cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impairment, disability, and handicap in multiple sclerosis: A population-based study in Olmsted County, Minnesota

We studied functional status of MS patients in a geographically based cohort in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The 162 definite MS patients who were alive and residing in the study area on December 1, 1991, constituted the MS prevalence disability cohort. We identified 179 cases of definite or probable MS, providing an overall sex-and age-adjusted prevalence rate of 167.5 per 100,000. Median duration of MS from onset was 15.4 years, and median age on prevalence date was 47.5 years. The Minimal Record of Disability for MS determined the degree of impairment, disability, and handicap of the entire cohort within 4 months of the prevalence date. The frequency of Expanded Disability Status Scale scores of the MS prevalence cohort showed a bimodal distribution with peaks at 1 and 6.5 (3.5 [1 to 9.5], median [range]). Approximately one-third of the cohort had marked paraparesis, paraplegia, or quadriplegia. One-fourth of all patients needed intermittent or almost constant catheterization for bladder dysfunction. Few patients (3.7%) reported severe decrease in mentation or dementia requiring supervision. Many patients (53.1%) were working full-time. Most patients (72.2%) maintained their usual financial standard without external support. There were no differences in level of impairment, disability, or handicap observed between the subgroup of 122 patients (75.3%) who are incident cases (onset of disease as residents of Olmsted County) compared with the entire prevalence cohort. This geographically based study of MS demonstrates that the functional status is more favorable than previously recognized.
Need for and Use of Mental Health Services Among Parents of Children in the Head Start Program

This study examined the prevalence of psychosocial difficulties and use of mental health services among 290 parents of children in the Head Start program. Data on demographic characteristics, child behavior problems, parents' difficulties, home environment, child behavior, and use of health services were collected. A total of 161 parents (56 percent) had identifiable psychosocial difficulties, and 41 (14 percent) reported use of mental health services in the previous 12 months. Child behavior problems, unmet need for mental and physical health services, and less optimal home environments were associated with parents' psychosocial difficulties. Parents who had an unmet need for mental health services were more likely to report behavior problems among their children.
Crystal growth and characterization of PtP2

Large, well-formed crystals of platinum diphosphide, PtP2, were grown from a tin flux. These crystals were shown to be of good quality by magnetic, density, and crystallographic measurements. However, the presence of tin (0.02%) as an impurity prevented meaningful measurements of the electrical properties of PtP2. The crystals were found to be diamagnetic, with a susceptibility of −64 × 10−6emu/mole. The positions of the phosphorus atoms within the crystal structure were re-determined by measuring the intensities of 32 X-ray reflections. The P-P bond distance was then calculated to be 2.22(2) A.
Preferential Atherosclerosis at the Aortic Junction of the Ligamentum Arteriosum: Clinical Significance and Pathological Correlation

Clinical experience with 5 patients who had complications of atherosclerosis within the aorta at the site of the obliterated ductus arteriosus suggested the occurrence of clinically significant preferential atherosclerosis at this location. To examine this hypothesis, the clinical findings in these patients (4 with saccular aneurysm and 1 with systemic emboli from an ulcerated plaque at this location) were correlated with postmortem examination of the aortic isthmus in 40 consecutive cadavers. The point of ductal closure was the area of most severe atheromatous involvement in 32 of the 40 cadavers, and 25 of the 40 specimens demonstrated ulcerated plaques at this location. Microscopical examination consistently demonstrated intimal irregularity or disruption and thinning of the aortic media in this area. These studies indicate that preferential atherosclerosis occurs at the aortic end of the obliterated ducts arteriosus and that these atherosclerotic changes can be a clinically significant development.
Mechanism of Experimental Atrial Flutter

The mechanism of atrial flutter induced by the local application of aconitine or by the Rosenblueth-Garcia Ramos method was studied in dogs. The results were analyzed from a pharmacologic and electrocardiographic point of view. It was concluded that aconitine-induced flutter is due to a single, rapidly firing ectopic focus and electrically-induced flutter to a circus movement. Although they can be differentiated electrocardiographically by means of direct cardiac leads, they cannot be differentiated by esophageal or limb leads.
New compensator design options for charged-particle radiotherapy

The purpose of this investigation is to propose new compensator design strategies for protons and heavier particles which are based on pencil-beam (PB) dose calculations and which significantly reduce the dose to tissues downstream from the target, yet provide acceptable target coverage under conditions of patient motion. Averaging and expansion operations are provided to improve the target coverage if the patient moves slightly during treatment, and a structure-sparing option is provided to protect critical structures lying downstream from the target. The new compensator design options were evaluated for two patients who had skull-base tumours. When the patient and compensator were perfectly aligned, the new PB compensator designs provided target coverage comparable to, if not better than, standard compensator designs for both patients. Furthermore, the volume of normal tissue distal to the target which received in excess of 95% of the prescription dose was roughly a factor of two lower for the averaged PB compensators than for the expanded standard compensators. In the event of patient motion, on average, the volume of the target receiving 95% or more of the prescribed dose was 3% less for the averaged PB compensators than for the expanded standard compensators. In conclusion, the new compensator design options evaluated in this investigation provide better protection for normal tissues distal to the target volume than standard compensator designs, with only a modest decrease in target volume coverage in the event of patient motion.
Public administration: the role of information technology in the reinventing government paradigm—normative predicates and practical challenges

