cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The relationship between repeated epidural steroid injections and subsequent opioid use and lumbar surgery.

Abstract Friedly J, Nishio I, Bishop MJ, Maynard C. The relationship between repeated epidural steroid injections and subsequent opioid use and lumbar surgery. Objectives To evaluate whether the use of epidural steroid injections (ESIs) is associated with decreased subsequent opioid use in patients in the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) and to determine whether treatment with multiple injections are associated with decreased opioid use and lumbar surgery after ESIs. Design VA patients undergoing ESIs during the study period for specific low back pain (LBP) diagnoses were identified, and lumbar surgery and opioid use were examined for 6 months before and after ESI. Setting National VA administrative data. Participants U.S. veterans (retrospective data analysis). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Opioid use and lumbar surgery after ESIs. Results During the 2-year study period, 13,741 different VA patients underwent an ESI for LBP. The majority of patients were using opioids before their ESIs (64%), as were the majority after their ESIs (67%). Of patients not on opioids before the ESIs, 38% were prescribed opioids afterward, whereas only 16% of people on opioids before the ESIs stopped using opioids afterward. Patients who received more than 3 injections were more likely than patients receiving fewer injections to start taking opioids after ESIs (19% vs 13%, P P =.003). Conclusions Opioid use did not decrease in the 6 months after ESIs. In this population, patients who received multiple injections were more likely to start taking opioids and to undergo lumbar surgery within the 6 months after treatment with ESIs. These findings are concerning because our data suggest that ESIs are not reducing opioid use in this VA population.
Using sociometric measures to predict help seeking behaviors of youth in a positive peer culture program

Sociometric measures were used to predict help seeking behaviors of youth in a residential treatment center. Seventeen female adolescents with conduct disorders were asked to choose three peers in their group who were most popular, similar, and competent. These sociometric measures were correlated with the degree to which the participants would seek help from their peers across four problem scenarios representing actual situations encountered in residential settings. A multiple linear regression analysis suggested that sociometric measures of “competence” was the best predictor of intentions to seek help across the problem scenarios. Discussion focused on the implications of using sociometric measures within a residential treatment setting.
Causes and consequences of error and bias in management accounting systems

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of management accounting systems, particularly with respect to their influence on error and bias in decision making. It also discusses the implications of such errors and biases for organizations and for policy and suggests avenues for future research.
Improved Kennedy-Thorndike experiment to test special relativity.

A modern version of the Kennedy-Thorndike experiment was carried out by searching for sidereal variations between the frequency of a laser locked to an I2 reference line and a laser locked to the resonance frequency of a highly stable cavity. No variations were found at the level of 2 x 10 to the -12th. This represents a 300-fold improvement over the original Kennedy-Thorndike experiment and allows the Lorentz transformations to be deduced entirely from experiment at an accuracy level of 70 ppm.
The influence of close others’ exercise habits and perceived social support on exercise

Abstract Objectives Exercise rates are low, but perceived support from close others can influence exercise habits. The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of perceived support for exercise as well as close others’ exercise habits on own exercise, and to examine the differential effects of friend’s exercise and romantic partner’s exercise. Design Undergraduates ( N = 220) at a northeastern university completed questionnaires on their own exercise habits, their romantic partner’s and best friend’s exercise habits, and perceived support for exercise. Results Friend’s exercise was associated with own exercise, but only when perceived support was high. Being male, partner’s exercise, and friend’s exercise all independently predicted own exercise. Conclusions Exercise habits of close others are associated with one’s own exercise habits, though this relationship may vary depending on perceived support. Attention should be paid to women’s exercise habits, since they are less likely to exercise than men.
Differential repetition blindness with emotion and emotion-laden word types

The repetition blindness effect (RB; Kanwisher, 1987) is the finding that under certain conditions, repeated words are recalled more poorly than unrepeated words. Repetition blindness is found when using the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm, where stimuli are briefly and sequentially presented (e.g., 75–125 ms). When comparing RB with negative emotional words and neutral words, Silvert, Naveteur, Honore, Sequeira, and Boucart (2004) found that emotional words produced a larger RB effect. However, emotion words and emotion-laden words were unsystematically intermixed. The current studies compared RB with emotion words that label emotional states (e.g., hate), emotion-laden words that have emotional connotations (e.g., coffin), and neutral words (e.g., lantern). In two experiments, emotion words consistently led to a larger RB effect than emotion-laden and neutral words. The current study provides evidence that emotion and emotion-laden words are processed differently and that semantic infor...
Achieving ethnic minority parity in school psychology

The article addresses the demographic characteristics of students in school psychology programs nationwide with respect to providing a rationale for the importance of increasing the proportion of minority school psychologists who are underrepresented. Emphasis on training culturally competent psychologists is reviewed within a historical context. Barriers impeding the graduate training of minority students in school psychology are delineated. Feasible strategies to recruit minority students and faculty are presented. The implications for training and practice are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 443–450, 2004.
Invariant multiplicative efficiency and piecewise cobb-douglas envelopments

