cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strategies for Management of Synchronous Colorectal Metastases

The management of synchronous presentation of colorectal cancer and liver metastases has long been a topic of debate and discussion for surgeons due to the unique dilemma of balancing operative timing along with treatment strategy. Operative strategies for resection include staged resection with colon first approach, “reverse” staged resection with liver metastases resected first, and one-stage, or simultaneous, resection of both the primary tumor and liver metastases approach. These operative strategies can be further augmented with perioperative chemotherapy and other novel approaches that may improve resectability and patient survival. The decision on operative timing and approach, however, remains largely dependent on the surgeon’s determination of disease resectability, patient fitness, and the need for neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
The relationship between clinical measurements of lower extremity posture and tibial translation.

Abstract Objective. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if postures of the lower extremity were related to the amount of anterior tibial translation. Design. Regression model of lower extremity postural measures used to predict the amount of tibial translation for a sample of convenience. Background. Retrospective studies have indicated a link between certain lower extremity postures and prediction of anterior cruciate ligament injury status. What is not clear is whether these lower extremity postures cause, or occur as a result of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Methods. Genu recurvatum, the thigh–foot angle, and navicular drop measures were obtained from the right leg of 43 uninjured college-aged subjects. Tibial translation was determined using a KT-1000 arthrometer. Gender related differences were determined with independent t -tests. Step-wise regression was performed to assess the relationship between postural measures and subject gender, and tibial translation. Results. Very good to excellent inter- and intra-rater reliability was found for the postural measures. There was greater tibial translation ( P =0.01) in females. The final regression model indicated a moderate relationship between sex of the subject, navicular drop and tibial translation ( r =0.551). Genu recurvatum and thigh–foot angle were not significant predictors of tibial translation. Conclusions. We concluded that foot pronation has a greater impact on the amount of tibial translation than genu recurvatum and torsion of the lower leg in anterior cruciate intact subjects. Relevance Static clinical measures of lower extremity posture are commonly taken as predictors of outcome (both performance and injury). There may be little association between these static measures and dynamic performance.
Probabilistic control using H2 control design and polynomial chaos: Experimental design, analysis, and results☆

Abstract This work presents an experimental investigation of recently developed design methods that combine polynomial chaos with H 2 control. The experiment utilizes a mechanical oscillator with different amounts of mass added in order to create an experimental parametric uncertainty. The uncertain mass is described in the system model by a polynomial chaos representation of a probability distribution function (PDF). Four different controllers using different variance weightings, are optimized using the H 2 and polynomial chaos technique. A comparable standard H 2 design and open loop performance are presented for comparison. The motivation for the work includes validating the proposed technique as well as contributing an experimental investigation to the polynomial chaos literature, which is predominately limited to simulation studies. The paper covers the experimental design and setup. A practical overview of the control design method is given. Standard control analysis tools showing responses for a selection of parameter values allow visualizing some of the properties of the controllers. Further, the experimental results from the test allow better conceptualization of the effects of the method as well as illustrating practical limits. Of particular interest, the defined H 2 norms used for designing the optimal controllers also provide an elegant way to quantitatively compare the theoretically expected performance with the obtained experimental performance.
HARD‐PATH VERSUS SOFT‐PATH ADVOCATES: A STUDY OF ENERGY ACTIVISTS

A study designed to fill the gap between studies of organizational lobbying on energy policy and public opinion on energy issues examines the memberships of competing energy interest groups. The authors set out to shed light on the degree and bases of the disagreements between these interest groups to identify potential areas of compromise. The two major competing groups are the expansionists and the limitationists. Adherents of the two camps come from different segments of society. The authors conclude that efforts to compromise must be based on appreciation and understanding of the scale and depth of the current lack of consensus. 20 references, 6 tables.
Strider: automatic rate adaptation and collision handling

This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of Strider, a system that automatically achieves almost the optimal rate adaptation without incurring any overhead. The key component in Strider is a novel code that has two important properties: it is rateless and collision-resilient. First, in time-varying wireless channels, Strider's rateless code allows a sender to effectively achieve almost the optimal bitrate, without knowing how the channel state varies. Second, Strider's collision-resilient code allows a receiver to decode both packets from collisions, and achieves the same throughput as the collision-free scheduler. We show via theoretical analysis that Strider achieves Shannon capacity for Gaussian channels, and our empirical evaluation shows that Strider outperforms SoftRate, a state of the art rate adaptation technique by 70% in mobile scenarios and by upto 2.8× in contention scenarios.
Viscoelasticity Effects of Polymeric Material in Micro Injection Molding

