of bone before initiating long-term therapeutic modalities.
Isolation of human complement component C3 from small volumes of plasma

Abstract A method for the isolation of 8–10 mg of human C3 from 20 ml of plasma is described. The procedure is simple and rapid with excellent yields in hemolytic activity (74%) and antigenic activity (68.7%). It consists of polyethylene glycol precipitation, DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, and immunoadsorption. The final product is free of contaminating proteins as assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The simplicity and speed of this procedure allow for the continual availability of hemolytically active C3.
Effect of thermomechanical processing on the creep behaviour of Udimet alloy 188

Udimet alloy 188 was subjected to grain-boundary engineering involving thermomechanical processing in an attempt to improve the creep performance and determine the effects on creep deformation processes. The as-received sheet was cold-rolled to either 10, 25 or 35% reduction per pass followed by a solution treatment at 1191°C for 1 h plus air cooling. This sequence was repeated four times and the resultant microstructure and grain-boundary character distribution were described using electron backscatter diffraction. The fraction of general high-angle grain boundaries tended to increase with increased cold rolling. The 10 and 25% cold-rolled materials exhibited lower creep rates than the 35% cold-rolled material. The measured creep stress exponents and activation energies suggested that dislocation creep with lattice self-diffusion was dominant at 760°C for stresses ranging between 100 and 220 MPa. A transition in the creep exponent below the applied stresses of 100 MPa indicated that a different secondary...
GI-4000 in KRAS mutant cancers

Introduction: Cancer develops mainly as a result of accumulating mutations in genes controlling cell growth regulation. RAS is one of the most commonly mutated genes in cancer. While agents targeting the signaling aspects of RAS have met with some success, resistance to therapy remains a major issue. Another focus of drug development has been to harness the immune system to target cells harboring mutated proteins, which can appear ‘foreign’ to the immune system. It has been observed that cancer is able to avoid regular immune surveillance through local and systemic mechanisms leading to immune tolerance. One potential way of breaking immune tolerance is through vaccine therapy. Areas covered: The authors review the current but limited available literature on KRAS vaccine therapy. The research reviewed was identified from PubMed and presentations from national oncology meetings related to KRAS vaccines in general and GI-4000 series specifically. Expert opinion: While targeting KRAS has proven difficulties,...
Oral anticoagulants: new and improved.

In this issue of Blood, van Es and colleagues provide strong evidence that the new oral anticoagulants are safer and improve patient outcome.1
Thermodynamics of the second order transitions in alpha and epsilon iron

The presence of a second order transition in epsilon iron, the hexagonal closest packed form, is demonstrated. Two functions of the form T*(Θ−1/2 + A + BΘ) are proposed to model the extra heat capacity beyond what can be represented in a polynomial model in the regions 50 K below and 30 K above a lambda point. With A and B chosen so that ΔCp/T is zero with a zero first derivative at the end points, these functions can provide an accurate and convenient representation for the thermodynamic properties of a material at temperatures and pressures near the lambda point for a second order transition. Calculations of the T/P phase diagram of iron provide a good test of the usefulness of this model since two second order transitions are present in the region of interest. This model for the thermodynamic properties of iron reconciles the static and shock wave studies on the melting point of iron at high pressures. Other forms of solid iron may be stable at the melting point above 100 GPa, but the melting point of pure iron at the inner core boundary of the Earth, 328.9 GPa, is probably within 500 K of the calculated melting point for e′ iron at this pressure, 4 680 K.
Identification of Leishmania Proteins Preferentially Released in Infected Cells Using Change Mediated Antigen Technology (CMAT)

