cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is the Graph of Temperature Variation a Sine Curve? An Application for Trigonometry Classes.

data and ends with a trigonometric func tion that models the physical situation. There are many familiar phenomena that are periodic, such as sound waves, electrical currents, business cycles, and air pollution levels. For our project we chose the local yearly temperature pattern because the data were readily available and because Alaskans are generally concerned with the weather. Having introduced a general sine curve to represent
Establishing and Maintaining Evidence-Based Treatment in Community Programs

Over the past 40 years, an abundance of research has focused on which alcohol treatment approaches are most effective. Adult alcoholism treatment research clearly indicates that even brief treatment is generally better than no treatment at all, that certain treatments are more consistently effective than other methods, and also that there is no single treatment that is superior to all others. However, a handful of treatments seem to rise to the top in all meta-analytic reviews of the alcohol treatment literature. Even though most of these well-supported treatments have been available for some time, the gap between science and practice remains vast.
Foreign Judgments at Common Law: Rethinking the Enforcement Rules

England and Canada have adopted divergent approaches to the enforcement of foreign civil and commercial judgments. An English court will only enforce a foreign judgment where the defendant submitted to the jurisdiction of the foreign court, or was present in the foreign jurisdiction when served with process. This position, while protecting domestic defendants, is outdated and does little to further the objectives underpinning judgment enforcement. Canadian courts, by contrast, have been far more liberal than their English counterparts, enforcing foreign judgments in cases where there is a “real and substantial connection” between the dispute and the judgment forum. While this approach fully advances the objectives of judgment enforcement, it leaves Canadian defendants exposed to the perils and uncertainties of international litigation. An alternative to either of these positions would be to adopt a variant of the ‘real and substantial connection’ test to govern the issue of foreign judgment recognition at common law. Under this framework, questions of how fair it is to require a domestic defendant to litigate in a foreign forum would be encapsulated within the jurisdictional inquiry itself. The judgment court would only be perceived as jurisdictionally competent (and its judgment therefore enforceable) when, considering the totality of the circumstances and the additional burdens imposed by international litigation, it is fair and reasonable to expect the defendant to litigate the claim in the foreign jurisdiction. This test underscores the fact that enforceability concerns are not the same domestically as they are internationally, and that a test which is to promote the freer movement of judgments must also encompass minimum fairness safeguards.
A Rheological Basis For Concentrated Contact Friction

It has been observed in boundary lubrication and in some aspects of elastohydrodynamic lubrication that friction is nearly Coulombic in nature - the friction coefficient is only weakly dependent upon load and sliding velocity. In some instances the friction coefficient may be so similar in the boundary and EHD regimes that friction alone does not clearly discriminate the transition from one to the other. These attributes of liquid lubrication would seem enigmatic. However, recent observation of slip planes (shear bands) within a pressurized liquid film suggest that a low molecular weight viscous liquid possesses a “material internal friction coefficient” which is a material property of the lubricant and represents the ratio of shear stress to compressive normal stress at which slip within the film is incipient. The friction coefficient of the contact is then a consequence of and quantitatively related to the lubricant material internal friction coefficient. The Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is introduced as a predictive method for slip. Mohr-Coulomb defines two possible orientations for stress induced shear bands. Both are experimentally observed in a high-pressure flow visualization cell and the measure of the included angle between the types of bands is consistent with theory. The concept of a first normal stress difference (once the subject of much speculation in lubricated contact studies) must be introduced to account for the orientation of the shear bands with respect to the principal shear directions.
The Metaphor of an Ensemble: Design Creativity as Skill Integration

The metaphor of an ensemble is used in this paper to understand and explain creativity in design. By analyzing skill integration at a domain and task level the paper proposes that from the viewpoint of creativity, design can then be considered as an ensemble of different skills, emergent from the specificity of the situation in which the designer operates. When design skills are considered as a composite, rather than as isolates, and are situated rather than absolute, they allow for flexibility in action and afford room for creativity, as different combinations of skills may lead to different creative design products.
Multivariate Monitoring of the Process Mean Vector With Sequential Sampling

When any control chart is used to monitor a process, samples of a fixed size are generally taken at regular sampling intervals. The use of multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) control charts is considered when conducting sequential..
Natural history and clinical outcomes in patients with portal vein thrombosis by etiology: A retrospective cohort study.

