cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biochemical Biomarkers for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Biochemical biomarker studies of ASD individuals have been undertaken in order to identify biochemical alterations that might advance the understanding of the atypical neurodevelopment seen in ASD. In addition, there is the promise that biochemical biomarkers might be useful in predicting risk and in subtyping. Most of the studies to date have examined neurochemical biomarkers related to neural transmission in the central and peripheral nervous systems. We first deal with neurochemical studies measuring levels of neurotransmitters, their metabolites, and associated enzymes in blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Separate sections cover serotonin, dopamine, and stress response systems (including the central noradrenergic, sympathoadrenomedullary, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis systems). Following sections review research on melatonin, sex hormones, neuropeptides including oxytocin, amino acids and acetylcholine, purines and related compounds, immune-related measures, oxidative stress/redox status, and “omics” research. Keywords: amino acids; biomarker; blood; urine; and cerebrospinal fluid; dopamine; immune-related measures; melatonin; “omics,” oxidative stress/redox status; oxytocin; serotonin; sex hormones; stress response systems
Analysis of optimal dynamic rate shaping of Markov-1 sources

We discuss the behavior of the optimal solution to the dynamic rate shaping problem assuming an AR(1) source model. By analyzing the statistical and rate-distortion behavior of the different components of this minimization problem, the following key result is mathematically proven: "the set of optimal breakpoint values for any frame is invariant to the accumulated motion compensated shaping error from past frames and may be very reasonably approximated using the current frame shaping error alone".
What expert teachers do: enhancing professional knowledge for classroom practice

I came across this book during my search for literature related to the development of professional knowledge through practice. During my initial glimpse, one of the author’s main arguments struck m...
Effects of Objectives, Practice, and Review in Multimedia Instruction

This study examined the effects of instructional elements (objectives, information, practice with feedback, and review) on achievement, attitude, and time in a computer-based, multimedia program. Undergraduate college students used the multimedia lesson to learn about artists and their painting styles. Results indicated that practice had a signifi cant effect on achievement while objectives and review did not. Participants who used the program with practice performed signifi cantly better than those who did not receive practice. Student responses to the attitude survey showed that they were sensitive to the presence or absence of the instructional elements investigated in this study. Participants who used the lean program (information only) had the lowest overall attitudes. Results of paired comparison questions on the attitude survey revealed that participants perceived information, practice, and review to be more helpful than objectives. Turning to time, participants who received the full program spent the most amount of time working though the multimedia lesson and those who received the lean program spent the least amount of time. Implications for designing multimedia instruction are discussed.
Postoperative hyponatremia following calvarial vault remodeling in craniosynostosis.

Summary Background: The incidence, severity, and risk factors for the development of hyponatremia in patients undergoing craniosynostosis surgery are not well known. Objective: To determine the incidence and severity of hyponatremia as a complication in surgical correction of craniosynostosis and to identify risk factors for postoperative hyponatremia. Methods: A retrospective medical record review for 2003–2008 of the Cleft and Craniofacial Database was made. Specific data collected included sodium values, age, weight, type of surgery, duration of surgery, administration of DDAVP, composition and volume of pre-operative, intra-operative, postoperative parenteral fluids, volume of blood, colloid, and crystalloid transfused, estimated blood loss (EBL), medications, comorbidities, pre-operative signs of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), syndromic vs nonsyndromic craniosynostosis, and the complications associated with hyponatremia. Results: A total of 72 records were reviewed. The incidence of postoperative hyponatremia was 30.6%. There was no intra-operative hyponatremia. While hospital stay was not prolonged, ICU stay was significantly longer (1.9 vs 2.9 days, P = 0.001). Elevated ICP was significantly associated with hyponatremia (P < 0.002). A greater volume of blood loss (EBL) was associated with postoperative hyponatremia (P = 0.019). Patients with normal pre-operative ICP were more likely to become hyponatremic if they were female (relative risk = 2.43; P < 0.05). The average decrease in sodium was greater in patients receiving hyponatremic (hypotonic) vs normonatremic (isotonic) postoperative IVF’s (5.5 vs 3.2 mEq·l−1, P = 0.039). There were no postoperative complications related to hyponatremia. Conclusions: The incidence of postoperative hyponatremia after calvarial vault remodeling was determined to be 30.6%. Hyponatremia was significantly associated with increased pre-operative ICP, blood loss, and female gender (normal pre-operative ICP). The average decrease in sodium was greater in patients receiving hyponatremic postoperative IVF’s.
Dichloroacetate alters Warburg metabolism, inhibits cell growth, and increases the X-ray sensitivity of human A549 and H1299 NSC lung cancer cells

