cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prognostic value of functional performance for mortality in patients with peripheral artery disease.

Objectives Among persons with lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD), we determined whether objective measures of walking performance predict mortality independently of the ankle brachial index (ABI). Background The ability of office-based functional performance measures to predict mortality in patients with PAD is unknown. Methods Participants were 444 persons with PAD followed prospectively for 4.8 years. The 6-min walk and 4-m walks at usual and fastest pace were measured at baseline. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess relations between baseline measures of lower extremity performance with mortality, adjusting for confounders. Results One hundred twenty-seven patients (28.6%) died during follow-up. Adjusting for age, gender, race, comorbidities, ABI, and other confounders, participants in the poorest baseline quartile of 6-min walk performance had significantly increased total mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 2.36 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33 to 4.18]) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 5.59 [95% CI 1.97 to 15.9]) compared with the best quartile of baseline performance. Participants in the poorest baseline quartile of normal-paced 4-m walking speed had significantly increased total mortality (HR 1.86 [95% CI 1.06 to 3.29]) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.55 [95% CI 1.01 to 6.46]) compared with the best quartile of baseline performance. Conclusions This study demonstrates for the first time that performance-based measures, which can be administered in an office setting, provide prognostic information regarding mortality in persons with PAD beyond that provided by the ABI.
Manifest Complexity: A Foundational Ethic for Astrobiology?

Abstract This paper examines the age old question of the basis of moral value in the new context of astrobiology, which offers a fresh perspective. The goal is to offer the broad outline of a general theory of moral value that can accommodate the diversity of living entities we are likely to encounter beyond the confines of Earth. It begins with ratiocentrism, the view that the possession of reason is the primary means by which we differentiate entities having moral value in and of themselves from those having moral value merely by virtue of the uses to which they can be put. I broaden this basis to include sociality and culture, arguing that these three attributes tend evolve as a “package deal.” Because of this, it's really the sociality-reason-culture triad (SRCT) which should be the criterion for intrinsic moral value. If the SRCT linkage is sufficiently strong, it follows that this sort of moral valuation would be shared by any non-human entities capable of reflection on the nature of such things, granting it a curious kind of objectivity. I then suggest that the unfolding of complexity produced by SRCT species may be the best means to realize the manifest destiny (manifest complexity) of all life, which could provide an ultimate, metaphysical foundation for ethical value. Finally, I outline how this new theory can be applied to different types of entities that we may encounter beyond Earth.
A case report of stereotactic radiosurgery in a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

In this report, we outline the case of a patient who has Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome (EDS) who received two courses of CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Patients with EDS have increased blood vessel fragility, and therefore are subject to increased risk of bleeding. There are no published data regarding the risks of hemorrhage associated with SRS for intracranial metastases in this patient population. The patient described in this case report had two courses of SRS for two sites of brain metastases. She tolerated treatment well, with no acute toxicity and good local control to date. We have also included a discussion of published literature regarding toxicity of intracranial radiation in patients with EDS.
Elastothermodynamic Damping in Particulate Composites: Hollow Spherical Inclusions

When a composite material is subjected to a time-harmonic stress field (homogeneous or inhomogeneous), different phases undergo different temperature fluctuations due to the well-known thermoelastic effect. As a result irreversible heat conduction occurs within each phase and between phases, and entropy is produced. This entropy production is the genesis of elastothermodynamic damping and, as a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics, manifests itself as a conversion of work into heat. This paper is concerned with the calculation of elastothermodynamic damping in a matrix reinforced with hollow spheres. Numerical results are presented for an alumina/aluminum composite sphere subjected to a uniform radial stress at the outer boundary. When the cavity occupies more than 75 percent volume fraction of the alumina inclusion, the total damping becomes vanishingly small.
Structural differences among different non-crystalline GeTe phases

Abstract Structural differences among non-crystalline phases of the same composition in the GeTe system prepared by various methods have been shown to exist using their crystallization behavior as a probe. An extreme example occurs in pure Ge where two different films may be obtained depending only on substrate position during sputtering. One of these forms crystallizes in milliseconds at room temperature.
CD4 T-Cell-mediated immune response to prostatic proteins in HLA-DRB1*1503 transgenic mice and identification of a novel HLA-DRB1*1503-restricted T-cell epitope from human prostatic acid phosphatase.

