cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Soft Filaments Circulate Longer Than Spherical Particles - Shape Effects in Flow and Drug Delivery

Interaction of spherical particles with cells and within animals has been studied extensively, but the effects of shape have received little attention. Here we use highly stable, polymer micelle assemblies known as ‘filomicelles’ to compare the transport and trafficking of these flexible filaments to spheres of similar chemistry. In rodents, filomicelles persisted in the circulation up to 1 week after intravenous injection. This is about ten-fold longer than their spherical counterparts and more persistent than any known synthetic nanoparticle. With cells and in fluid flow conditions, spheres and short filomicelles are taken up by cells more readily than longer filaments because the latter are extended by the flow. Preliminary results further demonstrate that filomicelles can effectively deliver the anticancer drug paclitaxel and shrink human-derived tumors in mice. These findings redefine what is ‘nano’ for circulating vehicles and perhaps also lend insight into shape advantages of natural filoviruses.© 2007 ASME
“Learning About Your Residents”: How Assisted Living Residence Medication Aides Decide to Administer Pro Re Nata Medications to Persons With Dementia

PURPOSE This study identified how unlicensed staff members decide to administer medications prescribed pro re nata (PRN) to residents of assisted living (AL) settings designated for persons with dementia. Theories of knowledge, including explicit and implicit knowledge, discretion, and judgment, guided the analysis. DESIGN AND METHODS Data were collected and analyzed using qualitative methods. The staff members responsible for medication administration were shadowed for 6 consecutive days in three Oregon ALs. In-person interviews were conducted with 16 staff members, and residents' medication records were reviewed. RESULTS Medication aides' decisions to administer PRN medications were informed by resident request, interpretation of resident-specific actions, training and experience, and setting-specific practices. The theme, learning about your residents, was consistent across settings. IMPLICATIONS By administering PRN medications, medication aides play an important role in the daily care and comfort of AL residents with dementia. Policy makers need information about whether to permit unlicensed staff to administer medications and the level of training to require. This research suggests that training should recognize the tacit knowledge of practicing medication aides. Despite the role that PRN medications can play in the daily comfort and well-being of AL residents, little is known about as-needed medications prescribed versus those actually used across settings; also needed is an understanding of how other health professionals are involved in treatment plans that include medications.
Exploring the Relationship Between Perceptual Learning and Top-Down Attentional Control

Here, we review the role of top-down attention in both the acquisition and the expression of perceptual learning, as well as the role of learning in more efficiently guiding attentional modulations. Although attention often mediates learning at the outset of training, many of the characteristic behavioral and neural changes associated with learning can be observed even when stimuli are task irrelevant and ignored. However, depending on task demands, attention can override the effects of perceptual learning, suggesting that even if top-down factors are not strictly necessary to observe learning, they play a critical role in determining how learning-related changes in behavior and neural activity are ultimately expressed. In turn, training may also act to optimize the effectiveness of top-down attentional control by improving the efficiency of sensory gain modulations, regulating intrinsic noise, and altering the read-out of sensory information.
The Mean Free Path of the Alkali Ions in Different Gases

Retardation and neutralization of caesium and sodium ions in traversing hydrogen, helium and argon.---With caesium ions of 90 volt velocity in hydrogen there is very little neutralization or scattering of the ions even when their path is twenty times the mean free path for a xenon atom in hydrogen. There is a loss of velocity of 1.3 volts per collision. Similar phenomena were observed in helium. Caesium rays of 35 volts velocity in hydrogen are slowly weakened by neutralization or scattering. Sodium ions of 455 volt velocity are also weakened in hydrogen, but the free path for a collision that removes the ion from the bundle is 26 times that of a neon atom in hydrogen. In argon, caesium ions of 90, 35 and 20 volt velocities are rapidly neutralized with a free path only 3.4, 2.6 and 2.3 times that of a xenon atom in argon.
Prediction of Failure Transitions in Sliding Contacts by a Thermomechanical Wear Model

A wear equation in general form is offered by which the transition between mild wear and severe wear is identified. This wear criteria equation is governed by three nondimensional parameters: Fo, C T , and G t , which are measures of time, material property dependence on temperature, and thermal stress intensity, respectively. From this equation, wear maps are constructed. Along with results from Hertzian contact theory, the wear criteria equation and wear map can be used for design guidance. As an example, AISI 52100 steel is examined by comparing calculated data, based on a thermomechanical wear model, with experimental results of sliding contacts. The critical temperatures at which thermomechanical wear can occur are also calculated
Actuator grouping optimization on flexible space reflectors

