cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental study of the effects of Bacillus subtilis on gibbsite dissolution rates under near-neutral pH and nutrient-poor conditions

Abstract In order to examine the effects of Bacillus subtilis on rates and extents of gibbsite dissolution, we conducted batch-type dissolution experiments with viable, non-viable, and no bacteria. Dissolved Al and organic carbon were monitored at regular time intervals for approximately 10 days under near-neutral pH and nutrient-poor conditions that simulated the conditions under which natural fluid–mineral interactions occur. Viable bacteria not only significantly enhanced the gibbsite dissolution rate, but they also enhanced the extent of dissolution by a factor of 30 relative to the bacteria-free control experiments. The dissolved Al concentrations in the experimental solutions are correlated to the concentration of dissolved organic carbon, suggesting that organic molecules derived from the bacteria are responsible for the observed dissolution behavior. Non-viable bacteria also cause enhancement of the rate and extent of gibbsite dissolution relative to the controls, but the observed Al concentrations are five to seven times lower than those observed for the systems containing viable bacteria. This result implies that abiotic surface complexation between aqueous Al and the bacterial cell wall functional groups is not the cause of the dissolution enhancement. However, the dissolved organic carbon concentrations in the experiments containing non-viable bacteria are virtually identical to those observed for the systems containing viable bacteria. This similarity strongly suggests that the bacterially derived organic molecules from both types of bacteria are lysis products rather than metabolic exudates, and that the lysis products from intact bacteria are more capable of enhancing the rate and extent of gibbsite dissolution than those of the non-viable bacteria. These conclusions are supported by IC and GC-MS analyses of the two different types of dissolved organic carbon, and by results from dissolution experiments that were engineered to prevent bacterial lysis. The experimental results presented here are the first to indicate that bacterial lysis can significantly affect mineral dissolution in weathering environments, and that lysis products may be as important as bacterial exudates in controlling the rate and extent of mineral dissolution.
SURFING THE FRA MAURO SHORELINE : HIGHLANDS CRUST AT THE APOLLO 14 SITE

Plutonic rocks at the Apollo 14 site may be grouped into four lithologic suites. In order of relative abundance these are—magnesian suite, alkali suite, evolved lithologies, and ferroan anorthosites (FAN). Most of the samples described to date occur as clasts in lunar polymict breccias or in regolith breccias; these clasts rarely are more than a few cm in diameter. The magnesian suite (63 clasts) includes troctolite, anorthosite, norite, dunite, and harzburgite, all characterized by plagioclase ≍An95 and mafic minerals with Mg#s from 82 to 92. Alkali-suite rocks (21 clasts) and evolved rocks (10 clasts) generally have plagioclase An90 to An40, and mafic minerals with Mg#s from 82 to 40. Lithologies include anorthosite, norite, quartz monzodiorite, granite, and felsite. Ferroan anorthosites (5 clasts) have plagioclase ≍An96 and mafic minerals with Mg#s from 45 to 70. Plots of whole-rock [Mg/(Mg+Fe)] versus whole-rock [Ca/(Ca+Na+K)] show a distinct gap between rocks of the magnesian suite and rocks of the a...
Resistance and Contradiction: Miskitu Indians and the Nicaraguan State,1894–1987

Resistance and Contradiction: Miskitu Indians and the Nicaraguan State 1894-1987, Charles R. Hale. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994. ix + 296pp. $42.50 (cloth). ISBN 0-8047-2255-2.
Recovery from Aminoglycoside Nephrotoxicity with Continued Drug Administration

To examine the nephrotoxicity of prolonged gentamicin administration compared to the effect obtained when a less toxic aminoglycoside is substituted during the course of treatment, we gave gentamicin (67.5 mg/kg per day) to rats for 21 days, gentamicin for 14 days followed by either netilmicin or tobramycin for 7 days, or gentamicin for 14 days followed by saline diluent. After initial tubular, necrosis, the animals recovered from renal injury whether the drug was continued or discontinued or another drug was substituted. These data are consistent with the observation that regenerating renal epithelium is resistant to continued or additional nephrotoxic insults. These findings suggest that improvement in renal function during aminoglycoside therapy cannot necessarily be attributed to the substitution of another aminoglycoside or other therapeutic interventions.
Anomalous Defect Diffusion Near the Glass Transition

Anomalous diffusion is employed to model defect motion in materials near their glass transition temperature. Even though the motion of a single defect possesses no characteristic time scale the overall effect of a concentration of defects is to produce stretched exponential relaxation in the glass. This function has a well-defined time scale that depends on the concentration of mobile defects. In our model, the time scale diverges as the temperature is lowered, as well as, increasing with increasing pressure. We use the manner in which this time scale diverges to derive equations for conductivity, dielectric relaxation and viscosity as a function of temperature and pressure that are in good agreement with experimental data that we have checked for polymeric glassy materials.
The Process of Theory-Research Interaction

