cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase in taurocholate-induced trafficking of ATP-dependent canalicular transporters in rat liver

Recent studies indicate that wortmannin, a potent inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase, interferes with bile acid secretion in rat liver; taurocholate induces recruitment of ATP-dependent transporters to the bile canalicular membrane, and PI 3-kinase products are important in intracellular trafficking. We investigated the role of PI 3-kinase in bile acid secretion by studying the in vivo effect of taurocholate, colchicine, and wortmannin on bile acid secretion, kinase activity, and protein levels in canalicular membrane vesicle (CMV) and sinusoidal membrane vesicle (SMV) fractions from rat liver. Treatment of rats or perfusion of isolated liver with taurocholate significantly increased PI 3-kinase activity in both membrane fractions. Taurocholate increased protein content of ATP-dependent transporters, which were detected only in CMVs, whereas increased levels of p85 and a cell adhesion molecule, cCAM 105, were observed in both fractions. Colchicine prevented taurocholate-induced changes in all proteins studied, as well as the increase in PI 3-kinase activity in CMVs, but it resulted in further accumulation of PI 3-kinase activity, p85, and cCAM 105 in SMVs. These results indicate that taurocholate-mediated changes involve a microtubular system. Wortmannin blocked taurocholate-induced bile acid secretion. The effect was more profound when wortmannin was administered prior to treatment with taurocholate. When wortmannin was given after taurocholate, the protein levels of each ATP-dependent transporter were maintained in CMVs, whereas the levels of p85 and cCAM decreased in both membrane fractions. Perfusion of liver with wortmannin before taurocholate administration blocked accumulation of all proteins studied in CMVs and SMVs. These results indicate that PI 3-kinase is required for intracellular trafficking of itself, as well as of ATP-dependent canalicular transporters.
Grey-box modeling and control of HCCI engine emissions

Real-time model based control of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engines faces a critical challenge of maintaining a perfect balance between model accuracy and computational load. In particular, currently available HCCI emissions models in the literature are highly computationally expensive for control applications. This paper develops a computationally efficient grey-box HCCI engine model for predicting Total Hydrocarbon (THC), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx). The grey-box model consists of a feed forward Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) model in combination with physical models for estimating combustion phasing and Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP). The emission model is experimentally validated over a large range of HCCI engine operation including 208 steady state test conditions. The validation results show that the grey-box model is able to predict NOx, CO, and THC with average relative errors less than 10%. Using a Genetic Algorithm optimization method along with the developed emission grey-box model, an optimum CA50 trajectory is obtained for every given load trajectory in order to minimize THC and CO emissions. A model-based controller is designed and tested on the grey-box virtual engine model for tracking IMEP and the optimum CA50 trajectories, while indirectly minimizing the engine emissions. Control results show that the developed grey-box model is of utility for real time HCCI control applications.
Comparison of cineradiographic and photodetection techniques for assessing velopharyngeal function during speech.

This study investigated the extent to which high-speed lateral-view cineradiography and a photodetector system described by Dalston (1982) provided comparable information concerning velopharyngeal ...
Internal Architecture of Zwitterionic Polymer Brushes Regulates Nonfouling Properties

In this work, we study how film thickness and chain packing density affect the protein-resistant properties of polymer brushes in complex media. Polymer brushes based on dual-functional poly(carboxybetaine acrylamide) (pCB) were prepared via surface-initiated photoiniferter-mediated polymerization. By adjusting UV radiation time and solvent polarity, pCB films with different thicknesses can be achieved and characterized using an ellipsometer. The packing density of pCB polymer chains is directly related to the swelling ratio of swollen to collapsed film thicknesses. Results showed that the dry film thickness alone, used often in the literature, is not sufficient to correlate with nonfouling properties and the chain packing density must be considered for the design of nonfouling surface coatings.
Demographic accounting for special education.

Project MAP (Model Accounting Plan) attempts to improve upon current systems for monitoring special education programs and documenting their effectiveness. MAP is a demographic accounting system for monitoring the transitions of special education students as they progress through the school system and for the year after they graduate. Eleven hundred secondary level special education students participated in a pilot test of the MAP. Transition probabilities and expectancy measures were calculated to indicate the likelihood with which students of different ages and handicaps move through various instructional settings in special education. Examples of specific analyses and observations about the findings are presented to illustrate the MAP methodology and to indicate its potential for providing useful information regarding resource allocation and program effectiveness to special educators and decisionmakers at all levels.
Analysis of field errors in existing undulators

Abstract The Advanced Light Source (ALS) and other third-generation synchrotron light sources have been designed for optimum performance with undulator insertion devices. The performance requirements for these new undulators are explored, with emphasis on the effects of errors on source spectral brightness. Analysis of magnetic-field data for several existing hybrid undulators is presented, decomposing errors into systematic and random components. An attempt is made to identify the sources of these errors, and recommendations are made for designing future insertion devices.
RESIDENT SUPPORT FOR LOCAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