Although Leishmania parasites have been shown to modulate their host cell's responses to multiple stimuli, there is limited evidence that parasite molecules are released into infected cells. In this study, we present an implementation of the change mediated antigen technology (CMAT) to identify parasite molecules that are preferentially expressed in infected cells. Sera from mice immunized with cell lysates prepared from L. donovani or L. pifanoi-infected macrophages were adsorbed with lysates of axenically grown amastigotes of L. donovani or L. pifanoi, respectively, as well as uninfected macrophages. The sera were then used to screen inducible parasite expression libraries constructed with genomic DNA. Eleven clones from the L. pifanoi and the L. donovani screen were selected to evaluate the characteristics of the molecules identified by this approach. The CMAT screen identified genes whose homologs encode molecules with unknown function as well as genes that had previously been shown to be preferentially expressed in the amastigote form of the parasite. In addition a variant of Tryparedoxin peroxidase that is preferentially expressed within infected cells was identified. Antisera that were then raised to recombinant products of the clones were used to validate that the endogenous molecules are preferentially expressed in infected cells. Evaluation of the distribution of the endogenous molecules in infected cells showed that some of these molecules are secreted into parasitophorous vacuoles (PVs) and that they then traffic out of PVs in vesicles with distinct morphologies. This study is a proof of concept study that the CMAT approach can be applied to identify putative Leishmania parasite effectors molecules that are preferentially expressed in infected cells. In addition we provide evidence that Leishmania molecules traffic out of the PV into the host cell cytosol and nucleus.
Ad Hoc Auxiliary Hypotheses and Falsificationism

In the history of science, there are various instances of theory-modification by auxiliary hypotheses, as distinct from wholesale theory-replacement. And these instances include familiar episodes in which the new auxiliaries prompted cries of ad hoc, epistemic caveats or at least a clear appreciation of considerable epistemic risk from some segments of the scientific community. In each such episode, a modifying collateral assumption H repaired a troubled major theory T1 by then enabling the ensuing modified version T2 to explain deductively a known fact E which is contrary to T1. Thus T2 is logically incompatible with T1.1 But the new auxiliary H was
Fungus punches its way in

When certain fungi infect grasses and cereals, they develop a specialized structure called the appressorium. This microscopic structure inflates on the surface of the grass leaf, then generates enough force to push through its cuticle and cell wall to tap the juices within. The development of a technique to measure the forces generated by the appressorium should help in understanding how this infection platform works.
Assessing Natural Isothiocyanate Air Emissions after Field Incorporation of Mustard Cover Crop

A regional air assessment was performed to characterize volatile natural isothiocyanate (NITC) compounds in air during soil incorporation of mustard cover crops in Washington State. Field air sampling and analytical methods were developed specific to three NITCs known to be present in air at appreciable concentrations during/after field incorporation. The maximum observed concentrations in air for the allyl, benzyl, and phenethyl isothiocyanates were respectively 188, 6.1, and 0.7 μg m−3 during mustard incorporation. Based on limited inhalation toxicity information, airborne NITC concentrations did not appear to pose an acute human inhalation exposure concern to field operators and bystanders.
Pilot Trial of Transscleral Diode Laser Retinopexy in Retinal Detachment Surgery

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the transscleral diode laser for retinopexy in rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. Design: Ten consecutive patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments underwent scleral buckling surgery, using the transscleral diode laser for retinopexy. Patients were followed up for at least 6 months. Study Participants: Ten patients with primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments were enrolled. Patients with chronic detachments, a retinal break greater than 90°, history of uveitis or infectious retinopathy, or proliferative vitreoretinopathy were excluded. Main Outcome Measure: Retinal reattachment. Secondary measures: visual acuity and complications, including choroidal, retinal, and vitreous hemorrhage, inflammation, and scleral damage. Results: By 6 months, nine of 10 retinas were successfully repaired following only one operation. The retina of the 10th patient redetached at 6½ weeks owing to proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Following a vitrectomy and retinal reattachment procedure, the retina of the 10th patient has remained attached for 1 year. No significant complications were encountered with the laser retinopexy, although small presumed breaks in Bruch's membrane occurred in three eyes and a moderate scleral thermal effect occurred in two. Visual results in the postoperative course were comparable to those achieved previously with cryotherapy. Conclusion: In this pilot series, transscleral diode laser retinopexy served as a safe and effective means of obtaining chorioretinal adhesion in retinal detachment surgery.
FLORAL INITIATION IN FOUR PLANT SPECIES GROWING IN CO2 ENRICHED AIR

Floral initiation was greatly delayed in four sorghum cultivars [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and slightly delayed in three other crop plant species (Zea mays L., Helianthus annuus L., and Gossypium hirsutum L.), when grown in atmospheres containing approximately 1, 000 ppm CO2 as compared with plants grown in ambient air. In previous tests, hastened floral initiation had been attributed to enhanced production of photosynthate, a theory which was not confirmed by the present study.
Reinvestigation of the primary structure of yeast alanine tRNA.

