cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical and magnetic properties of highly aluminum doped strontium ferrite nanoparticles prepared by auto-combustion route

Abstract Highly Al3+ ion doped nanocrystalline SrFe12−xAlxO19 (0≤x≤12), were prepared by the auto-combustion method and heat treated in air at 1100 °C for 12 h. The phase identification of the powders performed using x-ray diffraction show presence of high-purity hexaferrite phase and absence of any secondary phases. With Al3+ doping, the lattice parameters decrease due to smaller Al3+ ion replacing Fe3+ ions. Morphological analysis performed using transmission electron microscope show growth of needle shaped ferrites with high aspect ratio at Al3+ ion content exceeding x≥2. Al3+ substitution modifies saturation magnetization (MS) and coercivity (HC). The room temperature MS values continuously reduced while HC value increased to a maximum value of 18,100 Oe at x=4, which is an unprecedented increase (∼321%) in the coercivity as compared to pure Sr-Ferrite. However, at higher Al3+ content x>4, a decline in magnetization and coercivity has been observed. The magnetic results indicate that the best results for applications of this ferrite will be obtained with an iron deficiency in the stoichiometric formulation.
The use of Landsat for monitoring water parameters in the coastal zone

Landsats 1 and 2 have been successful in detecting and quantifying suspended sediment and several other important parameters in the coastal zone, including chlorophyll, particles, alpha (light transmission), tidal conditions, acid and sewage dumps, and in some instances oil spills. When chlorophyll a is present in detectable quantities, however, it is shown to interfere with the measurement of sediment. The Landsat banding problem impairs the instrument resolution and places a requirement on the sampling program to collect surface data from a sufficiently large area. A sampling method which satisfies this condition is demonstrated.
Labeling of Marrow Cells of Vitamin E-Deficient Monkeys by 3H-Precursors of Nucleic Acids and Protein∗

SummaryThe incorporation of 3H-labeled thymidine, deoxyuridine, uridine, and l-leucine into bone marrow cells of vitamin E-deficient and control monkeys was measured in autoradiographic studies. During the anemic of vitamin E-deficiency there was an increase in the grain count per labeled cell of most cell types in the erythroid and myeloid series, while the percentage of 3H-labeled cells was not altered from control values. Multinucleated erythroid cells in the bone marrow of vitamin E-deficient monkeys were not labeled by thymidine-3H. These findings are evidence that active erythropoiesis associated with premature death of erythroid cells occurs in the hypercellular bone marrow of anemic vitamin E- deficient monkeys.
Discovering business insights from multi-dimensional data to strengthen enterprise competitiveness: A case study in manufacturing industry

With fierce competition in traditional manufacturing industry, it is urgent to find an effective way to gain competitive edge for enterprises to win market share. In this paper, we introduce novel ideas on new product design and customized product marketing in order to improve enterprises competitiveness by discovering business insights from multidimensional data, including product/customer profiles, sales data, Voice of Customers (VoC), and so on. A detailed case study on one famous home appliance manufacturer in China is given. Especially, VoC is introduced into new product design and the statistical model - Analysis on Variance (ANOVA) is applied to conduct in-depth data analysis.
Daily cocaine treatment produces a persistent reduction of [3H]dopamine uptake in vitro in rat nucleus accumbens but not in striatum.

Abstract Daily administration of cocaine (15 mg/kg i.p. × 3 days) led to a decrease in the total amount of 15 nM [3H]dopamine uptake in rat nucleus accumbens with no changes in uptake in the striatum when tested 24 h after the last injection. There was an increase in theKm for dopamine uptake in the nucleus accumbens of cocaine-treated rats, with no change in theVmax. Furthermore, cocaine was a more potent inhibitor of [3H]dopamine uptake in vitro in the nucleus accumbens of rats treated with cocaine than in those which had received saline.
A Before–After–Control–Impact Analysis of the Effects of a Mississippi River Freshwater Diversion on Estuarine Nekton in Louisiana, USA

Since 1991, the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion has been reintroducing Mississippi River water into a previously hydrologically isolated estuary in an effort to restore wetlands. To determine the effect of freshwater inflow on estuarine nekton community structure, a Before–After–Control–Impact study design was applied. As a result of the opening, salinities in the impact area decreased, and the nekton community structure in the estuary changed significantly. Species of economical or ecological importance either increased in biomass or exhibited no response to the opening of the diversion. Higher abundances of small fish were observed in the area receiving freshwater flow, which is an indication that the area serves as a refuge from large marine predators. Because a salinity gradient was established, as opposed to a uniform but lower salinity regime, aquatic habitat was available to nekton species from a wide spectrum of salinity tolerances.
Rapid Downregulation of NCX and PMCA in Hippocampal Neurons Following H2O2 Oxidative Stress