The issue of growth management in urban settings has captured the attention of concerned groups for the past several decades. The voice that is sometimes lacking is that of the residents of neighborhoods who are inevitably affected by the economic and political decisions made by others on how and where growth should occur, but whose recommendations are often ignored or overturned. In an attempt to determine resident satisfaction with the growth management policies promulgated by urban decision makers, the researcher examined association newsletters from 44 neighborhoods in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Results of this study indicated that community satisfaction with growth management does not show a consistent pattern. What did emerge, however, was the fact that neighborhood residents want more information about growth management strategies and more involvement in the land use decision making process.
Effects of low-dose thiazide diuretics on fasting plasma glucose and serum potassium-a meta-analysis.

Abstract This study is a meta-analysis of the metabolic profile (fasting plasma glucose and serum potassium) of low-dose thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics. The meta-analysis involved 10 randomized controlled clinical trials with a total sample size of 17,636 and 17,947 for the potassium and glucose arms respectively. The random effect model was used to calculate the odds ratio with 95 percent confidence interval. The cumulative mean change of fasting plasma glucose was +0.20 mmol/L (+3.6 mg/dL) for the diuretic arm versus +0.12 mmol/L (+2.2 mg/dL) for the comparator arm. The cumulative mean change of serum potassium was −0.22 mmol/L (−0.22 mEq/L) for the diuretic arm versus +0.05 mmol/L (+0.05 mEq/L) for the comparator arm. The aggregate odds ratio for having higher fasting plasma glucose in subjects on low-dose thiazide versus non-thiazide antihypertensive was 1.22 (1.11 to 1.33; P P
Tectonic stability of the San Luis Hills, Northern Rio Grande Rift, Colorado: Evidence from paleomagnetic measurements

The San Luis Basin is the largest of four tilted, fault bounded Neogene basins of the northern Rio Grande rift in New Mexico and Colorado. It formed during the second of two episodes of extension beginning in middle Oligocene and extending to the present. The San Luis Hills are an intrarift horst of Oligocene intermediate and basalt rocks preserved in the middle of the San Luis Basin. Previous paleomagnetic and structural studies in the Espanola Basin to the south indicate counterclockwise rotation of that region during the most recent extension. Paleomagnetic samples from the two exposed formations in the San Luis Hills yield a mean direction of inclination=55.6° and declination=347.2° (α95=6.8°, N=23) that is coincident with the expected Oligocene direction for North America. These rocks show no indication of rotation or severe tilting during rift extension.
Stress and emotional memory retrieval: Effects of sex and cortisol response

In some situations, memory is enhanced by stressful experience, while in others, it is impaired. The specific components of the stress-response that may result in these differing effects remain unclear, and the current study sought to address this knowledge gap. Forty healthy participants (20 women, 20 men) were exposed to emotionally arousing and neutral pictures. Twenty-four hours later, 20 participants underwent a social stressor (speech and math tests), and 20 underwent a control reading task, both followed by a delayed free recall task. Cortisol responders to the stress condition (5 men and 1 woman) showed reduced memory retrieval for both neutral and emotionally arousing pictures. Men and women in the stress condition who did not produce a cortisol response showed increased retrieval of unpleasant pictures compared to controls. The results provide further evidence that cortisol is a primary effector in the stress-induced memory retrieval deficit. At the same time, stress can enhance memory retrieval performance, especially for emotional stimuli, when the cortisol response is absent.
Radial localization of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-sensitive Ca2+ release sites in Xenopus oocytes resolved by axial confocal linescan imaging

The radial localization and properties of elementary calcium release events ("puffs") were studied in Xenopus oocytes using a confocal microscope equipped with a piezoelectric focussing unit to allow rapid (>100 Hz) imaging of calcium signals along a radial line into the cell with a spatial resolution of <0.7 micrometer. Weak photorelease of caged inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) evoked puffs arising predominantly within a 6-micrometer thick band located within a few micrometers of the cell surface. Approximately 25% of puffs had a restricted radial spread, consistent with calcium release from a single site. Most puffs, however, exhibited a greater radial spread (3.25 micrometer), likely involving recruitment of radially neighboring release sites. Calcium waves evoked by just suprathreshold stimuli exhibited radial calcium distributions consistent with inward diffusion of calcium liberated at puff sites, whereas stronger flashes evoked strong, short-latency signals at depths inward from puff sites, indicating deep InsP3-sensitive stores activated at higher concentrations of InsP3. Immunolocalization of InsP3 receptors showed punctate staining throughout a region corresponding to the localization of puffs and subplasmalemmal endoplasmic reticulum. The radial organization of puff sites a few micrometers inward from the plasma membrane may have important consequences for activation of calcium-dependent ion channels and "capacitative" calcium influx. However, on the macroscopic (hundreds of micrometers) scale of global calcium waves, release can be considered to occur primarily within a thin, essentially two-dimensional subplasmalemmal shell.
Electron spin resonance and electrospray ionization mass spectroscopic studies of the interaction of alkali and alkaline earth cations with manganese bis(μ-oxo) dimers