Political theorists, in my view, often work in unfortunate isolation and are remiss in their important function of telling political scientists what political science ought to know. What political science ought to know, of course, is a most complicated matter and really designates an ideal of a body of interconnected propositions summarizing political human relationships with a maximum of precision. Few will doubt, but still fewer will observe practically the injunction that the political theorists must present research workers with the existing contradictions of important theoretical propositions. If Jefferson says that the age of reason and democracy has arrived and De Tocqueville says that democracy is an unreasoning leveling that contains the seed of its own destruction, the theorist can help his science by indicating that these are (historically and/or today) important propositions, that they involve, together with the other writings of these gentlemen, a contradiction soluble by empirical study, and that he, the theorist, would be glad to rework the propositions to make them testable. Thus would begin to emerge a greater rapport between theory and research. Unfortunately, the annals of science contain very little in the way of descriptions of the actual process by which theory interacts with research. It is nice to know that they must support one another, but following the process with one's own eyes or through the eyes of another would be an improved way of appreciating the relationship. Formal logical analysis can go back on a contribution to knowledge and show how it "must have been" constructed by combined theory and fact. However, the logic of "must have been" turns out to be always a synopsis of the finding, relieved of the burden of historical and sociological description. Graham Wallas perhaps stands alone among political scientists as one who essayed to depict the mental and social process of scientific discovery. Great theorists are themselves puzzled to explain the origins of their contributions. Albert Einstein once confessed that "intuition" inspired some of his work in relativity and "intuition," we must ad-
Carleson Measures and Multipliers for Dirichlet Spaces

Abstract We characterize Carleson measures on the Dirichlet spaces. Our result leads to necessary and sufficient conditions for multipliers of the Dirichlet spaces.
Virus Infection Activates Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Synthesis in Intestinal Epithelial Cells

The small intestine has been shown to be an extra-pituitary site of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) production, and previous in vivo studies have shown that TSH synthesis localizes within areas of enteric virus infection within the small intestine; however, the cellular source of intestinal TSH has not been adequately determined. In the present study, we have used the murine MODE-K small intestinal epithelial cell line to demonstrate both at the transcriptional level and as a secreted hormone, as measured in a TSHβ-specific enzyme-linked assay, that epithelial cells in fact respond to infection with reovirus serotype 3 Dearing strain by upregulating TSH synthesis. Moreover, sequence analysis of a PCR-amplified TSHβ product from MODE-K cells revealed homology to mouse pituitary TSHβ. These findings have direct functional implications for understanding a TSH immune-endocrine circuit in the small intestine.
Commentary: Rebuttal to Pope and Dahlin

AbstractExamination of the synthetic aperture radar imagery and of the hydraulic characteristics of Maya lowland swamps has led Kevin O. Pope and Bruce H. Dahlin (“AncientMaya Wetland Agriculture: New Insights from Ecological and Remote Sensing Research,” Journal of Field Archaeology 16 [1989] 87–106) to conclude that there is no connection between lattice patterns in the imagery and raised fields in the swamps. They further conclude that there are no significant numbers of raised fields in periodic swamps. We examine the arguments and points raised and find them tenuous at best, and disingenuous at worst. We conclude that the SAR imagery does indeed indicate raised field and canal systems and that they exist in the large periodic swamps of the Maya lowlands.
The Hohokam of the American Southwest

The Hohokam, the prehistoric farmers of the southern Arizona desert, have been the subject of increased archaeological investigation in the last two decades. This research is altering traditional views of the Hohokam. New data provide a stronger basis for discussing Hohokam origins and culture history. Although best known as irrigation farmers, the Hohokam had a complex subsistence base that relied on hunting, gathering, and a variety of farming techniques. Studies of site structure and settlement patterning reveal a degree of social complexity greater than previously recognized. The Hohokam were tied to surrounding groups through evolving exchange and interaction networks.
Excitation design for damage detection using iterative adjoint-based optimization—Part 1: Method development

Abstract A technique is developed to answer the important question: “Given limited system response measurements and ever-present physical limits on the level of excitation, what excitation should be provided to a system to make damage most detectable?” The solution is developed by forming an augmented system that is the union of the undamaged and damaged systems. The difference between measurable outputs of the undamaged and damaged systems then simply becomes a state in this augmented system which may be then maximized by maximizing a related and easily developed cost function. By formulating an adjoint version of the optimization problem, the gradient of this cost function with respect to the excitation may be calculated very efficiently, and a straight forward gradient ascent procedure follows. This process is demonstrated on a 2 DOF system with a nonlinear stiffness, where it is shown that an optimized excitation increases the detectability of the damage by several orders of magnitude.
An Introduction to Theory and Models of CMEs, Shocks, and Solar Energetic Particles

