cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
O-009 Neonatal MRI findings associated with aggressive early clinical course in newborns with vein of galen malformation

Abstract Neonates born with vein of Galen malformations bifurcate into either (a) a cohort that experiences cardiopulmonary failure and/or early cerebral injury necessitating urgent neonatal embolization, or (b) a cohort that is clinically stable, in whom embolization can be safely deferred for months. There are no currently known imaging prognosticators that enable distinguishing these groups, and thus management is based solely on clinical factors, such as the Bicetre criteria. In this study, MRI characteristics on DOL 1 images were evaluated in order to assess whether particular features correlated with the need for urgent neonatal intervention or neonatal death. Methods Newborns with vein of Galen malformation who underwent DOL 1 MRI scans from 2007–2018 at a single tertiary referral center were evaluated. 18 anatomic vessel parameters were measured and statistically compared to ascertain whether any parameters correlated with neonatal death or urgent neonatal embolization (neonatal at-risk cohort, NAR) versus survival to treatment in infancy (infantile treatment cohort, IT). Vessels assessed included the median prosencephalic varix, straight/falcine sinus, sigmoid sinuses, internal jugular veins, internal carotid arteries, and basilar artery. Continuous variables were compared using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Categorical data were compared using chi-square or Fisher’s exact test. Multivariable logistic regression test was applied to identify independent predictors that together can best differentiate the NAR and IT cohorts with area under the curve (AUC) used to determine predictive accuracy. Results There were 21 patients in the neonatal at-risk cohort, and 11 patients in the infantile treatment cohort. Of the 18 variables tested, 12 were found to be significant, including: diameter and circumference of the straight/falcine sinus at its narrowest point, basilar artery diameter, internal carotid artery diameters, sigmoid sinus circumferences, and internal jugular vein diameters. Interestingly, neither the caliber (diameters/volume) nor the shape of the prosencephalic varix itself was found to distinguish the two cohorts. An occipital sinus was visualized for all patients in the NAR cohort versus 45% of the IT cohort(P Conclusion Based on 32 newborns with vein of Galen malformation, MRI measurements on DOL 1 were significantly different between patients at risk of neonatal death or need for urgent embolization, compared to patients in whom treatment was safely deferred until infancy. As these cohorts differ significantly in overall risk of mortality and severe neurodevelopmental morbidity, this early prognostication can be of great potential help to both families and caregivers. These findings require validation on a larger newborn population to provide evidence of generalizability. Disclosures L. Arko: None. D. Zurakowski: None. D. Obrach: None.
A model comparison approach reveals individual variation in the scope and control of attention.

The maintenance capacity of working memory is known to be severely limited in scope. However, the reason this capacity varies across individuals remains unknown because it has proven difficult to estimate the maximum capacity of an individual’s “scope of attention” (SoA) separate from their ability to achieve this maximum capacity due to temporary lapses in “attention control” (AC). The present study accomplished this separation by using a maximum likelihood framework to extract latent constructs representing SoA and AC from a whole-report version of the visual-array task. The results of two experiments (N = 145 and N = 189) showed that model fit was significantly greater when the model allowed both AC and SoA to vary across individuals relative to a model in which only AC was allowed to vary (and SoA was fixed). More importantly, the individual estimates of SoA and AC derived from this variable model suggested that (1) the observed range of SoA was found to be small across individuals, with 91% able to maintain a maximum of 3 or 4 items; (2) the consistency with which AC could be deployed was only weakly correlated with the magnitude of SoA; and (3) AC and SoA were both found to be significant predictors of fluid intelligence. Altogether, the present study clarified the nature of maintenance capacity and suggested that SoA and AC both need to be included in a mechanistic account of complex cognition.
The Index of Race-Related Stress-Brief: Further Validation, Cross-Validation, and Item Response Theory-Based Evidence:

The Index of Race-Related Stress-Brief (IRRS-B) is one of the most widely used measures to assess race-related stress among Black Americans. Despite a long history of use in research and clinical s...
PyH2: Using PyMTL3 to Create Productive and Open-Source Hardware Testing Methodologies

Editor’s note: This article proposes a new model testing and verification methodology, PyH2, using property-based random testing in Python. PyH2 leverages the whole Python ecosystem to build test benches and models. — Sherief Reda, Brown University — Leon Stock, IBM — Pierre-Emmanuel Gaillardon, University of Utah
Predicting treatment outcomes for bilinguals with aphasia using computational modeling: Study protocol for the PROCoM randomised controlled trial.