An experimental study has been carried out to determine the effect of viscoelasticity in comparison to viscosity on micro-injection molded parts. In this study, two different polymeric materials — Polystyrene (PS) as a viscous material and High Density Poly-Ethylene (HDPE) as a viscoelastic material — have been selected to observe the effect of melt elasticity on the filling phase of micro molding based on cavity pressure of molded part. All process parameters except temperature are the same for both polymers. Process temperatures have been selected in order to match the viscosity for both polymers used. Polymer viscosity was characterized at different shear rate and temperature. Viscoelasticity of both polymers were investigated using rotational rheometry in the oscillation mode. The mold geometry with high aspect ratio has been used and the effect of viscoelasticity on cavity pressure has been discussed. It was observed that there is retardation on the response of pressure because of elastic response of material during filling. Despite the differences in slope, peak value, area, and cycle time between two curves, they share similar trends. The only difference is their response during solidifying because of material property.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Patterns of distorted cognitions in phobic disorders: An investigation of clinically severe simple phobics, social phobics, and agoraphobics

Recent theories by Ellis (1962) and Beck (1976) have implicated cognitive distortions in the development and maintenance of phobias. While a few studies have shown an association between cognitions and fears, they have been on analogue populations. The current study examined clinically severe phobics presenting for treatment. Consistent with predictions, irrational cognitions associated with concerns about others' opinions, projected misfortune, and problem avoidance showed the strongest significant correlations with phobic responding. Implications of these findings for the phenomenology and maintenance of phobias, as well as methodological limitations and directions for future research, are discussed.
α-Diaminobutyric Acid-Linked Hairpin Polyamides

A hairpin polyamide-chlorambucil conjugate linked by α-diaminobutyric acid (α-DABA) has been shown to have interesting biological properties in cellular and small animal models. Remarkably, this new class of hairpin polyamides has not been previously characterized with regard to energetics and sequence specificity. Herein we present a series of pyrrole-imidazole hairpin polyamides linked by α-DABA and compare them to polyamides containing the standard γ-DABA turn unit. The α-DABA hairpins have overall decreased binding affinities. However, α-DABA polyamide-chlorambucil conjugates are sequence-specific DNA alkylators with increased specificities. Affinity cleavage studies of α-DABA polyamide-EDTA conjugates confirmed their preference for binding DNA in a forward hairpin conformation. In contrast, an unsubstituted glycine-linked polyamide prefers to bind in an extended binding mode. Thus, substitution on the turn unit locks the α-DABA polyamide into the forward hairpin binding motif.
Fire properties of styrenic polymer–clay nanocomposites based on an oligomerically-modified clay

Abstract An oligomerically-modified clay has been used to fabricate nanocomposites with styrenic polymers, such as polystyrene, high-impacted polystyrene, poly(styrene- co -acrylonitrile) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene by melt blending. The clay dispersion was evaluated by X-ray diffraction and bright field transmission electron microscopy. All of the nanocomposites have a mixed delaminated/intercalated structure. The fire properties of nanocomposites were evaluated by cone calorimetry a nd the mechanical properties were also evaluated.
Haiku and Healing An Empirical Study of Poetry Writing as Therapeutic and Creative Intervention

Haiku poetry was investigated in the context of the expressive writing paradigm to evaluate its potential benefits. Participants, 98 introductory psychology students at a large southwestern univers...
A rapid approach to lipid profiling of mycobacteria using 2D HSQC NMR maps.

Mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are characterized by a unique cell wall rich in complex lipids, glycolipids, polyketides, and terpenoids. Many of these metabolites have been shown to play important roles in mycobacterial virulence and their inherent resistance to many antibiotics. Here, we report the development of a new simple method for global analysis of these metabolites using two-dimensional 1H-13C heteronuclear single quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance. The major advantages of this method are as follows: the small amount of sample and the minimal sample manipulation required; a relatively short procedural time; and the ability to rapidly attain a qualitative and quantitative lipid profile of a mycobacterial sample in which the majority of the clinically relevant lipids can be observed simultaneously. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated in four different areas of major concern to the mycobacterial research community: i) adaptive changes in cell wall lipids as a result of drug treatment; ii) analysis of gene function; iii) characterization of new mycobacterial species; and iv) analysis of the production of virulence factors in clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis. This method is complementary to mass spectrometry-based lipidomic technologies and provides an urgently needed tool to gain a better understanding of the role of lipids in mycobacteria pathogenesis.
Rate for positronium decay to five photons

In this report we calculate GAMMA/sub 5/, the rate for orthopositronium to decay to five photons. We find that GAMMA/sub s/ = (0.0189(11))..cap alpha../sup 2/GAMMA/sub LO/, where GAMMA/sub LO/ is the lowest-order orthopositronium decay rate. The relevance of our result to the experimental situation is discussed.
A developmental perspective on day care

Issues surrounding early day care become clarified when brought within a developmental perspective. Day care is examined in the context of normal developmental issues. A series of questions emerges. How does development commonly unfold in the context of nondisrupted parental care? How is development organized; what are major sequences of development and, especially, how does one phase build upon and set the stage for others? What is required of social partners to promote optimal development? How does this change with age? In brief, what do infants need from the social environment, and how do they typically get it in the context of the family? One then asks questions concerning day care. For example, what kinds of arrangements are and are not generally compatible with infant needs and under what circumstances? A developmental perspective also provides a framework for organizing findings from day care research and even suggests strategies for intervention research. While not fully explicit, Belsky's review (in this issue) provides a valuable service by introducing developmental concepts to the day care discussion. In the present paper this viewpoint is elaborated.
Cortical responses to stimulation of the human fovea.

