cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Image-guided localization of the internal auditory canal via the middle cranial fossa approach.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the accuracy of an electromagnetic image guidance surgical navigation system in localizing the midpoint of the internal auditory canal (IAC) and other structures of the temporal bone through the middle cranial fossa approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven fresh cadaveric whole heads were dissected via a middle cranial fossa approach. High-resolution CT scans were used with an InstaTrak 3500 Plus electromagnetic image guidance system (General Electric, Fairfield, CT). We evaluated the accuracy of identifying several middle cranial fossa landmarks including the midpoint of the IAC; the labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve; and the arcuate eminence, the carotid artery, and foramen spinosum. RESULTS: We were able to identify the middle of the IAC within 2.31 mm (range 0.65-7.52 mm, SD 2.39 mm). The arcuate eminence could be identified within 1.86 mm (range 1.49-2.37 mm, SD 0.36 mm). We noted some interference when the handpiece was within 6 to 8 cm of the microscope. CONCLUSION: Although computer-aided navigational tools are no substitute for thorough knowledge of temporal bone anatomy, we found the InstaTrak system reliable in identifying the midpoint of the IAC to within 2.4 mm through a middle fossa approach.
Qualitative research: what this research paradigm has to offer to the understanding of pain.

It takes more than standard quantitative research techniques to fully explore the richness of human experience. This is demonstrated in the two qualitative research articles published in this issue of Pain Medicine by Sofaer-Bennett and colleagues that explore the experience of elderly individuals living with chronic pain (pp. 263–80). The studies used different methodological approaches: one grounded theory and the other phenomenology . As seen in these studies, qualitative research seeks meaning and understandings about processes and phenomena, with attention to narratives, personal experiences, and language. The aim of qualitative research is not to find significance in numbers but rather in themes that emerge from narratives indicative of common human experiences. Qualitative inquiry typically focuses in depth on relatively small numbers of participants (e.g., 5–30) who are selected purposefully. The researcher goes to the experts of the phenomena under study—the people who are experiencing it. Observation, interviews, focus groups, documentary analysis, and case studies are all examples of qualitative research techniques. Personal experience is valued as one means of determining what is relevant to care and research. Qualitative research is an area of basic scientific inquiry, the fundamental description of mechanisms, processes, structures, and phenomenon. Qualitative methods include an ability to examine situations in depth with open-ended questions and the capacity to explore complex questions. The research approach is flexible enough for application to a wide range of patients [1–3]. The …
Children and Adolescents Providing Care to a Parent with Huntington’s Disease: Disease Symptoms, Caregiving Tasks and Young Carer Well-Being

Over 30,000 people in the U.S. have Huntington’s disease (HD), a disorder with numerous complicated, long-lasting and stigmatizing symptoms. Caregiving typically falls to the family, yet little is known about the caregiving experience of children and adolescents in the home. Guided by the stress process model, this exploratory study sought to describe children and adolescents who care for a parent with HD and their caregiving experience, by detailing previously unknown relationships between caregiving, parent/child conflict, school problems, and psychological well-being of child/adolescent caregivers. This cross-sectional study used semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 40 children and adolescents, aged 12–20, who care for a parent with HD. Data was analyzed using descriptive and correlational statistics. Measures included the Children’s’ Depression Inventory, The Conflict Behavior Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Assessment of Caring Activities. Study participants have substantial caregiving responsibilities (>11), with half providing personal care to a parent. The majority experienced school problems and conflict with parents (60 and 92 % respectively). Caregiving tasks were associated with problems with school and conflict with the ill parent. Furthermore, parental symptoms were associated with poor psychological wellbeing, parental conflict, and school problems for the caregivers. Children and adolescents are involved in numerous tasks and describe difficulties with their daily life and well-being. Results highlight the need for the development of support services for caregivers, as well best care practices for problematic HD symptoms. Study outcomes address minimizing the potential for negative caregiving experiences of these vulnerable caregivers.
Technological Change, Sexuality, and Family Futures Planning

Planning for both future social, scientific and medical research and for the challenges and changes we will confront as a result of sexological research and reproductive/contraceptive tech-nology requires consideration of four areas of special concern: (1) contraception, (2) reproductive technologies, (3) gender differences, and (4) sexual relationships. In each of these four areas examples are provided illustrating the political, activist, and religous uses and abuses of data to promote partisan views and agendas. Planning for a more humane future requires continual, skeptical, careful, and open dialogue because it will often be impossible to anticipate or define the problems in advance, and weigh the likely costs and benefits of individual and societal options.
Differential Effects of Crowding Reagents on the Interaction of Profilin and Thymosin Beta 4 with Actin