We investigated whether altering Warburg metabolism (aerobic glycolysis) by treatment with the metabolic agent dichloroacetate (DCA) could increase the X-ray-induced cell killing of the radiation-resistant human non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines A549 and H1299. Treatment with 50mM DCA decreased lactate production and glucose consumption in both A549 and H1299, clear indications of attenuated aerobic glycolysis. In addition, we found that DCA treatment also slowed cell growth, increased population-doubling time, and altered cell cycle distribution. Furthermore, we report that treatment with 50mM DCA significantly increased single and fractionated X-ray-induced cell killing of A549 and H1299 cells. Assay of DNA double-strand break repair by neutral comet assays demonstrated that DCA inhibited both the fast and the slow kinetics of X-ray-induced DSB repair in both A549 and H1299 NSCL cancer cells. Taken together the data suggest a correlation between an attenuated aerobic glycolysis and enhanced cytotoxicity and radiation-induced cell killing in radiation-resistant NSCLC cells.
High performance microwave elements for SiGe MMICs

We demonstrate a low cost, manufacturable method for fabricating microwave elements on lossy substrates as required for Si-based devices. These microwave elements require a ground-plane on the surface of the Si substrate to shield the lossy dielectric below and use a 13 /spl mu/m thick layer of benzocyclobutene (BCB) for wave propagation. The performance of the transmission lines and MMICs thus fabricated are comparable to their GaAs counterparts.
Synchysis Scintillans, Cholesterosis Bulbi, and Asteroid Bodies: Does Synchysis Scintillans Exist?

ABSTRACT Synchysis scintillans is a vitreous disorder that is traditionally compared to and contrasted with asteroid bodies in the vitreous. Synchysis scintillans is generally defined as the clinical presentation of flat, angular crystals appearing in a liquid vitreous. In addition, it is frequently implied that synchysis scintillans occurs in relatively normal eyes of young patients, and is bilateral. The chemical composition of the flat, angular crystals has been reported to be cholesterol. A critical review of the scientific literature indicates that synchysis scintillans is not the clinical disorder that we have been trained to recognize. There is evidence that it is, in fact, cholesterosis bulbi, which is observed only in severely damaged, blind eyes. I was not able to find any accurately documented reports characteristic of the classical description of synchysis scintillans in the scientific literature of this century. There are two reasons that this misrepresentation of synchysis scintillans exists. First, there is considerable confusion in the differentiation between three thought processes in clinical judgment: description, designation, and diagnosis. The clinician's description of synchysis scintillans is actually the pathologists's designation of cholesterosis bulbi. Because clinicians remain bound to tradition, there has been some resistance to dismissing the mythology surrounding synchysis scintillans, despite the fact that the classic description of the physical findings in synchysis scintillans is not consistent with the clinical reports. Second, because of the technological advances in health care, it is much less common to see eyes which have degenerated to the stage of cholesterosis bulbi. This diminished prevalence helps keep synchysis scintillans a mysterious disorder that exists in the minds of clinicians but not in the realities of clinical care. Since synchysis scintillans is a poor description for the more precise designation of cholesterosis bulbi, it is recommended that we discontinue the use of the description synchysis scintillans, and not concern ourselves with synchysis scintillans as an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of asteroid bodies.
Accretion of the Moon from an Impact-Generated Disk

Abstract We present the first published numerical calculations of accretion of an impact-generated protolunar disk into a single large Moon. Our calculations are based on the model developed by R. M. Canup and L. W. Esposito ( Icarus 113, 331–352, 1995) to describe accretion in the Roche zones around the giant planets. Previous numerical simulations of a large impact event predict the formation of a disk of material centered near or within the Roche limit (∼2.9 R ⊕ ). A natural expectation based on our previous results and comparison with the satellite systems of the outer planets would be for multiple small moons to arise from such a protolunar disk. Multiple moonlets could accrete to form a single Moon if they evolved into crossing orbits due to tidal interaction with the Earth. This would occur if the innermost moonlet in the disk were also the most massive, so that it evolved outward at the relatively fastest rate and swept up all exterior material. Our calculations, which include both moonlet accretion and orbital evolution, demonstrate that forming massive moonlets in the inner disk near the Roche limit is extremely difficult. We conclude that an Earth system with multiple moons is the final result unless some particularly severe constraints on initial conditions in the disk are met. A disk with a lunar mass of material exterior to a ∼ 3.5–4 R ⊕ or an extremely steep radial surface density profile at the onset of collisional growth is required for a single, lunar-sized body to result from accretion of silicate density material in a protolunar disk. The former corresponds most closely to disks produced by impactors with nearly twice the mass of Mars and about twice the angular momentum of the current Earth/Moon system. Other processes, such as gravitational instability or primary accretion of an iron core in the inner disk, might be able to “seed” accretional growth and allow for the formation of a single Moon if disk temperature and compositional requirements are met. Our analysis demonstrates the need for more detailed, higher resolution impact simulations.
Dichloromethane Fermentation by a Dehalobacter sp. in an Enrichment Culture Derived from Pristine River Sediment