A new multiplicative efficiency formulation is developed wherein the efficiency values are invariant under changes in the units of measurement of outputs and inputs. It is shown that the associated Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) implies that optimal envelopments are of piecewise Cobb-Douglas type. This leads to a new method for estimating frontier production functions of Cobb-Douglas type.
A pulsed electron-photon fluorescence diagnostic technique for temperature and specie concentration measurement at points in relatively dense, unseedded air flows

An analysis is presented on the use of the fluorescence stimulated by combined pulsed electron and photon beams for the study of gas flows up to densities equivalent to an altitude of about 20 km (number density of about 3 x 10 to the 18th/cu cm). The electron beam acts as a pump, requiring no seed gas, to provide a localized concentration of ions or excited state neutrals that can be probed by saturation optical pulses. A short pulse (10ns) electron beam can be used by itself to provide effectively quench-free emission up to number densities of around 10 to the 18th/cm, but is is difficult to maintain satisfactory spatial resolution at this high density. The use of a nearly simultaneous strong optical pulse increases the flexibility of the diagnostic technique, permitting use at densities greater than 10 to the 18th/cu cm with good spatial resolution. The use of flash X-ray sources combined with optical probing also appears promising for densities above 10 to the 19th/cu cm.
Mediation and interference in verbal concept learning

The Ss learned five words, of which 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 were names of objects in one class (concept). Trials to learn were highest for 3 same-class words, then decreased sharply for 4 and 5 same-class words. It was suggested that the results could be accounted for by a changing combination of interference and facilitation from concept mediation among same-class words.
Plasma input function determination for PET using a commercial laboratory robot

Abstract A commercial laboratory robot system (Zymate PyTechnology II Laboratory Automation System) was interfaced to standard and custom laboratory equipment and programmed to perform rapid radiochemical assays necessary for plasma input function determination in quantitative PET studies in humans and baboons. A Zymark XP robot arm was used to carry out two assays: (1) the determination of total plasma radioactivity concentrations in a series of small-volume whole blood samples and (2) the determination of unchanged (parent) radiotracer in plasma using only solid phase extraction methods. Steady state robotic throughput for determination of total plasma radioactivity in whole blood samples (0.350 mL) is 14.3 samples/h, which includes automated centrifugation, pipetting, weighing and radioactivity counting. Robotic throughput for the assay of parent radiotracer in plasma is 4–6 samples/h depending on the radiotracer. Percents of total radioactivities present as parent radiotracers at 60 min. postinjection of 25 ± 5.0 ( N = 25), 26 ± 6.8 ( N = 68), 13 ± 4.4 ( N = 30), 32 ± 7.2 ( N = 18), 16 ± 4.9 ( N = 20), were obtained for carbon-11 labeled benztropine, raclopride, methylphenidate, SR 46349B (trans, 4-[(3Z)3-(2-dimethylamino-ethyl) oxyimino-3 (2-fluorophenyl)propen-1-yl]phenol), and cocaine respectively in baboon plasma and 84 ± 6.4 ( N = 9), 18 ± 11 ( N = 10), 74 ± 5.7 ( N = 118) and 16 ± 3.7 ( N = 18) for carbon-11 labeled benztropine, deprenyl, raclopride, and methylphenidate respectively in human plasma. The automated system has been used for more than 4 years for all plasma analyses for 7 different C-11 labeled compounds used routinely in our laboratory. The robotic radiotracer assay runs unattended and includes automated cleanup procedures that eliminates all human contact with plasma-contaminated containers.
Hybrid Global Matrix/Local Interaction Simulation Approach for Wave Propagation in Composites

This paper presents a hybrid approach to model guided wave propagation in composite laminates. The global matrix approach is used to determine the displacement field surrounding a piezoelectric actuator. The displacement field is then enforced in a specified region of a numerical model that employs the local interaction simulation approach. This hybrid approach improves upon previous local interaction simulation approach methods that prescribe in-plane displacements within the actuator profile to model actuation. Additionally, it circumvents the problem of modeling nonrectangular actuators in the Cartesian discretization in the local interaction simulation approach. Results show that the hybrid model outperforms previous local interaction simulation approach models when considering actuation from circular, square, and composite long-range variable-direction emitting radar actuators. The hybrid model produces wave propagation time histories that closely match the baseline global matrix method and successfu...
The timing of a repeat ultrasound examination in the evaluation for ectopic pregnancy

A method is described for timing a repeat ultrasound examination in patients evaluated for ectopic pregnancy in whom the findings are initially non­ diagnostic. This method is based on measuring the serum hCG at the time of the initial ultrasound examination, which allows the time interval required for the serum heG to exceed 6500 mIU/ml to be calculated. When the serum heG is above this level, the gestational sac of an intrauterine pregnancy can be reliably identified, and failure to do so signifies ectopic gestation. Seven patients referred for ultrasound to rule out ectopic pregnancy had initially nondiagnostic findings. In each case, a correctly-timed repeat examination, demonstrating a gestational sac, enabled the diagnosis to be excluded. Indexing Words: Ectopic pregnancy . heG zone Sonographic evaluation of the pelvis is frequently undertaken in clinically stable patients suspected of having an ectopic pregnancy.1-7 Contrary to previous suggestions, normal pelvic findings can­ not be used to exclude a diagnosis of ectopic gesta­ tion. s When the findings are nondiagnostic, a re­ peat ultrasound examination is often recom­ mended, although its timing has been essentially arbitrary or unreliably based on the last menstrual period. Recent findings by the authors have enabled us to develop an objective basis for the timing of a repeat ultrasound examination.
Ventriculostomy-Associated Infection (VAI): In Search of a Definition.