Abstract Background Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is an unusual-site thrombosis commonly encountered in patients with malignancies, cirrhosis, and acute abdominal inflammatory conditions (AIC). Current recommendations suggest that anticoagulation may improve recanalization rates but there is limited information on venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence rates and whether the etiologies of PVT respond similarly with anticoagulation. Objective To characterize the natural clinical course and outcomes of patients diagnosed with PVT based on etiology. Patients/methods Patients with a diagnosis of PVT between 2005 and 2015 who were followed for at least one year and had revised imaging at 12 months ± 3 months were identified. Comorbidities, demographics, anticoagulation choice and clinical outcomes including VTE recurrence, cavernous transformation, PVT recanalization, progression and mortality were obtained. Results Of 698 patients diagnosed with PVT, 85 patients were evaluable according to criteria: 54 had cirrhosis (63.5%), 15 malignancy (17.6%) and 16 AIC (18.8%). Mean age was 55.6 ± 13.1 years. At presentation, 40% patients were symptomatic and 29.4% received anticoagulation. Patients with AIC were anticoagulated more frequently compared to those with malignancy or cirrhosis (87.5% vs. 33.3% vs. 11.1%). Overall, patients with cirrhosis had lower rates of PVT progression (0% vs. 13.3%, p = 0.02) and patients with AIC had higher rates of cavernous transformation compared to cirrhosis or malignancy-associated PVT (31.3% vs. 7.4% vs. 0%, p = 002). Among untreated patients, those with malignancy had significantly higher rates of VTE recurrence and PVT progression than patients with cirrhosis (20% vs. 4.2% and 20% vs. 0%). Conclusions The natural course of PVT differs among etiologies. In the absence of anticoagulation, patients with malignancy are more prone to VTE recurrence and PVT progression compared to patients with cirrhosis. Given the high rate of VTE recurrence at 12 months in patients with malignancy-associated PVT, anticoagulation should be considered for this group.
Analysis of DNA polymorphisms in the swine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I genes

INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW Major Histocompatability Complex Structure and function Resistance to disease and traits associated with MHC Major Histocompatability Complex in Swine Structure of the swine MHC Traits associated with SLA Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) in the MHC Genetic Variability in DNA Sequences with Restriction Endonucleases 16 Evolutionary Change of Nucleotides 16 Mathematical Models to Estimate DNA Divergence 18 Estimation of DNA divergence by restriction site differences 18 Estimation of DNA divergence by fragment length differences 2 0 Comparison of two estimates calculated by restriction sites and fragment length differences 22 Nucleotide diversity 22 Other mathematical models for the DNA differences 23 Nucleon diversity 23 Mean number of restriction site differences 23 Probability of nucleotide heterozygosity 24 Heterozygosity per nucleotide position and probability of nucleotide polymorphism 25 Application of the Mathematical Models 25 Mitochondrial DNA 26 Nuclear DNA 26 Page
In-FUSE-ing STEAM Learning with Spatial Reasoning: Distributed Spatial Sensemaking in School-Based Making Activities.

This study examines the role of spatial reasoning in learning among 5th and 6th grade students participating in a set of in-school, technology-enhanced, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) making activities. We focus our analysis on a particular type of reasoning: spatial reasoning. Prior research has shown that spatial reasoning is relevant for problem-solving, participation, and achievement in STEAM disciplines. However, the literature on spatial reasoning lacks qualitative analyses of the processes through which spatial reasoning is learned, enacted, and leads to problem-solving insights, particularly in everyday learning contexts. Spatial reasoning is also underemphasized and undervalued in our schools. And although increasingly popular, hands-on, making activities have the potential to cultivate spatial skills, spatial reasoning has been largely ignored in the literature on learning through making. Informed by a distributed cognitive perspective and using a combination of qualitative categorical coding and interaction analysis, this study provides a qualitative analysis of the relation between spatial reasoning and learning through making. Our analyses show that during making activities, students engaged in frequent and diverse spatial reasoning with a variety of social and material resources and that the social and material contexts of different making activities facilitated different types of spatial reasoning. Our analyses also show how spatial reasoning developed over time and led to learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
OUTCOMES OF CHRONIC TOTAL OCCLUSION PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION IN PATIENTS WITH PRIOR CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFT SURGERY

Chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with prior bypass surgery (CABG) can be challenging. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies that compared the in-hospital outcomes of CTO PCI in patients with vs. without prior CABG published until August 2019.
A RARE CAT: CARDIAC CALCIFIC AMORPHOUS TUMOR CAUSING CONDUCTION AND NEUROLOGIC SEQUELAE

Cardiac Calcific Amorphous Tumors (CATs) are rare non-neoplastic intracardiac masses composed of calcium and fibrinous material. They have been shown to cause embolic events. A 65-year-old hypertensive man presented with new onset slurred speech, left-sided facial droop, and a faint, blanching,
Synthesis of an Aminooxy Derivative of the GM3 Antigen and Its Application in Oxime Ligation.

