cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) was one of the earliest congenital heart defects to be recognized and surgically treated. It is a classical example of a congenital vascular shunt. Symptoms usually are secondary to a “left to right” shunt causing features of pulmonary overcirculation. A PDA is treated by medical or surgical means. The indications of treatment have changed over time as morbidity and mortality of both expectant management and intervention have changed. This chapter will review the embryology, physiology and medical and surgical treatment of the patent ductus arteriosus.
Concluding Remarks: Science and Society

The triumphs of science in the twentieth century are unmatched by those of any period in history. The insights achieved into the structure of the universe, into matter, and into many mysteries of the living organism resulted in a revolution of technology that changed the life of humanity everywhere. The recognition of Francis Bacon that knowledge is power has never before been demonstrated in such a spectacular way. Nobody could have possibly foreseen at the beginning of this century the extent of the changes that would be made in such a short period of time. Jets cross the oceans in hours; at the beginning of the century it took weeks with the fastest steamboats. Via satellites we can see on television in our living rooms the reception of Nixon in Peking or that of Sadat in the Knesset in Jerusalem; we can hear and see opera performances at La Scala or at the Royal Opera House in London. Men walk on the moon, and instruments show us on television the surface of Mars at a distance of hundreds of millions of miles. Much hard and dangerous labor has been replaced by machines. The progress continues at a rapid rate in many directions. Most people are aware of the many changes made in medicine. Widespread epidemics such as plague, cholera, typhoid, and yellow fever have been virtually eliminated. Surgery and the treatment of many internal diseases have undergone profound changes. Agriculture has increased its crops many hundredfold by the use of fertilizers, pesticides, machines, and genetic engineering.
Neurotoxicity secondary to local tetracaine use.

Abstract Introduction Systemic reactions from local tetracaine use are often an anomaly – not only is tetracaine short-acting and quickly metabolized by the pseudocholinesterase system leading to very limited systemic uptake, but most adverse reactions are usually associated with dental or spinal anesthesia. Furthermore, reactions to local anesthetics manifest in standard allergy-type reactions. When local anesthetics lead to nervous or cardiac system abnormalities, it is termed a local anesthetic systemic toxicity – an event with an incidence currently estimated to be 0.03%. Case presentation We present a case of a 56-year-old female who experienced a systemic reaction to tetracaine 1% while undergoing a fine needle biopsy of a thyroid nodule. The patient had previous allergic reactions to lidocaine. Upon conclusion of the procedure, the patient began convulsing and became rigid and non-verbal. She was able to move all extremities, had no respiratory distress, no swelling, hives, or redness, and was swallowing without difficulty. After about 5 min, the patient began to improve and experienced reversal of all previous symptoms. Her physical exam and labs were otherwise normal, she returned to her baseline functioning, and was discharged without any medical interventions. Discussion This case illustrates a case of LAST in a patient with previous Lidocaine allergy without any other obvious risk factors. There have been no cases of cross-reaction between lidocaine and tetracaine so it explores the possibility of patients having cross reaction to those two different kinds of local anesthetic.
Smart Meters Enabling Voltage Monitoring and Control: The Last-Mile Voltage Stability Issue

This article investigates the voltage monitoring and control feature for smart meters and identifies the impact of this feature on both power distribution and communication systems. Regarding the voltage monitoring, a cosimulation platform is developed using GridLAB-D and ns-3 to analyze the impact of adding voltage measurements to smart meter readings and assess the mitigation strategies for reducing timeout errors and packet drops of smart meter data. Regarding the voltage control, a new voltage stability control scheme is developed, which applies the voltage stability margin as the control objective, instead of the traditional voltage magnitude. The proposed control scheme makes use of existing advanced metering infrastructure and distributed energy resources (DERs), requiring small marginal costs. It is indicated that integrating the voltage monitoring and control feature, smart meters could enable the voltage stability issues being solved at end-user sides, i.e., the “last-mile” segment. It is also implied that the new feature could support the coordination of the local and system-level voltage controls using both customer-owned and utility-scale DERs.
When a gift exchange isn’t an exchange: Why gift givers underestimate how uncomfortable recipients feel receiving a gift without reciprocating

Abstract When a gift is given from a giver to a recipient, there is often an expectation that the recipient will reciprocate, for example, during the winter holidays. However, recipients do not always have gifts to return to their givers for such “reciprocatory occasions.” They might be unaware beforehand, for instance, that the giver will be giving them one. This research examines whether givers accurately assess how uncomfortable recipients feel when they fail to reciprocate a giver’s gift for a reciprocatory occasion. Several studies demonstrate that givers severely underestimate how uncomfortable recipients feel in such situations. This occurs in part because givers feel less strongly than recipients that the actions of the two parties imply an imbalance in appreciation. Moreover, in part because of this forecasting error, givers give gifts more often than recipients prefer when it is known before a reciprocatory occasion that a recipient would be unable to reciprocate.
Teaching creative thinking: how design professors externalize their creative thinking in studio classroom talk