Actin polymerization in vivo is spatially organized, with dynamic actin polymerization occurring at the leading edge of a motile cell, and occurs in the context of molecular crowding effects, including osmolyte concentration, that also vary with location. The current study tests the hypothesis that molecular crowding could influence interactions of actin with actin-regulatory proteins so as to shift the pool of actin monomers to a polymerization competent state within the active polymerization zone. In support of this hypothesis, we found that a naturally occurring osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) dramatically increases affinity, KT, of the actin sequestering protein thymosin b4 (TB4) to monomeric actin and significantly decreases barbed end actin critical concentration Ac in presence of ATP. The N- and C-terminal alpha helices in TB4 helices are known to be unstructured in aqueous solution and to adopt helical conformation in organic solvents or upon binding to actin. The effects of TMAO are consistent with a decrease in free energy of the actin-TB4 interaction through facilitating alpha helix formation. The effect of TMAO on the affinity, KP, of ATP-G-actin to a globular actin regulating protein, profilin, is much weaker, as might be expected based on structural considerations. Unlike TMAO, polyethylene glycol (PEG) affects Ac, KT, and KP by similar extents. We also found that the TMAO facilitates ternary complex formation between actin, profilin, and TB4 which may very significantly increase the amount of unpolymerized actin in presence of profilin and TB4, and therefore inhibit actin polymerization. We conclude that spatial variation in osmolytes could, in principle, explain how actin sheds TB4 prior to polymerization.
Gene Prospector: An evidence gateway for evaluating potential susceptibility genes and interacting risk factors for human diseases

Millions of single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified as a result of the human genome project and the rapid advance of high throughput genotyping technology. Genetic association studies, such as recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS), have provided a springboard for exploring the contribution of inherited genetic variation and gene/environment interactions in relation to disease. Given the capacity of such studies to produce a plethora of information that may then be described in a number of publications, selecting possible disease susceptibility genes and identifying related modifiable risk factors is a major challenge. A Web-based application for finding evidence of such relationships is key to the development of follow-up studies and evidence for translational research. We developed a Web-based application that selects and prioritizes potential disease-related genes by using a highly curated and updated literature database of genetic association studies. The application, called Gene Prospector, also provides a comprehensive set of links to additional data sources. We compared Gene Prospector results for the query "Parkinson" with a list of 13 leading candidate genes (Top Results) from a curated, specialty database for genetic associations with Parkinson disease (PDGene). Nine of the thirteen leading candidate genes from PDGene were in the top 10th percentile of the ranked list from Gene Prospector. In fact, Gene Prospector included more published genetic association studies for the 13 leading candidate genes than PDGene did. Gene Prospector provides an online gateway for searching for evidence about human genes in relation to diseases, other phenotypes, and risk factors, and provides links to published literature and other online data sources. Gene Prospector can be accessed via http://www.hugenavigator.net/HuGENavigator/geneProspectorStartPage.do .
REdiii: a pipeline for automated structure solution

High-throughput crystallographic approaches require integrated software solutions to minimize the need for manual effort. REdiii is a system that allows fully automated crystallographic structure solution by integrating existing crystallographic software into an adaptive and partly autonomous workflow engine. The program can be initiated after collecting the first frame of diffraction data and is able to perform processing, molecular-replacement phasing, chain tracing, ligand fitting and refinement without further user intervention. Preset values for each software component allow efficient progress with high-quality data and known parameters. The adaptive workflow engine can determine whether some parameters require modifications and choose alternative software strategies in case the preconfigured solution is inadequate. This integrated pipeline is targeted at providing a comprehensive and efficient approach to screening for ligand-bound co-crystal structures while minimizing repetitiveness and allowing a high-throughput scientific discovery process.
Aging and the time and frequency structure of force output variability

The present study examined the time and frequency structure of force output in adult humans to determine whether the changes in complexity with age are dependent on external task demands. Healthy young (20–24 yr), old (60–69 yr), and older-old (75–90 yr) humans produced isometric force contractions to constant and sine wave targets that also varied in force level. First, force variability on each force task increased with advancing age. Second, both time and frequency analysis showed that the structure of the force output in the old and older-old adults was less complex in the constant-force level task and more complex in the sine wave force task. Third, the alterations in force output with aging were primarily due to low-frequency bands <4 Hz. These results support the postulation that the observed increase or decrease in physiological complexity with aging is influenced by the relatively fast time scale of external task demands (Vaillancourt DE and Newell KM. Neurobiol Aging 23: 1–11, 2002).
THE MATCHING LAW AND AMOUNT-DEPENDENT EXPONENTIAL DISCOUNTING AS ACCOUNTS OF SELF-CONTROL CHOICE

