cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of anoxia and graded acidosis on the levels of circulating catecholamines in turtles.

Abstract We measured circulating levels of catecholamines in painted turtles subjected to anoxia with different degrees of concomitant acidosis at 20°C and in turtles subjected to long-term submergence at 3 and 10°C. Blood levels of both epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) increased during N2-breathing, N2/CO2 breathing and submergence, with NE generally being present in higher concentrations than E. During submergence at 20°C, anoxic turtles experienced an extreme acidosis and NE levels exceeded 18 000 pg/ml. The greater the degree of acidosis in anoxic turtles the higher were the levels of plasma NE ( log [ NE ; pg/ml ] = −1.640 × pH a + 15.776, r = −0.826 ). Elevation of plasma E under anoxic conditions was more modest and the correlation between plasma E and pHa was less pronounced log [ E ; pg/ml ] = −0.329 × pH a + 6.069, r = −0.285 ). Submergence at lower temperatures also resulted in increases in plasma levels of NE, but while plasma E generally increased during anoxia, this elevation was less dramatic than that observed for NE. Exposure of turtles to either mild (6.5% CO2) or severe (14.5% CO2) normoxic hypercapnia resulted in no increase in E and only modest increases in NE. Upon resumption of air-breathing in all of the 20°C protocols, turtles rapidly restored E and NE to control levels. The function of elevated plasma catecholamines during anoxia and acidemia in turtles is unknown but may be important in stimulating respiratory and cardiovascular recovery once air-breathing is resumed. Catecholamines may also play a role in mediating the rise in blood glucose we observed in this study, which may be an important factor in maintaining tissue viability during anoxic stress.
Transient compressional response of D-region ionization

Abstract Compressional motions of the ionized species in a field-free, multiconstituent, weakly ionized plasma are investigated using the continuum momentum and continuity equations. The effects of particle inertia, pressure, collisions, and the electric field are included. Analytic expressions are derived for the particle density perturbations for an arbitrary number of ionic species. This theory is then applied to the D -region. The dispersion relations are solved at several altitudes for length scales much smaller than, equal to, and much greater than the electron Debye length, and phenomena associated with the roots of the polynomial dispersion relation are studied. Thermal equilibration time scales are estimated for the charged species, and the validity of isothermal and adiabatic closures for the particle pressures is thereby determined. Applications and extensions of the formulation are discussed.
Effects of anaesthesia and surgery on the solubility of volatile anaesthetics in blood

To determine the effects of anaesthesia and surgery on the solubility of volatile anaesthetics in blood, we measured the blood/gas partition coefficients of enflurane, halothane, isoflurane, and methoxyflurane in vitro in blood obtained from six healthy unpremedicated adults at three different times during isoflurane anaesthesia: (1) awake; (2) 20 minutes after induction of anaesthesia, but before surgical incision; and, (3) 90 minutes after surgical incision. The blood/gas partition coefficients of the four volatile anaesthetics decreased significantly after induction of anaesthesia and after surgical incision (p < 0.05). Values for haematocrit and the serum concentrations of albumin, globulin, and cholesterol decreased parallel to the decrease in blood/gas partition coefficients.
Preclinical drug discovery research and training at Vanderbilt.

I n a recent In Focus piece, the challenges of developing an interdisciplinary curriculum within the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology (VICB, www.vanderbilt. edu/vicb) for graduate education in chemical biology were discussed (1). Equally challenging was the development of a complementary laboratory training experience to expose students to both chemistry and biology techniques required for a research career in translational chemical biology. At the same time, Vanderbilt University was interested in therapeutic drug discovery and the translation of a wealth of basic research findings into potential treatments for unmet medical needs. This new initiative offered an unparalleled opportunity to train students in the multidisciplinary art of preclinical drug discovery and to shepherd a lead compound from high-throughput screens (HTSs) to in vivo proof of concept (POC) in relevant animal models. Toward this training goal, Vanderbilt University and the VICB have aggressively recruited senior scientists with proven track records for developing clinical candidates from pharmaceutical giants such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and Lilly with expertise in HTS, medicinal chemistry, neuropsychopharmacology, and in vivo behavioral pharmacology. Graduate research training is therefore broad and encompasses assay development, screening, synthetic and medicinal chemistry, drug metabolism, cancer biology, electrophysiology, and in vivo behavioral pharmacology. While maintaining an academic mission is paramount, the novel targets and mechanisms of target modulation being pursued by the VICB Program in Drug Discovery offer opportunities for licensing and provide students the ability to truly impact human health by participating in the development of new medicines. At Vanderbilt, students are able to choose from a variety of therapeutic areas for drug discovery such as neuroscience, oncology, ophthalmology, antivirals, and endocrinology to develop novel therapeutics for schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, diabetic retinopathy, HIV, and diabetes. This broad therapeutic focus provides a rich training environment for students because the primary assays, behavioral/POC assays, and compound profiles are distinct for each disease area. The major drug discovery and training focus is onG-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), ion channels, and transporter targets, vide infra, with allostericmodulation as the preferred mechanism of action; however, opportunities in the areas of allosteric modulation of kinases, inhibition of protein–protein interactions by small molecules, and the development of cell death/ viability assays are rapidly increasing. The first step toward this goal was establishing a state-of-the-art screening facility. Over the past 3 years, Vanderbilt, through the VICB, has invested heavily in developing an infrastructure to support HTS. Fundamental to this effort is the belief that HTS can be an extremely valuable capability in aca*Corresponding author, craig.lindsley@vanderbilt.edu.
Relapsing polychondritis with features of dementia with Lewy bodies