With the rapid advances in deployable membrane and mesh antenna technologies, the feasibility of developing large, lightweight reflectors has greatly improved. In order to achieve the required surface accuracy, precision surface control is needed on these lightweight reflectors. For this study, an analytical model is shown which combines a flexible Kapton reflector with Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) actuators for surface control. Surface errors are introduced that are similar to real world scenarios, and a least squares control algorithm is developed for surface control. Experimental results on a 2.4 meter reflector show that while the analytical reflector model is generally correct, due to idiosyncrasies in the reflector it cannot be used for online control. A new method called the En Mass Elimination algorithm is used to determine the optimal grouping of actuators when the number of actuators in the system exceeds the number of power supplies available.
On the neuropsychology of metamemory: Contributions from the study of amnesia and dementia

Abstract Neurologic syndromes in which there is impaired deficit-awareness (termed “anosognosia”) provide useful observations for understanding the nature of metacognition and its neurobiologic correlates. Anosognosia can occur in various disorders, including stroke, head injury, particular amnesic syndromes, and various dementing illnesses (e.g., Alzheimer's disease). Research on anosognosia for memory impairment is important both for its clinical implications and for its contributions toward understanding the neural correlates of, and processes by which, persons are aware of, monitor, and develop beliefs about their own memory functioning (i.e., metamemory). Following a brief introduction to anosognosia, a review is provided of research on awareness of memory deficit in persons with neurologic amnesia or dementia syndromes. Particular emphasis is placed upon the examination of how different experimental methods shed light on specific questions about metamemory impairment.
Breadth of Compton Modified Line

Professors Ross and Clark of Stanford, using the ingenious balanced filter method of Ross, have investigated the shifted line in the Compton effect for antimony, Kα1 and Kα2, lines scattered from beryllium. In this method the scattering angle is varied so as to vary the shift of the modified line.
Safety of misoprostol as a cervical ripening agent in vaginal birth after cesarean delivery

Abstract Objectives: In women who underwent vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC), we assessed the risk of uterine rupture and other complications in those who received misoprostol and oxytocin (M+O) compared with two other groups: VBAC patients who had spontaneous labor (SL) and those who received oxytocin alone (OA). Methods: From 1996 to 1999, we compared risks for fetal and maternal complications between M+O patients versus SL patients and between M+O patients versus OA patients. Other complications included abnormal heart rate pattern in labor, meconium passage, intrapartum infection, and failure of VBAC. Results: Of 382 VBAC patients studied, we had 100 patients in the M+O group, 115 in SL, and 167 in OA. There were no cases of uterine rupture. In the M+O group, 13% had meconium compared with 35% of SL patients (95% CI, 9% to 35%; P = 0.002). There were no other statistically significant differences in any outcome between M+O and SL patients and between M+O and OA. Of three patients who developed uterine dehiscence, none had received misoprostol. Success for vaginal delivery was not statistically different in the three groups (79% in M+O, 77% for SL, 84% for OA). Conclusion: In contrast to published reports and to ACOG’s Committee Opinion 228, misoprostol was not associated in this study with an increased risk of abnormal fetal heart rate, maternal infection, or uterine rupture. Misoprostol in VBAC patients is a relatively safe method for cervical ripening and appears as successful as spontaneous labor or oxytocin in vaginal delivery.
Analysis of a shear zone where a tractor fell into a crevasse, western side of the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

The site of a tractor fall into a crevasse in the transition between ice shelves is investigated. Two satellite images of the McMurdo Ice Shelf and Ross Ice Shelf junction are used to map features and processed to obtain velocities and strain rates. The accident occurred at a minor maximum in strain rate, occurring in a flow trace originating at the side of an outlet glacier from the Transantarctic Mountains. The flow trace ice has been altered into surface rollers that are parallel with ice motion. The surface rollers would seem to be a major reason for the tractor fall. On a larger scale, measured strain rates are used in a calculation of the budget of forces for the Ross Ice Shelf. The resistive forces to flow as deduced from the new and old measurements are insufficient to balance the gravitational driving force. There must be major resistive forces from other sites, such as Minna Bluff and Cape Crozier.
Receptor mediation of 5-HT-induced inflammation and nociception in rats.

Abstract In light of evidence suggesting the proinflammatory and nociceptive action of peripheral serotonin (5-HT), the present study examined dose-dependent parameters of edema and algesia produced by intraplantar injections of 5-HT and the role of heterogeneous 5-HT receptors in these 5-HT-induced responses. Intraplantar 5-HT (0.05, 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 μmol) produced paw edema at each 5-HT concentration and produced concentration-dependent increases in the nociceptive response as indexed by lifts of, and licks to the affected paw. Intraplantar pretreatment with the 5-HT1 receptor antagonist methysergide at concentrations ≥3 nmol attenuated the 5-HT-induced (25 μmol) inflammatory and nociceptive responses. At concentr ations ≥300 nmol, both 5-HT2 receptor antagonists ketanserin and 5-HT3 receptor antagonist odansetron pretreatment blocked 5-HT-induced inflammatory and nociceptive responses. These result more completely define peripheral 5-HT-receptor-dependent systems of 5-HT-induced inflammation and nociception in rats.
Astrophysics: Rags-to-riches galaxies

