cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abecarnil and alprazolam reverse anxiety-like behaviors induced by ethanol withdrawal.

Abstract This study investigated the effects of a benzodiazepine partial agonist, abecarnil, and a full agonist, alprazolam, on ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behaviors in rats. Anxiety was assessed in two models: elevated plus maze and pentylenetetrazol (GABA A antagonist) discrimination assay. Male rats received an ethanol-containing (4.5%) liquid diet for 7 to 10 days and were tested for withdrawal symptoms 12 h after termination of the diet. In the elevated plus maze, ethanol-withdrawn rats displayed less open arm activity and total arm entries than pair-fed rats. Abecarnil (0.08–0.32 mg/kg, IP) and alprazolam (0.08–1.25 mg/kg, IP) each produced a dose-dependent, full reversal of ethanol withdrawal-induced reduction of open arm activity, but only alprazolam increased the total arm entries. In the pentylenetetrazol assay, ethanol-withdrawn rats selected the pentylenetetrazol lever (100%) over the salin-lever. Abecarnil (0.04–0.32 mg/kg, IP) and alprazolam (0.08–0.32 mg/kg, IP) dose dependently reduced pentylenetetrazol-lever responding to control levels (10–20%). Alprazolam was more potent than abecarnil in reversing ethanol withdrawal-induced decrease in open arm activities, but showed comparable potency and efficacy to abecarnil in blocking the pentylenetetrazol-like ethanol withdrawal stimulus. These results suggest that abecarnil and alprazolam may have therapeutic potential for treatment of ethanol withdrawal-induced anxiety-like symptoms.
Anesthetic complications in pediatric patients undergoing cochlear implantation

Objectives/Hypothesis: Cochlear implantation (CI) is effective in the treatment of childhood sensorineural hearing loss and is associated with minimal surgical complications. We investigated the incidence of anesthetic complications in young patients undergoing general anesthesia for CI. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 123 patients younger than 18 years, who underwent CI between 2007 and 2008, was conducted for identification of intra- and postoperative anesthesia-related complications. The relation of collected variable to the complication events was analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Of the 123 CI procedures, eight patients had nine anesthesia-related complications, yielding a complication rate of 6.5% and included the following: postoperative wheezing/stridor (5 cases), laryngospasm (3 cases), and emesis during inhalational induction (1 case). Divided by age group, 12 patients were <12 months with one complication (8%), 18 patients were between 1 and 2 years with one complication (5.6%), 35 patients were between 2 and 5 years with one complication (3%), 39 patients were between 5 and 12 years with five complications (13%), and 19 patients were older than 12 years with no complication (0%). Logistic regression failed to identify a significant association of any collected variable(s) with the observed complications. The incidence of complications is similar to that previously reported in elderly patients (4.3%) (Pearson χ2, P = .523). Conclusions: General anesthesia is well tolerated by pediatric patients undergoing CI, even under 1 year of age. Significant perioperative complications are primarily respiratory, are usually free of long-term sequelae, and occur with an incidence similar to other reported age groups.
An energy-balance hydrologic model for the Lake Malawi Rift Basin, East Africa

Abstract An energy-balanced hydrologic model is used to quantitatively assess atmosphere–water budget relationships across the Lake Malawi catchment, a hydrologically-open lake within the East African Rift System. The model first simulates the historical lake-level record over the last 100 years using climate station and vegetation data as inputs. Atmospheric conditions required to sustain equilibrium water balance are then estimated at known critical lake-levels: modern (700 m maximum water depth), basin closure (696 m maximum water depth), 500 m, 350 m, 200 m, and 150 m maximum water depth. The critical low lake stages were determined from analysis of seismic-reflection and deep lake drill-core data. The model predicts modern precipitation rate to be 955 mm/yr, which is consistent with observed climate station precipitation records. The minimum lowstand observed in geophysical records is 150 m water depth (550 m below present lake-level), and occurred about 95,000 years before present. The precipitation rate required to sustain equilibrium conditions at this low lake stage is 557 mm/yr, assuming modern Lake Malawi temperature and vegetation, and 374 mm/yr using modern temperature and vegetation data from the Little Karoo Basin, an analogue for the Malawi paleo-environment during severe arid intervals that resulted in major lake lowstands. The latter result is consistent with the range of precipitation measured from the Little Karoo Basin (100 to 500 mm/yr), and from interpretations of drill-core data sets (Cohen et al., 2007). The time required to drop lake-level from its modern maximum to the most severe low lake stage determined from paleoclimate data sets (from 700 m to 150 m maximum water depth) is less than 2500 years, even when accounting for additional water volume loss stored as groundwater. A lake-level fall of this magnitude reduces the lake surface area by 94% and reduces the total lake volume by 99%.
Two path extremal graphs and an application to a Ramsey-type problem