We describe a 72-year old man with clinical features suggestive of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) who proved neuropathologically to have degeneration induced by relapsing polychondritis (RP), an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of cartilaginous tissues. There was lymphocytic infiltration of the leptomeninges, perivascular cuffing, reactive astrocytosis, and activation of microglia in multiple brain areas all consistent with an immunologically mediated process. There was widespread neuronal loss within the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and amygdala as well as diffuse myelin pallor of cortical pathways. Elevated levels of complement proteins and endothelial markers of inflammation were observed, which are similar to previous reports in DLB. This study demonstrates that qualitatively similar inflammation-associated neurodegeneration is present in widespread regions of the brain in a RP case presenting clinically as DLB.
Phenotypic variation meets systems biology

A report of the 18th Annual Growth Factor and Signal Transduction Symposium, Ames, USA, 11-14 June 2009.
On Removing Interpolation and Resampling Artifacts in Rigid Image Registration

We show that image registration using conventional interpolation and summation approximations of continuous integrals can generally fail because of resampling artifacts. These artifacts negatively affect the accuracy of registration by producing local optima, altering the gradient, shifting the global optimum, and making rigid registration asymmetric. In this paper, after an extensive literature review, we demonstrate the causes of the artifacts by comparing inclusion and avoidance of resampling analytically. We show the sum-of-squared-differences cost function formulated as an integral to be more accurate compared with its traditional sum form in a simple case of image registration. We then discuss aliasing that occurs in rotation, which is due to the fact that an image represented in the Cartesian grid is sampled with different rates in different directions, and propose the use of oscillatory isotropic interpolation kernels, which allow better recovery of true global optima by overcoming this type of aliasing. Through our experiments on brain, fingerprint, and white noise images, we illustrate the superior performance of the integral registration cost function in both the Cartesian and spherical coordinates, and also validate the introduced radial interpolation kernel by demonstrating the improvement in registration.
Defining Female Authority in Eighth-Century Byzantium: The Numismatic Images of the Empress Irene (797–802)

This study offers insight into the complex processes through which an unusual ruler, the empress Irene, articulated her authority in visual terms. An examination of the numismatic iconography of her gold coins demonstrates how the public imagery of this female ruler was crafted by carefully joining together a wide network of associations that draw extensively on both male and female imperial predecessors and figures of religious authority. It is suggested that while remaining within the narrow confines of eighth century numismatic style and iconography, Irene’s coinage presents her both as a reigning monarch and a personification of her most important imperial accomplishment, religious peace. Furthermore, the imagery also conveys a novel iconophile message and casts the empress as an orthodox and philanthropic ruler.
The effects of cooling on electrical responses of goldfish (Carassius auratus) central nervous system.

Abstract 1. 1. Various components of the cerebellar field potential response to parallel fibre stimulation from 25°C-acclimated goldfish block at 8–9°C. Synaptic excitation of Purkinje cells is most sensitive. 2. 2. Antidromic Purkinje responses, and responses to mossy fibre and climbing fibre stimulation, were more resistant to cooling than were responses to parallel fibre stimulation. 3. 3. The cerebellar field potential resulting from optic nerve stimulation blocked at 8°C. Acclimation to 15 and 5°C increased the cold resistance of this response. 4. 4. Tactile responses of goldfish facial lobe blocked after cooling to 6°C.
Coherent bremsstrahlung at low energies

We present a calculation of coherent bremsstrahlung of electrons (or positrons) from crystal targets, which is based on the lowest Born approximation but does not make use of the high-energy or small-angle approximation. Accordingly, the results remain valid down to electron kinetic energies of the order of \ensuremath{\ge} 1 MeV, and are applicable to several experiments that have been carried out in recent years using electrons with kinetic energies of a few MeV or tens of MeV.
Three Strikes and You're Out: Child Loss