'Large ellipticals' are the lords of the galaxies in terms of mass, size and evolutionary development. Different theories for their formation have been proposed, but the debate might now be resolved by new models and observations.
Nonlinear dynamics of a sliding beam on two supports under sinusoidal excitation

This study deals with the nonlinear dynamics associated with large deformation of abeam sliding on two-knife edge supports under external excitation. The beam is referred to as a Gospodnetic-Frisch-Fay beam, after the researchers who reported its static deformation in closed form. The freedom of the beam to slide on its supports imparts a nonlinear characteristic to the force-deflection response. The restoring elastic force of the beam possesses characteristics similar to those of the roll-restoring moment of ships. The Gospodnetic-Frisch-Fay exact solution is given in terms of elliptic functions. A curve fit of the exact solution up to eleventhorder is constructed to establish the governing equation of motion under external excitation. The dynamic stability of the unperturbed beam is examined for the damped and undamped cases. The undamped case reveals periodic orbits and one homoclinic orbit depending on the value of the initial conditions. The response to a sinusoidal excitation at a frequency below the linear natural frequency is numerically estimated for different excitation amplitude and different values of initial conditions covered by the area of the homoclinic orbit. The safe basins of attraction are plotted for different values of excitation amplitude. It is found that the safe region of operation is reduced as the excitation amplitude increases
Interleukin-17 causes neutrophil mediated inflammation in ovalbumin-induced uveitis in DO11.10 mice

T cell-mediated uveitis is strongly associated with many systemic inflammatory disorders. Th17 cells are a novel T cell subset characterized by production of interleukin (IL)-17. In this study, we used DO11.10 mice to investigate the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of uveitis. CD4+ T cells in DO11.10 mice are genetically engineered to react with ovalbumin (OVA). IL-17 expression was determined by real-time PCR and ELISPOT. Uveitis was induced by intravitreal injection of OVA, and ocular inflammation was evaluated by intravital microscopy. OVA challenge significantly induced IL-17 production by DO11.10 splenocytes in vitro. Next, we examined whether OVA challenge could elicit local inflammation and induce IL-17 in vivo. OVA elicited marked neutrophil-predominant inflammatory cell infiltration in the eyes. This leukocyte influx was mediated by CD4+ lymphocytes as evidenced by significant inhibition of the ocular inflammation by CD4+ depleting antibody. Compared to control mice, OVA treatment induced IL-17 expression. Moreover, anti-IL-17 antibody markedly reduced OVA-mediated ocular inflammation. Finally, the neutralization of IL-17 attenuated ocular expression of CXCL2 and CXCL5, two cytokines which are chemotactic for neutrophils. Our study suggests that IL-17 is implicated in the pathogenesis of this T cell-mediated model of uveitis in part through neutrophil chemotaxis as a downstream effect of IL-17.
Critical issues associated with interpretation of impedance spectra

Abstract Today's unresolved issues in impedance spectroscopy are driven by the observation that impedance spectroscopy provides only an indirect characterization of a given system. A consequence of the inferential character of impedance spectroscopy is that many models can provide fits that fall within the apparent confidence limits of the data. Therefore impedance spectroscopy cannot be regarded as being a “stand-alone” technique. The non-uniqueness of impedance models is currently being addressed by incorporating independent in-situ and ex-situ analyses into impedance experiments, by varying additional parameters (or forcing functions) such as temperature, mass transfer rates, energy of incident monochromatic illumination and intensity of broad-band illumination, and by incorporating measurements of additional properties such as mass. Improvements in interpretation will also be driven by incorporation of more sophisticated statistical treatment of data and models.
Laparoscopic staging for gastric cancer

Background. Laparoscopy has become and increasingly important diagnostic tool for the staging of intraabdominal malignancies. Some investigators have suggested laparoscopy to be of questionable value in the preoperative staging of gastric cancer because many patients may require palliative surgery despite laparoscopic findings. However, in other studies laparoscopy was found to be a more accurate staging technique and useful in avoiding unnecessary laparotomy when compared with abdominal sonography, liver scintigraphy, or early generation computed tomography (CT). In recent years marked improvements have been made in CT technology, and laparoscopy has not been compared with current generation CT. Therefore we sought to determine the usefulness of laparoscopy for staging gastric adenocarcinoma in the era of current generation CT scanning. Methods. Staging laparoscopy was performed in 71 patients with potentially resectable gastric cancer as determined by physical examination and current generation CT. The results of laparoscopy were evaluated in the context of negative or equivocal CT findings. Results. Laparoscopic staging was successful in 69 patients (97%). Laparoscopy identified distant metastatic disease in 16 (23%) patients judged to be eligible for potentially curative resection by current generation CT scanning. Only one of these patients required laparatomy for palliation. Combined CT and laparoscopic staging resulted in a 93% resectability rate, for patients operated on with curative intent. Conclusions. We advocate staging laparoscopy as an important staging procedure for all patients with potentially resectable gastric cancer. The additional cost of laparoscopy should be more than offset by the decreased morbidity and expense of hospitalization for those patients who avoid an unnecessary laparotomy. (Surgery 1996; 119:611–614.)
Band theory of superlattices