The primary structure of alanine transfer RNA reported by Holley and his colleagues contained a number of inconsistencies between the data and the proposed sequence. In order to resolve these inconsistencies, alanine tRNA was isolated from yeast by using countercurrent techniques similar to those employed by Holley. The alanine accepting RNA obtained by this procedure was found by further purification employing reverse phase partition chromatography, to contain two different species of alanine tRNA. One of these, tRNAala I, could be shown to be similar to Holley's proposed structure with the addition of a guanine between positions 47 and 48 and only 2 dihydrouridines instead of the 2.5 reported by Holley.
Optimal Design of Trusses With Geometric Imperfections

The present paper focuses on optimization of trusses that have randomness in geometry that may arise from fabrication errors. The analysis herein is a generalization of a perturbation approach to topology optimization under geometric uncertainties. The main novelty in the present paper is in the consideration of potential buckling due to misaligned structural members. The paper begins with a brief review of the aforementioned perturbation approach, then proceeds with the analysis of the nonlinear effects of geometric imperfection. The paper concludes with some numerical examples.
A meta-analysis of the relationship among impaired taste and treatment, treatment type, and tumor site in head and neck cancer treatment survivors

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION To understand how taste impairment caused by head and neck cancer treatment changes over time or varies with treatment site or type. LITERATURE SEARCH Ovid MEDLINE® database was searched for reports of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in head and neck cancer treatment survivors (HNCTS), which included taste function in a HRQOL instrument from 1946-2013. Eligible studies compared taste scores from baseline to post-treatment, using two treatment types or two cancer sites. DATA EVALUATION 247 reports were identified; 19 were suitable for meta-analysis. DATA ANALYSIS A series of dichotomous meta-analyses were conducted using comprehensive meta-analysis software .PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS: Taste scores were statistically significantly worse after treatment; the summary effect for the standard measure difference between pretreatment and post-treatment taste scores was 0.353 (p < 0.001). Patients treated with radiation therapy (RT) reported statistically significant worse taste function post-treatment than those who received no RT; the summary effect for the standard mean differences in taste scores was 0.77 (p = 0.001). Differences in tumor site were not significant. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Taste dysfunction is a long-term complication for HNCTS, and nurses should screen survivors for this sensory dysfunction.
Ultrastructure and hormonal content of the proximal stump of the transected hypothalamo-hypophysial tract of the frog (Rana pipiens).

Several types of neurosecretory fibers were observed in the normal infundibulum of the frog. After transection of the median eminence, these neurosecretory fibers of the proximal stump reacted asynchronously, but followed approximately the same pattern: a “passive accumulation” of granules observed early after the transection was followed by an “active axonal reaction” with the appearance of numerous tubular formations which are thought to be related to the Golgi apparatus. They filled the axon almost completely, and then became dilated and filled with an electron dense material. Subsequently these dilatations pinched off and gave origin to new neurosecretory granules. These locally packed granules plus others which were probably formed in more proximal parts of the axon, and the perikaryon and then transported distally, accumulated in the proximal axonal stumps and started to fill the fibers retrogradely.
Wegener's granulomatosis in a 16-year-old girl

Abstract A 16-year-old African-American girl presented to our institution with a 6-week history of swollen ankles and 5-week history of conjunctival injection. She had previously been treated with antibiotics for suspected lower extremity cellulitis. Bilateral ankle swelling with erythema and episcleritis were remarkable clinical findings. Laboratory investigations showed: normal CBC and differential, ESR 68 mm/hr, serum BUN 15 mg/dL, and serum creatinine 1.0 mg/dL. Urinalysis showed proteinuria and hematuria although 24-hour urine collection was normal for protein. Antinuclear antibody (ANA) and anti-proteinase-3 antibodies (C-ANCA) were detected while anti-myeloperoxidase antibody (P-ANCA) was absent. CT scan of the chest showed multiple granulomas in both lungs. MRI of the paranasal sinuses, orbits and brain were unremarkable. With a diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG), she was started on intravenous solumedrol and cyclophosphamide and maintained on daily oral doses of both medications. Two weeks after initiation of therapy, she was admitted with acute renal failure and massive edema of the labia majora and pitting edema of lower extremities. WG is a granulomatous vasculitis affecting the respiratory tract and kidneys. It occurs mostly between the ages of 20 and 40 years and appears to affect men and women equally. While glomerulonephritis is seen in about 25% of patients at the time of diagnosis, mucosal inflammation of the respiratory tract is reported in as many as 75% of cases. The patient presented here is an unusual case of WG occurring in adolescence with involvement of the lower respiratory tract and rapid progression to acute renal failure.
The role of sulfhydryl groups in the binding of RNA polymerase to synthetic polydeoxynucleotides.