Dichloromethane (DCM) as the sole substrate supported growth of a Dehalobacter sp. in an enrichment culture derived from noncontaminated river sediment. DCM was not reductively dechlorinated, and acetate was produced, indicating DCM fermentation and further suggesting Dehalobacter growth is not limited to organohalide respiration.
Electromagnetic containerless undercooling facility and experiments for the Shuttle

An electromagnetic furnace is being prepared for flights aboard the Space Shuttle. This apparatus is capable of melting metals and alloys up to 1400 C melting point by induction heating with subsequent solidification of the freely levitated melt without contact with any container. The solidification can be carried out with greatly reduced fields resulting in minimal heating and stirring of the free melt. Sequential specimens can be processed during flight. Several experiments are planned for a series of flights, beginning in 1985 with an undercooling experiment of NiSn alloys. These will be interspersed with detailed studies of fluid flow caused by low and high field levels in order to quantify the corresponding effect upon the solidification process.
Pointing errors and fade statistics associated with a laser satellite communication system

Estimates of the fractional fade time, expected number of fades, and mean duration of fade time associated with a transmitted Gaussian-beam wave are analyzed for both uplink and downlink laser satellite-communication channels and compared with similar results based on spherical wave (uplink) and plane wave (downlink) models. Weak fluctuation theory using the lognormal model is applicable for zenith angles less than 60 degree(s). Because spot size and off-axis scintillations are significant in the Gaussian-beam wave model, pointing errors become an important consideration in a reliable laser communication link. Off-axis scintillations increase even more rapidly for large diameter beams and can in some cases lead to a scintillation saturation for pointing errors greater than 1 (mu) rad off the optical beam axis.
Volume estimation by diameter class using bootstrap variance estimates

Abstract Boostrap estimation is used to provide standard errors of estimates for volume by diameter class in a test data set of the IVth Dutch Forest Survey. Such standard errors of estimates cannot currently be obtained by classical methods.
Induction of different species of cytochrome P-450 by coplanar and noncoplanar isomers of hexachlorobiphenyl.

Abstract The effects of coplanar+ 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (HCB) and noncoplanar 2,4,5,2′,4′,5′-HCB, 2,3,5,2′,3′,5′-HCB, phenobarbitone (PB) and 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) on drug metabolizing enzymes have been studied 72 hr after dosing in male rat liver. 3-MC and 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-HCB induced the activity of ethoxyresorufin deethylase dramatically. NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase and benzphetamine N -demethylase were induced by PB and noncoplanar isomers and not by 3-MC or 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-HCB. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the microsomes obtained from various groups showed that 3-MC and 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-HCB induced the synthesis of a polypeptide of approximate 54,500 daltons which was absent in the microsomes obtained from control, PB or noncoplanar isomer treated animals. Noncoplanar isomers and PB induced the synthesis of a polypeptide of approximate 51,000 daltons. These results, along with the reduced, CO difference spectra, demonstrate that 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-HCB induces the synthesis of cytochrome P-448 and resembled 3-MC in its mechanism of action, while noncoplanar isomers induced the synthesis of cytochrome P-450 and resembled PB in its mechanism of action. Further administration of various doses of 3,4,5,3′,4′,5′-HCB to genetically responsive mice (C57BL/6J), induced cytochrome P-450, caused one nm shift in the difference spectrum of reduced microsomes and induced the activity of ethoxyresorufin deethylase, whereas it did not induce the activity of ethoxyresorufin deethylase in non-responsive mice (DBA/2J) even at the highest dose studied. These studies indicate the fact that coplanar and noncoplanar isomers have differential interaction with Ah locus .
Intraoperative transvesical cystoscopy for urogynecologic procedures

Intraoperative cystoscopy is a useful adjunct to surgical procedures that may compromise the integrity of the lower urinary tract. Ureteral injury and the placement of intravesical sutures are risks, especially at teaching facilities, during operations such as retropubic urethropexy, paravaginal repair, or even simple hysterectomy. The conventional use of transurethral cystoscopy during open surgical cases may require repositioning of the patient if not previously placed in Allen stirrups. Alternative practices of bladder examination include placement of a standard cystoscope via an intentional cystotomy through the dome of the bladder. The authors have implemented the direct insertion of a 2 mm microlaparoscope through the bladder dome to verify an intact lower urinary system and found this method to be both efficacious and safe. Visualization is not compromised by the slightly smaller visual field compared to the standard 0° or 30° cystoscope. The perspective of the bladder neck region may be more easily oriented from the superior viewing angle. The authors prefer transvesical cystoscopy with the microlaparoscope for its ease of use, compared to their experience of performing a small cystotomy or routine transurethral cystoscopy.
Design for the National Evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program on Chronic Mental Illness

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation chose the University of Maryland Mental Health Policy Studies Program to conduct an independent national evaluation of its Program on Chronic Mental illness, a large-scale demonstration in which nine cities across the country are participating. The national evaluation aims at describing the implementation of the program and assessing its impact on clients. The evaluation effort comprises five groups of interrelated studies: a site-level study, a community care study, housing studies, financing studies, and disability and vocational rehabilitation studies. Taken together, the components of the evaluation should provide evidence that will help create new structures and processes in large cities for delivering care to persons with chronic mental illness.
Validity of the smoothness assumption for calculating two-boson correlations in high-energy collisions.

