cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A TeamSTEPPS Approach to Improving the Pain Experience of Obstetric Patients

Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program To improve the pain experience of obstetric patients during the inpatient care continuum. Proposed Change To improve pain management as measured by our patients by utilizing a TeamSTEPPS‐based approach through strategic use of technology to standardize pain management practices and medication regimens that account for transitions in care and common sources of pain. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation A multidisciplinary team created computerized pain management order sets. These sets were used to standardize pain medications while taking into account the mode of birth (cesarean vs. vaginal), transitions in care (operating room to postanesthesia care unit and labor and delivery to postpartum), and medication pharmacokinetics to ensure proper timing of medication administration and reduce common medication errors. A multidisciplinary pain task force was created. This group designed and implemented a pain survey used to interview patients during hospitalization. Feedback was used to identify future interventions. Real‐time pain scores were made readily available to caregivers by displaying them on commonly used electronic screens. Additionally, pain rounds and focused event reviews were conducted. TeamSTEPPS concepts were applied. Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and Press Ganey (PG) data comparing Q2 2013 (the quarter preceding TeamSTEPPS training) versus Q2 2014 (the most recent intervention) were reviewed. The positive trend across all pain measures for both surveys suggests our pain management program is having a positive effect. Gaps identified in our program include failure to discuss patient expectations before admission, lack of available obstetric (OB)‐specific pain management educational materials, lack of understanding of many patients regarding their pain management plans of care, and lack of guidelines for administration of intravenously controlled substances during labor. Specific future interventions were developed to address each of these gaps. Implications for Nursing Practice Nurses can have a significant effect on the pain experience of patients. It is essential for nurses to participate in team‐based problem solving techniques to address the many layers of complex, multidisciplinary issues affecting this pain experience.
Effect of Alendronate on Bone Formation during Tooth Extraction Wound Healing

Alendronate (ALN) is an antiresorptive agent widely used for the treatment of osteoporosis. Its suppressive effect on osteoclasts has been extensively studied. However, the effect of ALN on bone formation is not as clear as its effect on resorption. The objective was to determine the effect of short-term ALN on bone formation and tooth extraction wound healing. Molar tooth extractions were performed in mice. ALN, parathyroid hormone (PTH), or saline (vehicle control) was administered. PTH was used as the bone anabolic control. Mice were euthanized at 3, 5, 7, 10, and 21 d after extractions. Hard tissue healing was determined histomorphometrically. Neutrophils and lymphatic and blood vessels were quantified to evaluate soft tissue healing. Gene expression in the wounds was assessed at the RNA level. Furthermore, the vossicle bone transplant system was used to verify findings from extraction wound analysis. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was visualized in the vossicles to assess osteoblast activity. ALN exhibited no negative effect on bone formation. In intact tibiae, ALN increased bone mass significantly more than PTH did. Consistently, significantly elevated osteoblast numbers were noted. In the extraction sockets, bone fill in the ALN-treated mice was equivalent to the control. Genes associated with bone morphogenetic protein signaling, such as bmp2, nog, and dlx5, were activated in the extraction wounds of the ALN-treated animals. Bone formation in vossicles was significantly enhanced in the ALN versus PTH group. In agreement with this, ALN upregulated ALP activity considerably in vossicles. Neutrophil aggregation and suppressed lymphangiogenesis were evident in the soft tissue at 21 d after extraction, although gross healing of extraction wounds was uneventful. Bone formation was not impeded by short-term ALN treatment. Rather, short-term ALN treatment enhanced bone formation. ALN did not alter bone fill in extraction sockets.
New insights into the resistance of Nagami kumquat to canker disease

Abstract Asiatic citrus canker, caused by the bacterial species Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac A), has had a detrimental impact on citrus production in various regions of the world. It has been suggested, based on reported field observations and other anecdotal evidence, that some citrus relatives, e.g. kumquats, have higher levels of tolerance to Xac A compared to commercial varieties. However, this has not been confirmed with rigorous scientific evidence. In this study, the growth rate of Xac A in challenged kumquat leaves was significantly hindered after 4 days of infection compared to that in susceptible grapefruit leaves. Cell death was observed in kumquat leaves however, typical symptoms of a hypersensitive response (HR) were not apparent until 3–4 days post-inoculation. Abscission of the leaves occured 5–7 days after infection, depending on the age of the leaf. The HR was accompanied by differential gene expression: two suppression subtractive cDNA libraries were constructed using Nagami kumquat mRNA to identify genes that were differentially expressed due to infection. A number of cDNA clones were randomly selected for sequencing. Homologues to components such as transcription factors, receptors and defense genes known to be involved in plant–pathogen interactions in general and plant cell death were identified.
Which Are the Genuine Properties

This article considers three views about which properties are genuine. According to the first view, we should look to successful commonsense and scientific explanations in determining which properties are genuine. On this view, predicates that figure in such explanations thereby pick out genuine properties. According to the second view, the only predicates that pick out genuine properties are those that figure in our best scientific explanations. On this view, predicates that figure in commonsense explanations pick out genuine properties only if such explanations are vindicated by the sciences. According to the third view, the only genuine properties are the fundamental, microphysical ones. On this view, although there are “higher-level” predicates that figure in true commonsense and scientific explanations, there are no “higher-level” properties corresponding to such predicates. The article argues that the third view is superior to the others.
The flavin-containing monooxygenase of mouse kidney. A comparison with the liver enzyme.