Abstract RNA polymerase form Escherichia coli B when inhibited with p -chloromercuribenzoate has a sedimentation profile not appreciably changed from that of untreated enzyme. Density-gradient sedimentation and nitrocellulose membrane assays demonstrated that the inhibited enzyme retains its ability to bind synthetic polydeoxyribonucleotides.
Suppression of experimental myasthenia gravis by monoclonal antibodies against MHC peptide region involved in presentation of a pathogenic T-cell epitope

We have prepared monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against an antigen-binding region of I-A, region 62-76 of I-Abeta(b), which is involved in the T-cell participation in the pathogenesis of EAMG. The mAbs reacted with its parent molecules and inhibited the proliferation of disease-related T-cells. Passive transfer of these mAbs suppressed the occurrence of clinical EAMG, which was accompanied by decreased T-cell and Ab responses to tAChR. The results indicated that blocking the function of disease-related MHC by targeting a disease-associated region on MHC molecules could be an effective, straightforward and feasible strategy for immunointervention in MG.
Continuous measurements of air change rates in an occupied house for 1 year: the effect of temperature, wind, fans, and windows

A year-long investigation of air change rates in an occupied house was undertaken to establish the effects of temperature, wind velocity, use of exhaust fans, and window-opening behavior. Air change rates were calculated by periodically injecting a tracer gas (SF(6)) into the return air duct and measuring the concentration in 10 indoor locations sequentially every minute by a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector. Temperatures were also measured outdoors and in the 10 indoor locations. Relative humidity (RH) was measured outdoors and in five indoor locations every 5 min. Wind speed and direction in the horizontal plane were measured using a portable meteorological station mounted on the rooftop. Use of the thermostat-controlled attic fan was recorded automatically. Indoor temperatures increased from 21 degrees C in winter to 27 degrees C in summer. Indoor RH increased from 20% to 70% in the same time period. Windows were open only a few percent of the time in winter but more than half the time in summer. About 4600 hour-long average air change rates were calculated from the measured tracer gas decay rates. The mean (SD) rate was 0.65 (0.56) h(-1). Tracer gas decay rates in different rooms were very similar, ranging only from 0.62 to 0.67 h(-1), suggesting that conditions were well mixed throughout the year. The strongest influence on air change rates was opening windows, which could increase the rate to as much as 2 h(-1) for extended periods, and up to 3 h(-1) for short periods of a few hours. The use of the attic fan also increased air change rates by amounts up to 1 h(-1). Use of the furnace fan had no effect on air change rates. Although a clear effect of indoor-outdoor temperature difference could be discerned, its magnitude was relatively small, with a very large temperature difference of 30 degrees C (54 degrees F) accounting for an increase in the air change rate of about 0.6 h(-1). Wind speed and direction were found to have very little influence on air change rates at this house.
The Effect of Spatial and Temporal Task Characteristics on Performance, Workload, and Stress

The present study examined the Maximal Adaptability Model of Stress (Hancock & Warm, 1989) by investigating how the task characteristics of information rate (event rate) and information structure (display uncertainty) affect performance on a cognitively demanding signal detection task. Performance as well as perceived workload and stress were measured. Results supported a performance-workload association rather than performance insensitivity, but the pattern of decline in adaptation to task-induced stress generally conformed to the maximal adaptability model: At lower levels of demand the change in accuracy and workload was smaller, but at higher demand these changes increased in magnitude.
Facile synthesis of azo-linked porous organic frameworks via reductive homocoupling for selective CO2 capture

A facile Zn-induced reductive homocoupling reaction was used to synthesize azo-linked porous organic frameworks (azo-POFs) from easily accessed nitro monomers. Azo-POF-2 exhibits the highest CO2/N2 selectivity of 76 at 273 K among all self-coupled azo-linked porous polymers.
Saving energy and improving TCP throughput with rate adaptation in Ethernet

