cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biomarkers of contaminant exposure in Northern Pike (Esox lucius) from the Yukon River Basin, Alaska.

As part of a larger investigation, northern pike (n = 158; Esox lucius) were collected from ten sites in the Yukon River Basin (YRB), Alaska, to document biomarkers and their correlations with organochlorine pesticide (total p,p’-DDT, total chlordane, dieldrin, and toxaphene), total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and elemental contaminant (arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, total mercury, selenium, and zinc) concentrations. A suite of biomarkers including somatic indices, hepatic 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity, vitellogenin concentrations, steroid hormone (17B- ustradiol and 16-kebtestosteront) concentrations, splenic macrophage aggregates (MAs), oocyte atresia, and other microscopic anomalies in various tissues were documented in YRB pike. Mean condition factor (0.50 to 0.68), hepatosomatic index (1.00% to 3.56%), and splenosomatic index (0.09% to 0.18%) were not anomalous at any site nor correlated with any contaminant concentration. Mean EROD activity (0.71 to 17.51 pmol/min/mg protein) was similar to basal activity levels previously measured in pike and was positively correlated with selenium concentrations (r = 0.88, P 0.01 mg/mL in male pike from multiple sites indicated exposure to estrogenic compounds. Mean steroid hormone concentrations and percent oocyte atresia were not anomalous in pike from any YRB site. Few site differences were significant for mean MA density (1.86 to 6.42 MA/mm2), size (812 to 1481 μm2), and tissue occupied (MA-%; 0.24% to 0.75%). A linear regression between MA-% and total PCBs was significant, although PCB concentrations were generally low in YRB pike (≤63 ng/g), and MA-% values in female pike (0.24% to 0.54%) were lower than in male pike (0.32% to 0.75%) at similar PCB concentrations. Greater numbers of MAs were found as zinc concentrations increased in YRB female pike, but it is unlikely that this is a causative relationship. Histological abnormalities observed in gill, liver, spleen, and kidney tissues were not likely a result of contaminant exposure but provide information on the general health of YRB pike. The most common histologic anomalies were parasitic infestations in various organs and developing nephrons and nephrocalcinosis in posterior kidney tissues. Overall, few biomarker responses in YRB pike were correlated with chemical contaminant concentrations, and YRB pike generally appeared to be healthy with no site having multiple anomalous biomarker responses.
Imaging and three-dimensional reconstruction of chemical groups inside a protein complex using atomic force microscopy

An atomic force microscope can be used to image and three-dimensionally reconstruct chemical groups inside a protein complex with the help of single-stranded DNA molecules that act as imaging labels.
PROLONGED RELEASE OF LEAD-203( 203 Pb) AFTER BRIEF EXPOSURE TO PARATHYROID HORMONE (PTH) AND CaNa 2 EDTA (EDTA) IN BONE ORGAN CULTURE

PROLONGED RELEASE OF LEAD-203( 203 Pb) AFTER BRIEF EXPOSURE TO PARATHYROID HORMONE (PTH) AND CaNa 2 EDTA (EDTA) IN BONE ORGAN CULTURE
What is recorded is never simply ‘what happened’: Record keeping in modern organizational culture

Traditional premises in archival theory and practice hold that archival records are authentic as to procedure and impartial as to creation because they are created as a means for, and as a by-product of, action, and not for the sake of posterity. Such Positivist assumptions about the nature of records have come under sustained scrutiny in the archival literature over the past decade. The post-Positivist view of records embraces the record as a socially constructed and maintained entity. This paper situates itself within this new paradigm in an exploration of the beginning of the life of the record. It is therefore concerned with the creator (or recorder) and the social construction of the record. In expanding beyond a purely administrative- and juridical-based theory of records, this paper draws upon research from other disciplines, such as sociology, in order to place records and record keeping within a framework that allows for an understanding of their social nature. In particular, the goal is to determine the underlying social factors that directly influence and shape the creation and keeping of records and to begin to understand how these factors manifest themselves in the construction of the record.
The structure of low-velocity detonation waves