Abstract The dimer [(3,3′-17-crown-6-SALPN)Mn IV (μ-O)] 2 ( 2 ) was prepared by the reaction of (3,3′-17-crown-6-SALPN)Mn(II) with O 2 in CH 3 CN. Dimer 2 when reacted with two molar equivalents of NaPF 6 , KPF 6 , CaTf 2 or BaTf 2 (Tf − is SO 3 CF 3 − formed the complexes 2 · 2NaPF 6 , 2 ·KPF 6 , 2 ·2CaTf 2 or 2 ·2BaTf 2 , respectively. The dimers were reduced to the mixed-valent Mn III ,Mn IV state either chemically with Cp 2 Co or electrochemically and their ESR spectra recorded. The ESR spectrum of each mixed-valent dimer showed a 16-line pattern characteristic of a valence trapped antiferromagnetically coupled species. The cation containing Mn IV ,Mn IV bis(μ-oxo) dimers were also analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry using CH 2 Cl 2 and CH3CN as solvents. Singly charged cations corresponding to the loss of one anion from the parent complex were observed for all four compounds. In addition, ions were detected in which cation exchange had occurred.
Hypersonic transition studies on a slender cone at small angles of attack.

Angle of attack effect on laminar boundary layer transition on slender cone in contoured nozzle of helium tunnel, discussing Reynolds and Mach numbers effect
Glucose Metabolism in the Late Preterm Infant

Prematurity and low birth weight are important determinants of neonatal morbidity and mortality. A rising trend of preterm births is caused by an increase in the birth rate of near-term infants. Near-term infants are defined as infants of 34 to 36 6/7 weeks gestation. It is dangerous to assume that the incidence of hypoglycemia in the later preterm infant is similar to the infant born at full term. Although current methods for assessing effects of hypoglycemia are imperfect, the injury to central nervous system depends on the degree of prematurity, presence of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), intrauterine compromise, genotype, blood flow, metabolic rate, and availability of other substrates. Therefore, early recognition of glucose metabolic abnormalities pertaining to late preterm infants is essential to provide appropriate and timely interventions in the newborn nursery. Although many of the investigations have targeted full-term infants, premature infants inclusive of the extremely low birth weight infants and the intrauterine growth-restricted infants, adequately powered studies restricted to only the late preterm infants are required and need future consideration.
Globalization, Architecture, and Town Planning in a Colonial City: The Case of Jaffa and Tel Aviv

This article explores how modernity and globalization unfolded in the neighboring cities of Jaffa and Tel Aviv during the long twentieth century. Each city was the cultural and economic capital of its respective national community, because of which they were in continual contact and conflict in a manner that often muddied the nationalistically determined boundaries between them. I explore how, beginning with Tel Aviv's establishment in 1909, Zionist leaders deployed a narrative of progress and modernity versus tradition and stagnation to effect a discursive, and ultimately a physical, erasure of the Palestinian Arab population of the region surrounding both towns. I argue that such paradigms, and the ideologies that support them, are fundamental components of globalization, whether in the era of "high imperialism" when Jaffa and Tel Aviv's conflict began, or today. Next I move to the contemporary period and explore the intersection of globalization, tourism, and the liberalized market. I conclude by discussing how a "spatialization" of the contemporary Jaffa is crucial to understanding the continuing conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs, both within the borders of 1967 Israel and across the Green Line as well.
Reflection of Barotropic Rossby Waves in Sheared Flow and Validity of the WKB Approximation

AbstractThe authors discuss reflection of barotropic Rossby waves in an idealized framework with potential applications to tropical–extratropical and interhemispheric interactions. Meridional propagation of Rossby waves has often been studied using the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approximation. The WKB approximation neglects reflection. The authors investigate the amount of reflection in simple shear profiles and attempt to evaluate the validity of using the WKB approximation to understand the meridional propagation of Rossby waves. In addition to solving for the reflection coefficient numerically, exact and approximate forms of the reflection coefficient in certain parameter regimes are derived. An application to the observed climatology is discussed in light of the findings.
Privacy impact assessment for online social networks