This article looks at the intersection of the two paradigm shifts of the information revolution and reinventing government (REGO) by examining the role of information technology (IT) in the REGO mo...
Neutron Beam Radiotherapy for Recurrent Prostate Cancer Following Radical Prostatectomy

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of neutron beam radiotherapy (NXRT) to treat recurrent prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy (RP). Methods and Materials: Twenty-five patients who failed RP received NXRT at our institution. The pathological stages ranged from T2c–T3c, with 16 patients having either seminal vesicle involvement and/or nodal metastases. Sixteen patients also received neoadjuvant hormones. Freedom from relapse (FFR) was defined by an undetectable PSA (PSA ≤0.2). Median follow-up was 27 months, with no patients lost to follow-up. Results: Postneutron PSA became initially undetectable in 84% of patients. The actuarial FFR is 36% at 3 years. Nine patients remain NED, 12 patients have an elevated PSA only, 2 patients have clinical recurrence, and 2 patients are dead of prostate cancer. Pre-NXRT PSA levels of ≤1.0 vs. >1.0 predicted for outcome, with a FFR at 3 years of 76 vs. 14% ( p = 0.003). Patients with a persistently elevated PSA following RP were not effectively salvaged by NXRT, with a 12% FFR at 3 years compared to a 62% FFR for patients whose PSA initially normalized following RP ( p = 0.03). There was no difference in treatment outcomes based on fields encompassing pelvic nodes vs. fields directed to the prostatic fossa only. There were no severe (RTOG Grade 3) late complications. Conclusion: NXRT is an effective salvage treatment for carefully selected patients. This group includes patients whose PSA initially normalized following RP, and whose pre-NXRT PSA ≤1.0.
The electrochemistry of α-β unsaturated aldehydes

Summary The electrochemical behavior of nine α-β unsaturated aldehydes has been investigated. All seven compounds having alkyl substituents exhibit a single polarographic wave. Acrolein and sorbaldehyde exhibit multiple waves, the most positive of which (like the waves of the alkyl compounds) result from the reduction of the anhydrous aldehyde by a one-electron, one-proton process. The second waves of acrolein and sorbaldehyde both appear to arise from the one-electron reduction of the species formed by hydration of the α-β double bond. The free radicals formed by these processes initiate head-to-tail polymerization of the aldehydes.
Proprioception after total ankle arthroplasty.

Background: Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is becoming an effective treatment for end-stage ankle arthritis. It is unknown if TAA alters the patient's ability to sense ankle joint position. Materia...
QUANTITATIVE OBSERVATIONS ON THE BIOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL ASSAYS OF HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE.

Quantitative assays for growth, lactogenic and hemagglutination inhibiting activities were made on a number of crude and purified growth hormone preparations. Statistical comparisons between relative activities of different preparations revealed no differences in ratio of prolactin to growth hormone, the relationship being of the order of 1:10, on an estimated weight basis using sheep prolactin and tovine growth hormone as standards for comparison. Incubation of preparations with anti-human growth hormone antisera resulted in quantitative inhibition of both growth and lactogenic activities. The possible physiological and biochemical implications of this apparent inseparability of activities and constant ratio in current preparations of human growth hormone are discussed. (Endocrinology 74: 366, 1964)
Characterization of knot complements in the 4-sphere

Abstract Knot complements in S4 are characterized as follows: A connected open set W ⊂ S4 is homeomorphic to the complement of some locally flat 2-sphere in S4 if and only if H1(W) is infinite cyclic, W has one end, and the fundamental group of that end is infinite cyclic. Applications include a characterization of weakly flat 2-spheres in S4 and a complement theorem for 2-spheres in S4.
Membrane specializations of neuritic growth cones in vivo: a quantitative IMP analysis.

