cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Statin therapy after infrainguinal bypass surgery for critical limb ischemia is associated with improved 5-year survival

Objective Although statin therapy has been linked to fewer short-term complications after infrainguinal bypass, its effect on long-term survival remains unclear. We therefore examined associations between statin use and long-term mortality, graft occlusion, and amputation after infrainguinal bypass. Methods We used the Vascular Study Group of New England registry to study 2067 patients (71% male; mean age, 67 ± 11 years; 67% with critical limb ischemia [CLI]) who underwent infrainguinal bypass from 2003 to 2011. Of these, 1537 (74%) were on statins perioperatively and at 1-year follow-up, and 530 received no statin. We examined crude, adjusted, and propensity-matched rates of 5-year surviva1, 1-year amputation, graft occlusion, and perioperative myocardial infarction. Results Patients taking statins at the time of surgery and at the 1-year follow-up were more likely to have coronary disease (38% vs 22%; P P P P P P = .001), and propensity-matched analyses (hazard ratio, 0.7; P = .03). In subgroup analysis, a survival advantage was evident in patients on statins with CLI (5-year survival rate, 63% vs 54%; log-rank, P = .01) but not claudication (5-year survival rate, 84% vs 80%; log-rank, P = .59). Statin therapy was not associated with 1-year rates of major amputation (12% vs 11%; P = .84) or graft occlusion (20% vs 18%; P = .58) in CLI patients. Perioperative myocardial infarction occurred more frequently in patients on a statin in crude analysis (RR, 2.2; P = .01) but not in the matched cohort (RR, 1.9; P = .17). Conclusions Statin therapy is associated with a 5-year survival benefit after infrainguinal bypass in patients with CLI. However, 1-year limb-related outcomes were not influenced by statin use in our large observational cohort of patients undergoing revascularization in New England.
Simulation of aerospace flight acceleration and dynamic pressure environments for biodynamics research.

Abstract : In the past, laboratory simulators have, because of technical limitations, usually been restricted to reproduce isolated segments of the operational environment. The next generation of simulators will provide the ability to create the high-magnitude, complex accelerations of operational environments for exploration of the biomechanics, physiologic, and performance changes resulting from exposure of humans and animals to those environments. A six-degree-of-freedom motion device, operating in the 0-30 cps range to produce complex vibrations with peak loads up to plus or minus 15 g, a dynamic pressure chamber (that will create sound pressure fluctuations of up to 172 db in the 0- 100 cps frequency range), and a dynamic escape simulator (a sophisticated centrifuge) that will permit suprapositioning of sustained acceleration of up to 20 g's with high-magnitude, complex, angular and linear motion and a wide range of atmospheric pressures and temperatures are now under construction. A design study on a horizontal impact research device has been completed. The specific design characteristics and performance range of these devices are compared to the environments produced by operational conditions and to existing laboratory simulation facilities.
Dietary phosphate: the challenges of exploring its role in FGF23 regulation

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is an important regulator of phosphate homeostasis, yet efforts to control its circulating levels by manipulating dietary phosphate intake in humans and animals with normal or impaired kidney function have yielded conflicting results. In the study by Zhang et al., severe phosphate restriction in a genetic mouse model of progressive kidney dysfunction failed to cause a uniform FGF23 reduction, again highlighting the complexity of FGF23 regulation.
Arterial Stiffness, Vascular Disease, and Risk of Cardiovascular Events

Most cardiovascular morbid events are the consequence of a progressive vascular disease called atherosclerosis. This disease begins at an early age, probably initially with a defect or injury of the arterial endothelial protective function, and progresses with structural remodeling in the microcirculation and cellular and lipid accumulation in conduit arteries complicated by calcification, plaque formation, and, ultimately, plaque rupture as a precipitating factor for clot formation and acute morbid events.1 The rate of progression of this process is highly variable but may extend over many decades. Furthermore, aging changes, pressure effects, and atherosclerotic changes become inextricably intertwined. Articles pp 657 and 664 Because it is now possible to slow progression of this vascular disease with a number of pharmacological agents and possibly with lifestyle alterations, the discovery of markers that can identify the disease in asymptomatic individuals could facilitate appropriate intervention. The wall of the artery is the primary site of the disease process and has therefore become an attractive target for demonstrating functional or structural alterations that may precede the morbid events. Noninvasive assessment of the arterial vasculature suitable for screening has been practiced since the development of the blood pressure cuff. Unfortunately, the ease of blood pressure measurement and the demonstration of its correlation with morbid events inhibited for many years the development of methods to more directly assess the arteries. Recently, there has been growing recognition that the disease of interest is in the arteries and that elevated blood pressure, although it may serve as a crude surrogate for arterial disease, is neither a sensitive nor a specific guide to its presence.2 Therefore, a number of noninvasive methods have been introduced to gain better insight into the abnormalities in the wall of the artery that can define the atherosclerotic process. It is important to begin …
Reliability using Redundancy Concepts