The anomeric aminooxy GM3 trisaccharide cancer antigen (Neu5Acα2,3Galβ1,4Glcβ-ONH2) has been chemically synthesized using a linear glycosylation approach. The key step involves a highly α(2,3)-ster...
Application-Oriented Scheduling for Optimizing the Age of Correlated Information: A Deep-Reinforcement-Learning-Based Approach

Recent advances in communications technologies and the proliferation of connected devices have spawned a variety of information-centric Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems, where timely information updating is normally required. Age of Information (AoI) has recently been introduced to quantify the freshness of the knowledge the controller has about the remote information sources. With the development of IoT applications, it is becoming increasingly common that the application-level services, e.g., status updates, rely on the timely delivery of fresh information from a number of information sources. In this article, we study the application-oriented scheduling for optimizing information freshness in the presence of correlated information sources. To this end, we adopt the concept of Age of Correlated Information (AoCI) and formulate the scheduling problem as an episodic Markov decision process (MDP) problem with an application-oriented policy. Given the complexity of the above problem, we develop a learning-based approach that not only leverages the emerging deep reinforcement learning (DRL) techniques but also exploits diverse-domain knowledge. The numerical results show that the proposed approach achieves better performance in terms of AoCI, compared to some typical baseline methods.
Predictors of dental complications post-dental treatment in patients with sickle cell disease.

Objective Our aim was to explore potential medical or dental indicators associated with dental complications and the utilization of emergency services in sickle cell disease (SCD), especially that clinical reports on adverse outcomes post-dental treatment are scarce. Materials and methods A retrospective analysis of dental treatments of 47 eligible adults with confirmed SCD between May 2016 and October 2019. Logistic regression analysis was used whether clinical outcomes, course of dental treatment, and regularity of dental care are associated with dental complications after dental procedures and/or resulted in emergency care or hospital admissions. Results We identified a new, statistically significant association (p-value = .01) between the number of prescription medications taken and complications (10%) after dental procedures. The most frequent dental procedures were tooth extractions (36%) and pain management (28%) during a non-scheduled dental encounter (68%). The majority of cases did not participate in regular recall exams and periodical oral hygiene maintenance. Conclusions A higher number of prescription medications was associated with an increased risk of post-dental complications in SCD patients. A thorough medical history, including a list of prescribed medications, and collaboration with the patient medical team are important to assess the risk of complications post-dental procedures and the need for antibiotic prophylaxis according to the case complexity.
Predicting Parent Reactions at Diagnostic Disclosure Sessions for Autism

Receiving a diagnosis of autism for their child can be a pivotal moment for parents, yet there is little research about how providers can predict parent reactions and adjust their feedback. We investigated factors related to parent reactions during the disclosure session using interviews with providers (n = 6), a parent focus group (n = 10), and a mixed-methods survey of parents (n = 189) of recently diagnosed children. Parents’ prior knowledge of autism and anxiety about diagnosis predicted emotional reactions and readiness for next steps. Families anxious about receiving a diagnosis are most in need of information but may leave the session feeling lost and unprepared. Providers can promote positive emotional reactions for parents and prevent confusion by increasing their own positivity, warmth, respect, clarity, and confidence.
To Unifocalize or Not to Unifocalize?: A Comparison of Retroesophageal Versus Anterior Collaterals.

Abstract Background The anatomy of major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) can be highly variable with regard to number, anatomic origin, course, and relationship to the native pulmonary arteries. Some MAPCAs travel behind the esophagus (retroesophageal) and bronchus before entering the lung parenchyma. This study compared the physiologic and surgical characteristics of retroesophageal vs anterior located MAPCAs. Methods This was a retrospective review of 42 patients who had 1 (n = 36) or 2 (n = 6) retroesophageal MAPCAs. These MAPCAs were then characterized as (1) single supply, meaning no connection to the pulmonary arteries; (2) dual supply, but inadequate connection to the distal pulmonary vascular bed; and (3) dual supply with adequate connection. Results The 42 patients presented with 187 MAPCAs, or 4.5 MAPCAs per patient. Of these, 48 MAPCAs were retroesophageal, including 40 that were single supply, 6 were dual supply with inadequate connection, and 2 had dual supply with adequate connection. On the basis of this anatomy and physiology, 96% of retroesophageal MAPCAs were unifocalized. For the 139 anterior MAPCAs, 89 were single supply, 15 were dual supply with inadequate connection, and 35 were dual supply with adequate connection; thus, 75% of anterior MAPCAs were unifocalized (P Conclusions The data demonstrate that retroesophageal MAPCAs had very different anatomy and physiology compared with anterior MAPCAs. These results suggest that nearly every retroesophageal MAPCA should be unifocalized to incorporate the lung segments supplied.
Prevalence of Metachronous Advanced Colorectal Neoplasia in Black and White Patients at a Safety Net Hospital