We present a brief introduction to the essential physics of coronal mass ejections as well as a review of theory and models of CME initiation, solar energetic particle (SEP) acceleration, and shock propagation. A brief review of the history of CME models demonstrates steady progress toward an understanding of CME initiation, but it is clear that the question of what initiates CMEs has still not been solved. For illustration, we focus on the flux cancellation model and the breakout model. We contrast the similarities and differences between these models, and we examine how their essential features compare with observations. We review the generation of shocks by CMEs. We also outline the theoretical ideas behind the origin of a gradual SEP event at the evolving CME-driven coronal/interplanetary shock and the origin of “impulsive” SEP events at flare sites of magnetic reconnection below CMEs. We argue that future developments in models require focused study of “campaign events” to best utilize the wealth of available CME and SEP observations.
“If It Wasn’t for the Church…:” Organizational Religiosity and Informal Community Helping among African American Adults

The African American helping tradition has been and continues to be instrumental to the survival and advancement of the African American community. Christian religion is integral to the maintenance of this tradition; however, surprisingly few empirical studies of the connection between religion and helping among African Americans exist. The few studies that do exist reveal a complicated relationship between religion and helping; the quality of which, appears to depend on the aspect of the religious experience and the aspect of the helping tradition under study. The present study aimed to further clarify this seemingly nuanced relationship. Applying social learning as a theoretical frame, this study examined the extent to which organizational religiosity, in the form of service attendance, related to the African American helping tradition, in the form of informal community helping among a sample of African American adults in the Northeast of the USA (N = 140). Results indicated that current religious service attendance was positively correlated with informal community helping and was a positive predictor of informal community helping. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Fibroblast activation protein-α and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (CD26): Cell-surface proteases that activate cell signaling and are potential targets for cancer therapy

Fibroblast activation protein-alpha (FAP-alpha) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) are serine proteases with post-prolyl peptidase activities that can modify tumor cell behavior. FAP-alpha and DPPIV can form heteromeric complexes with each other and may function coordinately to modulate the growth, differentiation, adhesion, and metastasis of tumor cells. This review is focused on FAP-alpha and summarizes a series of studies showing that elevated expression of FAP-alpha results in profound changes in growth and malignant behavior of tumor cells. Depending on the model system investigated, FAP-alpha expression causes dramatic promotion or suppression of tumor growth. In the case of tumor promotion, FAP-alpha expression can drive tumor growth by increasing angiogenesis and by decreasing the anti-tumor response of the immune system. In the case of tumor suppression, FAP-alpha can decrease tumorigenicity of mouse melanoma cells and restore contact inhibition and growth factor dependence even when it is catalytically inactive, implying that protein-protein interactions mediate these effects. Understanding how FAP-alpha activates cell signaling is critical to determining how FAP-alpha mediates growth promotion versus growth suppression in the different model systems and ultimately in human cancer patients. In particular, the roles of FAP-alpha protease activity and FAP-alpha complex formation with DPPIV and other surface molecules in activating cell signaling need to be elucidated since these represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
Tracking Outcomes of Anorectal Surgery: The Need for a Disease-Specific Quality Assessment Tool

Purpose We sought to determine the nature and timing of complications after common anorectal operations by using a prospective quality tracking tool.
Method for identification and classification of single motor unit potentials in diagnostic electromyography.

Summary It is important to have an objective method for recording jaw muscle capacity such as EMG before, during and after treatment of muscle dysfunction and also for oral rehabilitation with dentures, implants or other types of restorations. Because measurements of motor unit potentials (MUPs) are needed in several areas of EMG analysis, algorithms have been developed in our laboratory for use in a small computer-aided system for semi-automatic detection and pattern recognition of MUPs. Based upon the test recordings it is suggested that a characteristic ‘maximal voltage increase per μs during the spike-phase’ can be used as a supplement to the more generally used parameter ‘rise-time’. Examples are given of how the programs can be useful in the study of the functional anatomy of jaw muscles by recording normative values for MUPs and their recruitment patterns.
Harderian glands in mice fluorescence peroxidase activity and fine structure

The Harderian glands of albino mice are composed of tubulo-alveoli which contain two secretory cell types. The most common cell (type A) displayed a natural red fluorescence due to the presence of porphyrins. Lipid droplets in this cell and along its apical border were often intensely fluorescent. The less common cell (type B) did not fluoresce. The type B cell contained unusual lipid droplets surrounded by concentric layers of membranes, and sometimes displayed cylindrical organelles believed to be associated with the formation of pigment. A dense red-brown pigment was observed in the lumens of a few tubulo-alveoli and it did not fluoresce, but areas where pigment formation was taking place fluoresced brightly. Myoepithelial cells, containing thick and thin filaments, were found underlying both secretory cell types. Fenestrated capillaries and adrenergic and cholinergic nerve endings were abundant in the adjacent connective tissue. Endogenous peroxidase activity was identified in both secretory cell types and was found localized only within tubules and vesicles of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum.
29Si and 13C NMR spectra of chloro- and fluoro-substituted linear permethylpolysilanes