This paper introduces a new method of using redundancy to obtain reliable operation of electronic circuits. Switching circuits are used as examples to illustrate the method. A comparison is made between the majority logic method and the averaging method proposed in this paper. The comparison shows that the averaging method should provide a greater circuit reliability than the majority method if the components of each circuit have the same reliability.
Effects of additives on surfactant phase behavior relevant to bacteriorhodopsin crystallization

The interactions leading to crystallization of the integral membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin solubilized in n-octyl-beta-D-glucoside were investigated. Osmotic second virial coefficients (B(22)) were measured by self-interaction chromatography using a wide range of additives and precipitants, including polyethylene glycol (PEG) and heptane-1,2,3-triol (HT). In all cases, attractive protein-detergent complex (PDC) interactions were observed near the surfactant cloud point temperature, and there is a correlation between the surfactant cloud point temperatures and PDC B(22) values. Light scattering, isothermal titration calorimetry, and tensiometry reveal that although the underlying reasons for the patterns of interaction may be different for various combinations of precipitants and additives, surfactant phase behavior plays an important role in promoting crystallization. In most cases, solution conditions that led to crystallization fell within a similar range of slightly negative B(22) values, suggesting that weakly attractive interactions are important as they are for soluble proteins. However, the sensitivity of the cloud point temperatures and resultant coexistence curves varied significantly as a function of precipitant type, which suggests that different types of forces are involved in driving phase separation depending on the precipitant used.
Familial granuloma annulare. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

We report two sisters with granulorna annulare who possessed identical histocompatibility antigens. The occurrence of granuloma annulare in families and the demonstration of particular human lymphocyte antigens (HLA) with granuloma annulare may indicate that hereditarily predisposed individuals could develop this specific cell-mediated immune reaction in response to an unknown antigen (e,g., connective tissue or infectious or toxic substances).
AIEE and appliance engineering — for what and for whom?

Some of the basic assumptions of the AIEE are re-examined to help the engineer obtain a true perspective of his social contribution. His responsibilities to the public, his profession, and company are examined so that his activities can redound to the mutual benefit of all concerned.
Evaluation of potential modifiers of the cardiac phenotype in the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

BACKGROUND: The phenotype associated with deletion of the 22q11.2 chromosomal region is highly variable, yet little is known about the source of this variability. Cardiovascular anomalies, including tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus, interrupted aortic arch type B, perimembranous ventricular septal defects, and aortic arch anomalies, occur in approximately 75% of individuals with a 22q11.2 deletion. METHODS: Data from 343 subjects enrolled in a study of the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome were used to evaluate potential modifiers of the cardiac phenotype in this disorder. Subjects with and without cardiac malformations, and subjects with and without aortic arch anomalies were compared with respect to sex and race. In addition, in the subset of subjects from whom a DNA sample was available, genotypes for variants of four genes that are involved in the folate-homocysteine metabolic pathway and that have been implicated as risk factors for other birth defects were compared. Five variants in four genes were genotyped by heteroduplex or restriction digest assays. The chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used to evaluate the association between the cardiac phenotype and each potential modifier. RESULTS: The cardiac phenotype observed in individuals with a 22q11.2 deletion was not significantly associated with either sex or race. The genetic variants that were evaluated also did not appear to be associated with the cardiovascular phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in the cardiac phenotype observed between individuals with a 22q11.2 deletion does not appear to be related to sex, race, or five sequence variants in four folate-related genes that are located outside of the 22q11.2 region. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Simple waves and shock waves in a thin prestressed elastic rod

Ein halb-unendlicher dunner elastischer Stab wird einer monoton ansteigenden Storung am freien Ende unterworfen. Die unstetige Wellenbewegung fur endliche Verzerrungen wird untersucht, und die Bedingungen zur Bildung von Stossen werden aufgestellt. Eine implizite Losung fur die Wellenbewegung im Gebiete einfacher Wellen wird mittels der Methode der Charakteristiken erhalten. Eine andere und explizite Losung in diesem Gebiete wird gefunden durch Anwendung der Theorie sich fortpflanzender Diskontinuitatsflachen, als eine Taylor-Reihe um die Ankunftszeit der Wellenfront. Es wird gezeigt dass der Koeffizient des ersten Gliedes in der Entwicklung eine Losung fur eine homogene nichtlineare gewohnliche Differentialgleichung ecster Ordnung darstellt. Die ubrigen Koeffizienten befriedigen lineare, jedoch inhomogene gewohnliche Differentialgleichungen mit veranderlichen Koeffizienten. Fur den Fall einer rampenartigen Belastung und fur Stossbildung an der Wellenfront wird fur schwache Stosse durch Anwendung einer Methode von Friedrichs die Vereinigung von einfachen Wellen untersucht. Als Beispiel wird die Entlastung eines Stabes betrachtet, der einer anfanglichen Dehnung von 50% unterworfen ist.
Eye tracking observers during color image evaluation tasks