Abstract Flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO; EC 1.14.13.8) was purified from mouse kidney microsomes and compared to that isolated from mouse liver microsomes. The purified enzymes from kidney and liver appeared as a single band on sodium dodecyi sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with an apparent molecular weight of 58,000 daltons. On wide range (pH 3.5 to 9.0) isoelectric focusing, FMOs from kidney and liver resolved as a single band with an isoelectric point of 8.2. The enzymes from both kidney and liver have a pH optimum of 9.2. Thiobenzamide-S-oxidation catalyzed by both enzymes was sensitive to inhibition by the competitive inhibitors thiourea and methimazole. At an n octylamine concentration of 3 mM, thiobenzamide-S-oxidation by the kidney FMO was increased by 122% and that by the liver FMO by 148%. K m and V max values were determined and compared between the two tissue enzymes for xenobiotic substrates containing nucleophilic nitrogen, sulfur or phosphorus atoms. In general, for most FMO substrates, K m and V max values were similar between kidney and liver FMO with only a few exceptions. The K max and V max values for fenthion for kidney were only half of those observed for liver FMO. Fonofos was unusual in having a low K m as well as a low V max for both tissue enzymes. Anti-sera developed to the FMO purified from kidney and liver showed cross-reactivity with each purified enzyme as well as with a protein with the same molecular weight as the purified FMO present in both kidney and liver microsomes. These bands showed equal intensity based on an equivalent amount of protein. Analysis of kidney and liver FMO by proteolytic digestion followed by visualization of peptides by silver staining or immunoblotting showed only minor differences between the enzymes of the two tissues. The amino acid composition of both mouse kidney and liver FMO was low in methionine and histidine and rich in aspartate/asparagine, glutamate/glutamine, leucine, valine and glycine. Edman degradation of the purified mouse kidney and liver FMO provided a single amino acid sequence of the NH 2 -terminus. This sequence matched exactly with the cDNA-deduced sequence reported for the pig and rabbit liver beginning with the fifth amino acid and contained the highly conserved FAD-binding domain Gly-X-Gly-X-X-Gly, commonly found in a number of other FADbinding proteins. These studies indicate that the renal and hepatic forms of FMO from mouse are similar enzymes that are immunologically related and show only a few minor differences.
Dealkylation of chemical weapon agents and pesticides with group 13 Salen compounds

Group 13 chelates incorporating boron and aluminum deactivated the chemical warfare agents (CWAs) VX, sarin (GB), soman (GD), and the pesticide, diazinon, under mild conditions. The deactivation occured through elimination of alkyl bromide resulting in solid products containing a robust Al-O-P or B-O-P linkage. The Group 13 chelate deactivation methodology produces non-toxic, easily disposable solid proudcts after combination with CWAs. In previous studies the group 13 chelates were found to be active for a wide range of organophosphates, organophosphonates, and organophosphinates (OPs). Thus, the compounds could be used as a deactivating agent for a wide range of problematic compounds possessing P-O-C linkages, including, CWAs, pesticides, and plasticizers. The majority of the chelate compounds are of the general formula: LBX , L(BX2)2 and LAlX where L = an inexpensive, easily prepared Schiff base chelate and X = Cl and Br. This article will describe the range of compounds that can be used in the dealkylation reaction. The primary focus will be on chelates of the Salen class (Salen = N,N 0 - alkylene(or arylene)bis(salicylideneimine)), but a wid er of range of chelates could be used for the reaction as this review will demonstrate.
Virtuality and uncertainty in the domain of discontinuous innovation

Established firms engaging in the discontinuous innovation process often establish virtual enterprises as a mechanism for coping with uncertainty. The virtual enterprise is assembled from a set of disparate and dispersed technical, human and financial resources, some internal and some external, to achieve one or more milestones, then reconfigured as some of the original resources are shed and new resources are acquired to achieve the next set of milestones, and so on. The paper explores the role of virtuality and uncertainty in the pursuit of opportunity associated with discontinuous innovation.
Two Applications of Statistical Modelling to Natural Language Processing