The internal structure of the membranes of axonal and Schwann cell growth processes was examined by freeze-fracture in the growing olfactory nerve, a simple in vivo system consisting of a homogeneous neuronal population. Excision of the mature nerve of adult bullfrogs provides well-synchronized primary neuritic outgrowth that is highly enriched in growth cones at its distalmost segment. The extreme uniformity of olfactory axons in terms of their diameter and their intramembrane particle (IMP) composition permits clear identification of the cellular origin of the growth cone structures observed in replicas. In vivo, growth cones of the olfactory nerve appear as irregularly shaped enlargements of the distal tip; filopodia are only infrequently exposed by the fracture plane. Axonal and Schwann cell growth cones are distinguished by (1) the larger size of the Schwann cell growth cone and the smaller diameter of its attached processes, and (2) the distinct differences in IMP composition of Schwann cell and axonal growth cones and cell processes. Schwann cell growth cones display a uniformly high IMP density on their P-face leaflet, with the exception of circumscribed moundlike protrusions that are relatively free of IMPs. In contrast, axonal growth cones display sharp regional variation in IMP density on their P-face: broad regions almost devoid of IMPs are interspersed with zones of high IMP density. Cytotic profiles occur within high IMP density zones located, most often, at the base of the axonal growth cone. A comparison of IMP size histograms of both high and low-density regions of axonal growth cones and that of the neighboring distal shaft of the axon indicates a strict partitioning of membrane components between these two regions. The IMP profile of the axonal growth cone, notable for its relative enrichment in large-diameter particles, suggests that IMP components of the growth cone are delivered to the distal tip by a mechanism that is distinct from the lateral diffusion process described for particles of the growing axon's shaft [cf. Small and Pfenninger, 1984]. The IMP profile of the concave P-face leaflet of the internal vesicles found clustered at the base of the growth cone is more similar in composition to the profile of the neuronal shaft than that of the growth cone.
Does adding microbial mechanisms of decomposition improve soil organic matter models? A comparison of four models using data from a pulsed rewetting experiment

Contemporary soil organic matter (SOM) models have been successful at simulating decomposition across a range of spatial and temporal scales using first-order kinetics to represent the decomposition process; however, recent work suggests the simplicity of the first-order representation of decomposition is not adequate to capture the microbially-driven dynamics of SOM decomposition over short timescales. For example, the response of soils to drying-rewetting events may best be explained by microbial and/or exoenzyme controls on decomposition. To test if adding these microbial mechanisms improves the ability of SOM models to simulate the response of soils to short-term environmental changes, we developed four different SOM decomposition models with varying mechanistic complexity and compared their ability to simulate soil respiration from a pulsed drying-rewetting laboratory-based experiment. Specifically, we tested the ability of the models to capture the timing and magnitude of soil CO2 efflux in response to rewetting or constant moisture conditions. The results of the comparison suggest that the inclusion of exoenzyme and microbial controls on decomposition can improve the ability to simulate pulsed rewetting dynamics; however, less mechanistic first-order models prevail under steady-state moisture conditions. These modeling results may have implications for understanding the long-term response of soil carbon stocks in response to local and regional climate change.
Powering requires threshold depth 3

We study the circuit complexity of the powering function, defined as POW"m(Z)=Z^m for an n-bit integer input Z and an integer exponent m==2. Specifically, we prove a 2^@W^(^n^/^l^o^g^n^) lower bound on the size of any depth-2 majority circuit that computes POW"m. This work generalizes Wegener's earlier result that the squaring function (i.e., POW"m for the special case m=2) is not in LT@?"2. Our depth lower bound is optimal due to Siu and Roychowdhury's matching upper bound: POW"m@?LT@?"3. The second part of this research note presents several counterintuitive findings about the membership of arithmetic functions in the circuit classes LT@?"1 and LT@?"2. For example, we construct a function f(Z) such that f@?LT@?"1 but 5f@?LT@?"1. We obtain similar findings for LT@?"2. This apparent brittleness of LT@?"1 and LT@?"2 highlights a difficulty in proving lower bounds for arithmetic functions.
Interpersonal Interactions and the Bounds of Agency

According to the Causal Theory of Action, actions are causally produced events and causal transitivity seems to apply to all such events. However, strong intuitions support the idea that actions cannot be transitively caused. This is a tension that has plagued this theory's effort to account for action. In particular, it has fueled a serious objection suggesting that this theory of action seriously distorts the attribution of agency when two agents interact with each other. Based on Donald Davidson's analysis of the accordion effect and the nature of actions, I provide an answer to the problem of agential attribution. It is an answer that shows that the Causal Theory of Action can unambiguously attribute agency without resorting to a stipulation or denying that actions can be transitively caused. I then identify the sources of the problematic intuitions in the need to recognize spheres of agential influence and preserve their integrity. Here is a puzzle for anyone accepting a Causal Theory of Action (henceforth, CTA). I can move someone else's arm by pushing a button provided some of the arm's efferent nerves are appropriately connected to this button. However, when some reasons of the arm's owner appear to causally connect my pushing of the button with the movement of the arm, I no longer cause this movement; its owner does. This is puzzling for anyone defending CTA because this theory presupposes that all actions are causal events. Indeed the puzzle is even greater if I influence the person to have the reasons that cause the arm to move, for instance, by offering money to this person to move the arm. For then it seems that I causally influence the causes of the arm's movement without causally influencing the movement of the arm. We may call this philosophical puzzle 'breaking the causal chain'. In this essay, after criticizing the most important efforts to dispel the puzzle of breaking the causal chain, I offer my own proposal to deal with it. This proposal is based on the examination of the different intuitions at play in this puzzle and the capacity of CTA to account for them. In particular, I submit that CTA can accommodate such intuitions without having to give up causal transitivity by making use of Donald Davidson's theory of action individuation. In this way and against a prevalent view among contemporary action theorists, I show that
Fragmentation Hierarchy of Bright Sungrazing Comets and the Birth and Orbital Evolution of the Kreutz System. II. The Case for Cascading Fragmentation