Reducing the power consumption of network interfaces contributes to lowering the overall power needs of the compute and communication infrastructure. Most modern Ethernet interfaces can operate at one of several data rates. In this paper, we present Queue Length Based Rate Adaptation (QLBRA), which can dynamically adapt the link rate for Ethernet interfaces at runtime using existing Ethernet standards. An implementation of the proposed rate adaptation functionality is demonstrated at runtime on a NetFPGA platform. Our results show that the rate adaptation approach can achieve significant energy savings and at the same time improve the throughput of TCP traffic due to the effect of packet pacing.
Prediction and control of noise from railway bridges and tracked transit elevated structures

This paper reviews the current approaches to the prediction and control of noise radiation from railroad bridges and elevated rail transit structures. The results of noise measurements near a variety of bridge and elevated rail structures are summarized and these structures are rank ordered according to their sideline noise levels. Methods for the control of elevated structure noise are discussed and the results of actual field applications of these treatments are summarized. This article also describes a new analytical model capable of estimating the effects of structural parameters on both vibration transmission within, and noise radiation from, an elevated structure. A sample application of this model is used to evaluate several methods for noise abatement on a composite concrete deck, steel plate girder structure. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for further research.
Tracking the harmonic response of magnetically-soft sensors for wireless temperature, stress, and corrosive monitoring.

This paper describes the application of magnetically-soft ribbon-like sensors for measurement of temperature and stress, as well as corrosive monitoring, based upon changes in the amplitudes of the higher-order harmonics generated by the sensors in response to a magnetic interrogation signal. The sensors operate independently of mass loading, and so can be placed or rigidly embedded inside nonmetallic, opaque structures such as concrete or plastic. The passive harmonic-based sensor is remotely monitored through a single coplanar interrogation and detection coil. Effects due to the relative location of the sensor are eliminated by tracking harmonic amplitude ratios, thereby, enabling wide area monitoring. The wireless, passive, mass loading independent nature of the described sensor platform makes it ideally suited for long-term structural monitoring applications, such as measurement of temperature and stress inside concrete structures. A theoretical model is presented to explain the origin and behavior of the higher-order harmonics in response to temperature and stress. c2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Reexamining factors predicting Afro-American and white American women's age at first coitus

Research identifying factors associated with ethnic differences in first coitus has been limited by methodologies and samples used. This study reexamines ethnic differences in Afro-American and white American women's age of first coitus. Demographic, socialization, and decision-making factors were examined in a series of multiple regression analyses, with the prevalence of women's child sexual abuse incidents, in order to identify variables that best predicted age of first coitus. The subjects were a multiethnic community sample of 248 women, 18 to 36 years of age, residing in Los Angeles County. Their demographic characteristics were comparable on education, marital status, the prevalence of children, and income. The results indicated that women's perceptions of their parents as more influential than peers during adolescence, and being in love and ready for sex were predictors of an older age at first intercourse. Ethnicity was not significantly associated with the strongest predictors or with first coitus. Factors that best predicted first coitus were also similar for both ethnic groups. The findings suggest that in order to examine the role of ethnicity in first coitus, differences in demographic characteristics found between black and white samples need to be controlled. Similarly, multiethnic research should include variables that are relevant to both ethnic groups, as well as abusive sexual experiences, in order to understand the multiplicity of factors predicting age at first intercourse.
Thermal Conductivity of Lead and of Single and Poly Crystal Zinc

The thermal conductivities of lead and of single and poly crystal zinc over the temperature range -250\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C to +100\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C determined by a method previously described by Bidwell are reported upon. The thermal conductivity increases for these metals as the temperature is lowered but shows no extraordinary increase at extreme low temperatures as was found for lithium. The single crystal zinc shows about 18 percent better thermal conductivity than the poly crystal sample. A zinc sample cast in open air showed about 7 percent poorer conductivity than a sample prepared in vacuo. The data are in agreement with the law $\frac{k}{\mathrm{aC}}=\frac{K}{T}+{K}^{\ensuremath{'}}$.
Evaluation of a Pulsatile Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device in an Acute Right Heart Failure Model