Abstract Functional properties of the human fovea were studied by means of the visual evoked response (VER), and the results compared with subjective measurements obtained for equivalent stimulus conditions. Employing a constant VER latency as the response criterion for sensitivity determinations, we found excellent agreement between the VER and subjective thresholds in studies of the area-intensity relation, Stiles-Crawford effect and spectral sensitivity. However, VER and subjective sensitivity measurements differed in one important respect. Whereas the subjective sensitivity of the parafovea exceeded that of the fovea, VER sensitivity decreased markedly with increasing distance from the fovea. Thus, several lines of evidence indicate that the VER provides a valid objective index of foveal function.
Lost in the crowd or hidden in the grass: signal apparency of female polymorphic damselflies in alternative habitats

Animals must locate prey and mates in noisy sensory environments. Species that rely on visual cues, and which are prey of visual predators, consequently face trade-offs. Additionally, within species, sexual conflict over mating may impose pressures to avoid both predators and mates. Many studies have attempted to explain female-specific polymorphisms in damselflies, but without considering their actual conspicuousness under natural conditions. Using models of colour perception for damselflies and birds, we assessed the detectability of female coloration to conspecific males and potential predators. Alternative colour morphs reduce female apparency either through signal similarity with conspecific males (i.e. mimicry) or by matching the noise of the visual background. The colours of male-mimicking andromorphs that reduce their apparency among groups of males at breeding sites render them highly detectable to males as well as visual predators in offshore vegetation, where females occur when not reproducing. By presenting tethered female damselflies to free-flying males amidst vegetation, we demonstrated that, among flying females, males were able to detect andromorphs more easily than the more cryptic heteromorphs. Thus, when male density is low, cryptic heteromorphs may experience less harassment than andromorphs, suggesting a scenario of disruptive selection on female coloration driven by males as well as predators. Greater attention is warranted not only to the predation risks of female signals, but also to the effect of variation in the visual environments on encounters between males and unreceptive females.
Statin use and risk of colorectal cancer.

Background Statins have anticancer activity in various cell types, including colon cancer cells. Although epidemiologic data on the relationship between statin use and the risk of colorectal cancer are limited, one case-control study reported a 50% reduction in colorectal cancer risk among statin users. We conducted a population-based case-control study to assess this association with respect to statin type, dose, and duration of use. Methods Case patients with adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum were ascertained from participating hospitals in Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Cancer Registry from January 1, 2001, through November 30, 2004. Age-, sex-, and precinct-matched control subjects were chosen from Massachusetts town lists. Information on statin use and other relevant data were obtained by telephone interview. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs). All tests for statistical significance were two-sided. Results Among 1809 case patients and 1809 matched control subjects, regular use of statins for at least 3 months was not associated with the risk of colorectal cancer (OR = 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.78 to 1.09). There was no consistent trend across dose or duration of use (e.g., for > or = 10 years of use, OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.51 to 1.45). The risk of stage IV cancer was, however, statistically significantly lower among statin users than among nonusers (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.26 to 0.91). There was no evidence of an interaction between statin use and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. Conclusions Overall, use of statins did not appear to be associated with reduced risk of colorectal cancer. The reduced risk of stage IV cancer observed among statin users requires confirmation.
Selective venous sampling from the cavernous sinuses is not a more reliable technique than sampling from the inferior petrosal sinuses in Cushing's syndrome.

The purpose of this study was to compare ACTH levels in unstimulated samples obtained from the cavernous sinuses (CS) to unstimulated and CRH-stimulated samples obtained from the inferior petrosal sinuses (IPS) in 15 patients with surgically proven Cushing's disease. After unstimulated samples were obtained through 5-French catheters placed in both IPS, tracker catheters were introduced into both cavernous sinuses, and unstimulated samples were obtained within 5 min of the initial set. The Tracker catheters were removed, CRH was administered, and CRH-stimulated samples were obtained from the IPS. We compared the central to peripheral ACTH ratios in unstimulated samples from the cavernous sinuses to unstimulated and CRH-stimulated samples from the IPS as a basis for distinguishing pituitary from ectopic ACTH production. In addition, we compared the ability of the intercavernous and interpetrosal ACTH ratios to correctly predict the site of the microadenoma. Unstimulated levels of ACTH in the cavernous sinu...
Thermodynamic Modeling of Atomic Bonding in Covalent Cx(BN)1-x ALLOYS