Studies with humans have found evidence for amount-dependent temporal discounting, that is, that the sensitivity of choice to reinforcer delay varies inversely with reinforcer magnitude. To test whether similar results could be obtained with nonhumans, pigeons were trained on a two-component concurrent-chains procedure in which the durations of food reinforcement in the terminal links were equal within components but unequal between components. Terminal-link schedules were varied over four conditions to allow separate estimates of sensitivity to delay to be obtained for the large and small reinforcer-magnitude components. Although sensitivity to delay was greater in the small-magnitude component for all subjects, the effect was quite small. The difference in sensitivity was generally less than one standard error, and t tests on parameter differences failed to reach significance. Several models for temporal discounting, including an amount-dependent exponential function, were fitted to the data from the first four conditions. The resulting parameter estimates were used to make predictions for a self-control condition in which one terminal link arranged a smaller, less delayed reinforcer and the other arranged a larger, more delayed reinforcer. For all models, predictions were considerably more accurate when sensitivity to delay was the same regardless of reinforcer magnitude. The results support the independence of delay and magnitude as required by a version of the matching law, and provide strong evidence against amount-dependent exponential discounting as an account of self-control choice. A new two-parameter discounting function, consistent with the matching law, is proposed that has wide empirical generality for both human and nonhuman data.
Printor, a Novel TorsinA-interacting Protein Implicated in Dystonia Pathogenesis

Early onset generalized dystonia (DYT1) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder caused by deletion of a single glutamate residue (torsinA ΔE) in the C-terminal region of the AAA+ (ATPases associated with a variety of cellular activities) protein torsinA. The pathogenic mechanism by which torsinA ΔE mutation leads to dystonia remains unknown. Here we report the identification and characterization of a 628-amino acid novel protein, printor, that interacts with torsinA. Printor co-distributes with torsinA in multiple brain regions and co-localizes with torsinA in the endoplasmic reticulum. Interestingly, printor selectively binds to the ATP-free form but not to the ATP-bound form of torsinA, supporting a role for printor as a cofactor rather than a substrate of torsinA. The interaction of printor with torsinA is completely abolished by the dystonia-associated torsinA ΔE mutation. Our findings suggest that printor is a new component of the DYT1 pathogenic pathway and provide a potential molecular target for therapeutic intervention in dystonia.
Plasma inflammatory mediator concentrations at ICU admission in dogs with naturally developing sepsis.

Background Identifying biomarkers to aide in the diagnosis and prognostication of sepsis in dogs would be valuable to veterinarians. Objective To compare plasma inflammatory mediator concentrations among dogs with sepsis, noninfectious systemic inflammatory response syndrome (NSIRS), and healthy dogs. Animals Dogs with sepsis (n = 22), NSIRS (n = 23), and healthy dogs (n = 13) presenting to the intensive care unit (ICU) at a veterinary teaching hospital. Methods Prospective observational study. Clinical parameters were recorded for each dog and plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF) bioactivity and concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6, CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL)-8 and IL-10 were determined at ICU presentation. Results Dogs with sepsis and NSIRS were significantly more likely to have measurable TNF activity (sepsis 20/22; NSIRS 19/20; healthy 0/13) and IL-6 concentration (sepsis 12/22; NSIRS 15/23; healthy 2/13), than healthy dogs. Healthy dogs (9/13) were significantly more likely to have measurable plasma IL-10 concentrations than dogs with sepsis (4/19), but not NSIRS (7/20). None of the inflammatory mediators evaluated had optimal sensitivity or specificity for the diagnosis of sepsis. Twelve of 22 dogs with sepsis and 15/23 dogs with NSIRS survived to discharge; none of the measured biomarkers correlated with survival to discharge. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Sepsis and NSIRS are associated with increased production of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF and IL-6. In addition, sepsis is associated with decreased production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Despite this, plasma TNF, IL-6, CXCL-8, and IL-10 measured at ICU presentation do not appear to be valuable biomarkers to differentiate sepsis from NSIRS, or predict hospital outcome.
Determination of tocopherol acetate in emulsified nutritional supplements by solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

Abstract The present paper deals with a method of solid-phase extraction of tocopherol acetate (TA, 49.6 μg/g) from emulsified nutritional supplements, which contains 50 kinds of compounds, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection The TA concentration is 5∼100 000 times lower than that of other compounds in the samples. Measuring the loading capacity of the larger amounts of vegetable oil onto the Bond Elut C18 cartridge was examined for the complete retention of smaller level of TA. A sample solution was applied to a solid-phase extraction cartridge and then TA was eluted by acetonitrile followed by HPLC. This method was suitable for the determination of TA in emulsified nutritional supplements. The proposed method was simple, rapid (analysis time: ca. 15 min), sensitive [detection limit: ca. 0.1 ng per injection (100 μl) at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1], and reproducible (relative standard deviation: ca. 2.5% (n=5)). The calibration graph of TA was linear in the range of 0.1 to 100 ng per injection (100 μl). Recovery of TA was over 90% by the standard addition method.
DNA sequence analysis of prm- mutations of coliphage lambda