Eye movement behavior was investigated for image-quality and chromatic adaptation tasks. The first experiment examined the differences between paired comparison, rank order, and graphical rating tasks, and the second experiment examined the strategies adopted when subjects were asked to select or adjust achromatic regions in images. Results indicate that subjects spent about 4 seconds looking at images in the rank order task, 1.8 seconds per image in the paired comparison task, and 3.5 seconds per image in the graphical rating task. Fixation density maps from the three tasks correlated highly in four of the five images. Eye movements gravitated toward faces and semantic features, and introspective report was not always consistent with fixation density peaks. In adjusting a gray square in an image to appear achromatic, observers spent 95% of their time looking only at the patch. When subjects looked around (less than 5% of the time), they did so early. Foveations were directed to semantic features, not achromatic regions, indicating that people do not seek out near-neutral regions to verify that their patch appears achromatic relative to the scene. Observers also do not scan the image in order to adapt to the average chromaticity of the image. In selecting the most achromatic region in an image, viewers spent 60% of the time scanning the scene. Unlike the achromatic adjustment task, foveations were directed to near-neutral regions, showing behavior similar to a visual search task.
A horseradish peroxidase study of parallel thalamocortical projections responsible for the generation of mid-latency auditory-evoked potentials

Mid-latency auditory-evoked potentials (MAEP) were recorded from the parietotemporal region of the rat using a high spatial resolution epicortical multielectrode array. Horseradish peroxidase was injected into regions of primary and secondary auditory cortex which generate spatially and temporally distinct components of the MAEP complex to retrogradely label their thalamocortical projections. These data provide anatomical evidence for three parallel thalamocortical projection systems, originating in the ventral, dorsal and medial subdivisions of the medial geniculate nucleus, which may be responsible for the asynchronous activation of three distinct subpopulations of cortical neurons giving rise to components of the MAEP complex. Specific and non-specific characteristics of the thalamocortical projections are discussed.
The Measurement of Wisdom and Its Relationship to Adolescent Substance Use and Problem Behaviors

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to create an Adolescent Wisdom Scale, based on Jason et al.'s (in press) Functional Value Scale. The Adolescent Wisdom Scale is a self-rating of 23 attributes that have been shown to be associated with people who are perceived to have wisdom. The sample of 2,027 high school seniors, from 20 school districts in northeastern Minnesota, was administered a survey in spring 1998, as part of an ongoing alcohol use prevention program. The scale was found to have high internal consistency and three subscales which were significantly associated with less involvement with alcohol use, cigarette use, and violent behaviors.
Assimilation efficiency and energy contents of prototrophic bacteria

When the assimilation efficiency in batch culture of a variety of heterotrophic bacteria was tested in media containing progressively smaller concentrations of carbon substrate, two groups emerged. Those in the first group assimilated carbon progressively more efficiently as the initial concentration in the culture medium was lowered below 2 mg C/ml; some displaying efficiencies exceeding 80%. Those in the second group assimilated carbon at rates that changed little, if at all, with changes in the initial concentrations of carbon substrate. Members of the second group differed from the first in their metabolic versatility as evidenced by the ability of each to catabolize hydrocarbons. The energy content (heat of combustion) of the cells of the species tested varied little with changes in cultured conditions, and values for all fell close to the average for bacteria (5411 cal/g ash-free dry wt). In continuous aerobic culture on glucose-minimal medium, the carbon assimilation and energy assimilation efficiencies were simultaneously maximal for Enterobacter aerogenes when the input carbon concentration was 0.2004 mg/ml and the dilution rate was 0.57. An equation for predicting heat of combustion of cells from knowledge of their C,H,N, and O ratios was devised and tested. Precision ranged from +6% to −16%.
The mouse glucocorticoid receptor DNA-binding domain is not phosphorylated invivo

The glucocorticoid receptor is phosphorylated, but the precise location of the phosphorylated groups is unknown. We cultured AtT-20 cells in medium containing [32P]-orthophosphate and used immunoaffinity methods to isolate the intact receptor and a tryptic fragment containing the DNA binding domain. Analysis of the intact receptor, co-labeled with the affinity ligand dexamethasone-mesylate, confirmed that the receptor was phosphorylated. Isolation of the DNA binding domain by trypsinization and immunopurification showed that it was not phosphorylated. Interestingly, a non-immunoreactive phosphorylated fragment similar in size to the DNA-binding fragment was observed. Our results suggest that phosphorylation of the DNA binding domain of the glucocorticoid receptor is not essential for hormone action.
Reproductive response to child mortality: a maximum likelihood estimation model.

