cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in children after the Kawashima operation.

Background Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations are a major cause of progressive late cyanosis in patients treated with cavopulmonary anastomoses. Previous experience suggests that exclusion of the hepatic venous effluent from the pulmonary circulation may cause the development of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations after the Kawashima operation in children with interrupted inferior vena cava with azygous continuation. Methods From January 1990 to November 2004, 21 children (median age, 2 years) with heterotaxy syndrome and interrupted inferior vena cava with azygous continuation underwent Kawashima operation. The average preoperative arterial oxygen saturation was 76% ± 7% (range, 64% to 90%). Results Follow-up was complete in all survivors except 1 at a median duration of 4.5 years. Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations were diagnosed at a median of 5 years after Kawashima operation in 11 patients (58%). Completion Fontan operation has been performed in 15 (79%). Five children who underwent a completion Fontan procedure 1 to 1.5 years after Kawashima operation did not have pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. There were 2 late deaths due to chronic congestive heart failure 4 months and 7 years after Kawashima operation. Overall survival at 10 years is 90%. Univariate and multivariate analysis demonstrated presence of bilateral superior vena cavae ( p = 0.002) and interval longer than 2 years between Kawashima operation and completion Fontan operation ( p = 0.04) as predictors of developing pulmonary arteriovenous malformations. Conclusions In most patients with heterotaxy and interrupted inferior vena cava with azygous continuation, clinical evidence of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations will develop after Kawashima operation if they are followed up long enough. Early redirection of the hepatic venous effluent to the pulmonary arterial circulation may prevent or lead to regression of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, with low mortality and morbidity.
SU‐GG‐J‐52: Comparison of a Commercial 3D‐3D Auto‐Registration Tool Vs. Manual Alignment to the Target

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to compare a commercial 3D‐3D auto‐registration tool vs. manual alignment to the target. Method and Materials:Cone beam computed tomography(CBCT)images were acquired immediately before patient treatments for thoracic lesions. An automatic 3D‐3D matching system (OBI, Varian Associates, Palo Alto, CA) was used to align the entire CT volume against the respiratory averaged CT from a 4DCT. The suggested shifts were recorded but were not used to treat the patient, those from an in‐house system were used. The in‐house system also allowed us to retrospectively perform a manual match using only the target and not the entire volume. The shifts between these two methods were compared for 47 weekly CBCT data‐sets acquired for 17 patients. The couch shift necessary for re‐alignment was recorded in the 3 vector components (vertical, longitudinal and lateral, rotation corrections were not used). Results: For all 47 CBCT sessions, the largest couch shift differences were 0.6 cm, 2.9 cm, and 0.8 cm in the vertical, longitudinal and lateral direction, respectively. The mean difference in the magnitude of the vector was 0.69 cm. The target volumes were further divided into 24 mediastinal cases and 23 solid tumors in the lung parenchyma. The mean difference in the couch shift vectors were 0.35 cm for mediastinum cases and 1.05 cm for solid tumor cases. The difference of 0.70 cm between the two means was significant (p < 0.0001). We believe the differences between the automatic and manual matches are due to soft tissue deformation, changes in respiratory motion, and/or the auto‐alignment cost function locking onto a local minima. Conclusion: Caution must be used when performing automated 3D‐3D matching as changes in patient anatomy and/or the occurrences of local minima in the alignment cost‐function can lead to significant geometric misses.
The Molecular Pathogenesis of Hereditary Ovarian Carcinoma: Alterations in the Tubal Epithelium of Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations

BACKGROUND: BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2)-mutated ovarian carcinomas may originate in the fallopian tube. The authors of this report investigated alterations in BRCA1/2 tubal epithelium to define the molecular pathogenesis of these carcinomas. METHODS: Tubal epithelium was evaluated from 31 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers with gynecologic carcinomas (BRCA CA), 89 mutation carriers who underwent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO), and 87 controls. Ki-67 expression and p53 foci (≥10 of 12 consecutive staining cells) were scored by 2 investigators who were blinded to patient designations. Expression levels of p27 and p21 were evaluated within p53 foci. Loss of heterozygosity at the BRCA1/2 mutation site was evaluated in microdissected p53 foci and tubal neoplasms. RESULTS: Background tubal proliferation as measured by Ki-67 staining was increased in the BRCA1 RRSO group (P = .005) compared with the control group. Women who had BRCA1/2 mutations had more p53 foci identified per tubal segment than women in the control group (P = .02). Levels of p27 were decreased in 12 of 28 p53 foci from women with BRCA1 mutations and in 0 of 16 p53 foci from controls (P = .002). There was no loss of the wild type BRCA1/2 allele in 5 tested p53 foci. Tubal neoplasia lost the wild type allele in 6 of 6 foci (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggested a model of tubal carcinogenesis in women with BRCA1/2 mutations. Increased proliferation occurred globally in at-risk tubal epithelium. A mutation in the tumor protein p53 gene TP53 with clonal proliferation and loss of p27 occurred before neoplastic proliferation. Loss of the wild type BRCA1/2 allele occurred with neoplastic proliferation and before invasion. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Photoelectron spectroscopy and thermochemistry of the peroxyformate anion