We examine the process of cascading fragmentation for the Kreutz sungrazer system to continue our exploration of its birth, orbital evolution, and temporal clumping. We modify and broaden the two-superfragment model from Paper I to include clusters of ~30 bright comets spanning four centuries and 1000 SOHO sungrazers from 1996 to 2006. The spectacular parent sungrazer X/1106 C1 is assumed to have tidally split shortly after perihelion into a train of major protofragments immersed in a cloud of particulate debris, which at larger heliocentric distances were breaking up nontidally over and over again. We describe potential evolutionary paths for the Kreutz system by linking X/1106 C1 in subgroup I-type orbit with the comet of February 423 in one scenario or with the comet of February 467 in another. The latter scenario accounts for sungrazer clusters in as early as the 16th century, suggests that the progenitor object may have been observed as the comet of 214 BCE, is quite consistent with the orbital distribution of the SOHO sungrazers that sample the central filament of the Kreutz system between the clusters of major sungrazers, and predicts future clusters until ~2120. Comet X/1106 C1 and the common parent of C/1882 R1 and C/1965 S1 were two first-generation fragments of the progenitor that split nontidally on the way to its 5th century perihelion, reminiscent of the superfragments in Paper I. We provide computational tools needed for solving the problem of the Kreutz system's orbital evolution, but no unique scenarios are presented for the individual comets. Another cluster of bright sungrazers is expected to arrive in the coming decades, its earliest member possibly just several years from now.
Rainwater monocarboxylic and dicarboxylic acid concentrations in southeastern North Carolina, USA, as a function of air-mass back-trajectory

Eight organic acids were measured in 111 rain events occurring between September 1996 and May 1998 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Formic and acetic acids were the most abundant comprising approximately 75% of the total molar quantity of organic acids. The annual volume-weighted concentrations of organic acids in order of decreasing abundance in rainwater was formic (9.9 μM), acetic (7.3 μM), oxalic (1.8 μM), lactic (1.3 μM), succinic (1.0 μM), malonic (0.7 μM), pyruvic (0.3 μM), and maleic (0.1 μM), with methanesulfonic and glyoxylic acids usually below their detection limit. Growing season back-trajectory data provided strong evidence that terrestrial organic acid sources dominated over marine sources. Air mass back-trajectory analysis indicated that during the growing season air mass origin had a consistent impact on concentrations of rainwater organic acids. Rain with continental back-trajectories coming from the west had the highest concentrations of organic acids while two predominately marine back-trajectories had the lowest concentrations. Concentrations of organic acids in non-growing season rain did not display a consistent pattern indicating variability in sources. Seasonality of individual organic acids for specific back-trajectories was most pronounced in terrestrial back-trajectories and least in the marine back-trajectories indicating that seasonality in rainwater organic acid concentrations is driven by variations in terrestrial sources. Formic to acetic acid ratios (F:A), previously an indicator of terrestrial versus marine sources of these organic acids, were similar for all back-trajectories reflecting anthropogenic impacts on F:A locally and regionally. The ratios of malonic to succinic acids (M:S), also an indicator of sources for these acids, indicated direct anthropogenic sources for terrestrial back-trajectories and secondary processes for marine back-trajectories.
Hybrid higher order optical symbolic recognition

Several new higher-order spatial symbol recognition methods for optical symbolic substitution-based calculations are presented. In case of logic processing, higher-order symbolic substitution (SS) rules can be applied to implement multi-variable logic functions. In binary arithmetical calculations requiring carry propagation, the simultaneous processing of a number of bits increases computational speed. Finally, using higher-order SS rules, image processing can be perform using larger windows. Both, multiplicative and additive techniques for a spatial symbol recognition are discussed. Four different optical architectures, a multi-reflecting technique using an optical cavity, a correlation, a phase conjugation and a content-addressable memory (CAM) techniques, are suggested. Optical either dual-rail (DR) or triple-rail (TR) spatial encoding is employed. Some preliminary experimental results are also included.
A Study of the Relation Between the Time a Cow is Carried in Utero and Her Mature Equivalent Butterfat Production

Summary 1.These data indicate that the mature equivalent butterfat records of Jersey cows are not influenced by the length of time these cows are carried in utero by their dams. 2.The length of time these cows were carried in utero was not influenced by the age of their dams. 3.The average length of the gestation period for 726 Jersey cows was 278.9 days.
Economic feasibility of hydrogen enrichment for reducing NOx emissions from landfill gas power generation alternatives: A comparison of the levelized cost of electricity with present strategies