The results of the application of the free energy model (FEM) to the atomic bonding in covalent network C x (BN) 1-x alloys are presented. The high values of C-C and B-N bond energies strongly favors chemical ordering and phase separation of carbon and boron nitride. Only at temperatures of the order of the melting points are equilibrium bonding configurations including CB and C-N bonds expected to be present. Two types of structure based on either sp 3 (tetrahedral) or sp 2 (trigonal) configurations with different short and long range ordering are possible in the alloys. The tetrahedral structure will consist of separate clusters of diamond-like carbon and cubic boron nitride. For the hexagonal structure planar bonding causes instead two-dimensional clusters to be present. The weak interlayer bonding makes thermodynamically possible the formation of alternating graphite and BN layers. Special physical properties of the alloys connected with this ordering may be expected.
Diagnostic Implications of Atrial Vulnerability

Extrastim-ulution in the atrial vulnerable zone may result in atrial fibrillation or flutter (AFF), especially with stimulation of multiple atrial sites. However, the clinical relevance of such vulnerability to AFF is unknown. Therefore, single twice-threshold extru-stimuli were applied at three disparate right atrial sites in 45 consecutive unmrdi-cated patients without overt heart failure. Group I consisted of 12 patients with documented spontaneous paroxysms of AFF. AFF was duplicated in 9 of 12 patients using extraslimulation in the vulnerable zone (5 in sinus rhythm, 4 requiring atrial pacing at 120 beats/min/. Croup II consisted of 33 patients without documented AFF despite monitoring. Vulnerability to AFF was found in 12 of 33 patients (4 in sinus rhythm, 8 requiring atrial pacing). The duration of induced AFF did not discriminate between the two groups. Among the 12 Group II patients vulnerable to AFF, 3 had rapid palpitations, 2 had undiagnosed rapid tachycardias, 1 had atrial tachycardias and 1 junctional tachycardias. In vulnerable patients, the pause after AFF correlated with the pause after atrial pacing, but only 1 of 11 Group II patients with sick sinus syndrome was vulnerable. Thus, paroxysmal AFF may be duplicated with the extruslimulus technique if sufficient arial sites are stimulated, providing a model for evaluation of these arrhythmias. But atrial vulnerability, even to extra-stimulation at normal heart rates, may be seen in patients suspected of atrial tachy-arrhythmic in the absence of documented AFF, and does not contribute to the diagnosis of sinoatriul dysfunction.
Reminiscences of the Veterans Administration trial of the treatment of hypertension.

Drug treatment of essential hypertension was of no benefit. The question was hotly debated during the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, many authorities strongly opposed such treatment, arguing that it was first necessary to find the cause or causes of hypertension before it could be treated effectively. This controversy provided the stimulus for the Veterans Administration (VA) Cooperative Study on Antihypertensive Agents. The idea to carry out a controlled trial evolved gradually; it began with a trip to Germany
Bromodeoxyuridine resistance: thymidine transport and phosphorylation in Friend leukemia cells

We have studied multiple step bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) resistance in Friend leukemia cells. The mutation rate to 30 micrograms/ml resistance was 5.1 X 10(-5) per cell per generation, and to 100 micrograms/ml was 3.7 X 10(-7) per cell per generation. Resistant variants could not be obtained in a single step using BrdU concentrations higher than 100 micrograms/ml. Three clones isolated through multiple step selection were resistant to 640 micrograms/ml of BrdU and deficient in thymidine kinase, although their ability to transport radiolabeled thymidine was unimpaired relative to wild type. All three clones had low reversion frequencies, as judged by plating efficiencies in couterselective HAT medium. Two such revertant clones were isolated and tested for their forward mutation frequency in BrdU. No resistant clones were obtained when as many as 5 X 10(7) cells were tested. This observation argues against the hypothesis that the Friend cells possess two functional thymidine kinase loci and that the revertants represent a heterozygous condition. We conclude that the hypothesis of null mutations within a hemizygous or heterozygous thymidine kinase locus is sufficient to account for high-level BrdU resistance in Friend leukemia cells.
A technique for comparing the bulk and surface structure of defects in thin films using the scanning transmission electron microscope.

A technique is described which allows the scanning transmission electron microscope to be operated either in its usual mode to give a transmission image from a thin film, or with a tilted sample to give a low‐loss image of the surface. The low‐loss image obtained from one surface of a thin‐film gold sample is compared with the bright field image of the same area. Microtwins in this film display strong topographic contrast on the single surface studied. From this, it appears that the microtwins are formed by deformation, rather than as growth accidents during the preparation of the sample. It is found advantageous in the low‐loss mode to operate with a less steeply tilted sample than heretofore.
High Speed Gated Image Intensifier Tubes And Silicon Intensifier (SIT) Vidicons

A series of gateable tubes is described. These are intended for use with gate times down to less than one nanosecond. The tubes require gate pulses under 100 volts. Their principal feature is a gate electrode of fine mesh, fine enough as not to be resolved in the image. Their advantage over conventional gated image tubes with coarse mesh or ring gate electrode is lower gating voltage making pulse generation easier. Their advantage over the "proximity"-focussed microchannel plate (MCP) tubes is that they have less problems with internal resistivity capacitance effects which limit speed.
Patterns of spatial and species abundance within the larval fish assemblage of the North Pacific central gyre during late summer