Introduction Bilinguals with aphasia (BWA) present varying degrees of lexical access impairment and recovery across their two languages. Because both languages may benefit from therapy, identifying the optimal target language for treatment is a current challenge for research and clinical practice. Prior research has demonstrated that the BiLex computational model can accurately simulate lexical access in healthy bilinguals, and language impairment and treatment response in bilingual aphasia. Here, we aim to determine whether BiLex can predict treatment outcomes in BWA in the treated and the untreated language and compare these outcome predictions to determine the optimal language for rehabilitation. Methods and analysis The study involves a prospective parallel-group, double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Forty-eight Spanish–English BWA will receive 20 sessions of semantic treatment for lexical retrieval deficits in one of their languages and will complete assessments in both languages prior and after treatment. Participants will be randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving treatment in the optimal language determined by the model or a control group receiving treatment in the language opposite to the model’s recommendation. Primary treatment outcomes include naming probes while secondary treatment outcomes include tests tapping additional language domains. Treatment outcomes will be compared across the two groups using 2×2 mixed effect models for repeated measures Analysis of variance (ANOVA) on metrics of treatment effects commonly employed in rehabilitation studies (ie, effect size and percentage change). Ethics and dissemination All procedures included in this protocol (protocol number 29, issue date: 19 March 2019) were approved by the Boston University Charles River Campus Institutional Review Board at Boston, Massachusetts (reference number: 4492E). The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and will be presented at national and international conferences. Trial registration number NCT02916524.
Animal rights Pacifism

The Animal Rights Thesis (ART) entails that nonhuman animals like pigs and cows have moral rights, including rights not to be unjustly harmed. If ART is true, it appears to imply the permissibility of killing ranchers, farmers, and zookeepers in defense of animals who will otherwise be unjustly killed. This is the Militancy Objection (MO) to ART. I consider four replies to MO and reject three of them. First, MO fails because animals lack rights, or lack rights of sufficient strength to justify other-defensive killing. Second, MO fails because those who unjustly threaten animals aren't liable or, if they are liable, their liability is outweighed by other considerations (e.g., a strong presumption against vigilante killing). I then argue both of these fail. Third, MO succeeds because animal militancy is permissible. Fourth, MO fails because there aren't liability justifications for defensive killing in general (i.e., pacifism is true). I argue that there's thoroughgoing epistemic parity between the Militancy View (MV) and the Pacifist View (PV), and that two considerations favor PV over MV. First, because under conditions of uncertainty, we should believe rights-bearers retain rather than lose their rights, which PV affirms and MV denies. Second, because PV is intrinsically likelier than MV to be true since PV at worst affirms wrongful letting die and MV at worst affirms wrongful killing, the latter of which is intrinsically harder to justify than the former.
Downscaling MODIS spectral bands using deep learning

MODIS sensors are widely used in a broad range of environmental studies, many of which involve joint analysis of multiple MODIS spectral bands acquired at disparate spatial resolutions. To extract ...
Phylogenetic relationship among cockroach families inferred from mitochondrial12S rRNA gene sequence

A number of phylogenies exist for cockroaches that differ in the postulated relationships among families and genera. The relationship of the wood-feeding genus, Cryptocercus, to other cockroach families and to termites, has generated considerable debate. Grandcolas (1994), based on morphological analysis, synonymized the family Cryptocercidae with Polyphagidae and placed the genus Cryptocercus in the subfamily Polyphaginae. To determine if an independent set of characters supports the placement of Cryptocercus in Polyphaginae, a phylogenetic analysis of relationships among representative genera of the five cockroach families was undertaken. DNA sequence of a -430 base pair portion of the mitochondrial small ribosomal subunit gene from representatives of Blattidae, Blattellidae, Blaberidae and Cryptocercus, previously published by Kambhampati (1995) and Kambhampati et al. (1996), and the homologous sequence from representatives of Polyphagidae were used in the analysis. A total of twenty cockroach taxa and three termite genera were included in the study. Because a recent study showed that Cryptocercus punctulatus consists of a species complex, DNA sequence from four individuals collected in different parts of the U.S.A. was included in the study. The trees estimated from parsimony and neighbour-joining analyses indicated that Cryptocercus is a monophyletic clade which is most closely related to members of Blattidae. Polyphagidae is indicated as a sister group to the Blattidae + Cryptocercus complex, suggesting that Polyphagidae may belong to the superfamily Blattoidea rather than to Blaberoidea as proposed by McKittrick (1964). Blaberidae and Blattellidae were sister groups as previously proposed. Based on the present analysis, I propose that the genus Cryptocercus be retained in the family Cryptocercidae. Cockroaches
Melt Loss Evaluation

Melt loss is generally recognized as one of the highest cost factors in an ingot plant. Its monitoring has evolved from simply being the closing figure in the metal balance into quantifying the melt loss figure for an entire ingot plant into analyzable process oriented data with a fairly high degree of accuracy. This paper will discuss the method of quantification and its use for monitoring and improving melt loss performance. A melt loss analysis of a hypothetical plant is included for the purpose of illustrating the methodology.
Cyclometallation: IV. Palladium(II) compounds with benzo[h]quinoline and substituted 2,6-diarylpyridines