We read with great interest the article by Gozal et al. on ventriculostomy-associated infection (VAI) [1]. The authors propose that a standardized definition for VAI should be a CSF microbiological culture that is positive for microorganism and associated with fever or low CSF glucose. While the authors should be commended on their attempt to define VAI with unifying nomenclature and classification in the literature, there is a problem regarding neuroICU patients with ventriculostomy and neurogenic fever: Prone patients such as subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and/or intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) patients with ventricular catheters who have a CSF microbial contaminant that is not found on repeat CSF testing should be excluded from this definition. The other nosocomial organisms that the authors report, such as MRSA and Pseudomonas, are rarely contaminants, similar to Candida and various fungal species. Further, SAH/IVH patients may develop a sterile inflammatory response that causes central fever and CSF hypoglycorrhachia, the latter being a nonspecific finding which does not represent microbe glucose consumption but, rather, impaired glucose transport [2]. Repeat CSF sampling and clinical experience may reveal this to be a pathogen or contaminant instead of a true CSF infection. Many clinicians also incorporate CSF lactate level into the decision of whether to treat for VAI. Additionally, highrisk patients for false positive CSF results are those who receive frequent intraventricularly-injected medications such as TPA [3] for IVH or nicardipine for SAH-related vasospasm. The main concern with the authors’ proposed definition is interpretation by arbitrary or third-party payers in health care who deem these as inpatient quality metrics—unless there is the ability for physician or medical interpretation to override such criteria. Recently, The Joint Commission pre-publication guidelines for comprehensive stroke centers announced that it allows for clinical correction of such positive microbiological CSF samples under standard DSPM.3 section A.4a: ‘‘CSF infection is defined as the presence of a positive CSF culture in a patient with a CSF pressure monitoring device or external ventricular drain (EVD) if there is no documentation in the medical record stating that the culture results are thought to be the result of a contaminant or some other process, such as preexisting infection or infection resulting from another surgical procedure’’ [4]. Therefore the VAI definition matters and consequences to non-validated administrative data sets [5, 6] have been reported, requiring further research. The same comprehensive stroke center guideline also requires tracking of CSF infections as a quality metric in patients with ventriculostomy and invasive neuromonitoring probes [4]. Therefore, we again acknowledge the W. D. Freeman (&) Departments of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, 4500 San Pablo Road, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA e-mail: freeman.william1@mayo.edu
GPU-Accelerated Forward and Back-Projections With Spatially Varying Kernels for 3D DIRECT TOF PET Reconstruction

We describe a GPU-accelerated framework that efficiently models spatially (shift) variant system response kernels and performs forward- and back-projection operations with these kernels for the DIRECT (Direct Image Reconstruction for TOF) iterative reconstruction approach. Inherent challenges arise from the poor memory cache performance at non-axis aligned TOF directions. Focusing on the GPU memory access patterns, we utilize different kinds of GPU memory according to these patterns in order to maximize the memory cache performance. We also exploit the GPU instruction-level parallelism to efficiently hide long latencies from the memory operations. Our experiments indicate that our GPU implementation of the projection operators has slightly faster or approximately comparable time performance than FFT-based approaches using state-of-the-art FFTW routines. However, most importantly, our GPU framework can also efficiently handle any generic system response kernels, such as spatially symmetric and shift-variant as well as spatially asymmetric and shift-variant, both of which an FFT-based approach cannot cope with.
Designing Business School Courses To Promote Student Motivation: An Application of the Job Characteristics Model

Student motivation within the classrooms is a widely recognized problem and will remain so in the foreseeable future. Literature suggests that students' motivation for learning and performance can ...
Improving PRETREE's predictive capabilities

Abstract Compared to compensatory type choice models (e.g., logit), hierarchical choice models have been used much less frequently in the real world. This has happened even though there is a lot of evidence to suggest that the hierarchical structure is closer to the actual process by which individuals make choices. In this paper, we have considered one of the original hierarchical models (PRETREE). The PRETREE model has been heavily cited in the marketing and psychometric literatures. We wish to examine PRETREE at the aggregate level making n -way (market share) predictions. A primary strength of the PRETREE model was its apparent ability to capture violations of the property of the “independence of irrelevant alternatives” (IIA). We prove that there are limitations to this argument. We suggest a method to overcome these limitations; this change resulted in substantial improvement in the predictive abilities of the model, when the modified PRETREE is applied to real world data. The predictions are at an aggregate level on a hold-out sample. The above modification to PRETREE will hopefully not only renew but also increase interest in applying a hierarchical approach to modeling real-world problems on choice.
Biometrics break-ins and band-aids