The 351.1 nm photoelectron spectrum of the peroxyformate anion has been measured. The photoelectron spectrum displays vibronic features in both the X2A′′ ground and A2A′ first excited states of the corresponding radical. Franck−Condon simulations of the spectrum show that the ion is formed exclusively in the trans-conformation. The electron affinity (EA) of the peroxyformyl radical was determined to be 2.493 ± 0.006 eV, while the term energy splitting was found to be 0.783−0.020+0.060 eV. Extended progressions in the C−OO (973 ± 20 cm−1) and O−O (1098 ± 20 cm−1) stretching modes are observed in the ground state of the radical. The fundamental frequency of the in-plane OCO bend was found to be 574 ± 35 cm−1. The gas-phase acidity of peroxyformic acid has been determined using an ion−molecule bracketing technique. On the basis of the size of the trans- to cis- isomerization barrier, the measured acidity was assigned to the higher energy trans-conformer of the acid. The gas-phase acidity of the lower energy...
A small-animal activity-analysing system for behavioural studies.

Automated recording and data analysis of the activity of small laboratory animals are often required for psychological and other forms of behavioural investigation. This paper describes such a system using an open field of 1·14×1·14 m. Three arrays of infrared-light-emitting diodes and phototransistors are used to locate the animal. Two of the arrays are used to generate an xy grid, while the third one is used to determine whether the animal is rearing. The position of the animal gives rise to both digital and analogue signals; so the equipment can be interfaced directly with a minicomputer, or coupled to an analogue recorder. Several activity parameters, such as the path length (absolute value of the line integral), the time spent at a predetermined area of the open field or the latency to move, are computed and displayed in digital form.
Conceptual Synthesis of Compliance at a Single Point

In this paper, we investigate a methodology for the conceptual synthesis of compliance at a single point based on a building block approach. The methodology lays the foundation for more general compliant mechanism synthesis problems involving multiple points of interest (i.e. inputs and outputs). In the building block synthesis, the problem specifications are decomposed into related sub-problems if a single building block cannot perform the desired task. The sub-problems are tested against the library of building blocks until a suitable building block is determined. The synthesized design is composed of an assembly of the building blocks to provide the desired functionality. The building block approach is intuitive and provides key insight into how individual building blocks contribute to the overall function. We investigate the basic kinematic behavior of individual building blocks and relate this to the behavior of a design composed of building blocks. This serves to not only generate viable solutions but also to augment the understanding of the designer. Once a feasible concept is thus generated, known methods for size and geometry optimization may be employed to fine tune performance. The key enabler of the building block synthesis is the method of capturing kinematic behavior using Compliance Ellipsoids. The mathematical model of the compliance ellipsoids facilitates the characterization of the building blocks, transformation of problem specifications, decomposition into sub-problems, and the ability to search for alternate solutions. The compliance ellipsoids also give insight into how individual building blocks contribute to the overall kinematic function. The effectiveness and generality of the methodology are demonstrated through a synthesis example. Using only a limited set of building blocks, the methodology is capable of addressing generic kinematic problem specifications.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Reconstruction of objects from diverging x rays.

Rotation of a system consisting of a single x‐ray source and a linear detector array allows rapid collection of x‐ray projection data from which transaxial cross sections can be reconstructed. In this paper, we present an algorithm which makes possible rapid computerized reconstruction from such data. We describe some experiments aimed at investigating the optimal choice of some of the parameters associated with the algorithm. We report on reconstructions using our algorithm of the intact thorax of a dog and also of cross sections of the human female breast from x‐ray data obtained by a computerized mammography machine.
An examination of the incremental contribution of emotion regulation difficulties to health anxiety beyond specific emotion regulation strategies

Abstract Given the potential transdiagnostic importance of emotion dysregulation, as well as a lack of research examining emotion dysregulation in relation to health anxiety, the present study sought to examine associations among specific emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), emotion regulation difficulties, and health anxiety in a physically healthy sample of adults (N = 482). As hypothesized, results of a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that emotion regulation difficulties provided a significant incremental contribution, beyond the specific emotion regulation strategies, in predicting each of the three health anxiety variables. Among the six dimensions of emotion regulation difficulties, the dimension representing perceived access to effective emotion regulation strategies was the only emotion regulation difficulty dimension that predicted all three health anxiety variables beyond the effects of the specific emotion regulation strategies. Results indicate that emotion regulation difficulties, and particularly one's subjective appraisal of his/her ability to effectively regulate emotions, may be of importance to health anxiety. Clinical implications are discussed.
New target fisheries lead to spatially variable food web effects in an ecosystem model of the California Current