This paper reports on a study of professor talk in design studio classrooms. In design education, creative thinking is an important learning outcome, as demonstrated in previous observational studi...
Infrared study of anisotropy in single-crystal La 2 − x Sr x Cu O 4

We have made infrared reflectivity measurements on single crystals of ${\mathrm{La}}_{2}$Cu${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ and ${\mathrm{La}}_{1.92}$${\mathrm{Sr}}_{0.08}$Cu${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ with the infrared radiation polarized parallel and perpendicular to the copper-oxygen planes. In ${\mathrm{La}}_{2}$Cu${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ we observe nearly insulating spectra, from which we easily identify the dominant in-plane and out-of-plane infrared-active phonons. When ${\mathrm{La}}_{2}$Cu${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ is doped with Sr, we observe a dramatic increase in the electronic contribution to the $a\ensuremath{-}b$ plane conductivity, which tends to screen the in-plane phonons. In contrast, the out-of-plane response is essentially unchanged by doping. This leads to a conductivity anisotropy which we estimate to be at least 50 to 1 for our ${\mathrm{La}}_{1.92}$${\mathrm{Sr}}_{0.08}$Cu${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ crystal. Our observations on single crystals resolve some of the controversies which have arisen over the interpretation of reflectivity measurements on polycrystalline samples.
Manufacturing in the Digital Age: Exploiting Information Technologies for Product Realization

Information technology (IT) is both the key enabler for future manufacturing enterprises and a transformer of organizations and markets. By reducing barriers to collaboration, compressing lead time, eliminating physical movement, and enriching decision-making, IT helps manufacturers achieve their goal of meeting customer needs better, quicker, and cheaper. By providing global reach and easy connectivity, information technology has fostered cooperation while increasing market competition, and heightened customer expectations. Advances in computer and communication technologies combined with rapid changes in organizations have created new opportunities for exploiting information technologies in the entire product realization process. This paper explores these opportunities, and identifies promising directions for both basic and applied research. We first review important trends in organizations, markets, and information technologies—from increasing customer involvement and opportunistic organizational alliances to global reach and connectivity, enterprise integration, and virtualization. Adopting a process viewpoint of the product realization cycle, we translate these trends into high-impact IT applications in design and operations that offer rich potential for applied research and development. Underlying these applications are four broad classes of intelligent information processes—intelligent search, diagnosis and prognosis, collaboration, coordination, and negotiation, and understanding and learning. And, software agents provide an ideal platform to implement these processes. We briefly review developments in these basic research fields, and identify necessary scientific advances that are most important from the manufacturing perspective. Our goal is to synthesize streams of thought from many related disciplines in engineering, science, and management, and develop a framework for examining how information technologies can facilitate and influence manufacturing.
Cardiovascular Complications in Patients with Renal Disease

Chronic kidney disease includes both patients with a low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and those with a normal GFR and abnormal albumin excretion in their urine. The former make up approximately 4 % of the adult population and the latter an additional 3–4 %. Both a low GFR and the presence of abnormal amount of albumin in the urine indicate that the patient is at higher risk not only of progressive kidney disease but that they are also at much greater risk of cardiovascular disease. Fortunately the condition can be identified through screening of renal function, urine albumin, and blood pressure measurement. Therapy to reduce global cardiovascular risk should include control of blood pressure, treatment with the maximal recommended dose of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker, aggressive LDL lowering, management of diabetes, as well as lifestyle changes including diet, exercise, and smoking cessation. Together these therapies represent “optimal medical therapy” and are particularly effective when managed by an interprofessional and interdisciplinary team. For the practicing clinician, the finding of a low GFR or abnormal albuminuria should constitute an “action item” for pursuing the evaluation and diagnosis of potentially unsuspected cardiac involvement and the initiation of multimodal therapy to lower cardiovascular and renal risk.
A new exercise for tennis elbow that works

Eccentric exercise has been effectively used in the management of tendinopathies in multiple regions of the body. Lateral epicondylosis ("tennis elbow") is a common tendinopathy that has shown improvement following treatment utilizing isokinetic eccentric exercise. A novel exercise was developed for home-based eccentric exercise that has shown promise for use with patients with lateral epicondylosis. Clinicians should be aware of this exercise and consider it as an evidence-based intervention.
The Muse in the Machine: Computerizing the Poetry of Human Thought

Can we introduce emotion into the computer? David Gelernter, one of the leading lights in artificial intelligence today, begins "The Muse in the Machine" with this provocative question. In providing an answer, he not only points to a future revolution in computers but radically changes our views of the human mind itself. Bringing together insights from computer science, cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, and literary theory, David Gelernter presents what is sure to be a much debated view of how humans have thought, how we think today, and how computers will learn to think in the future.
Operational assessment of the 5-h on/10-h off watchstanding schedule on a US Navy ship: sleep patterns, mood and psychomotor vigilance performance of crewmembers in the nuclear reactor department