Abstract 29Si and 13C NMR spectra are reported for the three halopolysilane series Me(SiMe2)nCl, Cl(SiMe2)nCl and F(SiMe2)nF, where n = 2 to 6. Except for the dihalodisilanes (XSiMe2)2, data for all of the compounds fit linear relationships based on substituent constants for chlorine or fluorine atoms in the α, β and γ positions. The effects of halogen substitution on 29Si and 13C chemical shifts are rapidly attenuated along the polysilane chain, becoming negligible four atoms away from the halogen. The NMR data provide no evidence for long-range electronic transmission from chlorine or fluorine in halopermethylpolysilanes of the type suggested by other workers [1].
Stewards of the public trust: Federal laws that serve servicemembers and student veterans

This chapter describes the federal laws and policies that affect enrollment and retention of servicemembers, veterans, and their dependents in higher education institutions, providing campus administrators with an essential reference.
Inflammation in the Pathogenesis of Lyme Neuroborreliosis

Lyme neuroborreliosis, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, affects both peripheral and central nervous systems. We assessed a causal role for inflammation in Lyme neuroborreliosis pathogenesis by evaluating the induced inflammatory changes in the central nervous system, spinal nerves, and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of rhesus macaques that were inoculated intrathecally with live B. burgdorferi and either treated with dexamethasone or meloxicam (anti-inflammatory drugs) or left untreated. ELISA of cerebrospinal fluid showed significantly elevated levels of IL-6, IL-8, chemokine ligand 2, and CXCL13 and pleocytosis in all infected animals, except dexamethasone-treated animals. Cerebrospinal fluid and central nervous system tissues of infected animals were culture positive for B. burgdorferi regardless of treatment. B. burgdorferi antigen was detected in the DRG and dorsal roots by immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy. Histopathology revealed leptomeningitis, vasculitis, and focal inflammation in the central nervous system; necrotizing focal myelitis in the cervical spinal cord; radiculitis; neuritis and demyelination in the spinal roots; and inflammation with neurodegeneration in the DRG that was concomitant with significant neuronal and satellite glial cell apoptosis. These changes were absent in the dexamethasone-treated animals. Electromyography revealed persistent abnormalities in F-wave chronodispersion in nerve roots of a few infected animals; which were absent in dexamethasone-treated animals. These results suggest that inflammation has a causal role in the pathogenesis of acute Lyme neuroborreliosis.
Acoustic and perceptual evaluation of laryngeal reinnervation by ansa cervicalis transfer.

Objectives/Hypothesis: To evaluate the acoustic and perceptual results of laryngeal reinnervation with ansa cervicalis to recurrent laryngeal nerve anastomosis. Study Design: Retrospective study of voice samples from 12 patients with unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis, treated with ansa cervicalis to recurrent laryngeal nerve anastomosis. Samples were recorded before surgery and at least 8 months after surgery. Methods: The samples were subjected to several acoustic analyses sensitive to paralytic dysphonia, including cepstral peak prominence, noise-to-harmonics ratio, and measures of frequency and amplitude perturbation. The voice samples from the patients were randomized with age- and sex-matched samples from normal subjects and judged by trained listeners for overall dysphonia, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain. The preoperative and postoperative results were compared statistically, and the postoperative results were compared with the matched normal subjects. Results: As a group, the patients showed improvement (P <.05) in cepstral peak prominence, frequency perturbation, and perceptual judgments of overall dysphonia, breathiness, and asthenia. The best results occurred in patients with isolated vocal fold paralysis. The postoperative group as a whole did not improve to the level seen in matched normals. Suboptimal results were seen primarily in patients with untreated laryngeal or extralaryngeal pathology beyond the laryngeal paralysis. Conclusions: These data suggest that laryngeal reinnervation has the potential to bring about a return to normal or near-normal voice in patients with isolated unilateral vocal fold paralysis.
Low-Dimensional Non-Rigid Image Registration Using Statistical Deformation Models From Semi-Supervised Training Data

Accurate and robust image registration is a fundamental task in medical image analysis applications, and requires non-rigid transformations with a large number of degrees of freedom. Statistical deformation models (SDMs) attempt to learn the distribution of non-rigid deformations, and can be used both to reduce the transformation dimensionality and to constrain the registration process. However, high-dimensional SDMs are difficult to train given orders of magnitude fewer training samples. In this paper, we utilize both a small set of annotated imaging data and a large set of unlabeled data to effectively learn an SDM of non-rigid transformations in a semi-supervised training (SST) framework. We demonstrate results applying this framework towards inter-subject registration of skull-stripped, magnetic resonance (MR) brain images. Our approach makes use of 39 labeled MR datasets to create a set of supervised registrations, which we augment with a set of over 1200 unsupervised registrations using unlabeled MRIs. Through leave-one-out cross validation, we show that SST of a non-rigid SDM results in a robust registration algorithm with significantly improved accuracy compared to standard, intensity-based registration, and does so with a 99% reduction in transformation dimensionality.
Simultaneous optical measurement of soot volume fraction, temperature, and CO2 in heptane pool fire

