cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intraoperative Echocardiography in Valvular Heart Disease: An Evidence-Based Appraisal

Intraoperative (IO) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is widely used for assessing the results of valvular heart disease (VHD) surgery. Epiaortic ultrasonography (EAU) has been recommended for prevention of perioperative strokes. To what extent does high-quality evidence justify the widespread use of these imaging modalities? In March 2009, we searched MEDLINE (PubMed and OVID interfaces) and EMBASE for studies published in English using database-specific controlled vocabulary describing the concepts of IOTEE, cardiac surgery, VHD, and EAU. We found no randomized trials or studies with control groups assessing the impact of IOTEE in VHD surgery. Pooled analysis of 8 observational studies including 15,540 patients showed an average incidence of 11% for prebypass surgical changes and 4% for second pump runs, suggesting that patients undergoing VHD surgery may benefit significantly from IOTEE, particularly from postcardiopulmonary bypass IOTEE in aortic repair and mitral repair and replacement, but less so in isolated aortic replacement. Further available indirect evidence was satisfactory in the test accuracy and surgical quality control aspects, with low complication rates for IOTEE. The data supporting EAU included 12,687 patients in 2 prospective randomized studies and 4 nonrandomized, controlled studies, producing inconsistent outcome-related results. Despite low-quality scientific evidence supporting IOTEE in VHD surgery, we conclude that indirect evidence supporting its use is satisfactory and suggests that IOTEE may offer considerable benefit in valvular repairs and mitral replacements. The value of IOTEE in isolated aortic valve replacement remains less clear. Evidence supporting EAU is scientifically more robust but conflicting. These findings have important clinical policy and research implications.
Accelerated Improvement of Alcoholic Liver Disease With Enteral Nutrition P. J. KERNS, H. YOUNG, G. GARCIA, ET AL Gastroenterology 102:200-205, 1992

This is a prospective study that compares the effects of tube feeding to those of a regular diet in patients with alcohol-induced liver disease. Study inclusion criteria were a clinical diagnosis of acute liver disease (ALD), serum bilirubin greater than 51 μmol/L, and one of the following: albumin less than 30 g/L, prothrombin time 4 seconds or greater over control, presence of ascites on physical examination. Fifty-two patients met the inclusion criteria; however, 21 patients were excluded from the study because of the following reasons: objection to the length of the study, refusal of nasoduodenal tube placement, continuing gastrointestinal bleeding, elevated serum creatinine (>221 μmol/L), and inability to give informed consent.Thirty-one patients were randomly assigned to either a regular diet control group (n = 15) or a tubefed treatment group (n = 16). Patients in the treatment group received, in addition to a regular diet, Isocal HCN (Mead Johnson, Evansville, Ind) tube feeding formula that provid...
EMISSION CROSS SECTION FOR THE FIRST NEGATIVE BAND SYSTEM OF OXYGEN PRODUCED BY ELECTRON IMPACT.

Abstract The absolute cross section for the emission of the first negative bands of O + 2 under electron impact on oxygen has been measured using photon-counting techniques. The measured cross sections are free from polarization effects. At 100 eV electron energy, the emission cross sections for the (0, 0), (1, 0) and (2, 0) bands were found to be 2.4 x 10 -18 cm 2 , 3.67 x 10 -18 cm 2 and 1.37 x 10 -18 cm 2 , respectively. The emission cross- section ratios are in reasonable agreement with the proton impact-excitation measurement.
Clinical outcomes after heterogeneous overlap stenting with drug-eluting stents and bare-metal stents for de novo coronary artery narrowings.

When it is difficult to deliver multiple drug-eluting stents (DES) or when size constraints limit DES implantation, bare-metal stents (BMS) may be implanted contiguous to DES. However, the clinical outcomes after overlapping DES and BMS implantation are not known. From September 2004 to June 2006, 4,872 consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention consented to be enrolled in a prospective registry. Of these patients, 44 (0.9%) with de novo lesions were treated with DES and BMS overlap stenting. All patients were followed to 12 months for the assessment of clinical outcomes. The average implanted stent diameter was 2.68 ± 0.30 mm for DES and 2.35 ± 0.38 mm for BMS. Overlapping BMS were implanted distal to DES in all but 1 case. One patient (2.3%) experienced acute stent thrombosis and died 2 days after the procedure. No other patient died or had a myocardial infarction during 12 months. The target vessel revascularization rate at 12 months, however, was 31.8%, mainly driven by diffuse in-stent restenosis in the BMS segments. In conclusion, the incidence of DES and BMS overlap stenting is rare in daily practice, but this procedure is associated with a high rate of target vessel revascularization.
UTILITY OF HIGH-RESOLUTION ULTRASOUND FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF DIALYSIS-RELATED AMYLOIDOSIS