To predict two-boson correlation functions for emission from high-energy collisions using event simulators, the usual practice is to invoke the smoothness assumption. This assumption is questionable for cases with strong space-time correlations in the emission function. The validity of the assumption is explored here. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
Increased phosphorylation of the neuronal L-type Ca2+ channel Cav1.2 during aging

An increase in Ca2+ influx through L-type Ca2+ channels is thought to contribute to neuronal dysfunctions that underlie senile symptoms and Alzheimer's disease. The molecular basis of the age-dependent up-regulation in neuronal L-type Ca2+ channel activity is largely unknown. We show that phosphorylation of the L-type channel Cav1.2 by cAMP-dependent protein kinase is increased >2-fold in the hippocampus of aged rats. The hippocampus is critical for learning and is one of the first brain regions to be affected in Alzheimer's disease. Phosphorylation of Cav1.2 by cAMP-dependent protein kinase strongly enhances its activity. Therefore, increased Cav1.2 phosphorylation may account for a substantial portion of the age-related rise in neuronal Ca2+ influx and its neuropathological consequences.
Category-based induction from similarity of neural activation.

The idea that similarity might be an engine of inductive inference dates back at least as far as David Hume. However, Hume’s thesis is difficult to test without begging the question, since judgments of similarity may be infected by inferential processes. We present a one-parameter model of category-based induction that generates predictions about arbitrary statements of conditional probability over a predicate and a set of items. The prediction is based on the unconditional probabilities and similarities that characterize that predicate and those items. To test Hume’s thesis, we collected brain activation from various regions of the ventral visual stream during a categorization task that did not invite comparison of categories. We then calculated the similarity of those activation patterns using a simple measure of vectorwise similarity and supplied those similarities to the model. The model’s outputs correlated well with subjects’ judgments of conditional probability. Our results represent a promising first step toward confirming Hume’s thesis; similarity, assessed without reference to induction, may well drive inductive inference.
Attaining a 30‐year photovoltaic system lifetime: The BOS issues

Failures of power conditioning systems and balance of system (BOS) components have been responsible for the majority of system downtime in virtually all of the USA's large grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) power plants. For these and future PV power plants, therefore, improvements in component reliability must be made before the design goal of a 30-year system liftime can be attained. Advances in technology can increase reliability and still reduce costs of PV modules and power conditioning systems. However, since BOS components come generally from mature technologies, increased reliability must be attained through the purchase of higher quality components.
Tandem Mass Spectrometry Investigation of ADP-ribosylated Kemptide

Bacterial adenosine diphosphate-ribosyltransferases (ADPRTs) are toxins that play a significant role in pathogenicity by inactivating host proteins through covalent addition of ADP-ribose. In this study we used ADP-ribosylated Kemptide (LRRASLG) as a standard to examine the effectiveness of three common tandem mass spectrometry fragmentation methods for assignment of amino acid sequence and site of modification. Fragmentation mechanisms investigated include low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID), infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD), and electron-capture dissociation (ECD); all were performed on a hybrid linear ion trap Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. We show that ECD, but neither CID nor IRMPD, of ADP-ribosylated Kemptide produces tandem mass spectra that are interpretable with regard to amino acid sequence assignment and site of modification. Examination of CID and IRMPD tandem mass spectra of ADP-ribosylated Kemptide revealed that fragmentation was primarily focused to the ADP-ribose region, generating several potential diagnostic ions for use in discovery of ADP-ribosylated proteins. Because of the lower relative sensitivity of ECD during data-dependent acquisition to CID, we suggest a 2-fold strategy where CID and IRMPD are first used to detect ADP-ribosylated peptides, followed by sequence assignment and location of modification by ECD analysis.
Acoustic phonons in rectangular quantum wires: approximate compressional modes and the corresponding deformation potential interactions

The Hamiltonian describing the deformation potential interaction of confined acoustic phonons with carriers is derived by quantizing the appropriate, experimentally verified approximate compressional acoustic phonon modes in a rectangular quantum wire. The scattering rate due to the deformation potential interaction is calculated for a range of quantum wire dimensions.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Differential expression of T‐cell CD3‐zeta chains in patients with cervical dysplasia before and after treatment