Currently there is much interest in the use of biometrics for authentication and identification applications. This has been heightened most recently because of the threat of terrorism. Biometrics authentication and identification systems offer several advantages over systems based on knowledge or possession such as unsupervised (legacy) password/PIN-based systems and supervised (legacy) passport-based systems. To optimize security it is important that biometrics authentication systems are designed to withstand different sources of attack. We identify some such threats to biometrics systems and detail issues related to the tradeoff between security and convenience. We further show how to estimate a biometrics' intrinsic security, sometimes called a biometrics' individuality, with fingerprints as an example.
Unimpaired B-cell function and T-cell regulation of immunoglobulin synthesis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Abstract The regulation of immunoglobulin synthesis by peripheral blood mononuclear cells in vitro was studied in asymptomatic healthy hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers, patients with chronic active hepatitis B, and control subjects who had circulating antibody to the hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs). Specific helper and suppressor T-cell function were assessed by measurement of pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-stimulated IgG and IgM synthesis in cocultures of lymphocyte subpopulations from HBV-infected patients and controls. Using this assay system, there was no difference in IgG and IgM synthesis by unfractionated PBMCs from the three groups. Also, no differences in suppressor and helper T-cell functions were noted. Thus, immunoregulation of PWM-stimulated IgG and IgM synthesis by lymphocyte subpopulations did not distinguish between chronic HBV-infected patients and controls with circulating anti-HBs.
Why It Pays to Synchronize Structural Reforms in the Euro Area Across Markets and Countries

Simulations with the IMF's Global Economy Model, calibrated to the European Union, suggest that there are sizable long-term gains in output and employment from boosting competition in product and labor markets. Coordinating reforms across these markets in a given country is found to be beneficial: it reduces transition costs in the short run and generates synergies in the long run. However, to prevent a temporary fall in euro area consumption, synchronization across countries is needed if they are to benefit from a monetary policy reaction.
Radio soap operas and domestic masculinity: The World War II Veteran comes home

Radio soap operas espouse a domestic ideology that they present as a common‐sense view shared by men and women. Narratives about World War II veterans coming home from the hypermasculine battlefield dramatize the soaps’ vision of masculinity. There are two dominant narratives about veterans: The hardships of war make the man treasure home more; or they alienate him from the home and the story is structured around the revelation of his hidden attachment to domesticity. This presentation of domestic masculinity simultaneously masks the oppression of women and offers a progressive vision of what masculinity should be.
Automated Creativity: Digital Morphology and the Design Process

Literature shows that traditional creative methods may reinforce repetitive and habitual behavior resulting in ineffective environmental design solutions (Lawson, 1980; Lang, 1987; Laseau, 1989). Two case studies explored the use of an automated system called cyber-ideation (Gibson, 2000b) as a method to stimulate idea generation. This procedure employed individual and team involvement, recursive and linear exploration, and manual and digital processes. Analysis compared students' production using traditional ideation processes with that resulting from cyber-ideation. Results from this case study found that: 1) digital creation was more linear when evaluated against traditional ideation output, 2) cyber-ideation had a positive impact on team dynamics, and 3) automated output possessed greater surface delineation when compared with subjects' manual sketching.
Reduction of autotomy following peripheral neurectomy by a single injection of bupivacaine into the cingulum bundle of rats

Peripheral neurectomy in rats is followed by autotomy of the denervated zone, which is assumed to represent an index of pain or dysesthesia. In the present study, we examined whether a single injection of a local anesthetic (bupivacaine) into the cingulum bundle at the time of nerve section could reduce autotomy. It was found that a temporary anesthetic blockade of the cingulum at the time of nerve section delayed the onset and reduced the overall degree of autotomy. However, injections given shortly after nerve section had no significant effects. These results demonstrate that temporary blockade of cingulum activity at the time of nerve section reduces autotomy for periods that exceed the duration of the anesthetic block.
A General Framework for Localization of Classical Waves: II. Random Media

We study localization of classical waves in random media in the general framework introduced in Part I of this work. This framework allows for two random coefficients, encompasses acoustic waves with random position dependent compressibility and mass density, elastic waves with random position dependent Lame moduli and mass density, electromagnetic waves with random position dependent magnetic permeability and dielectric constant, and allows for anisotropy. We show exponential localization (Anderson localization) and strong Hilbert–Schmidt dynamical localization for random perturbations of periodic media with a spectral gap.
Applications of argentation solid phase extraction to the capsaicinoids: Purification of commercial standards and isolation of homodihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl) from ‘Bhut Jolokia’