The larval fish assemblage in the epipelagic zone of the North Pacific central gyre near Lat. 28°N, Long. 155°W during late summer was sampled with stratified opening/closing bongo nets. This assemblage exhibited recurring patterns of spatial and species distributions. Spatial patterns included species vertical distributions, co-occurrence and pathchiness; species patterns included species composition and abundance relations. Both types of patterns changed with depth, the most dramatic change occurring in relation to the bottom of the summer mixed layer. An examination of the physical and biological environments of the epipelagic zone with relation to the summertime species and spatial patterns and to seasonal changes in larval fish species structure indicates that the thermal structure of the upper water column may exert a major influence on overall ichtyoplanton species and spatial structures within the gyre.
Thermodynamic and Kinetic Study of Oxidative Addition/Reductive Elimination of H2 and D2 to FulvaleneCr2(CO)6: Evidence for Relatively Strong Metal−Metal Bonds in Fulvalenedimetals

Hydrogen adds reversibly to the chromium−chromium bond of FvCr2(CO)6 yielding FvCr2(CO)6(H)2 (Fv = fulvalene). Equilibrium data for this process have been measured in toluene and deuteriobenzene in the temperature range 50−80 °C and pressures up to 72 atm H2 [ΔH° = − 1.0(0.4) kcal/mol, ΔS° = − 14.0(2.0) cal/mol deg]. These data are used to estimate the enthalpy [16.5 (2.0) kcal/mol] and entropy (11 cal/mol deg) for breaking the Cr−Cr bond in FvCr2(CO)6. A theoretical calculation of the isodesmic process FvCr2(CO)6(H)2 + [η5-C5H5Cr(CO)3]2 → FvCr2(CO)6 + 2 η5-C5H5Cr(CO)3H predicts it to have an enthalpy of −1.74 kcal/mol, very close to the experimental value of −2 kcal/mol. Thus, and assuming that the individual Cr−H bonds in FvCr2(CO)6(H)2 and η5-C5H5Cr(CO)3H are equal, these results lead to the conclusion that the metal−metal bond in the fulvalene system is 2 ± 2 kcal/mol stronger than that in [η5-C5H5Cr(CO)3]2, despite the greater Cr−Cr bond length in the former. This result is also in accord with the me...
Properties of the parietal eye of the green iguana.

Abstract The ERG evoked by achromate stimuli was used to study the properties of the parietal eye of the Green Iguana. The response consisted of a positive component (positive on-response and a negative off-response), and a negative component (negative on-response and no response at off) which were independent and had different properties. The negative component was more sensitive and had a long refractory period whereas the positive component had a higher threshold but had a very short refractory period. The parietal eye of the iguana studied had properties which were more like those of the lateral eyes of nocturnal reptiles (gecko and caiman) than those of its own lateral eye.
Establishment of the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a novel animal model for comparing smallpox vaccines administered preexposure in both high- and low-dose monkeypox virus challenges.

The 2003 monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak and subsequent laboratory studies demonstrated that the black-tailed prairie dog is susceptible to MPXV infection and that the ensuing rash illness is similar to human systemic orthopoxvirus (OPXV) infection, including a 7- to 9-day incubation period and, likely, in some cases a respiratory route of infection; these features distinguish this model from others. The need for safe and efficacious vaccines for OPVX in areas where it is endemic or epidemic is important to protect an increasingly OPXV-naive population. In this study, we tested current and investigational smallpox vaccines for safety, induction of anti-OPXV antibodies, and protection against mortality and morbidity in two MPXV challenges. None of the smallpox vaccines caused illness in this model, and all vaccinated animals showed anti-OPXV antibody responses and neutralizing antibody. We tested vaccine efficacy by challenging the animals with 10(5) or 10(6) PFU Congo Basin MPXV 30 days postvaccination and evaluating morbidity and mortality. Our results demonstrated that vaccination with either Dryvax or Acambis2000 protected the animals from death with no rash illness. Vaccination with IMVAMUNE also protected the animals from death, albeit with (modified) rash illness. Based on the results of this study, we believe prairie dogs offer a novel and potentially useful small animal model for the safety and efficacy testing of smallpox vaccines in pre- and postexposure vaccine testing, which is important for public health planning.
Bivariate Lagrange interpolation at the Chebyshev nodes

We discuss Lagrange interpolation on two sets of nodes in two dimensions where the coordinates of the nodes are Chebyshev points having either the same or opposite parity. We use a formula of Xu for Lagrange poly- nomials to obtain a general interpolation theorem for bivariate polynomials at either set of Chebyshev nodes. An extra term must be added to the interpola- tion formula to handle all polynomials with the same degree as the Lagrange polynomials. We express this term as a specifically determined linear com- bination of canonical polynomials that vanish on the set of Chebyshev nodes being considered. As an application we deduce in an elementary way known minimal and near minimal cubature formulas applying to both the even and the odd Chebyshev nodes. Finally, we restrict to triangular subsets of the Chebyshev nodes to show unisolvence and deduce a Lagrange interpolation formula for bivariate symmetric and skew-symmetric polynomials. This result leads to another proof of the interpolation formula.
Rats prone to attribute incentive salience to reward cues are also prone to impulsive action