We present a first-principles theory of the band structure of lattice-matched superlattices. We formulate the one-electron problem of superlattices in the Bloch representation of one of the constituent materials. In this formulation, the symmetry breaking along the superlattice axis leads to partitioning and folding of the original homogeneous crystal Brillouin zone onto a thin region around the center of the zone. A single homogeneous crystal Bloch function becomes a multicomponent wave function. Each component represents a superlattice subband. We use Loewdin's theorem to derive series expressions for the subband energies and wave functions, and discuss the relation between these solutions and the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions corresponding to quantum-well models. We apply the general results to a superlattice composed of two different types of simple two-band model materials.
Role of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors in Delay and Probability Discounting in the Rat

Rationale Discounting of delayed and probabilistic reinforcement is linked to increased drug use and pathological gambling. Understanding the neurobiology of discounting is important for designing treatments for these disorders. Glutamate is considered to be involved in addiction-like behaviors; however, the role of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) in discounting remains unclear.
Potential sources of error when applying a corneal reflex eye-monitoring technique to infant subjects

Because infant head movements cannot be severely restrained, and because calibration procedures are difficult to conduct, infant scanning data are subject to a number of sources of latent error. Here, sources of potential error are identified, and suggestions are offered for minimizing or eliminating their effects.
Acute Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Dissection with Secondary Aneurysm Formation in Pregnancy

Pregnancy related vascular emergencies are associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality to the mother and foetus. Over 50% of ruptured arterial aneurysms in women under the age of 40 are pregnancy related, with maternal mortality ranging from 40 to 100%. 1"2 Rupture of cerebral artery aneurysms during pregnancy accounts for 12 to 80% of all maternal deaths. 3 Splenic artery aneurysms recognised during pregnancy, even if asymptomatic, are a serious threat to the survival of the mother and foetus. Nearly 20% of splenic artery aneurysm ruptures occur during pregnancy, with maternal mortality approaching 70% and foetal mortality exceeding 75%. 4'5 Various physiological changes, hormonal and haemodynamic, appear to predispose a pregnant woman to vascular complications, especially during the third trimester) -5 Since some of these rare lesions can be corrected, either before or during pregnanc~ earlier detection can save the life of the mother and foetus.
Two-body potentials in the collective model

Abstract The question, “How well can a 1 + 2-body shell-model interaction represent a many-body potential?”, is addressed by optimally expanding the (1 + 2 + 3)-body potential β 3 cos 3γ and the (1 + 2 + 3 + 4)-body potential β 4 of the Bohr-Mottelson collective model in terms of (1 + 2)-body operators. It is found that the correlation of β 4 with its approximation is greater than 97% throughout the sd shell. Although β 3 cos 3γ is also well approximated in the first half of the sd shell where it has more than 80% correlation with its approximation, the correlation drops abruptly at 28 Si to 50% and remains low in the second half of the shell. The approximations are primarily sums of the various components of the quadrupole-quadrupole interaction connecting different major oscillator shells. The results suggest that axially-symmetric deformation can be represented by simple (1 + 2)-body operators, whereas asymmetric shapes require non-simple 3-body terms.
THEORETICAL PEARLS: Flattening combinators: surviving without parentheses

A combinator expression is flat if it can be written without parentheses, that is, if all applications nest to the left, never to the right. This note explores a simple method for flattening combinator expressions involving arbitrary combinators.
Accumulation and effects of lead and cadmium on wood ducks near a mining and smelting complex in Idaho

: A study of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) was conducted along the Coeur d'Alene River system in northern Idaho in 1986 and 1987. Most of this area has been subjected to severe contamination from lead and other metals from mining and smelting since the 1880s. In 1986, a preliminary study of wood duck nesting was conducted in the contaminated area; incubating hens captured in nest boxes were bled and weighed. Blood samples were used to determine lead and cadmium concentrations and physiological characteristics. In 1987, an intensive study of wood ducks involved trapping and monitoring nest boxes in the contaminated area. Blood and tissue samples were also taken from wood ducks from a reference area without known contamination from metals. Lead levels in blood and tissues of most wood ducks from the contaminated area frequently exceeded those considered hazardous to birds; maximum levels (wet weight) of lead were 8 μg g(-1) in blood and 14 μg g(-1) in liver. Changes in physiological characteristics constituted the only evidence of potentially adverse effects from lead. In the contaminated area, nesting success (55% unadjusted, 35% Mayfield estimate) was less than in other areas where predation was low and nest boxes were used; but lead concentrations and physiological characteristics of blood were similar in successful and unsuccessful hens.Values of ALAD, hemoglobin, and body mass were negatively correlated with blood concentrations of lead, whereas protoporphyrin was positively correlated with lead levels in the blood. Some of the protoporphyrin values (1,091 μg dl(-1) in a male and 756 μg dl(-1) in a female) equalled those associated with lead toxicosis in experimental birds. ALAD activity was low in most birds from the contaminated area; values of 0 were obtained from 11 birds. Lead levels in blood, ALAD, protoporphyrin, and hemoglobin were significantly different between birds from the contaminated and reference areas. Concentrations of lead in ingesta of wood ducks ranged from 0.9 to 610 μg g(-1) in the contaminated area and 0.2 to 0.6 μg g(-1) in the reference area. Levels of cadmium in kidneys of wood ducks ranged from 1μg g(-1) to 20 μg g(-1) in the contaminated area and from only to 0.1 μg g(-1) to 1 μg g(-1) in the reference area. Cadmium concentrations were less than known effect levels.
A paraconsistent relational data model