Abstract The first cyclometallated compounds of some 2,6-diarylpyridines (2) and the related ligand, 5,6,8,9-tetrahydrodibenz[c, h]acridine (3) were prepared and characterized as acetato-bridged palladium(II) dimers: [Pd(2 or 3)OAc]2. Inseparable isomers (syn,trans and syn,cis) were indicated by NMR, with the syn,trans isomer invariably predominating. With an unsymmetrical 2, both isomers reuslting from metallation of either one ring or the other dissimilar ring were observed in relative amounts which support the hypothesis that palladium makes an electrophilic attack on the aryl ring during cyclopalladation. Efforts to force trans-dimetallation, previously only observed with 2,6-dialkylpyridines, were unsuccessful. NMR evidence for palladium-to-carbon multiple bonding (Mdπ → Lπ*) (and a shorter than single PdC bond determined from an X-ray crystal structure), coupled with the near 120° angle restriction on sp2 carbons, suggests that these diarylpyridines are not sterically suited for dimetallation. The benzo[h]quinoline (1) cyclopalladated complexes. [Pd(1)OAc]2, and [Pd(1)dtc] (dtc = N, N-diethyldithiocarbamate) have been fully characterized by 200 MHz NMR.
A Multidisciplinary Professional Onboarding Program for E&P New Hires

This paper describes the Saudi Aramco Professional Onboarding Program (POP), a two-week multidisciplinary project-based program designed to accelerate the development of young engineers and their integration as contributors into the workforce. The POP initiates E&P new hires into the Saudi Aramco culture, serving as an initial bridge between academia and working in the company. The program is an introduction to the technical E&P environment and to the business and interpersonal skills required to be an effective and efficient professional. The project-based program provides participants the learning opportunity to develop lifelong, transferrable skills and values. The program also helps set the framework and context for future career development activities. The results of the pilot of the program will be presented, along with future plans for enhancing the program in anticipation of an E&P-wide rollout.
Islam and Education in the Colony and Hinterland of Sierra Leone (1750–1914)

RESUMECet article donne une vue du developpement des institutions d'education islamiques et etudie leur role primordial dans la formation et le maintien d'un reseau fortement islamise dans les villes et les villages. Aussi faut-il ne pas s'etonner que nombre de musulmans immigres aient allie leurs connaissances religieuses a leurs activites commerciales, et inclus meme des tâches islamiques dans leur descendance. Certaines familles devinrent specialistes dans la connaissance religieuse de l'Islam et formerent ainsi des eleves qui allerent de par l'Occident et y etablirent des institutions d'education. Ainsi, ces dernieres se sont multipliees dans des territoires exterieurs et les musulmans ont su atteindre des situations d'influence grâce a leurs capacites economiques, militaires et religieuses. Ces immigrants se sont integres petit a petit au pouvoir local par le mariage, par l'acquisition de proprietes, par le service a la communaute ou par des activites missionnaires. On voit ainsi comment les musulman...
The evolution of payments in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. : lessons for emerging market economies

Some payment arrangements are more efficient in promoting economic growth in a market-based economy. The payment experience of industrial countries is diverse enough to identify those payment arrangements that provide the infrastructure for sustained growth and the emergence of market-based enterprise. Based on the historical experiences of Europe, Japan, and the United States, a number of Country attributes have led to the intensive use of different payment instruments and a different mix of private and public ownership and payment system participation. Such attributes included country size, population density, banking structure, legal framework, safety, and payment instrument pricing. These attributes explain why Japan relies heavily on cash at the point of sale, but uses electronic payments for bill payments and business transactions. They also are the reason Europe relies on credit-transfer giro payments for all types of transactions and United States instead relies on checks. Finally, the fact that consumer payment needs were not met within the banking system led to the establishment of postal giros in Europe, while untimely business payments led to central bank involvement in payment processing in the United States. Unmet user needs, inefficient payment arrangements, differences in payment instrument costs, and improper pricing of payment services will determine the future structure of payment systems in emerging market economies just as they have determined the evolution of payment systems in industrial countries. The authors discuss these issues and apply the lessons learned to payment arrangements in emerging market economies. Although the evolution of payments has taken decades in industrial countries, emerging market economies hope to complete the process in just a few years, and so will benefit by having a better roadmap for transforming their payment systems.
Introduction: diet, epigenetic events and cancer prevention.