This study addresses whether CD3-zeta suppression associated with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I, II, and III is mediated by a circulating factor and if this suppression is reversed following treatment. Serum was isolated from patients with CIN before and after curative therapy. Jurkat T cells were incubated with patient-derived sera for 4 days, and CD3-zeta expression was analyzed by western immunoblot. Sera from control female volunteers did not suppress CD3-zeta expression of Jurkat cells, while sera from women with CIN I, II, and III suppressed 58.9%, 75.3%, and 80.5%, respectively. Suppression observed in women with CIN I was significantly different from that observed with CIN II and III. Posttreatment zeta suppression was noted to be reversed in women with CIN II and III although the decreased suppression in CIN III patients was not statistically significant. Our study demonstrates that in vivo suppression of zeta chains in patients with CIN can be the result of a circulating factor. In vitro zeta expression increased in patients with CIN II and III after treatment, although the increase was only statistically significant in patients with CIN II.
An externalities-based decentralized optimal power allocation algorithm for wireless networks

The rapidly growing demand for wireless communication makes efficient power allocation a critical factor in the network's efficient operation. Power allocation in decentralized wireless systems, where the transmission of a user creates interference to other users and directly affects their utilities, has been recently studied by pricing methods. However, pricing methods do not result in efficient/optimal power allocations for such systems for the following reason. Systems where a user's actions directly affect the utilities of other users are known to have externalities. It is well known from Mas-Colell et al. that in systems with externalities, standard efficiency theorems on market equilibrium do not apply and pricing methods do not result in Pareto optimal outcomes. In this paper, we formulate the power allocation problem for a wireless network as an allocation problem with "externalities." We consider a system where each user knows only its own utility and the channel gains from the transmitters of other users to its own receiver. The system has multiple interference temperature constraints to control interference. We present a decentralized algorithm to allocate transmission powers to the users. The algorithm takes into account the externality generated to the other users by the transmission of each user, satisfies the informational constraints of the system, overcomes the inefficiency of pricing mechanisms and guarantees convergence to globally optimal power allocations.
Governance and the Religion Question: Voluntaryism, Disestablishment, and America's Church-State Proposition

The quandary over how to structure the relationship between religion and the civil state is an ancient one. From the perspective of political philosophy this is the religion question, and events over many centuries have proven that the answer is easy to get wrong. Religion, by its very definition, is the fixed point from which all else is surveyed. It is about ultimate matters, both micro and macro. Hence, religion addresses the irreducible core of personhood and its meaning, while at the same time religion embraces a worldview that transcends and encompasses everything else. Religion generates intense emotions that when acted upon can Dreacn the peace, and religion forms deep loyalties that can rival the patriotic ties that bind citizens to their nation-state. Religion is simultaneously individualistic, about highly personal beliefs and acts of humble piety growing out of those beliefs, while at the same time religion is nearly always manifested in the form of a sacred group or institution that knits together those of like-minded faith in local, national, and even transnational churches, temples, and mosques.
Strain accumulation and rotation in western Nevada, 1993–2000

[1] The positions of 44 GPS monuments in an array extending from the Sierra Nevada at the latitude of Reno to near Austin, Nevada, have been measured several times in the 1993–2000 interval. The western half of the array spans the Walker Lane belt, whereas the eastern half spans the central Nevada seismic zone (CNSZ). The principal strain rates in the Walker Lane belt are 29.6 ± 5.3 nstrain yr−1 N88.4°E ± 5.4° and −12.8 ± 6.0 nanostrain yr−1 N01.6°W ± 5.4°, extension reckoned positive, and the clockwise (as seen from above the Earth) rotation rate about a vertical axis is 13.6 ± 4.0 nrad yr−1. The quoted uncertainties are standard deviations. The motion in the Walker Lane belt can then be represented by a zone striking N35°W subject to 16.8 ± 4.9 nstrain yr−1 extension perpendicular to it and 19.5 ± 4.0 nstrain yr−1 right-lateral, simple shear across it. The N35°W strike of the zone is the same as the direction of the local tangent to the small circle drawn about the Pacific-North America pole of rotation. The principal strain rates for the CNSZ are 46.2 ± 11.0 nstrain yr−1 N49.9°W ± 6.0° and −13.6 ± 6.1 nstrain yr−1 N40.1°E ± 6.0°, and the clockwise rotation rate about a vertical axis is 20.3 ± 6.3 nrad yr−1. The motion across the CNSZ can then be represented by a zone striking N12°E subject to 32.6 ± 11.0 nstrain yr−1 extension perpendicular to it and 25.1 ± 6.3 nstrain yr−1 right-lateral, simple shear across it. The N12°E strike of the zone is similar to the strikes of the faults (Rainbow Mountain, Fairview Peak, and Dixie Valley) within it.
SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION FOR SEED POTATO CERTIFICATION