Each week the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center collects several megabytes of English text transcribed from radiologists’ dictation and notes of their interpretations of medical diagnostic x-rays. It is desired to automate the extraction of diagnoses from these natural language reports. This paper reports on two aspects of this project requiring advanced statistical methods. First, the identification of pairs of words and phrases that tend to appear together (collocate) uses a hierarchical Bayesian model that adjusts to different word and word pair distributions in different bodies of text. Second, we present an analysis of data from experiments to compare the performance of the computer diagnostic program to that of a panel of physician and lay readers of randomly sampled texts. A measure of inter-subject distance with respect to the diagnoses is defined for which estimated variances and covariances are easily computed. This allows statistical conclusions about the similarities and dissimilarities among diagnoses by the various programs and experts.
Religious Accommodation in the Welfare State

The Hobby Lobby contraceptive litigation reflects, and may accelerate, a trend in which Americans’ divisions over economic regulation reinforce their divisions over cultural matters. If Americans further separate into religious opponents of regulation and secular, progressive proponents of regulation, polarization is likely to become increasingly unhealthy. This article continues a project I have begun of defending strong protection of religious freedom based on premises that are sympathetic, rather than hostile, to government regulation in general. This Article defends government accommodation of religious objectors as a valuable component in a well-functioning regulatory state.Accommodation — the exemption of religious conduct in certain cases from generally applicable laws — is a valuable and flexible resource for maintaining religious freedom in the regulatory state without undercutting the foundations of modern regulation. Accommodation of religion, whether constitutionally compelled or statutory, provides the means for balancing welfare-state regulation and religious freedom. It allows religious exercise to remain free while the regulation accomplishes its goal in the large majority of cases.Part I argues that religious freedom is important enough to merit strong protection, relying on the kinds of arguments that have served as constitutional priorities for the post-New Deal Court. Part II then turns to the proper scope of accommodation in a state that is active in regulation but that also gives religious freedom serious weight. This Part focuses in particular on the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision, arguing that although the decision correctly gives religious freedom strong weight and recognizes religious-freedom claims by for-profit businesses, it should not lead to broad exceptions to commercial regulation.Part III then integrates these observations about the scope of accommodation into a general framework for assessing when accommodation of religious conduct should be denied in order to prevent harms to others. Finally, Part IV recaps and summarizes the Article’s themes by distinguishing religious accommodation — a limited challenge to the regulatory state — from the far more fundamental challenges that succeeded in the era of Lochner v. New York but were abandoned after 1937. Religious accommodation relies in part on the workings of markets to show that a particular accommodation will not cause unacceptable harm to others, but it does not treat the market as a natural mechanism or a conclusive factor. Its reliance on markets is qualified and instrumental, for the purpose of giving reasonable room to religious freedom while not undercutting government’s regulatory power in general.
Uncooled Carbon Nanotube Photodetectors

Photodetectors play key roles in many applications such as remote sensing, night vision, reconnaissance, medical imaging, thermal imaging, and chemical detection. Several properties such as performance, reliability, ease of integration, cost, weight, and form factor are all important in determining the attributes of photodetectors for particular applications. While a number of materials have been used over the past several decades to address photo­detection needs across the electromagnetic spectrum, the advent of nanomaterials opens new possibilities for photodetectors. In particular, carbon-based nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene possess unique properties that have recently been explored for photodetectors. Here, the status of the field is reviewed, presenting a broad coverage of the different types of photodetectors that have been realized with CNTs, placing particular emphasis on the types of mechanisms that govern their operation. A comparative summary is presented of the main performance metrics for such detectors, and an outlook for performance improvements.
Constraints on the angular distribution of the zeros of a polynomial of low complexity

LetP(z) be a polynomial of degreen with complex coefficients. Theorem.There exists a constant C such that if P has at most k terms then the number of zeros of P in any open sector of aperture ?/n at the origin is no more than Ck2. The main point of this bound is that it is independent both ofn and the coefficients ofP. The proof is a simple application of Khovanskii's real Bezout theorem to the system of real equations ReP=ImP=0. We also describe a measure of additive complexity for sets of integers and use it to estimate the angular distribution more finely.
Spinal monoamines and the toxic interaction between monoamine oxidase inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants.

Abstract In acute spinal cats treated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI's), imipramine facilitated the monosynaptic reflex recorded in the lumbar region. The drug-drug interaction was abolished by chronic thoracic transection, a procedure which reduces markedly lumbosacral norepinephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine. The MAOI's caused an increase in lumbosacral 5-hydroxytryptamine of about 0.4 μg/g tissue, whereas norepinephrine was unchanged.
First-principles band structures of armchair nanotubes

Recent work by Thess et al. suggests that (10,10) carbon nanotubes with diameters of 1.38 nm have been observed with high conductivities. Other experimental results have directly measured the density of states of single-wall carbon nanotubes with diameters in the range 1-1.5 nm. Herein we examine the expected electronic properties of armchair single-wall nanotubes with diameters in this range, and present first-principles local-density functional results for band structure and density of states of these SWNTs. We find our results support the validity of the simple graphene sheet model, and are in close agreement with experimental measurements of the density of states of these materials.
Clinical applications of neurostimulation: Forty years later