Background and Aims Current postpolypectomy surveillance guidelines are based primarily on data from non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs); thus, generalizability to non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) remains unknown. Hence, the primary objective of this study was to assess the validity of these guidelines for NHBs by comparing the prevalence of metachronous advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN) between NHWs and NHBs undergoing surveillance colonoscopy. Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of NHWs (N = 1500) and NHBs (N = 1260) aged 40–75 years who underwent surveillance colonoscopy at an academic safety net hospital between 2007 and 2017. The primary outcome measure was the prevalence of metachronous ACN, defined as an advanced adenoma, advanced sessile polyp, or invasive cancer. Multivariate logistic regression was used to measure associations between race/ethnicity and ACN prevalence after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Results Overall, the prevalence of metachronous ACN was similar for NHBs and NHWs (6.8% vs 7.4%, respectively; P = .60). The prevalence of metachronous cancers (0.2% vs 0.1%; P = .48), advanced adenomas (2.8% vs 3.8%; P = .14), advanced serrated polyps (3.5% vs 3.3%; P = .82), and large hyperplastic polyps ≥10 mm (0.2% vs 0.6%, P = .24) were also similar between the 2 groups. Moreover, race was not a determinant of metachronous ACN after adjustment for age, sex, education, type of insurance, indication (screen/surveillance) for baseline colonoscopy, surveillance interval, and findings at baseline colonoscopy (adjusted odds ratio, 0.96; 95% confidence interval, 0.70–1.30; P = .78). Conclusion Our study finds no significant difference in the prevalence of metachronous ACN between NHWs and NHBs undergoing appropriate postpolypectomy surveillance at an urban safety net hospital, suggesting that current guidelines are appropriate for both NHWs and NHBs.
System analysis of the productive efficiency of czech agriculture in the years 1981-1995

In the frame of solution of grant project of the Ministry of Agriculture we assessed productive efficiency of Czech agriculture in the years 1981-1995. With relation to its ability to compete in the period before and after entry of Czech republic to EU. With the aim of analysis of interior structure of agricultural system we tried to find interior system causes of rapid reduction of intensity of agriculture and to show its future development.
Auswirkungen der Antigen-Antikörperreaktion in vivo: Schutzwirkung

Die Reaktion von Antigen mit Antikorper und Komplement in vivo ist fur den Organismus von groster Bedeutung. Ihre Auswirkungen lassen sich in zwei Hauptkategorien einteilen: Schutz des Organismus und Allergie. Im ersteren Falle dringen die Antigene von ausen in den Organismus ein, und Antikorper werden entweder von dem betreffenden Tier selbst als Antwort auf den Kontakt mit diesen Antigenen gebildet (aktive Immunisierung) oder die Antikorper stammen von einem anderen Tier und werden auf den Empfanger ubertragen (passive Immunisierung). Im Falle der Allergie kann das Antigen sowohl exogenen als auch endogenen Ursprungs sein (Autoallergie). Die entsprechenden Antikorper werden ebenfalls entweder von ausen zugefuhrt oder vom Organismus selbst produziert. Eine allergische Reaktion kann vorubergehender Art sein und nicht zur Schadigung von Gewebe fuhren. Andererseits kann aber die Reaktion von an Zellen fixierten Antikorpern mit dem entsprechenden von ausen kommenden Antigen — oder umgekehrt — die Reaktion von an Zellen fixierten Antigenen oder Haptenen mit Antikorpern auch Gewebeschaden zur Folge haben. Das vorliegende Kapitel befast sich nur mit solchen Antigen-Antikorperreaktionen, die fur den Wirtsorganismus eine schutzende Wirkung haben.
Phosphatidylcholine-dependent protein kinase C activation. Effects of cis-fatty acid and diacylglycerol on synergism, autophosphorylation and Ca2+-dependency

A long-chain neutral phospholipid, dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, was found to support protein kinase C activation by cis-fatty acid and diacylglycerol (DAG). This effect of phosphatidylcholine (PC) is totally dependent on the presence of cis-fatty acid; PC greatly stimulates the cis-fatty acid-induced protein kinase C activity, but it does not activate protein kinase C at all, even in the presence of DAG, if cis-fatty acid is absent. DAG, however, plays a modulatory role in the presence of Ca2+; it further enhances the PC-potentiated cis-fatty acid activation of protein kinase C. Although the activities of all three protein kinase C subtypes tested (types I, II and III) are supported by this PC mechanism, type III is most sensitive to the DAG effect, and it is activated synergistically by cis-fatty acid and DAG. The potency of PC to support the synergistic activation of this subtype is equivalent to that of phosphatidylserine (PS). There are several differences, however, between PC- and PS-supported synergism observed in type III protein kinase C: (1) Ca(2+)-sensitivity is different; PC requires higher concentrations of Ca2+ (10-20 microM-Ca2+) than those required for PS (micromolar Ca2+); (2) PC/cis-fatty acid/DAG-induced autophosphorylation of protein kinase C subtypes (types I, II and III) is very weak, whereas PS/cis-fatty acid/DAG strongly stimulate autophosphorylation of these subtypes under the conditions at which both PC and PS systems fully activate the protein kinase C in terms of histone phosphorylation. These observations suggest that a neutral phospholipid such as PC may also participate in the activation and differential regulation of protein kinase C.
A user's selection criteria for use of PC power system software