Na+/Ca 2+ exchangers (NCXs) and plasma membrane Ca 2+ pumps (PMCAs) are crucial for intracellular Ca 2+ homeostasis and Ca 2+ signaling. Elevated [Ca 2+ ] i is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease and stroke. Here we studied the short-term effect of oxidative stress on the plasma membrane Ca 2+ extrusion systems in hippocampal neurons (HN) and found that after 2-3 h exposure to 300 μM H 2 O 2 , all NCXs and PMCAs were significantly downregulated at the RNA (NCX) and protein (PMCA) level. Rapid internalization and aggregation of the PMCA was also observed. Our data show that the plasma membrane calcium extrusion systems are sensitive early targets of neurotoxic oxidative stress.
Impact of submersible pumps on Pb constituents in residential wells

Dissolved Pb in 51 domestic wells screened from 18 to 48 m in glacial tills and outwash deposits were examined in conjunction with the characteristics of their corresponding submersible pump. Pb concentrations, ranging from 0.8 to 24.9 μg l−1, entering residential water supplies were measured during 2001–2004 in the Royal watershed, Maine. Principal component analyses assisted the weighting of pump age, well screen depth, and draw time variables. Preliminary Pb sequestration significance in the boreholes was predicted from geochemical speciation and synchrotron XAS analyses. Nascent 207Pb/206Pb and 208Pb/206Pb isotope analyses assisted the discrimination of possibly leached Pb from submersible pump materials among geogenic sources.
State Legislatures, State High Courts, and Judicial Independence: An Examination of Court-Curbing Legislation in the States

AbstractCentral to the debate over whether or not to elect judges is the tension between judicial independence and accountability. Though we think of independent courts as being less constrained in their decision making, even highly independent judiciaries can be constrained by their legislative and executive counterparts. In this article, I examine one avenue of constraint—court-curbing legislation. I argue that court independence should increase the use of this legislation, as the other branches of the state government seek to check the power of the court. I find that court curbing is driven more by political conditions than the methods of selection and retention.
Trypsin-sensitive, rapid inactivation of a calcium-activated potassium channel

Most calcium-activated potassium channels couple changes in intracellular calcium to membrane excitability by conducting a current with a probability that depends directly on submembrane calcium concentration. In rat adrenal chromaffin cells, however, a large conductance, voltage- and calcium-activated potassium channel (BK) undergoes rapid inactivation, suggesting that this channel has a physiological role different than that of other BK channels. The inactivation of the BK channel, like that of the voltage-gated Shaker B potassium channel, is removed by trypsin digestion and channels are blocked by the Shaker B amino-terminal inactivating domain. Thus, this BK channel shares functional and possibly structural homologies with other inactivating voltage-gated potassium channels.
The Relationship between caffeine and coffee consumption and exfoliation glaucoma or glaucoma suspect: a prospective study in two cohorts.

METHODS. We followed 78,977 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and 41,202 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) who were at least 40 years of age, did not have glaucoma, and reported undergoing eye examinations from 1980 (NHS) or 1986 (HPFS) to 2008. Information on consumption of caffeine-containing beverages and potential confounders were repeatedly ascertained in validated followup questionnaires. Confirmation with medical record review revealed 360 incident EG/EGS cases. Multivariate rate ratios (RRs) for EG/EGS were calculated in each cohort and then pooled using meta-analytic techniques. RESULTS. Compared with participants whose cumulatively updated total caffeine consumption was <125 mg/day, participants who consumed ‡500 mg/day had a trend toward increased risk of EG/EGS that was not statistically significant (RR ¼ 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98–2.08); P trend ¼ 0.06). Compared to abstainers, those who drank ‡3 cups of caffeinated coffee daily were at increased risk of EG/EGS (RR ¼ 1.66; 95% CI, 1.09–2.54; P trend ¼ 0.02). These results were not materially altered after adjustment for total fluid intake. Associations were stronger among women with a family history of glaucoma (P interaction ¼ 0.06 for coffee; P interaction ¼ 0.03 for caffeine). We did not find associations with consumption of other caffeinated products (caffeinated soda, caffeinated tea, decaffeinated coffee or chocolate) and risk of EG/EGS (P trend ‡0.31). CONCLUSIONS. We observed a positive association between
Language Brokering and the Acculturation of Latino Children.