Personally Speaking provides a forum for readers to describe important issues or events in their lives and the role, if any, counseling has played. Guidelines for submitting manuscripts may be obtained from Stephen G. Weinrach, 303 Falvey Hall, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085–1699.
WE-C-332-08: Preliminary Analysis of Morphological Features From T1 and T2 MR Images in the Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Purpose: To demonstrate the potential of computer‐extracted morphological features of lesions on breast MRI using T1 and T2 images to distinguish between malignant and benign breast lesions. Method and Materials: A pilot database of 36 breast lesions: 18 malignant and 18 benign masses as determined by biopsy, was compiled. Images were acquired as coronal T1‐weighted spoiled gradient echo sequence images and axial T2‐weighted fast spin echoimages. Lesions were segmented using fuzzy c‐means clustering and features were automatically extracted. Classification performance was investigated for the T2‐extracted features using receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC). Employing stepwise selection, linear discriminant (LDA) round‐robin, and ROC analysis, merged‐feature performance was also assessed. Statistical Z‐tests were performed to determine significance. Additionally, correlations between feature on both the T1 and T2 image were investigated. Results: Classification performance using three T2‐extracted features (Correlation, Energy, and Irregularity) yielded an AUC value of 0.69, which was found to be statistically significance compared to an AUC of 0.5 (p = 0.05). While similar performance was found for morphological lesion features from T1 images, only moderate correlation was observed between T1 and T2 features, with contrast and entropy features demonstrating a moderate positive correlation. Conclusion: Classification performance of T2‐extracted feature combinations from this preliminary dataset is significant for distinguishing between malignant and benign. Additionally, these preliminary results suggest further study of the extent to which T1‐ and T2‐ extracted feature correlation can be exploited. Further investigation is necessary to assess the effectiveness of computer‐extracted morphological features in characterizing benign and malignant lesions. Conflict of Interest: Research supported in part by NIH. Some authors receive royalties, research funding, and/or are stock holders in Hologic.
Inhibition of PAF-induced human platelet aggregation by antithrombotic nipecotamides

Nipecotamides (piperidine-3-carboxamides) are potent inhibitors of platelet aggregation induced by a variety of agonists in vitro and in vivo. The inhibitory effects of six structural types of nipecotamides on human platelet aggregation induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF) in vitro, are studied. Evaluation of 15 racemates and stereoisomers of two nipecotamides showed that bis-nipecotoyl alkanes were more active than their mono congeners. Mono- and bis-nipecotoyl decanes were more potent than the corresponding hexanes. Lipophilicity was found to play a significant role in the antiplatelet activity of these compounds. The stereoselectivity in the PAF-antagonist potential of nipecotamides was less pronounced than that resulting from their action on ADP- or collagen-induced aggregation. Oxidation of the two benzylic carbon atoms of α,α′-bis[3-(N,N-diethylcarbamoyl)piperidino]-p-xylene·2HBr (A-1) to form 1,4-bis[3-N,N-diethylcarbamoyl)piperidino]benzenedicarboxamide (A-40K), which has a second set of carbonyl oxygens but lacks basic N atoms, resulted in a remarkable loss of ADP-antagonist potency while retaining PAF-antagonist activity. It is suggested that in addition to their membrane effects, nipecotamides act at other sites, including the PAF receptor. Double reciprocal plots of PAF binding to gel-filtered platelets (GFP) in the presence and absence of a typical nipecotamide (A-1C) were indicative of competitive inhibition (Ki = 19.28 μM). Scatchard analysis of 3H-PAF binding to GFP suggested the presence of high, intermediate (I) and low affinity binding sites, of which the I site gave a KDapp of 0.332 nM with an estimated 564 sites/platelet. Key interactions of nipecotamides with the PAF receptor appear to be the following (i) electrostatic interactions of the two amide oxygens with a primary set of electropositive areas spaced at 5–7 A, (ii) in the case of appropriate compounds, electrostatic interactions of the two amide oxygens spaced at 10–12 A with corresponding secondary receptor sites carrying positive electrostatic potential, (iii) a hydrophobic moiety fitting into a hydrophobic pocket in the receptor, and (iv) the cationic piperidine N+ (at pH 7.4) interacting with a counterion, probably aspartic acid.
Exercise testing for detection of myocardial ischemia in patients with abnormal electrocardiograms at rest

Abstract This review consists of two parts: (1) discussion of the electrophysiologic mechanisms that are believed to produce ventricular repolarization changes during the electrocardiographic stress test and (2) clinical assessment of the electrocardiographic changes with stress in patients with an abnormal electrocardiogram at rest. In the first part, the mechanisms of S-T segment elevation, S-T segment depression, T wave changes and linked S-T and T wave changes are reviewed. In the second part, all electrocardiographic abnormalities at rest are grouped into four categories: (1) changes that mask the manifestations of ischemia, (2) changes that simulate or exaggerate the manifestations of ischemia, (3) changes that have no important effect on the manifestations of ischemia and (4) changes that reproduce the patterns of acute myocardial infarction after an apparent healing. The reported studies of electrocardiographic stress testing in patients who have an abnormal electrocardiogram at rest are summarized.
Why Do Mitral Valve Repairs Fail