The selection of cost-effect PC software for the analysis of industrial power systems is described. The selection criteria, software packages, and three evaluation examples are discussed. For the examples, the calculation results were acceptable if they were within the accuracy of the input data. Examples of data are the accuracy of impedances, cables, loads, source short circuit capacity, and other input information. >
Novel mass reflow method for organic substrates

The warp of an organic substrate is a major challenge for bond and assembly (B&A) operations. A portable vacuum fixture that eliminates the warp by holding the substrate perfectly flat during the chip attach process is introduced in this paper. Excellent C4 height uniformity with increased B&A yield is achieved by this novel method. The fixture also makes it possible to utilize all electrically good substrates irrespective of their incoming shape. Furthermore, the electrical performance of the substrate is no longer constrained by the need to modify its circuit design to reduce the warp. The vacuum fixture is designed to be compatible with an industry standard mass reflow oven. The design of the fixture is described along with the manufacturing challenges that were faced. A transient thermal model, leveraged to optimize the thermal mass of the fixture by a factor of two, is presented. The performance of the fixture is compared to other mechanical techniques used for clamping substrates flat. The fixture's unique ability to shape the substrate to match the warp of the chip at reflow temperatures is discussed. Finally, application of the technique to challenging chip-attach cases is explored.
Computational strategies for synthetic aperture imaging

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image reconstruction based on a convolution backpropagation (CBP) algorithm is discussed. The authors describe how the CBP algorithm can be modified and applied within the framework of constraints imposed by narrowband spotlight-mode SAR. With this approach, it is possible to begin producing the image as soon as the first return (projection) is recorded. An important advantage is that only 1-D interpolation is required, as compared to 2-D interpolation that is required with direct Fourier methods. Also, it is easy to produce a partial spatial domain image if it is determined part way through the processing that all targets of interest lie in a subregion of the image plane, or to produce a reduced resolution image while saving computation. The CBP SAR processing algorithm is demonstrated on real SAR images consisting of corner reflectors, and the resulting images are compared with equivalent Fourier domain reconstruction. >
Movement of the Winding Point on Warp-Wound Yarn Packages Using Tilted Rings

A theoretical description of the winding path of yarn on a warp-wind ring and traveler package with a tilted ring is derived. Amplitude and maximum helix angle of the periodic motion of the winding...
Solute transport and storage mechanisms in wetlands of the Everglades, south Florida

[1] Solute transport and storage processes in wetlands play an important role in biogeochemical cycling and in wetland water quality functions. In the wetlands of the Everglades, there are few data or guidelines to characterize transport through the heterogeneous flow environment. Our goal was to conduct a tracer study to help quantify solute exchange between the relatively fast flowing water in the open part of the water column and much more slowly moving water in thick floating vegetation and in the pore water of the underlying peat. We performed a tracer experiment that consisted of a constant-rate injection of a sodium bromide (NaBr) solution for 22 hours into a 3 m wide, open-ended flume channel in Everglades National Park. Arrival of the bromide tracer was monitored at an array of surface water and subsurface samplers for 48 hours at a distance of 6.8 m downstream of the injection. A one-dimensional transport model was used in combination with an optimization code to identify the values of transport parameters that best explained the tracer observations. Parameters included dimensions and mass transfer coefficients describing exchange with both short (hours) and longer (tens of hours) storage zones as well as the average rates of advection and longitudinal dispersion in the open part of the water column (referred to as the “main flow zone”). Comparison with a more detailed set of tracer measurements tested how well the model's storage zones approximated the average characteristics of tracer movement into and out of the layer of thick floating vegetation and the pore water in the underlying peat. The rate at which the relatively fast moving water in the open water column was exchanged with slowly moving water in the layer of floating vegetation and in sediment pore water amounted to 50 and 3% h−1, respectively. Storage processes decreased the depth-averaged velocity of surface water by 50% relative to the water velocity in the open part of the water column. As a result, flow measurements made with other methods that only work in the open part of the water column (e.g., acoustic Doppler) would have overestimated the true depth-averaged velocity by a factor of 2. We hypothesize that solute exchange and storage in zones of floating vegetation and peat pore water increase contact time of solutes with biogeochemically active surfaces in this heterogeneous wetland environment.
Integrating Measures for Business Continuity and Transportation Demand Management to Ensure Regional Emergency Preparedness and Mobility

The business community must be prepared for a variety of emergencies ranging from natural disasters to terrorist attacks. Additionally, businesses must be prepared to continue operations even when events interfere with business as usual. For businesses, protection of critical resources is paramount in emergency planning. However, employee mobility during and after an emergency is less often considered, although it is an equally significant aspect of the business continuity. The objective of this paper is to explore how metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), as coordinators of regional transportation decision making, can promote regional business continuity after an emergency. The focus of the study is the role of transportation demand management strategies in supporting employee mobility and business continuity. This paper summarizes the results of a 2008 study commissioned by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the MPO for three of California's urbanized areas. The study represents the MPO's...
(13) Influence of the 5′ intron in the control of acetylcholinesterase gene expression during myogenesis