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the utility of real-time, high-resolution ultrasound of the shoulder in the diagnosis of dialysis-related amyloidosis. METHODS We performed a case series study of 2 groups of patients seen at a referral-based clinic in a tertiary care hospital. The shoulders of 13 patients with normal renal function and of 38 patients receiving long-term hemodialysis were studied by real-time, high-resolution ultrasound. All hemodialysis patients were evaluated clinically for the presence of dialysis-related amyloidosis. Surgical specimens of joints were available for all 13 patients with normal renal function and for 17 of the 38 hemodialysis patients. These specimens were evaluated for the presence of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) amyloid by Congo red and immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS Two ultrasonographic findings were selectively observed in the dialysis patients with clinical and histologic evidence of beta 2m amyloid in comparison with patients with normal renal function and no evidence of amyloid: rotator cuffs greater than 8 mm in thickness and echogenic pads between muscle groups of the rotator cuff. The presence of at least 1 of these 2 findings corresponded to the presence of clinically and histologically evident beta 2m amyloid with a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 100%. When additional patients without surgical specimens for histologic confirmation of amyloidosis were included, the sensitivity of these 2 sonographic findings was 72% and the specificity was 97%. CONCLUSION Real-time, high-resolution ultrasound is a relatively sensitive and highly specific noninvasive adjunct to the clinical diagnosis of beta 2m amyloidosis in patients receiving long-term hemodialysis.
Interprétation et description d’une oeuvre d’art

Selon Arthur Danto, il est illegitime de chercher une description « neutre » ou preinterpretative d’une oeuvre d’art, parce qu’une telle description ne peut respecter l’oeuvre d’art en tant que telle. Nous ne pouvons aborder une oeuvre sans l’interpreter, puisque l’interpretation constitue l’oeuvre d’art et distingue celle-ci d’un simple objet physique. Dans cet article je soutiens que, bien que Danto ait raison de vouloir distinguer les oeuvres d’art des simples choses, on peut effectuer cette distinction sans conclure que les oeuvres d’art sont constituees par l’interpretation. Je soutiens en outre que le point de vue de Danto ne nous permet pas de tenir compte du fait que les interpretations doivent respecter les caracteristiques de l’oeuvre. Je montre qu’en faisant appel aux conventions de description specifiques a l’art, on peut proposer une description neutre qui respecte l’oeuvre d’art en tant qu’oeuvre. Mon point de vue est conforme a la relation generalement admise entre la description et l’interpretation des oeuvres d’art, et evite les consequences negatives de la theorie de Danto.
Oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in young adults: A report on 13 cases and review of the literature

Abstract Objective: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck is rare in patients younger than 45 years. Patients aged 18 to 45 years with SCC of the oral cavity (OC) and oropharynx (OP) were retrospectively compared with older control subjects. Methods: Twenty of 127 patients with OC/OP SCC were young adults. Thirteen patients (10 men) comprise the present series; 9 had OC lesions. Seven case controls were identified. Results: Overall, 15.75% of patients with OC/OP SCC were 18 to 45 years old. Seven OC lesions were early stage, and 2 were late stage; OP lesions were evenly divided. Eleven of 13 patients were disease free at the time of their last visit; 2 died of disease. Thirty-one percent of young patients were heavy drinkers; 77% of them smoked. Conclusions: Young adults’ survival rate resembles that reported for all patients with head and neck cancer stage for stage. Tobacco and alcohol abuse prevention among young people is imperative. Health care providers who encounter a young patient with a suspicious head or neck lesion must include malignancy in their differential diagnosis. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1999;120:828-33.)
Emerging trends in international law concerning global infectious disease control.

International cooperation has become critical in controlling infectious diseases. In this article, I examine emerging trends in international law concerning global infectious disease control. The role of international law in horizontal and vertical governance responses to infectious disease control is conceptualized; the historical development of international law regarding infectious diseases is described; and important shifts in how states, international institutions, and nonstate organizations use international law in the context of infectious disease control today are analyzed. The growing importance of international trade law and the development of global governance mechanisms, most prominently in connection with increasing access to drugs and other medicines in unindustrialized countries, are emphasized. Traditional international legal approaches to infectious disease control—embodied in the International Health Regulations—may be moribund.
Lowest-energy structures of water clusters (H2O)(11) and (H2O)(13)

We employed a four-step searching/screening approach to determine best candidates for the global minima of (H2O)11 and (H2O)13. This approach can be useful when there exist a large number of low-lying and near-isoenergetic isomers, many of which have the same oxygen-skeleton structure. On the two new candidates for the global minimum of (H2O)11, one isomer can be viewed as placing the 11th molecule onto the side of the global minimum of (H2O)10 and the other can be viewed as removing the 12th molecule from the middle layer of the global minimum of (H2O)12. The three leading lowest-energy clusters of (H2O)13 can all be built starting from the global minimum of (H2O)12, with the difference being in the location of the 13th water molecule.
Antitumor activity of normal human globulin: effects on murine and human erythroleukemic cells.

The effect of the antitumor fraction isolated from the α2-globulin region of normal human serum (NHG-I) upon murine (FELC) and human (K562) erythroleukemic cells in vitro was determined. NH
Combination of HBIG and lamivudine-resistant mutations: A formula for trouble?