In this issue of JASE, Magne et al continue their previous work using echocardiography to analyze outcomes of mitral valve repair for ischemic mitral regurgitation, demonstrating that continued adverse left ventricular (LV) remodeling may not be a prerequisite for recurrent mitral valve regurgitation in patients who had undergone initially successful repairs. They observed a group of 26 patients selected from a larger group who had undergone surgical repair for ischemic mitral regurgitation and noted that 10 patients developed recurrent mitral regurgitation within a mean of 18 months after surgery. In those 10 patients, recurrent regurgitation was ascribed to continued adverse LVremodeling in 5 patients, while the other 5 did not have detectable changes in ventricular volumes. The authors did note increased tethering of the anterior leaflet in the latter group of patients and suggested that recurrent regurgitation was due to localized LV remodeling in the vicinity of the papillary muscle. Does this finding represent an advance in our understanding of ischemic mitral valve repair? Have alternate explanations for recurrent regurgitation been excluded? To help put these findings in perspective, it is necessary to review the pathophysiology of ischemic mitral valve regurgitation and to separate the issue of residual or recurrent mitral regurgitation that results from surgical technical failure, as opposed to that due to the progression of the underlying disease process.
Taoist philosophy and the art of war: A response to combs’ rhetoric of parsimony

(2001). Taoist philosophy and the art of war: A response to combs’ rhetoric of parsimony. Quarterly Journal of Speech: Vol. 87, No. 4, pp. 436-438.
An Examination of Two Learning Style Measures and Their Association With Business Learning

In this study, the author examined two learning style measures that are available online, Felder's Index of Learning Styles and Jester's Learning Styles Survey. Most of the subscales contained in these measures were found to have poor reliability. Further, the author found that these measures exhibited little or no meaningful association with business learning.
Dehydropyrrolizidine Alkaloids, Including Monoesters with an Unusual Esterifying Acid, from Cultivated Crotalaria juncea (Sunn Hemp cv.‘Tropic Sun’)

Cultivation of Crotalaria juncea L. (Sunn Hemp cv. ‘Tropic Sun’) is recommended as a green manure crop in a rotation cycle to improve soil condition, help control erosion, suppress weeds, and reduce soil nematodes. Because C. juncea belongs to a genus that is known for the production of toxic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids, extracts of the roots, stems, leaves, and seeds of ‘Tropic Sun’ were analyzed for their presence using HPLC-ESI/MS. Qualitative analysis identified previously unknown alkaloids as major components along with the expected macrocyclic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid diesters, junceine and trichodesmine. The dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids occurred mainly as the N-oxides in the roots, stems, and, to a lesser extent, leaves, but mainly as the free bases in the seeds. Comprehensive spectrometric and spectroscopic analysis enabled elucidation of the unknown alkaloids as diastereoisomers of isohemijunceine, a monoester of retronecine with an unusual necic acid. The dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid ...
Variants in the pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 gene on Bos taurus autosome 16 are associated with daughter calving ease and productive life in Holstein cattle

Reproductive disorders in dairy herds have a negative effect on farm profitability and sustainability of milk production. Given the substantial evidence of the role of the pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP) gene family in the regulation of reproduction in humans and mice, its role in insulin-like growth factor metabolism, quantitative trait loci effects in the mouse, and location of a calving ease QTL on bovine chromosome 16, the PAPP-A2 gene was chosen as a candidate gene to perform an association study for reproductive health in cattle. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were identified in coding and conserved noncoding regions of the PAPP-A2 gene in 3 dairy breeds. A total of 7 tag SNP were genotyped in 662 Holstein bulls (UCD-bulls) to perform marker trait association analysis. Three SNP (SNP 13, 15, and 16) were in strong linkage disequilibrium in Holsteins, showing significant positive associations with daughter calving ease, productive life, milk yield, and protein yield. These results were validated by genotyping SNP15 in a larger population of 992 bulls from the cooperative dairy DNA repository (CDDR-bulls). Our results demonstrate that the PAPP-A2 gene is associated with reproductive health in Holstein cattle and that the identified SNP can be used as genetic markers in dairy breeding due to their positive association with reproductive and productive traits. Functional studies need to be conducted to identify the mechanisms for the association of SNP with these traits.
The Exercise-Responsive Cardiac Pacemaker

The heart has two properties: rhythmicity and contractility. Rhythmic contractions are initiated by the heart's pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, which lies in the right atrium. If the sino-atrial node fails, or if its electrical excitations are not propagated to the ventricles (the main pumping chambers), they wil still contract rhythmically but at a rate that is sometimes too slow to provide enough cardiac output to sustain consciousness. It is for this reason that rhythmic electrical stimuli are delivered to the ventricles in order to increase cardiac output to a level adequate to permit the subject to perform routine daily tasks. The technique of applying rhythmic electrical stimuli to the ventricles is called cardiac pacemaking; it can be achieved in several interesting ways, as this paper will describe.
WE-E-213CD-01: Best in Physics (Joint Imaging-Therapy) - Evaluation of Deformation Algorithm Accuracy with a Two-Dimensional Anatomical Pelvic Phantom.