Detailed measurements of the temperature, soot volume fraction, and CO 2 have been performed for a10 cm diameter heptane fire. In addition, the concentrations of H 2 O and CO were inferred from generalized state relationships. The heat feedback to the surface was calculated by using a reverse Monte-Carlo method in conjunction with RADCAL. The calculated heat fluxes to the surface with and without gas emission indicate that the contributions from the gaseous combustion products to total radiation are significant for heptane due to its mildly sooting nature. Simultaneous optical measurements using two probes were performed to investigate the importance of temporal correlations on the heat transfer calculations. Measurements made throughout the fire indicate that nonsimultaneous data sets can be used to accurately predict the heat transfer to the fuel surface.
Empiric antifungal therapy and outcomes in extremely low birth weight infants with invasive candidiasis

Objective To assess the impact of empiric antifungal therapy for invasive candidiasis on subsequent outcomes in premature infants. Study design This was a cohort study of infants with a birth weight ≤1000 g receiving care at Neonatal Research Network sites. All infants had at least one positive culture for Candida. Empiric antifungal therapy was defined as receipt of a systemic antifungal on the day of or the day before the first positive culture for Candida was drawn. We created Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression models stratified on propensity score quartiles to determine the effect of empiric antifungal therapy on survival, time to clearance of infection, retinopathy of prematurity, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, end-organ damage, and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI). Results A total of 136 infants developed invasive candidiasis. The incidence of death or NDI was lower in infants who received empiric antifungal therapy (19 of 38; 50%) compared with those who had not (55 of 86; 64%; OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.08-0.86). There was no significant difference between the groups for any single outcome or other combined outcomes. Conclusion Empiric antifungal therapy was associated with increased survival without NDI. A prospective randomized trial of this strategy is warranted.
Use of sonic techniques and tension recordings as improvements in abyssal trawling

Abstract A coupling of sonic pinger bottom reflections with a wire tension recorder has enabled the writers to precisely determine bottom contact and trawl “on bottom” times during deep trawls at depths of 5000 m. Use of this technique removes the uncertainties involved in wire angle calculations for bottom contact determinations and should significantly reduce the amount of wire used in deep-trawlings, as well as the amount of wire lost due to kinks.
Effects of repeated Ro 15-1788 administration in benzodiazepine-dependent baboons

Abstract Administration of the benzodiazepine antagonist, Ro 15-1788, to baboons that were chronically exposed to diazepam or triazolam precipitated withdrawal signs. When Ro 15-1788 was administered repeatedly at one or three day intervals, precipitated withdrawal signs were attenuated. However, these baboons remained tolerant to the sedative effects of the doses of benzodiazepines to which they were continously exposed. While tolerance to agonist effects of drugs and development of physical dependence are often thought to be functionally interrelated phenomena, the present results suggest that these may be separable properties of the benzodiazepines. The present results clearly indicate that certain actions of benzodiazepine agonists and antagonists can be indepently regulated.
Coulomb Suppression of Tunneling Rate from Small Metal Particles

ac measurements on a "tunnel capacitor," in which small metal particles make tunnel junctions with one of the capacitor plates, reveal information about the electron tunneling process at the junctions. A simple zero-temperature model for the process is presented for the regime in which the Coulomb charging energy suppresses the conductance of the junctions. The prediction of the model that the capacitance and dissipation constant of the structure should scale as (frequency)/(applied ac voltage) is confirmed by the experimental results.
Isolation and Culture of Microvascular Endothelial Cells from the Primate Corpus Luteum

Endothelial cells have common as well as specialized roles in different tissues and organs; as such, the abundant endothelial cells in the corpus luteum (> 50% of total cell population) could have unique activities necessary for luteal function. Our objective was to establish a method for isolating a pure population of endothelial cells from the primate corpus luteum and to determine the basic conditions for in vitro culture. Corpora lutea collected from rhesus monkeys throughout the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle were minced and enzymatically dispersed into single cell suspensions. Endothelial cells were isolated from the remaining cells (i.e., steroidogenic, fibroblastic, etc.) utilizing magnetic beads labeled with a lectin, Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1 (UEA-1), which binds a sugar found only on primate endothelial cells. After exposure to a magnetic field, UEA-1-negative (-) cells were decanted from the pelleted UEA-1-positive (+) cells; to remove beads from the UEA-1 (+) cells, excess sugar was applied. After optimization of the bead-to-cell ratio, the UEA-1 (+) group contained a population of cells 8-12 microns in diameter (typical endothelial cell size) and 93% of all cells in the UEA-1 (+) group stained positive for the specific endothelial cell marker, platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1. Cultured UEA-1 (+) cells produced low levels of progesterone and were unresponsive to hCG (100 ng/ml). In contrast, cultured UEA-1 (-) and mixed (unsorted) cells produced high basal levels of progesterone and exhibited a > 3-fold increase in response to hCG treatment. Preliminary experiments comparing different culture media and matrices demonstrated that 1) cell proliferation was unaffected by type of medium (i.e., Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium [DMEM]/ F12 or McCoy's 5A); 2) the presence of serum was essential in the absence of added growth factors, and 3) extracellular matrix had a profound effect on proliferation. UEA-1 (+) cells exhibited a dose-dependent increase in cell proliferation in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the presence and absence of fetal calf serum. In the absence of serum, VEGF stimulated proliferation of UEA-1 (+) cells plated on fibronectin but not collagen I, whereas in the presence of 10% fetal calf serum, both matrices supported VEGF-induced mitogenesis. These studies provide for the first time an efficient, reliable method for isolating primate luteal endothelial cells and describe in vitro culture conditions for subsequent studies examining luteal endothelial cell function and regulation.
Piezotransmission Measurements of Phonon-Assisted Transitions in Semiconductors. I. Germanium