In an attempt to clearly define the structure of low-velocity reaction waves, a number of liquid explosives known to undergo low-velocity detonation were examined using both high-speed photography and flash radiography. Owing to experimental limitations, low-velocity detonations could not be induced in all of the systems investigated. However, near sonic and supersonic reactions were observed in all the explosives investigated. When the reactions were clearly supersonic, the leading edge of the reaction zone consisted of a gradually curved shock front, concave in the direction of propagation, followed by an apparently unperturbed region. Behind this region, pockets of lower X-ray absorbency developed throughout the body of the fluid; undoubtedly, these pockets were reacting cavities in late stages of growth. Thus, these observations offer support for a previously postulated model for low-velocity detonation. The radiographic observations also indicate that fluid cavitation may play an essential role in the propagation of subsonic reactions.
All this and engineering too: a history of accreditation requirements

This article traces the history of US engineering accreditation with regard to non-technical curriculum requirements from the founding of the Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD) in 1932 up to the adoption of Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC 2000) in 1999. The activities of the ECPD, which became the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, ABET, in 1980, took place in the larger context of the development of engineering as a profession and steps that industrial and academic leaders took during the 20th century to increase the quality and uniformity of engineering education. The story is not a simple, straightforward tale of how a homogeneous pro-business cadre of engineering educators designed a system of education for purely pragmatic ends. Buried in the volumes of old journals and annual reports is evidence that engineering educators and leaders indulged in a serious amount of organized introspection over the years.
On the influence of CO 2 on the radiative flux divergence

The influence of carbon dioxide upon the radiative heat budget of the lower few meters of the atmosphere is investigated. For this purpose, Elsasser's (1960) radiative flux tables for the 15 micron carbon dioxide absorption band have been modified as described by Zdunkowski et al. (1966) and extended to very low optical pathlengths. In order to deal with the water vapor overlap effect in the carbon dioxide band, a series of so-called overlap tables have been constructed for different temperatures. These tables have been applied to obtain radiative flux divergence values for selected air masses which represent arctic, temperate, and tropical conditions. Moreover, for comparison purposes, the water vapor flux divergence, representing the total water vapor spectrum, has been determined for some cases, also. The latter task was accomplished by application of the emissivity method, which was also applied, as an independent check, to obtain carbon dioxide flux divergence. It was found in general that the influence of carbon dioxide upon the air layer near the ground should not be neglected. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1968.tb00370.x
Interventional Pain Management Techniques for Palliative Care in Cancer Patients (312)

Our country’s population continues to grow older and become more ethnically and culturally diverse. Meeting the needs of these patients has become increasingly complex and requires healthcare professionals to dedicate themselves to providing culturally sensitive comprehensive care to patients and families in the most difficult times of their lives. The need for training of healthcare professionals continues to grow as ethnically diverse patients increase in numbers and the complexity of cross-cultural care in chronic illness increases. Providing culturally appropriate high-quality care to minority and underserved patients requires that physicians obtain the appropriate skills in cross-cultural palliative care. Physicians must develop skills in understanding how culture shapes choices about chronic illness and how these choices affect end-of life decisions. Developing sensitive communication skills for delivering bad news, establishing goals of care, and discussing advance care planning is essential for gaining the trust of patients and their families. Providers of palliative care must explore their own views and values relating to chronic illness and death and how these views may impact the care they provide to their patients and families. We will review the most recent and relevant evidenced-based data concerning healthcare provider attitudes, knowledge, and skills relating to cross-cultural palliative care. We will review recent data concerning the withdrawal of life-sustaining care such as ventilator support and artificial hydration and nutrition. We will review how ethnic variability of the patient and provider affect these decisions. For each of the issues we will outline the basic concepts, barriers, and strategies for effective and appropriate cross-cultural care. We will describe our own experiences from our ethnically diverse underserved community. We will discuss strategies we have employed educating our providers, including the BATHE and LEARN methods for ethnographic interviews and cultural competency training for delivering quality and compassionate palliative and end-of-life care. Domains All Domains
Driving with distraction in Parkinson disease

Objective: To assess the effects of auditory–verbal distraction on driving performance in Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: We tested licensed, currently active drivers with mild-to-moderate PD (n = 71) and elderly controls with no neurologic disease (n = 147) on a battery of cognitive, visual, and motor tests. While they drove on a four-lane interstate freeway in an instrumented vehicle, we determined at-fault safety errors and vehicle control measures during a distracter task (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task [PASAT]) and on an uneventful baseline segment. Results: Compared with controls, drivers with PD committed more errors during both baseline and distraction, and drove slower with higher speed variability during distraction. Although the average effect of distraction on driving performance compared with baseline was not different between the groups, the drivers with PD showed a more heterogeneous response to distraction (p Conclusion: The quantitative effect of an auditory–verbal distracter task on driving performance was not significantly different between Parkinson disease (PD) and control groups. However, a significantly larger subset of drivers with PD had worsening of their driving safety errors during distraction. Measures of cognition, motor function, and sleepiness predicted effects of distraction on driving performance within the PD group.
Standard isolation of primary adipose cells from mouse epididymal fat pads induces inflammatory mediators and down-regulates adipocyte genes.