Abstract Let p 2 ( G ) denote the number of paths of length 2 in the graph G , and let g ( v , e ) = max{ p 2 ( G ): G has v vertices and e edges}. In this paper we completely classify all 2-path extremal graphs, i.e., all ( v , e )-graphs G such that p 2 ( G ) = g ( v , e ). As an application, we consider 2-colorings of the edges of K v , where exactly e edges are colored with one color, say red. It is shown that for any connected graph H with 3 edges (triangle, 3-path, 3-star), the number of occurrences of H as a monochromatic subgraph of K v is maximized if and only if the ‘red’ subgraph of K v is 2-path extremal.
Scanning electron microscopy and freeze etching of gonorrhoeal urethral exudate

Urethral exudates from male patients with gonorrhoea were studied by use of the critical point drying technique for scanning electron microscopy. The surfaces of phagocytes were extensively ruffled. This was interpreted to be the three-dimensional appearance of pseudopodia. Epithelial cells present in the urethral exudate showed a highly convoluted surface structure. Specimens of urethral exudate prepared by the freeze-etch technique showed that most N. gonorrhoeae were engulfed individually in phagocytes. Some phagosomes contained two or more gonococcal cells. Phagocytes containing gonococci were degranulated, but small granules were present in the phagosomes. Nuclear pores on the surface of the nuclear membrane were always associated with an indentation of the nuclear membrane. The outer layer of the nuclear membrane was smooth compared to the inner layer,
Tectonic evolution of the Tualatin basin, northwest Oregon, as revealed by inversion of gravity data

The Tualatin basin, west of Portland (Oregon, USA), coincides with a 110 mGal gravity low along the Puget-Willamette lowland. New gravity measurements (n = 3000) reveal a three-dimensional (3-D) subsurface geometry suggesting early development as a fault-bounded pull-apart basin. A strong northwest-trending gravity gradient coincides with the Gales Creek fault, which forms the southwestern boundary of the Tualatin basin. Faults along the northeastern margin in the Portland Hills and the northeast-trending Sherwood fault along the southeastern basin margin are also associated with gravity gradients, but of smaller magnitude. The gravity low reflects the large density contrast between basin fill and the mafi ccrust of the Siletz terrane composing basement. Inversions of gravity data indicate that the Tualatin basin is ∼6 km deep, therefore 6 times deeper than the 1 km maximum depth of the Miocene Columba River Basalt Group (CRBG) in the basin, implying that the basin contains several kilometers of low-density pre-CRBG sediments and so formed primarily before the 15 Ma emplacement of the CRBG. The shape of the basin and the location of parallel, linear basin-bounding faults along the southwest and northeast margins suggest that the Tualatin basin originated as a pull-apart rhombochasm. Pre-CRBG extension in the Tualatin basin is consistent with an episode of late Eocene extension documented elsewhere in the Coast Ranges. The present fold and thrust geometry of the Tualatin basin, the result of Neogene compression, is superimposed on the ancestral pull-apart basin. The present 3-D basin geometry may imply stronger ground shaking along basin edges, particularly along the concealed northeast edge of the Tualatin basin beneath the greater Portland area.
Effects of pH on the cytotoxicity of sodium trioxodinitrate (Angeli's salt).

Tumor tissues have an acidic microenvironment with a pH from 6.0 to 7.0, whereas the intra- and extracellular milieu of normal cells is 7.4. We have found that the hydrolysis of sodium trioxodinitrate (Angeli's salt; 1) to hydroxyl radical (•OH) was 10 times higher at pH = 6.0 than at pH = 7.4. It is hypothesized that the formation of •OH in solutions of 1 reflects the hydrolysis of the latter compound to nitroxyl (HNO) which dimerizes to cis-hyponitrous acid (HO−NN−OH; 3) with concomitant azo-type homolytic fission to N2 and •OH. In weakly acidified solutions, 1 exhibited strong toxicity to cancer cells that was inhibited by scavengers of hydroxyl radical, whereas no toxicity was observed at pH = 7.4. In a subcutaneous xenograft model of pheochromocytoma, 1 markedly inhibited tumor growth at a dose that was nontoxic to nude mice. These data suggest that the H+-amplified production of •OH from 1, and maybe other precursors of HNO, could be a selective mechanism for destruction cells with an acidic intra- ...
Control of incommensurate sinusoids using enhanced adaptive filtering algorithm based on sliding mode approach

This article focuses on the active control of a combination of incommensurate sinusoids and its subsets. Two sliding mode control (SMC) algorithms are proposed to enhance the conventional least mean squares (LMS) algorithm maintaining its inherent advantages. The SMC is utilized to update the filter coefficients, and a feedback loop with the SMC is introduced in the adaptive filtering system. The proposed methods are evaluated for several cases by comparing the results with the LMS algorithm. An experiment with an active strut is also constructed and longitudinal vibrations excited by an amplitude modulated type signal are measured before and after the control for each adaptive filtering algorithm. Overall, the proposed algorithms demonstrate faster convergence and reduce amplitudes at multiple peaks even when only one frequency is targeted.
Expression of neurturin, GDNF, and their receptors in the adult mouse CNS