Many threats and attacks have been found in online social networks. When a security incident happens and data loss occurs, it is important to assess how the lost data affects user privacy. Most approaches for privacy impact assessment are based on checklists and auditions. There is lack of quantitative analysis approach to study privacy impact. Privacy impact assessment is a very challenging issue. First, data loss includes direct data loss, indirect data loss, and potential data loss. The impact of these data loss to user privacy should all be considered. Second, privacy impact assessment requires measuring privacy. Privacy measurement itself is a challenging issue. Third, users are all connected in a social network. Data loss may spread and propagate across the whole social network. In this paper, we summarize issues and challenges for privacy impact assessment. We further propose a quantitative analysis approach to assess privacy impact for online social networks. Two particular challenges are considered in the paper, privacy impact assessment when partial user information is disclosed, and privacy impact assessment when a group of user accounts are compromised. The paper provides a quantitative analysis approach for government agencies, enterprises, and organizations to assess privacy impact for online social networks when a security incident occurs.
The Use of Valproic Acid in HIV-Positive Patients:

OBJECTIVE:To review the use of valproic acid in HIV-positive patients.DATA SOURCES:Clinical literature was accessed through a MEDLINE search (January 1966–November 1998). Key search terms included HIV, AIDS, seizures, valproic acid, and glutathione.DATA SYNTHESIS:Patients with HIV often develop neurologic manifestations; therefore, valproic acid may be considered in the management of this population. It has been demonstrated that valproate may increase viral burden by potentiating replication. An evaluation of studies addressing the use of valproic acid in HIV-positive patients was conducted.CONCLUSIONS:The potential for valproate-induced increases in viral replication exists. Although further studies are warranted, clinicians should exercise caution when using valproate in HIV-positive patients.
The role of the amygdala in implicit evaluation of emotionally neutral faces

The amygdala is involved in the evaluation of novel stimuli, including faces. We examined whether the amygdala is engaged during the evaluation of emotionally neutral faces along trait-specific dimensions such as trustworthiness and attractiveness or along a general valence dimension. Using behavioral data from evaluation of faces on 14 trait dimensions and fMRI data from an implicit evaluation paradigm, we show that the extent to which the amygdala responds to variations of faces on specific dimensions is a function of the valence content of these dimensions. Variations on dimensions with clear valence connotations (e.g. trustworthiness) engaged the amygdala more strongly than variations on dimensions with less clear valence
Comparing Racial/Ethnic Differences in Mental Health Service Use Among High-Need Subpopulations Across Clinical and School-Based Settings

Racial/ethnic differences in mental health service use among adolescents in clinic and school settings for three high-need populations are examined. Results indicate no racial/ethnic differences in school-based use contrasted with significant differences in clinical settings. Schools may be critical avenues for reduction of unmet mental health need among racial/ethnic minorities.
Texture and microflora of vallagret cheese during maturation

Vallagret is a unique Jarlsberg-like cheese that combines characteristics of Cheddar and Swiss cheeses. The objectives of this study were to elucidate the stress and strain behaviour of young (1 week) and mature (20 weeks) vallagret cheese and to enumerate the microflora of young and matured cheeses. The large deformation properties of vallagret cheese were determined using an Instron universal testing machine. Lactococci were enumerated using M17 agar. Lactobacilli and Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. cremoris were enumerated on Lactobacillus selective (LBS) agar while the aerobic microorganisms were enumerated using plate count agar. Fracture stress decreased significantly from 0.52 MPa in young cheese to 0.11 MPa in the matured samples and fracture strain decreased significantly from 87% in young cheese to 41% in matured cheese. Aerobic microorganisms and lactococci decreased on maturation while the numbers of lactobacilli and Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp. cremoris increased over the 20-week maturation period. Maturation affected the microbial counts of vallagret cheese. On maturation, vallagret cheese became softer and had lowered resistance to fracture.
A comparison of flooded forest and floating meadow fish assemblages in an upper Amazon floodplain

Matched sets of gillnets of different mesh-sizes were used to evaluate the degree to which contiguous and connected flooded forest and floating meadow habitats are characterized by distinct fish faunas during the flooding season in the Peruvian Amazon. For fishes between 38–740 mm standard length (LS) (the size range captured by the gear), an overriding pattern of faunal similarity emerged between these two habitats. The mean species richness, diversity, abundance, fish mass, mean and maximum LS, and maximum mass did not differ significantly between flooded forest and floating meadows. Species abundances followed a log-normal distribution in which three species accounted for 60–70% of the total abundance in each habitat. Despite these similarities, multivariate analyses demonstrated subtle differences in species composition between flooded forest and adjacent floating macrophytes. In addition, the absolute number of species was higher in flooded forest, reflecting a higher percentage of rare species. The day–night species turnover was found to be greater in flooded forests than floating meadows. Further, nocturnal samples had higher abundances and greater species richness than diurnal samples in both habitats. Differences in habitat structural complexity between flooded forest and floating meadows may result in a higher abundance and species richness of day-active species in floating meadows.
Role of Motility and the flhDC Operon in Escherichia coli MG1655 Colonization of the Mouse Intestine