Abstract Based on recent research showing that hydrogen enrichment can lower NO x emissions from landfill gas combustion below future NO x emission control standards imposed by both federal and California state regulations, an investigation was performed to compare the levelized cost of electricity of this technology with other options. In this cost study, a lean-burn reciprocating engine with no after-treatment was the baseline case to compare six other landfill gas-to-energy projects. These cases include a lean burn engine with selective catalytic reduction after treatment, a lean-burn microturbine, and four variations on an ultra-lean-burn engine utilizing hydrogen enrichment with each case using a different method of hydrogen production. Only hydrogen enrichment with an in-stream autothermal fuel reformer was shown to be potentially cost-competitive with current strategies for reaching the NO x reduction target in IC engines.
SERT II - Mission and experiments

Space electric rocket test /SERT/ II thrustor system, discussing flight worthiness and mercury bombardment discharges
On the actuation of semantic change: The case of tongzhi

Abstract This article addresses a lacuna in research on the actuation of semantic change by shedding new light on speakers’ motivation. Focusing on the semantic change of tongzhi from ‘comrade’ to ‘sexual minorities’ in Hong Kong, it argues that the semantic change of social category labels is sometimes actuated by speakers’ desire to index different stances and to project different personae. Yet the speakers’ agency involved is both enabled and constrained by the discursive history of the term and larger socio-historical processes. This study also demonstrates the importance of uncovering speakers’ motivations through the use of different data collection methods.
Early Results of Massachusetts Healthcare Reform on Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in Cardiovascular Care

Background—Insured adults receive invasive cardiovascular procedures more frequently than uninsured adults. We examined the impact of healthcare reform in Massachusetts on use of coronary revascularization procedures and in-hospital and 1-year mortality by race/ethnicity, education, and sex. Methods and Results—Using hospital claims data, we compared differences in coronary revascularization rates (coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous coronary intervention) and in-hospital mortality by race/ethnicity, education, and sex among Massachusetts residents aged 21 to 64 years hospitalized with a principal discharge diagnosis of ischemic heart disease before (November 1, 2004, to July 31, 2006) and after (December 1, 2006, to September 30, 2008) reform; 1-year mortality was calculated for those undergoing revascularization. Adjusted logistic regression assessed 24 216 discharges before reform and 20 721 discharges after reform. Blacks had 30% lower odds of receiving coronary revascularization than whit...
The role of PET scanning in the detection of recurrent cervical cancer

Abstract Objectives [ 18 F] Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) has recently been established as a sensitive and specific method of detecting lymph node metastases in newly diagnosed cervical cancer. Little is known about the efficacy of PET for detecting recurrent disease. We evaluated the potential role of FDG PET in the context of suspected recurrent cervical cancer. Methods The records of patients undergoing PET scan to evaluate for cervical cancer recurrence between July 1998 and February 2002 were reviewed. Radiographic findings were classified as negative, suspicious, or equivocal. PET scan findings were compared to available clinical data to classify each PET result as a true positive, true negative, false positive, or false negative. Clinical proof of recurrence consisted of a tissue biopsy revealing recurrent cancer within 3 months of the PET scan. Clinical proof of no evidence of disease consisted of a negative tissue biopsy within 3 months or no clinical evidence of recurrence within 6 months after the PET scan. Results Twenty-eight patients underwent 37 PET scans. Twenty-nine cases among 22 patients were clinically evaluable for recurrence status. Median age was 42, and stage distribution was IB 1 ( n = 3), IB2 ( n = 4), IIA ( n = 1), IIB ( n = 10), IIIB ( n = 9), IVB ( n = 1). Histologic types included squamous ( n = 23) adenocarcinoma ( n = 4) and unknown ( n = 1). There were 12 true positive PET scans, 13 true negatives, 2 false positives, and 2 false negatives. The sensitivity and specificity of FDG PET for detecting recurrent cervical cancer were 85.7 and 86.7%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 85.7 and 86.7%, respectively. Conclusions Whole-body FDG PET is a sensitive and specific tool for the detection of recurrent cervical cancer in patients who have clinical findings suspicious for recurrence. A larger prospective trial will determine whether this modality should be used routinely in conjunction with, or in lieu of, other imaging studies to detect recurrent disease in a broader population of cervical cancer patients.
Myopic topologies on general commodity spaces

Abstract Continuity of preferences imposes behavioral restrictions on the preferences such as impatience or myopia. This paper extends the notions of myopia due to Brown and Lewis, and their characterization of the Mackey topology in terms of myopia, from l ∞ to L ∞ . Then this characterization of the Mackey topology on L ∞ is used to extend Araujo's theorem on the necessity of impatience for the existence of competitive equilibrium from l ∞ to L ∞ .
β-adrenergic manipulation in amygdala central n. alters rabbit heart rate conditioning

The present study was conducted to assess the effects of beta-adrenergic manipulation within the central nucleus of the amygdala on Pavlovian heart rate conditioning in the rabbit. Administration of the beta-adrenergic antagonist dl-propranolol into the central nucleus impaired the acquisition of conditioned heart rate responding compared to a vehicle injected control group. No significant effects of dl-propranolol on either baseline heart rate or on the heart rate orienting response were observed. The effect of dl-propranolol on conditioning exhibited stereospecificity, and animals receiving combined intracerebral injections of dl-propranolol and the beta-adrenergic agonist 1-isoproterenol did not exhibit comparable conditioning impairments. In addition, dl-propranolol administration dorsal to the central nucleus or into amygdala sites anterior or posterior to the central nucleus was less effective. These results support the interpretation that beta-adrenergic activity within the central nucleus region of the amygdala complex contributes to the acquisition of classically conditioned heart rate responding.
Effects of social skill training, amitriptyline, and psychotherapy in unipolar depressed women**