We assessed sleep patterns, psychomotor vigilance performance, work demands and mood of 77 crewmembers of USS NIMITZ (CVN-68) on the rotating 5-h on/10-h off (5/10) watchstanding schedule. Within the 3-day cycle of the 5/10, sleep occurred at distinctly different times each day. On two of these days, sailors typically received only brief, 4-h sleep episodes followed by periods of sustained wakefulness (approximately 22 and 20 h). Crewmembers received approximately seven hours of sleep daily, but reported excessive fatigue and dissatisfaction with their schedule. Crewmembers' mood worsened significantly over the course of the underway phase. Psychomotor vigilance performance (reaction times, lapses) was significantly degraded compared to performance when working circadian-aligned schedules. Overall, standing watch on the 5/10 schedule, combined with other work duties, resulted in poor sleep hygiene. Crewmembers on the 5/10 experienced periodic bouts of sustained wakefulness and accrued a significant sleep debt due to extended workdays and circadian-misaligned sleep. Practitioner summary: We assessed crewmembers' sleep patterns, psychomotor vigilance performance and work demands when working a rotating 5-h on/10-h off (5/10) watchstanding schedule. The 5/10, combined with other work duties, resulted in poor sleep hygiene. Crewmembers experienced periodic bouts of sustained wakefulness and accrued a significant sleep debt due to extended workdays and circadian-misaligned sleep.
Teaching, research and service in manufacturing at NJIT

Manufacturing and engineering education activities at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) are described. The primary objective of these activities is to prepare students to meet the challenge of the development and effective utilization of integrated information-driven manufacturing systems. Thus, the core of the program curricula consists of courses dealing with problems and methods of manufacturing systems integration, augmented for most students by an interdisciplinary team project performed in collaboration with industry. Also addressed is the need to prepare students to deal with problems at the element and subsystem level. Tables listing course contents are presented. >
Crime Victims' Decision to Report Crime

Most crimes investigated by the police result from victim notification. For this reason, crime victims are considered the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system. Federally sponsored surveys of the general population consistently show that victims report fewer than half of the victimizations to the police. The data reveal that victim reporting appears to be more a function of the characteristics of the situation (e.g., type of crime, perceived seriousness) than characteristics of the victim. This article reviews the research on victim decision making and presents a broad theoretical model that attempts to integrate the findings. The model describes three stages of victim decision making: (i) defining the event as a crime, (ii) determining its seriousness, and (iii) deciding what to do. The model incorporates recent research concerning the role of affect and social influence on victim decision making. Keywords: crime victims; decision making; social influence; affect and decision making; rational choice perspective; victimization; police; stress
FORMOSA-P Three-Dimensional/Two-Dimensional Geometry Collapse Methodology

A methodology has been developed whereby a three-dimensional (3-D) geometry, nodal expansion method (NEM), pressurized water reactor (PWR) core simulator model is collapsed to form an equivalent two-dimensional (2-D) geometry model that preserves approximately, but with negligible loss of fidelity, the global quantities and axially integrated reaction rates and surface currents of the 3-D model. In comparison with typical licensed-quality 3-D models, the 2-D collapsed NEM model typically requires a factor of 50 less computational time and exhibits root-mean-square (rms) assembly relative power fraction errors, as compared with the original 3-D model, of 5 x 10{sup -3} over an entire fuel cycle, and average maximum errors over the fuel cycle of 1 x 10{sup -2}. The collapse methodology includes a pin reconstruction methodology, which exhibits assemblywise rms pin power errors of 5 x 10{sup -3} and average maximum assemblywise pin power errors of 1.2 x 10{sup -2}. When coupled with FORMOSA-P's existing assembly power response generalized perturbation theory reactor core simulator, this permits loading-pattern evaluations at a speed approximately 100 to 150 times faster than full, 3-D models, providing the computational efficiency needed for efficient incore fuel management optimization using stochastic methods.
Homeland Security and Transportation Risk

The coordinated hijackings and deliberate crashes of airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2001, dramatically heightened both the perception and the reality of the threat terrorism poses to public transportation systems. Governments of countries that perceive an elevated level of threat are investing considerable resources to implement comprehensive programs to enhance security in all key modes of transportation, including aviation, maritime traffic, highways, and mass transit. A systems-based approach to managing such risks involves the assessment of threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences. Assessments are conducted to identify and evaluate potential threats, recognize weaknesses that may be exploited by identified threats, suggest countermeasures to address those weaknesses, and determine which structures or processes are relatively more important to protect from attack. The characterization of security risk is completed through qualitative or quantitative analysis of the consequences associated with the partial or total loss of critical transportation assets because of intentional harmful attacks. Formal methodologies for assessing and managing risks to transportation security provide a conceptual structure and practical tools for allocating resources in cost-effective ways to improve public safety. Keywords: terrorism; threat; vulnerability; criticality; aviation; maritime; highways; transit
Surface-emitting semiconductor laser for intracavity spectroscopy and microscopy