Epigenetics is defined as heritable changes in gene expression not associated with alterations in DNA sequence.1 DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling factors, and noncoding regulatory RNAs are all known to be involved in epigenetic regulation of chromatin structure and gene activity. These epigenetic regulatory processes are considered critical components of normal development in cellular differentiation, organogenesis, and aging. Additionally, there is mounting evidence that epigenetic abnormalities are causative factors in several diseases, including cancer. Evidence also continues to surface for constituents in food and dietary supplements to influence gene expression, as well as an individual's risk of developing some cancers. Since epigenetic regulatory processes may be susceptible to changes caused by environmental factors, they offer potential mechanistic explanations for how diet may modify cancer risk and tumor behavior. The Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH), hosted the symposium titled Diet, Epigenetic Events, and Cancer Prevention , on September 26–27, 2007. The objectives of the symposium were 1) to identify voids that are impeding progress in basic, translational, and clinical research related to the use of bioactive food components (BFCs) in cancer prevention, and 2) to provide information about new tools to facilitate epigenetic research. The 2007 symposium represented a continuation of a previous trans-Department of Health and Human Services workshop on Diet, DNA Methylation Processes and Health , held in August, 2001. That workshop gave rise to a number of publications2 as well as an NCI Funding Opportunity Announcement (as a Request for Applications) that led to the funding of 10 projects in collaboration with ODS. NCI continues to support research on diet, epigenetic events, and cancer prevention through active funding opportunities currently available in the NIH Guide …
Annexins: Calcium Binding Proteins with Unusual Binding Sites

Annexins comprise a multigene family of calcium- and phospholipid-binding proteins. They are structurally divided into a conserved core domain and a flexible N-terminal domain. The core domain contains four (in the case of annexin A6, eight) repeats, which fold into five α-helices (named A through E) each. The overall shape of the annexin core is a curved disk with the calcium binding sites located on the concave face and the N-terminal domain on the convex face. Annexins contain three different calcium binding sites: type II, type III, and AB′ sites. Type II and AB′ sites are found in the loops between the A and the B helix of each repeat. The coordination sphere for the calcium ion in the type II site generally comprises three backbone carbonyl oxygens, the side chain of an acidic residue 39 residues downstream of the AB loop, and two water molecules. The AB′ site is formed by one backbone carbonyl oxygen, one nearby acidic residue, and four to five water molecules. The calcium ion in the type III binding site, which is usually located in the loop between the D and E helix, is coordinated by two backbone carbonyl oxygens, one acidic residue nearby, and three to four water molecules. In comparison to EF hand calcium-binding proteins, the affinity for calcium ions of annexins is rather low, which might be due to the large number of water molecules involved in the coordination of the calcium ions. In this review, we will give an overview on the structure and function of several mammalian annexins. We will also discuss in detail the coordination of calcium ions in the different types of calcium binding sites found in annexins. 3D Structure Keywords: annexins; calcium-binding proteins; phospholipid-binding proteins; calcium binding sites; X-ray crystallography
Laser-induced cummulative birefringence effects in nematic liquid crystal: 10-Hz pulse repetition rate

Summary from only given. The paper describes another manifestation of cumulative effects in heating of liquid crystals by nanosecond radiation. It appears as induced birefringence effects. Experimental observations of two new phenomena are reported here for incident polarization perpendicular to the molecular director.
Tranceformations: hypnosis in brain and body

In this review, the role of hypnosis and related psychotherapeutic techniques are discussed in relation to the anxiety disorders. In particular, anxiety is addressed as a special form of mind/body problem involving reverberating interaction between mental and physical distress. The history of hypnosis as a therapeutic discipline is reviewed, after which neurobiological evidence of the effect of hypnosis on modulation of perception in the brain. Specific brain regions involved in hypnosis are reviewed, notably the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The importance of hypnotizability as a trait, stable variability in hypnotic responsiveness, is discussed. Analogies between the hypnotic state and dissociative reactions to trauma are presented, and the uses of hypnosis in treating posttraumatic stress disorder, stressful situations, and phobias as well as outcome data are reviewed. Effects of hypnosis on control of somatic processes are discussed, and then effects of psychosocial support involving Supportive-Expressive Group Therapy and hypnosis on survival time for cancer patients are evaluated. The evidence indicates an important role for hypnosis in managing anxiety disorders and anxiety related to medical illness.
Accelerating physics in large, continuous virtual environments

Large virtual environments with many interactive objects pose high processing overhead for physics simulation and require real-time results. Most of these objects are not being interacted with at the same time, leaving many in physical equilibrium. Modern physics simulation software eliminates some work for the case of objects at rest, but these objects still pose overhead because of potential activation during processing, which can constitute the majority of running time for some environments. We present a physics software design that eliminates overhead associated with bodies at rest, reducing the remaining running time to be proportional to the number of objects being interacted with. Our design consists of specific broad phase collision detection, contact group generation, and object storage methods, as well as intermediate structures and interfacing methods within the physics pipeline. It can be combined with various narrow phase collision detection, constraint solving, and integration techniques, as well as methods of parallelism. We show that our system produces a running time independent of the number of objects at rest, and that our methods compare favorably with published methods and available physics software when simulating environments with many objects at rest. CR Categories: I.3.6 [Computer graphics]: Methodology and techniques—Graphics data structures and data types; I.3.7 [Computer graphics]: Three-dimensional graphics and realism—virtual reality. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Current Profile Measurement on the DIII-D Tokamak