Abstract Argentation solid phase extraction was employed to purify commercial standards of capsaicin (6-ene-8-methyl) and dihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl). The purity was improved from 96.7% to 99.6% and from 89% to 96%, respectively, with 75% and 60% yield, respectively. Reversed phase solid phase extraction, argentation solid phase extraction, and preparative liquid chromatography with a C30 phase were used to isolate capsaicinoids from the fruits of ‘Bhut Jolokia’ peppers. The compounds capsaicin (6-ene-8-methyl) and dihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl) comprised 74% and 21% of the total mass of capsaicinoids, respectively. The remaining 5% of the capsaicinoids mass included the compounds: nordihydrocapsaicin (7-methyl), N -vanillylnonanamide, two homocapsaicin isomers, N -vanillyldecanamide, and two homodihydrocapsaicin isomers. All but one of these compounds were identified by comparison to known standards. The presence of homodihydrocapsaicin (8-methyl) was confirmed by its absorbance at 280 nm, electrospray ions at m / z 322 and m / z 137, elution just prior to homodihydrocapsaicin (9-methyl), and a carbon-13 NMR spectrum that matched predicted chemical shifts.
Changes in carbohydrate metabolism in association with glipizide treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Nineteen patients with Type 2 diabetes were treated with glipizide for 2.5–6 months, and measurements made of metabolic variables before and after glipizide treatment. For purposes of analysis, the glipizide associated decrease in fasting plasma glucose concentration was used to divide patients into ‘good’ responders (decrease of 4.0 mmol I−1 or more, n = 9) or ‘fair’ responders (decrease of 3.0 mmol I−1 or less, n = 10). Good responders had a significantly greater fall in their mean (± SE) hourly plasma glucose (6.3 ± 0.6 vs 2.7 ± 0.3 mmol I−1, p < 0.001) and NEFA (164 ± 40 vs 60 ± 37 μ-mol I−1, p < 0.05) concentrations from 0800 to 1600 h in response to meals (0800 and 1200h) than did the fair responders. However, the increase in hourly plasma insulin concentration following glipizide treatment was the same in the good (323 ± 103 to 413 ± 124 pmol I−1) and fair (276 ± 42 to 345 ± 43 pmol I−1) responders. Good responders also had a significant increase in glucose metabolic clearance rate (MCR) following glipizide treatment during glucose clamp studies performed at plasma insulin concentrations of approximately 100 pmol I−1 (39 ± 4 to 53 ± 5 ml min−1 m−2, p < 0.02) and 600 pmol I−1 (109 ± 15 to 172 ± 32 ml min−1 m−2, p < 0.05), whereas in fair responders a significant improvement in glucose MCR was seen during the clamp performed at 100 pmol I−1 (46 ± 4 to 51 ± 3 ml min−1 m−2, p < 0.05), but not when insulin concentration was increased to 600 pmol I−1 (101 ± 13 to 105 ± 15 ml min−1 m−2, NS). Although glucose MCR increased in both glucose clamp studies in the good responders, the magnitude of the insulin-induced increment in glucose uptake did not change significantly in response to glipizide therapy in this group. Glucose transport by adipocytes isolated from good responders (n = 4) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) after glipizide treatment in both the absence and presence of insulin, but the response to insulin did not change significantly with treatment. Basal hepatic glucose production also fell significantly (p < 0.05) in good responders (0.53 ± 0.06 to 0.29 ± 0.02 mmol min−1 m−2, n = 6), but not in fair responders (0.45 ± 0.04 to 0.42 ± 0.04 mmol min−1 m−2, n = 4, NS). Neither the ability of insulin to inhibit hepatic glucose production nor insulin binding to isolated adipocytes changed significantly following glipizide treatment. These results emphasize the variability in the blood glucose response to glipizide in patients with Type 2 diabetes, and demonstrate that those individuals with the best clinical response were characterized by a greater fall in circulating NEFA levels, a significant decrease in basal hepatic glucose production, and both in vivo and in vitro evidence of enhanced glucose uptake
Are visual cortex maps optimized for coverage

The elegant regularity of maps of variables such as ocular dominance, orientation, and spatial frequency in primary visual cortex has prompted many people to suggest that their structure could be explained by an optimization principle. Up to now, the standard way to test this hypothesis has been to generate artificial maps by optimizing a hypothesized objective function and then to compare these artificial maps with real maps using a variety of quantitative criteria. If the artificial maps are similar to the real maps, this provides some evidence that the real cortex may be optimizing a similar function to the one hypothesized. Recently, a more direct method has been proposed for testing whether real maps represent local optima of an objective function (Swindale, Shoham, Grinvald, Bonhoeffer, & Hubener, 2000). In this approach, the value of the hypothesized function is calculated for a real map, and then the real map is perturbed in certain ways and the function recalculated. If each of these perturbations leads to a worsening of the function, it is tempting to conclude that the real map is quite likely to represent a local optimum of that function. In this article, we argue that such perturbation results provide only weak evidence in favor of the optimization hypothesis.
Pyrylium-mediated transformations of natural products. Part 1. Synthesis and hydrolysis of 4-(4-methoxy-3-sulphophenyl)-2,6-bis-(4-sulphophenyl) pyrylium perchlorate: a new water-soluble pyrylium cation

The title pyrylium cation (7) coexists in water with the enedione pseudobase (12) and the anion [cf.(13)]. The kinetic and equilibrium interrelationships of these species and the corresponding 2H-pyran and oxodienol over a wide pH range have been studied and elucidated.
Is “The Other Face of Reform” in Bucks an “Hallucination”?