Seed buyers desire a conservatively low field certification rate (to better protect their industry). In contrast, seed growers want a relatively higher field certification rate (to reduce their costs in cultural practices which protect against disease). Sampling error requires 1) the grower’s “aimed-for” disease rate to be lower than 2) the agency specified field certification rate, which in turn must be lower than 3) the disease rate which the buyer would find “utterly” unacceptable. Since sample size determines sampling error, it also determines the amount by which the grower must aim to set rate 1) below that of rate 3) to reach reasonable likeliness for his field to be accepted. That is, in a sense, sample size determines the spread between rates 1) and 3). Formula, tables and graphs herein, for given probabilities of error, illustrate the relation between sample size and the required spread in disease rates 1) and 3) where spread is treated as the ratio of rate 1) to rate 3). Such can be useful to certification agencies in making decisions upon sample size requirements for determining field certification.
Minimum detectable photopeak areas in Ge(Li) spectra

Abstract This paper discusses two sources of error in the detection and analysis of small photopeaks appearing in Ge(Li) gamma-ray spectra. A Type I error arises when fluctuations in the background are falsely identified as true photopeaks. A Type II error occurs when fluctuations in the background obscure true photopeaks to the extent that they are not detected. Experimental measurements on the distribution of fraudulent peaks in Ge(Li) spectra form the basis for numerical calculations of the minimum number of counts in a photopeak which will render it detectable to within preselected risks of committing Type I and Type II errors. This threshold is analyzed in terms of the height of the background under the photopeak. Minimum counting times required to ensure peak detectability are discussed.
Claims and counterclaims of X-chromosome compensation

Is there upregulation of the single active X chromosome in mammals or not? Recent studies take different points of view.
Tables of the Distribution of the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon U-Statistic Under Lehmann Alternatives

A simple recursive formula is used to generate the distribution of the MWW U-statistic under alternatives of the form K 1: G – F k ,1 ≠ k 0, and it is pointed out that many of these alternatives are of interest in life testing, reliability testing and related fields. Tables are given for the case G = 1 – (1 − F) k for 4 ≤ n, m ≤ 8 and k = 2,3,4,6,9,12 and it is shown that these tables can also be used when G = F k and when 0 < k < 1.
Lip augmentation with preserved fascia lata.

BACKGROUND Presently available techniques for lip augmentation have an assortment of limitations. OBJECTIVE To provide a safe, reliable method of lip augmentation on a long-term basis. METHODS Through a stab incision in each quadrant, chips of human cadaver, banked fasia lata were inserted into intralabial pockets. RESULTS Fascia lata grafting proved to be a simple effective technique of lip enhancement. Over the period of follow-up, enhancement was evident in most cases and no allergic reactions or infections occurred. Lip motion was satisfactory and paresthesia were minor. CONCLUSION Fascia lata grafting is a simple, controlled technique for graded lip enhancement.
A scale to measure microbehaviors of oral contraceptive pill use.

Abstract The ways in which contraceptive methods are actually used is of increasing interest to researchers, clinicians, and policy makers. Although contraceptive “use” has multiple dimensions, existing indicators measure only one aspect of use or combine unidimensional measures to produce a questionable pastiche. This study uses a subsample of 612 respondents from a larger study of first‐time patients at a public‐health‐department family planning clinic to develop a new measure. Psychometric properties of this measure are examined and discussed.
Parathyroid hormone and prostaglandin E2 preferentially increase luciferase levels in bone of mice harboring a luciferase transgene controlled by elements of the pro-α1(I) collagen promoter

Abstract Type 1 collagen is the major extracellular protein in bone, tendons, ligaments, and skin. DNA elements of the mouse pro-α1 (I) collagen promoter were shown to drive the bone-selective expression of a luciferase transgene. We examined whether this expression can be used to evaluate the effect of anabolic agents on bone formation in vivo. Treatment of either intact males, intact females, or ovariectomized (ovx) mice with 80 μg/kg/day of human parathyroid hormone (hPTH), for 5 to 11 days increased luciferase levels in tibiae by two- to threefold compared with vehicle-treated mice. The increases were tissue specific, as no changes in skin luciferase expression were observed. Treatment with prostaglandin E 2 , a potent bone anabolic agent, for 11 days also increased expression of the transgene in bone, but not in skin. Treatment with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) for 11 days increased luciferase activity in skin, but not in bone. Histomorphometric analysis revealed that 28-day treatment with PTH increased bone formation; 60-day treatment of OVX mice with DHT did not. These findings show a correlation between bone formation and the expression of a transgene driven by DNA elements of the mouse pro-α1 (I) collagen promoter, suggesting that this expression can be used as an indicator and provide a faster readout for the ability of agents to stimulate bone formation in this mouse strain.
The piecewise-linear dynamic attenuator reduces the impact of count rate loss with photon-counting detectors.