BACKGROUND Transgenic mice engineered to express human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles are widely used for identification of immunogenic and naturally processed epitopes. Using HLA-DRB1*1501 (DR2b) transgenic mice, we have previously identified epitopes from two prostatic antigens, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP). These antigens are implicated in the development of autoimmunity in the prostate and also are considered promising targets for prostate cancer immunotherapy. HLA-DRB1*1501 is the most common DR15 allele in Caucasians, while HLA-DRB1*1503 is the most common in African Americans. Hence characterization of peptide immunogenicity for these alleles is important for the development of prostate cancer immunotherapy in white and black patients. METHODS HLA-DRB1*1501 or HLA-DRB1*1503 transgenic mice were immunized with human PSA or PAP. Libraries of overlapping 20-mer peptides spanning the entire sequences of these proteins were screened by IFN-γ ELISPOT assay. RESULTS PSA and PAP peptides that were previously identified in HLA-DRB1*1501 tg mice were immunogenic in HLA-DR1503 tg mice and induced CD4 T-cell response against whole processed PSA or PAP respectively. However, the hierarchy of the immunodominance among the peptides differed significantly between strains. Using HLA-DRB1*1503 tg mice, a novel immunogenic and naturally processed 20-mer peptide, PAP (233-252) has been identified that showed no reactivity in HLA-DRB1*1501 tg mice. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate a disparity in CD4 T-cell immune reactivity to PSA and PAP between HLA-DRB1*1501 and -DRB1*1503 alleles in HLA transgenic mouse models. It is possible that such immunological differences could contribute to racial disparity in prostate cancer outcome. Prostate 71:561–566, 2011. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Empirical metaphysics: the role of intuitions about possible cases in philosophy

Frank Jackson has argued that only if we have a priori knowledge of the extension-fixers for many of our terms can we vindicate the methodological practice of relying on intuitions to decide between philosophical theories. While there has been much discussion of Jackson's claim that we have such knowledge, there has been comparatively little discussion of this most powerful argument for that claim. Here I defend an alternative explanation of our intuitions about possible cases, one that does not rely on a priori extension-fixers. This alternative explanation provides a vindication of our reliance on intuitions, while blocking Jackson's abductive argument for a priori semantic knowledge. In brief, I argue that we should regard our armchair intuitions as providing an important, a priori source of evidence for hypotheses about the contents of our implicit referential policies with regard to our terms. But all such hypotheses have a potential falsifier that is only discoverable empirically. In other words, gold-standard evidence for such hypotheses is always empirical.
Prospective analysis of weight changes in adolescent females initiating depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), oral contraceptive pills (OC), or no hormonal contraceptive method

Conclusions: Our data indicate that obese adolescent females initiating depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DPMA) prevention coalition. These surveys provide detailed data on DMPA are at risk for significantly greater wt gain at 1 year than non-obese females initiating DMPA as well as females in both weight categories starting OC or no hormonal contraceptive. No significant differences in weight gain by contraceptive method are seen in non-obese females. (excerpt)
R68-24 A Proposal for Definitions in ALGOL

One of the most important problems in computer development today is the difficult job of constructing programs and programming languages to handle a wide variety of tasks. There are two pure approaches to programming language design and an endless number of mixed approaches lying between them. One of the pure approaches, often taken by graduate students in universities, is to create a new programming language for each problem. The other approach, perhaps typified by certain supporters of PL/I, is to design a language which is intended hopefully to be all things to all programmers. Unfortunately, neither of these pure approaches is really practical. People have long recognized the common features of programming problems and most agree that certain techniques are applicable to almost all of them. However, with the burgeoning use of the machine it is not possible to assert with any degree of confidence that we have discovered all useful techniques. A reasonable way to proceed seems to be to design a programming language which contains most of the common features which people have discovered in various problems, but which allows the user to extend and mold the language to suit his particular application.
Implementation of Mental Health Simulations: Challenges and Lessons Learned

Abstract Boise State University School of Nursing faculty faced several challenges and learned important lessons in attempting to implement mental health simulations with standardized patients when clinical practicums with actual patients were no longer an option. Challenges faced included (a) establishing strategies to recruit a large pool of authentic standardized patients, (b) determining the optimal level of complexity for each simulation, and (c) providing useful feedback to students about noted deficiencies while at the same time making the reflections a positive experience. Important lessons are shared that may help other faculty avoid similar challenges.
Renal biopsy collagen I mRNA predicts scarring in rabbit anti-GBM disease: comparison with conventional measures.

Renal biopsy collagen I mRNA predicts scarring in rabbit anti-GBM disease: Comparison with conventional measures. Progressive loss of normal structure associated with scarring is the hallmark of chronic diseases of most organs. To test the hypothesis that measurement of interstitial collagen mRNA levels would be a useful index to predict future scarring, we developed an assay to quantitate α1 (I) procollagen mRNA factored for GAPDH mRNA using RT-PCR (the "CI:G ratio"). We first defined conditions under which the assay could be used for analysis of renal biopsy samples. The CI:G ratio was then used to determine whether mRNA measurements performed at an early stage of inflammation (day 7) in a model of anti-GBM disease in the rabbit would predict outcome at day 30 as measured by interstitial and glomerular scarring and renal cortical hydroxyproline accumulation. The predictive value of this assay was compared to functional (serum creatinine and urine proteinxreatinine ratio) and histologic (glomerular and interstitial scoring) parameters also measured at day 7. We found that the CI:G ratio alone provided a sensitive and discriminating assay over a wide range of renal injury that predicted various parameters of scarring with an average coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.69. This predictive power was higher than that found for conventional measures, which tended to have good discriminatory capacity over limited ranges of renal injury. The CI:G ratio provided significant additional predictive power over and above that available from combinations of conventional functional or histologic parameters. We conclude that measurement of the CI:G ratio in biopsy samples deserves further assessment as a potentially useful quantitative predictor of outcome that could lead to improved clinical decision-making.
Tuberculosis in Texas 2008.