Children of immigrant parents frequently language broker, translating written forms and documents for their parents and other adults in various situations. Using a paper-and-pencil survey, 36 bilingual Latino fifth graders reported their experiences and levels of comfort in language brokering, levels of acculturation, feelings of acculturative stress, and self-concepts. Those who were least acculturated reported higher frequencies of language brokering and discomfort in doing so. Boys were more English dominant than girls and reported higher levels of acculturative stress. Girls were more Spanish dominant and had lower levels of acculturative stress. High levels of acculturative stress were associated with increased social acceptance by peers. Because the previous research with college students was retrospective, this study may demonstrate that the benefits of language brokering may be an age-graded phenomenon.
Confidence in Keynes and Hayek: Reply to Burczak

We agree with Burczak's identification of the crucial issues. We disagree with his interpretation of them. We expand our defense of the claim that Keynes was a rationalist. We introduce the "horizon principle" to critize Keynes' dichotomy between short-term and long-term expectations. We question the statistical simile guiding some Post Keynesian dsiscussions of uncertainty. We point to the role of evolution in shaping conventions that fit the economic environment in a world with novel events. We think the evidence favors our view over Burczak's. Finally, we put in a plea for framing the issues in a way that facilitates empirical testing.
Assessment of anaerobic benzene degradation potential using 16S rRNA gene-targeted real-time PCR.

Summary Benzene is a common groundwater pollutant that is often recalcitrant under the anaerobic conditions that prevail at hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers. Thus, determining the potential for anaerobic benzene degradation is important to assess the feasibility of intrinsic bioremediation. In this work we developed a 16S rRNA biomarker to estimate the concentration of putative benzene degraders in a methanogenic consortium that has been enriched on benzene for several years. Primers were designed based on phylogenetic information from this consortium. The primers and probe were obtained by sequencing the dominant denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis band of this consortium, which corresponded to Desulfobacterium sp. clone OR-M2. No hybridization was observed with DNA samples from negative controls (i.e. toluene-degrading and dehalorespiring methanogenic consortia that do not degrade benzene). Samples from an anaerobic aquifer column that was bioaugmented with this benzene-degrading consortium showed a strong correlation between benzene degradation activity and the concentration of the target organism. Although our data do not prove that Desulfobacterium sp. is a benzene degrader, its enrichment as a result of benzene consumption and its correlation to anaerobic benzene degradation activity suggest that it either initiates benzene degradation or is a critical (commensal) partner. Therefore, the utility of this primers and probe set to assess anaerobic benzene degradation potential was demonstrated. This is the first report of the use of real-time quantitative PCR for forensic analysis of anaerobic benzene degradation. Whether this biomarker will be adequately selective and broadly applicable to assess benzene degradation potential under
Microfluidic devices for measuring gene network dynamics in single cells

Microfluidic 'lab-on-a-chip' devices can be used to study the dynamics of gene networks in single cells. This Review discusses the various designs of these devices and the insights into modelling the complex dynamics of gene regulation that these new technologies have provided. The dynamics governing gene regulation have an important role in determining the phenotype of a cell or organism. From processing extracellular signals to generating internal rhythms, gene networks are central to many time-dependent cellular processes. Recent technological advances now make it possible to track the dynamics of gene networks in single cells under various environmental conditions using microfluidic 'lab-on-a-chip' devices, and researchers are using these new techniques to analyse cellular dynamics and discover regulatory mechanisms. These technologies are expected to yield novel insights and allow the construction of mathematical models that more accurately describe the complex dynamics of gene regulation.
Central histamine H3 receptor signaling negatively regulates susceptibility to autoimmune inflammatory disease of the CNS

Histamine (HA), a biogenic amine with a broad spectrum of activities in both physiological and pathological settings, plays a key regulatory role in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, the autoimmune model of multiple sclerosis. HA exerts its effect through four G protein-coupled receptors designated HA receptor H1, H2, H3, and H4. We report here that, compared with wild-type animals, mice with a disrupted HA H3 receptor (H3RKO), the expression of which is normally confined to cells of the nervous system, develop more severe disease and neuroinflammation. We show that this effect is associated with dysregulation of blood–brain barrier permeability and increased expression of MIP-2, IP-10, and CXCR3 by peripheral T cells. Our data suggest that pharmacological targeting of the H3R may be useful in preventing the development and formation of new lesions in multiple sclerosis, thereby significantly limiting the progression of the disease.
Core from Cretaceous Basalt, Central Equatorial Pacific, Leg 16, Deep Sea Drilling Project

Basalt underlying early Campanian chalk at Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 163 is divided into seven extrusive cooling units bounded by glassy margins. The margins have dips of 15° to 70°, suggestive of pillow flows rather than tabular flows. The margins are fresh sideromelane (glass) grading inward to opaque and reddish-brown globules containing microcrystalline material with radial, undulose extinction. Relative to adjacent sideromelane, the reddish-brown globules are enriched in sodium and calcium, whereas the opaque globules are depleted in these elements and enriched in iron and magnesium. It appears that basalt just inside the pillow margins has differentiated in place into globules of two distinct compositions. This globule zone grades inward to less rapidly cooled pyroxene varioles and intergrowths of plagioclase and opaque minerals. In the center of the thicker cooling units, the texture is diabasic. Alteration and calcite vein abundance are greatest at pillow margins and decrease inward; the interior of the thickest cooling unit is only slightly altered, and calcite veins are absent. Chemical analysis of whole rock by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and of sideromelane by electron microprobe, indicates that the rock is a slightly weathered tholeiite. The atomic absorption analyses, except the one nearest the top of the basalt, are relatively uniform and similar to the sideromelane microprobe analyses, including those near the top of the basalt. This suggests that deep penetration is not necessary to get through the severely altered layer at the basalt surface, and that within this altered layer, analyses of sideromelane may be more representative of crustal composition than analyses of whole rock.
Science, law, and politics in the Food and Drug Administration's genetically engineered foods policy: FDA's 1992 policy statement.