Abstract Background & Aims: Lamivudine has become a main therapeutic option for treating hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Although drug resistance develops, the clinical course after selection of antiviral-resistant HBV mutants seems to be benign. However, we observed a severe clinical course of hepatitis B infection in several liver transplant recipients after the emergence of lamivudine resistance. This was associated with high viral load in the blood. Methods: In this report, we characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying drug-dependent enhanced replication of particular lamivudine-resistant HBV mutants selected in these patients, which were associated with sudden onset of liver failure. Results: The clinical course was characterized by a sudden rise in serum bilirubin, prothrombin time, and transaminase. HBV sequence analysis of these patients revealed both mutations in the “a-determinant” of the envelope and the YMDD (tyrosine, methionine, aspartate, aspartate) motif (domain C) of the polymerase protein. Transfection experiments with replication competent vectors indicated that the “a-determinant” changes were not associated with resistance, whereas mutations in the YMDD motif conferred resistance to lamivudine. More importantly, combinations of mutations in the “a-determinant” and the YMDD motif in patients with a severe hepatitis were not only resistant to lamivudine treatment, but showed enhanced replication in vitro in the presence of lamivudine. This observation was confirmed in separate laboratories. Conclusions: Severe and fatal hepatitis B infection can occur during lamivudine therapy and may be associated with certain HBV mutants selected during sequential nucleoside and HBIg treatment. The lamivudine-enhanced replication shown by these mutants suggests that continuation of therapy with lamivudine could be deleterious in some patients. (Gastroenterology 2002;122:264-273.)
Juxtaposition of contralateral ovary and fallopian tube to allow pregnancy in unicornuate uterine anomaly

Infertile patients who have undergone unilateral oophorectomies or salpingectomies or those with uterine anomalies may require juxtaposition of a remaining fallopian tube and contralateral ovary. A 28-year-old woman with previous left oophorectomy for endometriosis was found to have a left unicornuate uterus during subsequent infertility evaluation. Laparotomy and resection of a right rudimentary horn and juxtaposition of the left fallopian tube and the right ovary was performed. A large endometrioma was also resected from the right ovary. The patient conceived during the second month postoperatively. A simple procedure for juxtaposing a contralateral fallopian tube and ovary is described. Careful evaluation of the pelvic organs should be performed before removal of an ovary in a young woman.
Ruminations on Mind, Matter, and What Matters

If psychology is the science of “mind” and physics is the science of “matter”, then human factors is the science of “what matters”. This claim is more than a simple observation about the scope of human factors (i.e., that it's scope overlaps both with psychology and physics). Rather, I will argue that the science of “what matters” requires an entirely different ontology than those which have traditionally provided the basis for psychology and physics. Two constructs will be central in the ontology of “what matters” - affordance and information.
Towards humanity and redemption: The world of Park Chan-wook's revenge film trilogy

ABSTRACTThe South Korean director Park Chan-wook's revenge film trilogy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, presents postmodern films that hearken back to the ancient morality before law with its eye-for-an-eye mentality. At the same time, there are significant revelations in the trilogy about the culture of contemporary South Korea and suggestive illustrations of its globalized, materialistic and metropolitan nature. The journey towards revenge, which ironically begins with the notion of restoration and reclamation, blurs the line separating the victim from the victimizer and ends with a more profound loss, that of the stable self. The films show how this loss of self-identity implicates one's humanity, as the self becomes no longer recognizable and turns abject.
Gel chromatographic studies of the dissociation equilibrium in hemerythrin

Abstract Frontal gel chromatography has been used to study the dissociation of the octameric protein, hemerythrin, into its subunits. The elution patterns consisted of a sharp, single leading boundary, a single plateau, and a diffuse trailing boundary, the first derivative curve of which exhibited distinct bimodality. Such features are characteristic of rapidly equilibrating systems with stoichiometric values greater than 2. Analysis of the trailing boundary further revealed that the elution rate of the fast component, but not of the slow one, varies with the protein concentrations as predicted by the Gilbert theory for rapid interactions. From the position of the minimum in the first-derivative curve, it was possible to calculate the stoichiometry of dissociation. The average value of 8 obtained indicates that at equilibrium only octamers and monomers were present in any appreciable concentrations. Dissociation constants were derived from analyses of the leading and trailing boundaries. The degree of dissociation was found to be dependent on the nature of anions such as N 3 − , SCN − , Cl − , and F − , which can form complexes with hemerythrin. For the dissociation of the hemerythrin-thiocyanate complex and from its dependence on the temperature, the following thermodynamic parameters were obtained: Δ G ∘ = 6.7 kcal, Δ H ∘ = 2.05 kcal, and Δ S ∘ = −15.5 eu/mole of monomer at 25 °C.
Application Of An Algotecture For Invariant Feature Extraction In Machine Vision