The face of tuberculosis (TB) in Texas is global, bi-national, multiracial, multi-cultural and multi-drug resistant. This disease does not discriminate by age or gender. TB is a condition that impacts all Texans, regardless of social standing, political persuasion, education level, religious denomination or income status. The face of TB in Texas is the face of all Texans. In 2008, there were 1,501 TB cases reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services. This is the lowest number of tuberculosis cases reported in Texas in over forty years. Like the rest of the US, Texas has seen a decline in total tuberculosis cases in recent years. In 2008, Texas ranked second out of fifty states and the District of Columbia in the number of TB cases reported. Two of its major metropolitan cities, Houston and Dallas, ranking second and sixth in number of cases US-wide, respectively. Most of the TB cases reported in Texas in 2008 were male and the majority were Hispanic and African American. Tuberculosis in Texas is disproportionately represented by racial and ethnic minorities. The racial breakdown of the citizens of Texas is about 48% nonHispanic Whites, 11% African Americans and 37% Hispanics. In contrast, 14.9% of tuberculosis cases were non-Hispanics Whites, 22.1% were African Americans, 11.6% were Asian and 50.5% were Hispanics. In 1995, only 28% of the TB cases reported in Texas were born outside the United States. Looking at 2008, 48.6% of the 1,501 Texas TB cases were born outside the United States. The overall decline in tuberculosis cases has occurred primarily in the US born population. Immigrants from other countries frequently bring the endemic rates of tuberculosis from their homeland. There were 56 countries represented among the foreign born persons with TB reported in Texas. Of the 773 foreign born TB cases, 49.0% reported Mexico as their country of origin, 7.8% reported Vietnam, 6.1% reported Honduras, 4.0% reported India. 3.4% reported Philippines, 3.2% reported El Salvador, 2.7% reported Guatemala, and 1.9% reported Ethiopia. In Texas, TB cases are found primarily in the state’s major metropolitan areas and its fourteen border counties. In 2008, the large urban areas of the state and several counties along its border with Mexico continued to report the greatest percentage of the state’s TB cases. The majority of TB cases reported in Texas came from its five major population centers. These counties and their corresponding largest cities were Harris County (Houston), Dallas
Haemodynamic response to magnesium administration in mineralocorticoid-salt and two-kidney, one clip renovascular hypertension

Recent interest has centred on the role of divalent cations in hypertension, particularly in relation to the renin-angiotensin system. This study was undertaken to determine the hypotensive effect of magnesium administration in relation to the state of activation of the renin-angiotensin system. The mean blood pressure (MBP) and heart rate (HR) response to either the acute intravenous administration of a pharmacological dose of MgSO4 or vehicle was determined in conscious mineralocorticoid-salt (DOCA-salt, low-renin) and two-kidney, one clip renovascular, high-renin hypertensive rats. Baseline MBP was higher in the renovascular than in the DOCA-salt rats, while there was no difference in HR or serum Mg concentration between the two. Following administration of MgSO4, serum Mg increased equally in both the DOCA-salt (1.4 +/- 0.8 to 4.9 +/- 0.16 mEq/l; P less than 0.001) and in the renovascular rats (1.8 +/- 0.14 to 4.4 +/- 0.27 mEq/l; P less than 0.001). Magnesium administration significantly lowered MBP over the 1-h infusion in the DOCA-salt (167 +/- 8 to 145 +/- 5 mmHg, P less than 0.001) but not the renovascular hypertensive rats (191 +/- 5 to 183 +/- 4, NS). We conclude that the blood pressure lowering effect of Mg is related, in part, to the state of activation of the renin-angiotensin system. The mechanism of this differential effect remains to be determined.
Development of a Renal Transplant Clinical Pathway: One Hospital’s Journey

Mounting pressures to resolve multiple challenges related to quality, cost, and access in a resource-driven, customer-focused health care environment have compelled clinicians to develop innovative strategies to provide cost-effective, state-of-the-art care. Targeted patient groups include those associated with high cost, high volume, or high resource use. Patients undergoing renal transplantation fall into one or more of these categories. Recently, the management of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has come under national focus, as evidenced by the fact that Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has commissioned an ESRD managed care demonstration project. The purpose of this article is to describe how one case management tool--the clinical pathway--can be used to decrease costs and improve outcomes associated with renal transplantation. This discussion will include a review of the origins and components of clinical pathways and a description of how one institution developed, implemented, evaluated, and refined a renal transplantation clinical pathway.
Direct write dispenser printing of a zinc microbattery with an ionic liquid gel electrolyte