Neurturin (NTN) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) are the first two members of the GDNF family (GF) of neurotrophic factors. These two proteins are potent survival factors for several populations of central and peripheral neurons in mature and developing rodents. The receptor for these factors is a multicomponent complex that includes the RET (rearranged during transfection) tyrosine kinase receptor and one of two glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked ligand-binding components called GDNF family receptor alphas (GFRalpha-1 and GFRalpha-2). We have used in situ hybridization to study the mRNA expression of NTN, GDNF, RET, GFRalpha-1, and GFRalpha-2 in the central nervous system (CNS) of adult mice. GF receptors are expressed in several areas in which neuronal populations known to respond to NTN and GDNF are located, including the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the compacta region of the substantia nigra. In addition, we have demonstrated receptor expression in other areas of the brain including the thalamus and hypothalamus. Neurons in these areas express GF receptors, and therefore, may respond to NTN or GDNF. NTN and GDNF are expressed in targets of neurons that express GF receptors. The pattern of GF factor and receptor expression in the adult brain suggests a role for these factors in maintaining neuronal circuits in the mature CNS.
Comparative FEM and DEM modeling of basement-involved thrust structures, with application to Sheep Mountain, Greybull area, Wyoming

Abstract Basement-involved fold and thrust systems have been widely studied in several locations, through field and seismic investigations. However, our understanding of the geometries of the faults that drive folding, and the mechanical conditions within the resulting folds, is still limited. Simulations run using the finite element and discrete element methods have great potential to help determine the mechanical evolution of structures at all scales. Both methods have been employed to explore the structural evolution of the Laramide-age Sheep Mountain anticline, located in the eastern Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. Both sets of simulations are constrained by experimental and well log data, and use the same size model domain and mechanical stratigraphy. The underlying basement–sediment boundary was deformed by a set of prescribed displacements. The results of the two simulations are geometrically similar, and match previous field-based interpretations of the Sheep Mountain fold to the first order. Stresses calculated by the two methods were also very similar, thus verifying the mechanical comparison. Differences in the geometric details, however, provide important perspectives on the capabilities of the two methods. For example, the major faults producing the Sheep Mountain fold develop slightly higher dips in the DEM simulation than the FEM simulation, yielding a better match with published interpretations. The crest of the anticline is characterized by distributed thinning of shallow strata in the FEM simulation, and by local extensional faulting in the DEM simulation. Neither simulation reproduced the north–south fold splay observed in the field, suggesting that this minor feature results from preexisting structure or 3D effects not modeled here.
Application of a diode-laser-based ultraviolet absorption sensor for in situ measurements of atomic mercury in coal-combustion exhaust

A diode-laser-based ultraviolet absorption sensor was successfully demonstrated for both in situ and extractive sampling atomic mercury measurements in a laboratory-scale 29.3 kWt (100 000 BTU/h) coal combustor and in situ measurements in a flow reactor at Texas A&M University. Laser sensor measurements were compared to measurements from a commercial mercury analyzer (CMA). A 375 nm single-mode laser and a 784 nm distributed feedback (DFB) laser are sum-frequency-mixed in a nonlinear {beta}-barium borate crystal to generate a 254 nm beam. By tuning the frequency of the DFB laser, the ultraviolet beam frequency was tuned across the transition frequency of mercury at 253.7 nm. The tuning range was large enough that an off-resonant baseline was clearly visible on both sides of the Hg transition. No pretreatment is required for elemental mercury measurements, and the effects of broadband absorption can be effectively eliminated during data analysis. Extractive sampling was demonstrated to improve the detection limit of the sensor and demonstrate the feasibility of total mercury concentration measurements in the future through extractive sampling. Significant variation in the atomic mercury concentration of coal-combustion exhaust was observed over short time periods during our in situ measurements. The sensor detection limits for in situ andmore » extractive sampling are 0.3 and 0.1 parts per billion over a 1 m path length, respectively. 34 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs.« less
Resistance to ocular herpes simplex virus type 1 infection in IL-12 transgenic mice.