As several reviewers of Richard W. Davis's recent book, Political Change and Continuity, 1760-1885: a Buckinghamshire Studyt have noted, while challenging the whole of what is sometimes called "the deference school" of nineteenth century English historians, Davis singles out my own work for particular criticism. Apparently, these reviewers found his various arguments convincing. While none, to my knowledge, seriously discussed the merits of his general challenge, or those of his specific criticisms of my work, one of them observed that I was his "first victim."2 Another, for whose sympathy I am grateful, pled for greater mercy on my behalf.3 But I neither feel that I am a victim at least, not in the way that was obviously meant-nor that I should plead for mercy. Davis's criticisms of my work are numerous. They occur on many pages of his book and concern many of the points he tries to make. In the light of the reviewers' reactions, some response of my own seems called for. To reply to each of his criticisms would unduly magnify their importance not to mention the undue tax upon any editor's indulgence and any reader's patience. But one of his contentions is so packaged that it can be dealt with fairly simply and within a fairly small compass that my "ideas on the genesis of parliamentary reform ... can be dismissed from our minds at once, as far as Bucks is concerned."4 To deal with this contention will scarcely resolve all of the questions raised by his general challenge to "the deference school." But it should affect the ways in which this challenge will be seen. Whatever might be said of Davis's description of my argument, first presented in part in "The Other Face of Reform,"5 he is right that I stressed the importance of anti-"liberalism" in generating the effective demland for parliamentary reform, especially that anti-"liberalism" which the Ultra-Tories symbolized and which was manifest in their positions on cash, corn, and Catholics. He
Integrated neutron/gamma-ray portal monitors for nuclear safeguards

Radiation monitoring is one nuclear-safeguards measure used to protect against the theft of special nuclear materials (SNM) by pedestrians departing from SNM access areas. The integrated neutron/gamma-ray portal monitor is an ideal radiation monitor for the task when the SNM is plutonium. It achieves high sensitivity for detecting both bare and shielded plutonium by combining two types of radiation detector. One type is a neutron-chamber detector, comprising a large, hollow, neutron moderator that contains a single thermal-neutron proportional counter. The entrance wall of each chamber is thin to admit slow neutrons from plutonium contained in a moderating shield, while the other walls are thick to moderate fast neutrons from bare or lead-shielded plutonium so that they can be detected. The other type of detector is a plastic scintillator that is primarily for detecting gamma rays from small amounts of unshielded plutonium. The two types of detector are easily integrated by making scintillators part of the thick back wall of each neutron chamber or by inserting them into each chamber void. We compared the influence of the two methods of integration on detecting neutrons and gamma rays, and we examined the effectiveness of other design factors and the methods for signal detection as well. >
Idarubicin and standard-dose cytosine arabinoside in adults with recurrent and refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND Drug resistance and early disease recurrence were major contributing factors in the limited survival of patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). New chemotherapeutic agents and drug combinations were employed in refractory patients to overcome drug resistance. METHODS The current study evaluated the efficacy of a regimen comprising intravenous bolus injections of idarubicin, 12 mg/m2 daily × 3, and a continuous 7-day infusion of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C), 100 mg/m2 daily, in adults with refractory or recurrent ALL. Twenty patients aged 14–75 years were treated. RESULTS Six patients (30%) achieved complete remission (CR), 5 (25%) had a partial response (PR), and 9 (45%) did not respond. Recovery of blood counts occurred at a median of 20 days. One patient who achieved CR and one who achieved PR survived 1.5 and 2 years, respectively, after receiving this treatment. The median response and overall survival periods were 2.75 and 6.3 months, respectively. There was no relation between remission duration and previous chemotherapy. Neither leukocyte count at study entry nor patient karyotype was associated with attainment of CR. All patients experienced profound myelosuppression. Gastrointestinal toxicity was mild to moderate, with the exception of one case of World Health Organization Grade 3 mucositis. CONCLUSIONS The regimen of idarubicin and ara-C achieved a 55% overall response rate in patients with recurrent or refractory ALL. This response rate compared favorably with other regimens and was achieved with acceptable toxicity. Response duration was disappointing, however. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.
John Watson Murray Rothney: Eminent Practitioner, Educator, and Researcher

This article contains highlights of an interview with John Rothney concerning his personal and professional life and career of research, counseling, and teaching.
Ebolavirus glycoprotein structure and mechanism of entry