Photon counting x-ray detectors (PCXDs) offer several advantages compared to standard energy-integrating x-ray detectors, but also face significant challenges. One key challenge is the high count rates required in CT. At high count rates, PCXDs exhibit count rate loss and show reduced detective quantum efficiency in signal-rich (or high flux) measurements. In order to reduce count rate requirements, a dynamic beam-shaping filter can be used to redistribute flux incident on the patient. We study the piecewise-linear attenuator in conjunction with PCXDs without energy discrimination capabilities. We examined three detector models: the classic nonparalyzable and paralyzable detector models, and a ‘hybrid’ detector model which is a weighted average of the two which approximates an existing, real detector (Taguchi et al 2011 Med. Phys. 38 1089–102 ). We derive analytic expressions for the variance of the CT measurements for these detectors. These expressions are used with raw data estimated from DICOM image files of an abdomen and a thorax to estimate variance in reconstructed images for both the dynamic attenuator and a static beam-shaping (‘bowtie’) filter. By redistributing flux, the dynamic attenuator reduces dose by 40% without increasing peak variance for the ideal detector. For non-ideal PCXDs, the impact of count rate loss is also reduced. The nonparalyzable detector shows little impact from count rate loss, but with the paralyzable model, count rate loss leads to noise streaks that can be controlled with the dynamic attenuator. With the hybrid model, the characteristic count rates required before noise streaks dominate the reconstruction are reduced by a factor of 2 to 3. We conclude that the piecewise-linear attenuator can reduce the count rate requirements of the PCXD in addition to improving dose efficiency. The magnitude of this reduction depends on the detector, with paralyzable detectors showing much greater benefit than nonparalyzable detectors.
The uptake and reduction of arsenic species by marine algae

Phytoplankton take up As(V) readily, and incorporate a small percentage of it into the cell. The majority of the As(V) is reduced, methylated, and released to the surrounding media. This uptake and subsequent release in a reduced or methylated form causes large changes in the speciation of arsenic in the culture media; up to 50% of the As(V) may be reduced. The speciation of arsenic in phytoplankton and Valonia also changes when As(V) is added to cultures. The addition generally causes an increase in the proportion of organic arsenic. Arsenate and phosphate compete for uptake by algal cells. The uptake and subsequent reduction and methylation of As(V) is a significant factor in determining the arsenic biogeochemistry of productive systems. Calculations based on the measured rates of reduction indicate that 15–20% of the total arsenic is reduced by phytoplankton during the spring and fall blooms on the continental shelf.
Using computational tools to factor wind into architectural environment design

Abstract Wind can have many positive attributes in an architectural environment such as providing a comfortable and healthy indoor environment and that can also save energy, by means of passive cooling or natural ventilation. However, wind can also cause discomfort to pedestrians if its speed around a building is too high, and it can also increase energy loss in the winter. Firstly, this paper will discuss the design strategies for wind in environmental and building design. It will then compare the available techniques used to study the wind effect in building design, such as a model mockup, wind tunnel, nodal/zonal models, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Among the techniques studied, CFD seems to be one of the most attractive for building environment design, since it is the most affordable, accurate, and informative method. This chapter will also illustrate a number of architectural indoor and outdoor environment designs that have utilized CFD. These include: • airflow around a building complex; • using building shape to prevent draft due to cold wind in a high rise building site; • cross natural ventilation in a building; • single-sided natural ventilation design.
Physician perspectives on a pilot prescription monitoring program.

In 2003, during implementation of a pilot electronic prescription monitoring program in southwest Virginia, a survey was mailed to 672 physicians to learn about their knowledge of and attitudes tow...
LUX: a design study for a linac-/laser-based ultrafast x-ray source

A warm, relativistic fluid theory of a nonequilibrium, collisionless plasma is developed to analyze nonlinear plasma waves excited by intense drive beams. The maximum amplitude and wavelength are calculated for nonrelativistic plasma temperatures and arbitrary plasma wave phase velocities. The maximum amplitude is shown to increase in the presence of a laser field. These results set a limit to the achievable gradient in plasma-based accelerators.
Evidence of involvement of central neural mechanisms in generating fibromyalgia pain