The exponential non-uniform to uniform hardwired spatial coordinate transformation inherently imbeds an algorithm in the hardware architecture and has thus been called an algotecture. It has been suggested that the algotecture described may be more sensitive to centroid pointing errors than conventional cartesian grid structures. Simulation results for crosscorrelation template matching in the algotecture space, as opposed to standard rectilinear coordinate space, is presented for the case of annulii images with various centroid mismatch. These simulations support the claim that the algotecture mapping is less sensitive to centroid mismatch. The use of template matching on an algotecture mapped grey scale image shows the feasibility of using this technique on more complex images. Since crosscorrelation is a relatively time consuming operation, a sliding window differencing similarity measure is proposed to accomplish fast detection in the algotecture mapped space directly at the sensor level. Coupling this idea with the classification of objects via the formation of orthogonal feature vectors contained in separate spatial frequency channels which are constrained by human visual system physiological data provides a fast method of object classification which exploits the fact that different features occur in different spatial frequency bands. Finally, the use of a three spatial frequency bandpass feature extraction filter system useful for an intra-class, inter-class, and membership identification classification scheme is discussed.
Are women who have had a preterm twin delivery at greater risk of preterm birth in a subsequent singleton pregnancy

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether preterm birth of twins is associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in a subsequent singleton pregnancy. Study Design All patients who delivered a twin gestation and a subsequent singleton pregnancy at Northwestern Memorial Hospital during a 10-year period were identified. We used a cohort study design, comparing the outcomes of the singleton pregnancies in women with preterm twin deliveries to those pregnancies with term twin deliveries. Results One hundred sixty-seven women delivered twins followed by a singleton pregnancy. Women whose twin delivery was preterm (n = 99) were more likely than those who had delivered a term twin pregnancy (n = 68) to deliver a subsequent preterm singleton pregnancy (13.1% vs 2.9%; odds ratio, 5.0; 95% CI, 1.1, 22.9). Conclusion Preterm birth of twins is associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery in a subsequent singleton pregnancy.
Comparison of glycine metabolism in mouse lymphoma cells either sensitive or resistant to L-asparaginase

Abstract Previous work suggested a relationship between glycine metabolism and the effect of l -asparaginase upon tumor cells. Therefore, L5178Y (sensitive) or L5178Y/L-ASE (resistant) ascites lymphoma cells were incubated with 14 C-labeled glyoxylate, glycine, serine, or asparagine, and the metabolism to other amino acids was measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Metabolic differences between the two cells lines were found. Under control conditions, the interconversion rate of glycine and serine via serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) was higher in sensitive than in resistant cells. The transformation rate of glyoxylate to serine was also higher in sensitive cells. These results may indicate a difference in the activity of SHMT. An alternate explanation would be that transport or diffusion of serine and glycine into sensitive cells is greater than into resistant cells. Several crucial metabolic differences were observed between the two cell types when l -asparaginase was added. A key difference is the decrease of glycine synthesis from glyoxylate observed in the sensitive cells compared to resistant cells which show no change. This suggests that asparagine is used for transamination of glyoxylate. Also, only sensitive cells appear to compensate for l -asparaginaseinduced loss of glycine formation from glyoxylate by increasing glycine synthesis from serine. Alterations in sensitive tumor glycine metabolism may be an important function of l -asparaginase anticancer activity.
Nanoparticulate formulations of mithramycin analogs for enhanced cytotoxicity

Mithramycin (MTM), a natural product of soil bacteria from the Streptomyces genus, displays potent anticancer activity but has been limited clinically by severe side effects and toxicities. Engineering of the MTM biosynthetic pathway has produced the 3-side-chain-modified analogs MTM SK (SK) and MTM SDK (SDK), which have exhibited increased anticancer activity and improved therapeutic index. However, these analogs still suffer from low bioavailability, short plasma retention time, and low tumor accumulation. In an effort to aid with these shortcomings, two nanoparticulate formulations, poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(aspartate hydrazide) self-assembled and cross-linked micelles, were investigated with regard to the ability to load and pH dependently release the drugs. Micelles were successfully formed with both nanoparticulate formulations of each drug analog, with an average size of 8.36 ± 3.21 and 12.19 ± 2.77 nm for the SK and SDK micelles and 29.56 ± 4.67 nm and 30.48 ± 7.00 nm for the SK and SDK cross-linked micelles respectively. All of the drug-loaded formulations showed a pH-dependent release of the drugs, which was accelerated as pH decreased from 7.4 to 5.0. The micelles retained biological activity of SK and SDK entrapped in the micelles, suppressing human A549 lung cancer cells effectively.
High Yield Synthesis and Characterization of Sn6(μ3-O)4(μ3-OSiMe3)4: A Novel Main Group Cluster for the Support of Multiple Transition Metal Centers