The authors demonstrate lasing action in a novel microcavity laser which can be utilized for intracavity spectroscopy as well as high contrast imaging of small ({approximately} 10{mu}m) structures. The system can be easily visualized as a Fabry-Perot cavity containing a gain media and an object for study. Since the primary constraint on the object is transparency at the lasing wavelength, investigation of lasing in objects such as microspheres, liquid droplets, and biological cells is possible. The resonator consists of an epitaxial NME grown mirror and gain region on a GaAs wafer. This is essentially an open-cavity vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). The object to be studied is placed on the wafer and covered with a glass dielectric mirror which acts as the output coupler. When the semiconductor gain region is photo-pumped, the object within the cavity provides lateral optical confinement through its index difference with the surrounding media, increases the cavity Q, and thus encourages lasing action. The emitted laser light can be spectrally and spatially resolved. The narrow lasing lines can provide information about the lasing modes supported and the size of the object. The spatially resolved laser light provides high contrast microscopic images of the electromagnetic modes oscillating in the resonator. The authors present an investigation of stable lasing modes in polystyrene spheres. This device could prove useful in biomedical diagnostics. It covers the correct spatial dimensions as well as wavelength region. In fact, an integrated system of these devices may provide a high speed, compact method of performing cell diagnostics.
Measurement of IEMP Currents Using Magnetic Thin Film Sensors

Accurate measurement of currents induced in complex electronic circuits by nuclear radiation is difficult due to circuit perturbations by the measurement technique itself, as well as normal instrumentation difficulties. Passive thin ferromagnetic films can be used to record the magnitudes of internal current pulses in the nanosecond region without seriously affecting the circuit being measured. This paper presents a summary of experiments conducted to determine the feasibility of using thin film sensors in radiation environments and the accuracy to which current can be measured in such environments with the thin film sensors.
X-Ray Spectral Features from Gamma-Ray Bursts: Predictions of Progenitor Models

We investigate the potentially observable prompt or delayed X-ray spectral features from the currently popular gamma-ray burst (GRB) models. During the evolution of many GRB progenitors, a disk around the central GRB source is produced. Shock heating as the GRB ejecta collide with the disk may produce observable X-ray features. We first summarize predictions deduced from previous calculations that invoke photoionization and relativistic blast waves. We then calculate the quasi-thermal X-ray line features produced assuming the ejecta are nonrelativistic (which is more likely for the disk interactions of many GRB models). In the framework of the hypernova/collapsar model, delayed (a few days to several months after the GRB) bursts of line-dominated, thermal X-ray emission may be expected. The He-merger scenario predicts similar X-ray emission-line bursts a few days after the GRB. These X-ray signatures should be observable with Chandra and XMM-Newton out to at least z ~ 1. Weak emission-line features a few days after the GRB may also result from the "supranova" GRB scenario. In all three cases, significant X-ray absorption features, in particular during the prompt GRB phase, are expected. No significant X-ray spectral features should result from compact-object binary mergers.
Artificial intelligence in Hematology

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a computer based science which aims to simulate human brain faculties using a computational system. A brief history of this new science goes from the creation of the first artificial neuron in 1943 to the first artificial neural network application to genetic algorithms. The potential for a similar technology in medicine has immediately been identified by scientists and researchers. The possibility to store and process all medical knowledge has made this technology very attractive to assist or even surpass clinicians in reaching a diagnosis. Applications of AI in medicine include devices applied to clinical diagnosis in neurology and cardiopulmonary diseases, as well as the use of expert or knowledge-based systems in routine clinical use for diagnosis, therapeutic management and for prognostic evaluation. Biological applications include genome sequencing or DNA gene expression microarrays, modeling gene networks, analysis and clustering of gene expression data, pattern recognition in DNA and proteins, protein structure prediction. In the field of hematology the first devices based on AI have been applied to the routine laboratory data management. New tools concern the differential diagnosis in specific diseases such as anemias, thalassemias and leukemias, based on neural networks trained with data from peripheral blood analysis. A revolution in cancer diagnosis, including the diagnosis of hematological malignancies, has been the introduction of the first microarray based and bioinformatic approach for molecular diagnosis: a systematic approach based on the monitoring of simultaneous expression of thousands of genes using DNA microarray, independently of previous biological knowledge, analysed using AI devices. Using gene profiling, the traditional diagnostic pathways move from clinical to molecular based diagnostic systems.
Assimilation of F-16 Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder Data in the NCEP Global Forecast System