Background The development of pulsatile ventricular assist devices for children has been limited mainly by size constraints. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the MEDOS trileaflet-valved, pulsatile, pediatric right ventricular assist device (stroke volume=9 mL) in a neonatal lamb model of acute right ventricular failure. Methods Right ventricular failure was induced in ten 3-week-old lambs (8.6kg) by right ventriculotomy and disruption of the tricuspid valve. Control group 1 (n=5) had no mechanical support whereas experimental group 2 (n=5) had right ventricular assist device support for 6 hours. The following hemodynamic parameters were measured in all animals: heart rate and right atrial, pulmonary arterial, left atrial, and systemic arterial pressures. Cardiac output was measured by an electromagnetic flow probe placed on the pulmonary artery. Results All results are expressed as mean±standard deviation and analyzed by Student's t test. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Baseline measurements were not significantly different between groups and included systemic arterial pressure, 80.6±12.7mm Hg; right atrial pressure, 4.6±1.6mm Hg; mean pulmonary arterial pressure, 15.6±4.2mm Hg; left atrial pressure, 4.8±0.8mm Hg; and cardiac output, 1.4±0.2L/min. Right ventricular injury produced hemodynamics compatible with right ventricular failure in both groups: mean systemic arterial pressure, 38.8±10.4mm Hg; right atrial pressure, 16.8±2.3mm Hg; left atrial pressure, 1.4±0.5mm Hg; and cardiac output, 0.6±0.1L/min. All group 1 animals died at a mean of 71.4±9.4 minutes after the operation. All group 2 animals survived the duration of study. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded at 2, 4, and 6 hours on and off pump, and were significantly improved at all time points: mean systemic arterial pressure, 68.0±13.0mm Hg; right atrial pressure, 8.2±2.3mm Hg; left atrial pressure, 6.4±2.1mm Hg; and cardiac output, 1.0±0.2L/min. Conclusions The results demonstrate the successful creation of a right ventricular failure model and its salvage by a miniaturized, pulsatile right ventricular assist device. The small size of this device makes its use possible even in small neonates.
Self‐Assembly of Nanostructured, Complex, Multication Films via Spontaneous Phase Separation and Strain‐Driven Ordering

Spontaneous self-assembly of a multication nanophase in another multication matrix phase is a promising bottom-up approach to fabricate novel, nanocomposite structures for a range of applications. In an effort to understand the mechanisms for such self-assembly, complimentary experimental and theoretical studies are reported to first understand and then control or guide the self-assembly of insulating BaZrO3 (BZO) nanodots within REBa2Cu3O7–δ (RE = rare earth elements including Y, REBCO) superconducting films. The strain field developed around BZO nanodots embedded in the REBCO matrix is a key driving force dictating the self-assembly of BZO nanodots along REBCO c-axis. The size selection and spatial ordering of BZO self-assembly are simulated using thermodynamic and kinetic models. The BZO self-assembly is controllable by tuning the interphase strain field. REBCO superconducting films with BZO defect arrays self-assembled to align in both vertical (REBCO c-axis) and horizontal (REBCO ab-planes) directions result in the maximized pinning and Jc performance for all field angles with smaller angular Jc anisotropy. The work has broad implications for the fabrication of controlled self-assembled nanostructures for a range of applications via strain-tuning.
Multi-class blind steganalysis for JPEG images

In this paper, we construct blind steganalyzers for JPEG images capable of assigning stego images to known steganographic programs. Each JPEG image is characterized using 23 calibrated features calculated from the luminance component of the JPEG file. Most of these features are calculated directly from the quantized DCT coefficients as their first order and higher-order statistics. The features for cover images and stego images embedded with three different relative message lengths are then used for supervised training. We use a support vector machine (SVM) with Gaussian kernel to construct a set of binary classifiers. The binary classifiers are then joined into a multi-class SVM using the Max-Win algorithm. We report results for six popular JPEG steganographic schemes (F5, OutGuess, Model based steganography, Model based steganography with deblocking, JP Hide and Seek, and Steghide). Although the main bulk of results is for single compressed stego images, we also report some preliminary results for double-compressed images created using F5 and OutGuess. This paper demonstrates that it is possible to reliably classify stego images to their embedding techniques. Moreover, this approach shows promising results for tackling the diffcult case of double compressed images.
Nursing Home Telepsychiatry