The US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) 1992 policy statement was developed in the context of critical gaps in scientific knowledge concerning the compositional effects of genetic transformation and severe limitations in methods for safety testing. FDA acknowledged that pleiotropy and insertional mu-tagenesis may cause unintended changes, but it was unknown whether this happens to a greater extent in genetic engineering compared with traditional breeding. Moreover, the agency was not able to identify methods by which producers could screen for unintended allergens and toxicants. Despite these uncertainties, FDA granted genetically engineered foods the presumption of GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) and recommended that producers use voluntary consultations before marketing them.
Imaging of δ opioid receptors in human brain by N1′‐ ([11C]methyl)naltrindole and PET

Recently, we have developed the positron emitting radiotracer N1'-([11C]methyl)naltrindole ([11C]MeNTI) and demonstrated its high selectivity for delta opioid receptors in the mouse brain [Lever et al. (1992) Eur. J. Pharmacol., 216:449-450]. In the present study, we examined the selectivity of [11C]MeNTI for the delta opioid receptor in the human brain, using positron emission tomography (PET). The regional kinetics and distribution as well as the pharmacology confirmed the selectivity of [11C]MeNTI for delta opioid receptor in the human brain. First, the regional kinetics of [11C]MeNTI are in accordance with the density of the delta opioid receptor. Rapid washout in receptor-poor areas and prolonged retention in receptor-rich areas were observed. Second, the regional distribution of [11C]MeNTI correlated well (r = 0.91) with the in vitro distribution of delta opioid sites but not with mu or kappa site densities (r < or = 0.008 or r < or = 0.014, respectively). [11C]MeNTI binding was highest in regions of the neocortex (insular, parietal, frontal, cingulate, and occipital), caudate nucleus, and putamen. Binding was intermediate in the amygdala and lowest in the cerebellum and thalamus. Third, studies using the competitive antagonist naltrexone demonstrated the inhibition of [11C]MeNTI binding. Naltrexone inhibition of [11C]MeNTI binding was most effective in delta receptor-rich regions, and its inhibitory potency correlated well (r = 0.88) with the regional distribution of delta opioid sites. [11C]MeNTI is the first radioligand which selectively labels delta opioid receptors in vivo in the human brain following systemic administration. The availability of [11C]MeNTI will enable a receptor specific analysis of the role of [11C]MeNTI receptors in normal and abnormal human brain.
Process development of CdTe solar cells grown at high temperatures on engineered glass

NREL and Corning Incorporated have collaborated on a project to investigate the effect of increasing CdTe deposition temperature on device performance. CdTe deposition temperatures are generally limited by the thermal properties of the glass superstrate. Soda-lime glass is frequently used in commercial production of CdTe, but the low strain point (∼515°C) requires deposition temperatures of 550°C or below. While the CdTe industry has enjoyed great success with material grown at these relatively low temperatures, there may be significant benefits to higher deposition temperatures enabled by a high strain point glass. To demonstrate the efficiency benefits of a CdTe cell fabricated at higher deposition temperatures, it is necessary to re-optimize the device fabrication process steps for devices made with CdTe films at each deposition temperature. Using Corning, Inc.'s new engineered high-strain-point glass superstrate, we developed a fabrication process optimized for CdTe films deposited at 550° and 600°C. Here, we report details of the fabrication processes that resulted in an absolute efficiency gain of 1.2% for devices fabricated with 600°C CdTe deposition temperature versus 550°C.
Power-Gating Aware Floorplanning

Power-gating is a technique for efficiently reducing leakage power by shutting off the idle blocks. However, the presence of power-gating may also introduce negative effects, which are not considered in the earlier design stages. Ignoring those effects may result in suboptimal designs and potentially even nullify the intended power savings. In this paper, the authors propose a novel measure to efficiently capture the power-gating effects. The authors apply this measure in a floorplanner for power-gated chips. Experimental results show that the power-gating aware floorplanner can achieve 50% decap saving compared to a floorplanner unaware of power gating. Leakage power can be saved by inserting less decap, especially when thin-oxide decap are used due to the area constraint. The approach can reduce leakage power consumed by decap from 36mW to 9mW when area overhead is limited to about 19% of the total chip area
Principal components transformation of multifrequency polarimetric SAR imagery