Ebolavirus (EBOV) is a highly virulent pathogen capable of causing a severe hemorrhagic fever with 50–90% lethality. The EBOV glycoprotein (GP) is the only virally expressed protein on the virion surface and is critical for attachment to host cells and catalysis of membrane fusion. Hence, the EBOV GP is a critical component of vaccines as well as a target of neutralizing antibodies and inhibitors of attachment and fusion. The crystal structure of the Zaire ebolavirus GP in its trimeric, prefusion conformation (3 GP1 plus 3 GP2) in complex with a neutralizing antibody fragment, derived from a human survivor of the 1995 Kikwit outbreak, was recently determined. This is the first near-complete structure of any filovirus glycoprotein. The overall molecular architecture of the Zaire ebolavirus GP and its role in viral entry and membrane fusion are discussed in this article.
Survival of Implantable Pacemaker Leads

FURMAN, S., ET AL.: Survival of Implantable Pacemaker Leads. Early polyurethane leads were reported to have a high incidence of materials failure. In 1979 a six-center registry was begun. By October 31, 1989, 7, 311 leads had been registered and lead longevity was calculated by individual manufacturer, cumulatively for all manufacturers and for individual leads. Each lead was registered at implant and at removal from service as having been removed for materials failure or for unrelated reasons. Calculations were made for 23 models and for a total of three manufacturers with more than 100 leads implanted. Four thousand seven hundred and sixty three leads (65.1%) were from Medtronic; 2, 177 (29.8%) from Cordis; 297 (4.1%) from Intermedics; and 77 (1.0%) were from all others. The 10-year cumulative survival of Medtronic leads was 96.6 ± 0.4%; for Cordis leads it was 99.9 ± 0.1% and for Intermedics leads 97.7 ± 0.9%. Three lead models registered over 100 units and had poorer survival at 5 years than the remainder of all manufacturers' experience. They were #6972 (n = 107) with 78.6 ± 4.5%; #6991U (n = 294) with 90.6 ± 1.9%; and #4012 (n = 288) with 97.3 ± 1.5%. Other possibly failed models did not achieve statistical significance. It can be anticipated that a lead which survives to the seventh year will have prolonged longevity as thereafter additional failures are uncommon.
Cyclic Homology of Totally Disconnected Groups Acting on Buildings

Abstract We prove a homological counterpart of a conjecture of P. Baum and A. Connes, concerning K -theory for convolution C *-algebras of p -adic groups, by calculating the periodic cyclic homology for the convolution algebra of a totally disconnected group acting properly on a building.
Immediate and delayed stimulus repetitions evoke different ERPs in a serial-probe recognition task.

In this study we examined whether event-related potentials ~ERPs! associated with stimulus repetition and recognition in a serial-probe recognition task were comparable to ERPs in other tasks that are more typically used to investigate old0new ERP effects. The experiment consisted of 320 trials in which a recognition probe followed a four-item memory set; 160 trials consisted of images depicting common objects that were easy to label ~EL task!, and 160 trials consisted of images depicting abstract patterns that were difficult to label ~DL task!. Nineteen participants indicated whether a probe that followed each memory set was or was not presented in the memory set. Half of the probes matched, and half did not match, an item in the preceding memory set. ERPs appeared to reflect two processes—one that differentiated between recently presented stimuli and other stimuli and another that distinguished between repeated stimuli and new stimuli. ERPs to recent probes were more positive than ERPs to other probes in the EL and DL tasks. ERPs to match ~old! probes were more positive than ERPs to nonmatch ~new! probes only in the EL task. Descriptors: Old0new effects, ERP repetition effects, Serial position effects, Recognition, Visual memory, Recency effect, Event-related potentials
An Analysis of Density-Dependent Viability Selection

Abstract Generalized linear modeling techniques and resistant fitting methods were used to analyze the results of two experiments to test for density-dependent viability selection on chromosomal variants in Drosophila pseudoobscura fruit flies. In the framework of the generalized linear model, a series of nested hypotheses were fitted by the maximum likelihood method. The hypotheses describe how the viabilities of two genotypes, relative to a third, varied with density and other factors. An additional analysis of the absolute viabilities of the three genotypes was also performed by the maximum likelihood method; estimates were computed by the EM algorithm. Resistant methods of fitting were then performed for the best-fitting relative viability models. The analyses confirm that the relative viability of one genotype increased linearly with density (with slope and intercept ). Viability differences between genotypes can thus be explained by variation in density.
Bone Marrow Origin of Endothelial Progenitor Cells Responsible for Postnatal Vasculogenesis in Physiological and Pathological Neovascularization