AbstractThe Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) on board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-16 satellite is the first conically scanning sounding instrument that provides information on atmospheric temperature and water vapor profiles. The SSMIS data were preprocessed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) using its Unified Preprocessor Package (UPP) and then distributed to the numerical weather prediction centers by the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC). This dataset was assimilated into the Global Forecast System (GFS) using gridpoint statistical interpolation (GSI). The initial assimilation of the SSMIS data into the GFS did not improve the medium-range (5–7 days) forecast skill. The SSMIS bias (O-B) still changes with location and time after the GSI bias-correction scheme is implemented. This bias characteristic is related to residual calibration errors in the correction of the SSMIS antenna emission and warm target contamination. The large O-B ...
Synthesis of α,ω‐di(iodo)PVC and of four‐arm star PVC with identical active chain ends by SET‐DTLRP of VC initiated with bifunctional and tetrafunctional initiators

Na2S2O4-catalyzed single-electron transfer – degenerative chain transfer-mediated living radical polymerization (SET-DTLRP) of VC initiated with the bifunctional initiators 1,2-bis(iodopropionyloxy)ethane, dimethyl 2,5-diiodohexanedioate, and bis(2-methoxyethyl)-2,5-diiodohexanedioate as well as the tetrafunctional initiator pentaerythritol tetrakis(2-iodopropionate) is reported. This SET-DTLRP was performed in water at ambient temperature in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose surfactants and provides methods for the synthesis of α,ω-di(iodo)PVC with two identical active chain ends and of four-arm star PVC with four identical active chain ends. These difunctional and tetrafunctional derivatives of PVC are also macroinitiators for the synthesis of ABA triblock copolymers and four-arm star block copolymers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 635–652, 2009
A numerical journey to the Earth's interior

Slow convection in the mantle of the Earth profoundly affects the crust. Geophysicists use finite-difference, finite-element, and spectral methods to model this highly viscous, complex fluid flow. The author discusses the Earth's structure and composition, and how they relate to mantle convection.
Interconversions between different sulfhydryl-related kinetic states in glucokinase

Rat liver glucokinase (EC 2.7.1.2) undergoes two distinct sulfhydryl-related reversible kinetic transitions. During normal assays in the presence of both substrates but without added reducing agents, the activity decays ("kappa" decay) over time to a new steady-state rate. The half-time for this decay is essentially constant at glucose levels from 2 to 200 mM and averages 6.2 +/- 2 min. Glucokinase in this kappa steady state displays an increased Km for glucose but has the same Vmax as normal, sulfhydryl-activated glucokinase. The kappa form does not itself exhibit kinetic cooperativity with glucose. In contrast, glucokinase incubated with neither glucose nor sulfhydryl reagents decays (mu decay) to a form whose Vmax is near zero. The t 1/2 for this transition is about 0.5 min at 0 or very low (0.5 mM) glucose concentrations. For both decays, incubations of enzyme with intermediate levels of reducing agents give steady-state mixtures of activated and either kappa and/or mu forms, depending on conditions during the decay. Enzyme at intermediate stages of the kappa decay displays an unchanged Vmax, intermediate (increased relative to activated enzyme) glucose S0.5 values, and diminished glucose cooperativity. In contrast, enzyme at intermediate steady-state mixtures of activated and mu forms has a normal glucose S0.5 and cooperativity but a diminished Vmax from the activated states. The enzyme at any stage of each decay may be fully reactivated by the addition of sulfhydryl reducing agents such as dithiothreitol, dithioerythritol, glutathione, or mercaptoethanol. A model is proposed to account for this complex behavior in glucokinase kinetics which proposes different enzymatic states (kappa and mu) locked in by sulfhydryl oxidation of different conformations dictated by glucose concentration. These sulfhydryl-related transitions may be important in regulation of glucokinase activity, since glucokinase is very sensitive (at least 20-fold differential activity) to concentrations of glutathione within the physiological range, perhaps allowing the normally variable glutathione levels or cytosolic redox potential to modify the rate of uptake and storage of blood glucose through control of glucokinase activity.
Aspirin and epithelial ovarian cancer.

Abstract Background. Epidemiological evidence suggests that chronic inflammation may influence ovarian carcinogenesis. The study objective was to examine the association between the commonly used anti-inflammatory drug aspirin and epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods. The authors conducted a case-control study based in the New York University Women's Health Study cohort enrolled between 1985 and 1991 in New York City. After a median follow-up period of 12 years, 68 incident cases of epithelial ovarian cancer were identified. Data about regular aspirin use were collected during the 1994–1996 follow-up questionnaire. Using a case-control study design, 10 controls per case were randomly selected among study participants who matched the case by age and menopausal status. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to study the relationships between aspirin and epithelial ovarian cancer by generating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. Relative to no aspirin use, the OR for epithelial ovarian cancer among women who reported aspirin use three or more times per week for a period of at least 6 months was 0.60 (95% CI 0.26, 1.38), after adjustment for age at menarche, parity, oral contraceptive use, and first-degree family history of breast cancer before age 50. Among recent, within the previous 5 years, users of aspirin, the adjusted OR was 0.36 (95% CI 0.11, 1.18). Conclusion. Although confidence intervals included unity, the observed risk estimates seem to be compatible with previous studies suggesting that regular aspirin use could be inversely associated with risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Direct evidence for interphase chromosome movement during the mid-blastula transition in Drosophila.