Abstract Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a potent inflammatory cytokine that influences the innate and adaptive immune response to microbial pathogens including viruses. It was reasoned that constitutive IL-12 production in mice would enhance resistance to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. To test this hypothesis, transgenic mice expressing the p35 and p40 genes of IL-12 under a glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter were ocularly infected with HSV-1. These mice displayed increased survival and reduced viral titers in the eye, trigeminal ganglion (TG), and brain stem in comparison to wild type controls. Consistent with these results, HSV-1 immediate early and early gene expression were reduced to 50–130-fold in the trigeminal ganglion of infected transgenic mice compared to infected, non-transgenic counterparts as determined by real time PCR. Associated with viral resistance, IL-12 and IFN-γ mRNA levels and IL-12 protein were elevated in the eyes of the transgenic versus non-transgenic mice during the acute infection. Collectively, the data show the inherent resistance of mice constitutively expressing IL-12 to ocular HSV-1 infection—an outcome that is independent of the adaptive immune system at the time of infection.
Postnatal developmental regulation of neuronal nicotinic receptor subunit α7 and multiple α4 and β2 mRNA species in the rat

This study examined the postnatal development of neuronal nicotinic receptor (nAChR) alpha 7, alpha 4 and beta 2 subunit mRNA in the Sprague Dawley rat brain. The hippocampus, septum and cortex were removed on postnatal day 1 (P1), P7, P14, or P28 and analyzed by sex. Northern analysis of cortical and pooled hippocampal and septal total RNA with 32P-alpha-dCTP-labeled alpha 7, alpha 4 (recognizing alpha 4.1 and alpha 4.2 mRNA), and beta 2 nAChR cDNA probes identified three (2.4, 3.8 and 8.0 kb) alpha 4, four (3.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 kb) beta 2 and a single 5.7 kb alpha 7 mRNA species. Cortical alpha 4 mRNA peaked on P14 and remained high on P28, whereas hippocampal/septal alpha 4 mRNA was higher on P7 and P14 than on P1 and P28. Expression of cortical and hippocampal/septal beta 2 mRNAs decreased on P7, followed by a dramatic peak on P14. alpha 7 mRNA peaked on P7. Throughout development, 2.4 kb alpha 4 mRNA was more intense than 3.8 kb alpha 4 mRNA, whereas 5.0 kb beta 2 mRNA was the most intense cortical and hippocampal/septal beta 2 mRNA species. The alpha 4.1-specific cDNA probe detected similar-sized alpha 4 bands as the pan-specific alpha 4 cDNA probe, therefore precluding the identification of any band as alpha 4.2-specific. These results suggest that postnatal expression of alpha 4 and alpha 7 but not beta 2 mRNAs is brain region-specific, and that the contribution of multiple nAChR subunit mRNA species in development may vary.
Image-adaptive watermarking using 2D chirps

Linear chirps, a special case of polynomial phase exponentials, have recently been proposed for digital watermarking. In this work, we propose a known-host-state methodology for designing image watermarks that are robust to compression. We use a two-dimensional frequency-modulated chirp as a spreading function in a block-based spatial watermarking scheme. In each block, the chirp is used to embed binary phase information. Chirp parameters allow for spectral shaping of the watermark to match host content. Since host state is known to the embedder, it is possible to tune the chirp for optimum performance, particularly against compression. In contrast to existing chirp watermarking where only a single watermark is generally embedded, the proposed block chirp watermarking allows for a much higher payload. Detection is done using chirp transform subject to key exchange for security. We show that the proposed method significantly outperforms non-adaptive watermarking across all compression factors under variety of attacks.
Oxygen and carbon isotope geochemistry of the Krivoy rog iron formation, Ukranian SSR

Abstract Oxygen and carbon isotope analyses of samples from three mines in the Krivoy Rog iron formation, Ukranian SSR, are reported here. Maximum and minimum quartz-magnetite fractionation values ( Δ QM ) and inferred temperature range in degrees centrigrade for each mine are: Mine Δ QM Corresponding temperature Sevgok 9.4 to 14.2 475° to 320°C Ugok 10.0 to 12.7 450° to 355°C Annovsky 10.5 to 12.6 430° to 360°C These are probably minimum values for temperature of metamorphism of these rocks. The distribution of 18O values with respect to Δ QM supports the interpretation that metamorphism has produced partial breakdown of carbonate at temperatures of 320°C or higher. The result has been conversion of some FeCO3 to silicate and perhaps magnetite, accompanied by metasomatic expulsion of CO2 and other gases from the rock system. The residual rock has been depleted in 18O. Reduced carbon in a carbonate-free sample has a δ 13 C value of −29.3%. Most reduced carbon has partially equilibrated with carbonate to give fractionations of 6.4 to 18.1 δ 13 C of Sevgok carbonates is independent of metamorphic temperature ( Δ QM . δ 13 C of carbonate in Ugok is lower in the K24 slate horizon, which contains separable reduced carbon, than it is elsewhere in the mine. δ 13 C of Annovsky carbonate increases (becomes less negative) at lower Δ CM . Since Δ CM is not well correlated with Δ QM at Annovsky, there is no clear-cut relation between temperature and δ 13 C at this mine.
Separation and maturation of gonadotrophs from 2A8 clonal cells in vitro.