Previously, we reported that the mouse intestine selected mutants of Escherichia coli MG1655 that have improved colonizing ability (M. P. Leatham et al., Infect. Immun. 73:8039-8049, 2005). These mutants grew 10 to 20% faster than their parent in mouse cecal mucus in vitro and 15 to 30% faster on several sugars found in the mouse intestine. The mutants were nonmotile and had deletions of various lengths beginning immediately downstream of an IS1 element located within the regulatory region of the flhDC operon, which encodes the master regulator of flagellum biosynthesis, FlhD4C2. Here we show that during intestinal colonization by wild-type E. coli strain MG1655, 45 to 50% of the cells became nonmotile by day 3 after feeding of the strain to mice and between 80 and 90% of the cells were nonmotile by day 15 after feeding. Ten nonmotile mutants isolated from mice were sequenced, and all were found to have flhDC deletions of various lengths. Despite this strong selection, 10 to 20% of the E. coli MG1655 cells remained motile over a 15-day period, suggesting that there is an as-yet-undefined intestinal niche in which motility is an advantage. The deletions appear to be selected in the intestine for two reasons. First, genes unrelated to motility that are normally either directly or indirectly repressed by FlhD4C2 but can contribute to maximum colonizing ability are released from repression. Second, energy normally used to synthesize flagella and turn the flagellar motor is redirected to growth.
Incorporation of stratospheric acids into water ice

Hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids are absorbed within the water ice lattice at mole fractions maximizing below 0.00001 and 0.0001 in a variety of solid impurity studies. The absorption mechanism may be substitutional or interstitial, leading in either case to a weak permeation of stratospheric ices by the acids at equilibrium. Impurities could also inhabit grain boundaries, and the acid content of atmospheric ice crystals will then depend on details of their surface and internal microstructures. Limited evidence indicates similar properties for the absorption of HNO3. Water ice lattices saturated with acid cannot be a significant local reservoir for HCl in the polar stratosphere.
Local information-based power management in a delay tolerant network

In delay tolerant networks (DTNs), power management will likely play a critical role in the system design. Because these networks are partitioned in nature, mobility is typically required for data routing. Since nodes must physically move to create links, there can be significant routing delays, and the network must be alive for a long enough time to be of any practical use. Therefore, a power management mechanism is an attractive approach to extending the network lifetime. We propose a power management scheme that utilizes local state information at each node to decide when to put nodes in a low-powered sleep state. A data-carrying node uses this local information to determine if it is likely to deliver its data, and thus sleep more frequently. A relay node determines if it is unlikely to be helpful in data delivery, and thus sleep more. We show that for an application rich in local information, our proposed power management scheme saves significant amounts of energy versus the AEB beaconing scheme for a desired delivery ratio.
Neural network for dynamic binding with graph representation: Form, linking, and depth-from-occlusion

A neural network is presented that explicitly represents form attributes and relations between them, thus solving the binding problem without temporal coding. Rather, the network creates a graph representation by dynamically allocating nodes to code local form attributes and establishing arcs to link them. With this representation, the network selectively groups and segments in depth objects based on line junction information, producing results consistent with those of several recent visual search experiments. In addition to depth-from-occlusion, the network provides a sufficient framework for local line-labeling processes to recover other three-dimensional (3-D) variables, such as edge/surface contiguity, edge slant, and edge convexity.
Neural learning of Kalman filtering, Kalman control, and system identification

This paper shows how to implement Kalman estimation (including filtering and prediction) and control, and system identification, within a neural network (NN) whose only input is a stream of noisy measurement data. The operation of the fully-integrated algorithm is illustrated by a numerical example. The resulting network is a multilayer recurrent NN that may be useful for engineering applications. The algorithm is found to impose constraints on the NN circuitry and architecture. It is of interest that the derived circuit bears certain resemblances to the putative ‘local circuit’ of mammalian cerebral cortex. These similarities are discussed with reference to speculations on the possible fundamental operations of cerebral cortex.
Content and Distribution of Erythroxylum coca Leaf Alkaloids