The effects of four treatments for 120 female unipolar (nonpsychotic) outpatients were contrasted: (1) social skill plus placebo, (2) social skill plus amitriptyline, (3) amitriptyline, and (4) psychotherapy plus placebo. Highly experienced therapists conducted 12 weeks of initial treatment and then 6 months of maintenance treatment at reduced frequency. Patients in each treatment condition evinced marked improvements in depressive symptoms and overall neurotic symptomatology, but there was no differential effectiveness among the four approaches. Future research needs in this area are addressed.
Single wavelength microring laser

We report a novel microring single mode laser that operates based on engineering radiation quality factors of its resonant modes using a second order grating. A theoretical description, fabrication details and measurement results are presented.
Cardioplegia and Diazoxide Modulate STAT3 Activation and DNA Binding

Background Previously, we have shown that magnesium supplemented potassium (DSA) cardioplegia and DSA containing diazoxide (DSA+DZX) significantly decrease apoptosis after ischemia. The mechanism for this enhanced cardioprotection was unknown, but we believed that alterations in signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) may play a role. To investigate this hypothesis, we examined the effects of DSA and DSA+DZX cardioplegia on STAT1/3 phosphorylation and DNA binding in the in situ blood perfused pig heart model. Methods Pigs (32 to 42 kg) undergoing total cardiopulmonary bypass underwent left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion for 30 minutes. The aorta was crossclamped and DSA (n = 6) or DSA+DZX (n = 6) cardioplegia was administered, followed by 30 minutes of global ischemia and 120 minutes of reperfusion. Control hearts (n = 3) received cardiopulmonary bypass and sham reperfusion only. Tissue samples from regional and global ischemia zones were harvested and used for Western blot and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Results Regional and global ischemia significantly increase proapoptotic STAT1 tyrosine phoshorylation. This increase is significantly greater in the regional as compared with the global ischemia zone. Tyrosine phosphorylation of antiapoptotic STAT3 is increased in the global ischemic zone but is significantly decreased in the regional ischemic zone and is associated with increased apoptosis. The DSA+DZX significantly increases tyrosine phosphorylation of antiapoptotic STAT3 and DNA binding in the regional ischemia zone and significantly decreases apoptosis. Conclusions The addition of diazoxide to DSA cardioplegia significantly decreases apoptosis by significantly increasing tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3 and its DNA binding and represents an additional modality for enhancing myocardial protection.
Energy relaxation of a superconducting charge qubit via Andreev processes

We study fundamental limitations on the energy relaxation rate of a superconducting charge qubit with a large-gap Cooper-pair box, ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{b}g{\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{r}$. At a sufficiently large mismatch between the gap energies in the box ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{b}$ and in the reservoir ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}_{r}$, ``quasiparticle poisoning" becomes ineffective even in the presence of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in the reservoir. The qubit relaxation still may occur due to higher-order (Andreev) processes. In this paper, we evaluate the qubit energy relaxation rate ${T\phantom{\rule{0.2em}{0ex}}}_{1}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ due to Andreev processes.
The talk to a lay group as a method of primary prevention

Abstract The talk to a lay group is an important, though neglected tool for mental health primary prevention. A well‐delivered talk can help audience members to change ongoing behavior, anticipate and thus successfully handle developmental crises in family life, or facilitate needed changes in systems or communities. Giving such a talk is a learnable skill which involves dealing both with affect and with behavior while discovering and meeting audience needs, being prescriptive, using humor and concrete examples and dealing with audience questions in an empathic and non‐threatening manner.
Interpretive model for 10B

Abstract The observed features of electromagnetic transitions in 10B are interpreted with a simplified model based on the dominance of the [42] representation in the relevant states.
A three-compartment model of osmotic water exchange in the lung microvasculature.