Abstract The individual household's fertility response to an experienced child death, the replacement probability, is estimated for Brazil using a maximum likelihood estimation model. This model, which treats births, deaths, and replacement births as endogenous and which assumes discrete distributions for these random variables, avoids the statistical problems of earlier estimates. The model allows the distribution of births, deaths, and replacement births to vary with included exogenous variables. The replacement probabilities estimated for Brazil were between .4 and .9 and varied systematically with women's education, rural-urban residence, and household electrification. Increased development was shown to be correlated with a lower number of surviving children.
The Relationship Among Purchasing Benchmarking, Strategic Purchasing, Firm Performance, and Firm Size

SUMMARY Benchmarking is not a new process, but it has received increasingly more emphasis within the purchasing process during the recent past. This article presents a brief background and description of benchmarking. The literature on the value of benchmarking is then reviewed. Next, hypotheses are presented and tested on the relationship among benchmarking, strategic purchasing, and firms’ performance. Finally, research and managerial implications of the research results are discussed.
Current Understanding of Mesospheric Transport Processes

The chemistry and transport processes taking place in the mesosphere (approximately 50—85 km altitude) are strongly coupled. In recent years, the physical mechanisms influencing the transport processes of the mesosphere have become better understood, through both theoretical and observational studies. Perhaps most importantly, a theoretical framework for describing the momentum deposition and diffusion due to breaking small-scale gravity waves has been developed and shown to result in thermal, chemical and dynamical structure that closely resembles observations. The transport due to planetary waves and tides has also been the subject of study. In this paper, the transport processes influencing mesospheric distributions of chemical constituents are briefly reviewed.
Factorial validation of a widely disseminated educational framework for evaluating clinical teachers.

PURPOSE: To examine an instrument for evaluating clinical teaching using factor analysis and to refine the validated instrument to a practical length. METHOD: Factor analysis on a split sample of 1,581 student evaluations rating 178 teachers. The instrument was based on the seven-category Stanford F
Thermodynamics and kinetics of solute transfer in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

In this study, the thermodynamic and kinetic behavior of a homologous series of fatty acids is examined using a polymeric octadecylsilica stationary phase and a methanol mobile phase. The zone profiles are evaluated as the temperature is varied from 20 to 60 °C and the average pressure from 400 to 4570 p.s.i. (1 p.s.i.=6894.76 Pa). The rate constant for solute transfer from mobile to stationary phase (k ms ) appears to be relatively constant with carbon number. In contrast, the rate constant from stationary to mobile phase (k sm ) decreases logarithmically with increasing carbon number. This suggests that the mass transport processes become progressively slower, owing to the smaller diffusion coefficients of the larger solutes in the stationary phase. The activation energy decreases slightly in the mobile phase and increases slightly in the stationary phase with increasing carbon number. The activation energy in the stationary phase ranges from 41.6 to 55.9 kcal/mol, while the thermodynamic change in internal energy ranges from -9.8 to -29.0 kcal/mol for C 10 to C 22 , respectively (1 cal=4.184 J). The activation volume increases with increasing carbon number in both the mobile and stationary phase. The activation volume in the stationary phase ranges from 31.7 to 211 cm 3 /mol, while the thermodynamic change in molar volume ranges from -27.1 to --104 cm 3 /mol for C 10 to C 22 , respectively. These large changes in activation energy and volume suggest that the solutes do not enter and leave the stationary phase in a single step. but in a stepwise or progressive manner.
Probing the Structural Requirements of Peptoids That Inhibit HDM2−p53 Interactions

Many cellular processes are controlled by protein-protein interactions, and selective inhibition of these interactions could lead to the development of new therapies for several diseases. In the area of cancer, overexpression of the protein, human double minute 2 (HDM2), which binds to and inactivates the protein p53, has been linked to tumor aggressiveness and drug resistance. In general, inhibition of protein-protein interactions with synthetic molecules is challenging and currently remains a largely uncharted area for drug development. One strategy to create inhibitors of protein-protein interactions is to recreate the three-dimensional arrangement of side chains that are involved in the binding of one protein to another, using a nonnatural scaffold as the attachment point for the side chains. In this study, we used oligomeric peptoids as the scaffold to begin to develop a general strategy in which we could rationally design synthetic molecules that can be optimized for inhibition of protein-protein interactions. Structural information on the HDM2-p53 complex was used to design our first class of peptoid inhibitors, and we provide here, in detail, the strategy to modify peptoids with the appropriate side chains that are effective inhibitors of HDM2-p53 binding. While we initially tried to develop rigid, helical peptoids as HDM2 binders, the best inhibitors were surprisingly peptoids that lacked any helix-promoting groups. These results indicate that starting with rigid peptoid scaffolds may not always be optimal to develop new inhibitors.
RELATIVE INEQUALITY, ABSOLUTE INEQUALITY, AND WELFARE: LARGE SAMPLE TESTS FOR PARTIAL ORDERS

ARSTRACT Two general welfare criteria, mean-relative Lorenz and mean-absolute Lorenz dominance, induce partial orders on income distributions. We propose asymptotically distribution-free inference procedures, based on the union-intersection principle, for these two welfare criteria. Unlike classical tests, our procedures allow one to distinguish among dominance, equality, and noncomparability. We show that union-intersection tests must be used to test for partial orders, and that the statistical ordering is acyclic. The tests are applied to compare the UK distribution of real family income to five other countries.
Emerging Blackness in a White Research World