Abstract Fully expanded leaves of Erythroxylum coca var. coca Lam. (Erythroxylaceae) 35-70-d-old were harvested from 21-month-old plants grown under greenhouse conditions. Each harvested leaf was placed on a plexiglass silhouette according to its dimensions and divided into four primary sections (petiole, base, mid and anterior) and three subsections (lamina periphery, false mid-rib, and true mid-rib) to determine the distribution and content of hygrine, cuscohygrine, trans -cinnamoylcocaine, cis -cinnamoylcocaine, tropacocaine, tropinone, methyl ecgonine and cocaine. The leaf sub-sections and petiole were extracted and analysed for alkaloid content (%) by HPLC (cocaine alkaloid only) gas chromatography and GC/MS. Cocaine, methyl ecgonine and hygrine were highest in the lamina periphery with a content of 0·48, 0·46 and 0·32%, respectively. Trans -cinnamoylcocaine was pre-eminent of the cinnamoylcocaines and was most abundant in the petiole at a content of 0·24%. Cis -cinnamoylcocaine, tropinone, cuscohygrine and tropacocaine were ubiquitously distributed throughout the leaf where the average contents were 0·14, 0·004, 0·16 and 0·04%, respectively.
An interpretation of Casimir operators of the U(6 12) group

An interpretation is presented of the UB+F(6) Casimir operator which appears in a group theoretical description of the U(612) dynamical bosonfermion symmetry. The UB+F(6) term is shown to be equivalent to a very specific choice of the exchange term in the general hamiltonian of the interacting boson-fermion model. The analysis also suggests the possible importance of additional exchange terms in the hamiltonian which have so far been neglected.
Three dimensional modeling and analysis of Haversian systems in compact bone tissue

This study provides a qualitative as well as quantitative characterization of the geometry and architecture of the Haversian systems at a microscopic level. A three dimensional computer model was created with serial sections of equine bone. From the reconstruction, quantitative calculations were made, including porosity, surface areas, cross sectional areas, and cross sectional shapes. Also the porosity due to Volkmann canals was estimated. Other more qualitative calculations included the nature of branching, termination and general osteon movement. Any change in the specimen size or shape during the entire processing was carefully documented and corrected for where possible. One of the goals of the research was to assess and evaluate the procedures developed and identify was to further improve accuracy. With a computerized three dimensional image of the bone microstructure, detailed calculations can be made and insight gained more accurately than with two dimensional models or past three dimensional models.
Child and adolescent psychiatry and palliative care.

hild and adolescent psychiatrists have an important role in educating and helping the emerging field of C palliative care. Their knowledge of development, psychotherapy, family structures, psychopharmacology, and medical culture is key to allowing palliative care to reach its goal of holistic treatment of patients. Because child and adolescent psychiatrists have medical training, they can incorporate the complex biopsychosocial picture of this severely ill population into their diagnostic evaluations. Furthermore, their medical understanding of prognostication can help provide more complete psychosocial interventions and treatment recommendations. Without this expertise, palliative care providers can misinterpret behaviors and lose opportunities to treat important elements of suffering. To understand how child and adolescent psychiatrists can be helpful in the evolution of psychosocial treatment in palliative care, it is useful to review the development of the specialty. In the United States, a patient eligible for hospice care must conform to a Medicare definition that mandates that a patient have no longer than 6 months. Because patients with illnesses such as congestive heart failure, dementia, and various types of cancer have protracted courses rather than acute fatal outcomes, the difficult, if not impossible, requirement to predict survivability has created a gap in health care between hospice care and cure-focused treatment. Palliative care fits into this uncertain space defined by the World Health Organization as “an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life threatening illnesses through the prevention and relief of suffering by early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.” Most providers practicing this field of medicine evolved from internal medicine physicians who were originally the primary care providers for these patients. In 2006, palliative care became a board-certified subspecialty, and since 2012, palliative care providers must complete a 1-year Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education fellowship. A large majority of these providers continue to have a background in internal medicine and family medicine. Pediatric palliative care followed adult palliative care. The World Health Organization defined it as total care of the child’s body, mind, and spirit that also involves giving support to the family. Pediatric palliative care begins at diagnosis, with the objective of alleviating a child’s physical, psychological, and social distress using a broad, multidisciplinary approach. Pediatric palliative care differs from its adult counterpart by the interplay of illness with the developmental spectrum of childhood, unclear trajectories of
Where is the “g” in creativity? A specialization–differentiation hypothesis

Unlike the construct of intelligence operationalized by the g-factor, there is limited evidence suggesting that creativity is a domain-general (i.e., as opposed to domain-specific) and a generalized (i.e., unitary) construct. However, there is a common and implicit g-factor view of creativity that potentially stems from the assumption that creativity represents an ability normally distributed in the human population (i.e., following a Gaussian distribution), ranging from everyday manifestations to eminent accomplishments. Indeed, individual differences exist in the outcome of human creative potential (i.e., particular combination of resources coming into play in creative work, including aspects of motivation, cognition, personality), but this does not suggest that creativity represents a generalized entity per se. This nuance is critical since many psychological and neuropsychological studies of creativity have made inferences about creativity as a generalized construct while relying on a set of highly specific tasks within highly specific domains, although there is limited support for the domain-generality of creativity. In fact, rare eminent individuals are those associated with exceptional creative achievement in multiple domains, and across multiple subdomains within a given field (Gray, 1966; Baer, 1998). The domain-specificity of creative behaviors and achievements is also repeatedly identified within general population samples (e.g., Carson et al., 2005; Silvia et al., 2009). In this article, we propose an alternative to the g-factor view of creativity: an organizing principle of the creative potential that involves its specialization through the formation of commitments and interests within a limited set of creative outlets. We outline evidence that such specialization arises during adolescence, a time during which biological maturational processes take place.
Transformation of charge-to-breakdown obtained from ramped current stresses into charge-to-breakdown and time-to-breakdown domains for constant current stress