Abstract Nucleotide sequence changes associated with mutation of the prm promoter of bacteriophage λ have been determined. Prm− mutations have been assigned to two classes. Class I mutations appear to affect the interaction of RNA polymerase with prm ;six class I mutations affect four sites, located 14, 33, 38, and 39 bp preceding the prm transcription startpoint. Class II mutations appear to owe their Prm− phenotype to a change in oR, which could prevent activation of prm by repressor. All three class II mutations are in oR 1.
Considerations in source-mask optimization for logic applications

In the low k1 regime, optical lithography can be extended further to its limits by advanced computational lithography technologies such as Source-Mask Optimization (SMO) without applying costly double patterning techniques. By cooptimizing the source and mask together and utilizing new capabilities of the advanced source and mask manufacturing, SMO promises to deliver the desired scaling with reasonable lithography performance. This paper analyzes the important considerations when applying the SMO approach to global source optimization in random logic applications. SMO needs to use realistic and practical cost functions and model the lithography process with accurate process data. Through the concept of source point impact factor (SPIF), this study shows how optimization outputs depend on SMO inputs, such as limiting patterns in the optimization. This paper also discusses the modeling requirements of lithography processes in SMO, and it shows how resist blur affect optimization solutions. Using a logic test case as example, the optimized pixelated source is compared with the non-optimized source and other optimized parametric sources in the verification. These results demonstrate the importance of these considerations during optimization in achieving the best possible SMO results which can be applied successfully to the targeted lithography process.
Demographic and clinical correlates of diabetes-related quality of life among youth with type 1 diabetes.

Objectives To evaluate the reliability and cluster structure of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Type 1 Diabetes Module 3.0 (PedsQL-T1DM) and associated subscales and to explore the associations between PedsQL-T1DM total score and demographic and clinical characteristics and clinical indicators among a large racially/ethnically diverse cohort of youth with type 1 diabetes. Study design Principal components analysis was conducted on responses from the PedsQL-T1DM child self-report forms completed by SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study participants aged ≥5 years. Multivariate linear regression models were fit to examine the associations among PedsQL-T1DM total score, demographic and clinical characteristics, and clinical indicators. Results The sample comprised 2602 youth with a mean age of 13.6 ± 4.1 years and a mean T1DM duration of 62.1 ± 47.0 months. Principal components analysis did not support the 5 existing PedsQL-T1DM subscales. In multivariate analyses, the PedsQL-T1DM total score was negatively and significantly associated with younger age (5-7 years), female sex, receiving insulin by injection (vs pump), having parents without a college degree, Medicaid/Medicare insurance, and having a comorbid medical condition. Youth with poor glycemic control based on their age-specific hemoglobin A1c target values and those with depressive symptoms had significantly lower PedsQL-T1DM scores than their counterparts with good control and no or limited depressive symptoms. Conclusion This study has identified sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of youth with T1DM more likely to experience poor diabetes-specific quality of life. The association of lower PedsQL-T1DM scores with depressive symptoms and poor glycemic control is especially concerning and may be the focus of future interventions and studies.
Self-Healing Routing: A Study in Efficiency and Resiliency of Data Delivery in Wireless Sensor Networks

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of implementation of a novel protocol, Self-Healing Routing (SHR) for opportunistic multi-hop wireless communication, on MicaZ sensor motes. The protocol uses broadcast communication and a prioritized transmission back-off delay sc heme to empower a receiving mote to use its hop distance from the destination to decide autonomously whether to forward a packet. When severed routes are encountered, the protocol dynamically and locally re-routes packets so they tr averse the surviving shortest route. We have implemented this protocol on a set of MicaZ motes as well as in the SENSE sensor network simulator and conducted field testing with different mote and network config urations. We also tested scenarios with the motes turned off (modeling permanent failures) and in simulation also temporarily off line (modeling transient failures). We compared SHR with two traditional protocols: MintRoute and AODV. The results, as shown by experimental measurement and simulations reported in the paper, demonstrate that Self-Healing Routing is an efficient fault-tolerant protocol that performs well even with spontaneous network topology changes. Keywords: Wireless sensor networks, wireless communication, fault-tolerant routing, performance measurement
On-orbit absolute radiance standard for the next generation of IR remote sensing instruments