With the recent technological advances, neurostimulation has provided new hope for millions of patients with debilitating chronic pain conditions that respond poorly to other therapies. Outcome research demonstrated that patients with failed back surgery syndrome and complex regional pain syndromes benefit significantly from neurostimulation in pain reduction, functional capacity, and quality of life. Increasing clinical evidence supports the use of neurostimulation in post-herpetic neuralgia, peripheral neuropathy, occipital neuralgia, and other neuropathic pain conditions. Strong clinical evidences indicate that neurostimulation offers less invasive and more effective therapies for many patients with ischemic pain caused by cardiovascular and peripheral vascular diseases. A growing body of literature supports neurostimulation for visceral pain in general and interstitial cystitis in particular. As a basic principle, patient selection for the appropriate neurostimulation modalities is essential for safe, efficacious, and cost-effective applications of this therapy. Research with more vigorous designs is needed to establish evidence-based applications of neuromodulation therapy in emerging indications of pain management.
Developing a Modern Standard to Define and Assess Professionalism in Trainees

Assessing professionalism in medical education poses many challenges. The authors discuss common themes and principles in managing professionalism in medical education. The authors review the development of standards of professionalism in medical education. They define educational goals for professionalism and also discuss the practical problems with assessing professionalism and addressing it with the trainees. Strategies for remediation of unprofessional conduct are outlined. Given the importance of role models in the development of professional behavior, maintaining an environment that fosters professionalism is an implicit feature of teaching professionalism. Professionalism should be a part of the objectives for each course and clinical rotation, using clearly defined goals and objectives. Assessment of professionalism should begin early and be conducted frequently, giving trainees the opportunity to change. A formal mentoring system can be an effective mechanism to develop role models and teach professionalism. Teaching professionalism through formal curricula is paramount in helping develop new generations of compassionate and responsible physicians. Additional strategies such as consistent role modeling of professional behaviors are also needed to encourage the development of professional physicians.
Transmission x-ray mirror — A new optical element

Abstract Transmission X-ray mirrors have been made from 400 A to 10 000 A thick soap films have been shown to have novel properties. Using grazing angles of incidence, low energy X-rays were totally reflected from the front surface while more energetic X-rays were transmitted through the mirror largely unattenuated. A wide bandpass monochromator was made from a silicon carbide mirror followed by a soap film transmission mirror and operated in the white beam at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS). Bandpasses of Δ E / E = 12% to 18% were achieved at 13 keV with peak efficiencies estimated to be between 55% and 75%, respectively. Several wide angle scattering photographs of stretched polyethylene and a phospholipid were obtained in 10 s using an 18% bandpass.
Temperature preference in two populations of juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch

Two groups of coho salmon,Oncorhynchus kisutch, were raised under identical regimes to test the hypothesis that the group from a stream with lower and less variable temperatures would have a lower and less variable preferred temperature than would the group from a stream with warmer and more variable temperatures. The preferred (modal) temperatures in an electronic shuttlebox of coho salmon young from a relatively cool, groundwater-fed stream were slightly lower and less variable than those of young from a warmer and more heterothermal stream (mean = 9.6° C, range: 6–16° C vs. mean = 11.6° C, range: 7–21° C). However, there was a great deal of variation within and among individual fish. While some genetic variation in thermal preference may exist, the species seems best characterized as tolerant of relatively large temperature fluctuations.
Tag performance evaluation and optimisation of Gen 2 reader communication for radio frequency identification deployment in supply chains

Successful deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) in supply chain applications depends on several critical factors that affect the RFID system performance. In this paper, we address two important considerations, namely tag performance evaluation and optimisation of reader communication settings, and present our findings based on an RFID system deployment in Intel's supply chain and additional experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin–Madison RFID Lab. Technical issues and challenges in designing RFID read points for singulation and localisation of the RF interrogation zone are studied. Results from UHF Gen 2 tag evaluation based on readability, tag sensitivity and tag backscatter link frequency error are presented. Further, we also discuss how Gen 2 reader communication parameter settings can be optimised to maximise performance in multi-tag environments. This research helped Intel enhance RFID system performance in its supply chain resulting in improved inventory visibility. The r...
Reverse engineering and reengineering of a large serial system into a distributed-parallel version