The need for energy dense microbatteries with miniature dimensions has prompted the development of unconventional materials, cell geometries, and processing methods. This work will highlight our materials investigations, deposition methods and the device performance of a printed zinc–manganese dioxide rechargeable microbattery utilizing an ionic liquid gel electrolyte. We have developed a direct write dispenser printing method with the ability to fabricate multilayer structures and precisely deposit and pattern these components onto any substrates. The use of a unique room-temperature ionic liquid swelled into a polymer to form a gel electrolyte with solid-like mechanical strength and liquid-like ion transport properties has enabled the simple fabrication of stacked microbattery structures with the potential to be easily integrated directly onto a microdevice substrate. Initial microbattery tests and cycle behavior are discussed, and after an initial activation of the cathode material, an experimental cell discharge capacity and energy density of 0.98 mA h cm−2 and 1.2 mW h cm−2 were measured, respectively.
A 5'-amino analog of adenosine diphosphate.

Abstract The synthesis and properties of the 5′-amino analog of adenosine diphosphate are described. The 5′-amino-5′-deoxyadenosine 5′-N-diphosphate (NADP) is prepared from the previously described aminonucleoside triphosphate by the hexokinase catalyzed transfer of the terminal phosphoryl to glucose. The NADP is stable in neutral or basic media, and is similar to natural ADP in chromatographic, electrophoretic, and spectrographic properties. Snake venom phosphodiesterase degrades NADP to the monophosphate NAMP, and acid degrades both NADP and NAMP to 5′-amino-5′-deoxyadenosine.
A revision of the inhibitory innervation pattern of the thoracic limbs of crayfish and lobster

ABSTRACT The inhibitory innervation to the muscles of the claws and walking legs of lobsters and crayfish was investigated. In contrast to previous studies, we find that in these limbs the closer muscle shares an inhibitory axon with the bender and extensor muscles, but not with the stretcher muscle. These findings may help to explain some of the anomalous results reported by others.
Compressible Advection Through an Elastomer Seal: A Porous Media Approach to Seals for Space Applications

Gas permeability characterization is of the utmost importance in space seals applications. Space seals must maintain acceptable mass losses in harsh environments where temperatures widely vary under vacuum conditions. Silicone elastomers are commonly used in space as they offer significant sealing performance at temperature extremes and are capable of meeting stringent outgassing requirements necessary for vacuum environments. Traditional models of leak rates solely rely on a diffusive transport mechanism; mass is transported across a membrane through molecular flow induced by a concentration gradient under isostatic conditions. In the application of space seals, the pressure gradients are large, resulting in advection dominated transport. Conventional applications of advection utilize Darcy’s law; however, the fluid is assumed incompressible and fails to capture the nonlinear pressure gradient under compressible situations. Consequently, employing Darcy’s law incorrectly predicts the leak rate. A novel model in compressible advection through an elastomer seal is presented. A phenomenological approach is taken to determine the specific discharge. Through the conservation of mass, the governing equation for pressure is derived. An exact analytical solution exists for one-dimensional flow in the form of a Generalized Emden-Fowler equation and as a result, an analytical expression for mass flow is developed. A series of experiments is presented to deduce permeability constants and Klinkenberg parameter of silicone S0383-70 under one-dimensional flow conditions. The leak rates of the model and experiments are compared. Through the presented compressible advection model, the mass leak rate of any candidate seal geometry can be evaluated.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
On a pulsating jet from the end of a tube, with application to the propulsion of certain aquatic animals

The present paper discusses the hydrodynamics and propulsive properties when a jet of fluid is ejected from the opening of a tube. Formulas for the calculation of the thrust are provided and the basic equations for the horizontal rectilinear motion of a rigid torpedo-like body are studied in some detail. The results may be applied to investigate in an elementary way the locomotion of certain aquatic animals.
Effect of Static Disorder on Sensitivity of Coupled Resonator Optical Waveguide Gyroscopes

Coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROWs) have shown theoretical promise as microoptical integrated gyroscopes with sensitivities exceeding comparably sized MEMS gyroscopes. Here, we analyze the effect of static disorder on the rotational sensitivity of a CROW gyroscope. Since CROWs consist of a one-dimensional array of evanescently coupled ring-shaped microresonators, disorder includes random variations of the resonator optical path length and couplings between them resulting from manufacturing errors. We show that the rotational sensitivity of the CROW gyro is relatively stable with respect to variations in the interresonator coupling. By contrast, even modest fluctuations in the resonators’ roundtrip optical path length result in substantially lower rotational sensitives. Finally, it is shown that while most random configurations of defects reduce the maximum sensitivity, there are particular configurations for which the rotation sensitivity is significantly higher than that of a CROW without disorder.
Cytokine-based approaches to the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