A generalized principal components transform (PCT) that maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and that tailors to the multiplicative speckle noise characteristics of polarimetric SAR images is developed. An implementation procedure that accurately estimates the signal and the noise covariance matrices is established. The properties of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors are investigated, revealing that the eigenvectors are not orthogonal, but the principal component images are statistically uncorrelated. Both amplitude (or intensity) and phase difference images are included for the PCT computation. The NASA/JPL polarimetric SAR imagery of P, L, and C bands and quadpolarizations is used for illustration. The capabilities of this principal components transformation in information compression and speckle reduction makes automated image segmentation and better human interpretation possible. >
Whiteness as Giftedness: Racial Formation at an Urban High School

By examining a gifted magnet of an urban California high school as a racial project, this study contributes to our understanding of racial formation. The study analyzes the organizational and representational practices of this voluntary desegregation tool—a partial-site magnet program for “gifted” students—and its impact on students inside and outside the program. In doing so, the study reveals how, in contrast to its stated mission, this form of voluntary desegregation actually constitutes a form of resegregation. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this research reveals a series of practices that have produced exclusionary access to the gifted program, limited the interaction between magnet and non-magnet students, and instituted an apparently color-blind discourse of the gifted as in need of protection, all contributing to a widespread though complex and contradictory notion of whiteness as giftedness. Such notions run counter to the original intent of the desegregation ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Revealing the processes by which a desegregation instrument facilitates such contradictory outcomes provides critical insights into the dynamic nature of racial formation.
URL forwarding and compression in adaptive Web caching

Web caching is generally acknowledged as an important service for alleviating focused overloads when certain WWW servers' contents suddenly become popular. Cooperative caching systems are more effective than independent caches due to the larger collective backing store that cooperation creates. One such system currently being developed at UCLA, adaptive Web caching (AWC), uses an application-level forwarding table to locate the nearest copy of a requested URL's contents. This paper describes one specific design in AWC, a simple URL table compression algorithm allowing efficient content information-sharing among neighboring caches. The compression algorithm is based on a hierarchical URL decomposition to aggregate URL sharing common prefixes and an incremental hashing function to minimize collisions between prefixes. The algorithm's collision rate is derived analytically and verified by five sets of Web trace data. The results demonstrate that the collision rate is bounded and has little impact on page fetching latency. Finally, this compression method is compared to the summary cache method.
Liquidity in the Futures Pits: Inferring Market Dynamics with Incomplete Data

Motivated by economic models of sequential trade, empirical analyses of market dynamics frequently estimate liquidity as the coefficient of signed order flow in a price-change regression. This paper implements such an analysis for futures transaction data from pit trading. To deal with the absence of timely bid and ask quotes (which are used to sign trades in most equity-market studies), this paper proposes new techniques based on Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation. The model is estimated for four representative Chicago Mercantile Exchange contracts. The highest liquidity (lowest order flow coefficient) is found for the S&P index. Liquidity for the Euro and UK £ contracts is somewhat lower. The pork belly contract exhibits the least liquidity.
Book Review: Environmental Stewardship in the Judeo-Christian Tradition: Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant Wisdom on the Environment by the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty

Environmental Stewardship in the Judeo-Christian Tradition: Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant Wisdom on the Environment by the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. Grand Rapids, MI, Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, 2007. 119pp. ISSN 1-880595-15-x
Diagnostic Features of Autism

Autism is a severe form of childhood psychopathology first described by Leo Kanner in 1943. While over the years there has been substantial controversy about many features of the syndrome, there is today some consensus as to the behavioral characteristics associated with the diagnosis. These include onset of the disorder in the early preschool years, severe and pervasive deficits in social behavior and attachments, deficits in speech and language, insistence for the preservation of sameness, unusual responsiveness to the sensory environment, self-stimulation, self-injurious behavior, isolated skill areas, and inappropriate affect. Another associated feature of many cases of autism is mental retardation. The present article describes these behavioral features as well as the application of the diagnosis and differentiation of autism from other disorders including primary mental retardation, childhood schizophrenia, developmental aphasia, and pervasive developmental disorder.
Consciousness: A brain‐centered, informational approach

(1992). Consciousness: A brain‐centered, informational approach. Psychoanalytic Inquiry: Vol. 12, Neuroscience and Clinical Science: Toward an Integration, pp. 419-444.
Epiphanic knowledge and medicine.