This is a case study that documents the reverse engineering and reengineering of a twenty year old system, BNDPKG. BNDPKG is a large software system written in FORTRAN, and still used in Physics for Electronic Structure calculations. BNDPKG was changed from a sequential-serial system that required IBM mainframes to a scalable parallel version that can use workstations and message passing. The message-passing for the distributed computing was implemented using PVM, the message-passing tool from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This parallel version of BNDPKG can actually run on any homogeneous or heterogeneous set of machines, requiring only the existence of UNIX and a PVM daemon on each machine in the set. Because of inadequate documentation of the original BNDPKG, it was necessary to go through a reverse engineering process to determine its design and how various components interacted. Using the information obtained, BNDPKG was reengineered into a modern parallel version. Test runs of the parallel BNDPKG have been performed on a cluster of IBM RISC/6000 workstations to estimate the speedup that was obtained from parallelism. The problems, the solutions, and the methods used for the reverse engineering and for the reengineering of BNDPKG are presented.
Adenosine receptor agonists inhibit the release of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from the ischemic rat cerebral cortex

Abstract The effects of CPA (a selective A1 receptor agonist), NECA (a mixed A1 and A2 receptor agonist), and CGS 21680 (a selective A2 receptor agonist) on the ischemia-evoked release of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from rat cerebral cortex was investigated with the cortical cup technique. Cerebral ischemia (20 min) was elicited by four vessel occlusion. In control animals, superfusate GABA increased from a basal level of206 ± 26nM (mean±S.E.M., n = 18) to10,748 ± 3,876 nM during the reperfusion period. Pretreatment with adenosine receptor agonists failed to affect basal levels of GABA release. However, CPA (10−10 M), and CGS 2680 (10−8 M) significantly suppressed the ischemia-evoked release of GABA. The ability to block the ischemia-evoked release of GABA wasnot evident when the adenosine receptor agonists were administered at higher concentrations. Thus, the selective activation of either A1 or high-affinity A2a adenosine receptors results in an inhibition of ischemia-evoked GABA release.
Safety and efficacy of rapid titration using 1mg doses of intravenous hydromorphone in emergency department patients with acute severe pain: the "1+1" protocol.

Study objective We evaluate the safety and efficacy of a pain protocol using 1 mg intravenous (IV) hydromorphone followed by an optional dose of 1 mg IV hydromorphone 15 minutes later. Methods Prospective interventional study at an urban academic emergency department (ED). One milligram of IV hydromorphone was administered to adults 21 to 64 years of age who had acute severe pain. Fifteen minutes later, patients were asked whether they wanted more pain medication. If they answered yes, they received another 1 mg of IV hydromorphone and were again asked 15 minutes later whether they wanted more pain medication. The primary efficacy outcome was the proportion of patients who had adequate analgesia, defined as declining additional hydromorphone within 1 hour of entering the protocol. The primary safety outcome was incidence of oxygen desaturation less than 95%. Secondary outcomes included numeric rating scale pain scores and adverse events. Results Of the 223 patients with complete data, 1 mg IV hydromorphone provided adequate analgesia for 77% (95% confidence interval 71% to 82%) within 15 minutes and 96% (95% confidence interval 92% to 98%) within 1 hour of entering the protocol. Eighty-six percent of patients reported pain scores that decreased by 2 or more numeric rating scale units. Five percent experienced transient oxygen desaturation below 95%, which was corrected promptly with oxygen. Conclusion A rapid titration protocol using IV hydromorphone (1 mg hydromorphone followed by an optional 1 mg 15 minutes later) is efficacious in nonelderly ED patients with acute severe pain. There were no serious adverse events.
Electron microscopical tracers in the uterine epithelium of the pregnant guinea-pig.

Abstract Horseradish peroxidase and lanthanum nitrate were used in pregnant guinea-pigs as electron dense tracers to determine whether the ‘permeability’ characteristics of the uterine epithelium support the hypothesis that immunoglobulin G gains access to the uterine lumen by transepithelial diffusion. Horseradish peroxidase was injected intravenously in eight animals in experiments ranging from 1–43 min and directly into the uterine lumen in five animals in experiments of 1–8 min duration. Lanthanum nitrate was injected only into the uterine lumen of eight animals for exposures of 1–8 min. Horseradish peroxidase did not traverse the junctional complexes regardless of injection site; lanthanum nitrate did not penetrate the complexes either except in one animal. We conclude that the uterine epithelium is a barrier that prevents the diffusional transfer of IgG from mother to fetus. Further studies are required to locate the site where maternal IgG is transferred to the uterine lumen.
Fluorochemical resin complexes for use solvent repellent hand creams

A fluorochemical (FC)-resin complex has been developed for use in protective hand creams. Hand creams incorporating this new technology effectively repel solvents and resist their penetration into the skin. The in vitro studies conducted to determine the efficacy of the formulated FC-resin complex include solvent penetration through treated filter paper, solvent repellency on treated pigskin, and penetration of radio tagged sodium lauryl sulfate through treated hairless mouse skin. In vivo studies demonstrate that this new technology does aid in reducing irritation caused by solvent contact.
Lack of effect of chronic clorgyline or selegiline on dopamine and serotonin transporters in rat caudate-putamen or nucleus accumbens septi.