A high yielding, highly reproducible synthesis of the novel main group cluster Sn6(μ3-O)4(μ3-OSiMe3)4 (2), which involves the thermolysis of bis[bis(trimethylsilanolato)tin] (4) at 180 °C, is reported. Spectroscopic and chemical analyses are fully consistent with the assigned structure of 2. A preliminary investigation of the reaction between this compound and Fe2(CO)9 reveals that the tin(II) centers of the former are capable of participating as 2e σ-donors in the formation of the Fe(CO)4 adducts, [{Fe(CO)4} Sn6(μ3-O)4(μ3-OSiMe3)4] (5) and [{Fe(CO)4}2Sn6(μ3-O)4(μ3-OSiMe3)4] (6). The assigned structures of 5 and 6 are confirmed by spectroscopic and crystallographic analyses and the latter reveal important information regarding the influence that the steric features of 2 have on the coordination sphere of transition metal centers that are ligated to it. Space-filling models also reveal that additional complexation to 2, 5, and 6 is sterically permitted. Together, these findings provide an important platfor...
Lower dimensional marginal density functions of absolutely continuous truncated multivariate distributions

The lower dimensional marginal density functions of a truncated multivariate density function is derived in general, and shown that it is a function of untruncated marginal density function, appropriately defined conditional distribution function and size of the multivariate truncation region. As a special case, lower dimensional marginal density function of a truncated multivariate normal distribution is given.
Brooke-spiegler syndrome with multiple scalp cylindromas and bilateral parotid gland adenomas.

A 62-year-old female presented with numerous soft tissue lesions of her scalp and bilateral preauricular region. Several of these have been biopsied or removed with a diagnosis of cylindromas. Cylindromas are benign tumors with a differentiation towards apocrine sweat glands that increase in number and size throughout life. Multiple scalp cylindromas may coalesce and cover the entire scalp, resulting in the “turban tumor.” These are often associated with the autosomal dominant Brooke-Spiegler syndrome with coexistent facial trichoepitheliomas and spiradenomas. There is a very rare association between cylindromas and basal cell adenoma and adenocarcinoma of the parotid gland, with only 17 reported cases. Ours is the first CT demonstration of both the scalp and parotid gland findings in this uncommon situation.
Effects of altered free fatty acid mobilization on the metabolic response to exercise.

This study was designed to evaluate the metabolic response to limitation of fat mobilization during severe exercise in man. To this end, we assessed the relationship between fat mobilization, lipid-ketone physiology, and exercise-induced elevations in the counter-regulatory hormones. Ten well trained athletes ran a 10–mile premeasured course in as short atime as possible during both a placebo and an experimental study. In the experimental study, fat mobilization was inhibited by the oral administrationof 2 g of nicotinic acid. Blood samples for multiple substrate and hormonalassay were obtained 2 h before exercise, immediately before exercise, and immediately after exercise. In the experimental study, nicotinic acid effectively blocked the expected rise in plasma free fatty acid concentration observed in the placebo study. Although blunted, the exercise-induced rise in plasma ketone concentration persisted in spite of the reduced free fatty acid levels. The significance of the concommitant exag-erated ris...
Ideology as Rationalization and as Self-Righteousness: Psychology and Law as Paths to Critical Business Ethics

Research on political ideology in law and psychology can be fruitfully applied to the question of whether business ethics is ideological, and, if so, what response is warranted. I suggest that legal and psychological research streams can be drawn upon to create a new genre of critical business ethics that differs from normative and empirical business ethics. In psychology, Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) suggests how the mainstream ideology within an academic field can be criticized as a reflection of a self-righteous, us-them mind-set. In law, Critical Legal Studies (CLS) suggests how a fields mainstream ideology can be criticized as a rationalization of the status quo. I suggest that the MFT and CLS criticisms of ideology can be joined to develop a critical approach to business ethics that seriously examines science on normatively charged topics, such as liberal-conservative differences and implicit attitudes, and that frames it in terms of alternative narratives
Extracting structural information using time-frequency analysis of protein NMR data

High-throughput, data-directed computational protocols for Structural Genomics (or Proteomics) are required in order to evaluate the protein products of genes for structure and function at rates comparable to current gene-sequencing technology. To develop such methods, new algorithms are required that can quickly extract significantly more structural information from sparse experimental data. This paper presents a new class of signal processing algorithms for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structural biology, based on time-frequency analysis of chemical shift dynamics.A novel approach to multidimensional NMR analysis is proposed in which the data are interpreted in the time-frequency domain, as opposed to the traditional frequency domain. Time-frequency analysis (TFA) exposes behavior orthogonal to the magnetic coherence transfer pathways, thus affording new avenues of NMR discovery. An implementation yielding new biophysical results is discussed. In particular, we demonstrate the heretofore unknown presence of through-space inter-atomic distance information within 15N-edited heteronuclear single-quantum coherence(15N HSQC) data. A biophysical model explains these results, and is supported by further experiments on simulated spectra.
Development of a modified picture-sort food frequency questionnaire administered to low-income, overweight, African-American adolescent girls.