Abstract Growing human populations put increasing demands on marine ecosystems. Studies have demonstrated the importance of large biomass forage groups in model food webs, but small biomass contributors are often overlooked. Here, we predict the ecosystem effects of three potential future fisheries targeting functional groups that make up only a small proportion of total ecosystem biomass using the California Current Atlantis Model: deep demersal fish such as grenadier ( Albatrossia pectoralis and Coryphaenoides acrolepis ), nearshore fish such as white croaker ( Genyonemus lineatus ), and shortbelly rockfish ( Sebastes jordani ). Using a spatially explicit ecosystem model, we explored individual fishing scenarios for these groups that resulted in abundance levels of 75, 40, 25, and 0 percent of the status quo fishing scenario and a combined fishing scenario simultaneously targeting all three groups. We evaluated the effects on coast-wide biomass and describe variation in affected groups by region. Results indicate that developing fisheries on the proposed targets would have small coast-wide effects on other species. However, effects varied significantly within the ecosystem, with higher impacts concentrated in the central California region of the model. Effects of fishing all three groups simultaneously were additive in some cases coastwide, but were not additive at the regional scale. This work provides a framework for evaluating effects of new fisheries and suggests that regional effects should be evaluated within a larger management context.
DOPAMINE RECEPTORS (DR) IN DOG INTRARENAL ARTERIES(IRA)

Dopamine induces renal vasodilatation in the mature canine. Low affinity DR in renal artery and high affinity DR in glomerulus have been reported but no measurements have been made on the arterial segments interposed between these two structures. These experiments characterize, for the first time, DR in dog IRA by radioligand binding using 3H-haloperidol (H). IRA were dissected and homogenized. Specific H binding was defined as the difference in binding in the presence and absence of 30 uM cis-flupenthixol (a potent dopamine antagonist). Kinetic analysis revealed a binding site that saturated in 3 min. and remained at steady state for over 1 hr. The dissociation constant (Kd) calculated from kinetic data was 8 nM. Competition studies were consistent for DR: LY-141865>YM-09151>cis-flupenthixol=(-)-propranolol>metoclopramide>prazosin>SKF 82526-J and stereoselective: (+)-apomorphine >>(-)-apomorphine. Rosenthal plots of saturation data revealed biphasic curves suggestive of multiple classes of binding sites. The high affinity DR site had a Kd of 2.3±1.0 nM and a maximum receptor density (Bmax) of 19.5±5.0 fmol/mg protein (±SEM, n=5). For the low affinity site the Kd was 31.8±1.7 nM and the Bmax was 92±20 fmol/mg protein (n=5). These results suggest that the adult canine IRA contain specific DR. The specific DR-2 antagonist YM-09151 and the DR-2 agonist LY-141865 were more potent than the relatively DR-1 selective antagonist cis-flupenthixol and DR-1 agonist SKF 82526-J respectively suggesting that the predominant DR in the canine IRA is of the DR-2 subtype.
Geochemical constraints on core formation in the Earth

New experimental data on the partitioning of siderophile and chalcophile elements among metallic and silicate phases may be used to constrain hypotheses of core formation in the Earth. Three current hypotheses can explain gross features of mantle geochemistry, but none predicts siderophile and chalcophile element abundances to within a factor of two of observed values. Either our understanding of metal-silicate interactions and/or our understanding of the early Earth requires revision.
Development of a high-speed wavelength-agile CO2 local oscillator for heterodyne DIAL measurements

A high repetition rate, wavelength agile CO2 laser has been developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory for use as a local oscillator in a heterodyne detection receiver. Fats wavelength selection is required for measurements of airborne chemical vapors using the differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique. Acousto-optic modulator are used to tune between different wavelengths at high speeds without the need for moving mechanical parts. Other advantages obtained by the use of acousto-optic modulators are laser output power control per wavelength and rugged packaging for field applications. The local oscillator design is described, and the results from laboratory DIAL measurements are presented. The coherent remote optical sensor system is an internal research project being conducted by the Air Force Research Laboratory Directed Energy Directorate, Active Remote Sensing Branch. The objective of the project is to develop a new long-range standoff spectral sensor that takes advantage of the enhanced performance capabilities coherent detection can provide. Emphasis of the development is on a low cost, compact, and rugged active sensor exclusively designed for heterodyne detection using the differential absorption lidar technique. State of the art technologies in waveguide laser construction and acousto- optics make feasible the next generation of lasers capable of supporting coherent lidar system requirements. Issues addressed as part of the development include optoelectronic engineering of a low cost rugged system, and fast data throughput for real time chemical concentration measurements. All hardware used in this sensor are off-the- shelf items, so only minor hardware modifications were required for the system as it stands. This paper describes a high-speed heterodyne detection CO2 DIAL system that employs a wavelength agile, acousto-optically tuned local oscillator in the receiver. Sample experimental data collected in a controlled environment are presented as well. Chemical detection using 12 wavelengths at 200 pulses per second has been demonstrated. Initial progress on experiments to make a direct, simultaneous comparison of heterodyne and direct detection DIAL systems will also be described.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Variant high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits arising from biolistic transformation of wheat