Abstract—Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been isolated in peripheral blood of adult species. To determine the origin and role of EPCs contributing to postnatal vasculogenesis, transgenic mice constitutively expressing β-galactosidase under the transcriptional regulation of an endothelial cell–specific promoter (Flk-1/LZ or Tie-2/LZ) were used as transplant donors. Localization of EPCs, indicated by flk-1 or tie-2/lacZ fusion transcripts, were identified in corpus luteal and endometrial neovasculature after inductive ovulation. Mouse syngeneic colon cancer cells (MCA38) were implanted subcutaneously into Flk-1/LZ/BMT (bone marrow transplantation) and Tie-2/LZ/BMT mice; tumor samples harvested at 1 week disclosed abundant flk-1/lacZ and tie-2/lacZ fusion transcripts, and sections stained with X-gal demonstrated that the neovasculature of the developing tumor frequently comprised Flk-1– or Tie-2–expressing EPCs. Cutaneous wounds examined at 4 days and 7 days after skin removal by punch b...
The influence of LBG addition to carrageenan on the mechanical stability of the gel and the fermentative activity of immobilized propionic acid bacteria

In the first part of the experiments, the mechanical properties of 1%, 2% and 3% carrageenan and 1%, 2% and 3% carrageenan/locust bean gum (LBG) gels stored in various concentrations of propionic and acetic acids and their mixtures were examined. The stability of these materials was measured by uniaxial compression between two parallel plates using the Instron Universal Testing Machine. A mathematical model explaining the dependence of the destroying force on the storage time was chosen for data analysis. Using this model, the average rate of gel deterioration was calculated. The structural properties of the examined gels were most influenced by the highest concentration of propionic and acetic acids and their mixtures (1% acetic acid and 2% propionic acid). The addition of LBG to carrageenan decreased the gel destroying force and increased its resistance to acids. In the second part of the experiments, the Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii NCFB 1081 and NCFB 566 were immobilized in a living state in 1%, 2% and 3% carrageenan and 1%, 2% and 3% carrageenan/LBG gels. The ammonia consumption, glucose utilization, production of propionic and acetic acids and the biosynthesis of vitamin B 12 were examined. An increase in the productivity of propionic acid and a significant decrease in the vitamin B 12 produced in the biosynthesis were observed when immobilized cells were used. The immobilization of cells enhanced the productivity of propionic acid by up to 40% compared to free cells. The best results were obtained for the second and third applications of immobilized cells in all concentrations of carrageenan gels and 2% and 3% carrageenan/LBG gels The results showed that carrageenan/LBG is a better support material for the immobilization of propionic acid bacteria than the pure carrageenan.
An empirical and analytical comparison of delay elements and a new delay element design

This paper comprehensively reviews five different delay element architectures for use in CMOS VLSI design. The first four delay elements that we analyze are already in general use; they are the transmission gate, cascaded inverters, thyristor, and voltage-controlled delay element. The fifth delay element, a transmission gate with Schmitt trigger, is a new architecture that we are proposing in this paper. We compare these delay elements, both analytically and through simulations, in terms of four important parameters: delay, signal integrity, power consumption, and area, and find that they have widely varying characteristics. Depending upon the delay value required in an application, results presented in this paper will enable a designer to select the most appropriate delay element that meets signal integrity, power consumption, and area specifications.
Nonlinear Symbolic Analysis for Advanced Program Parallelization

High-end parallel and multicore processors rely on compilers to perform the necessary optimizations and exploit concurrency in order to achieve higher performance. However, the source code for high-performance computers is extremely complex to analyze and optimize. In particular, program analysis techniques often do not take into account complex expressions during the data dependence analysis phase. Most data dependence tests are only able to analyze linear expressions, even though nonlinear expressions occur very often in practice. Therefore, considerable amounts of potential parallelism remain unexploited. In this paper, we propose new data dependence analysis techniques to handle such complex instances of the dependence problem and increase program parallelization. Our method is based on a set of polynomial-time techniques that can prove or disprove dependences in source codes with nonlinear and symbolic expressions, complex loop bounds, arrays with coupled subscripts, and if-statement constraints. In addition, our algorithm can produce accurate and complete direction vector information, enabling the compiler to apply further transformations. To validate our method, we performed an experimental evaluation and comparison against the I-Test, the Omega test, and the Range test in the Perfect and SPEC benchmarks. The experimental results indicate that our dependence analysis tool is accurate, efficient, and more effective in program parallelization than the other dependence tests. The improved parallelization results into higher speedups and better program execution performance in several benchmarks.
The effect of phone design on upper extremity discomfort and muscle fatigue.

Objective: To compare a small cellular clamshell phone with a traditional office phone in the development of discomfort and muscle fatigue over time during phone use. Background: Phone use involves low-level static exertions that may be influenced by phone design. Phone design and its interactions with anthropometry may change shoulder and hand postures assumed during use, which in turn may modify the length-strength relationship and moment arms of the muscles. Method: Ten adults participated in a study that simulated phone use using a small clamshell and a traditional office phone. Discomfort information and electromyographic (EMG) muscle activity were monitored on four upper extremity muscles. Discomfort and fatigue data (EMG median frequency shifts) were analyzed to assess differences between phones as well as differing effects attributable to anthropometry. Results: Median frequency shifts supported discomfort claims and indicated muscle fatigue in the deltoid and thenar muscles. Biomechanical measure...