The next generation of infrared remote sensing satellite instrumentation, including climate benchmark missions will require better absolute measurement accuracy than now available, and will most certainly rely on the emerging capability to fly SI traceable standards that provide irrefutable absolute measurement accuracy. As an example, instrumentation designed to measure spectrally resolved infrared radiances with an absolute brightness temperature error of better than 0.1 K will require high-emissivity (<0.999) calibration blackbodies with emissivity uncertainty of better than 0.06%, and absolute temperature uncertainties of better than 0.045K (k=3). Key elements of an On-Orbit Absolute Radiance Standard (OARS) meeting these stringent requirements have been demonstrated in the laboratory at the University of Wisconsin (UW) and refined under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program (IIP). This work recently culminated with an integrated subsystem that was used in the laboratory to demonstrate end-to-end radiometric accuracy verification for the UW Absolute Radiance Interferometer. Along with an overview of the design, we present details of a key underlying technology of the OARS that provides on-orbit absolute temperature calibration using the transient melt signatures of small quantities (<1g) of reference materials (gallium, water, and mercury) imbedded in the blackbody cavity. In addition we present performance data from the laboratory testing of the OARS.
Cost efficiency analysis for fine-needle aspiration in the workup of parotid and submandibular gland nodules.

The utility and cost effectiveness of salivary gland fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is controversial. Some authorities argue FNA has no added value over clinical-radiographic study because most salivary gland nodules occur in the parotid and the tumor's relationship to the facial nerve determines the operative procedure rather than the histology. Other experts contend FNA is of value by reducing the overall number of operative procedures performed. We studied 306 salivary gland nodules (214 parotid and 92 submandibular gland) undergoing FNA. One hundred and seventy one were subsequently surgically resected and the remaining 135 followed clinically. A 16% error rate was associated with the nonoperative group, necessitating later surgical resection. The cost of the FNAs and surgical resections (when performed) was calculated based on Medicare reimbursement rates. Costs were based on all cases undergoing initial FNA. The expense of initial resection was based on the observed percentage of patients undergoing resection in our series. The costs of resections related to erroneous FNA diagnoses were based on the error rate associated with FNA diagnoses clinically followed (i.e., chronic sialadenitis). Costs of FNAs, initial resections, and subsequent resections related to FNA errors were summed and compared with the cost which would have occurred if all nodules had been primarily resected. FNA reduced the number of operative procedures by ∼65% for submandibular nodules and 35% for parotid nodules. Diagnoses which resulted in nonsurgical management included chronic radiation-induced sialadenitis, intraparotid lymph node, recurrent lymphoma, and accessory nodules or lobes of the parotid gland. Pure surgical management was associated with a cost of $275,750.00 per 100 patients. FNA management was associated with an expenditure of $206,632.00 per 100 patients, representing a savings of $69,118.00 (33% savings over surgical management alone). Based on these data, FNA appears to be cost effective in addition to supplying preoperative diagnoses helpful in counseling, operative planning, and allaying patient anxiety. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006;34: 734–738. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Agricultural Economics: A Critical Review of the State of the Science

The title of this paper provides almost unlimited latitude for discussions of the contributions, or lack thereof, of the scientists engaged in the application of a body of knowledge commonly referred to as agricultural economics. Because a complete review of the field of agricultural economics would exceed the scope of a paper, this discussion will be oriented to selected issues. The issues discussed are related primarily to empirical analyses. Selected definitions are used to provide a basis for the arguments presented.
Atomic Absorption Spectrometry of Nickel in Serum, Urine, and Other Biological Materials

An atomic absorption technique is described for analysis of nickel in serum, whole blood, urine, and other biological materials. After the sample has been subjected to protein precipitation or acid digestion, nickel is extracted into methylisobutylketone as a pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate complex, and is measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. The following values (mean ±SD) were obtained for nickel in specimens from healthy subjects living in central Connecticut: serum, 0.26 ± 0.08 , µg/100 ml ( N = 40); whole blood, 0.48 ± 0.13 µg/100 ml ( N = 17); and urine, 0.23 ± 0.14 µg/100 ml, = 2.4 ± 1.1 µg/day ( N = 26). In sera obtained from 36 patients within 24 h after myocardial infarction, the mean nickel concentration was 0.51 ± 0.27 µg/100 ml (p vs. controls = 0.001). In 132 consecutive adult patients, admitted to the hospital for all diagnoses except myocardial infarction, the mean concentration of serum nickel was 0.22 ± 0.11 µg/100 ml. Measurements of serum nickel may prove to be useful in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.
Solving the additive eigenvalue problem associated to a dynamics of a 2D-traffic system