Isolation and subsequent in vitro culture of primary adipose cells are associated with down-regulation of GLUT4 mRNA and simultaneous induction of GLUT1 gene expression. Progressive loss of insulin-responsive GLUT4 contributes to the decrease in insulin-mediated glucose uptake in these cells when cultured in vitro. The mechanisms underlying these alterations are unknown. Here, we report that the standard procedure for isolating primary adipose cells from mouse adipose tissue triggers induction of many genes encoding inflammatory mediators including TNF-α, interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-6, multiple chemokines, cell adhesion molecules, acute-phase proteins, type I IL-1 receptor, and multiple transcription factors implicated in the cellular inflammatory response. Secretion of TNF-α protein was also significantly induced during the 2-h collagenase digestion of adipose tissue. Isolated primary adipose cells exhibit dramatic changes in expression of multiple mRNAs that are characteristic of TNF-α-treated 3T3-L1 adipocytes including down-regulation of many genes important for insulin action and triglyceride synthesis. Addition of TNF-α to primary adipose cells in culture did not change the kinetics or the extent of the repression of adipose cell-abundant genes. Moreover, TNF-α-neutralizing antibody failed to block the changes in gene transcription in isolated primary adipose cells. Also, the standard isolation procedure induced the expression of NF-κB family members and their target genes in primary adipose cells prepared from TNF-α–/– mice to the same extent as in cells isolated from wild-type mice and resulted in almost identical changes in global gene expression when these cells were cultured in vitro. Thus, these data suggest that the standard isolation procedure-triggered reprogramming of gene expression in primary adipose cells that results in decreased insulin sensitivity does not require TNF-α, at least in this in vitro model system, but may be dependent on other inflammatory cytokines produced by these cells.
Ranking industry performance in the US

Abstract In recent decades, rankings of states on virtually every basis have proliferated. Prominent among these rankings have been those that attempt to measure the economic/business environment of states. These rankings tend to be an indexing based on many types of sometimes unrelated data rendering the rankings of questionable meaning. This paper uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to provide rankings of state economic performance. By using DEA, we develop rankings that are systematic and have a meaningful interpretation.
Carbonic Anhydrase and Bone Remodeling: Sulfonamide Inhibition of Bone Resorption in Organ Culture

Five sulfonamide inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase inhibited parathyroid hormone-induced resorption of bone in organ culture. The relative activities of the sulfonamides as resorption inhibitors were such as to suggest the presence of a functional carbonic anhydrase system in bone linked to the mechanism of bone resorption.
A continuous plate-tectonic model using geophysical data to estimate plate-margin widths, with a seismicity-based example

SUMMARY A continuous kinematic model of present-day plate motions is developed which (1) provides more realistic models of plate shapes than employed in the original work of Bercovici & Wessel (1994), and (2) provides a means whereby geophysical data on intraplate deformation is used to estimate plate-margin widths for all plates. A given plate’s shape function (which is unity within the plate and zero outside the plate) can be represented by analytic functions as long as the distance from a point inside the plate to the plate’s boundary can be expressed as a single-valued function of azimuth (i.e. a single-valued polar function). To allow su⁄cient realism to the plate boundaries, without the excessive smoothing used by Bercovici & Wessel, the plates are divided along pseudo-boundaries; the boundaries of plate sections are then simple enough to be modelled as single-valued polar functions. Moreover, the pseudo-boundaries have little or no eiect on the ¢nal results. The plate shape function for each plate also includes a plate-margin function which can be constrained by geophysical data on intraplate deformation. We demonstrate how this margin function can be determined by using, as an example data set, the global seismicity distribution for shallow (depths less than 29 km) earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4. Robust estimation techniques are used to determine the width of seismicity distributions along plate boundaries; these widths are then turned into plate-margin functions, that is analytic functions of the azimuthal polar coordinate (the same azimuth of which the distance to the plate boundary is a single-valued function). The model is used to investigate the eiects of ‘realistic’ ¢nite-margin widths on the Earth’s present-day vorticity (i.e. strike-slip shear) and divergence ¢elds as well as the kinetic energies of the toroidal (strike-slip and spin) and poloidal (divergent and convergent) £ow ¢elds. The divergence and vorticity ¢elds are far more well de¢ned than for the standard discontinuous plate model and distinctly show the in£uence of diiuse plate boundaries such as the northeast boundary of the Eurasian plate. The toroidal and poloidal kinetic energies of this model diier only slightly from those of the standard plate model; the diierences, however, are systematic and indicate a greater proportion of spin kinetic energy in the continuous plate model.
Influence of aging and endurance training on lactate dehydrogenase in liver and skeletal muscle