The most disturbing aspect of the current epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) is the appearance of large numbers of strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that are resistant to one or more of the first-line agents used to treat the disease. Mortality associated with a multidrug-resistant strain of tuberculosis (MDR-TB) infection is reported to be extremely high, in many cases no different from the mortality of tuberculosis in the pre-antibiotic era.
Design and comparison of high frequency transformers using foil and round windings

High frequency transformers are widely used in Switched-mode power supplies and now are being proposed to be used with power electronic converters to replace line-frequency transformers. This paper presents a winding design procedure for minimizing the power losses using foils and solid round wires under sinusoidal excitation to limit the temperature rise. This paper derives the range from which the thickness of the layers can be chosen to obtain the minimum power loss. This thickness range is a function of the number of layers and does not include the “optimum” based on the previous literature. Using this design procedure, it is shown that interleaving is not necessary in foil-wound transformers to obtain the minimum loss. A comparison of winding losses between foil windings and round conductors is also given. The analytical results are verified by designing six different winding configurations for the same specifications using 2-D Ansys Maxwell finite element design package.
Kinetic C-H oxidative addition vs thermodynamic C-X oxidative addition of chlorobenzene by a neutral Rh(I) system. A density functional theory study.

Density functional theory (DFT) is used to explore competitive C−H and C−Cl oxidative additions (OA) of chlorobenzene by the neutral Rh(I) complex: (PNP)RhI [PNP = bis(Z-2-(dimethylphosphino)vinyl)amino]. Consistent with experimental results, our calculation shows that C−Cl OA (ΔG‡ = 16.0 kcal·mol−1) is kinetically competitive with C−H OA (ΔG‡ = 16.7 kcal·mol−1) and that the C−Cl OA is thermodynamically preferred by 28.3 kcal·mol−1 over the most stable C−H OA product. Hence, the only experimentally observed product was from C−Cl OA.
Meeting the Health Information Needs of Health Workers: What Have We Learned?

The information challenges facing health workers worldwide include lack of routine systems for seeking and sharing information, lack of high-quality and current health information, and lack of locally relevant materials and tools. This issue of Journal of Health Communication presents three studies of health information needs in India, Senegal, and Malawi that demonstrate these information challenges, provide additional insight, and describe innovative strategies to improve knowledge and information sharing. Results confirm that health workers' information needs differ on the basis of the level of the health system in which a health worker is located, regardless of country or cultural context. Data also reveal that communication channels tailored to health workers' needs and preferences are vital for improving information access and knowledge sharing. Meetings remain the way that most health workers communicate with each other, although technical working groups, professional associations, and networks als...
Assessment of deflection rate partitioning for analyzing creep crack growth data

Abstract This paper explores the role of deflection rate partitioning in analyzing creep crack growth rate data for creep-ductile and creep-brittle materials. The first part of the paper assesses the fundamental basis of this approach and its application to creep-ductile materials, while the second part attempts to extend this analysis to creep-brittle materials. Numerical analyses of compact type specimens from an elastic, power-law creep material undergoing creep-ductile and creep-brittle behavior are conducted to assess the deflection rate partitioning approach. It is shown that the current criterion for qualifying the creep crack growth rate data as creep-ductile is conservative. Conditions are proposed which must be met for steady-state creep crack growth to occur in creep-brittle materials.
A new high purity doping source for CVD Si: Ga epitaxy

Abstract A new CVD growth chemistry has been developed for producing very pure and high crystalline-quality gallium-doped silicon epitaxy. Gallium trichloride, GaCl 3 , has been employed as an improved precursor to the currently accepted organometallic gallium source, trimethyl gallium, (CH 3 ) 3 Ga. In contrast to trimethyl gallium, this metal halide doping source does not cause carbon contamination of the epitaxial layer. Much more abrupt layer-to-layer transition regions have been demonstrated. Data on the electrical and crystalline characteristics of GaCl 3 -grown Si:Ga layers are presented. The current doping limit of 4X10 17 cm -3 obtained with this chemistry under normal CVD growth conditions is well below the solubility limit and is indicative of the unusual surface chemistry involved in doping. Results of experiments to elucidate the doping mechanism are discussed.
Return of the primal-dual: distributed metric facilitylocation

In this paper we present fast, distributed approximation algorithms for the metric facility location problem in the CONGEST model, where message sizes are bounded by O(log N) bits, N being the network size. We first show how to obtain a 7-approximation in O(log m + log n) rounds via the primal-dual method; here m is the number of facilities and n is the number of clients. Subsequently, we generalize this to a k-round algorithm, that for every constant k, yields an approximation factor of O(m2/√k ∙ n3/√k). These results answer a question posed by Moscibroda and Wattenhofer (PODC 2005). Our techniques are based on the primal-dual algorithm due to Jain and Vazirani (JACM 2001) and a rapid randomized sparsification of graphs due to Gfeller and Vicari (PODC 2007). These results complement the results of Moscibroda and Wattenhofer (PODC 2005) for non-metric facility location and extend the results of Gehweiler et al. (SPAA 2006) for uniform metric facility location.
Paracentric inversion involving the long arm of chromosome 9 resulting in deletion of abl gene