Abstract Genetic transformation via the biolistic method has been used to introduce genes encoding natural and novel high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) into wheat. The appearance of new seed proteins of sizes not predicted by the transgene coding sequences was noted in some experiments. In this report, the identities of thirteen of these novel proteins were determined by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Seven different proteins larger than and two proteins smaller than the native protein were shown to contain peptides from 1Dx5. A novel protein found in some progeny of crosses between a transgenic plant and Great Plains winter wheats was larger than but contained several peptides from 1Dy10. In one line, a protein larger than and a protein smaller than HMW-GS each contained peptides from the N- and C-terminus of 1Dx5 and from the repeat region of 1Dy10. In a sixth transgenic line, the native Bx7 gene was apparently replaced by a gene that encodes a larger version of 1Bx7. The variant proteins accumulate in the polymeric protein fraction, indicating that they can form inter-molecular disulfide bonds. These results show that novel proteins found in some transformants are encoded by altered versions of either the transforming or endogenous HMW-GS genes.
48. Neuropeptides as cell gene therapy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Dendritic cells (DC) initiate immune responses as well as antigen-specific tolerance. We showed previously that the neuropeptide vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) suppresses innate immune responses, generates tolerogenic dendritic cells, and has therapeutic effects in models of autoimmune/inflammatory disorders. To generate tolerogenic DC that also provide VIP locally, we engineered VIP-expressing DC using lentiviral vectors. LentiVIP-DC secrete VIP, switch from a proinflammatory to an anti-inflammatory cytokine profile and lose the capacity to activate T cells. A single inoculation of LentiVIP-DC in models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) led to a reduction in clinical symptoms, associated with reduced expression of proinflammatory cytokines and increased levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the spinal cord of treated mice. Induction of antigen-specific regulatory T cells and local delivery of VIP by LentiVIP-DC may represent a promising therapeutic tool for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders.
Similarity based interpolation using Catmull–Clark subdivision surfaces

A new method for constructing a Catmull–Clark subdivision surface (CCSS) that interpolates the vertices of a given mesh with arbitrary topology is presented. The new method handles both open and closed meshes. Normals or derivatives specified at any vertices of the mesh (which can actually be anywhere) can also be interpolated. The construction process is based on the assumption that, in addition to interpolating the vertices of the given mesh, the interpolating surface is also similar to the limit surface of the given mesh. Therefore, construction of the interpolating surface can use information from the given mesh as well as its limit surface. This approach, called similarity based interpolation, gives us more control on the smoothness of the interpolating surface and, consequently, avoids the need of shape fairing in the construction of the interpolating surface. The computation of the interpolating surface’s control mesh follows a new approach, which does not require the resulting global linear system to be solvable. An approximate solution provided by any fast iterative linear system solver is sufficient. Nevertheless, interpolation of the given mesh is guaranteed. This is an important improvement over previous methods because with these features, the new method can handle meshes with large number of vertices efficiently. Although the new method is presented for CCSSs, the concept of similarity based interpolation can be used for other subdivision surfaces as well.
Social Expectations, Constraints, and Their Effect on Nonprofit Strategies:

A comprehensive analysis of the strategies pursued by nonprofit agencies must take into account not only the conventional market forces but also the social expectations and constraints that the age...
The role of the dentate gyrus in the formation of contextual representations.

The hippocampus is involved in encoding and integrating contextual information. Recently, it has been suggested that the dorsal dentate gyrus (dDG) hippocampal subregion may mediate the formation of contextual representations of the spatial environment through a conjunctive encoding process whereby incoming multimodal information is integrated into a single higher-order representation. Despite anatomical evidence in support of this claim, behavioral evidence is limited. Therefore, a contextual associative learning paradigm was used to determine whether the dDG supports the formation of integrated contextual representations. Male Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned as controls or to receive bilateral intracranial infusions of colchicine into the dDG. Following recovery from surgery, each rat was tested on an appetitive task that required animals to form an association between a cue (odor) and a context to receive a food reward. Each rat received 10 trials per day and was tested for 10 consecutive days. Upon completion of testing, animals were tested on an additional two-choice olfactory and contextual discrimination task. The testing order was counterbalanced across animals. Results showed that control animals successfully acquired the contextual associative learning task for olfactory stimuli as indicated by improved performance across the 10 testing days. In contrast, animals with dDG lesions were impaired in the ability to acquire the odor-context associations. Results from follow-up odor and context discrimination tests indicated that both groups acquired the discriminations at similar rates. Therefore, it is unlikely that deficits in performance on the contextual associative learning task were due to an inability to discriminate between odors or contexts. The present findings provide further support for DG involvement in the formation of conjunctive contextual representations. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Combining digital partitioning and error-correcting codes for high accuracy optical computing