During myogenesis, marked increases in both acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and its encoding mRNA are observed. The intron in the AChE gene between non-coding exon 1 [T.L. Rachinsky, S. Camp, Y. Li, T.J. Ekstrom, M. Newton, P. Taylor, Molecular cloning of mouse acetylcholinesterase: tissue distribution of alternatively spliced mRNA species, Neuron 5 (1990) 317-327] and start-site containing exon 2 [A. Mutero, S. Camp, P. Taylor, Promoter elements of the mouse acetylcholinesterase gene, J. Biol. Chem. 270 (4) (1995) 1866-1872] appears to be responsible for the enhanced expression of the enzyme upon myoblast to myotube differentiation. Deletion of a 255 bp sequence within the first intron of the AChE gene abolishes the increase in cell-associated activity observed with differentiation. To study the involvement of the intronic region in post-transcriptional processing of AChE message, we used real time RT-PCR to quantify spliced and unspliced message levels in myoblasts and myotubes. We observe a 200-fold increase of the fully spliced mRNA associated with myotube formation, while the increase in the unspliced mRNA retaining either intron 1 or intron 2 is only 5 to 15-fold. We have generated knockout mice without the conserved region of intron 1. The mice show a phenotype where skeletal muscle, hematopoietic and central nervous system AChE expression differ with the greatest effect existing in the disappearance of skeletal muscle expression [S. Camp, L Zhang, M. Marquez, B. de La Torre, J.M. Long, G. Bucht, P. Taylor, Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gene modification in transgenic animals: functional consequences of selected exon and regulatory region deletion, VIII IMC Proceedings].
Composite Effect of Bolt-Laminated Sweetgum and Mixed Hardwood Billets

Industrial hardwood laminated billets and mats were proposed, manufactured, and tested. The raw material for the mats was structural composite lumber billets manufactured from sweetgum and mixed hardwood lumber. Each mat consisted of three bolt-laminated billets. Both billets and mats were tested in third-point bending across a 1.87-m span. The span-to-depth ratio was 21. Results showed that bolt laminating contributes significantly to mechanical performance as compared to that of individual billets.
Diffusion weighted imaging in predicting progression free survival in patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck treated with induction chemotherapy.

Rationale and Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the role of diffusion-weighted imaging in predicting progression-free survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treated with induction chemotherapy. Materials and Methods Eighteen patients with HNSCC underwent diffusion-weighted imaging studies prior to treatment and within 3 weeks after completion of induction chemotherapy. Median apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were computed from the largest cervical metastatic lymph node. Percentage changes in ADC values from pretreatment to posttreatment time points were compared between alive and dead patients using the Mann-Whitney U test. P values Results A 22% increase in ADC was observed after induction chemotherapy in alive patients ( n = 15), while patients who died from HNSCC ( n = 3) demonstrated a 33% decrease in ADC. The difference in percentage change in ADC between alive and dead patients was significant ( P = .039). Conclusions ADC may be a useful marker in predicting progression-free survival in patients with HNSCC undergoing induction chemotherapy.
Transmission of tobacco necrosis virus by a fungus, Olpidium brassicae.

Abstract Experiments were performed to determine whether tobacco necrosis virus (TNV) entered plant roots at the same time and position as zoospores of Olpidium brassicae (Wor.) Dang. Mung bean (Phaseolus mungo L.) seedlings were immersed in a combined suspension of Olpidium zoospores and TNV and heated 10 seconds at 50° to kill the Olpidium without inactivating the virus. TNV infection did not usually occur if the roots were heated within 2 hours, but did occur if the roots were heated at 3 or more hours after immersion. This lag of 2 to 3 hours before TNV infection corresponds with the time it takes for Olpidium to penetrate roots. However, when mung bean seedlings were placed in a suspension of Olpidium zoospores for 3 hours, heated to destroy Olpidium, and then placed in a TNV suspension, no infection occurred. Thus, the Olpidium did not appear to predispose the roots to subsequent TNV infection. Olpidium zoospores encysted on and entered the roots of 4-week-old lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants mainly within 5 mm of the root apex, and subsequent assays showed that the apical 5 mm of the root was also the zone where most TNV infection occurred. TNV infection of roots was induced only when actively swimming Olpidium zoospores were able to encyst on roots in the presence of TNV. Mild treatments, such as aging for 1 2 hour or more, heating to 35° for 10 minutes, and addition of 10−3% CuSO4. 5H2O permanently inactivated the delicate zoospores, and prevented TNV infection of plants subsequently placed in the suspensions. Washings of Olpidium-infected lettuce roots, if taken during the first 2 minutes of washing, did not contain zoospores and did not induce TNV infection of mung bean seedlings. However, washings taken after 2 minutes did contain zoospores and did induce TNV infection. The amount of TNV infection was approximately proportional to the number of zoospores. The above is considered strong evidence that Olpidium zoospores transmit TNV in a vectorlike manner. In line with results with Californian strains of TNV, Olpidium zoospores transmitted a British strain of TNV to cowpea [Vigna sinensis (Torner) Savi], mung bean, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) roots. Thus, it appears likely that Olpidium transmits TNV in areas other than California.
Closing the gap between experiment and theory: crystal growth by temperature accelerated dynamics.