The research methodology of behavioral science is, in part, a reflection of the social forces of our time. It is therefore not surprising that the methodological literature increasingly contains reactions against and challenges to research studies of social irrelevance, research methods which treat human beings impersonally and mechanistically, and research findings which are impotent in terms of improving or changing the status quo. These pressures toward increased relevance, humanism, and action are also major themes underlying some of the emerging values of contemporary society. The focus of the present study is precisely upon this sort of changing and developing research methodology which is embedded in an intricate network of personal, group, and organizational transactions. The quality and force of these transactions, in turn, is affected by major emerging social issues, and by institutions which themselves are undergoing rapid change.
Children's Awareness of the Interaction of Person, Task, and Strategy Variables in Memory and Communication

Abstract Children's awareness of how different variables (presented separately and in combination) influence memory and communicative performance was investigated. Also assessed was whether this awareness follows the same pattern of development across memory and communication. The variables tested were (a) person (who is doing the remembering or communicating), (b) task (what is to be remembered or communicated), and (c) strategy (how to remember or communicate). Eighteen 4-, 5- and 7-year-old children were asked to judge the difficulty of a memory or communication task based on variations in one variable only, two variables together, and all three variables simultaneously. Children's performance did not differ when their knowledge of the separate effects of the variables was assessed, but when children's knowledge of the interactions of variables was assessed, their performance differed significantly. Five- and 7-year-olds understood the way in which two and three variables interact to affect cognitive p...
On the algebra of handle operations in 4-manifolds

Abstract The possibility is considered that the Andrews-Curtis conjecture, if false, may provide obstructions to the cancellation of 1- and 3-handles in a simply connected 4-manifold. An algebra is developed for the simultaneous algebraic reading of attaching maps for 2-handles and their duals, and it is shown that obstructions to 1- and 3-handle cancellation cannot bedetected in this algebra.
UAV Coordinated Decision Making and Mission Management

A cooperative control problem where N Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are assigned to eliminate M main targets is studied in this paper. The environment where these assignments are performed also includes T >> M threats that pose a risk to the group of UAVs. A decentralized optimization problem is presented where agents try to minimize a total cost that combines distance to reach main targets and exposure to threats. The main novelty here is the use of limited resources by the UAVs to eliminate threats while on their way to reach main targets. This option improves the trajectories of vehicles by further reducing total cost but it adds complexity to the optimization problem. The solution to this extended problem provides optimal decisions regarding the selection of threats to eliminate, and the corresponding trajectories to follow, in order to minimize total cost. Due to constraints imposed by communication topologies, agents implement a decentralized auction scheme in order to assign UAVs to threats while avoiding conflicts on those assignments. This paper describes the specific constraints concerning the decentralized decision process and its effects in recomputing new costs. The paper also offers preliminary results that provide coordinated selection of UAV paths and choice of threats to attack.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
SWAN predictions of waves observed in shallow water onshore of complex bathymetry

Abstract SWAN model predictions, initialized with directional wave buoy observations in 550-m water depth offshore of a steep, submarine canyon, are compared with wave observations in 5.0-, 2.5-, and 1.0-m water depths. Although the model assumptions include small bottom slopes, the alongshore variations of the nearshore wave field caused by refraction over the steep canyon are predicted well over the 50 days of observations. For example, in 2.5-m water depth, the observed and predicted wave heights vary by up to a factor of 4 over about 1000 m alongshore, and wave directions vary by up to about 10°, sometimes changing from south to north of shore normal. Root-mean-square errors of the predicted wave heights, mean directions, periods, and radiation stresses (less than 0.13 m, 5°, 1 s, and 0.05 m 3 /s 2 respectively) are similar near and far from the canyon. Squared correlations between the observed and predicted wave heights usually are greater than 0.8 in all water depths. However, the correlations for mean directions and radiation stresses decrease with decreasing water depth as waves refract and become normally incident. Although mean wave properties observed in shallow water are predicted accurately, nonlinear energy transfers from near-resonant triads are not modeled well, and the observed and predicted wave energy spectra can differ significantly at frequencies greater than the spectral peak, especially for narrow-band swell.
Ionic regulation of glutamate binding sites.