Abstract Digital partitioning is a promising new technique for achieving high accuracy computations on analogue optical matrix-vector processors. One potential drawback of digital partitioning is its sensitivity to errors. Error-correcting codes can enhance the performance of the digital partitioning algorithm by reducing the sensitivity to errors. Simulation results are presented showing the benefits of using error-correcting codes with digital partitioning. In addition, an analysis of the time requirements for encoding and decoding the error-correcting codes and the effect on system throughput is presented.
The Psychological Boundaries Delineating Truth and Falsehood

Subjects completed the Boundary Questionnaire, the Conceptions of Truth Inventory (CTI), and a “false memory” paradigm. Thin boundaries were associated with CTI factors positing that “imaginative insight leads to universal truth,” that “truth transcends factual correctness,” and that “pragmatism leads to universal truth,” whereas thick boundaries were associated with CTI factors positing that “truth is consistent and absolute” and that “religious revelations lead to hidden truth.” In addition, subjects with thin boundaries exhibited “imagination inflation” (“false memory” for a counterfactual event after imagining it), whereas subjects with thick boundaries exhibited “imagination deflation” (greater confidence in the non-occurrence of a counterfactual event after imagining it).
Work performance of a rat heart-lung preparation: standardization and influence of corticosteroids.

Experimental conditions have been established for the operation of a rat heart-lung preparation which result in a high degree of uniformity of work performance as measured by left ventricular work index (LVWI) (proportional to the product of cardiac output and mean arterial blood pressure). At a pcrfusion blood temperature of 37° C heart rate was higher and left ventricular work index lower than at 32° C. Peripheral resistance was adjusted to give an analysis of the work performance of the heart-lung at three different levels of mean arterial blood pressure: 80, 110, and 130 mm. Hg. The lower the pressure, the greater LVWI. Heart rate was not influenced by alterations in peripheral resistance. LVWI was less in heart-lung preparations perfused with blood from adrenalectomized rats than in preparations perfused with blood from intact rats. Corticosterone, cortisol or aldosterone was added to perfusion blood from adrcnalectomized rats to yield a concentration of 10μg., 10 μg. and 3.2×10−2 μg. per 100 ml., re...
Organ-specific, phylogenetic, and ontogenetic distribution of the epidermolysis bullosa acquisita antigen.

The organ-specific, phylogenetic, and ontogenctic distribution of the epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) antigen, a newly recognized basement membrane component, was determined using polyclonal sera from patients with EBA and a mouse monoclonal antibody, H3a. Both antibodies are distributed at the basement membrane zone of skin, oral, anal, and vaginal mucosae, and esophagus, but not in kidney, urinary bladder, lymph nodes, placenta, or blood vessels. Both polyclonal and monoclonal EBA antibodies react with a basement membrane antigen in primate and other mammalian skin, but not in avian, amphibian, or reptilian skin. The antigen is present initially in the 8-week-old human fetus, and increases in density until the adult linear pattern is reached at 15 weeks' gestational age.
Partnering with vendors for increased productivity in technical services or, bleeding edge technology

This report discusses the planning and implementation for outsourcing an approval plan with Blackwell North America, Inc.
Morphology favors an endothelial cell pathway for longitudinal conduction within arterioles

We examined the morphological parameters of arteriolar endothelial and smooth muscle cell dimensions and gap junctional surface areas to obtain an indication of the coupling capacity of each cell type. Silver nitrate staining was utilized to define cell borders of endothelial and smooth muscle cells in arterioles of several vascular beds from two species. From video images of silver-stained arterioles, the mean endothelial cell length of hamster cheek pouch arterioles (diameter 20 to 110 microns) was found to be 141 +/- 2 microns. Mean endothelial cell width was 7 +/- 0.2 microns in the same arterioles. Mean smooth muscle cell length in hamster cheek pouch arterioles of diameter 80 to 150 microns was 66 +/- 3 microns, with an average cell width of 8 +/- 0.2 microns. Dimensions of both endothelial and smooth muscle cells varied moderately with arteriole size and tissue type, but no general trends were seen. Based on the measured dimensions and the specific orientation of cell types within the arteriole, it was calculated that in hamster cheek pouch arterioles (60 microns diameter), 6 or 7 endothelial cell lengths would constitute a 1-mm segment of vessel, whereas approximately 140 smooth muscle cell widths would be required to span the same length. Estimates of connexin43 gap junctional plaque surface areas in each cell type suggest that endothelial cell junctional surface area is approximately eight times that of smooth muscle cells. Thus, combined measurement of cell dimensions and orientation with estimates of junctional plaque density leads to the conclusion that the endothelial cell layer forms a more permissive pathway for longitudinal conduction of signals through the blood vessel.
Student computer consultants for small business—A viable option