Summary form only given. Charge-to-breakdown (Q/sub BD/) is one of the parameters that is used as a measure of gate oxide quality. It has been shown that, under the correct measurement conditions, there is good agreement between the Q/sub BD/ that is measured with an exponential current ramp (ECR) and the Q/sub BD/ that is measured with a constant current stress (CCS), and that Q/sub BD/ depends strongly on the ramp rate of the exponential current ramp and the current density of the constant current stress (Dumin, Int. Integrated Reliability Workshop Final Report, 1997). Previous work has shown that the breakdown distribution obtained from a linear voltage ramp can be transformed into the constant voltage stress TDDB domain for time-to-breakdown (Berman, Int. Reliability Physics Symp., pp. 204-209, 1981). Similar to this, a method is presented here for transformation of the Q/sub BD/ distribution obtained from exponential ramp experiments into the constant current stress TDDB domains of time-to-breakdown (t/sub BD/) and Q/sub BD/.
Histologic, Molecular, and Clinical Evaluation of Explanted Breast Prostheses, Capsules, and Acellular Dermal Matrices for Bacteria.

Background Subclinical infections, manifest as biofilms, are considered an important cause of capsular contracture. Acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) are frequently used in revision surgery to prevent recurrent capsular contractures. Objective We sought to identify an association between capsular contracture and biofilm formation on breast prostheses, capsules, and ADMs in a tissue expander/implant (TE/I) exchange clinical paradigm. Methods Biopsies of the prosthesis, capsule, and ADM from patients ( N = 26) undergoing TE/I exchange for permanent breast implant were evaluated for subclinical infection. Capsular contracture was quantified with Baker Grade and intramammary pressure. Biofilm formation was evaluated with specialized cultures, rtPCR, bacterial taxonomy, live:dead staining, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Collagen distribution, capsular histology, and ADM remodeling were quantified following fluorescent and light microscopy. Results Prosthetic devices were implanted from 91 to 1115 days. Intramammary pressure increased with Baker Grade. Of 26 patients evaluated, one patient had a positive culture and one patient demonstrated convincing evidence of biofilm morphology on SEM. Following PCR amplification 5 samples randomly selected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated an abundance of suborder Micrococcineae, consistent with contamination. Conclusions Our data suggest that bacterial biofilms likely contribute to a proportion, but not all diagnosed capsular contractures. Biofilm formation does not appear to differ significantly between ADMs or capsules. While capsular contracture remains an incompletely understood but common problem in breast implant surgery, advances in imaging, diagnostic, and molecular techniques can now provide more sophisticated insights into the pathophysiology of capsular contracture. Level of Evidence 4![Graphic][1] Therapeutic [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
A 48-Month Multicentric Clinical Investigation: Implant Design and Survival

Abstract This report is based on a total of 2955 implants of 6 different designs, randomized and placed in 829 patients and followed for 48 months. Implant failure was defined as nonintegration at ...
Stochastic Resonance and Brownian Machinery: New Results — New Applications - New Goals

Is it possible to extract energy from random fluctuations and put it to beneficial use? This challenging question has provoked discussions ever since the early days of Brownian motion studies. Generally, noise in dynamical systems is considered a nuisance. But in certain nonlinear systems the presence of noise can in fact enhance the detection of weak signals. This phenomenon, called Stochastic Resonance (SR) does find useful applications in physical, technological and biomedical contexts [1]. In a second class of systems that are periodic - but which lack reflection symmetry - directed, noise induced transport can take place. The directed motion of particles in periodic potentials requires at least one source of non-equilibrium which must inherit an explicit or inherent statistical asymmetry. Such non-equilibrium systems have become known in the literature under the label of “ratchets” [2]. In both situations the importance of fluctuations is elevated to a level where noise must be viewed as source of order and complexity in its own right.
Combined dabrafenib and trametinib therapy in metastatic melanoma and organ transplantation: Case report and review of the literature.