We report on a new chromosomal finding in a newborn male with hypertelorism, apparently low-set malformed ears with patent canal, micrognathia with narrow high-arched palate, bilateral webbing of neck with low posterior hairline, widely spaced nipples, and complex heart anomalies. Initially, what appeared to be a simple paracentric inversion of the long arm of chromosome 9, that is, 46,XY, inv(9)(q31q34) by routine GTG-banding technique was later determined to be a paracentric inversion with deletion of the band 9q34.1 by FISH technique using an abl unique sequence DNA probe. Thus the cytogenetic diagnosis was modified to 46,XY,der(9) inv(9)(q31q34.1)del(q34.1). Nevertheless, the presence of telomeric repeat sequences in the inverted chromosome 9 suggests that either healing has occurred by adding [TTAGGG]n sequences to the nontelomeric end (q31) by the enzyme telomerase or telomeric sequences were not affected during this inversion process. This abnormality is a rare occurrence and has never been reported before either because of a high rate of lethality or it has been undetected by routine cytogenetic techniques. The other abnormal cases with apparent paracentric inversions could also have a complex nature with congenital anomalies associated with loss of “few” DNA sequences as exemplified here. Am. J. Med. Genet. 68:409–411, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
USE OF THE FREEZING POINT METHOD TO ADJUST THE TONICITY OF FIXING SOLUTIONS.

It has been determined that many of the fixing solutions used in tissue preparation for electron microscopy are hypotonic, a few are hypertonic. A commercially available electronic apparatus is used to determine the freezing point depression of a given fixing solution. This solution is then adjusted by the addition of strong saline or water to yield a depression equivalent to that of 0.9 % NaCl. Such a fixative is called a normal saline equivalent (NSE) fixing solution. By use of this method an excellent OsO 4 and KMnO 4 fixing solution is formulated.
Aerobic metabolism of Chromatium sp. strain D

1. The substrate-dependent oxygen uptake of Chromatium D has been measured. Although the rates observed were only of the order of 1 μmole/hour x mg dry weight, they are comparable with the rates found for other photosynthetic bacteria. 2. Light inhibits the rate of O2 consumption of suspensions equilibrated with excess substrate, but may stimulate the rates in previously starved suspensions. 3. Prolonged aeration of suspensions of Chromatium with thiosulfate leads to accumulation of sulfur globules in the cells, and does not lead to a rapid loss of viability. 4. Measurements of ATP content of suspensions after exposure to air indicate a limited capacity for oxidative phosphorylation in Chromatium.
IntelliGrid Architecture Concepts and IEC61850

To elevate advanced automation and consumer dynamics to meet future needs, the energy industry needs to migrate to industry-level architecture. The Electric Power Research Institute recently completed the initial phase of an industry-wide architecture called the IntelliGrid Architecture. Building upon past EPRI and industry standards development, the IntelliGrid Architecture is directing the industry to move toward greater and more effective use of emerging open standards. The standards emerging from the International Electrotechnical Commission TC 57 working groups, such as IEC 61850, bring substantial new capability to the open standards available to integrate advanced automation equipment. IEC 61850 enables not only advanced communications for power engineering applications but can enable improved systems and network management and security. These life-cycle management capabilities are necessary for appropriately integrating field equipment and information systems communications with substation operations. The concepts put forward by the IntelliGrid Architecture encourage more rigorous approaches to systems engineering and requirements engineering for the design and development of advanced automation systems. These tools and methods are necessary to manage the complexity that will come with the next generation of advanced automation. This paper describes several of the key concepts that are important to the advancement of interoperable and secure advanced automation systems to maximize the benefits of the IEC 61850 standard. The paper also introduces the current results and planned work of the IntelliGrid Architecture, developed under a private/public consortium
RelB/p52 NF-κB Complexes Rescue an Early Delay in Mammary Gland Development in Transgenic Mice with Targeted Superrepressor IκB-α Expression and Promote Carcinogenesis of the Mammary Gland

Classical NF-κB (p65/p50) transcription factors display dynamic induction in the mammary gland during pregnancy. To further elucidate the role of NF-κB factors in breast development, we generated a transgenic mouse expressing the IκB-α S32/36A superrepressor (SR) protein under control of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) long terminal repeat promoter. A transient delay in mammary ductal branching was observed in MMTV-SR-IκB-α mice early during pregnancy at day 5.5 (d5.5) and d7.5; however, development recovered by mid- to late pregnancy (d14.5). Recovery correlated with induction of nuclear cyclin D1 and RelB/p52 NF-κB complexes. RelB/p52 complexes induced cyclin D1 and c-myc promoter activities and failed in electrophoretic mobility shift assay to interact with IκB-α-glutathione S-transferase, indicating that their weak interaction with IκB-α can account for the observed recovery of mammary gland development. Activation of IKKα and NF-κB-inducing kinase was detected by d5.5, implicating the alternative NF-κB signaling pathway in RelB/p52 induction. Constitutively active IKKα induced p52, RelB, and cyclin D1 in untransformed mammary epithelial cells. Moreover, mouse mammary tumors induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene treatment displayed increased RelB/p52 activity. Inhibition of RelB in breast cancer cells repressed cyclin D1 and c-Myc levels and growth in soft agar. These results implicate RelB/p52 complexes in mammary gland development and carcinogenesis.
An efficient verifier for finite state machines