Abstract Cl − and Ca 2+ increase glutamate binding to rat synaptic plasma membranes (SPMs) by revealing a distinct class of L-glutamate (L-Glu) binding sites. The present study was conducted to examine both the anion specificity of this response and the nature of the interaction between Cl − and Ca 2+ . Of the anions tested, Br − was the most effective in increasing the levels of L-Glu binding. Other effective anions were Cl − , NO 3 − and formate while F − , HCO 3 − CIO 4 − , propionate, SO 4 2− and PO 4 3− were ineffective. The anion specificity was similar to that observed for the Cl − membrane channel, suggesting that this binding site and the ion channel may be related. In the absence of Cl − , Ca 2+ has little effect on L-Glu binding. Increasing the Cl − concentration increased the apparent affinity (decreased K Ca 2+ ) of the Ca 2+ -stimulated, L-Glu binding component and also decreased the maximal amount of the enhancement. Conversely, increasing Ca 2+ levels increased the maximal enhancement of L-Glu binding brought about by Cl − without affecting the K Cl − of the effect. Prior incubation of membranes with Ca 2+ did not raise the level of L- Glu binding. Furthermore, EGTA was able to reverse the stimulation of L- Glu binding due to Ca 2+ . The results indicate that Ca 2+ acts ionically to enhance L-Glu binding to rat SPMs.
Maximizing precision in quantitative autoradiographic determination of tissue tracer concentration using exposure optimization.

Summary: The relationships between tissue tracer concentrations, length of time of tissue contact with film, and the darkness of resulting autoradiographic images were explored. Operational equations were then developed relating ranges of film darkening to the ranges of tracer concentration contained within the sections. These equations were solved and used to define ranges of optical density that are optimal for precise determination of tracer concentration using digital image analyzers. The solutions indicated that optimal optical densities are a function of the range of tracer concentrations in the sections. For autoradiograms of typical cerebral blood flow and metabolism tracers, exposure should be controlled to produce images that are significantly less dark than what is generally considered pleasing to the eye.
Attenuation of the side effect profile of regadenoson: A randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study with aminophylline in patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging. “The ASSUAGE trial”

Background It is unknown whether the standardized intravenous aminophylline administration following regadenoson-stress can prevent the gastrointestinal and other adverse effects associated with regadenoson.
THE EFFECTS OF INDOLEACETIC ACID, SUCROSE, AND EUGENOL ON DIFFERENTIATION IN SEGMENTS OF ETIOLATED PEA EPICOTYLS

RELATIVELY LITTLE is known of specific mechanisms regulating the differentiation of tissues in plant growth. However, some recent reports indicate that indoleacetic acid may be closely related to the differentiation of xylem (Jacobs, 1952; Wetmore, 1955). The present study is concerned primarily with testing the hypothesis that indoleacetic acid may increase the rate of differentiation of xylem in pea epicotyl tissue and the modification of this differentiationi by other factors, e.g., sucrose, eugenol and light. Since indoleacetic acid (IAA) induces cell enlargement and meristematic activity, it is somewhat surprising that the role of stimulation of xylem differentiation has been attributed to it. In the latter process there is an increase in wall thickness (development of a secondary wall layer) with a consequent tendency toward repression of cell enlargement. However, Jacobs (1952) studied the development of xylem strands through parenchyma tissue around a cut in Coleus stems and found a correlation between xylem differentiation and auxin concentration. He also found that this relation extended to the longitudinal auxin gradient and that IAA applied to decapitated stems stimulated the xylem differentiation. He inferred that if all conditions for differentiation of xylem cells were present, except for a specific hormone, then the amount and distribution of the hormone would determine the pattern of xylem differentiation. A similar effect has been reported for lilac by Wetmore (1955) who found xylem differentiation in parenchymatous callus to which a stem apex had been grafted. Application of IAA resulted in a greater extension of the xylem below the grafted bud in proportion to IAA concentration. From a number of other studies, with somewhat different objectives, it might be concluded that a more or less direct relationship exists between IAA and xylem differentiation (Kraus et al., 1936; Hamner and Kraus, 1937; Mitchell and Martin, 1937; and Harrison, 1938).
Clinical Microfluidics for Neutrophil Genomics and Proteomics

Neutrophils have key roles in modulating the immune response. We present a robust methodology for rapidly isolating neutrophils directly from whole blood with 'on-chip' processing for mRNA and protein isolation for genomics and proteomics. We validate this device with an ex vivo stimulation experiment and by comparison with standard bulk isolation methodologies. Last, we implement this tool as part of a near-patient blood processing system within a multi-center clinical study of the immune response to severe trauma and burn injury. The preliminary results from a small cohort of subjects in our study and healthy controls show a unique time-dependent gene expression pattern clearly demonstrating the ability of this tool to discriminate temporal transcriptional events of neutrophils within a clinical setting.
MORE EVIDENCE ON EXPECTED VALUE-VARIANCE ANALYSIS VERSUS DIRECT UTILITY MAXIMIZATION

The theoretical difficulties of the expected value-variance (E-V) criterion are well known. A number of recent research efforts test the criterion's effectiveness in a publicly traded securities environment. In contrast, this research explores the performance of the E-V criterion using firm-specific, nontradeable investments such as those made by small firms. The empirical example in the study is a small family proprietorship with limited investment opportunities in agricultural production activities. Results indicate the E-V criterion performs well in selecting nontradeable investments that maximize expected utility. These results are consistent with results of earlier research dealing with tradeable securities.
Histochemistry and Ultrastructure of the Induced Resistance Response of Cucumber Plants to Colletotrichum lagenarium