Purpose: To objectively evaluate the accuracy of 11 different deformable registration techniques for bladder filling. Methods: The phantom represents an axial plane of the pelvic anatomy. Urethane plastic serves as the bony anatomy and urethane rubber with three levels of Hounsfield units (HU) is used to represent fat and organs, including the prostate. A plastic insert is placed into the phantom to simulate bladder filling. Nonradiopaque markers reside on the phantom surface. Optical cameraimages of these markers are used to measure the positions and determine the deformation from the bladder insert. Eleven different deformable registration techniques are applied to the full‐ and empty‐bladder computed tomographyimages of the phantom to calculate the deformation. The applied algorithms include those from MIMVista Software and Velocity Medical Solutions and 9 different implementations from the Deformable Image Registration and Adaptive Radiotherapy Toolbox for Matlab. The distance to agreement between the measured and calculated deformations is used to evaluate algorithm error. Deformable registration warps one image to make it similar to another. The root‐mean‐square (RMS) difference between the HUs at the marker locations on the empty‐bladder phantom and those at the calculated marker locations on the full‐bladder phantom is used as a metric for image similarity. Results: The percentage of the markers with an error larger than 3 mm ranges from 3.1% to 28.2% with the different registration techniques. This range is 1.1% to 3.7% for a 7 mm error. The least accurate algorithm at 3 mm is also the most accurate at 7 mm. Also, the least accurate algorithm at 7 mm produces the lowest RMS difference. Conclusions: Different deformation algorithms generate very different results and the outcome of any one algorithm can be misleading. Thus, these algorithms require quality assurance. The two‐dimensional phantom is an objective tool for this purpose.
Music as a Distractor on Reading-Test Performance of Eighth Grade Students

Playing of popular instrumental music during a test was distracting and lowered reading-test performance of 14 eighth grade students. Ability statistically significantly interacted with reading performance; 7 less able students were more adversely affected than 7 bright students.
Estimating Trait, Method, and Error Variance: Generalizing across 70 Construct Validation Studies:

The authors examine the construct validation results of 70 published data sets. The analysis shows that, on average, traits account for less than 50% of the variance in construct measures. These fi...
A randomized, controlled trial evaluating the impact of a computerized rounding and sign-out system on continuity of care and resident work hours.

Background Adoption of limits on resident work hours prompted us to develop a centralized, Web-based computerized rounding and sign-out system (UWCores) that securely stores sign-out information; automatically downloads patient data (vital signs, laboratories); and prints them to rounding, sign-out, and progress note templates. We tested the hypothesis that this tool would positively impact continuity of care and resident workflow by improving team communication involving patient handovers and streamlining inefficiencies, such as hand-copying patient data during work before rounds ("prerounds"). Study design Fourteen inpatient resident teams (6 general surgery, 8 internal medicine) at two teaching hospitals participated in a 5-month, prospective, randomized, crossover study. Data collected included number of patients missed on resident rounds, subjective continuity of care quality and workflow efficiency with and without UWCores, and daily self-reported prerounding and rounding times and tasks. Results UWCores halved the number of patients missed on resident rounds (2.5 versus 5 patients/team/month, p=0.0001); residents spent 40% more of their prerounds time seeing patients (p = 0.36); residents reported better sign-out quality (69.6% agree or strongly agree); and improved continuity of care (66.1% agree or strongly agree). UWCores halved the portion of prerounding time spent hand-copying basic data (p Conclusions This system enhances patient care by decreasing patients missed on resident rounds and improving resident-reported quality of sign-out and continuity of care. It decreases by up to 3 hours per week (range 1.5 to 3) the time used by residents to complete rounds; it diverts prerounding time from recopying data to more productive tasks; and it facilitates meeting the 80-hour work week requirement by helping residents finish their work sooner.
A deformation sensitive pad-structure embedded with hetero-core optic fiber sensors

A new approach has been described to discuss how smart materials could be devised using the novel hetero-core sensors intended for monitoring large deformation in terms both of the curvature and the direction of bending in the form of pad-structures made of rubber. The result showed that the proposed pad-structures were sufficiently sensitive to the given curvature and directions for deformation with a sufficient linearity of sensor characteristics. The hetero-core embedded pad sensors were successfully perceptive for the first time with typical sensitivities of 0.066 and 0.153 dB/mm as a smart material to know not only the deformation direction but also the degree and convex/concave direction of curvatures.
Hormonal and subjective effects of smoking the first five cigarettes of the day: a comparison in males and females.