The correctness-checking problem of a finite-state machine is considered. The concept of machine cover is revived and used as the basis of the formulation of the verification problem of the design correctness of finite-state machines. The concept of machine cover enables the verifier to efficiently check the sufficiency. The verifier checks to see if the implementation is correct with respect to its specification, which is given as a form of finite-state machine. Since in general the state encoding information is not available for verification purposes, it is assumed that the encoding information is missing. An efficient algorithm for the verification problem is presented along with its implementation. Experimental results show that the approach is promising in terms of speed. >
Consumer‐Based Optimization of Blackberry, Blueberry and Concord Juice Blends

The constant fight against aging increases the demand for products that have the potential to promote health. Dark-pigmented fruits such as blackberries, blueberries and Concord grapes show potential to fulfill this demand. Four techniques (response surface, ideal point, desirability function and intuition) were used to optimize a mixture of blackberry, blueberry and Concord grape juice based on sensory and potential health properties. Participants (n = 108) evaluated 10 blending treatments for overall impression on the 9-point verbal hedonic scale and ideal intensities of attributes on the ideal point scale. In a validation study (n = 78), the juice blend formulated using the desirability function solution (87% Concord + 13% blackberry) had the highest overall liking mean (7.6), although it was not statistically different from the ideal point solution (9% blackberry + 20% blueberry + 71% Concord) (7.0), the intuitive optimum (66% Concord + 34% blueberry) (6.9) or 100% Concord (7.3). When consumers were informed about the anthocyanin content of the juices, they were more likely to buy the three juice samples highest in anthocyanins and less likely to buy the two juice samples lowest in anthocyanins. This suggests that pursuing research that validates the health information and informing consumers of this information could have positive results in the marketplace. Practical Applications During product development, sensory properties are heavily emphasized as important factors in the final product. However, the impact of potential health properties on purchase intent and consumer liking should be considered. Approaches that investigated the role of both sensory properties and presence of potentially health beneficial compounds in product optimization are presented.
Receptor-mediated tumor targeting with radiopeptides. Part 1. General principles and methods.

Radiolabeled peptides have become important tools for preclinical cancer research, and in nuclear oncology they serve as diagnostic and more recently also as therapeutic agents. In the latter appli...
Design of an active one-degree-of-freedom lower-limb exoskeleton with inertia compensation

Limited research has been done on exoskeletons to enable faster movements of the lower extremities. An exoskeletonâs mechanism can actually hinder agility by adding weight, inertia and friction to the legs; compensating inertia through control is particularly difficult due to instability issues. The added inertia will reduce the natural frequency of the legs, probably leading to lower step frequency during walking. We present a control method that produces an approximate compensation of an exoskeletonâs inertia. The aim is making the natural frequency of the exoskeleton-assisted leg larger than that of the unaided leg. The method uses admittance control to compensate for the weight and friction of the exoskeleton. Inertia compensation is emulated by adding a feedback loop consisting of low-pass filtered acceleration multiplied by a negative gain. This gain simulates negative inertia in the low-frequency range. We tested the controller on a statically supported, single-degree-of-freedom exoskeleton that assists swing movements of the leg. Subjects performed movement sequences, first unassisted and then using the exoskeleton, in the context of a computer-based task resembling a race. With zero inertia compensation, the steady-state frequency of the leg swing was consistently reduced. Adding inertia compensation enabled subjects to recover their normal frequency of swing.
Functional and Structural Changes in Intestinal Smooth Muscle After Jejunoileal Bypass in Rats

Active stress and cross-sectional area of intestinal muscle were assessed in tissues taken from unoperated rats, from rats that had undergone bypass of 70% of the small bowel, and from rats that had undergone transection and anastomosis of the bowel. Thirty-five days after operation, muscle from the intestine of transected and bypassed animals elicited active stresses that were equal to or greater than those developed by muscle taken from unoperated animals. The total cross-sectional areas of the incontinuity segment and the area and thickness of the muscle layers of both the in-continuity and bypassed segments were greater when compared with unoperated animals. Significant differences also existed among tissues taken from bypassed and transected animals. Additionally, transection induced increases in active stress, area of muscle in the distal intestine, and circular muscle thickness in the midand distal intestine when compared with tissues from unoperated animals. These findings support the hypothesis that intestinal bypass induces increases in functioning smooth muscle tissue.
Multilectin Affinity Chromatography for Characterization of Multiple Glycoprotein Biomarker Candidates in Serum from Breast Cancer Patients