Lignin is hypothesized to be a factor in the ability of cucurbits to resist fungal infection. To determine if lignin was present around sites of infection, susceptible cucumber plants and cucumber plants with systemic induced resistance were inoculated with Colletotrichum lagenarium, and the ultrastructure of plant and pathogen was examined 24 to 72 hours later. Conidia produced germ tubes with appressoria within 24 hours of inoculation on both control and induced plants. Penetration of plant epidermal cell walls occurred by 48 hours, and papillae formed at the site of penetration. Both elemental bromine and potassium permanganate were used to histochemically stain for lignin. Potassium permanganate, used together with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDS), indicated the presence of lignin in papillae and in electron-dense areas of plant cell walls directly beneath the appressoria. Using EDS, silicon was shown to be localized in the electron-dense areas of cucumber leaf cells. This is the first report of silicon in induced cucumber plants. There were no qualitative differences between the resistance reactions of induced and control plants.
Adaptive Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer—Can an Old Goal Evolve into a New Standard?

Current head and neck intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) techniques cause significant toxicity. This may be explained in part by the fact that IMRT cannot compensate for changes in the location of disease and normal anatomy during treatment, leading to exposure of at-risk bystander tissues to higher-than-anticipated doses. Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) is a novel approach to correct for daily tumor and normal tissue variations through online or offline modification of original IMRT target volumes and plans. ART has been discussed on a conceptual level for many years, but technical limitations have hampered its integration into routine care. In this paper, we review the key anatomic, dosimetric, and treatment delivery issues at play in current investigational development of head and neck ART. We also describe pilot findings from initial clinical deployment of head and neck ART, as well as emerging pathways of future research.
Toxicokinetics of pentachlorophenol in the F344 rat. Gavage and dosed feed studies.

1. The toxicokinetics of pentachlorophenol (PCP) were studied in the Fischer 344 rat using i.v. and oral (gavage, dosed feed) routes of exposure.2. Only minor sex differences were observed in the elimination kinetics of PCP after i.v. administration at 5 mg/kg.3. Absorption of PCP from the gastrointestinal tract after gavage doses of 9.5 and 38 mg/kg in aqueous methylcellulose vehicles was first order with an absorption half-life of about 1.3 h.4. The absorption rate constant of PCP from doses feed was comparable with that obtained from aqueous methylcellulose gavage formulations.5. Bioavailability of PCP administered in dosed feed was significantly lower than the bioavailability of PCP administered by gavage.6. Dose proportionality was established to a dosage of at least 38 mg/kg.7. Daily fluctuation of PCP plasma concentrations was observed during the dosed feed study with peak and trough concentrations occurring in early morning and late afternoon, respectively.8. The time course of PCP plasma concentr...
High‐resolution slice selection NMR for the measurement of CO2 diffusion under non‐equilibrium conditions

We present a simple and an efficient approach using spatially selective NMR to investigate solvation and diffusion of CO_2 in ionic liquids. The techniques demonstrated here are shown as novel and effective means of studying solvated gas dynamics under nonequilibrium conditions without the need for conventional high power gradients.
Ionic Permeability of Thin Lipid Membranes: Effects of n-alkyl alcohols, polyvalent cations, and a secondary amine

Ultrathin (black) lipid membranes were made from sheep red cell lipids dissolved in n-decane. The presence of aliphatic alcohols in the aqueous solutions bathing these membranes produced reversible changes in the ionic permeability, but not the osomotic permeability. Heptanol (8 mM), for example, caused the membrane resistance (R(m)) to decrease from >10(8) to about 10(5) ohm-cm(2) and caused a marked increase in the permeability to cations, especially potassium. In terms of ionic transference numbers, deduced from measurements of the membrane potential at zero current, T(cat)/T(Cl) increased from about 6 to 21 and T(K)/T(Na) increased from about 3 to 21. The addition of long-chain (C(8)ndash;C(10)) alcohols to the lipid solutions from which membranes were made produced similar effects on the ionic permeability. A plot of log R(m) vs. log alcohol concentration was linear over the range of maximum change in R(m), and the slope was -3 to -5 for C(2) through C(7) alcohols, suggesting that a complex of several alcohol molecules is responsible for the increase in ionic permeability. Membrane permselectivity changed from cationic to anionic when thorium or ferric iron (10(-4)M) was present in the aqueous phase or when a secondary amine (Amberlite LA-2) was added to the lipid solutions from which membranes were made. When membranes containing the secondary amine were exposed to heptanol, R(m) became very low (10(3)-10(4) ohm-cm(2)) and the membranes became perfectly anion-selective, developing chloride diffusion potentials up to 150 mv.
Crystal structure of carboxypeptidase A complexed with D-cysteine at 1.75 A - inhibitor-induced conformational changes.