The measurement of the plasma current profile is crucial to many operating regimes and investigations on the DIII-D tokamak. The measurement is required to obtain accurate equilibria and to accurately calculate stability and transport characteristics of the plasma. The measurement of the profile is also required to obtain the different components of the current to guide efforts on the control of the current profile and experiments toward obtaining steady-state operating regimes. The edge current profile measurement is necessary to understand the formation of edge pedestal and edge-localized modes. The DIII-D tokamak has a three-array, 45-channel motional Stark effect (MSE) diagnostic to measure the plasma current density and radial electric field. A 32-channel lithium-beam (Li-beam) diagnostic has recently been installed on the DIII-D tokamak for the measurement of edge current density. Both diagnostics measure the current profile from the measurement of the pitch angle of the magnetic field that, in turn, is derived from the orientation angle of polarization of the appropriate neutral beam spectral line. The MSE and the Li-beam diagnostics are described, and some examples of measurements are shown.
Multi-competence at the Discourse Level: A Comparison of Persuasive Essays by Chinese College and High School EFL Students

In order to explore instances of “multi-competence” (Cook, 2003) at the discourse level, a study was conducted in which two groups of student participants from a college and a high school in China, respectively, were asked to write persuasive essays in both English (L2) and Chinese (L1). The study found that the college participants exhibited greater multi-competence at the discourse level than did their high school counterparts as they were far more likely to organize both their L2 and L1 essays deductively than were the high school participants, who used more inductive strategies for L1 writing while using deductive strategies in somewhat greater frequency in their L2 writing. The study suggests that the college students’ greater proficiency in L2, which resulted from having received more L2 instruction and L2 writing practice, provides them a wider array of organizational choices in their L2 and L1 essays than those available to the high school students whose L2 proficiency was naturally lower. The study supports Kecskes’ and Papp’s (2003) assumption that, as L2 language proficiency increases, the multi-competence of L2 users at the conceptual level becomes stronger and more salient. The study also suggests that the relationship between L1 and L2 is more nuanced than the unidirectional assumption (L1 influences L2 only) still informing much ESL and EFL teaching and scholarship.
A revised model for the density and thermal expansivity of K2O-Na2O-CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 liquids from 700 to 1900 K: extension to crustal magmatic temperatures

A revised model for the volume and thermal expansivity of K2O-Na2O-CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 liq- uids, which can be applied at crustal magmatic tem- peratures, has been derived from new low temperature (701-1092 K) density measurements on sixteen super- cooled liquids, for which high temperature (1421- 1896 K) liquid density data are available. These data were combined with similar measurements previously performed by the present author on eight sodium al- uminosilicate samples, for which high temperature den- sity measurements are also available. Compositions (in mol%) range from 37 to 75% SiO2, 0 to 27% Al2O3 ,0t o 38% MgO, 0 to 43% CaO, 0 to 33% Na2O and 0 to 29% K2O. The strategy employed for the low tempera- ture density measurements is based on the assumption that the volume of a glass is equal to that of the liquid at the limiting fictive temperature, T 0 f . The volume of the glass and liquid at T 0 f was obtained from the glass den- sity at 298 K and the glass thermal expansion coeAcient from 298 K to T 0 f . The low temperature volume data were combined with the existing high temperature measurements to derive a constant thermal expansivity of each liquid over a wide temperature interval (767- 1127 degrees) with a fitted 1r error of 0.5 to 5.7%. Calibration of a linear model equation leads to fitted values of Vi 1r (cc/mol) at 1373 K for SiO2 O26:86 0:03U ,A l 2 O 3O37:42 0:09U, MgOO10:71 0:08U, CaO O15:41 0:06U ,N a 2 O O26:57 0:06U ,K 2 O O42:45 0:09U, and fitted values of d Vi=dT (10 )3 cc/mol-K) for MgO O3:27 0:17U, CaO O3:74 0:12U ,N a 2 O O 7 :68 0:10U and K2OO12:08 0:20U. The results indi- cate that neither SiO2 nor Al2O3 contribute to the thermal expansivity of the liquids, and that dV=dT liq is independent of temperature between 701 and 1896 K over a wide range of composition. Between 59 and 78% of the thermal expansivity of the experimental liquids is derived from configurational (vs vibrational) contribu- tions. Measured volumes and thermal expansivities can be recovered with this model with a standard deviation of 0.25% and 5.7%, respectively.
TU-G-214-02: Imaging the Biological Effect of Dose in the Liver Normal Tissue