Improved surgical techniques and superior posttransplant care have increased graft survival after solid organ transplantation, and complications of lifelong immunosuppression are increasingly prevalent in clinical practice. The excess relative risk of melanoma attributable to transplantation is between 2 and 12 times that of the general population,1 and given the high tumor burden, this has important implications for the surveillance and management of organ transplant recipients (OTRs). Several risk factors for melanoma are known, including immunosuppression, the presence of atypical nevi, light skin phototype, ultraviolet light exposure, and a family or personal history of skin cancer.1, 2 Here we report a case of cutaneous melanoma arising posttransplant, highlighting the substantial morbidity and mortality of this disease in OTR. In view of the increased risk of melanoma and high potential for metastasis, dermatologists should monitor OTRs closely and institute multidisciplinary care without delay.
Time, Value, and Collective Immortality

Samuel Scheffler has recently defended what he calls the ‘afterlife conjecture’, the claim that many of our evaluative attitudes and practices rest on the assumption that human beings will continue to exist after we die. Scheffler contends that our endorsement of this claim reveals that our evaluative orientation has four features: non-experientialism, non-consequentialism, ‘conservatism,’ and future orientation. Here I argue that the connection between the afterlife conjecture and these four features is not as tight as Scheffler seems to suppose. In fact, those with an evaluative orientation that rejects these four features have equally strong moral reasons to endorse the existence of the collective afterlife.
Lithium Fluoride Additives for Stable Cycling of Lithium Batteries at High Current Densities

Progress in advanced energy storage technologies, in particular rechargeable batteries, is limited by complex electrochemical and interfacial phenomena, which produce deposition instabilities on the most energetic anode materials. Uneven electrodeposition is a serious problem in almost all rechargeable batteries that use high-energy metals such as aluminum, lithium, sodium, or zinc as the anode because it leads to formation of dendritic structures that expose the device to a variety of failure modes, including catastrophic failure by internal short circuiting. We investigate the effect of lithium fluoride salt additives on electrodeposition of metals in batteries that use metallic lithium anodes. Through systematic electrochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopy studies, we find that these additives provide a robust strategy for improving both the lifetime and coulombic efficiency of a battery at both high and low current densities. We show that LiF simultaneously acts to protect lithium metal anode surface and also improves interfacial Li-ion transport, thus enabling faster and flatter electrodeposition with longer cycle life. Finally, we demonstrate that a conventional electrolyte reinforced with as little as 0.5 w% LiF salt can be used to enable Li/LiFePO4 full cells that exhibit stable cycling for over 150 cycles of charge and discharge at high current density.
Comparative Fiber Physical Properties

The effects of polymer characteristics and processing conditions as described in the preceding section are evidence of the various polypropylene fibers which can be produced with a wide range of properties. By proper control of the factors mentioned previously, a polypropylene fiber with optimum properties for a particular application can be specifically prepared. Such versatility in the properties of polypropylene fiber accounts for variances in the physical property data as reported by commercial manufacturers. The following information presented in this section on the physical properties of fibers has been generated by various investigators, each reporting on the physical behavior of a particularly prepared fiber. Although slight discrepancies may be noted, the data are adequate to permit a comparative analysis of the physical properties among the various fibers.
The Public Domain

Land ownership is an important consideration in mineral acquisition, and the federal public domain represents the most important category of ownership on the basis of size. The federal public domain includes those lands that were or are subject to the public land laws of the United States. Acquisitions to the public domain have been by state cessions, purchase, and treaty. The original “public domain” included all of the United States except the original thirteen colonies, Vermont, Texas, and Hawaii and was acquired by treaties with France, England, Spain, Russia, and Mexico. The largest acquisitions were in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (560 million acres) and the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 (365 million acres).
Neural Fibrolipoma of the Ankle: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Neural fibrolipomas are exceedingly rare benign tumors composed of hypertrophied fibrofatty tissue intermixed with nerve tissues. Our review of the published data identified only 15 cases of this tumor involving the foot and/or ankle region. An otherwise healthy 35-year-old male was referred for evaluation of a painless soft tissue mass present in the anterior left ankle. The mass had been present for approximately 6 to 7 years and had recently increased in size. Physical examination demonstrated a prominent, fluctuant mass present in the left ankle measuring 4 cm in diameter. The mass was not well-defined, was immobile, and did not transilluminate. No gross pedal deformity was present. Radiographic imaging revealed increased soft tissue prominence and density to the anterior ankle without bone involvement. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a mass isointense to fat on all sequences without contrast enhancement, suggestive of a lipoma. Surgical excision was performed; the mass was yellow and lipomatous in nature. The mass was intimately associated with the superficial peroneal nerve, which had to be sacrificed during excision. The pathologic examination of the mass revealed findings consistent with a neural fibrolipoma. The patient healed uneventfully without recurrence. His only complaint was of some residual numbness in the medial foot.