There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of knowledge—analytic and intuitive, explicit and tacit. Analytic knowledge is arrived at by logical deductive thinking, and is a sequential thought process in which each step can be explained and defended. Intuitive knowledge, in contrast, is frequently alogical or nonrational (though not illogical or irrational), and often involves nonconscious mental processes. Though intuitive ways of knowing are essential to both scientific research and scientific medicine, the culture of medicine celebrates only the analytic, evidentiary kind of knowledge, while eschewing intuition as being “nonscientific.” The popularity and prevalence of what is known as evidence-based medicine reflects this bias in favor of the analytic and the explicit. Though the evidence-based approach has contributed greatly to standardizing medical care, favoring treatments for which there is evidence of effectiveness, it has limitations. An overreliance on evidence-based medicine is problematic, because this approach leaves out important factors in the actual practice of clinical medicine such as diagnosis (pattern recognition, hunches), nonverbal cures provided by patients, and the way the doctor–patient relationship bears on patient management and compliance, and because it is not appropriate for dealing with medical conditions that do not lend themselves to study by controlled clinical trials.
A new technique for proving real-time properties

A technique is presented for proving temporal properties of dynamic systems. The technique is based on expressing temporal properties in terms of questions about event occurrences. It is illustrated by proving a safety property about the abstract behavior of a set of real-time programs. It offers two main advantages. First, it is simple, because it utilizes well-developed intuitions about causality and top-down inference. Second, it allows proofs of properties involving continuous time and state. >
Histologic Comparison of Scleromyxedema and Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy

Background: Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD), can be strikingly similar, if not indistinguishable, histologically from scleromyxedema. Both disorders consist of a dermal and subcutaneous proliferation of fibroblast-like cells with mucin production. NFD has been shown to contain an increased number of dual positive CD34 and procollagen cells, as well as an increased number of factor XIIIa positive cells. To our knowledge, there has been no direct comparison between the histologic and immunophenotypic properties of scleromyxedema and NFD. Design: Nine biopsies from eight cases of NFD and eight biopsies from eight cases of scleromyxedema were identified. Standard immunohistochemical techniques for antibodies toward CD34, procollagen I, CD31, SMA, and factor XIIIa were applied. A colloidal iron stain was used to evaluate for dermal mucin. Amount of antibody expression and mucin production were then evaluated using a grading scale of 0–3. Results: Both NFD and scleromyxedema were found to have similar immunophenotypic expression. Both demonstrated increased numbers of CD34 and procollagen-positive fibroblast-like cells, as well as increased numbers of factor XIIIa positive cells. Increased vessels and stromal mucin were identified in both diseases without significant differences. Conclusions: Although scleromyxedema and NFD are clinically distinct diseases, theirÂ morphologic and immunophenotypic appearances are likely to be similar.
Metastatic Breast Carcinoma

Carcinoma of the breast is the most frequent cancer in women in the United States and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. In the year 2005, it is estimated that more than 210,000 new cases will be diagnosed, while approx 40,000 will die from the disease. A slight decrease in mortality has been noted in recent years, attributable to improved screening practices as well as modest improvements in treatment (1).
Dynamics of Rehabilitation Nursing

Many of the dynamic and unique roles nurses have enacted in rehabilitation in the past have prepared them for the roles which they will develop into the upcoming century. This chapter opens with an explanation of the nature and goals of rehabilitation nursing, followed by discussion of rehabilitation nursing as a professional specialty. The final portion of the chapter is devoted to two flourishing areas of practice for rehabilitation nurses, namely, case management and community based care.
Capture-Time Feedback for Recording Scripted Narration

Well-performed audio narrations are a hallmark of captivating podcasts, explainer videos, radio stories, and movie trailers. To record these narrations, professional voiceover actors follow guidelines that describe how to use low-level vocal components---volume, pitch, timbre, and tempo---to deliver performances that emphasize important words while maintaining variety, flow and diction. Yet, these techniques are not well-known outside the professional voiceover community, especially among hobbyist producers looking to create their own narrations. We present Narration Coach, an interface that assists novice users in recording scripted narrations. As a user records her narration, our system synchronizes the takes to her script, provides text feedback about how well she is meeting the expert voiceover guidelines, and resynthesizes her recordings to help her hear how she can speak better.
Abstract T P314: Higher Modified Graeb Scores May Predict Early Fever In Patients With Spontaneous Intracranial Hemorrhage

Introduction: Both Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and fever after spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) have been consistently associated with poor outcomes. Additionally, IVH is an independent risk factor for fever after hemorrhagic stroke (ICH), but it is not known if the degree of intraventricular hemorrhage is predictive of fever. We hypothesized that the extent of intraventricular hemorrhage, defined by modified Graeb score, is associated with intensity of fever. Methods: We performed a single center, retrospective review of consecutively admitted adult patients with spontaneous ICH from April 2008 through June 2009. Patients were divided into two groups; those who registered a temperature of 38.5°C at least once during the first 48 hours of their hospitalization (“Early fever”) and those who did not (“No fever”). The degree of IVH was quantified by the Graeb score. Group comparisons were made using a student’s t-test for parametric data and a rank sum test for non-parametric data. Simple linear regression was performed to investigate the relationship between maximum temperature within the first 48 hours (Tmax) and Graeb score. Results: Of the 90 patients identified, 20% exhibited early fever. Age and intraparenchymal bleed volume were similar between groups. There was a trend toward more IVH in the febrile group (50% v. 30%, P=0.13), but this did not meet significance. Patients with early fever, however, had higher admission ICH scores (2 [0-2] vs. 1 [1-3], P = 0.01) and modified Graeb scores (1 [0-2] vs. 0 [0-13], P = 0.05). Patients with early fever had a worse GOSE at discharge than those without early fever (3[2-3] v. 3 [3-3], P=0.02). Amongst patients with IVH (n=28), the Graeb score was predictive of the Tmax (t=2.55. CI 0.01-0.08, P=0.02) Conclusion: Early fever in ICH is associated with worse outcomes at discharge. Increasing IVH, as reflected by increasing Graeb scores, is associated with higher temperatures in the first 48 hours of admission after ICH, suggesting early fever may be dose-dependent on the degree of IVH.
Special Section on Software Quality Assurance: Research and Practice