Abstract Rats were injected intraperitoneally thrice weekly for 4 weeks with doses of selective inhibitors of monoamine oxidase type A (clorgyline, 1 mg/kg) or B ((−)-selegiline, 10 mg/kg), or saline. Both treatments produced sustained elevations of concentrations of dopamine and serotonin, and decreased their deaminated metabolites in forebrain tissue. Nevertheless, no change in binding of [ 3 H]GBR-12935 to the dopamine transporter or of [ 3 H]paroxetine to the serotonin transporter in caudate-putamen or nucleus accumbens septi was found with quantitative autoradiography. These results support the impression that transporter proteins for these monoamines are not regulated by increased ligand abundance.
Implementation Of A Diagnostic Display And Image Manipulation Node

The use and implementation of digitally formatted imaging instrumentation for imaging disease is increasing. The amount of digital images to be displayed is huge, growing at an annual rate in Radiology Departments at eight percent. The use of local area networks for the acquisition, display and manipulation, and archiving of these digitally formatted images requires the careful design and implementation of Image Display and Manipulation Nodes. This paper addresses the amount of image data to be displayed and the required interactive graphic functions.
Wrangling in Washington

The President's Scientists: Reminiscences of a White House Science Advisor. By D. Allan Bromley. Yale Univer-sity Press: 1994. Pp. 232. $28.50, £20.
Pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation during treadmill exercise. A discriminative index of functional class

Six patients in functional class II and 11 in functional class III underwent graded treadmill exercise, with severe fatigue as their limiting symptom. During exercise, none of the patients developed chest pain, or significant arrhythmia. Our data suggest that at a treadmill workload of 2 mph and 7 per cent slope, with an oxygen consumption four times that at rest, measurement of the pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation permits clear separation of functional class II from functional class III. Although there was a significant difference in the heart rate response, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, and percentage change in pulmonary arterial end-diastolic pressure, considerable overlap occurred. The use of pulmonary arterial oxygen saturation may prove to be of value in instances in which the functional cardiac status is not reasonably clear from the clinical interview or routine exercise testing. It requires less than maximal effort on the part of the patient, and provides an objective end point to distinguish between two important groups of patients.
Explicit formulae for heavy flavour production

Abstract Explicit formulae are given in QCD for the processes which contribute to the hadroproduction of heavy quarks Q. The processes considered are 1. (1) q + q → Q + Q , 2. (2) g + g → Q + Q , 3. (3) Q + Q → q + q + g , 4. (4) Q + Q → g + g + g . All mass effects are included. A comparison of the exact matrix elements with the results of the leading pole and soft gluon approximation is made.
Comparison of FRET microscopy imaging techniques for studying protein-protein interactions in living cells using FRET standards

Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy is a powerful tool to localize protein-protein interactions in living specimens. Various FRET microscopy imaging techniques have been established and are generally categorized into intensity-based and lifetime-based methods. Based on the detection of the acceptor sensitized emission, we have developed the FRET imaging methodologies that can be applied in combination of wide-field, conventional confocal or spectral microscopy. All these FRET microscopy methods have the capability to interpret the change in proximity between the donor and the acceptor through measuring the apparent energy transfer efficiency (E). However, to answer what subtle change of E can be detected and to link correctly FRET data to biological information, the imaging techniques have to be well calibrated. In this regard, we compare various FRET microscopy methods and assess their utilities using several genetic ("FRET standard") constructs where Cerulean and Venus fluorescent proteins are tethered by different amino acid linkers.
“Parlez‐vous français?” Issues in publishing for French academics

Purpose – This paper aims to look at the choices made by academics in terms of publishing, with an emphasis on French scholars. As “publish or perish” has become the norm in many countries, it is necessary to investigate the relationship between publishing and scholars' actual connection with the public, and how it relates to expectations of their influence on society at large.Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies on a case study of French academics, whose job description has recently been redefined by new regulations. University professors, who used to answer to the title of “enseignant‐chercheur” or teacher‐researcher, are now labeled “chercheur produisant” or productive researcher, with a new emphasis on quantifiable and measurable work progress.Findings – New evaluation systems, along with the internationalization of the academic market, are forcing scholars to make difficult language and audience choices, in spite of their dependence on the government. This can jeopardize the relationship be...
Interference between a large number of independent Bose-Einstein condensates

We study theoretically the interference patterns produced by the overlap of an array of Bose-Einstein condensates that have no phase coherence among them. We show that density-density correlations at different quasimomenta, which play an important role in two-condensate interference, become negligible for large $N$, where $N$ is the number of overlapping condensates. In order to understand the physics of this phenomenon, it is sufficient to consider the periodicity of the lattice and the statistical probability distribution of a random-walk problem. The average visibility of such interference patterns decreases as ${N}^{\ensuremath{-}1∕2}$ for large $N$.
Chirped-pulse frequency conversion of ultrafast pulses to the deep-UV