Practicing psychiatry by remote access (telepsychiatry) is not a new development. Two-way interactive television has been used on an experimental basis since 1959 in Nebraska, and it has spread to other states as well. Its acceptance and efficacy was evaluated in several studies. In a study using questionnaires, patients’ evaluations of the interview was the same in control and experimental groups, and evaluation of consultants and consultees was only slightly lower in the experimental group than in control group.1 In a study using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale investigators compared patient’s verbal reports and observational items using 2-way computer system. They found that although there was good agreement in both rating, the agreement was higher for verbal reports than for observational items.2 They ascribed the lower agreement between observational items to low quality of the computer image. A randomized study compared face-to-face and telepsychiatry consultation in 495 patients. Clinical outcomes were equivalent in both groups, and patients expressed similar levels of satisfaction with the service.3 A recent literature review concluded that telepsychiatry appears to be a viable option that is well accepted by patients, including those having dementia.4 Telepsychiatry may be especially suitable for nursing homes, which do not have a geriatric psychiatrist on their staff. Prevalence of mental disorders in nursing home residents is higher than prevalence of mental disorders in community dwelling individuals of the same age.5 This is caused by a high percentage of nursing home residents with cognitive impairment because at least 1 neuropsychiatric symptom was found in 82% of the residents with dementia.6 However, individuals with severe mental illness without dementia, including patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, other psychosis, personality disorder, and bipolar disorder are also admitted to nursing homes.7 Thus, nursing homes need psychiatric services for their residents. However, although nursing home populations is increasing and is expected to reach 3.2 million people by 2030, the number of geriatric psychiatry fellows is steadily declining and in 2010 was only one half of the number of fellows in 2005.8 Therefore, many nursing homes will not have available on-site services of a geriatric psychiatrist. General acceptance of telepsychiatry is indicated by existence of several companies offering telepsychiatric services.9e13 Most of them offer services of both psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners
Urban Indicators of China from Radiance‐Calibrated Digital DMSP‐OLS Nighttime Images

A composite of cloud-free radiance-calibrated Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)-Operational Linescan System (OLS) nighttime images of China acquired between March 1996 and January– February 1997 in 30-arc-second grids in byte format is evaluated for its usefulness in extracting urban indicators data of China. With the aid of image-processing and Environmental Systems Research Institute’s ArcView GIS software with 3-D Analysis extension, zonal variations of radiance were extracted and three-dimensional models created using Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) functionality for thirty-five cities. Two variables were extracted from the TIN model: surface area and volume. These were used separately as independent variables in the form of an allometric growth model to estimate the following urban indicators for individual Chinese cities: nonagricultural population, gross domestic product (GDP), built-up area, and electricity consumption. The estimates obtained were checked against data supplied b...
Electric multipole moment integrals evaluated over slater‐type orbitals

We study integrals that arise in the calculation of electric multipole moments. A computational approach is developed to evaluate these integrals in an STO basis set in a straightforward, yet somewhat untraditional fashion. The computation involves a simple three-step procedure: translation of all Cartesian parts to one center, local evaluation, and a single one-sided rotation into the molecular frame. Some assessment on this method is discussed. An implementation of the method is presented in this paper to compute overlap, dipole, quadrupole, octopole, and hexadecapole moment integrals in a basis set that includes up to g orbitals. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fuzzy logic based formulation of the organizer of intelligent robotic systems

A fuzzy logic based methodology is proposed to model the organization level of an intelligent robotic system. The user input commands to the system organizer are linguistic in nature, and the primitive events-tasks from the task domain of the system are in general interpreted via fuzzy sets. Fuzzy relations are introduced to connect every event with a specific user input command. Approximate reasoning is accomplished via a modifier and the compositional rule of inference, whereas the application of the conjunction rule generates those fuzzy sets with elements all possible (crisp) plans. The most possible plan among all those generated that is optimal under an application dependent criterion is chosen and communicated to the coordination level. >
Can air temperature be used to project influences of climate change on stream temperature