This is a technical note where we solve the additive eigenvalue problem associated to a dynamics of a 2D-traffic system. The traffic modeling is not explained here. It is available in \cite{Far08}. It consists of a microscopic road traffic model of two circular roads crossing on one junction managed with the priority-to-the-right rule. It is based on Petri nets and minplus algebra. One of our objectives in \cite{Far08} was to derive the fundamental diagram of 2D-traffic, which is the relation between the density and the flow of vehicles. The dynamics of this system, derived from a Petri net design, is non monotone and additively homogeneous of degree 1. In this note, we solve the additive eigenvalue problem associated to this dynamics.
Correlation of LBH intensities with precipitating particle energies

[1] Precipitating particle data from the DMSP F12 and F13 satellites has been merged with image data from the Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) on the Polar satellite. UVI images were combined within single transpolar passes of the DMSP F12 and F13 satellites. Pixel irradiances were then averaged into 1° × 1° bins along the satellite tracks, thus generating along-track irradiance profiles. Similarly, energy fluxes of precipitating electrons were averaged into 1° bins along the trajectory. The peaks in each set of profiles were isolated in order to compare photon irradiance with electron energy flux. The irradiance and energy flux data of hundreds of peaks were linearly correlated for January–February 1997 when the northern polar regions were in darkness and dayglow effects were minimal. In the pre-midnight and dawn sectors, good correlations (r > 0.7) arise between the photon irradiance and electron energy fluxes, while correlations for other sectors are not as good. The good correlation suggests that UVI fluxes can be directly calibrated to measure energy input without the additional complication of modeling, at least for some MLT sectors. Using this calibration, global maps of energy input into the aurora may be derived empirically.
Internal fields of soot fractal aggregates

This work uses the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) to examine the internal electric field within a simulated carbon soot fractal aggregate in fixed and random orientations. For fixed orientations, deviations of the internal field magnitude up to ±50% from that assumed by the Rayleigh–Debye–Gans Approximation (RDGA) are found. Given the refractive index of the aggregate monomers and conditions for the validity of the approximation, such large deviations are no surprise. Yet despite this deviation, the far-field scattered intensity from such aggregates agrees surprisingly well with that described by the RDGA. Moreover, if the average over an ensemble of many random aggregate-orientations is calculated, both the DDA and RDGA scattered intensities obey the well-known power-law functionality in terms of the scattering wave vector and show a forward-angle intensity-maximum proportional to the square of the number of monomers. The explanation for this lies in the over and under estimations made by the approximation of the internal field, which apparently mostly cancel upon integration to yield the scattered intensity. It is shown that this error cancellation is related to the fractal structure of the aggregate and that the agreement between the DDA and RDGA improves with aggregates of increasing size provided the fractal dimension is less than two. Overall, the analysis suggests that both the special fractal character of the aggregate and its orientational averaging is important to account for the experimentally observed validity of the RDGA despite its poor description of the internal fields.
Adaptive camera calibration with measurable position of fixed features

In this paper, a novel self-calibration method is developed for a camera attached to a mechanical system with known kinematics. An innovative least squares estimator is developed to compute the unknown intrinsic and extrinsic camera calibration parameters while an adaptive parameterized error prediction formulation is presented to compensate for the unknown pixel coordinates of the static objects projection. The estimator is based on a Lyapunov stability analysis which verifies convergence of the signals provided a persistent excitation condition is satisfied. Simulation results with and without additive pixel noise are also provided to illustrate the performance and robustness of the algorithm.
Sexuality and intimacy after gynecological cancer

Matters of sexuality and intimacy greatly impact quality of life of patients with gynecologic cancers. Vast amount of evidence exists showing that cancer dramatically impacts woman's sexuality, sexual functioning, intimate relationships and sense of self. Sexual functioning can be affected by illness, pain, anxiety, anger, stressful circumstances and medications. There is a growing acknowledgement that these needs are not being appropriately addressed by providers. With improvements in early detection, surgery and adjuvant therapy for gynecologic cancer, long term survival and cure are becoming possible. Quality of life is thus becoming a major issue for patients. Patients suffer from hot flashes, difficulty sleeping, loss of libido and intimacy, all resulting in significant morbidity and loss of quality of life. Using hormone replacement therapy in gynecologic cancer survivors is a topic a great debate. While limited studies are available to date, retrospective cohort reviews show no reported differences in overall or disease-free survival in patients using hormone replacements vs. controls in patients with ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, cervical, vaginal or vulva cancer. Since safety of using HRT remains controversial and prospective studies are lacking, providers need to be able to provide alternatives to HRT. Centrally acting agents such as antiseizure agent gabapentin and selective serotonine re-uptake inhibitors, such as venlafaxine and fluoxitine have been demonstrated to show effectiveness in treating vasomotor symptoms and are easily tolerated. To address cardiovascular and osteoporosis risks of post-menopausal status, exercise, healthy diet, bisphosphonates, raloxifen and statins have been found to be effective. Psychotherapy plays an essential part in management of these issues. Review of the literature reveals recent trends among health psychologists to utilize psychoeducational interventions that include combined elements of cognitive and behavioral therapy with education and mindfulness training. Intervention studies have found positive effects from this approach, particularly within the areas of arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, overall well-being, and decreased depression. Many of patients' issues are easy to address with either hormonal, non-hormonal or psychotherapy modifications. The essential part of success is the providers appreciation of this serous problem and willingness and comfort in addressing it.
Low noise amplifier design for ultra-wideband radio