Abstract The effects of smoking normal-nicotine-delivery cigarettes on serum cortisol, plasma beta-endorphin (BE), and mood were measured in 8 male and 8 female smokers; 8 male and 8 female nonsmokers served as sham-smoking controls. Smoking five cigarettes of the the smokers' usual type after overnight deprivation, either ad lib or via a quantified smoke delivery system, produced small but reliable elevations in serum cortisol concentrations; BE was elevated somewhat after two, but not after four or five cigarettes. Smoking-induced elevations in serum cortisol were correlated with decreases in self-reported drowsiness after two and five cigarettes. Additionally, female smokers reported more drowsiness at baseline and after smoking nicotine-free cigarettes than did male smokers or female nonsmokers. Results suggest that smoking-induced elevations in serum cortisol, which persist for at least the first five cigarettes of the day, may modulate the arousing effects of smoking under conditions of low arousal. Also, nicotine-deprived female smokers may experience subnormal arousal compound to male smokers or emale nonsmokers.
Low Noise Jfet with Integral Reset Diode

A low noise JFET has been built with a small diode diffused in the gate circuit. For these initial experiments the chips were bonded to an available 4-lead ceramic insulated header. Both dc and pulsed reset methods are possible. The present experiments with a dc reset method indicate that the device when optimized should give, at low count rates, similar resolution to opto-electronic feedback. An output count rate of 20,000 c/s at 6 keV adds 150 eV of noise.
Religion and Spirituality in the Face of Illness: How Cancer, Cardiac, and HIV Patients Describe their Spirituality/Religiosity.

This study reports the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with 60 medically ill (cancer, myocardial infarction, HIV/AIDS) people in an attempt to define what people facing a life-threatening illness mean when they say they are 'spiritual' or 'religious'. Questions were asked about beliefs and affective, behavioral, and somatic realms. Subjects initially self-identified as considering themselves to be spiritual, religious, or both. While some similarities existed between the groups (e.g. amount of time spent in prayer, beliefs set the tone for their life, give them a sense of well-being, guidance, a sense of right and wrong, a connection to God, and a sense they will live on in some form), significant differences were discovered in overall belief systems, as well as in interpretation of the mechanisms whereby subjects' beliefs impacted their health and their recovery. Those identifying as spiritual described recovery and healing as happening through them whereas those identifying as religious were more likely to say it happens to them. In addition, significant differences existed between the groups in their overall view of God, self, world, and others. Implications for future studies are discussed.
Self consistent numerical calculations for nested fermi liquids

Abstract We have carried out propagator-renormalized numerical calculations for the self energy of the 2D Hubbard model generated self-consistently from the second-order skeleton diagram. We use lattices as large as 128 × 128 with 1024 Matsubara frequencies in order to obtain the the self energy at temperatures down to 0.002 times the bandwidth. Our results at and near half filling show marginal Fermi liquid behavior; for U ~ t the frequency dependence of the self energy is similar to that expected from the nested Fermi liquid theory of Virosztek and Ruvalds, but contrary to their model, the momentum dependence near the Fermi surface is strong. We also calculate the temperature dependence of the thermodynamic potential using the functional of Luttinger and Ward, and find significant departures from the T 2 dependence expected for a normal Fermi liquid. For n ≤ 0.89, we see normal Fermi liquid behavior for temperatures below 1.5 % of the bandwidth.
The Nonproliferation Emperor Has No Clothes: The Gas Centrifuge, Supply-Side Controls, and the Future of Nuclear Proliferation

Technology has been long understood to play a central role in limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Evolving nuclear technology, increased access to information, and systematic improvements in design and manufacturing tools, however, should in time ease the proliferation challenge. Eventually, even developing countries could possess a sufficient technical ability. There is evidence that this transition has already occurred. The basic uranium-enrichment gas centrifuge, developed in the 1960s, has technical characteristics that are within reach of nearly all states, without foreign assistance or access to export-controllable materials. The history of centrifuge development in twenty countries supports this perspective, as do previously secret studies carried out by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom. Complicating matters, centrifuges also have properties that make the detection of a clandestine program enormously difficult. If conditions for the clandestine and indigenous p...
Diverticular disease: update.

Diverticular disease is an extremely common disease entity in our society. The major complication of diverticular disease, diverticulitis, can have quite variable presentations. In the acute setting, treatment is divided into nonsurgical (conservative) or surgical therapy. Cases of mild or “uncomplicated” disease benefit from a conservative approach involving antibiotic therapy. With more severe or “complicated” presentations (abscess, phlegmon, obstruction, fistula, or peritonitis), a more aggressive approach may involve percutaneous abscess drainage or urgent surgical therapy. This also may be required after a failed initial attempt at medical management. The decision regarding elective surgery after successful medical management of diverticulitis is more complicated. The primary goal is to minimize disease recurrence with as little morbidity as possible while maintaining a high quality of life. Recent evidence challenges indications for elective surgery. However, data on the natural history of recurrent diverticulitis are not clear enough to support altering current surgical guidelines. In addition, the increasing use of minimally invasive techniques with favorable outcomes for sigmoid colectomy must be considered. Prior to offering elective colectomy for diverticulitis, it remains important to individualize each case, giving special consideration to age, symptomatology, and recurrence. Ultimately, the decision for elective surgery is made by both the surgeon and a well-informed patient.
A Drosophila toolkit for the visualization and quantification of viral replication launched from transgenic genomes.