The strain-optical constants of Ge have been determined in the vicinity of the first indirect band gap 0.60-0.74 eV. The experiments were performed at room temperature and consisted of straining single crystals of Ge in an oscillatory manner and observing the amplitude modulation which was thereby impressed upon the transmitted beam. Single-crystal samples were used, allowing the full specification to be made. The results show both sharp structure and a relatively slowly varying background signal. The structure is discussed in terms of the strain-induced changes of the various threshold energies for indirect transitions expected on the basis of the deformation-potential model. The shape of the observed structure is in agreement with this simple model and the phonon energies are in excellent agreement with earlier determinations. The general features of the experimental results are explained in terms of indirect transitions taking place via the ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{{2}^{\ensuremath{'}}}$ intermediate state. A detailed calculation of the strain-optical constants made on the basis of the deformation-potential model indicates that direct transitions to ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}_{{2}^{\ensuremath{'}}}$ may also be important in this energy range.
Indications for inferior vena cava filter placement: do physicians comply with guidelines?

Abstract Purpose Inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement has increased significantly over the past few decades, but indications for filter placement vary widely depending on which professional society recommendations are followed, and it is uncertain how compliant physicians are in adhering to guidelines. This study assessed documented indications for IVC filter placement and evaluated compliance with standards set by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR). Materials and Methods A single-center, retrospective medical record review in a metropolitan, 652-bed, acute care, teaching hospital. Inpatient filter placement over a 26-month period was reviewed. The study measured compliance with established guidelines, relationship of medical specialty to filter placement, and evaluation of self-referral patterns among physicians. Results Compliance with established ACCP guidelines was poor regardless of whether the IVC filter insertion was performed by interventional radiology (IR; 43.5%), vascular surgery (VS; 39.9%), or interventional cardiology (IC; 33.3%) staff. Compliance with the less restrictive SIR guidelines was better (77.5%, 77.1%, and 80% for IR, VS, and IC, respectively). There was a greater degree of guideline compliance when filter placement was recommended by internal medicine (IM)–trained physicians than by non–IM-trained physicians: 46.3% of IR-placed filters requested by IM physicians met ACCP criteria whereas only 24.0% of filters recommended by non-IM specialties were compliant with criteria ( P = .03). In the VS group, these compliance rates were 45.8% and 31.5%, respectively ( P = .03). Among IR-placed filters, 84.0% of IM-recommended filter placements were compliant with SIR guidelines, versus only 48.0% of non–IM-recommended placements ( P ≤ .001). In the VS group, these compliance rates were 87.8% and 69.6%, respectively ( P ≤ .001). Conclusions There is poor physician compliance with guidelines for IVC filter placement. Most filter indications meeting SIR guidelines are for patients classified as "falls risks," failures of anticoagulation, patients with limited cardiopulmonary reserve and patients non compliant with anticoagulation medications. This single-center study suggests a need for harmonization of current guidelines espoused by professional societies.
Robust Optimal Control of Quadrotor UAVs

This paper provides the design and implementation of an L1-optimal control of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The quadrotor UAV is an underactuated rigid body with four propellers that generate forces along the rotor axes. These four forces are used to achieve asymptotic tracking of four outputs, namely the position of the center of mass of the UAV and the heading. With perfect knowledge of plant parameters and no measurement noise, the magnitudes of the errors are shown to exponentially converge to zero. In the case of parametric uncertainty and measurement noise, the controller yields an exponential decrease of the magnitude of the errors in an L1-optimal sense. In other words, the controller is designed so that it minimizes the L∞-gain of the plant with respect to disturbances. The performance of the controller is evaluated in experiments and compared with that of a related robust nonlinear controller in the literature. The experimental data shows that the proposed controller rejects persistent disturbances, which is quantified by a very small magnitude of the mean error.
Melatonin: the next panacea?