2A8 clonal cells derived from the epithelium of Rathke's pouch of fetal rats were cultured in growth medium supplemented with fresh rat serum, median-eminence extract and l-thyroxine. Then, in order to isolate gonadotrophs, cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose which was conjugated with LHRH (LHRH-Sepharose) was added to the culture medium. Fourteen days after incubation of 2A8 cells with LHRH-Sepharose, agranular and granular cells were rapidly bound to LHRH-Sepharose when fresh serum had previously been added in the medium. The cytoplasm of granular cells that were bound to LHRH-Sepharose contained spherical secretory granules (200–250 nm in diameter). These cells were similar in morphology to the FSH and LH gonadotrophs described by Kurosumi (1968). Moreover, many of them appeared as hypertrophied cells that resembled “castration” cells. These results demonstrate that LHRH conjugated to Sepharose can be used to separate gonadotrophs from other 2A8 cells, and it is suggested that the hypertrophy of some cells might be due to persistent stimulation by LHRH which is likely bound to receptors on the cell membrane.
Post-traumatic stress in sexually abused, physically abused, and nonabused children.

Abstract This investigation compared the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms across sexually abused, physically abused, and nonabused psychiatrically hospitalized children matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Among the sexually abused children, 20.7% met diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder compared with 6.9% of the physically abused and 10.3% of the nonabused children. Although these overall rates were not significantly different across groups, they were sufficiently high to reinforce the need for further study of post-traumatic stress in childhood. Further, significant symptom rate differences across groups were found with respect to specific post-traumatic stress symptoms. Specifically, sexually abused children exhibited significantly higher rates of inappropriate sexual behaviors than either the physically abused or nonabused children. In addition, both the sexually abused and physically abused groups showed a tendency to exhibit more avoidant/dissociative symptoms as compared to the nonabused children. Results are discussed in terms of their clinical and research implications.
Dilated cardiomyopathy in HIV-infected patients

In this issue of the Journal, Barbaro and colleagues present the results of a large, prospective study of dilated cardiomyopathy in adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.1 This study confirms the frequency of dilated cardiomyopathy in HIV-infected patients and demonstrates high rates of immunologic and infectious heart disease. Cardiovascular abnormalities are common in HIV-infected patients,2–7 are often difficult to diagnose clinically, and are frequently attributed incorrectly to dysfunction in other organ systems. If these abnormalities are diagnosed early through screening, preventive and therapeutic strategies for progressive left ventricular dysfunction can be applied.6 Dilated cardiomyopathy in HIV-infected patients is . . .
Using context and sensory data to learn first and second person pronouns

We present a method of grounded word learning that can learn the meanings of first and second person pronouns. The model selectively associates new words with agents in the environment by using already understood words to establish context. The method uses chi-square tests to find significant associations between the new words and attributes of the relevant agents. We show that this model can learn from a transcript of a parent-child interaction that "I" refers to the person who is speaking. With the additional information that questions about wants refer to the person being asked about them, the system learns that "you" refers to the person being addressed. We show that an incorrect assumption about the subject of "want" questions can lead to pronoun reversal, a linguistic error most commonly found in autistic and congenitally blind children. Finally, we present results from a physical implementation on a robot that runs in real time.
Kaon electromagnetic production in Hall B

Abstract An extensive program of associated strange particle production off the proton is currently underway with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) in Hall B at Jefferson Laboratory. This contribution emphasizes strangeness photo- and electro-production in the nucleon resonance region between W = 1.6 and 2.3 GeV, where indications of s -channel structure are suggestive of high-mass baryon resonances coupling to kaons and hyperons in the final state. Precision measurements of cross sections and polarization observables are being carried out with both electron and real photon beams, which are available with high polarization at energies up to 6 GeV.
Community structure, distribution, and standing stock of benthos, epibenthos, and plankton in the Columbia River Estuary

Abstract Secondary producers were sampled in the Columbia River estuary during the 1980–81 Columbia River Data Development Program (CREDDP) studies. Benthic infaunal macroinvertebrates were sampled in all estuarine zones and habitats with a grab sampler during a single estuary-wide survey. Epibenthic macro- and meiofauna were sampled monthly with epibenthic pump and sled, beach seine, and trawl in tidal flat, slope, and channel bottom habitats throughout the estuary. Zooplankton and larval fish were sampled monthly with oblique zooplankton net tows in the main channel. The distribution of secondary consumers coincided with division of the estuary into three salinity zones and siz habitat types, where the principal physical and biological processes that influenced the distribution and assemblage structure of secondary consumers were: (1) river discharge; (2) river discharge and tidal flow interaction which created circulation and salinity patterns and turbidity maximum characteristics; and (3) benthic processes, such as sediment type and transport and geomorphology. Standing stocks of benthic infauna were highest in protected tidal flat habitats and were comparatively depressed in the Estuarine Mixing Zone of the estuary. Standing stocks of epibenthic and zooplanktonic organisms, in contrast, were concentrated within the Estuarine Mixing Zone.
AN INDEX OF ACCESS TO CARE FOR INNER CITY CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA. † 639