We report a 10-fold increase in energy in the generation of ultrafast UV pulses through frequency mixing in a hollow waveguide. The UV, blue and ER pulses are characterized with a novel transient-grating FROG apparatus.
Generation of reconfigurable interconnections with a two-dimensional acousto-optic deflector

We detail the technical considerations for producing reconfigurable spot patterns with an integrated two-dimensional acousto-optic deflector. Practical limitations concerning the generation of high-density interconnect arrays are described. Experimental results for 13 × 13, 21 × 21, and 50 × 50 spot arrays are presented.
On the structures of some adducts of biotin with electrophiles: Does sulfur transannular interaction with the carbonyl group play a role in the chemistry or biochemistry of biotin?

Abstract Biotin methyl ester ( 1 ), 1′- N -carbomethoxy biotin methyl ester ( 2 ) and 1′- N -trifluoroacetylbiotin methyl ester ( 3 ) were treated with boron trifluoride etherate and triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate. Whereas no reaction could be observed in the case of 3 , coordination of the electrophiles to the urea oxygen could be deduced from the IR, 1 H-NMR, and 13 C-NMR spectra of the adducts obtained from 1 and 2 . X-Ray analysis of the 1 /BF 3 -adduct ( 4 ) confirmed the O-coordination, but showed no transannular sulfur-carbonyl interaction. From comparison of the spectral data obtained for all addition products it is concluded that none of them shows a significant transannular sulfur-carbonyl interaction. Reaction of 3 with SbF 5 also formed an O-coordinated adduct ( 10 ) without sulfur transannular bonding. In magic acid (FSO 3 H/SbF 5 /SO 2 ) both 1 and 3 added a proton to the urea oxygen, to the sulfur atom, and to the ester group, as reported previously for biotin itself. The relationship of these findings to the kinetics of acid-catalyzed NH exchange in biotin, and to possible mechanisms of biochemical biotin-catalyzed reactions, are discussed.
Sleep Apnea and Metabolic Dysfunction: Cause or Co-Relation?

The past few years have witnessed an enormous growth in the scale of scientific activity devoted to assessing the possible link between sleep apnea and disorders of glucose metabolism. The explosion in research and clinical interest has been driven by the demonstration that short sleep duration can lead to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Subsequently a number of studies have provided support for an independent association between disorders such as sleep apnea, chronic sleep loss, and insomnia with metabolic dysfunction. The current article summarizes the literature implicating sleep apnea as an independent risk factor for abnormalities in glucose metabolism and discusses the possible physiological role of sleep fragmentation and intermittent hypoxemia as putative intermediates.
High-velocity microprojectiles for delivering nucleic acids into living cells

We report here a novel phenomenon, namely that nucleic acids can be delivered into plant cells using high-velocity microprojec-tiles. This research was conducted in the hope of circumventing some of the inherent limitations of existing methods for delivering DNA into plant cells1–6. After being accelerated, small tungsten particles (microprojectiles) pierce cell walls and membranes and enter intact plant cells without killing them. Microprojectiles were used to carry RNA or DNA into epidermal tissue of onion and these molecules were subsequently expressed genetically. This approach can therefore be used to study the transient expression of foreign genes in an intact tissue. It remains to be shown that smaller cell types, as are found in regenerable plant tissues, can be stably transformed by this method. If this proves possible, it would appear to provide a broadly applicable transformation mechanism capable of circumventing the host-range restrictions of Agrobacterium tumefaciens1, and the regeneration problems of protoplast transformation2–5.
The 3′ to 5′ degradation of yeast mRNAs is a general mechanism for mRNA turnover that requires the SKI2 DEVH box protein and 3′ to 5′ exonucleases of the exosome complex

One major pathway of mRNA decay in yeast occurs by deadenylation-dependent decapping, which exposes the transcript to 5' to 3' exonucleolytic degradation. We show that a second general pathway of mRNA decay in yeast occurs by 3' to 5' degradation of the transcript. We also show that the SKI2, SKI3, SKI6/RRP41, SKI8 and RRP4 gene products are required for 3' to 5' decay of mRNA. The Ski6p/Rrp41p protein has homology to the Escherichia coli 3' to 5' exoribonuclease RNase PH, and both the Ski6p/Rrp41p and Rrp4p proteins are components of a multiprotein complex, termed the exosome, that contains at least three polypeptides with 3' to 5' exoribonuclease activities. These observations suggest that the exosome may be the nucleolytic activity that degrades the body of the mRNA in a 3' to 5' direction, and the exosome's activity on mRNAs may be modulated by Ski2p, Ski3p and Ski8p. Blocking both 3' to 5' and 5' to 3' decay leads to inviability, and conditional double mutants show extremely long mRNA half-lives. These observations argue that efficient mRNA turnover is required for viability and that we have identified the two major pathways of mRNA decay in yeast.
On Aging-Aware Signoff for Circuits With Adaptive Voltage Scaling