Animals vary considerably in the degree to which they attribute incentive salience to cues predictive of reward. When a discrete cue (conditional stimulus) is repeatedly paired with delivery of a food reward (unconditional stimulus) only some rats ("sign-trackers"; STs) come to find the cue itself an attractive and desirable incentive stimulus. For other rats ("goal-trackers"; GTs) the cue is an effective conditional stimulus - it evokes a conditional response - but it is less attractive and less desirable. Given that STs have particular difficulty resisting reward cues, and are thought to have poor inhibitory control over their behavior, we hypothesized that they may also be more impulsive. There are, however, multiple forms of impulsivity; therefore, we compared STs and GTs on two tests of so-called impulsive action - a 2-choice serial reaction time task and a differential reinforcement of low rates of responding task, and one test of impulsive choice - a delay discounting choice procedure. We found that relative to GTs, STs were more impulsive on the two tests of impulsive action, but not on the test of impulsive choice. We speculate that when these two traits combine, that is, when an individual is not only prone to attribute incentive salience to reward cues but also prone to impulsive action, they may be especially susceptible to impulse control disorders, including addiction.
A New Treatment Modality for Pneumoperitoneum Associated with Mechanical Ventilation

Pneumoperitoneum as a complication of mechanical ventilation is described in a 55-year-old woman with COPD. Exploratory laparotomy revealed no perforation of viscus. Therefore, a peritoneal (Tenckhoff) catheter was connected to chest tube drainage and placed to water seal permitting respirator weaning which previously had been prevented by pneumoperitoneum.
Evaluation of the clinical and serum IgE responses to oral challenge with cornstarch, corn, soy and a soy hydrolysate diet in dogs with known food allergy

Hydrolysate diets have been advocated in the management of the food-allergic dog, but little information is available on their performance in dogs with known allergies. Fourteen dogs with known allergies to soy and corn were maintained on a limited antigen diet exclusively for 80 days (Hills d/d Rice and Duck, Hills Pet Nutrition, Topeka, KS). This diet was continued during oral challenge with 200 mg kg−1of cornstarch, corn and soy respectively on two occasions each at 24-h intervals. There was a minimum period of 15 days between each challenge. A diet containing hydrolysed soy protein and cornstarch (CNM HA, Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, MO) was then introduced. Before and after each oral challenge the dogs were examined and a clinical score was determined; serum was also collected for measurement of allergen-specific and total IgE concentrations. Statistical analysis employed the use of a longitudinal mixed model and was performed using SAS software (Cary, NC). Significant increases in clinical scores were seen after oral challenge with cornstarch, corn and soy (P = 0.04, 0.002, 0.01 respectively) but not with HA (P = 0.5), although three dogs did develop clinical signs after this latter challenge. Allergen challenge did not affect total serum IgE concentrations. Although increases in soy- and corn-specific serum IgE were measured in individual dogs post-challenge they were not statistically significant, and could not be used to predict clinical hypersensitivity. This study was funded by a grant from Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, MO.
The influence of different moisture levels on the growth, fecundity and survival of Eisenia fetida (Savigny) in cattle and pig manure solids

Abstract The growth, fecundity and mortality of the epigeic earthworm Eisenia fetida in cattle manure solids and pig manure solids with different moisture contents (70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%) were studied for 30 weeks in the laboratory. The maximum weight of E . fetida in the pig manure solids, which had a moisture content of 75%, was 1100 mg after 13 weeks with a highest growth rate of 12.8 mg d –1 . The total number of cocoons and hatchlings produced was lower, compared to those in all the other moisture levels. Generally, earthworms grew bigger and faster in pig manure solids than in separated cattle manure solids but the mortality at all moisture levels in pig manure solids was high, ranging from 20% to 100%. The C/N ratio, NH 4 and NO 3 contents in the cattle manure solids and pig manure solids were variable both at the beginning of the experiment and in the earthworm casts or vermicomposts.
Clinical Perfusion MRI: Techniques and Applications

Barker PB, Golay X, Zaharchuk G, Eds. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2013, 356 pages, $125 Many diseases are associated with either increases or decreases in blood flow compared with reference values. The role of tumor and organ-level microvascular flow continues to be of critical
A variable selection method for genome-wide association studies