Abstract In Drosophila , several genetic phenomena are most easily explained by a model in which homologous chromosomes pair, at least transiently, and use regulatory information present on only one homolog to pattern expression from both homologs [1–3]. To accomplish pairing of sites on different chromosomes, there must be a mechanism by which communication between homologs is facilitated. However, except in the case of meiotic prophase, directed, rapid chromosomal movement has not yet been observed. Some studies suggest that chromosomes are relatively immobile during interphase [4,5], while others suggest that chromatin can reposition during interphase [6–8] and may be free to undergo substantial Brownian motion [9]. Using high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging techniques, we determined directly the structure and nuclear location of eleven different loci, both active and inactive, in embryos at cycle 14, the mid-blastula transition. We show that during a single interphase, portions of chromosomes moved in a cell-cycle-specific, directed fashion, independently and over long distances. All eleven regions showed movement, although the genes closer to the centromere moved faster (0.7 μm/minute) and over long distances (5–10 μm), whereas those nearer the telomere expanded in the same place and became oriented along the nuclear axis. Gene motion was independent of replication, transcription and changes in nuclear shape. Because individual genes on the same chromosome move independently, the movement is unlikely to be mediated by centromeres, Brownian motion or random drift and must be caused by an active mechanism.
On some aspects of estimation of a common mean of two independent normal populations

In this paper, we study some aspects of the problem of estimation of a common mean of two normal populations from an asymptotic point of view. The Bayes estimate of the common mean under Jeffrey's prior is also considered. A simulation study is carried out to compare several competing estimates in small samples.
Simulating Species Richness Using Agents with Evolving Niches, with an Example of Galápagos Plants

I sought to evolve plant species richness patterns on 22 Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, as an exploration of the utility of evolutionary computation and an agent-based approach in biogeography research. The simulation was spatially explicit, where agents were plant monocultures defined by three niche dimensions, lava (yes or no), elevation, and slope. Niches were represented as standard normal curves subjected to selection pressure, where neighboring plants bred if their niches overlapped sufficiently, and were considered the same species, otherwise they were different species. Plants that bred produced seeds with mutated niches. Seeds dispersed locally and longer distances, and established if the habitat was appropriate given the seed's niche. From a single species colonizing a random location, hundreds of species evolved to fill the islands. Evolved plant species richness agreed very well with observed plant species richness. I review potential uses of an agent-based representation of evolving niches in biogeography research.
Sychronizing video and event logs for usability studies

This paper presents a simple but very powerful technique to support user interface evaluation, along with a prototype implementation of this technique. This technique provides tools to allow the user interface evaluator to combine event streams and video recording, analyzing the event stream to search for patterns of interesting or important user actions, then using the recorded timestamps associated with these actions to present only the sections of the video recording of interest. This allows, for example, all places where the user invokes a help system or a particular command to be observed without requiring the evaluator to manually search the recording or sit through long sessions of unrelated interactions. By combining the precise recording of automatic event trace capture with the rich contextual information that can be captured in a video and audio recording, this technique allows analyses to be performed that would not be practical with either media alone.
Symmetry extinction of LEED beams for naphthalene adsorbed on Pt(111)

Abstract The LEED pattern obtained for naphthalene on Pt(111) is well described by an ordering which consists of three equivalent domains of a (6 × 3) overlayer. The existence of a glide symmetry in the overlayer is confirmed by the angular dependence of the symmetry extinction of several LEED beams.
HLA homozygosity does not adversely affect measles vaccine-induced cytokine responses.