The papers in this special section are devoted to the topic of software quality assurance. As software is integrated more frequently into every aspect of our lives, as it grows more quickly in size and function, as its failure in operations causes increasingly devastating consequences, and as schedules and budgets are continually reduced despite the need for high-quality, reliable, and secure software, advanced and innovative technologies must be developed to achieve software quality assurance more effectively and efficiently. It is also critical for the industry and academia to work together to conduct cooperative research to reduce the gap between state-of-the-art analyses and practice applications.
Spectroscopic Imaging of Deep Tissue through Photoacoustic Detection of Molecular Vibration.

The quantized vibration of chemical bonds provides a way of imaging target molecules in a complex tissue environment. Photoacoustic detection of harmonic vibrational transitions provides an approach to visualize tissue content beyond the ballistic photon regime. This method involves pulsed laser excitation of overtone transitions in target molecules inside of tissue. Fast relaxation of the vibrational energy into heat results in a local temperature rise on the order of milliKelvins and a subsequent generation of acoustic waves detectable with an ultrasonic transducer. In this Perspective, we review recent advances that demonstrate the advantages of vibration-based photoacoustic imaging and illustrate its potential in diagnosing cardiovascular plaques. An outlook into future development of vibrational photoacoustic endoscopy and tomography is provided.
Chelation of toxic metals: current interests.

Chelation therapy has long been regarded as a suitable approach to the therapeutic and even prophylactic removal of potentially toxic metals from body tissues. And there have been apparent successes in some areas, but there are also needs for a better understanding of the underlying pharmacology and for the development of safer and more effective agents. There are currently three areas of inter? est in the clinical use of chelating drugs: treatment of heavy metal toxicity, removal of metals accumulated in body tissues because of genetic disorders, and chelation therapy of degenerative diseases of the blood vessels. An NIEHS symposium focused primarily on mechanisms, effectiveness, and potential adverse effects of traditionai as well as new chelating agents (see Meeting Report in this issue). While most of the presentations concerned treatment of low-level lead exposures, the conference topics and discussions extended into the current status of chelation therapy for other disorders. There were also discussions of
Heat Treatments and Thermal Fatigue of Scs-6/Alpha-2 Titanium Aluminide Composites

Panel composites made of alpha-2 titanium aluminide (Ti-25A1-9Nb-1.6Ta-1.6Cr-lMo) foils and SCS-6 (SiC with carbon core and carbon double coatings) fibers were investigated to determine the influence of postprocessing heat treatments on the thermal fatigue behavior in air. The 4-ply composite panels with 22 vol% fiber showed no edge cracks after 1000 thermal cycles between 150°C and 816°C in alpha+beta or beta-solution plus isothermal-aging treatments. The thermal cycling, however, embrittled the fiber carbon core and coatings in the composites given post-processing heat treatments, with the degree of embrittlement increasing progressively with heat treatment temperature/exposure. The detrimental effects of heat treatments on the matrix were also observed in that beta treatments reduced both the strength and tensile ductility of the matrix alloy when compared with alpha+beta treatments.
Epidemic Analysis of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Dalian City in 2008

[Objective] To analyze the epidemic features of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Dalian City in 2008, to master the regularty of epidemic, and put forward effective prevention and control measures.[Methods]The epidemic data of HDMD collected from Network Direct Report System of Infectious Disease were collected and analyzed by descriptive epidemiology.[Results]A total of 3562 cases of HFMD were reported in Dalian in 2008, the average annual incidence was 59.14/100 000, with 2 severe cases and no death case. The ratio of male to female was 1∶0.66. Totally 2225 cases were children aged 2~5 years, occupying 62.46% of total cases. Residentially-scattered children, childcare and student accounted for 99.24%. Most cases appeared during May to August, with the highest incidence in July.[Conclusion]Children aged 2~5 years old, especially the scattered and kindergarten children in the areas with frequent movement of population are the focus population for HFMD control and prevention in Dalian City.
The prevention of thromboembolic disease by prophylactic anticoagulation. A controlled study in elective hip surgery.