We present atomistic simulations of crystal growth where realistic experimental deposition rates are reproduced, without needing any a priori information on the relevant diffusion processes. Using the temperature accelerated dynamics method, we simulate the deposition of 4 monolayers (ML) of Ag/Ag(100) at the rate of 0.075 ML/s, thus obtaining a boost of several orders of magnitude with respect to ordinary molecular dynamics. In the temperature range analyzed (0--70 K), steering and activated mechanisms compete in determining the surface roughness.
Majority of random cDNA clones correspond to single loci in the tomato genome

The number of loci corresponding to each of 34 unique, random cDNA clones has been determined for the diploid plant species Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato) (2n=24). Fifty-three percent of the clones are homologous to loci represented only once in the tomato chromosomes. Thirty-two percent of the clones correspond to two genetically independent loci. The remaining clones belong to gene families represented by 3–5 loci. To determine the number of gene copies per locus, reconstruction experiments were performed on six of the single locus clones. The majority of these loci were estimated to contain only 1 or 2 copies of the gene. These results support the concept that the majority of structural genes in this diploid plant species are arranged in single loci and present in low copy number. Multigene families, such as those for the small subunit of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase, chlorophyll a/b binding polypeptide and actin are exceptions to this rule.
Quantification of the collagen fibre architecture of human cranial dura mater

The purpose of this study was to quantify and map the gross fibre architecture of the cranial dura mater (CDM) using small angle light scattering (SALS). In SALS, HeNe laser light is passed through the tissue, and the resultant scattering pattern is analysed to determine the preferred fibre direction and degree of orientation. The dura mater was found to be a complex structure with fibre orientations ranging from highly aligned to nearly random. In the temporal region, 80% of the samples (n=20) were found to have regions composed of highly oriented fibres with a mean fibre direction of 6.3°±0.8° with respect to the sagittal plane (i.e. almost parallel to the superior sagittal sinus). These highly aligned regions were found in symmetric anatomical locations about the median sagittal sinus and had similar fibre orientations over both hemispheres. Although our sample size was small, we found that the size of the symmetric regions, which covered 14.4±1.6% of the total CDM area, was not influenced by subject's age or sex. The presence of these highly oriented fibre regions in CDM may be due to mechanical forces exerted on dura mater during its development. These forces may have induced realignment of the collagen fibres in the direction of tensile pull, although the exact basis for the unique gross fibre architecture of CDM remains unknown.
The failing flap in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery: Role of the medicinal leech

Objective: To review the use of the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, in salvaging the failing, venous-congested flap. A protocol for the use of leeches is presented. Four illustrative cases of failing flaps (pectoralis major, midline forehead, and temporalis) are presented. Study Design: Literature review comprised of MEDLINE search 1965 to present. Retrospective review of four cases involving the management of the failing, venous-congested flap. Methods: A retrospective review of four cases of failing, venous-congested flaps was performed. Results: The authors' experience, as well as the data from the reviewed medical literature, demonstrates the importance of early intervention in order to salvage the failing, venous-congested flap. Leeches are an immediate and efficacious treatment option. Conclusions: I. Review of the literature indicates that the survival of the compromised, venous-congested flap is improved by early intervention with the medicinal leech. H medicinalis injects salivary components that inhibit both platelet aggregation and the coagulation cascade. The flap is decongested initially as the leech extracts blood and is further decongested as the bite wound oozes after the leech detaches. 2. When a flap begins to fail, salvage of that flap demands early recognition of reversible processes, such as venous congestion. The surgeon must be familiar with the use of leeches and should consider their use early, since flaps demonstrate significantly decreased survival after 3 hours if venous congestion is not relieved. In the four cases presented, a standardized protocol facilitated early leech use and provided for the psychological preparation of the patient, availability of leeches, and an antibiotic prophylaxis regimen. 3. The complications associated with leech use can be minimized with antibiotic therapy, wound care, and hematocrit monitoring. 4. The use of the medicinal leech for salvage of the venous-congested flap is a safe, efficacious, economical, and well-tolerated intervention.
Compositionally graded ferroelectric multilayers for frequency agile tunable devices