A bolus injection of hypertonic NaCl into the pulmonary arterial circulation of an isolated perfused dog lung causes the osmotic movement of water first into, and then out of the capillary. The associated changes in blood constituent concentrations and density are referred to as the osmotic transient (OT). Measurement of the sound conduction velocity of effluent blood during an OT is a highly sensitive way to monitor water movement between the vascular and extravascular spaces. It was our objective to develop a mathematical model that adequately describes this transient change in the sound conduction velocity and evaluate its application under conditions of homogeneous and heterogeneous capillary flow distributions. The model accounts for osmotic water exchange between the capillary and two parallel extravascular compartments, and includes as parameters the osmotic conductances $$\left( {\sigma K_1 ,\sigma K_2 } \right)$$ of the two compartments. The osmotic conductance parameters incorporate the filtration coefficient for water and reflection coefficient for salt for the two pathways of water exchange. The partition of total extravascular lung water (EVLW) between the two extravascular compartments is a third parameter of the model. The homogeneous model parameter estimates (per gram wet lung weight ±95% confidence limits) from the best-fit analysis of a typical curve were $${\sigma}K_1 = 2.15 \pm 0.07,{\sigma}K_2 = 0.03 \pm 0.00[{ml h}^{- 1} ({mosmol/liter})^{ - 1} {g}^{-1}]{and}V_1 = 23.83 \pm 0.12{ml}$$ , with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.08. The heterogeneous parameter estimates for a capillary transit time distribution with mean transit time $$\left({{MTT}_{C}} \right) = 1.172{s}$$ , and relative dispersion $$({RD}_{C} ) = 0.35{ were \sigma }K_1 = 2.38 \pm 0.05,{ \sigma }K_2 = 0.03 \pm 0.00[{ml h}^{ - 1} ({mosmol/liter})^{ - 1} {g}^{ - 1} ],V_1 = 23.91 \pm 0.08{ml}$$ ,and CV=0.05. EVLW was 42.1 ml for both models. We conclude that the three-compartment mathematical model adequately describes a typical OT under both homogeneous and heterogeneous blood flow assumptions. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 8719Tt, 8710+e
Hydrogeomorphic controls of early post-logging successional pathways in a southern floodplain forest

Successful management or restoration of southern floodplain forest ecosystems requires an understanding of how subtle changes in environmental conditions such as site hydroperiod affect species suitability as well as the importance of recruitment limitation. In this research, we examined the effects of elevation, modeled flood regime, soil conditions and forest proximity on early, post-logging succession in clearcuts on the Congaree River floodplain near Columbia, South Carolina. Analyses of community composition clearly demonstrated that regeneration was structured along environmental gradients associated with site hydroperiod, with obligate wetland species dominating sites with the lowest elevations and deepest projected flood inundation depths. The effects of soil characteristics on site composition were in some cases inter-correlated with site hydroperiod, reflecting the influence of flood regime on soil drainage, aeration, and soil redox potential. In other cases, though, site composition was distinguished along a second, but equally important, orthogonal axis that was more reflective of the effects of geomorphic history on edaphic conditions. There was no evidence that fine-scale dispersal limitation affected succession, in part because of the effects of resprouting, but it is possible that past human activities have altered landscape-scale patterns of commercially valuable species such that seed and sprout sources for advance regeneration may have been absent at the time of the most recent clearcutting. Our examination of regeneration patterns, processes and controls clarified the relationships between current conditions and community composition, but, because patterns of elevation, flooding and soil characteristics across a floodplain have their roots in geomorphic processes, they are also ultimately a reflection of past hydrogeomorphic events.
Detection of Prostate Cancer in Urine by Dogs

THE observation of higher levels of acid phosphatase in the serum of patients with prostate cancer and its subsequent decrease after castration or estrogen treatment was perhaps the first evidence of a potential prostate cancer tumor marker. During the late 1970s and early 1980s urology residents at Northwestern University Medical Center would collect and store expressed prostate secretions for analysis. Grayhack and Bockrath believed that it was highly likely that perturbations in the cancerous prostate would produce detectable biochemical alterations in fluids obtained by prostate massage. 1 It was their experience that digital massage fluid was relatively uncontaminated by other organ secretions or urine. This was confirmed by Fair and Cordonnier. 2 Changes in the composition of enzymes, particularly lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), appeared promising. Patients with prostate cancer had a higher level of the isoenzyme LDH5 than their normal counterparts. 1 A reliable marker for the monitoring and early detection of carcinoma of the prostate remained an important but elusive clinical goal until the discovery of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in 1979 by Wang et al. 3 Other careful studies clarified the utility of serum PSA as an effective means for early detection of prostatic cancer. The quest for improved detection strategies persists. PSA screening has been criticized for its lack of specificity and prostate biopsy is invasive. There is also a small but significant risk of severe infectious complications (sepsis) and rare deaths. In this issue of The Journal Taverna et al (page 1382) present evidence of the ability of highly trained dogs to detect prostate cancer in voided urine samples. 4 The data encourage all of us to redouble our efforts to improve the detection of prostate cancer. Clearly noninvasive olfactory diagnosis by trained canines would likely be less expensive and also have fewer complications. The observations of Taverna et al 4 raise provocative and important scientific questions. What is the specific volatile organic compound or compounds that these dogs can distinguish? Identifying the abnormal substance would open the door for therapeutic targets and provide an avenue for molecular imaging. It has been known for decades that the highest levels of polyamines are in the prostate. 5 Is it possible that one of the volatile organic compounds could be an altered spermidine or a precursor, putrescine or spermine? I concur with Taverna et al that their results suggest that the volatile organic compounds in question might depend on a metabolic process of the tumor. 4 The independence of tumor volume and aggressiveness from olfactory detection is surprising and extraordinary. In that regard the scent may be that of malignancy and dogs may truly be (hu) mans’ best friend.
Microtubules are required for centrosome expansion and positioning while microfilaments are required for centrosome separation in sea urchin eggs during fertilization and mitosis