A statistically significant protective effect against the occurrence of thromboembolic disease has been demonstrated in a controlled series of 169 elective hip operations in 137 consecutive patients by the use of prophylactic anticoagulation with warfarin.No case of pulmonary embolism and only five
Phosphatidylinositol 4-Kinase and Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate 5-Kinase Assays

Inositol lipid kinases are perhaps the easiest and most straightforward enzymes in the phosphoinositide pathway to analyze. In addition to monitoring lipid kinase-specific activity, lipid kinase assays can be used to quantify the inositol lipids present in isolated membranes (Jones et al., Methods Mol Biol 462:75-88, 2009). The lipid kinase assays are based on the fact that the more negatively charged phosphorylated lipid products are readily separated from their lipid substrates by thin layer chromatography. We have summarized our current protocols and identified important considerations for working with inositol lipids including different methods for substrate delivery when using recombinant proteins.
Zinc and copper levels in premenstrual syndrome

Objective To determine whether changes in peripheral zinc and copper levels are associated with symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Design Ten PMS patients and 10 controls gave blood at 2- or 3-day intervals through three menstrual cycles. Serum zinc and copper were measured by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results In the controls, zinc values were not significantly different between the follicular and the luteal phases. In the patients, the values were significantly lower during the luteal phase than during the follicular phase. Lower levels of zinc during the luteal phase in PMS patients, compared with the controls, were noted. Copper levels were noted to be higher during the luteal phase in PMS patients compared with the controls. Because copper competes with zinc for intestinal absorption and serum protein binding sites, zinc:copper ratio can reflect the availability of zinc in the body. The computation of this ratio revealed that the ratio was significantly lower in the patients than those in the controls during the luteal phase. Conclusions Our data suggest that zinc deficiency occurs in PMS patients during the luteal phase, and the availability of zinc in PMS patients during the luteal phase is further reduced by the elevated copper.
Advanced Peyronie’s Disease Treated With the Inflatable Penile Prosthesis

AbstractNineteen patients with significant advanced Peyronie’s disease (that is severe angulation, erectile impotence and/or intractable pain) that had not responded to conservative medical therapy were treated surgically with insertion of the inflatable penile prosthesis. Of the patients 10 had correction of angulation and/or erectile impotence by instillation of the prosthesis alone and needed no additional operation, while 8 required incisions of the tunica albuginea distal to the plaques in addition to the prosthesis to correct the deformity. One patient required a monofilament knitted polypropylene velour graft to cover the defect in the tunica albuginea. Satisfactory results were obtained in 18 of 19 patients.
Evaluating Parents' Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Management in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes.

Objective To examine the factor structure and construct validity of the Maternal Self-Efficacy for Diabetes Management Scale (MSED) in 135 youth ( Mage = 13.50 ± 1.83 years), with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Method The study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to examine the factor structure and correlations to examine relationships among MSED factors and select parent and child diabetes-related health behaviors and outcomes. Results EFA identified an 11-item three-factor solution (χ 2 (25, n = 133) = 40.22, p < .03, RMSEA = 0.07, CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.97), with factors corresponding to parents' perceived ability to manage their child's diabetes (MSED-M), problem-solve issues surrounding glycemic control (MSED-P), and teach their child about diabetes care (MSED-T). Correlational analyses revealed significant associations between the MSED-M and MSED-T and parent-reported optimism and youth's diabetes-specific self-efficacy. The MSED-T was also associated with glycated hemoglobin and self-monitoring blood glucose. Conclusions Results provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a three-factor solution of the MSED.
Neurohormonal Modulation of the Limulus Heart: Amine Actions on Cardiac Ganglion Neurones

Octopamine (OCT), dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE) are endogenous excitors of the Limulus heart. The cellular sites of action of these amines were investigated by recording responses of neurones in the cardiac ganglion. There was an increase in spike frequency in pacemaker neurones, accompanied by a depolarization and an increase in the rate of repolarization of the ‘pacemaker potential’. DA also produced a transient decrease in pacemaker spike frequency which preceded its excitatory effect. All four amines produced slow, dosedependent increases in the frequency of bursting activity in cardiac ganglion follower neurones. These increases were blocked by the antagonist phentolamine. DA and NE also produced transient decreases in burst rate which were blocked by the antagonist metergoline. Local application of DA on to pacemaker cells increased follower cell burst frequency, while similar applications on to follower cells did not affect burst frequency. This indicates that DA acts directly upon pacemaker neurones to increase cardiac ganglion burst activity. In addition to their pacemaker-mediated effects, the amines also had direct effects upon follower cells. These effects were examined after eliminating follower cell bursting activity with cobalt ions. OCT and, to a smaller extent, EPI, depolarized follower cells. DA and, occasionally, NE hyperpolarized follower cells. The hyperpolarizing DA response was due to a conductance increase and was blocked by metergoline and ergonovine.