We present a generalisation of the relational data model based on a 4-valued paraconsistent logic. Our data model is capable of manipulating incomplete as well as inconsistent information. For this model, we define algebraic operators that are generalisations of the usual operators, such as union, selection, join, on ordinary relations. Our data model can underlie any database management system that deals with incomplete or inconsistent information. As another application of our model and its algebra, we present a bottom-up method for constructing the weak well-founded model of general deductive databases. This method can be very simply extended to construct the well-founded model.
Clonidine in congestive heart failure: a vasodilator with negative inotropic effects

Fourteen patients with moderately severe congestive heart failure (CHF) were given clonidine orally (0.2 and 0.4 mg doses) to determine the hemodynamic effects of a typical centrally acting vasodilator. The 0.2 mg dose significantly reduced mean systemic (15%) and mean pulmonary artery (20%) pressure; the corresponding reductions in vascular resistance were not as great because of a diminished cardiac output. Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure decreased significantly (27%). Heart rate decreased 11% and stroke volume remained unchanged. At a higher dose (0.4 mg), clonidine augmented these reductions but increased stroke volume modestly (15%). Isovolumic developed pressure/duration of isovolumic contraction and the duration of the preejection period were used as indexes of inotropy. After both doses, isovolumic developed pressure/duration of isovolumic contraction decreased dramatically (≥33%) and the preejection period increased substantially (≥18%) (both p Compared with currently employed vasodilating agents, the centrally acting agent clonidine appears unique in that the drug-induced systemic and pulmonary arterial vasodilation are not accompanied by a commensurate improvement in ventricular systolic function. This lack of improvement appears to be a result of negative inotropic effects.
Shirley J. Dreiss (1949–1993)

The hydroscience community recently lost one of its true leaders. In rainy weather on December 14, 1993, Shirley Dreiss lost her life in a collision with a cement truck while driving from Santa Cruz, Calif., to San Francisco Airport. Shirley, 44, was professor and chair of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz. A superior research scientist and educator, the breadth of her activities and interests were perhaps unnoticed by many because of her modesty and generosity. To those in the field she maintained an international reputation as a hydrogeologist with recognized expertise in diverse topics including arid basin hydrology, quantitative analysis of flow through karst aquifers, moisture and contaminant transport through unsaturated soils, and the hydrogeology of subduction zones.
Role of sampling for crop-loss assessment and nematode management☆

Abstract Reliable sampling of nematode communities in crop-loss assessment provides basic characterization of the population dynamics and damage potential of given species in a particular host—cultivar environment. Loss assessments for annual plants may be based on samples taken at: (1) time of planting; (2) mid-season (where nematicide or resistant-cultivar treatments are used); and (3) at harvest. Population levels at, or shortly after, harvest are most useful in projecting nematode hazards for a subsequent crop, especially where survival rates are known. Root symptoms, root-gall or root-necrosis indices, taken at mid-season or at harvest also can be correlated with yield losses caused by Meloidogyne spp. and associated fungi. A composite sample of 20 to 50 soil cores (2.5 cm diameter × 20 cm deep) collected in a stratified or systematic pattern over a 1- to 2-ha area provides nematode population estimates within about 30–50% of the mean. The major problems encountered in relating these estimates to potential hazards and eventual crop losses are related to the striking variation in crop-nematode responses as influenced by environment, cultivar, and general crop-management practices. Relative precision in crop-loss assessment should be improved as more research on crop-nematode responses and sampling methodology is completed.
More Is Not the Answer