Poor access to care has been frequently mentioned as a possible cause for the rapid increase in asthma morbidity among children of the inner-city. For a sample of 1528 inner city children ages 4 to 9, the NCICAS project conducted an extensive assessment including more than 150 questions concerning health care access. This assessment included a wide range of access factors which could potentially be related to asthma morbidity. Using global measures, access to care appeared to be quite high with approximately 95% reporting that they had a usual place for attack and/or follow-up care. However, several specific elements of access were related to the children's asthma morbidity. Those access issues were; 1) having a place to call about the child's asthma problems; 2) finding it hard to get asthma attack care; 3) finding it hard to get follow-up care; 4) having to pay for medical costs; 5) having difficulty getting appointments for care. Responses to these five items were combined into an `access index' (AI) which was verified in a split sample canonical analysis. As expected, dividing the children into high and low AI groups revealed that those children with high access had fewer unscheduled and emergency room visits over a one year follow-up (p<.002); better over all functional status (p<.0001); fewer school days missed because of asthma(p<.0001), less wheeze (p<.01), less sleep loss (p<.02) and less reduction in play activities (p<.001) because of their asthma. Additionally, the AI show quite strong relationships for a rather broad range of other factors. Those scoring high on the AI showed less life stress on the PERI life events scale (6.77 vs. 8.77, p <.0001) and greater social support(p<.0001). The psychological adjustment of the child, as indicted by the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL), and the adjustment of the caretaker, as measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) both revealed greater adjustment among those with high access (CBCL p <.0001, BSI p <.0001). The population studied by the NCICAS project includes a wide range of asthma severity. When these access issues are analyzed within severity strata, these dramatically strong access relationships were typically more pronounced among the severe children. The NCICAS Phase II intervention study which is currently underway will provide an opportunity to validate this measure and its morbidity relationship in a more direct, prospective design.
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone- and a-Subunit-Secreting Pituitary Tumor Treated with Bromocriptine*

Glycoprotein-secreting pituitary tumors are uncommon. With increased awareness that pituitary tumors may secrete FSH, LH, TSH, and the alpha-subunit, either as a sole product or in any combination, these tumors are more likely to be recognized. The standard therapy is surgical resection and, possibly, postoperative radiotherapy for residual tumor mass or persistent hormonal secretion. We report a patient with a FSH- and alpha-subunit-secreting tumor who refused surgery and was treated with the dopamine agonist bromocriptine as primary therapy. Bromocriptine treatment resulted in reduction of serum FSH and alpha-subunit levels to normal, improvement of visual field defects, and improvement in hypogonadism despite lack of demonstrable change in tumor size, as assessed by computed tomographic scan. Chromatographic analysis of the serum revealed distinct peaks corresponding to those of labeled FSH and alpha-subunit. The clinical and biochemical responses in this patient suggest that some glycoprotein-secreting tumors may be responsive to dopamine agonist therapy.
Optimal learning capability assessment of multicategory neural nets

In this paper, it is shown that supervised learning can be posed as an optimization problem in which inequality constraints are used to encode the information contained in the training patterns and to specify the degree of accuracy expected from the neural network. Starting from this point, a technique for evaluating the learning capability and optimizing the feature space of a class of higher-order neural networks is developed. The technique gives significant insight into the problem of task learning. It permits establishing whether the structure of the network can effectively learn the training patterns. Should the structure not be appropriate for learning, it indicates which patterns form the minimum set of patterns which cannot be learned with the desired accuracy. Otherwise, it provides a connectivity which produces satisfactory network performance. Furthermore, it identifies those features which can be suppressed from the definition of the feature space without deteriorating network performance. Several examples are presented and results are discussed.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Atypical and Typical Antipsychotics in the Schools.

The use of antipsychotic medications within the school-age population is rapidly increasing. Although typical antipsychotics may be used in rare cases, this influx is largely secondary to the availability of the atypical antipsychotics. Reduction of possible adverse effects and increased efficacy represent the primary basis for the atypical antipsychotics' popularity over traditional agents. Although these agents, as their name suggests, are most commonly used to alleviate positive, as well as some negative, symptoms of psychotic manifestations, empirical evidence has suggested their efficacy in the treatment of other presentations. These include bipolar disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other disruptive behavior disorders, pervasive developmental disorders, anorexia nervosa, and tic disorders. Discussion of antipsychotic agents and their use in these presentations is offered. Information on positive and negative outcomes, including school impact, is provided. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
γ-Excellent, critically dominated, end-dominated, and dot-critical trees are equivalent