Motivation: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) involving half a million or more single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) allow genetic dissection of complex diseases in a holistic manner. The common practice of analyzing one SNP at a time does not fully realize the potential of GWAS to identify multiple causal variants and to predict risk of disease. Existing methods for joint analysis of GWAS data tend to miss causal SNPs that are marginally uncorrelated with disease and have high false discovery rates (FDRs). Results: We introduce GWASelect, a statistically powerful and computationally efficient variable selection method designed to tackle the unique challenges of GWAS data. This method searches iteratively over the potential SNPs conditional on previously selected SNPs and is thus capable of capturing causal SNPs that are marginally correlated with disease as well as those that are marginally uncorrelated with disease. A special resampling mechanism is built into the method to reduce false positive findings. Simulation studies demonstrate that the GWASelect performs well under a wide spectrum of linkage disequilibrium patterns and can be substantially more powerful than existing methods in capturing causal variants while having a lower FDR. In addition, the regression models based on the GWASelect tend to yield more accurate prediction of disease risk than existing methods. The advantages of the GWASelect are illustrated with the Wellcome Trust Case-Control Consortium (WTCCC) data. Availability: The software implementing GWASelect is available at http://www.bios.unc.edu/~lin. Access to WTCCC data: http://www.wtccc.org.uk/ Contact: lin@bios.unc.edu Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics Online.
Microencapsulation of 2-octylcyanoacrylate tissue adhesive for self-healing acrylic bone cement

Here, we report the first phase of developing self-healing acrylic bone cement: the preparation and characterization of polyurethane (PUR) microcapsules containing a medical cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive. Capsules were prepared by interfacial polymerization of a toluene-2,4-diisocyanate-based polyurethane prepolymer with 1,4-butanediol to encapsulate 2-octylcyanoacrylate (OCA). Various capsule characteristics, including: resultant morphology, average size and size distribution, shell thickness, content and reactivity of encapsulated agent, and shelf life are investigated and their reliance on solvent type and amount, surfactant type and amount, temperature, pH, agitation rate, reaction time, and mode of addition of the oil phase to the aqueous phase are presented. Capsules had average diameters ranging from 74 to 222 μm and average shell thicknesses ranging from 1.5 to 6 μm. The capsule content was determined via thermogravimetric analysis and subsequent analysis of the capsules following up to 8 weeks storage revealed minimal loss of core contents. Mechanical testing of OCA-containing capsules showed individual capsules withstood compressive forces up to a few tenths of Newtons, and the contents released from crushed capsules generated tensile adhesive forces of a few Newtons. Capsules were successfully mixed into the poly(methyl methacrylate) bone cement, surviving the mixing process, exposure to methyl methacrylate monomer, and the resulting exothermic matrix curing.
The broad substrate specificity of human angiotensin I converting enzyme.

Angiotensin I converting enzyme (kininase II; ACE) has been described as a peptidyldipeptidase or dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase (EC 3.4.15.1) of the pulmonary endothelial cells, which liberates angiotensin II or inactivates kinins. However, ACE has a much wider distribution and substrate specifity; it is concentrated in human epithelial cells (e.g. brush border of the kidney, placenta, intestine and choroid plexus), neuroepithelial cells (subfornical organ, pallidonigral dendrites, median eminence) and male genital tract (testes, prostate, epididymides, seminal plasma). Its substrates include enkaphalins, the C-terminal extended proenkephalins and a protected chemotactic tripeptide. Recent, mostly in vitro studies with purified ACE, indicate that ACE also cleaves peptides by other than peptidyldipeptidase action. Homogeneous human ACE inactivated substance P in spite of its blocked C-terminus (Met11-NH2) primarily by releasing the C-terminal tripeptide. A blocked C-terminal tripeptide, Arg-Pro-Gly-NH2 was also released from the luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH). Although ACE shares many properties with carboxypeptidases, it surprisingly cleaves the N-terminal tripeptide greater than Glu1-His2-Trp3 from LHRH. Because human ACE hydrolyzes a variety of peptide hormones, actions of its inhibitors may go well beyond blocking the conversion of angiotensin I.
THE X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTRA OF SIGMA AND Pi BONDED ORGANOGADOLINIUM COMPOUNDS: A SEARCH FOR 4f ORBITAL COVALENCY

Abstract The nature of the bonding in a series of sigma- and pi-bonded organogadolinium compounds (GdCl3, CpGdCl2, Cp2GdCl, Cp3Gd, Cp2GdR where R=CH3 and C[tbnd]CpH) have been studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Gd(3d) region of each compound investigated reveals one electron ‘shake-up’ photopeak indicating some covalency due to 4f participation in bonding. The relative areas of the main photopeak and the satellite photopeak show no change between compounds which indicates similar bonding properties for the various sigma- and pi-bonded substituents. As a result, this investigation finds no support for the hypothesis that sigma-bonded organolanthanide derivatives are more ‘covalent’ than their pi-bonded analogs.
Use of single case analyses in off-on-off-on trials in affective illness: A demonstration of the efficacy of nimodipine