Abstract The association between HLA homozygosity and measles-specific Th 1 (IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-12p40) and Th 2 (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine responses were assessed in a group of 339 healthy schoolchildren 12–18 years of age previously immunized with two doses of live-attenuated measles virus vaccine. No associations were observed between class I HLA homozygosity and measles-specific cytokine levels. Children who were homozygous at the class II DRB1, DQA1, DPA1 and DPB1 loci had higher median IFN-γ secretion levels compared with children who were heterozygous for DRB1 (77.7 vs. 39.5 pg/ml, p = 0.05), DQA1 (60.9 vs. 36.6 pg/ml, p = 0.03), DPA1 (46.1 vs. 27.1 pg/ml, p = 0.01) and DPB1 (61.5 vs. 36.0 pg/ml, p = 0.01) loci, respectively. Homozygosity at increasing numbers of HLA loci ( >= 4) was associated with increased IFN-γ secretion levels (test for trend p -value = 0.01). Our results suggest that HLA homozygosity showed no disadvantage for measles-specific cytokine responses and instead was associated with increased IFN-γ levels.
Antioxidative activities of heterocyclic compounds formed in brewed coffee

Typical volatile heterocyclic compounds found in brewed coffee extractspyrroles, furans, thiophenes, and thiazoleswere examined for antioxidative activity, which was determined by measuring the oxidative conversion of hexanal to hexanoic acid using gas chromatography. 2-Acetylpyrrole, 1-methylpyrrole, and pyrrole inhibited hexanal oxidation by 98, 87, and 78%, respectively, at a concentration of 500 μg/mL over a period of 30 days. 2-Methylfuran, which inhibited hexanal oxidation by 90% at all concentrations tested (500, 200, and 100 μg/mL) for a 30-day period, exhibited the greatest activity among furans tested. Similarly, 2-methylthiophene, which inhibited hexanal oxidation by almost 100% at a concentration of 500 μg/mL over 30 days, exhibited the greatest activity among the thiophenes tested. In general, thiazoles were ineffective antioxidants at all concentrations tested. However, 4,5-dimethylthiazole was able to inhibit hexanal oxidation by 50% at the highest level tested (500 μg/mL). 2-Acetylpyrrole,...
A specific antidote against lethal alkyl phosphate intoxication. II. Antidotal properties.

Abstract The results of this paper can be summarized by saying that PAM is a very effective antidote in TEPP and sarin poisoning. The success of the antidote is caused by reactivation of the inhibited acetylcholinesterase—the chemical lesion is repaired. Against tabun PAM is much less effective but is still of considerable value. In this case the action depends on limiting the extent of the chemical lesion through reaction directly with free tabun. Practical cases of parathion poisoning properly come under the heading of paraoxon poisoning. Pure parathion is of very low toxicity and had therefore to be used in very large doses. PAM was effective, but for reasons that are discussed, it was not fully evaluated.
Sugars in Red Tart Cherries and Their Changes During Maturationa

SUMMARY Sugars in red tart cherries (Prunus cerasus L. var. Montmorency) comprise 50-60% of the total dry matter of the edible portion of the fruit. Paper, thin-layer, and column chromatography were used to investigate the sugars present and changes in the main sugars during maturation. Seven sugars were found. Glucose and fructose comprised 99%, or more of the total sugars. Five reducing oligosaccharides in minute quantities were found by column and paper chromatography. These were not identified. Paper chromatography and the Dubois calorimetric procedure were used to quantitatively determine glucose and fructose. The ratio of glucose to fructose during ripening was constant, about 1.1-1.0. On a dry-weight basis, the sugars reached their highest level when the cherries became fully red, then dropped slightly and remained relatively constant during the rest of the harvest period. Recovery of glucose and fructose by this procedure was 100±3.7%.
Pertussis toxin-mediated adp-ribosylation of rabbit luteal Gi uncouples enkephalin inhibition of adenylyl cyclase

Abstract 1. 1. Some of the actions of pertussis toxin on the rabbit luteal adenylyl cyclase system were analyzed. 2. 2. Incubation of luteal membranes with pertussis toxin and [ 32 P]NAD resulted in the [ 32 P]ADP-ribosylation of a 40,000 Da protein that is distinct from the proteins ADP-ribosylated by cholera toxin. 3. 3. Pertussis toxin specific [ 32 P]ADP-ribosylation was time-dependent and dependent upon the concentration of pertussis toxin present during the incubation. 4. 4. Pertussis toxin mediated [ 32 P]ADP-ribosylation was enhanced by ATP, ADP, adenylyl imidodiphosphate, GTP, guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate), guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate), and NaF but not AMP or guanylyl imidodiphosphate [GMP-P(NH)P]. 5. 5. Treatment of luteai membranes with NAD and pertussis toxin prevents GTP and enkephalin but not GMP-P(NH)P mediated inhibition of forskolin stimulated adenylyl cyclase, demonstrating the existence of a functional G, in the rabbit corpus luteum.
A study of the tensile strength of short fiber reinforced plastics

An experimental study of the tensile strength of unidirectional short fiber reinforced plastics is reported. The data indicate agreement with existing theories as modified to suit plastics. The theory is extrapolated to provide a means for computing the strength of a random composite.
Dye coupling and possible electrotonic coupling in the guinea pig neocortical slice