Worldwide, lack of data on stream temperature has motivated the use of regression-based statistical models to predict stream temperatures based on more widely available data on air temperatures. Such models have been widely applied to project responses of stream temperatures under climate change, but the performance of these models has not been fully evaluated. To address this knowledge gap, we examined the performance of two widely used linear and nonlinear regression models that predict stream temperatures based on air temperatures. We evaluated model performance and temporal stability of model parameters in a suite of regulated and unregulated streams with 11–44 years of stream temperature data. Although such models may have validity when predicting stream temperatures within the span of time that corresponds to the data used to develop them, model predictions did not transfer well to other time periods. Validation of model predictions of most recent stream temperatures, based on air temperature–stream temperature relationships from previous time periods often showed poor performance when compared with observed stream temperatures. Overall, model predictions were less robust in regulated streams and they frequently failed in detecting the coldest and warmest temperatures within all sites. In many cases, the magnitude of errors in these predictions falls within a range that equals or exceeds the magnitude of future projections of climate-related changes in stream temperatures reported for the region we studied (between 0.5 and 3.0 °C by 2080). The limited ability of regression-based statistical models to accurately project stream temperatures over time likely stems from the fact that underlying processes at play, namely the heat budgets of air and water, are distinctive in each medium and vary among localities and through time. S Online supplementary data available from stacks.iop.org/ERL/9/084015/mmedia
Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy for Regionally Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Treatment of inoperable, regionally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer has been problematic, given the poor longterm results and toxicity of current treatment measures and the extensive comorbid disease commonly found in these predominantly elderly patients. The generally acknowledged standard of care has been administration of radiotherapy to the involved sites and nodal drainage sites. This may improve survival in patients with good prognostic factors. No modality, however, has demonstrated a clear benefit over the others in this setting. Of 13 randomized trials comparing radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy, 5 using non-cisplatin-containing regimens showed no benefit. However, 4 of 6 trials with cisplatin-containing regimens have shown modest benefit
Genetic Counseling in Epidermolysis Bullosa

This article contains the author's views on genetic counseling in cases concerning the epidermolysis bullosa syndromes. The provision of genetic counseling entails absolutes such as diagnosis, natural history, treatment, mode of inheritance, recurrence risks/prenatal diagnosis and referral. The genetic counselor needs to be informed and informative and answer all the needs of the patients and their families reliably both at the initial consultation and subsequently as needed over the course of the patient's life.
Energy-efficient bandwidth allocation in wireless networks: algorithms, analysis, and simulations

In this paper, we present a new energy-efficient bandwidth allocation scheme for wireless networks. First of all, we investigate the intrinsic relationship between the energy consumption and transmission rates of mobile terminals, in which transmission rate is determined through channel allocations. Then, we propose two schemes for connection admission control: victim selection algorithm (VSA) and beneficiary selection algorithm (BSA) with the intent to reduce energy consumption of each terminal. Moreover, we introduce an adjustment algorithm to statistically meet the demands for quality of service (QoS) during the resource allocation. The performance of the proposed schemes is evaluated with respect to energy consumption rate of each successfully transmitted bit, throughput and call blocking probabilities. An extensive analysis and simulation study is conducted for Poisson and self-similar, multi-class traffic.
Abstractions and algorithms for assembly tasks with large numbers of robots and parts

We present a decentralized, scalable approach to designing a reconfigurable manufacturing system in which a swarm of robots assembles heterogeneous parts into target amounts of products. The sequence of part assemblies is determined by interactions between robots in a decentralized manner in real time. Our methodology is based on deriving a continuous abstraction of the system from chemical reaction models and formulating the strategy as a problem of selecting rates of assembly and disassembly. The rates are mapped onto probabilities that define stochastic control policies for individual robots, which then produce the desired aggregate performance. We illustrate our approach using a physics-based simulator with examples involving 15 robots and two types of final products.
Electron cryotomography of immature HIV‐1 virions reveals the structure of the CA and SP1 Gag shells

The major structural elements of retroviruses are contained in a single polyprotein, Gag, which in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) comprises the MA, CA, spacer peptide 1 (SP1), NC, SP2, and p6 polypeptides. In the immature HIV-1 virion, the domains of Gag are arranged radially with the N-terminal MA domain at the membrane and C-terminal NC-SP2-p6 region nearest to the center. Here, we report the three-dimensional structures of individual immature HIV-1 virions, as obtained by electron cryotomography. The concentric shells of the Gag polyprotein are clearly visible, and radial projections of the different Gag layers reveal patches of hexagonal order within the CA and SP1 shells. Averaging well-ordered unit cells leads to a model in which each CA hexamer is stabilized by a bundle of six SP1 helices. This model suggests why the SP1 spacer is essential for assembly of the Gag lattice and how cleavage between SP1 and CA acts as a structural switch controlling maturation.