This paper 1) demonstrates the efficacy of nimodipine in the treatment of a patient with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder using an intensive single subject design, and 2) evaluates three statistical techniques that are useful in the analysis of single case data. The patient is a 42-year-old bipolar II female refractory to multiple medication trials who underwent double-blind treatment with placebo (B), nimodipine (A), and verapamil (C) in a B-A-B-A-C-A design. The use of statistics in single subject studies has been the subject of controversy. One problem with single subject data is that data points are often correlated with data points from adjacent time periods (i.e., nonindependent), and therefore such data have been considered inappropriate for statistics that assume independence of error terms. One statistical technique we examined was a t-test in the context of repeated on-offdrug trials suggested by Gentile, Roden, and Klein (1972), in which all data points from treatment phases are aggregated and then compared to aggregated data from baseline or placebo phases. We compared this t-test to a variant of meta-analysis in which each phase is statistically compared to its adjacent phases and the t-values from those comparisons are summed and converted to a z-score. As illustrated with this patient, the t-test method tended to be more conservative than the z-score method in instances where there is an overall time trend for improvement or deterioration. The Chassen technique also provides an alternative for analysis of data with time trends. The 2 method was more conservative than the single aggregated t-test if the direction of predicted change on a given measure (i.e., improvement during an active drug phase and deterioration during a placebo phase) did not occur as expected at each medication transition. These statistical techniques, in combination with the sequential off-on-off-on clinical trial design, provide strong evidence for the mood-stabilizing effect of nimodipine in this rapid-cycling BP II female. Depression 2:259–271 (1994/1995). © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
STR: a simple and efficient algorithm for R-tree packing

Presents the results from an extensive comparison study of three R-tree packing algorithms: the Hilbert and nearest-X packing algorithms, and an algorithm which is very simple to implement, called the STR (Sort-Tile-Recursive) algorithm. The algorithms are evaluated using both synthetic and actual data from various application domains including VLSI design, GIS (Tiger files), and computational fluid dynamics. Our studies also consider the impact that various degrees of buffering have on query performance. Experimental results indicate that none of the algorithms as best for all types of data. In general, our new algorithm requires up to 50% fewer disk accesses than the best previously proposed algorithm for point and region queries on uniformly distributed or mildly skewed point and region data, and approximately the same for highly skewed point and region data.
A High Resolution Spectral Method for the Compressible Navier-Stokes Equations

A high-resolution numerical simulation procedure to model steep gradient regions such as shock jumps and flame fronts has been used to achieve higher order resolution using an orthogonal polynomial Gauss-Lobatto/Gauss-Radau grid and adaptive polynomial refinement. The algorithm is designed to be computationally stable, accurate, and capable of resolving shock discontinuities. The method was expanded to solve a system of equations such as the Euler equations for compressible flow and results from both a shock tube and shock-acoustic wave were tested. A method for removing Gibbs phenomenon was employed by selectively activating an artificial diffusion term. The algorithm’s first order solution was validated in comparison to a 1st order Roe scheme solution. Polynomial refinement was applied by uniformly increasing the polynomial degree for each cell to produce higher order solutions. Refinement was shown to produce solutions approaching analytical values. Adaptive polynomial refinement may be employed to selectively refine the solution near steep gradient structures and diffusion may be optimized to minimize the diffusivity of the scheme.
Air quality at a snowmobile staging area and snow chemistry on and off trail in a Rocky Mountain subalpine forest, Snowy Range, Wyoming

A study was begun in the winter of 2000–2001 and continued through the winter of 2001–2002 to examine air quality at the Green Rock snowmobile staging area at 2,985 m elevation in the Snowy Range of Wyoming. The study was designed to evaluate the effects of winter recreation snowmobile activity on air quality at this high elevation site by measuring levels of nitrogen oxides (NO x , NO), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10 mass). Snowmobile numbers were higher weekends than weekdays, but numbers were difficult to quantify with an infrared sensor. Nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide were significantly higher weekends than weekdays. Ozone and particulate matter were not significantly different during the weekend compared to weekdays. Air quality data during the summer was also compared to the winter data. Carbon monoxide levels at the site were significantly higher during the winter than during the summer. Nitrogen oxides and particulates were significantly higher during the summer compared to winter. Nevertheless, air pollutants were well dispersed and diluted by strong winds common at the site, and it appears that snowmobile emissions did not have a significant impact on air quality at this high elevation ecosystem. Pollutant concentrations were generally low both winter and summer. In a separate study, water chemistry and snow density were measured from snow samples collected on and adjacent to a snowmobile trail. Snow on the trail was significantly denser and significantly more acidic with significantly higher concentrations of sodium, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, fluoride, and sulfate than in snow off the trail. Snowmobile activity had no effect on nitrate levels in snow.
Immigration and the Human Capital of Natives

Large low-skilled immigration flows influence both the distribution of local school resources and also local relative wages, which exert counterbalancing pressures on the local return to schooling. I use the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) and U.S. Census data to show that low-skilled immigration to an area induces local natives to improve their performance in school, attain more years of schooling, and take jobs that involve communication-intensive tasks for which they (native English speakers) have a comparative advantage. These results point out mechanisms that mitigate the potentially negative effect of immigration on natives’ wages.