Arthropod RNA viruses pose a serious threat to human health, yet many aspects of their replication cycle remain incompletely understood. Here we describe a versatile Drosophila toolkit of transgenic, self-replicating genomes (‘replicons’) from Sindbis virus that allow rapid visualization and quantification of viral replication in vivo. We generated replicons expressing Luciferase for the quantification of viral replication, serving as useful new tools for large-scale genetic screens for identifying cellular pathways that influence viral replication. We also present a new binary system in which replication-deficient viral genomes can be activated ‘in trans’, through co-expression of an intact replicon contributing an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. The utility of this toolkit for studying virus biology is demonstrated by the observation of stochastic exclusion between replicons expressing different fluorescent proteins, when co-expressed under control of the same cellular promoter. This process is analogous to ‘superinfection exclusion’ between virus particles in cell culture, a process that is incompletely understood. We show that viral polymerases strongly prefer to replicate the genome that encoded them, and that almost invariably only a single virus genome is stochastically chosen for replication in each cell. Our in vivo system now makes this process amenable to detailed genetic dissection. Thus, this toolkit allows the cell-type specific, quantitative study of viral replication in a genetic model organism, opening new avenues for molecular, genetic and pharmacological dissection of virus biology and tool development.
Combined Ion Mobility/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Study of Electrospray-Generated Ions

A commercially available ion mobility spectrometer was interfaced to a custom-built linear time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer for the purpose of examining electrospray-generated plumes. Ionic species that were separated in the ion mobility spectrometer could be selectively determined with the TOF mass spectrometer. Tetraalkylammonium salts, a peptide, and proteins were examined. Their ion mobility spectra typically comprised a few peaks; some of these mobility-resolved species produced characteristic electrospray ions, while others of lower relative mobility did not. The TOF mass spectra of cytochrome c, injected from the ion mobility spectrometer at an indicated temperature of 90 °C or lower, showed signs that were characteristic of protein−solvent clustering.
Rigorous Modeling of Hybrid Systems using Interval Arithmetic Constraints

We provide a rigorous approach to modeling, simulating, and analyzing hybrid systems using CLP(F) (Constraint Logic Programming (Functions)) [14], a system which combines CLP (Constraint Language Programming) [21] with interval arithmetic [30]. We have implemented this system, and provide timing information. Because hybrid systems are often used to prove safety properties, it is critical to have a rigorous analysis. By using intervals throughout the system, we make it easier to include measurement errors in our models and to prove safety properties.
A New Spiral Streak Plate Method of Isolating Bacteria by Means of an Inoculating Machine

Surface culture methods of isolating bacteria are generally preferable, not only from the standpoint of simplicity, but also because surface colonies frequently have so distinctive a morphology as to lead to their immediate identification. With the present day methods, however, it is frequently almost impossible to isolate organisms from tenacious masses or from deposits such as tartar. This is often the case from the standpoint of anaerobic bacteriology. Heretofore it has been considered almost impossible to secure pure cultures of anaerobes by other than single cell isolation methods, but that such is not the case has been amply shown by the use of the method to be described. One of the chief purposes of any isolation method should be to effect a thorough and complete separation of the bacteria in the inoculum, while still maintaining to the greatest possible degree the symbiotic relationship of the various organisms. Failure to achieve this result explains many of the unsuccessful attempts to isolate certain of the more fastidious organisms from badly contaminated material. Several serious obstacles to a thorough separation of bacteria exist in present methods of inoculation, chief of which is the light pressure of application of the needle or rod to the surface of the medium, which is necessary in order to prevent cutting the medium, together with the ziz-zag motion of streaking which is so commonly employed. By such a movement of the needle, clumps of bacteria are removed more frequently than individual organisms, especially in those portions of the plate in which the directions of the motion of the needle or rod is reversed. As a result of this few properly streaked plates are secured, with a consequent increased difficulty in the isolation of the bacteria. In addition to these objections it is often very difficult to streak all of the surface of the medium due to the contour of the petri dish, with a consequent decrease in the length of the line of inoculation, and in the degree of separation afforded. Furthermore, due to the
Physiologic properties of small intestine submucosa1

Background. Porcine small intestine submucosa (SiS) has been introduced as a bioprosthesis in herniorrhaphy. This study evaluates in vivo properties of SiS that would affect clinical use. Materials and methods. Twelve pigs underwent implantation of SiS (perforated and nonperforated) on the peritoneal surface. Gross characteristics were evaluated and random samples harvested for histological study at 2 (n = 6) and 8 (n = 6) weeks. Collagen deposition was determined by polarized microscopy. Neovascularity (percent area blood vessels, %A bv ) was determined by immunohistochemical staining with a polyclonal CD-31 antibody. Results. Perforated SiS had a higher density of capillary ingrowth compared with nonperforated at both 2 (S.6%A bv versus 1A%A bv , P < 0.05) and 8 weeks (6.0%A bv versus 1.6%Ah bv , P < 0.05). Compared with 2 weeks, 8-week SiS had a larger proportion of incorporation (25% versus 83%, P < 0.05) and new collagen deposition (50% versus 94%, P < 0.05). Significant contraction was observed in SiS 8 weeks after implantation (preimplant area 98 cm 2 versus post-implant area 50 cm 2 , P < 0.05). Conclusion. SiS incorporated well 8 weeks after implantation, with deposition of new collagen. Perforated SiS demonstrated a more rapid and greater amount of neovascularity. The degree of contraction suggests that larger areas of SiS should be selected for herniorrhaphy than would be necessary if synthetic materials were used.
Measurement of irradiance distribution at the focus of a high-irradiance laser beam