Small business organizations represent a significant share of U.S. economic activity. Entrepreneurs in such organizations routinely make broad decisions which have a major impact on their businesses, yet they are plagued with making such decisions without adequate information. Decision support systems and information databases are normal resources available to decision makers in larger organizations, but the entrepreneur in the small business organization generally operates with little or no data processing or systems capability.
Disease-Enhancing Antibodies Improve the Efficacy of Bacterial Toxin-Neutralizing Antibodies

During infection, humoral immunity produces a polyclonal response with various immunoglobulins recognizing different epitopes within the microbe or toxin. Despite this diverse response, the biological activity of an antibody (Ab) is usually assessed by the action of a monoclonal population. We demonstrate that a combination of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that are individually disease enhancing or neutralizing to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA), a component of anthrax toxin, results in significantly augmented protection against the toxin. This boosted protection is Fc gamma receptor (FcγR) dependent and involves the formation of stoichiometrically defined mAb-PA complexes that requires immunoglobulin bivalence and simultaneous interaction between PA and the two mAbs. The formation of these mAb-PA complexes inhibits PA oligomerization, resulting in protection. These data suggest that functional assessments of single Abs may inaccurately predict how the same Abs will operate in polyclonal preparations and imply that potentially therapeutic mAbs may be overlooked in single Ab screens.
Tissue diagnostics by depth profiling of optical characteristics using broadband fiber optic interferometry

A broadband interferometer is used to acquire scattered light as a function of depth in biological media. The `tissue-light-signature' that is obtained by this depth scan can be correlated with the computer simulated light distributions for well defined tissue parameters, and wavelengths of specific interest. In theory, the collimated irradiation of heart tissue, by low coherence light will generate a statistically significant different light signature for respective myocardial tissues, and pathological tissue conditions. Interferometric axial scanning of in vitro myocardial tissues confirmed the statistically significant difference between normal, coagulated myocardium, and aneurysm at the 790 nm wavelength. The scanning depth however is presented limited by the intensity of the illumination and the choice of detection scheme. Identification of the local optical characteristics as a function of depth directly underneath the target zone will provide discrimination between healthy and pathological conditions in addition to real time assessment of laser dosimetry. Theoretically the scanning depth is limited to a maximum of 4 mm. The beam profile of the irradiation source significantly affects the ability to distinguish between certain tissues. Broadband interferometric axial tissue scanning, will provide a tool for an accurate light energy delivery guided by the desired outcome, while being able to verify the appropriate target location, in real time.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Effects of distraction upon reaction time performance in brain-damaged and alcoholic patients.

Abstract Normal, brain-damaged and chronic alcoholic patients were given a continous visual reaction time task with interpolated tones just prior to the visual stimulus. The distraction tone produced a significantly greater reaction time performance decrement in the brain-damaged patients than in the normals or alcoholics. The brain-damaged group's enhanced distraction was primarily due to persistence of the distraction effect with repeated tone trials; the normals and alcoholics showed no distraction effect from the tone after the first trial or two. These results were discussed in terms of more general attention and habituation deficits in brain-damaged patients.
Serotype 19A is the most common Streptococcus pneumoniae isolate in children with chronic sinusitis.

Background: The introduction of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has altered the epidemiology of acute otitis media and invasive pneumococcal disease in children. However, sparse data regarding pediatric sinusitis are available since the licensure of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. In this study, sinus cultures which grew Streptococcus pneumoniae at Texas Children's Hospital were evaluated with regard to pneumococcal serotype, antimicrobial susceptibility, and frequency of coinfecting organisms. Methods: S. pneumoniae isolates from sinus cultures were identified from January 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008. A retrospective chart review was performed and information including age, ethnicity, gender, and comorbidities was collected. Isolates were serotyped and their susceptibility to oral penicillin, cefotaxime, erythromycin, clindamycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was determined. Results: During the study period, 24 pneumococcal isolates were recovered from endoscopic sinus surgery cultures; 23 isolates were nonvaccine serotypes. Serotype 19A accounted for 50% of isolates. Eleven of the 12 serotype 19A isolates were nonsusceptible to oral penicillin as compared with 6 isolates of the other serotypes. Five of 12 serotype 19A isolates were nonsusceptible to cefotaxime; in comparison, all of the other serotypes were susceptible to cefotaxime. One third of the 19A isolates were nonsusceptible to all 5 antimicrobials tested. Other organisms were coisolated in 87% of cases. Conclusions: Serotype 19A has become the most common pneumococcal serotype isolated from chronic or recurrent pneumococcal sinusitis in children at Texas Children's Hospital. Serotype 19A isolates have high rates of antimicrobial resistance and are frequently isolated along with multiple other organisms.
Pursuit-deterrence revisited