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep abnormalities, and distress. Because FMS lacks consistent evidence of tissue abnormalities, recent investigations have focused on central nervous system mechanisms of pain. Abnormal temporal summation of second pain (wind-up) and central sensitization have been described recently in patients with FMS. Windup and central sensitization, which rely on central pain mechanisms, occur after prolonged C-nociceptor input and depend on activation of nociceptor-specific neurons and wide dynamic range neurons in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Other abnormal central pain mechanisms recently detected in patients with FMS include diffuse noxious inhibitory controls. These pain inhibitory mechanisms rely on spinal cord and supraspinal systems involving pain facilitatory and pain inhibitory pathways. Brain-imaging techniques that can detect neuronal activation after nociceptive stimuli have provided additional evidence for abnormal central pain mechanisms in FMS. Brain images have corroborated the augmented reported pain experience of patients with fibromyalgia during experimental pain stimuli. In addition, thalamic activity, which contributes significantly to pain processing, was decreased in fibromyalgia. However, central pain mechanisms of fibromyalgia may not depend exclusively on neuronal activation. Neuroglial activation has been found to play an important role in the induction and maintenance of chronic pain. These findings may have important implications for future research and the treatment of fibromyalgia pain.
Adaptation of a high-voltage electron microscope for routine biological dark-field imaging

Relative merits of different objective aperture geometries for generating dark-field images in a high-voltage electron microscope (an AEI EM7) are considered. Using metal-bar beam stops in the objective lens diffraction plane, with large (500 micron diameter) limiting apertures, effective resolution in the 2-4 nm range can be demonstrated for biological specimens.
Developing an Early Intervention Preservice Specialization in Speech-Language Pathology

This article describes an early intervention program designed for speech-language pathologists enrolled in a master's-level program. The program provided students with courses and clinical experien...
Size Measurements of the Quasar X-Ray Continuum Emission Region by Analysis of Microlensing in Chandra Imagery

Microlensing offers a unique way to constrain the physical extent of different emission regions in a lensed quasar, putting to test various accretion and continuum emission models. We perform a microlensing analysis using six Chandra observations (spanning six years) of the lensed quasar SDSS 0924+0219 (redshift zs=1.52), in which X-ray microlensing variability is detected with high confidence. The system exhibits pronounced microlensing variability in the X-rays compared to the optical, indicating a comparatively small extent of r1/2<3.8×104 cm (95% confidence) for the X-ray continuum emitting region, near the inner edge of the accretion disk.
Quantitative permittivity measurements of nanoliter fluid volumes from 50 MHz to 40 GHz with microfluidic channels

This paper describes the development of coplanar waveguide measurement structures integrated with microfluidic channels in order to rapidly determine the broadband dielectric properties of nanoliter volumes of fluids, fluid mixtures, and colloids over the range of frequencies from 50 MHz to 40 GHz. A number of different integrated microfluidic-microelectronic structures are employed in order to quantitatively determine the complex permittivity function over this wide range of frequencies. Transmission line network models are developed that use experimentally derived parameters to de-embed the response of the fluid-loaded devices, and finite-element models relate the fluid complex permittivity to the transmission line circuit parameters.
First formation of 1,1-dihalo-1,3-butadienes from reactions of dichloro- and dibromocarbenes with cyclopropenes via new addition-rearrangements

Abstract New dichloro- and dibromocarbene addition-rearrangements are reported. In the reactions of 1,2-diarylcyclopropenes with difluoro-, dichloro-, dibromo-, and bromofluorocarbene, 2,3-diaryl-1,1-dihalo-1,3-butadienes are formed. In addition, 1,3-diaryl-2,3-dihalocyclo-1-butenes are formed. For the formation of the 1,1-dihalobutadienes, new addition-rearrangement mechanisms are proposed. Furthermore, some reactions of cyclobutenes with dihalocarbenes are described.
Modeling of Virtual Grinding Wheel and its Grinding Simulation

Based on virtual reality technology, a friendly human-computer interaction interface and virtual machining environment were developed by Visual C++ and OpenGL. Considering the inhomogeneity of grain size and randomicity of grain distribution, virtual grinding wheel was modeled by taking ortho-hexahedron as basic shape of abrasive grains and randomly distributes them on the wheel base. Mathematic model of interference between abrasive grain and workpiece was established. By using the virtual grinding wheel modeled, surface grinding processes with different machining parameters were simulated. The simulation results show that the system could make operators have a further understanding to chip formation, and the machining results could reflect realistic surface topography of workpiece. Complex grinding process can be realistically simulated. It provides visualization models for the research of grinding mechanism and production forecast.
Young children's coordination of gestural and linguistic reference:

The current study investigated the relationship between young children's linguistic and nonlinguistic communicative strategies. Twenty-three children, 20-44 months of age, served as subjects. In a naturalistic setting, an adult gave signs of noncomprehension (a contingent query) to each of the child's object references. The child's original linguistic reference and use of gestures were recorded and compared to his/her subsequent linguistic and gestural responses to the adult query. Results showed that the children used gestures more often with pronouns than with nouns: either to clarify a linguistic reference from the original utterance or to supplement a linguistic response to the adult query. This would imply that two- to three-year- old children are aware of the communicative principle that pronouns 'need' gestures more than nouns, and more generally, that they are capable of coordinating their linguistic and nonlinguistic communi cative strategies.