Two new analysis techniques used to characterize a non-diffraction- limited pulsed laser system whose focal spot is too intense to record photographically and whose pointing varies in time are described. The data to be analyzed were collected by moving the focal point in three dimensions and recording the fraction of the incident energy that passed through a pinhole. Analyzing the data in two different ways provides two independent estimates of the properties of the laser beam that are in reasonable agreement. One method estimates the average size of the focal volume over the measurement period, whereas the other estimates its minimum size. The difference between the average and the minimum then indicates the range of variation in size. Two different estimates of the random motion of the beam are also obtained. Both analysis methods employ statistics to account for pulse-to-pulse variations in the size, location, and total energy of the pulses. Beam widths at different points along the beam axis can then be fit with the M2 model, which describes beams that are not diffraction limited, to provide a simple expression for the irradiance at any point in the focal volume.
Embodied Cognition and the Grotesque in Calvino's La giornata d'uno scrutatore and Sanguineti's Capriccio italiano

In his article "Embodied Cognition and the Grotesque in Calvino's scrutatore and Sanguineti's Capriccio italiano embodied experience and how they can be brought to bear on literary texts. Drawing on cognitive science, he argues that the embodiment of people's engagement with the world emerges from the interaction between the physical structure of the body and socio shows how such nexus of biological make meanings in the representation of grotesque bodies. analyzes Italo Calvino's La giornata d'uno scrutatore Capriccio italiano, wherein distorted bodies play an important > ISSN 1481-4374 Issue 1 (March 2014) Article X Marco Caracciolo, Cognition and the Grotesque in and Sanguineti's Capriccio italiano b.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol16/iss1/X>
Transesophageal echocardiographic description of the mechanisms of aortic regurgitation in acute type A aortic dissection: implications for aortic valve repair.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to use transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to define the mechanisms of aortic regurgitation (AR) in acute type A aortic dissection so as to assist the surgeon in identifying patients with mechanisms of AR suitable for valve preservation. BACKGROUND Significant AR frequently complicates acute type A aortic dissection necessitating either aortic valve repair or replacement at the time of aortic surgery. Although direct surgical inspection can identify intrinsically normal leaflets suitable for repair, it is preferable for the surgeon to correlate aortic valve function with the anatomy prior to thoracotomy. METHODS We studied 50 consecutive patients with acute type A aortic dissection in whom preoperative TEE findings were considered by the surgeons in planning aortic valve surgery. Six patients did not undergo surgery (noncandidacy or refusal) and one patient had had a prior aortic valve replacement and therefore was excluded from the analysis. RESULTS Twenty-seven patients had no or minimal AR and 22 had moderate or severe AR. In all, there were 16 with intrinsically normal leaflets who had AR due to one or more correctable aortic valve lesion: incomplete leaflet closure due to leaflet tethering in a dilated aortic root in 7; leaflet prolapse due to disrupted leaflet attachments in 8; and dissection flap prolapse through the aortic valve orifice in 5. Of these 16 patients, 15 had successful aortic valve repair whereas just 1 underwent aortic valve replacement after a complicated intraoperative course (unrelated to the aortic valve). Nine patients underwent aortic valve replacement for nonrepairable abnormalities, including Marfan's syndrome in four, bicuspid aortic valve in four, and aortitis in one. In patients undergoing aortic valve repair, follow-up transthoracic echocardiography at a median of three months revealed no or minimal residual AR, and clinical follow-up at a median of 23 months showed that none required aortic valve replacement. CONCLUSIONS When significant AR complicates acute type A aortic dissection, TEE can define the severity and mechanisms of AR and can assist the surgeon in identifying patients in whom valve repair is likely to be successful.
Manipulating phagocyte activity in Alzheimer's disease.

Increased numbers of reactive microglia are a commonly described histological change in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and also in rodent models of disease [1–3]. These cells are often, but not always, reported in association with deposits of fibrillar amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide [4–7], and this proximity has helped support the idea that the microglia are responding to Aβ by acquiring a reactive phenotype. Data from rodent studies indicate that a more appropriate term may be phagocytes rather than microglia since some amount of blood-derived macrophage are intermingled with resident microglia around the amyloid plaques [8]. Regardless of the immediate origin of these cells, there has been little in situ evidence from either human or rodent brains that these phagocytic cells are capable of taking up the peptide during the typical disease process [9–11]. Indeed, numerous studies have attempted strategies to modulate the phenotype of brain phagocytic cells to facilitate their ability to clear the peptide. These strategies not only influenced infiltration of peripheral blood derived phagocytes but also