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of aging and endurance training on lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and isozyme pattern in liver and skeletal muscle. Male Fischer 344 rats (n = 30) of three different age groups (young, 4 months; middle-aged, 12 months and old, 22 months) were trained on a treadmill at 75% running capacity for 1 h/day, five times per week for 10 weeks. Age-matched sedentary controls (n = 36) were used for comparison. Total LDH enzyme activity was measured spectrophotometrically; LDH isozymes were separated by native 5.5% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and quantified densitometrically. With increasing age, hepatic LDH activity decreased 28%. Old sedentary animals displayed significantly less (22%) hepatic LDH 5 than young and middle-aged animals, and significantly more (40%) hepatic LDH 4 than middle-aged animals. Training resulted in a significant decrease (38%) in total hepatic LDH activity in young rats only. Young animals displayed a significant increase in hepatic LDH 3 (28%), whereas middle-aged animals exhibited a significant decrease in hepatic LDH 3 (40%) with training. No change in total hepatic LDH activity was exhibited in middle-aged or old rats with training. Neither aging or training had a significant effect on LDH activity or isozyme pattern in extensor digitorum longus (EDL). Similarly, LDH activity was maintained in soleus with age, and isozyme pattern was only negligibly affected. We conclude that with age there is a decline in hepatic LDH activity and a decrease in the LDH 5 isozyme. Endurance training induced significant decreases in hepatic LDH activity of young animals. However, these decreases were not a result of shifts in isozymal pattern. Further, LDH activity was maintained in EDL and soleus muscle with age. Finally, endurance training did not have a significant effect on LDH activity or isozymal pattern of EDL or soleus.
Labor Force Status Life Tables for the United States, 1972

As an ordinary life table follows a closed group from birth to the death of its last member, a labor force status life table follows a closed group through life and through the statuses “in the labor force” and “not in the labor force.” Using data from the January 1972 and January 1973 Current Population Surveys, two types of labor force status life tables were calculated for the United States, 1972. One type was a conventional working life table (for males) which started with an ordinary life table and partitioned the life table population into labor force statuses using age-specific proportions in the labor force. The other type was an increment-decrement table, prepared for both males and females, which was calculated so as to be consistent with the rates of labor force accession and separation implied by the data.
Effect of light, prey density, and prey type on the feeding rates of Hemimysis anomala

Hemimysis anomala is a near-shore mysid native to the Ponto-Caspian region that was discovered to have invaded Great Lakes ecosystems in 2006. We investigated feeding rates and prey preferences of adult and juvenile Hemimysis in laboratory experiments to gain insight on the potential for Hemimysis to disrupt food webs. For both age groups (AGs), we measured feeding rates as a function of prey abundance (Bosmina longirostris as prey), prey type (B. longirostris, Daphnia pulex, and Mesocyclops sp.), and light levels (no light and dim light). Mean feeding rates on Bosmina increased with prey density and reached 23 ind. (2 h)−1 for adults and 17 ind. (2 h)−1 for juveniles. Dim light had little effect on prey selection or feeding rate compared to complete darkness. When feeding rates on alternate prey were compared, both AGs fed at higher rates on Bosmina than Daphnia, but only juveniles fed at significantly higher rates on Bosmina relative to Mesocyclops. No significant differences were observed between feeding rates on Mesocyclops and on Daphnia. Hemimysis feeding rates were on the order of 30–60% of their body weight per day, similar to predatory cladocerans that have been implicated in zooplankton declines in Lakes Huron and Ontario.
The uncatalyzed hydrosilation reaction