Neonatal sepsis is a frequent occurrence in the nursery. The morbidity associated with this condition is still significant despite the availability of antibiotics (1). This is due to factors other than the mere presence of an organism. In sepsis, liver mitochondria can increase rates of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical production via alterations in complex II activity (2). Cytokine release and resultant transcriptional activation of various genes can also result in increased reactive oxygen species (3). Some reports indicate that septic neonates have altered antioxidant status and several investigators have demonstrated increased oxidative stress in septic adults (2, 4). Based on this premise, Gitto and colleagues (5) evaluated the protective effects of melatonin therapy in neonates with sepsis by measuring a marker of oxidative stress.
Cultural Conflict and Merger Failure: An Experimental Approach

We use laboratory experiments to explore merger failure due to conflicting organizational cultures. We introduce a laboratory paradigm for studying organizational culture that captures several key elements of the phenomenon. In our experiments, we allow subjects in "firms" to develop a culture, and then merge two firms. As expected, performance decreases following the merging of two laboratory firms. In addition, subjects overestimate the performance of the merged firm and attribute the decrease in performance to members of the other firm rather than to situational difficulties created by conflicting culture.
Quiet direct simulation of Coulomb collisions

Quiet direct simulation Monte Carlo (QDSMC) is a new particle simulation technique that is applicable to a broad range of applications where the underlying system dynamics obey Fokker Planck equations. These include hydrodynamics, radiation transport, magnetohydrodynamics, diffusion, and collisional kinetic plasmas. At the beginning of each time step in QDSMC, the weights and abscissas of Gaussian-Hermite quadrature are used to deterministically create particles to sample the random process. At the end of the time step, particles are gathered to the computational mesh to obtain updated distributions of conserved quantities on the mesh and then the particles are destroyed. The creation and destruction of particles allows arbitrary dynamical range to be accessed quiescently with only a small number of particles per computational cell. The application of QDSMC to the simulation of Coulomb collisions is considered in this report, and the method is demonstrated on problems involving the collisional relaxation of non-Maxwellian distributions.
Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey through War and Peace

Vamik Volkan's career as a psychoanalyst has been an extraordinary one. Promoting peace, mediation and reconciliation around the world, he has been an important figure in helping various interested...
Introduction to the Special Issue on Healthcare Systems

Healthcare systems are complex and often consist of a broad array of individuals, resources, and technologies, as well as inter-related services and networks. From a narrow perspective, these syste...
An early warning system for unrecognized drug side effects discovery

Drugs can treat human diseases through chemical interactions between the ingredients and intended targets in the human body. However, the ingredients could unexpectedly interact with off-targets, which may cause adverse drug side effects. Notifying patients and physicians of potential drug effects is an important step in improving healthcare quality and delivery. With the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 applications, more and more patients start discussing drug side effects in many online sources. In this paper, we describe our efforts on building UDWarning, a novel early warning system for unrecognized drug side effects discovery based on the text information gathered from the Internet. The system can automatically build a knowledge base for drug side effects by integrating the information related to drug side effects from different sources. It can also monitor the online information about drugs and discover possible unrecognized drug side effects. Our demonstration will show that the system has the potentials to expedite the discovery process of unrecognized drug side effects and to improve the quality of healthcare.
Reactions of Neutral Gas-Phase Yttrium Atoms with Two Cyclohexadiene Isomers

The reactions of neutral ground-state yttrium (Y) atoms with 1,3- and 1,4-cyclohexadiene (CHD) were studied using crossed molecular beams. Formation of YC6H6 + H2 and YH2 + C6H6 was observed for both isomers at collision energies (Ecoll) of 31.3 and 13.0 kcal/mol. Measured product branching ratios at Ecoll = 31.3 kcal/mol indicated that YH2 + C6H6 was the dominant channel, accounting for >97% of the products. An additional minor product channel, YC4H4 + C2H4, was observed for 1,3-CHD at the higher Ecoll. The reaction threshold for YC4H4 formation was determined to be 29.5 ± 2.0 kcal/mol based on fits to the data.
Molding of high aspect ratio ferroelectric microstructures

Fabrication of high aspect ratio structures of complex perovskite materials using photoresist templates is reported in this work. Water based (Pb,Ba)TiO/sub 3/ (PBT) and 2-methoxyethanol based PbZr/sub 0.52/Ti/sub 0.48/O/sub 3/ (PZT) sol-gel precursor solutions were used to infiltrate prefabricated photoresist templates on various substrates. The solutions were deposited by vacuum infiltration assisted dip coating. Pyrolysis and the crystallization of the pillars were performed after removal of the gel layer formed on the surface of the mold. During crystallization process of photoresist was removed simultaneously. Various aspect ratio PZT and PBT structures were obtained.
Late Holocene variability of upper North Atlantic Deep Water temperature and salinity

[1] Magnesium/calcium ratios in benthic foraminifera (Cibicidoides pachyderma) from a sediment core on the Laurentian Slope (1854 m) exhibit strong millennial-scale fluctuations during the past 4000 years. We convert these data to seawater paleotemperatures using a new monospecific linear equation. Results suggest that the temperature of upper North Atlantic Deep Water (dominated by Labrador Seawater today) has varied by at least 2°C during the late Holocene. Millennial scale coolings coincide with previously identified periods of increased drift ice and regional glacier advances, including the Little Ice Age. Paired oxygen isotope measurements indicate that salinity and perhaps density were reduced during the cold periods. We discuss possible mechanisms for transmitting this cold, fresh signal from surface waters to intermediate depths. Our reconstructed late Holocene ranges in upper North Atlantic Deep Water properties greatly exceed those of the instrumental record and imply that large changes may be yet to come.
Duration and magnitude of blood pressure below cerebral autoregulation threshold during cardiopulmonary bypass is associated with major morbidity and operative mortality.