A new theoretical approach for designing a low-noise amplifier (LNA) for the ultra-wideband (UWB) radio is presented. Unlike narrowband systems, the use of the noise figure (NF) performance metric becomes problematic in UWB systems because of the difficulty in defining the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). By defining the SNR as the matched filter bound (MFB), the NF measures the degree of degradation caused by the LNA in the achievable receiver performance after the digital decoding process. The optimum matching network that minimizes the NF as defined above has been solved. Since realizing the optimum matching network is in general difficult, an approach for designing a practical but suboptimum matching network is also presented. The NF performance of both the optimum and the suboptimum matching networks is studied as a function of the LNA gain.
The effect of guar gum in solution on diffusion of cholesterol mixed micelles

A technique was developed to measure the diffusion of cholesterol mixed micelles through solutions of guar gum. By incorporating β-carotene in the micelles it was possible to make the suspension visible using the yellow colour for spectrophotometric quantification and to gauge the extent of diffusion. The results showed a rapid reduction in rate of diffusion with increase in guar gum concentration until above 0.2% the rate became constant and extremely slow.
An artificial self-sufficient cytochrome P450 directly nitrates fluorinated tryptophan analogs with a different regio-selectivity

Aromatic nitration is an immensely important industrial process to produce chemicals for a variety of applications, but it often suffers from multiple unsolved challenges. Enzymes as biocatalysts have been increasingly used for organic chemistry synthesis due to their high selectivity and environmental friendliness, but nitration has benefited minimally from the development of biocatalysis. In this work, we aimed to develop TxtE as practical biocatalysts for aromatic nitration. TxtE is a unique class I cytochrome P450 enzyme that nitrates the indole of l-tryptophan. To develop cost-efficient nitration processes, we fused TxtE with the reductase domains of CYP102A1 (P450BM3) and of P450RhF to create class III self-sufficient biocatalysts. The best engineered fusion protein was comparable with wild type TxtE in terms of nitration performance and other key biochemical properties. To demonstrate the application potential of the fusion enzyme, we nitrated 4-F-dl-tryptophan and 5-F-l-tryptophan in large scale enzymatic reactions. Tandem MS/MS and NMR analyses of isolated products revealed altered nitration sites. To our knowledge, these studies represent the first practice in developing biological nitration approaches and lay a solid basis to the use of TxtE-based biocatalysts for the production of valuable nitroaromatics.
Cetacean Brain Research: Need for New Directions

Whereas neuroscience is a rapidly moving field, characterized by the application of many new techniques, progress in understanding the greatest brains has slowed down in the west and is only forging ahead in a few Soviet laboratories in particular directions. The virtual absence of work on the cetacean brain in the U.S.A. is attributable to a combination of cost, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and public sentiment against exploiting these animals. Two things need to be said here, in this historic international forum. One is that I support the Marine Mammal Protection Act and believe most of my colleagues do; I am working to extend similar protection to primates. The other is that new research is needed and justified especially on the brain and behavior, albeit with a high threshold of justification, that is, for questions of particularly high significance and to which answers are likely.
2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine to Treat Refractory Histiocytosis X

To the Editor: Treatment of histiocytosis X is palliative at best. It includes corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, vinca alkaloids, and irradiation1. Since 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, ...
Thermal Damage on Velocities of Heavy Oil Sands

Understanding thermal effects on seismic properties of heavy oil sands is important for seismic reservoir monitoring with thermal process. Velocities of heavy oil sands as a function of temperature are revealed as mainly controlled by properties of heavy oil (Han et al., 2007). However, newly measured data suggest that the thermal damage of sand frame also plays a significant rule to reduce velocity. Thermal damage of sand frame is a quasi-static processing, and mainly deteriorates the heavy oil contribution to strength sand frame. We should count the thermal damage effect on sand frame when modeling velocity-temperature trend of heavy oil sands.
Fast and selective labeling of N-terminal cysteines at neutral pH via thiazolidino boronate formation