A graph is @c-excellent if every vertex of the graph is contained in some minimum dominating set of the graph. A vertex v is critical in G if the domination number of G-v is smaller than that of G. The graph G is dot-critical if contracting any edge of G produces a graph with smaller domination number. G is critically dominated if the set of critical vertices forms a dominating set for G. In this paper we show that these three properties, along with several others, are equivalent for trees on at least four vertices. We also provide a constructive characterization of these trees.
Effect of flow history on the morphology of thermotropic liquid crystalline copolyesters

Morphological studies have been carried out on a thermotropic liquid crystalline copolyester based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and para hydroxybenzoate (PHB) that has been subjected to different types of flow histories. Wide angle X-ray scattering investigations and chemical etching (n-propylamine is the etchant) in conjunction with electron microscopy studies conducted on end gated injection molded plaques of the 60 percent PHB and 80 percent PHB copolyesters indicate that a highly oriented skin region and a less oriented core region is present. Chemical etching studies performed on microtomed layers of end gated and center gated plaques show that the etching is less pronounced in the skin region and is more pronounced in the core. The microtomed layers of the end gated injection molded plaques when analyzed by ESCA indicate the presence of a “PHB rich” skin region and a “PET” rich core region. Biaxial orientation, as denoted by WAXS measurements, is observed when the 60 percent PHB copolyester is squeezed between lubricated parallel plates.
Variability in atmospheric light-scattering properties with altitude

The altitudinal variability in angular scattering properties of the troposphere and stratosphere was measured with a balloonborne polar nephelometer. An analysis of interdependent experimental parameters provides information on the scattering phase function and inferred size distribution of aerosol particles as a function of altitude. These aerosol characteristics are extractable from the scattering dissymmetry index and its relationship to spectral dispersion in turbidity and the aerosol phase function. The problem of the correlation between backscatter and extinction is addressed from the perspectives of in situ observations.
Chemical vasectomy of domestic dogs in the Galapagos islands.

Abstract A field test of a previously reported technique for chemically vasectomizing male dogs was performed on Floreana Island in the Galapagos Archipelago. Injection of 0.5 ml of a 4.5% aqueous solution of chlorhexidine digluconate into each tail of the epididymides of seven test animals resulted in azoospermic ejaculates by day 35 after treatment. This azoospermia was persistent for the remainder of the test period and through the fourth month after injection. No changes in ejaculate volume or semen pH occurred with the treatment although a slight, transitory swelling of the testes was observed. A large-scale application of this method was initiated in the Galapagos under the authority of the National Park Service and appears to be a practical technique for reproduction control in domestic dog populations.
Probing the Gluonic Structure Of Matter: Science of The Electron Ion Collider

Abstract In spite of the great stride we have made in over the past few decades, towards understanding the universe around us, we know surprisingly little about the fundamental structure of matter which makes the universe. How do quarks and gluons form the nucleons? How does the nucleon acquire its properties? A high energy high luminosity polarized electron-proton/ion collider will allow precision study of the fundamental structure of matter, with focus on the role partons play in forming and imparting properties to the nucleons and the nuclei including their internal dynamics. Such measurements are expected to address some of the most fundamental and universal aspects of QCD, the accepted theory of physics that relates to the interactions between quarks and gluons inside the nucleons and nuclei. Two proposals are being developed in the US: first, with the addition of an electron beam facility next to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory and have e-A/p collisions, and the other, to add a nuclear beam facility to complement the existing CEBAF facility at Jefferson Laboratory. This is a brief overview of the science and the project.
A polyepisodic course in bipolar illness: Possible clinical relationships

Using archival data, we conducted a systematic study of consecutive admissions of bipolar patients and found that an early age of onset, a subacute onset, a family history of bipolarity, and the administration of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during an index episode were individually associated with a polyepisodic course of illness (three to nine or more episodes) during a period of observation which included onset of illness, index admission, and a period of follow-up. The family history of biopolarity which seems to predispose to multiple episodes suggests that what may be transmitted may not necessarily be a bipolar illness but possibly an illness with many episodes, thus increasing the likelihood of occurrence of a manic episode.
Reliability-based analysis and design via failure domain bounding

This paper proposes a methodology for bounding and approximating failure probabilities for systems with parametric uncertainty that are subject to multiple design requirements. The two fundamental developments in this work are (1) a method to explicitly compute upper bounds on failure probability based on solving an optimization problem, and (2) a hybrid method, utilizing the upper bounds together with conditional sampling, to achieve highly accurate estimates of failure probabilities. The computation of failure probability bounds is accomplished by the deformation of hyper-spherical or hyper-rectangular sets in the standard normal space and utilizes a combination of numerical optimization and analytic tools. The methods for calculating these bounds are applicable to systems having multiple limit state functions and are not subject to difficulties when there are multiple critical parameter points. Numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate that the gains in accuracy and efficiency of the method are considerable when compared to alternative methods. The tools proposed are especially suited for design optimization due to their efficiency and the resulting continuity of the upper bounds. Since only standard optimization algorithms are required for implementation, these strategies are easily applicable to a variety of complex engineering problems.
On improved confidence bounds for system reliability