Objectives Optimizing blood pressure using near-infrared spectroscopy monitoring has been suggested to ensure organ perfusion during cardiac surgery. Near-infrared spectroscopy is a reliable surrogate for cerebral blood flow in clinical cerebral autoregulation monitoring and might provide an earlier warning of malperfusion than indicators of cerebral ischemia. We hypothesized that blood pressure below the limits of cerebral autoregulation during cardiopulmonary bypass would be associated with major morbidity and operative mortality after cardiac surgery. Methods Autoregulation was monitored during cardiopulmonary bypass in 450 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and/or valve surgery. A continuous, moving Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated between the arterial pressure and low-frequency near-infrared spectroscopy signals and displayed continuously during surgery using a laptop computer. The area under the curve of the product of the duration and magnitude of blood pressure below the limits of autoregulation was compared between patients with and without major morbidity (eg, stroke, renal failure, mechanical lung ventilation >48 hours, inotrope use >24 hours, or intra-aortic balloon pump insertion) or operative mortality. Results Of the 450 patients, 83 experienced major morbidity or operative mortality. The area under the curve of the product of the duration and magnitude of blood pressure below the limits of autoregulation was independently associated with major morbidity or operative mortality after cardiac surgery (odds ratio, 1.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.71; P = .008). Conclusions Blood pressure management during cardiopulmonary bypass using physiologic endpoints such as cerebral autoregulation monitoring might provide a method of optimizing organ perfusion and improving patient outcomes from cardiac surgery.
Nanotube and other interconnects for nanotechnology circuits

Interconnects will play a crucial role in the development of the nanoscale integrated circuits. In addition to the development of the nano devices, interconnects that will be used to connect these devices in nanotechnology circuits deserve a very special attention. In this paper, potential technologies for nanoscale circuit interconnects (metallic, nanowires, nanotubes and quantum wires) have been reviewed with emphasis on the carbon nanotube based interconnects which have shown the greatest promise so far.
Negotiating Masculinities in American Drinking Subcultures

Drinking cultures are the means by which men negotiate masculinities in leisure activities. This exploratory article examines similarities and differences between two American male drinking subcultures—the fraternity and the U.S. Navy. It shows that in their leisure alcohol use, men negotiate subordinate and dominant masculinities within real-life everyday experiences of increasing cultural diversity. Alcohol use facilitates the creation of masculine homosociality by developing a sense of community and trust, and perpetuates certain kinds of American masculine traditions. It facilitates and inhibits negotiations over social boundaries and hierarchies of class, race/ethnicity, and sexuality. Status hierarchies get negotiated through competitive drinking games, humor, and heterosexual significations. Male alcohol subcultures enact, contradict, negotiate, and challenge a society's masculinities in complex and diverse ways in this ethnography done on the West Coast.
Elongational flow of polymer melts

Elongational flow experiments with viscous polymeric material were conducted at a constant elongation rate on a modified tensile testing machine. Steady elongational and shear viscosity data and elongational stress growth data are presented for an isobutylene-isoprene copolymer at 100°C. S-shaped elongational stress growth curves are reported for cis-1,4-polyisoprene at 80°C. The stresses necessary to maintain a cylindrical specimen in steady elongational flow are indicated by a calculation which includes the effects of inertia, gravity, and interfacial tension. Interrelations among several elongational flow material functions are given for a constitutive equation based on the theory of linear viscoelasticity.
Output voltage analysis for the MOS Colpitts oscillator

An analysis of the MOS Colpitts oscillator is presented that includes MOSFET operation in the cutoff linear, and saturation regions of operation. The steady-state output voltages calculated from this analysis are in excellent agreement with SPICE3 simulations for a wide range of circuit parameters. An application of this analysis to the synthesis of a Colpitts oscillator design is also provided.
Derivative expansion of the effective action and vacuum instability for QED in 2+1 dimensions.

We investigate the effective action of (2+1)-dimensional charged spin-1/2 fermions and spin-0 bosons in the presence of a U(1) gauge field. We evaluate terms in an expansion up to second order in derivatives of the field strength, but exactly in the mass parameter and in the magnitude of the nonvanishing constant field strength. We find that in a strong uniform magnetic field background, space-derivative terms lower the energy, and there arises an instability toward inhomogeneous magnetic fields.