Progress in user security has been slow for several reasons. First, the Web's scale and diversity make one-size-fits-all approaches hard. Second, the competition for user attention is fierce: there are no pools of unexploited user effort to be had. Third, persuasion is the only tool we have, mandates being often impossible or undesirable. We need to find new techniques to improve user security.
Art Is Inoculation: The Infectious Imagination of Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy's most cogent and focused statement on aesthetics, the 1896 treatise What is Art?, answers the question posed by its title with the blunt statement that “art is infection.” This paper observes that a consistent system of metaphors of infection is central not just to What is Art?, but to every stage and genre of Tolstoy's writing–polemical, autobiographical, and literary works, early journals and late-life rantings. Arguing that the complex of disease metaphors running through the entirety of Tolstoy's work affords the reader one way of conceptualizing Tolstoy's massive oeuvre as a single coherent corpus, the essay reads specific moments from a range of Tolstoyan texts in order to sketch out infection's relation to the themes of mortality, morality, and the artistic imagination that loom most largely in Tolstoy's thought. Reexamined in this light, the apparently strained relationship between the aesthetic and ethical aspects of Tolstoy's artistic theory turns out to be more nuanced, compelling, and more resonant with the Kantian aesthetic tradition than previously recognized.
A model for a nurse-led programme of bedside placement of peripherally inserted central catheters in neonates and infants with congenital cardiac disease.

BackgroundNeonates and infants with congenital and acquired cardiac disease often require placement of central venous lines for extended intravenous therapy. It may be advantageous to avoid the larger venous vessels of the head and neck and lower extremities in order to preserve these for future interventions and therapies. We evaluated the results of a nursing led peripherally inserted central catheter team in our congenital cardiac centre.Materials and methodsBedside peripherally inserted central catheter the insertion procedures were evaluated for success, complications, and completion of therapy.ResultsA total of 125 peripherally inserted central catheters were successfully placed in 105 patients. The mean age at the time of placement was 13.5 plus or minus 19.1 days; median age was 7 days; mean weight was 3.5 plus or minus 1.1 kilogram. Cyanotic cardiac disease accounted for 76% of the diagnoses. Central placement of these lines was successful in 78% of patients. Complications during insertions were limited to inadvertent arterial access in five (3%) infants and oxygen desaturations during sedation for the procedure in two (1%) patients. None of the infants suffered long-term compromise from arterial access; none required intubation for the desaturations. The team was able to respond to 90% of their requests within 24 hours. Median catheter dwell time was 14 days.ConclusionIn a population of infants with cardiac disease, a nursing staffed peripherally inserted central catheter team achieved an insertion rate of 78% with few complications and a rapid response time. Reliance on bedside insertion permits continuous critical care monitoring and may eliminate the need for fluoroscopy.
Distribution of Transnational Terrorism Among Countries by Income Class and Geography After 9/11

This article applies an autoregressive intervention model for the 1968–2003 period to identify either income based or geographical transference of transnational terrorist events in reaction to the rise of fundamentalist terrorism, the end to the Cold War, and 9/11. Our time-series study investigates the changing pattern of transnational terrorism for all incidents and only those involving U.S. people and property. Contrary to expectation, there is no evidence of an income-based post-9/11 transfer of attacks to low-income countries except for attacks with U.S. casualties, but there is a significant transference to the Middle East and Asia where U.S. interests are, at times, attacked. We also find that the rise of fundamentalist terrorism has most impacted those regions—the Middle East and Asia—with the largest Islamic population. The end to the Cold War brought a “terrorism peace dividend” that varies by income and geography among countries. Based on the empirical findings, we draw policy recommendations regarding defensive counterterrorism measures.
Poset resolutions and lattice-linear monomial ideals ✩

Abstract We introduce the class of lattice-linear monomial ideals and use the lcm-lattice to give an explicit construction for their minimal free resolution. The class of lattice-linear ideals includes (among others) the class of monomial ideals with a linear free resolution and the class of Scarf monomial ideals. Our main tool is a new construction by Tchernev that produces from a map of posets η : P → N n a sequence of multigraded modules and maps.
A simple method for determination of gait events

Abstract Simple and effective methods for determining the timing of gait events are necessary for the proper normalization and statistical analysis of gait data when a variety of gait measurements are available. The approach presented was developed for cases in which overall center of pressure under the body and marker trajectories are being measured over multiple steps. The new method presented uses the relative positioning of the overall center of pressure and an ankle marker in the direction of forward progression for the determination of “heel-contact” and “toe-off” events. The difference between the locations of the overall center of pressure and the ankle in the direction of progression readily delineates the timing of these events. The new method was tested against force records from individual force platforms and was found to detect “heel-contact” events an average of 1 sample (at a sampling frequency of 120 Hz, 0.00833 s) before the event found using the individual force platforms. “Toe-off” events were found an average of 2 samples (0.0167 s) prior to the events found using individual force plates. The method appears new and is attractive because of its simplicity in determining gait events when the appropriate gait measurements are available.
Landmine detection using fractional Fourier features