Iontophoretic injection of the fluorescent dye Lucifer Yellow CH into single neurons of guinea pig neocortical slices resulted in the staining of more than one cell. Dye-coupled neuronal aggregates were found only in the superficial cortical layers and were often organized in vertical columns. Antidromic stimuli evoked all-or-none, subthreshold depolarizations in some superficial cells. These potentials were not eliminated by manganese and did not collide with spikes originating in the soma, suggesting that they arose from electrotonic interaction between superficial cortical neurons.
Activity rhythms of maturing American eels (Anguilla rostrata)

Locomotor activity was recorded from 11 female silver American eels (Anguilla rostrata) receiving hormonal injections intended to induce maturation. Five eels treated with extracts of carp pituitaries became at least partially mature, while 6 eels treated with ovine-luteinizing hormone remained unaffected (immature). Immature eels were more active nocturnally and showed peaks of activity at light-dark transitions. Maturing eels were equally active by day and by night, but remained responsive to light-dark transitions. In constant darkness both groups increased their activity at times corresponding to expected light-off, suggesting an innate timing mechanism. When maturing eels were subjected to constant light and photoperiod phase-shifts, they displayed transients which further exemplified the use of a biological clock. The significance of these findings relative to the natural spawning behavior of eels is discussed.
Development and Evaluation of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS)

University students report significantly worse sleep quality than the general population. Sleep problems are related to increased health concerns, irritability, depression, fatigue, and attention and concentration difficulties, along with poor academic performance. Clinical research indicates that psychoeducational interventions are among the most effective methods for improving sleep quality in the general population. Similar studies for university students are lacking. In this study, the authors describe the development of the Sleep Treatment and Education Program for Students (STEPS) and evaluate its effectiveness with a double blind, experimental design. Students in the treatment group reported significantly improved sleep quality and sleep hygiene behaviors at 6 weeks posttreatment.
The Business of Learning at Vocational and Technical Schools.

The central focus of students at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College—to enroll, learn, leave, and work—is shared by most of their peers at other vocational and technical schools. Educators at The Restaurant School are finding creative ways for students to squeeze in time for opportunities for growth outside the classroom.
Aspartic acid 413 is important for the normal allosteric functioning of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase

As part of a structure-function analysis of the higher-plant ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP), we used a random mutagenesis approach in combination with a novel bacterial complementation system to isolate over 100 mutants that were defective in glycogen production (T.W. Greene, S.E. Chantler, M.L. Khan, G.F. Barry, J. Preiss, T.W. Okita [1996] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93: 1509-1513). One mutant of the large subunit M27 was identified by its capacity to only partially complement a mutation in the structural gene for the bacterial AGP (glg C), as determined by its light-staining phenotype when cells were exposed to l3 vapors. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and enzymatic pyrophosphorylysis assays of M27 cell extracts showed that the level of expression and AGP activity was comparable to those of cells that expressed the wild-type recombinant enzyme. Kinetic analysis indicated that the M27 AGP displays normal Michaelis constant values for the substrates glucose-1-phosphate and ATP but requires 6- to 10-fold greater levels of 3-phosphoglycerate (3-PGA) than the wild-type recombinant enzyme for maximum activation. DNA sequence analysis showed that M27 contains a single point mutation that resulted in the replacement of aspartic acid 413 to alanine. Substitution of a lysine residue at this site almost completely abolished activation by 3-PGA. Aspartic acid 413 is adjacent to a lysine residue that was previously identified by chemical modification studies to be important in the binding of 3-PGA (K. Ball, J. Preiss [1994] J Biol Chem 269: 24706-24711). The kinetic properties of M27 corroborate the importance of this region in the allosteric regulation of a higher-plant AGP.
Edginess and the Whimsical: A Response to Isis Brook's ‘Aesthetic Aspects of Unauthorised Environmental Interventions’

Along some trails in the Adirondack Mountains are stone cairns created by hikers who, as they walk by, add a stone to the pile. In some places the stones are artfully placed and in others they seem...
Relat1vistic nuclear matter calculations and the deficiency of one-boson exchange potentials

Abstract Nuclear matter properties are calculated using the Schierholz and Thompson-GerstenGreen relativistic potentials. The Brueckner equations for nuclear matter are modified to incorporate corresponding relativistic kinematics. It is found that both relativistic and nonrelativistic one-boson exchange potentials yield overbinding and collapse of nuclear matter. By comparing our relativistic results and earlier non-relativistic results, it is shown that the main deficiency of OBE models is not the use of a non-relativistic limit but is rather the lack of a strong intermediate- and short-range tensor force. The proper treatment of 2π exchange might yield the requisite strong tensor force.
Adsorption isotherms for the system n-heptane/ethanol/HDPE

Abstract The equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of n -heptane and ethanol on high density polyethylene (HDPE) are reported at 27–110°C and at 20–100 mmHg. The experimental apparatus and procedures are described for three methods, namely flow, static and chromatographic. The obtained results are discussed on the basis of the Henry law for adsorbates at low coverage on solids.