D-Cysteine differs from the antiarthritis drug D-penicillamine by only two methyl groups on the ‚-carbon yet inhibits carboxypeptidase A (CPD) by a distinct mechanism: D-cysteine binds tightly to the active site zinc, while D-penicillamine catalyzes metal removal. To investigate the structural basis for this difference, we solved the crystal structure of carboxypeptidase A complexed with D-cysteine (D-Cys) at 1.75-A resolution.D-Cys binds the active site zinc with a sulfur ligand and forms additional interactions with surrounding side chains of the enzyme. The structure explains the difference in potency between D-Cys and L-Cys and provides insight into the mechanism of D-penicillamine inhibition. D-Cys binding induces a concerted motion of the side chains around the zinc ion, similar to that found in other carboxypeptidase-inhibitor crystal structures and along a limited path. Analysis of concerted motions of CPD and CPD-inhibitor crystal structures reveals a clustering of these structures into distinct groups. Using the restricted conformational flexibility of a drug target in this type of analysis could greatly enhance efficiency in drug design.
Health and well-being of children in foster care placement.

1. Sandra H. Jee, MD, MPH 1. Department of Pediatrics University of Rochester Rochester, NY 1. Mark D. Simms, MD, MPH 1. Department of Pediatrics Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisc Improving the Odds for the Healthy Development of Young Children in Foster Care . Dicker S, Gordon E, Knitzer J. National Center for Children in Poverty: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Promoting the Emotional Well-Being of Children and Families (Policy Paper No. 2). January 2002;1–28 Children and Family Services Reviews, Part V: Most States Fail to Meet the Mental Health Needs for Foster Children . Huber J, Grimm B. Youth Law News . 2004;Oct-Dec:1–36 CWLA Standards for Health Care Services for Children in Out-of-Home Care . Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America; 1988. Educational Experiences of Children in Out-of-Home Care . Smithgall C, Gladden RM, Howard E, Goerge R, Courtney M. Chicago, Ill: Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago; 2004:1–77 Fostering Health: Health Care for Children and Adolescents in Foster Care . 2nd ed. Task Force on Health Care for Children in Foster Care, American Academy of Pediatrics, District II, New York State. Elk Grove Village, Ill: American Academy of Pediatrics: 2005 Healthy Foster Care America . www.aap.org/advocacy/HFCA/ On any given day, more than 500,000 children are living in state-supported foster home care. In the course of a year, more than 800,000 children experience placement in a foster home. Many of these children return home quickly, but for some, placement may extend for years and may involve care in multiple foster homes. Most of the children have experienced serious family dysfunction prior to placement, including exposure to domestic violence and to their parents’ mental health disorders, addiction, or criminal activity. Serious neglect and abuse are the most frequently stated reasons for removing children from their parents’ care. Children entering foster homes have extremely high rates of physical and mental health problems, developmental delays, and educational underachievement. As a group, children in foster care …
Connecting photosynthesis and cellular respiration: Preservice teachers' conceptions

The biological processes of photosynthesis and plant cellular respiration include multiple biochemical steps, occur simultaneously within plant cells, and share common molecular components. Yet, learners often compartmentalize functions and specialization of cell organelles relevant to these two processes, without considering the interconnections as well as the significance of the plant as an independent biological system functioning as a nested component within local and global ecosystems. Understanding connections among biological systems at macro and micro levels is important to biological literacy. This study examined preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of photosynthesis and plant cellular respiration, with attention to interconnections and systems. Participants were limited in their understanding of the processes impacting multiple ecological levels, and they held inadequate representations of interconnections between the processes. Participants' views were laden with sociological and egocentric components. They often compared plant functions with analogous human functions. Most participants viewed plants as dependent on humans while having societal use. Justifications for views included nominal knowledge of the processes; experiential authoritarian reasoning; and anthropomorphism. We discuss instructional implications in light of the findings. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 791–812, 2009
Pre-Silicon Validation of IPF Memory Ordering for Multi-Core Processors

This paper presents a pre-silicon validation methodology of Intelreg Itaniumreg processor family (IPF) memory ordering for multi-core processors. The validation methodology includes a multi-core simulation environment, a shared memory multiprocessor reference model, memory ordering checkers, and a tightly combined strategy of stimulus and coverage, specifically developed for IPF memory ordering. The latest result showed that memory ordering specific focused tests and pseudo-random exercisers were very effective in finding memory ordering bugs in the pre-silicon validation stage
Holographic Methods Of Dynamic Particulate MeasurementsÃ¢â‚¬â€?Current Status

The field of holographic particulate measurements continues to be very active with many new applications in such diverse fields as bubble chamber recording and contaminant measurements in small vials. The methods have also been extended to measure velocity distributions of particles within a volume, particularly by the application of subsequent image processing methods. These techniques could be coupled with hybrid systems to become near real time. The current status of these more recent developments is reviewed.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.