This paper addresses the problem of detecting anti-personnel landmines, in an environment that could contain clutter, using features extracted via the fractional Fourier transform. The focus is on identifying and using fractions of the Fourier transform that lead to better detection performance assuming that the landmine is within a reasonable depth variation below the surface. The performance of the proposed detection scheme is assessed in terms of detection rate and false alarm rate using real landmine signatures. The effects of removing ground clutter are examined, and the effects of knowing the mine depth a priori are also discussed.
Random-walk Monte Carlo simulation of intergranular gas bubble nucleation in UO2 fuel

Abstract Using a random-walk particle algorithm, we investigate the clustering of fission gas atoms on grain boundaries in oxide fuels. The computational algorithm implemented in this work considers a planar surface representing a grain boundary on which particles appear at a rate dictated by the Booth flux, migrate two dimensionally according to their grain boundary diffusivity, and coalesce by random encounters. Specifically, the intergranular bubble nucleation density is the key variable we investigate using a parametric study in which the temperature, grain boundary gas diffusivity, and grain boundary segregation energy are varied. The results reveal that the grain boundary bubble nucleation density can vary widely due to these three parameters, which may be an important factor in the observed variability in intergranular bubble percolation among grain boundaries in oxide fuel during fission gas release.
An experimental investigation of multiple ion processes in mercury bombardment thrusters

Utilizing a collimated E x B mass separator probe, the ratio of double to single ion current densities has been measured in the beam of a 30 cm ion thruster over a wide range of beam and discharge conditions. For a specified thruster geometry, the mass utilization efficiency has been found to be the governing parameter in the determination of the doubly-charged ion content. By a reduction in the open area of the accelerator grid, a reduction in the doubly-charged ion ratio could be achieved while maintaining overall efficiency constant. The results are examined in terms of ion densities and neutral loss rates.
Perioperative interventions to reduce chronic postsurgical pain.

Approximately 10% of patients following a variety of surgeries develop chronic postsurgical pain. Reducing chronic postoperative pain is especially important to reconstructive surgeons because common operations such as breast and limb reconstruction have even higher risk for developing chronic postsurgical pain. Animal studies of posttraumatic nerve injury pain demonstrate that there is a critical time frame before and immediately after nerve injury in which specific interventions can reduce the incidence and intensity of chronic neuropathic pain behaviors–so called “preventative analgesia.” In animal models, perineural local anesthetic, systemic intravenous local anesthetic, perineural clonidine, systemic gabapentin, systemic tricyclic antidepressants, and minocycline have each been shown to reduce pain behaviors days to weeks after treatment. The translation of this work to humans also suggests that brief perioperative interventions may protect patients from developing new chronic postsurgical pain. Recent clinical trial data show that there is an opportunity during the perioperative period to dramatically reduce the incidence and severity of chronic postsurgical pain. The surgeon, working with the anesthesiologist, has the ability to modify both early and chronic postoperative pain by implementing an evidence-based preventative analgesia plan.
Using ZEMAX Image Analysis and user-defined surfaces for projection lens design and evaluation for Digital Light Processing™ projection systems

D. Scott DewaldTexas Instruments, IncorporatedDigital Imaging Group6550 Chase Oaks Blvd.M/S 8477Plano, Texas 75023E-mail: sdewald@ti.comAbstract. This paper discusses the use of ZEMAX’s Image Analysisfeature to verify and predict the performance of Digital Light Process-ing™ (DLP) projection-lens designs. The main goals are to visualize theeffects of lateral color, axial color, and the remaining Seidel aberrationson the focus of small DLP pixels on the screen in actual use. In manycases there is a discrepancy between what the projector user woulddeﬁne as ‘‘good pixel focus’’ or ‘‘sharp focus’’ and metrics that woulddetermine focus quality or resolution for the lens designer. ZEMAX Im-age Analysis is a valuable tool for lens design and visualizing lens per-formance before a prototype lens is built. In addition, the user-deﬁnedoffset surface is discussed, which was developed to simulate the sepa-rate focus of red, green, and blue DMDs™ in three-chip displays. Thisfeature is used to simulate the effect of interchangeable lenses, as eachlens has a different axial color characteristic and the depth of ﬁeld issmall, or to verify the compatibility of a lens design on a projector prefo-cused using a different lens. As display pixel sizes shrink, this simulationtechnique becomes more useful for evaluating projection lens designs,manufacturing tolerances, and ergonomic concerns during assembly.
A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study of pravastatin as an adjunctive therapy in schizophrenia patients: effect on inflammation, psychopathology, cognition and lipid metabolism.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the role of pravastatin, as an adjunctive therapy, on inflammatory markers, lipid and glucose metabolism, psychopathology, and cognition in subjects with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
Protein Kinase Activity in Erythrocyte Ghosts of Patients with Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy

Abstract Myotonic muscular dystrophy is a disorder of humans that involves many organ systems. Physiological studies have suggested that the fundamental defect is of membrane origin. Heretofore, no reproducible metabolic abnormalities have been demonstrated. In the present studies we used erythrocyte ghosts as a convenient source of purified membranes that do not possess changes of denervation, dystrophy, and fibrosis that might complicate the interpretation of muscle membrane changes. Our experiments demonstrated a significant difference in the phosphorylation of erythrocyte ghost protein by [γ-32P]ATP, with endogenous protein kinase of erythrocyte membrane as the enzyme source. After ghosts were kept for 1 week at -20°, phosphorylation of membrane protein in eight controls was twice as high as endogenous protein kinase activity measured in fresh preparations. No stimulation was seen in preparations from seven myotonic dystrophy patients from three different families. This reproducible difference in normal and myotonic membranes may represent an important new approach to studies of this debilitating inborn error of metabolism.
Power-Recycled Weak-Value-Based Metrology

We improve the precision of the interferometric weak-value-based beam deflection measurement by introducing a power recycling mirror, creating a resonant cavity. This results in all the light exiting to the detector with a large deflection, thus eliminating the inefficiency of the rare postselection. The signal-to-noise ratio of the deflection is itself magnified by the weak value. We discuss ways to realize this proposal, using a transverse beam filter and different cavity designs.
Local production of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 and lysophosphatidylcholine in the coronary circulation: association with early coronary atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction in humans.

Background— Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is a novel marker and participant in vascular inflammation. Inflammation also is associated with coronary atherosclerosis. We tested th...
FORCED-CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN A DUCT HAVING SPANWISE-PERIODIC RECTANGULAR PROTUBERANCES

Laminar fully developed flow and heat transfer have been analyzed for a duct in which there ore cross-sectional nonuniformities. The nonuniformity consists of a spanwise-periodic array of rectangul...
Endoscopic repair of bronchial dehiscence after lung transplantation

We report a case of bronchial dehiscence after right single lung transplantation and describe a novel means of management: bronchoscopic closure of the defect with alpha-cyanoacrylate glue.
Subgroups Based on Bender-Gestalt Error Scores

Bender-Gestalt error scores were cluster analyzed for a large group of children and adolescents evaluated because of learning difficulties. The results indicated two subgroups; one had a relatively high percentage of Bender-Gestalt errors, while the other had a relatively low percentage of Bender-Gestalt errors. The subgroups were compared on medical, developmental and growth, social, and intelligence variables. Several significant differences were found, particularly on developmental variables. Results are discussed in terms of the clinical utility of Bender-Gestalt error scores and in relation to developmental neuropsychological theory.
Comment on Deutscher's Paper

(1970). Comment on Deutscher's Paper. The Sociological Quarterly: Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 541-543.
Asymptotic normality for chi-bar-square distributions†

Chi-bar-square distributions, which are mixtures of chi-square distributions, mixed over their degrees of freedom, often occur when testing hypotheses that involve inequality constraints. Here, necessary and sufficient conditions on the mixing or weighting distribution are found to ensure asymptotic normality of the corresponding chi-bar-square distribution. Essentially, asymptotic normality occurs for the chi-bar-square distribution if either the ratio of the mean to the variance of the mixing distribution goes to infinity, or the weighting distribution itself is asymptotically normal. Other than a combination of these two phenomena, this is also the only way for asymptotic normality to hold. Several examples of pertinent chi-bar-square distributions are shown to be asymptotically normal by the results in this paper. Les lois dites “khi-deux ponderees” sont des melanges aleatoires de lois khi-deux, le melange etant par rapport aux degres de liberte. Elles apparaissent frequemment dans le contexte de tests d'hypotheses comprenant des contraintes sous forme d'inegalites. On donne des conditions necessaires et suffisantes, relativement a la loi du melange, pour assurer la normalite asymptotique de la loi “khi-deux ponderee” resultante. On a cette normalite asymptotique si le rapport entre la moyenne et la variance de la loi du melange tend vers l'infini, ou si la loi du melange est elle-meme asymptotiquement normale. Ces deux cas, ou une combination de ceux-ci, sont les seules situations pouvant assurer la normalite asymptotique. Plusieurs exemples de lois “khi-deux ponderees” sont analyses a l'aide des resultats obtenus.
Assembly of secondary intermediates during deoxyribonucleic acid replication in transformed human fibroblasts

The elongation of replicative DNA was studied in transformed WI-38 cells (designated 2RA). Shear effects were avoided by use of an alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation method whereby cells were lysed directly on top of gradients, at 4 degrees C in the dark. The earliest detected intermediate is a short (2 S) piece of DNA which is converted first to a 25 S piece and then to a 100 S piece, within 10 min. The 100 S piece is next converted to a 212 S, and a 370 S, and finally to a chromosomal DNA of about 450 S. This pattern is quite different from that previously reported by us for normal WI-38 cells, where there was a 50 S intermediate which was not quickly converted into a much larger size, but which gradually elongated, by addition of smaller pieces, to a larger size, of 100 S.; another difference was the time required for formation of the 100 S piece, i.e., 75 min (Rawles, J.W., Jr. and Collins, J.M. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 4762-4766).