Abstract There is essentially no ideal method of dietary assessment. Physiologic methods (ie, doubly labeled water) probably come closest, but high cost, participant burden, and limited information limit their use. Furthermore, most dietary assessment methods have been designed for and tested in white adults. Very few have been designed for and tested in African-American adolescents. This study examined validity and reliability of a modified picture-sort food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) administered to 22 low-income, overweight, African-American adolescent girls, aged 11 to 17 years. The FFQ was administered to subjects twice during a 2-week period, and evaluated using the mean values of three 24-hour recalls. The natural log-transformed energy-adjusted, deattenuated correlation coefficients between the second FFQ and the mean from 3 recalls exceeded 0.50 for most nutrients, ranging from 0.32 (protein) to 0.87 (saturated fat). The energy and nutrient values from the first FFQ were greater than those from the second FFQ. Most correlation coefficients for the test-retest reliability of the FFQ were not significant. We conclude that although larger samples are needed to generalize results, the picture-sort dietary assessment method appears to be promising and merits further research. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000; 100:1050–1056
Gold Nanoparticles with Externally Controlled, Reversible Shifts of Local Surface Plasmon Resonance Bands

We have achieved reversible tunability of local surface plasmon resonance in conjugated polymer functionalized gold nanoparticles. This property was facilitated by the preparation of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) containing polynorbornene brushes on gold nanoparticles via surface-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization. Reversible tuning of the surface plasmon band was achieved by electrochemically switching the EDOT polymer between its reduced and oxidized states.
Intracellular mechanism of penile erection in monkeys

To elucidate the sequence of events between the release of neurotransmitters and cavernous smooth muscle relaxation in erection, we studied the role of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) systems. In a well-established simian model, the effects of specific agonists and antagonists of the intracellular sequence for smooth muscle relaxation and potassium channel openers on the intracavernous pressure were examined. Sodium nitroprusside (10−3 M), a nitric oxide releaser and thus a stimulant of the cGMP system, caused an increase in the intracavernous pressure from 82 to 115 cm H2O for 7 to 19 min and penile diameter from 24.8 ± 2.28 to 43 ± 4.87 mm. When nitroprusside was injected after methylene blue (10−3 M), a specific antagonist of the enzyme guanylate cyclase, intracavernous pressure rise decreased significantly, but cromakalin, a potassium channel opener, provoked excellent increases after the block. A smaller dose of sodium nitroprusside (10−4 M) caused an increase in intracavernous pressure from 35 to 85 cm H2O for 7 to 11.5 min. When nitroprusside was injected after zaprinast, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, the increase in pressure ranged from 80 to 116 cm H2O for 15 to 30 min. Prostaglandin E1, an activator of the cAMP system, caused an increase in the intracavernous pressure of 20–80 cm H2O for 5 to 10 min, and an increase in penile diameter from 25 ± 2.22 to 35 ± 3.48 mm. The erectile response to PGE1, but not to cromakalin, was nearly abolished by ethylmaleimide, an adenylate cyclase blocker. The response to nitroprusside was significantly greater (P < 0.05) than to PGE1. Both systems. cAMP and cGMP, may be involved in cavernous smooth muscle relaxation, and cGMP is probably the predominant intracellular second messenger in penile erection in monkeys. Stimulants of the cGMP system, such as nitric oxide releasers, could represent a more physiological and effective approach in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Improving Family History Collection

Family history is important for assessing risk of cancer. This study aimed to improve cancer family history communication and collection by training and motivating lay individuals to construct pedigrees. The authors' ultimate goal is to improve identification of familial cancer. Participants (n = 200) completed preintervention, postintervention, and 1-week follow-up surveys to assess pedigree construction. The intervention reviewed basic construction and interpretation of a pedigree for familial cancer. As a result of intervention, individuals reported more positive attitudes about collecting family history, were more likely to intend to speak to family and physicians about cancer risk, better understood a sample pedigree, and constructed more detailed pedigrees of their family history. At follow-up, 25% of the sample had spoken with their families about cancer risk. For those individuals who had not spoken with family, higher postintervention pedigree knowledge was associated with greater intentions to s...
Low-Pressure Mercury Arc for Ultraviolet Calibration

A study was made of the visible-ultraviolet irradiance produced by a commercial low-pressure mercury arc operated by an accompanying power supply with a rated input of 115 volts ac. The 2537 A irradiance was 3.9 μW/cm2 at one meter at a specified axial position in ambient air at 20°C. The 2537 A irradiance changed less than 2% when power-supply input varied from 105 to 130 volts ac, with environmental temperatures of 19.4°C and 26.8°C and ambient air flows of 11.2 and 14.7 cm/sec, respectively. Spectral analysis of the lamp irradiance in the 1900–6000 A range showed that 92% originated from the 2537 A mercury resonance line while the remaining 8% is attributable to 12 other mercury lines. The intensities of 55 other spectral lines of negligible intensity in the investigated range are given relative to the intensity of the 2537 A line. The experimental mean free path of electrons in mercury vapor at 1 mm of Hg and 273°K was ~5 × 10−3 cm whereas kinetic theory gave 6.7 × 10−3 cm.
Design and simulation of a supplemental protocol for BGP