Centrosomes undergo cell cycle-dependent changes in shape and separations, changes that govern the organization of the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is largely organized by the centrosome; however, this investigation explores the importance of cytoskeletal elements in directing centrosome shape. Since the sea urchin egg during fertilization and mitosis displays dramatic and synchronous changes in centrosome shape, the effects of cytoskeletal inhibitors on centrosome compaction, expansion, and separation were explored by the use of anticentrosome immunofluorescence microscopy. Centrosome expansion and separation was studied during two phases: the transition after sperm incorporation, when the compact sperm centrosome enlarges and the sperm aster develops, and from prometaphase to telophase, when the compact spindle poles enlarge. Compaction was investigated when the dispersed centrosome at interphase condenses into the two spindle poles at prometaphase. Although centrosome expansion and separation typically occur concurrently, beta-mercaptoethanol results in centrosome separation independent of expansion. Microtubule inhibitors prevent centrosome expansion and separation, and expanded centrosomes collapse. Since pronuclear union is arrested by microtubule inhibitors, this treatment also affords the opportunity to explore the relative attractiveness of the male and female pronuclei for these centrosomal antigens. Both pronuclei acquire centrosomal material; though only the male centrosome is capable of organizing a functional bipolar mitotic apparatus at first division, the female centrosome nucleates a monaster. Microfilament inhibition (cytochalasin D) prevents centrosome separation but not expansion or compaction. These results demonstrate that as the centrosome shapes the cytoskeleton, the cytoskeleton alters centrosome shape.
Once Again Piero Della Francesca's Montefeltro Altarpiece

(1966). Once Again Piero Della Francesca's Montefeltro Altarpiece. The Art Bulletin: Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 203-206.
Picosecond Photorefractive Effect For Optical Data Processing

Photorefractive gratings have been written with picosecond pulses in GaAs, BaTiO3, LiNb03 and Bi12S1020. These observations are reviewed and compared to each other and to the theoretical limit on photorefractive sensitivity.
Effects of Neonatal Stress and Morphine on Kappa Opioid Receptor Signaling

Background: Critically ill neonates experience multiple stressors during hospitalization. Opioids are commonly prescribed to ameliorate their pain and stress. However, the enduring
Kinesin-5 regulates the growth of the axon by acting as a brake on its microtubule array

Kinesin-5 is a homotetrameric motor protein that interacts with adjacent microtubules in the mitotic spindle. Kinesin-5 is also highly expressed in developing postmitotic neurons. Axons of cultured neurons experimentally depleted of kinesin-5 grow up to five times longer than controls and display more branches. The faster growth rates are accompanied by a doubling of the frequency of transport of short microtubules, suggesting a major role for kinesin-5 in the balance of motor-driven forces on the axonal microtubule array. Live-cell imaging reveals that the effects on axonal length of kinesin-5 depletion are caused partly by a lower propensity of the axon and newly forming branches to undergo bouts of retraction. Overexpression of wild-type kinesin-5, but not a rigor mutant of kinesin-5, has the inverse effect on axonal length. These results indicate that kinesin-5 imposes restrictions on the growth of the axon and does so at least in part by generating forces on the axonal microtubule array.
Does FX Volatility Affect the Distributions of Commodity Futures Returns

This paper employs a two-step GARCH-M procedure to study price and volatility spillover effects from a series of foreign exchange rate returns to CME Group commodities in the grains, livestock, and energy complexes. Exchange rates are purported to have supply and demand effects on commodity prices and we hypothesize that this translates into transmissions of distributional shocks from currency returns to commodity returns distributions. The currencies are segregated into three groups: large GDP economies and major US trade partners, emerging economies, and pacific rim countries. Our results show that exchange rates for the EU, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia have the strongest and broadest transmissions of mean innovations to the observed commodities. These are all either major trade partners with the US and/or major exporters of agricultural commodities. Volatility transmissions are much less pronounced and tend to occur for lower liquidity commodities. These results have implications for models considering asset pricing, price discovery, and hedging applications for commodity returns.
Construction and Experimental Implementation of a Model-Based Inverse Filter to Attenuate Hysteresis in Ferroelectric Transducers

Hysteresis and constitutive nonlinearities are inherent properties of ferroelectric transducer materials due to the noncentrosymmetric nature of the compounds. In certain regimes, these effects can be mitigated through restricted input fields, charge- or current-controlled amplifiers, or feedback designs. For general operating conditions, however, these properties must be accommodated in models, transducer designs, and model-based control algorithms to achieve the novel capabilities provided by the compounds. In this paper, we illustrate the construction of inverse filters, based on homogenized energy models, which can be used to approximately linearize the piezoceramic transducer behavior for linear design and control implementation. Attributes of the inverse filters are illustrated through numerical examples and experimental open loop control implementation for an atomic force microscope stage