The potential clinical value of in vivo functional and physiological imaging for assessment of dose response of the liver parenchyma has been explored in recent years. Conventional NTCP models are based upon physics parameters (dose, volume). While providing guidance for treatment planning and permitting safe delivery of higher doses than having previously been possible, they do not account for the broad range of individual patient biological radiosensitivity. Early monitoring of the biological effect of dose in the liver normal tissue via functional and physiological imaging can potentially select patients with pre‐clinical signs of hepatic function changes prior to the onset of symptomatic radiation‐induced injury. In addition, mapping regional distributions of hepatic function and its response to dose would permit re‐arrangement of the dose distribution to preserve functional subunits in the liver. Care must be taken, however, to understand the limits of these imaging techniques, including reproducibility, and to validate the biomarker with adequate endpoints. This lecture will provide an overview on functional imaging for developing a dose‐response model of the liver for individualized therapy. The limitations of these techniques will also be discussed. Learning objectives: 1. Understand functional imaging as a biomarker for normal tissue response in the liver; 2. Understand the influence of imaging parameters and image quality on quantitative metrics and uncertainty in the dose‐response model of the liver. 3. Understand clinical applications and limitations.
A case study of azimuthal AVO analysis with anisotropic spreading correction

Geomechanical properties of tight, low-porosity reservoirs are largely governed by natural fracture networks. Hence, reliable estimation of fracture density and orientation is extremely important for cost-effective hydraulic completion and hydrocarbon production. Direct information about fracturing can be obtained using borehole methods, such as image log analysis, which provide estimates of fracture counts and orientations on various scales. The main shortcoming of borehole measurements is that they are sensitive only to formation properties in the immediate vicinity of the well. In some cases, the spatial distribution of fractures can be inferred from fault maps obtained by coherence analysis of surface seismic data. However, the correlation between areas of high fracture density and fault locations is not always straightforward.
Can ischemia and dyssynchrony be detected during early stages of dobutamine stress echocardiography by 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography?

Strain and strain rate (SR) measured with 2-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2-D STE) can quantitatively assess myocardial function. Our aim was to evaluate whether we could detect abnormalities in strain, strain rate, and dyssynchrony by applying 2-D STE in patients with severe coronary artery disease during early stages of dobutamine stress echocardiography. Thirty-four patients with angiographically documented severe 3-vessel coronary artery disease and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction were compared with 42 control patients without evidence of coronary artery disease. Circumferential and longitudinal strain, SR, and left ventricular synchrony using standard deviation (SD) of time to systolic peak strain and SR were analyzed with 2-D STE at rest and at intermediate doses of dobutamine stress echocardiography. Compared with control subjects, patients with coronary artery disease showed lower circumferential SR [−1.42 (0.34) s−1 vs −1.64 (0.34) s−1; P < .02] and significantly lower longitudinal strain [−15.41 % (3.52 %) vs −19.37 % (3.21 %); P < .001] and SR [−0.91 (0.18) s−1 vs −1.19 (0.24) s−1; P < .001] at intermediate doses; these values were also compromised at peak dose. The SD of longitudinal time to systolic peak strain at intermediate dose was significantly greater in patients with coronary artery disease than in control patients [37.89 (12.32) vs 27.21 (10.86); P < .001]. The 2-D STE-derived strain and SR detected myocardial dysfunction and asynchrony in patients with coronary artery disease during intermediate doses of dobutamine stress, with minimal changes in regional wall motion abnormalities at this stage.
Erythrocyte sodium and potassium in affective illness

In a preliminary study, erythrocyte sodium and potassium were measured in 24 affectively ill patients and 24 normal controls. Erythrocyte sodium was significantly lower and erythrocyte potassium was significantly higher in the euthymic and affective depressed patients as compared with controls.
Comment on “negative emotions and acute cardiovascular responses to laboratory challenges”

Feldman et al. (1) analyzed data from several studies and found only small associations between cardiovascular responses and self-reported emotional responses to laboratory stressors. They concluded that "negative emotions play a small role in physiological responses to acute laboratory stressors." We believe this conclusion is premature. The connection between emotionality and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) can be examined at the level of tasks (Do tasks that produce strong emotions also produce large cardiovascular reactions?) and at the level of individual differences (Are people who show large emotional responses to a given task the same ones who show large cardiovascular reactions?). Feldman et al. (1) consider only the latter issue. We leave the discussion of the former to the accompanying commentary by Schwartz (2) (though we note that the difference between a resting baseline and, for example, an anger-recall or shock-threat task is the level of emotionality, and this has profound consequences for CVR [3,4]). Even if limited to the examination of individual differences, the data presented by Feldman et al. (1) are not conclusive. The studies they review used star mirror-tracing, speech, and handgrip as the laboratory stressors. The use of such tasks limits the conclusions in two ways. First, the chosen tasks do not involve very powerful emotional interventions. Handgrip and star mirrortracing are not tasks one would choose if one were interested in emotional responses, and even a speech task need not be highly emotional. (Along these lines, we note that Table 3 of the paper shows that in only 3 of the 16 cases was the average of self-reported negative emotionality above the midpoint--"moder-
Identification of genes induced in peripheral nerve after injury. Expression profiling and novel gene discovery.