Internet policy routing has attracted a lot of attention in the last decade and it is believed that this topic will become even more important in the foreseeable future. The growing diversity of the internet brings in many organizations under different authorities with conflicting interests. Each such organization forms an Autonomous System (AS), with its own policy regulating network traffic across its boundaries to protect valuable network resources. As a result, a policy violation at any intermediate AS may cause a packet to be silently dropped before reaching its destination. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) was introduced to solve this packet-dropping problem in the mid-1990s, followed by a series of revisions. Currently, BGP is the dominant protocol in this field. However, BGP is a distance-vector and hop-by-hop protocol, resulting in a loss of reachability information for some destinations, even though feasible routes to those destinations may physically exist. Unreachable destinations under BGP are not necessarily truly unreachable. To overcome this deficiency, this paper presents a source policy route discovery protocol to supplement BGP. Simulation results show that almost all the false negative unreachable destinations can be resolved by the proposed protocol.
INFECTIVITY AND HYALURONIDASE ACTIVITY OF DEBRIS FROM HEALTHY AND DISEASED GINGIVA.

Abstract The ability of gingival crevice debris, collected from 20 normal individuals, 20 individuals with periodontitis, and 4 individuals with acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, to produce transmissible localized infections in guinea pigs was compared on a wet weight basis. The mean dose of debris required to produce infection in 50 per cent of inoculated animals (ID 50 ) was found to be 0.19 mg for the normal group, 0.07 mg for the periodontitis group, and 0.16 mg for the acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis group. Differences between clinical groups were not significant. The hyaluronidase activity of debris from twelve normal and ten periodontitis patients was found to be 2.9 and 2.7 turbidity reducing units per mg debris, respectively. These data suggest that there is no alteration in infectivity of the bacteria present in gingival debris which is associated with periodontal disease.
Endoscopic argon laser photocoagulation of small sessile colonic polyps

The availability of flexible quartz wave guides allowing introduction of argon laser energy through endostoncs suggests the possibility of ablation of colonic mucosal lesions by this technique. To ascertain (he effects of the argon laser on the colon, penetration depth and perforation studies were conducted in dogs. At 250 joules/cm 2 energy density, less than 50% muscularis externa injury was noted in 29 of 42 lesions. No perforation was noted. Healing was complete in 8 days. Tbe time required for deliberate perforation with the catheter firmly pressed against the wall of a distended inflated colon using 2 W argon laser applied continuously was 41 ± 13 sec, N=53. In a human study of IS small sessile polyps ablated by laser and the colon examined 4 days later at colectomy, no penetration of the laser beneath the submucosa was noted. In 11 patients with Gardner's syndrome 211 polyps have been removed in 18 treatments without complication. These encouraging results suggest the continued study of this endoscopic modality in the treatment of mucosal lesions of the colon.
Spontaneous retrieval of affective person knowledge in face perception

In a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, we explored whether affective person knowledge based on memories formed from minimal information is spontaneously retrieved in face perception. In the first stage of the experiment, participants were presented with 120 unfamiliar faces. Each face was presented with a description of one of four types of behaviors: aggressive, disgusting, neutral, and nice. In the second stage, participants were scanned while engaged in a one-back recognition task in which they saw the faces that were associated with behaviors and 30 novel faces. Although this task is a simple perceptual task that neither demands person evaluation nor retrieval of person knowledge, neural responses to faces differed as a function of the behaviors. Faces associated with behaviors evoked stronger activity than did novel faces in regions implicated in social cognition—anterior paracingulate cortex and superior temporal sulcus. Explicit memory for the behaviors enhanced the neural response in these regions. Faces associated with disgusting behaviors evoked stronger activity in left anterior insula than did faces associated with aggressive behaviors. This effect was equally strong for faces associated with explicitly recalled behaviors and faces associated with non-recalled behaviors. The findings suggest that affective person knowledge acquired from minimal information is spontaneously retrieved in face perception, engaging neural systems for analysis of social cognition and emotions.
In vitro synthesis of DNA complementary to rabbit reticulocyte 10S RNA.

The following two articles describe successful syntheses in vitro of DNA copies of various mammalian globin mRNAs, using reverse transcriptase from avian myoblastosis virus. Short stretches of poly(dT) greatly enhance this effect, presumably because they prime correct initiation of reverse transcription of these mRNAs by pairing with known poly (A) sequences at their 3′-ends.
Critical Thresholds in Species' Responses to Landscape Structure

Critical thresholds are transition ranges across which small changes in spatial pattern produce abrupt shifts in ecological responses. Habitat fragmentation provides a familiar example of a critical threshold. As the landscape becomes dissected into smaller parcels of habitat. landscape connectivity-the functional linkage among habitat patches - may suddenly become disrupted, which may have important consequences for the distribution and persistence of populations. Landscape connectivity depends not only on the abundance and spatial patterning of habitat. but also on the habitat specificity and dispersal abilities of species. Habitat specialists with limited dispersal capabilities presumably have a much lower threshold to habitat fragmentation than highly vagile species, which may perceive the landscape as functionally connected across a greater range of fragmentation severity. To determine where threshold effects in species, responses to landscape structure are likely to occur, a simulation model modified from percolation theory was developed. Our simulations predicted the distributional patterns of populations in different landscape mosaics, which we tested empirically using two grasshopper species (Orthoptera: Acrididae) that occur in the shortgrass prairie of north-central Colorado. The distribution of these two species in this grassland mosaic matched the predictions from our simulations. By providing quantitative predictions of threshold effects, this modellingmore » approach may prove useful in the formulation of conservation strategies and assessment of land-use changes on species` distributional patterns and persistence.« less
Relation between the Huang-Rhys-Pekar and the single-configurational-coordinate models of localized centers