Abstract Pursuit-deterrent signals — signals used by prey that apparently convince predators not to pursue them — were discovered 15 years ago, but their existence continues to rest on shaky empirical evidence. First, pursuit-deterrent signals are usually inferred by eliminating competing hypotheses rather than testing predictions derived from the pursuit-deterrent hypothesis directly. Second, the strength of selection pressures maintaining such signals in prey populations are unknown because behavioral ecologists infrequently observe natural predation attempts. Third, the nature of information passing between prey and predators is open to misinterpretation because measures are rarely taken to separate signals that advertise perception of the predator from those that advertise perception and the prey's condition.
Crystal structures and physical chemical properties of nedocromil zinc heptahydrate and nedocromil magnesium pentahydrate

The crystal structure of one of the hydrated forms of nedocromil zinc, the heptahydrate, and that of one of the hydrated forms of nedocromil magnesium, the pentahydrate, have been determined. Crystal data: zinc salt,a=11.769(3),b=7.000(2),c=14.022(4); A; β=105.35(2)°; monoclinic, space groupP21,Z=2;magnesium salt,a=7.460(1),b=10.233(2),c=13.934(2) A, α=86.54(1)°, β=79.74(1)°, γ=77.25(1)°; triclinic, space groupPĪ,Z=2. The major differences between the crystal structures are the environment and bonding of the cations. The zinc cation is linked directly to the carbonyl oxygen of the pyridone ring and to five water molecules in an octahedral coordination. The magnesium cation is linked directly to two different carboxyl oxygens, one in asyn orientation and the other in ananti orientation in different asymmetric units and to four water molecules in an octahedral coordination. Thermal analytical methods show that the zinc salt hydrate undergoes thermal dehydration at lower temperatures than the magnesium salt hydrate. This behavior may be related to the presence of continuous water channels in the zinc salt hydrate and to their absence in the magnesium salt hydrate. For each salt hydrate 1 mole of water is lost at a higher temperature than the other waters.
Restraint stress increases corticotropin-releasing hormone mRNA content in the amygdala and paraventricular nucleus ☆

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons located in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus are implicated in regulating the endocrine response to stress. The amygdala is an established component of the neural circuitry mediating the stress response. To obtain information concerning the effects of stress on amygdala CRH neurons, a time-course study was conducted to examine, in rats, whether a 1-h restraint period increases CRH mRNA levels. The effects of restraint were also measured in the PVN. Using a sensitive RNase protection assay, we found that CRH mRNA levels in both the amygdala and paraventricular nucleus were significantly elevated 1 h after cessation of restraint. CRH mRNA levels in the paraventricular nucleus, but not the amygdala, remained elevated at the 3-h post-stress interval. 48 h after the termination of restraint, CRH mRNA levels in both brain structures returned to control levels. These data provide the first direct evidence that stress activates amygdala CRH neurons.
A METHODOLOGY FOR DECISION MAKING THROUGH QUEUING ANALYSIS

Many queuing situations present themselves in which multiple alternatives should be evaluated. This is especially true in cases where the alternatives refer to the number of service channels and types of service channels to be utilized. In such cases, it is appropriate to develop suitable queuing models and introduce the additional exogenous variables in the model graphically. This paper presents an example where such a methodology of model construction is feasible and helpful in deciding guidelines for making decisions. The working methodology is explained with a numerical illustration and guidelines for using the proposed methodology are described.
Crystal Structure of Monoclinic Hafnia and Comparison with Monoclinic Zirconia

The crystal structure of monoclinic HfO2 was determined using Weissenberg techniques. Data were obtained from a needlelike single crystal which was grown from a lithium molybdate melt. The crystal was rotated about the α axis, and reflection data were obtained for nine levels. A three-dimensional least-squares refinement confirms that monoclinic hafnia is isomorphous with monoclinic zirconia. The atomic coordinates in the structures agree within one standard deviation. Thus, the fractional coordinates for the metal atom differ by less than 0.0005 and those for the oxygen atoms by no more than 0.01. Whereas three of the seven Hf–O distances are larger than the corresponding Zr–O distances, the average value is approximately 0.01 A smaller. The average metal-metal distance is approximately 0.02 A less in HfO2 than in ZrO2.
3D imaging using compressive line sensing serial imaging system

Originally proposed in SPIE DSS’13, the compressive line sensing (CLS) imaging system adopts the paradigm of independently sensing each line and jointly reconstructing a group of lines. Such system achieves “resource compression” and is still compatible with the conventional push-broom operation mode. This paper attempts to extend the CLS concept, originally developed to effectively acquire scene intensity images in a scattering medium, to 3D scene reconstruction through the adoption of a temporal-spatial measurement matrix. The sensing model is discussed. Simulation results are presented as part of this work.
Investigation of dye-doped sol–gels for ammonia gas sensing