Recently, there has been significant interest toward the development of tunable dielectric materials for voltage-controlled, frequency-agile phase shifters and filters operating in the microwave regime. The fundamental challenge in designing materials systems for such tunable devices is the simultaneous requirement of high dielectric tunability (>40%) over a large temperature interval (−10 °C to +90 °C) coupled with low dielectric losses (between 3.0 dB and 4.0 dB in operational bandwidths ranging from several hundred MHz up to 30 or more GHz). We show that a high- and temperature-insensitive tunability can be realized in compositionally graded ferroelectrics and provide a brief review of the results of experimental and theoretical studies on the dielectric properties of Barium Strontium Titanate (Ba1−xSrxTiO3 or BST) multilayer heterostructures. Theoretically, we discuss the role of thermal stresses on the dielectric properties using a non-linear thermodynamic model coupled with basic electrostatic considerations to describe the interlayer interactions between the ferroelectric layers. We show that the thermal strains arising from the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the multilayered film and the substrate may have a significant effect on the dielectric permittivity and tunability of BST multilayers. Experimentally, compositionally graded BST multilayers (5 mol% MgO doped and undoped) were grown via metallo-organic solution deposition (MOSD) on Pt–Si substrates and electrically characterized. Optimum conditions were found to exist in BST multilayers consisting of three distinct layers of ~220 nm nominal thickness with compositions corresponding to Ba0.60Sr0.40TiO3 (BST 60/40), BST 75/25, and BST 90/10. At room temperature, the BST heterostructure has a small-signal dielectric permittivity of 360 with a dissipation factor of 0.012 and a dielectric tunability of 65% at 444 kV/cm. These properties exhibit minimal dispersion as a function of temperature ranging from 90 °C to −10 °C. Our results also show that MgO doping improves dielectric loss (tan δ = 0.008), but results in a moderate dielectric tunability of 29% at 444 kV/cm. Electrical measurements at microwave frequencies display a decrease in the dielectric permittivity and tunability for both undoped and MgO-doped BST multilayers. At 10 GHz, the dielectric response, tunability, and the loss characteristics for graded undoped BST are 261, 25% (at 1,778 kV/cm), and 0.078, respectively, and 189 and 15% (at 1,778 kV/cm), and 0.039, respectively, for the MgO-doped graded BST.
Personality profiles of patients with pseudoseizures

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory profiles were analysed in 55 patients with pseudoseizures (40 patients with pseudoseizures only—pure group, and 15 patients with both pseudoseizures and epilepsy—mixed group). For each of the 10 clinical scales, there were no significant differences between the groups in mean T-score values or the incidence of pathological scores (T-score of 70 or above). In 87.3% of cases in the entire sample (groups combined), at least one clinical scale was elevated in the pathological range. For the combined groups, scales having the highest mean values as well as highest incidence of pathological scores were Schizophrenia, Hysteria and Depression. The mean profile of the entire sample ( n = 55) had a two-point code of 8-3 with Schizophrenia and Hysteria as profile peaks. Application of three sets of published criteria for hysteria or conversion yielded markedly different results. This finding underscores the difficulty in evaluating the role of hysteria in pseudoseizures in the absence of a single standard. Mean values and the overall profile of this patient sample were remarkably similar to those found in two previous studies.
METHODS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF CONFIDENCE BOUNDS FOR THE TOP-EVENT UNAVAILABILITY OF FAULT TREES

Abstract The estimation of confidence bounds for the probability of existence of the top event of a fault tree is the subject of this work. Given the uncertainties of the primary input data a method is described for the evaluation of the first two moments of the top event existence probability. These moments are then used to estimate confidence bounds by several approaches which are based on standard inequalities (e.g. Tchebycheff, Cantelli, etc.) or on empirical distributions (the Johnson family). Several examples indicate that the Johnson family of distributions yields results which are in good agreement with those produced by Monte Carlo simulation.
Hypodysfibrinogenemia during pregnancy, labor, and delivery

Abstract Background Hypodysfibrinogenemia is an autosomally dominant disorder that can result in excessive bleeding as well as specific pregnancy complications. Increased risks of spontaneous abortion, postpartum hemorrhage, poor wound healing, and placental abruption have been reported. Case A woman with hypodysfibrinogenemia presented for care in the first trimester. Her antepartum course was uncomplicated, and she was administered intermediate-purity factor VIII during labor and did not have excessive bleeding postpartum. The infant’s cord fibrinogen was low, at 43 mg/dL (normal 215 ± 30), showing it was similarly affected. Conclusion Pregnancy in patients with hypodysfibrinogenemia can be associated with various complications; however, coordination of care and anticipation of specific problems can result in a successful outcome for both mother and infant.
A Rapid Numerical Solution to the Radial Schroedinger Equation in the Oscillatory Region

Abstract The solution to the radial Schroedinger equation in the oscillatory region is expressed in terms of the amplitude and phase. We present a rapidly converging iterative method for numerically solving the corresponding nonlinear differential equation for the amplitude. This method is faster than the straightforward integration of the Schroedinger equation because the more slowly varing amplitude permits a much larger step size. The phase is obtained by matching with the solution from the exponential region. The method considers the departure from the WKB solution and therefore is progressively more advantageous for increasing relative energy. We also point out the generalization of this method for inhomogenious equations having the same homogenious form as the Schroedinger equation. This has relevance for special treatments of scattering problems.