In this paper, new bounding strategies are presented to improve confidence interval estimation for system reliability based on component level reliability, and associated uncertainty data. Research efforts have been focused on two interdependent areas: 1) development & improvement of analytical approaches for quantifying the uncertainty associated with the system reliability estimate when data regarding component reliability is available; and 2) based on these analytical approaches, generating statistical inference methods that can be used to make accurate estimations about the reliability of a system. The analytical approach presented relies on a recursive rationale that can be applied to obtain the variance associated with the system reliability estimate, provided the system can be decomposed into a series-parallel configuration. The bounding procedure is independent of parametric assumptions regarding component time to failure, and can be applied whenever component reliability data are available. To assess the validity of the proposed procedure, three test cases have been analyzed. For each case, Monte-Carlo simulation has been used to generate component failure data, based on nominal component reliability values. Based on these simulated data, lower bounds have been constructed, and then compared against nominal system reliability to generate an expected confidence level. The results obtained exhibit a significant improvement in the accuracy of the confidence intervals for the system reliability when compared with existing approximation methods. The procedure described is effective, relatively simple, and widely applicable.
ArchAlign: coordinate-free chromatin alignment reveals novel architectures

To facilitate identification and characterization of genomic functional elements, we have developed a chromatin architecture alignment algorithm (ArchAlign). ArchAlign identifies shared chromatin structural patterns from high-resolution chromatin structural datasets derived from next-generation sequencing or tiled microarray approaches for user defined regions of interest. We validated ArchAlign using well characterized functional elements, and used it to explore the chromatin structural architecture at CTCF binding sites in the human genome. ArchAlign is freely available at http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~mjbuck/ArchAlign.html.
A polynomial algorithm for balancing acyclic data flow graphs

Data flow machines whose task graphs are acyclic can be transformed into synchronous machines, thereby increasing pipelining and throughput. This is achieved by introducing delays or buffers on certain lines, so that the resulting graph is balanced, i.e., travel times along any two paths with common endpoints are the same. The buffer assignment problem is how to balance a rooted acyclic data flow graph with a minimum number of buffer units. Recently, an integer programming decomposition procedure was proposed for this problem. The decomposition was introduced in an attempt to circumvent the exponential blowup typical of integer programming algorithms. It is shown that the buffer assignment problem can in fact be solved to optimality in low-degree polynomial time. The result is obtained by a sequence of reformulations of the problem, leading to models to which simple and efficient network flow procedures can be successfully applied. >
High-speed three-dimensional shape measurement system using a modified two-plus-one phase-shifting algorithm

This paper describes a high-resolution, real-time, three- dimensional shape measurement system using the modified two-plus- one phase-shifting algorithm. The data acquisition speed is as high as 60 frames/s with an image resolution of 640480 pixels per frame. Ex- periments demonstrated that the system was able to acquire the dy- namic changing objects such as facial geometric shape changes when the subject is speaking, and the modified two-plus-one phase-shifting algorithm can further alleviate the error due to motion. Applications of this system include manufacturing, online inspection, medical imaging, compute vision, and computer graphics. © 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instru-
Design of optimal stack filters with structural constraints under the Mae criterion

The use of the concepts of preservation, removal, and modification of specific signal structures is extended to the set of filters known as stack filters. Since their definition is motivated by the two properties of the median filter, namely, the threshold decomposition an the stacking property, it should be possible be characterize stack filters by the signal structures they preserve or delete. It is shown that it is possible to design a stack filter which minimizes the mean absolute error subject to constraints on, or goals for, its behavior with regard to any list of signal structures specified by the designer. Thus, this approach unites the structural and estimation approaches to the design of stack filters under a single analytical methodology. >
The Glove-like Structure of the Conserved Membrane Protein TatC Provides Insight into Signal Sequence Recognition in Twin-Arginine Translocation

In bacteria, two signal-sequence-dependent secretion pathways translocate proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. Although the mechanism of the ubiquitous general secretory pathway is becoming well understood, that of the twin-arginine translocation pathway, responsible for translocation of folded proteins across the bilayer, is more mysterious. TatC, the largest and most conserved of three integral membrane components, provides the initial binding site of the signal sequence prior to pore assembly. Here, we present two crystal structures of TatC from the thermophilic bacteria Aquifex aeolicus at 4.0 A and 6.8 A resolution. The membrane architecture of TatC includes a glove-shaped structure with a lipid-exposed pocket predicted by molecular dynamics to distort the membrane. Correlating the biochemical literature to these results suggests that the signal sequence binds in this pocket, leading to structural changes that facilitate higher order assemblies.