Peripheral nerve injury results in axonal degeneration and in phenotypic changes of the surrounding Schwann cells, whose presence is critical for nerve regeneration. To identify genes induced after nerve injury in Schwann cells, we developed a strategy that included differential screening of a subtractive library enriched for cDNAs expressed in injured nerve, sequence analysis, and expression profiling. By using real time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we found that injury-induced genes could be categorized into four temporal expression patterns. Among the clones we identified were a number that were homologous only to expressed sequence tags in the data base. These were stratified based on their expression profile, presence of identifiable sequence motifs, homologies to other proteins, and evolutionary conservation. We chose one representative gene, nin283, to analyze in detail. The nin283 gene encodes a 227-residue protein containing both a zinc finger and a RING finger motif.nin283 is highly expressed in the central nervous system, particularly in the developing cortical plate in embryos. It is also expressed in peripheral ganglia and is induced by nerve growth factor in PC12 cells. Subcellular localization analysis demonstrated that Nin283 is located in the endosome/lysosome compartment, suggesting that it may participate in ubiquitin-mediated protein modification.
Water transport and clustering in poly[vinyl cloride], poly[oxymethylene], and other polymers

Abstract The diffusion constants for water vapor in poly (vinyl chloride) and poly(oxymethylene) have been determined by the time-lag method. In addition the sorption isotherms have been measured by direct weighing. The values of the solubility coefficient obtained gravimetrically have been compared with those calculated from the quotient of the permeability and diffusion constants obtained from the time lags. Quite different patterns of behavior were exhibited by the two polymers. In the case of poly(oxvmethylene) the two sets of values of the solubility coefficients were quite similar and fitted a normal Brunauer—Emmett-Teller (BET) type-III sorption isotherm. With poly(vinyl chloride), however, the solubilities calculated from P/D obeyed Henry's law and were considerably less than those obtained by direct weighing (except at low activities) which again were of the BET type III. These results were compared to those found with other polymers and have been interpreted in terms of the different degrees of ...
Dose-response analysis of angiotensin- and renin-induced drinking in the cat

Abstract A dose-response study of drinking elicited by angiotensin-II in the cat found a threshold below 125 ng and a maximally effective dose of 500 to 1000 ng. For renin, the threshold was between 1 and 5 Goldblatt milliunits and the maximally effective dose above 45 Goldblatt milliunits. The dose-response curves for water consumption elicited by these two drugs and the dose-response curves for latency to drink did not differ in the 5 different neural sites examined (septal region, caudate nucleus, preoptic area, lateral hypothalamus and lateral ventricle). Although cats stimulated with angiotensin-II drank at a similar rate to water deprived animals, renin-stimulated cats drank significantly more slowly.
Designing price caps for gas distribution systems

We examine the applicability of price-cap mechanisms to the regulation of gas distribution company rates for gas supply and transportation services. Although distribution companies will continue to be regulated for the foreseeable future, we argue that a hybrid of price and profit regulation of transportation rates will increase allocative efficiency and provide greater incentives for productive efficiency. The design of incentives for cost minimization in long-term gas supply contracts is more challenging, but an index cap, based on the cost of gas acquired by other distribution companies, merits attention.
Effects of phosphate and ADP on shortening velocity during maximal and submaximal calcium activation of the thin filament in skeletal muscle fibers.

The effects of added phosphate and MgADP on unloaded shortening velocity during maximal and submaximal Ca2+ activation of the thin filament were examined in skinned single skeletal fibers from rabbit psoas muscle. During maximal Ca2+ activation, added phosphate (10–30 mM) had no effect on unloaded shortening velocity as determined by the slack-test technique. In fibers activated at submaximal concentrations of Ca2+ in the absence of added phosphate, plots of slack length versus duration of unloaded shortening were biphasic, consisting of an initial high velocity phase of shortening and a subsequent low velocity phase of shortening. Interestingly, in the presence of added phosphate, biphasic slack-test plots were no longer apparent. This result was obtained in control fibers over a range of submaximal Ca2+ concentrations and in maximally Ca2+ activated fibers, which were first treated to partially extract troponin C. Thus, under conditions that favor the appearance of biphasic shortening (i.e., low [Ca2+], troponin C extraction), added phosphate eliminated the low velocity component. In contrast, in fibers activated in the presence of 5 mM added MgADP, biphasic slack-test plots were apparent even during maximal Ca2+ activation. The basis of biphasic shortening is not known but it may be due to the formation of axially compressed cross-bridges that become strained to bear a tension that opposes the relative sliding of the myofilaments. The present findings could be explained if added phosphate and MgADP bind to cross-bridges in a strain-dependent manner. In this case, the results suggest that phosphate inhibits the formation of cross-bridges that bear a compressive strain. Added MgADP, on the other hand, may be expected to detain cross-bridges in strong binding states, thus promoting an increase in the population of cross-bridges bearing a compressive strain. Alterations in the population of strained cross-bridges by added phosphate and MgADP would alter the internal load within the fiber and thus affect the speed of fiber shortening.
The relationship between behaviour motivation and social functioning in persons with intellectual impairment.