Facile labeling of proteins of interest is highly desirable in proteomic research as well as in the development of protein therapeutics. Herein we report a novel method that allows for fast and selective labeling of proteins with an N-terminal cysteine. Although N-terminal cysteines are well known to conjugate with aldehydes to give thiazolidines, the reaction requires acidic conditions and suffers from slow kinetics. We show that benzaldehyde with an ortho-boronic acid substituent readily reacts with N-terminal cysteines at neutral pH, giving rate constants on the order of 103 M−1 s−1. The product features a thiazolidino boronate (TzB) structure and exhibits improved stability due to formation of the B–N dative bond. While stable at neutral pH, the TzB complex dissociates upon mild acidification. These characteristics make the TzB conjugation chemistry potentially useful for the development of drug–protein conjugates that release the small molecule drug in acidic endosomes.
Azidothymidine Steady-State Pharmacokinetics in Patients with AIDS and AIDS-Related Complex

Azidothymidine (AZT, 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, zidovudine) is a thymidine analogue that has in vitro activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AZT is a selective inhibitor and substrate of the reverse transcriptase of HIV [1, 2]. AZT is incorporated into the HIV DNA strand that is being synthesized. Because AZT lacks the 3'-hydroxy group required for DNA elongation, AZT is a chain terminator [2]. The pharmacokinetics of AZT were studied during the initial phase I study [3, 4]. The drug is rapidly eliminated from the body (clearance of 1,900 mL/min) by both renal excretion and metabolism of AZT to 5'-glucuronyl azidothymidine (GAZT). GAZT is the major metabolite of AZT and lacks antiviral activity. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, AZT was shown to be of therapeutic benefit in patients with symptomatic HIV infections [5]. It prolongs survival and decreases the incidence of opportunistic infections in patients who have AIDS or AIDS-related complex with significant symptom progression. Unfortunately, neutropenia or anemia or both are seen in \40% of patients [6]. After termination of the controlled trial, all patients were allowed to continue to receive open-label AZT, 200 mg every 4 h. We studied the pharmacokinetics of AZT at steady-state in six of these patients.
Developing radiation tolerant polymer nanocomposites using C60 as an additive

In nuclear facilities utilizing plutonium, polymeric materials are subjected to long-term, close-contact, and continuous α radiation exposure, which can lead to compounding material degradation and eventual failure. Herein we model the attenuation of α particles by linear-low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin films, and C60 using Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended (MCNPX) software. The degradation of these materials was investigated experimentally by irradiating them with a beam of α particles of 5.8 MeV energy at a tandem Van de Graaff accelerator delivering a dose rate of 2.95 × 106 rad s−1 over a 7.1 mm2 sample area. Our development of a method to test α particle-induced material degradation using a tandem accelerator is significant as degradation from naturally occurring α sources (i.e. Pu, Am) occurs too slowly for these sources to be used in practical experiments. Our results show that PVA nanocomposites containing 5 wt% C60 were found to withstand about 7 times the α dose of undoped PVA films before a puncture in the film was detected. When these films were adhered to a LLDPE sheet the dual layer polymer was capable of withstanding about 13 times the dose of LLDPE and nearly twice the dose of the doped PVA thin film alone. Doping polymers with C60 is an attractive way to generate more durable, radiation tolerant materials without increasing the thickness of the material which would lead to greater waste for disposal. Thus, the results herein help to resolve a prevalent technical challenge faced in nuclear facilities that utilize polymeric materials for nuclear processing and disposal.
Evaluation of the impact of intraobserver variability on endometrial dating and the diagnosis of luteal phase defects.

Objective To determine the magnitude of intraobserver variation in dating endometrial biopsies and its impact on clinical management. Design Blinded histopathologic interpretation of endometrial biopsy specimens 1 year apart by five pathologists. Setting Large military tertiary care center. Patients Endometrial biopsy specimens from 51 patients undergoing evaluation for potential luteal phase defects. Interventions None. Main Outcome Measures Calculation of the magnitude of the individual and overall intraobserver variation in endometrial dating for the five pathologists and estimation of its potential impact on clinical management. Results The intraobserver variation was 0.69 ± 0.05 days (means ± SE). There was no significant difference in the magnitude of the variation for 1-day or 2-day dating ranges. The theoretical probability of altering clinical management by having the same pathologist redate a given specimen ranged from 15% to 28%. Conclusion Histologic dating of endometrial biopsies is subject to a small but highly clinically significant intraobserver variability that may have a major impact on clinical management.
In Vitro Myristoylation Assay of Arabidopsis Proteins

Myristoylation is a lipid modification conserved among eukaryotes and involves the addition of a 14-carbon myristoyl moiety to a glycine at the N-terminus of cargo proteins. Since not every protein with an N-terminal glycine is myristoylated, experimental verification is necessary to determine which proteins are indeed myristoylated. Here we describe an in vitro myristoylation assay for the Arabidopsis heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunit, GPA1, as well as the Arabidopsis SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE3. This method can be easily adopted to other proteins of interest.