Abstract For a localized center, the Huang-Rhys-Pekar model and the single-configurational-coordinate model for equal force constants are known to give the same formula for the optical absorption and emission band shape. This fact is explained by viewing the HRP model as a collection of N ∼ 1022 independent SCC oscillators with a common frequency and showing that the Wpu distribution describing the SCC-model band shape has a reproductive property similar to that known for the Poisson distribution.
Air Data Sensing from Surface Pressure Measurements Using a Neural Network Method

Neural networks have been successfully developed to estimate freestream static and dynamic pressures from an array of pressure measurements taken from ports located flush on the nose of an aircraft. Specific techniques were developed for extracting a proper set of neural network training patterns from an abundant archive of data. Additionally, the specific techniques used to train the neural networks for this project were reported, including the scheduled adjustments to learning rate parameters during the training process. The performance of the trained networks was compared to the accuracy of the aerodynamic model that is currently being applied to these flush air data sensing systems
The Effect of Subject Matter and Degree of Realism on Aesthetic Preferences for Paintings

A sample of 240 college students was shown color slides of fifty paintings and asked to rate each on a Likert scale as to perceived attractiveness. Ten different categories of subject matter were presented, and each category was shown in five different degrees of realism ranging from highly realistic to abstract. An analysis of variance showed highly significant effects for subject matter. degree of realism and their interaction. The results are seen as being contrary to what would be expected from a “relativist” position with respect to art but consistent with that expected from a “universalist” position.
Serum fatty acids before and after recovery from acrodermatitis enteropathica: comparison of an infant with her family

Comparison of sera from a 3.5-month-old infant with acrodermatitis enteropathica with sera from her brother and parents revealed a defective unsaturated fatty acid metabolism in the patient that was only partially corrected on recovery. During the disease there were shifts away from normal serum levels of various groupings of unsaturated fatty acids. Our results suggest that an impairment in the elongation-desaturation system for the essential fatty acids (ω3 and ω6 series) was present in the patient.
Evaluation of PCR and nested PCR for laboratory diagnosis of hepatitis C virus infection

The detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is believed to be the most reliable method to diagnose HCV infections. A pitfall of nested PCR is that it is prone to contamination. Single step reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) was performed, prospectively, on 80 sera from 59 patients with a set of primers that amplified a 273 bp sequence unique to the 5' noncoding (NC) region of the HCV genome. Nested PCR, was performed on all PCR negative specimens with a set of primers that amplified a 255 bp internal to the original primers. Single step RT-PCR was positive on 45 sera from 35 patients following gel electrophoresis and on two additional sera from two patients following Southern blot hybridization. Nested PCR was positive on two more sera following gel electrophoresis of the nested PCR products. These two patients were seropositive and subsequent serum from one patient was positive by single step PCR. Three additional sera were positive following Southern blot analysis of the nested PCR products. Two patients were seropositive and had elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. The third patient was seronegative with normal ALT level and was considered a false positive. The remaining seronegative control specimens were PCR negative by both methods. The majority of PCR positive patients (82%) had elevated ALT levels, while the majority of PCR negative seropositive patients had normal ALT levels. We conclude that single step PCR is a sensitive test for the laboratory diagnoses of the majority of the HCV infections.
Preserving downtown America: : federal rehabilitation tax credits and the transformation of U.S. Cities

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Do historic rehabilitation tax credits (RTCs) play a central force in ongoing urban revitalization? I examine the role that federal RTCs have played in transforming U.S. downtowns using a case study approach and geocoded, longitudinal data for 10 cities: Atlanta (GA), Baltimore (MD), Cleveland (OH), Denver (CO), Philadelphia (PA), Portland (OR), Providence (RI), Richmond (VA), Seattle (WA), and St. Louis (MO). I find intense concentrations of downtown RTC investments in these cities; these projects were relatively resilient through the recent recession. Federal RTCs play an important role in the ongoing, postindustrial transformation of U.S. downtowns. RTC-funded projects concentrate downtown and are a key factor in the reinvestment of declining cities.Takeaway for practice: Historic rehabilitation tax credits are an important tool for downtown revitalization efforts and will help local planners and urban policymakers develop robust strategies for downtown redevel...
ESSEx - an intelligent advisor for expert system shell selection

Abstract This paper described an advisory system for selecting expert system software. Some background into the problems that an organization might face in the selection of expert system software will first be presented. After this, the methodology and architecture of the system will be reviewed. Finally, an example consultation session will be conducted. The purpose of this paper is to show how knowledge-based systems and database management systems can be linked to form a uniform information processing environment.