Abstract Sol–gel films doped with fluorescein (FL) and phenol red (PR) dyes were evaluated for their responses to ammonia gas. In a steady state, the sensors respond to the gas-phase ammonia evolved from ammonium hydroxide solutions in the range of 5 × 10−6 to 0.05 M for FL-doped gels, and 10−4 to 1 M for PR-doped gels. The sensors have high selectivity for ammonia against larger amines and moderate selectivity against methyl and ethylamines. The FL-gel exhibits rapid and reproducible response to dry NH3 gas samples of 9–50 ppm, while PR-gel is insensitive to ammonia in this low concentration range. The life-times of the sensors are over a year.
Hydrogen permeation in FeCrAl alloys for LWR cladding application

Abstract FeCrAl, an advanced oxidation-resistant iron-based alloy class, is a highly prevalent candidate as an accident-tolerant fuel cladding material. Compared with traditional zirconium alloy fuel cladding, increased tritium permeation through FeCrAl fuel cladding to the primary coolant is expected, raising potential safety concerns. In this study, the hydrogen permeability of several FeCrAl alloys was obtained using a static permeation test station, which was calibrated and validated using 304 stainless steel. The high hydrogen permeability of FeCrAl alloys leads to concerns with respect to potentially significant tritium release when used for fuel cladding in LWRs. The total tritium inventory inside the primary coolant of a light water reactor was quantified by applying a 1-dimensional steady state tritium diffusion model to demonstrate the dependence of tritium inventory on fuel cladding type. Furthermore, potential mitigation strategies for tritium release from FeCrAl fuel cladding were discussed and indicate the potential for application of an alumina layer on the inner clad surface to serve as a tritium barrier. More effort is required to develop a robust, economical mitigation strategy for tritium permeation in reactors using FeCrAl clad fuel assemblies.
Developmental state planning, sub-national nestedness, and reflexive public policymaking: Keys to employment growth in Saitama City, Japan

Outside of central Tokyo, too little has been written about Japanese municipalities regardless of their economic performance or problems. One area that currently deserves greater attention is the recently amalgamated City of Saitama, the area that experienced the largest employment increase of any municipality in Japan (42,783) during Japan’s lost decade. What factors allowed it to counteract prevailing trends? This article examined this question and found that Saitama’s 1990s employment growth was spurred by: (1) its spatial nestedness within the National Capital Region (NCR); (2) its status in Japan’s and its prefecture’s urban hierarchy; (3) its embeddedness in the Japanese Developmental State; and (4) the reflexive policymaking of the cities of Urawa, Omiya, and Yono, and Saitama Prefecture. The final two factors were part of a shared intergovernmental vision to transform the area into a Business Core City in the NCR and into the new locus of central government activities in the North Kanto-Koshin’etsu Area. The implementation of this led to the development of the Saitama Shin Toshin Project, the transferring of more than 6000 national bureau workers to the site, the merger of the three cities to create Saitama City, and private employment growth. Overall, the findings of this article were consistent with Hill and Fujita’s [Hill, R. C. and Fujita, K (2003) The nested city: introduction. Urban Studies 40 (2), 207–217.] Nested Cities thesis, which argued that urban growth trajectories in Japan, similar to that in other parts of the world, remain deeply nested within multi-layered spatial and institutional contexts. The article also provides a window into how local, in addition to national bureaucracies and politicians have shaped urban change in Japan.
Robust multiple-fault detection filter

A new robust multiple-fault detection and identification algorithm is determined. Different from other algorithms which explicitly force the geometric structure by using eigenstructure assignment or geometric theory, this algorithm is derived from solving an optimization problem. The output error is divided into several subspaces. For each subspace, the transmission from one fault, denoted the associated target fault, is maximized while the transmission from other faults, denoted the associated nuisance fault, is minimized. Therefore, each projected residual of the robust multiple-fault detection filter is affected primarily by one fault and minimally by other faults. The transmission from process and sensor noises is also minimized so that the filter is robust with respect to these disturbances. It is shown that, in the limit where the weighting on each associated nuisance fault transmission goes to infinity, the filter recovers the geometric structure of the restricted diagonal detection filter of which the Beard–Jones detection filter and unknown input observer are special cases. Filter designs can be obtained for both time-invariant and time-varying systems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of vacancy clusters on yielding and strain hardening of copper

Abstract Clustering of excess vacancies in copper single crystal specimens was followed by resistivity, x-ray small angle scattering, and stress—strain curve observations. No change in yield stress or strain hardening rate was associated with excess vacancies when they existed primarily as single vacancies, divacancies or perhaps slightly larger aggregates. An increase in the critical resolved shear stress at the yield that was independent of the orientation of the tensile axis accompanied the growth of vacancy clusters in the size range 10 A to 30 A. Larger clusters also were associated with orientation dependent changes in the strain hardening characteristics.