Transistor aging due to bias temperature instability (BTI) is a major reliability concern in sub-32 nm technology. To compensate for aging, designs now typically apply adaptive voltage scaling (AVS) to mitigate performance degradation by elevating supply voltage. Since varying the supply voltage also causes the BTI degradation to vary over lifetime, this presents a new challenge for margin reduction in the context of conventional signoff methodology, which characterizes timing libraries based on transistor models with pre-calculated BTI degradations for a given IC lifetime. In this paper, we study the conditions under which a circuit with AVS requires additional timing margin during signoff. Then, we propose two heuristics for chip designers to characterize an aging-derated standard-cell timing library that accounts for the impact of AVS during signoff. According to our experimental results, this aging-aware signoff approach avoids both overestimation and underestimation of aging-either of which results in power or area penalty-in AVS-enabled systems. Further, we compare circuits implemented with the aging-aware signoff method based on aging-derated libraries versus those based on a flat timing margin. We demonstrate that the flat timing margin method is more pessimistic, and that the pessimism can be mitigated by AVS.
Optical imaging of visually guided reaching in macaque posterior parietal cortex

Sensorimotor transformation for reaching movements in primates requires a large network of visual, parietal, and frontal cortical areas. We performed intrinsic optical imaging over posterior parietal cortex including areas 7a and the dorsal perilunate in macaque monkeys during visually guided hand movements. Reaching was performed while foveating one of nine static reach targets; thus eye-position-varied concurrently with reach position. The hemodynamic reflectance signal was analyzed during specific phases of the task including pre-reach, reach, and touch epochs. The eye position maps changed substantially as the task progressed: First, direction of spatial tuning shifted from a weak preference close to the center to the lower eye positions in both cortical areas. Overall tuning strength was greater in area 7a. Second, strength of spatial tuning increased from the early pre-reach to the later touch epoch. These consistent temporal changes suggest that dynamic properties of the reflectance signal were modulated by task parameters. The peak amplitude and peak delay of the reflectance signal showed considerable differences between eye position but were similar between areas. Compared with a detection task using a lever response, the reach task yielded higher amplitudes and longer delays. These findings demonstrate a spatially tuned topographical representation for reaching in both areas and suggest a strong synergistic combination of various feedback signals that result in a spatially tuned amplification of the hemodynamic response in posterior parietal cortex.
Oregon earthquakes increase local landslide risk

Coastal Oregon is home to a number of slow, recurrent landslides. During bouts of heavy rain, water gets into the soil, reducing friction and causing the ground to slip. Often, these landslides creep along at a barely perceptible rate—less than a centimeter per day. Yet the landslides are a lurking threat, as past events that have damaged infrastructure and cut communities off for months at a time have demonstrated.
Pediatric Minimally Invasive Surgery: Laparoscopy and Thoracoscopy in Infants and Children

This article discusses the potential benefits and challenges of minimally invasive surgery for infants and small children, and discusses why pediatric minimally invasive surgery is not yet the surgical default or standard of care. Minimally invasive methods offer advantages such as smaller incisions, decreased risk of infection, greater surgical precision, decreased cost of care, reduced length of stay, and better clinical information. But none of these benefits comes without cost, and these costs, both monetary and risk-based, rise disproportionately with the declining size of the patient. In this review, we describe recent progress in minimally invasive surgery for infants and children. The evidence for the large benefits to the patient will be presented, as well as the considerable, sometimes surprising, mechanical and physiological challenges surgeons must manage.
Serial link protocol design: A critique of the X.25 standard, level 2

There are certain technical design principles for link communication protocols which, if followed, result in a protocol that is less complex in both concept and implementation, but at the same time provides better service, than if the principles are not followed. These principles include modularization into sub-protocols, symmetry between the nodes on the link, and use of the state-exchange model of a conversation rather than the command-response model. The principles are described, the extent to which they are followed by the standard protocol X.25, level 2, is examined, and a protocol adhering to them is presented.
Merging multiple lists on hierarchical-memory multiprocessors

An efficient multiprocessor algorithm to merge m, m ⩾ 2, sorted lists containing N elements is described. In a hierarchical-memory multiprocessor, the proposed method substantially reduces the data access costs in comparison with traditional schemes that successively merge the lists two at a time. The proposed method uses a novel partitioning algorithm to split up the m lists into range-disjoint parts of equal size. Each of the parts can then be merged concurrently and independently by a different processor using an m-way merge. The time complexity to find a partition is O(m log(fNm), where f, 0 < f < 1, is a fraction that determines the size of a partition. Implementation results for multiway merging using the partitioning algorithm on a Sequent Symmetry multiprocessor are described.