Objectives: To assess the social functioning of individuals with severe and profound intellectual impairment who displayed maladaptive behaviour for one particular reason, as assessed by a functional analysis checklist. Design: The social skills of 100 persons with severe and profound intellectual impairment were studied. The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for the Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER) was used to assess social functioning. Participants were placed into one of four groups according to function of maladaptive behaviour as assessed by the Questions About Behaviour Function Scale (QABF). Methods: A multivariate analysis of variance and follow-up univariate F-tests were conducted using MESSIER subscales as the dependent variables and QABF function as the independent variable. To identify specific social skill strengths and weaknesses associated with each function group, the means of MESSIER items were calculated for each function group, and the 10 most frequently endorsed items were displayed. Results: Significant differences were found for all the MESSIER subscales except one. A list of most commonly displayed behaviours for each function group was identified. Discussion: This research represents the first attempt to systematically identify social strengths and weaknesses associated with behaviour function. Results revealed a pattern of social behaviours among groups, indicating that positive and negative social behaviour varies somewhat with behaviour motivation. The implications of these findings for clinical utility are discussed.
Determinant hierarchy: shaping of the self-directed T cell repertoire, and induction of autoimmunity.

Abstract The T cell determinants within a native antigen comprise the ‘dominant’ determinants, which are efficiently processed and presented, and the ‘cryptic’ determinants, which are poorly processed and presented, if at all. However, cryptic determinants can induce potent T cell responses in the peptide form. The ‘subdominant’ determinants lie in between these two extremes. The above hierarchy of determinants is of relevance both in defining the immunogenicity of a native antigen, and in tolerance induction to self antigens. Using the lysozyme model system, we have studied both the structural context of determinant hierarchy as well as its influence in shaping of the T cell repertoire, and in the induction of autoimmunity. In addition, we have examined the T cell response to lysozyme of individual members of hybrid F1 mouse strains. Our results demonstrate that: (a) each region within hen eggwhite lysozyme (HEL) is potentially available upon antigen processing; (b) the immunogenicity of a foreign/self antigenic determinant can be modulated by residues flanking the core determinant; (c) the hierarchy of determinants within mouse lysozyme (ML) has a significant influence on shaping of the T cell repertoire directed against this self protein; (d) the dominance/crypticity relationship of a given determinant within HEL/ML, respectively, might be of significance in the induction of autoimmunity; and (e) hybrid F1 mice show a broad heterogeneity of response to HEL in comparison to the parental strains. The results of these studies would be of significance in better understanding of the pathogenesis of human autoimmune diseases.
Indices of Climate Change for the United States

Abstract A framework is presented to quantify observed changes in climate within the contiguous United States through the development and analysis of two indices of climate change, a Climate Extremes Index (CEI) and a U.S. Greenhouse Climate Response Index (GCRI). The CEI is based on an aggregate set of conventional climate extreme indicators, and the GCRI is composed of indicators that measure changes in the climate of the United States that have been projected to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases. The CEI supports the notion that the climate of the United States has become more extreme in recent decades, yet the magnitude and persistence of the changes are not large enough at this point to conclude that the increase in extremes reflects a nonstationary climate. Nonetheless, if impacts due to extreme events rise exponentially with the index, then the increase may be quite significant in a practical sense. Similarly, the positive trend of the U.S. GCRI during the twentieth centu...
“If I Get Locked Up, I Get Locked Up”: Secondary Control and Adjustment among Juvenile Offenders

This study examined relations between two types of control (primary and secondary) and the psychological and community adjustment of adolescent offenders. Prior to release from confinement, 279 male adolescent offenders were interviewed about their control beliefs and a number of adjustment variables, including emotional/behavior problems, feelings of despair, expectations to avoid recontact with the law, and recognition of costs for reoffending. In addition, probation officers were interviewed regarding the participants’ adjustment to the community 8 weeks following their release and official records were searched for a 6-month period to determine the nature and timing of any reincarcerations. Secondary control was significantly associated with maladjustment for all psychological and behavioral outcomes. When predicting reincarceration, this relationship was qualified by a significant interaction with primary control, such that those who recidivated the soonest had high levels of both primary and seconda...
Effects of clomiphene citrate on endometrial hyperplasia in the premenopausal female.

Clomiphene was administered continuously in a dose of 100 to 200 mg daily for 16 to 18 months to 6 patients (5 approaching menopause and one postmenopausal) having endometrial hyperplasia with a presenting complaint of irregular and profuse bleeding. After cessation of clomiphene therapy the results were atypical secretory endometrium—2 patients; normal menstrual cycles—3 patients; spontaneous menopause—one patient. The therapeutic effects of clomiphene are temporary. If the ovary maintains its potential for follicular maturation and ovulation, a secretory phase will be induced in the endometrium which lasts 6 to 8 weeks. Endometrial atrophy then will develop and remain unchanged as long as therapy is continued. The major side effects of clomiphene are hot flashes and ovarian cysts.