Background: Glycoproteins are often associated with cancer and are important in serum studies, for which glycosylation is a common posttranslational modification. Methods: We used multilectin affinity chromatography (M-LAC) to isolate glycoproteins from the sera of breast cancer patients and controls. The proteins were identified by HPLC–tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis of the corresponding tryptic digests. We used the FuncAssociate Gene Ontology program for association analysis of the identified proteins. Biomarker candidates in these groups were comparatively quantitated by use of peak area measurements, with inclusion of an internal standard. We analyzed data for concordance within the ontology association groups for vector of change with the development of breast cancer. Results: Detection of the known low-concentration biomarker HER-2 (8–24 μg/L) enabled us to establish a dynamic range of 106, relative to the amount of albumin, for the depletion step. We then used ELISA to confirm this range. Proteins associated with lipid transport and metabolism, cell growth and maintenance, ion homeostasis, and protease inhibition were found to be differentially regulated in serum from women with breast cancer compared with serum from women without breast cancer. Conclusions: M-LAC for isolation of the serum glycoproteome, coupled with liquid chromatography–MS/MS and the use of gene ontology associations, can be used to characterize large panels of candidate markers, which can then be evaluated in a particular patient population.
Healthcare information behavior: Implicit collaboration with social tagging systems

Healthcare consumers in the United States are increasingly turning to the Internet for health information and advice. A majority of Internet users in the United States use the Web to find healthcare information for themselves or others [1]. They are collaborating with other consumers in ways that were impossible before the advent of broadband connections, social media websites, and Web2.0 technologies. Some collaboration is explicit, like the posting of health topics on question answering sites like Yahoo! Answers, or joining a health maintenance discussion board. Other collaborative behaviors are less obvious and may be considered an implicit part of a healthcare consumer's Web activities.
Is Capitalism Good for Women

This paper investigates an aspect of the question of whether capitalism can be defended as a morally legitimate economic system by asking whether capitalism serves progressive, feminist ends of freedom and gender equality. I argue that although capitalism is subject to critique for increasing economic inequality, it can be seen to decrease gender inequality, particularly in traditional societies. Capitalism brings technological and social innovations that are good for women, and disrupts traditions that subordinate women in materially beneficial and socially progressive ways. Capitalism upholds the ideology of individual rights and the ideal of mutual advantage. By institutionalizing mutual advantage through the logic of voluntary exchange, progressive capitalism promotes the idea that no one is to be expected to sacrifice their interests with no expectation of benefit. Thus capitalism opposes the traditional, sexist ideal of womanly self-sacrifice.
Percutaneous lymph node aspiration biopsy: Experience with a new technique

Experience with post-lymphographic percutaneous fine needle aspitation lymph node biopsy is described in 13 patients with suspected metastatic malignant disease. All aspirations were performed using an anterior transabdominal approach under local anaesthesia with fluoroscopic guidance. In most patients more than one lymph node was biopsied. Four patients with confirmed metastatic disease had a positive biopsy in the appropriate lymph node. Seven patients with negative biopsies had the absence of metastatic disease confirmed by surgery or follow-up roentgenograms. One patient with a negative biopsy was lost to follow-up. There were two patients with negative biopsies in whom representative lymphoid tissue was not aspirated. No evidence of metastasis was found in these patients at surgery. No serious complications were encountered.
TRANSJUGULAR INTRAHEPATIC PORTOSYSTEMIC SHUNTS

Management of bleeding esophageal varices due to portal hypertension has traditionally relied on endoscopic sclerotherapy and operative intervention with placement of a portosystemic shunt. Although percutaneous decompression of portal hypertension was investigated 25 years ago, it was not clinically feasible until recently. With the advent of intravascular stents, the technique of creating a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) can now be effectively applied to treat the complications of portal hypertension, including variceal hemorrhage and refractory ascites. Since its introduction in 1989, TIPS has enjoyed widespread clinical application. The initial results with this procedure are encouraging and suggest that it is an effective means of reducing the frequency of variceal hemorrhage in patients with portal hypertension. The long-term patency rate and frequency of complications, however, have not been clearly defined. Similarly, the role of TIPS in the treatment of refractory ascites, Budd-Chiari syndrome, and hepatorenal syndrome remains unclear because sufficient data do not yet exist to support its general use in these settings.
The Fleas (Siphonaptera) of Maryland

ABSTRACT An annotated checklist of the fleas of Maryland is presented. Previous records are reviewed and new records listed including four new state records and 40 new county distribution records. The new additions to the Maryland flea fauna are all in family Ctenophthalmidae: Catallagia borealis Ewing, 1929; Conorhinopsylla stanfordi Stewart, 1930; Epitedia cavernicola Traub, 1957; Tamiophila grandis (Rothschild, 1902). The number of flea species known to occur in Maryland is now 31.