The reactions of ethylene with silane, chlorosilane, fluorosilane, and dichlorosilane, and of propylene with silane are considered usingab initio electronic structure calculations. At both the MP2 and MP4 levels of theory with both DZP and TZP quality basis sets, the energy barriers for all reactions are found to be in excess of 50 kcal/mol.
Cell Cycle Kinetics of Chinese Hamster (Cho) Cells Treated With the Iron-Chelating Agent Picolinic Acid

Spontaneously transformed (tumorigenic) Chinese hamster cells (line CHO) do not exhibit picolinic acid-sensitive G1 and G2 cell cycle arrest points observed in normal and virus-transformed cells. Rather, picolinic acid arrests CHO cells in S phase only and produces culture growth behaviour similar to that produced by hydroxyurea. Prolonged treatment with picolinic acid permits a slow but significant traverse of cells through S phase. Thus, like hydroxyurea, picolinic acid is not a useful agent for synchronizing exponential CHO cells, but it can be used to resynchronize cultures in early S phase if a previous synchronization procedure (such as isoleucine deprivation) is used. the iron chelating properties of picolinic acid, and the similarities of its effects on cultured cells to those of hydroxyurea and the iron-chelating drug desferrioxamine, suggest that picolinic acid inhibits DNA synthesis by interfering with the iron-dependent production of a stable free organic radical which is essential for the ribonucleotide reductase formation of deoxyribonucleotides.
Synthesis and Characterization of Enzymatically-Cross-Linked Poly(ethylene glycol) Hydrogels

We demonstrate formation of a hydrogel network by cross-linking functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and a lysine-containing polypeptide through the action of a natural tissue enzyme, transglutaminase. The enzyme reaction rate using a PEG-modified peptide substrate is the same as the reaction rate for free substrate. Both the ratio and total concentration of the two macromers determine whether gelation will occur and the nature of the gel which forms. Under suitable conditions, clear gels form and swell to give a final composition which is 90% water. Diffusion coefficients of small proteins and albumin in the gel are comparable to those in free solution. Gelation proceeds under mild conditions and thus these gels hold potential for forming highly hydrated networks around living cells.
Ion Parametric Resonance: Resolving the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio Paradox

Lednev's () “possible mechanisms for the influence of weak magnetic fields on biological system” involved two parallel magnetic fields, one constant and one oscillatory in the ELF (extremely low-frequency) range. The suggested ion resonances (IPR) were termed “impossible” by Adair () even after they were demonstrated in a rat-nerve (PC-12) cell culture by Blackman et al. (). The “signal-to-noise-ratio” paradox (introduced by the author) is resolved by taking account of the coherent absorption of the ELF energy and showing how the energy of several trillion ELF photons can free a single ion from its trap on the surface of a cell of the culture.
Olivine crystallographic control and anisotropic melt distribution in ultramafic partial melts

In the upper mantle, physical properties (permeability, electrical conductivity, and seismic velocity) are highly dependent on the melt geometry. Both flat and curved melt interfaces exist in olivine-basalt partial melts. To further understand anisotropic wetting behavior of partial melting within the mantle, crystal orientation studies have been conducted to determine the Miller indices of flat interfaces, wetted by the melt in olivine-basalt partial melt samples. The samples were equilibrated at pressures of 1-2 GPa, and temperatures of 1350–1400°C for 142–549 hours. Crystal orientation studies show that lower Miller indices of crystals are associated with wetted-flat melt interfaces and melt films. Specifically, (010), (110), and (021) olivine faces in these studies were dominantly wetted, indicating that they may be potentially large contributors to permeability and seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle where partial melts occur with high degrees of preferred crystallographic alignment.
A structural analysis of value orientations, price perception and ongoing search behaviour: a cross-cultural study of American and Korean consumers

The direct impact of value orientations on price perceptions has not received extensive investigation in previous research. We examined the impact of materialism, individualism and collectivism on American and Korean consumers’ perceptions of the positive and negative roles of price. We also examined the influence of price perceptions on consumers’ ongoing search behaviour. Using a structural equation modelling technique, results indicated that these value orientations positively and negatively influenced perceptions of the positive and negative roles of price, which in turn influenced ongoing search behaviour. Implications and future research directions are delineated.
pH Values Below Zero

In the Editor's Choice selection titled “The natural lowdown on pH” (R. Brooks Hanson, 11 Feb., p. 933), the comment is made that “[s]olutions with negative pH are possible theoretically but beyond the range of most sensors and buffers.” Ah, yes—but lest we forget, there was a time when
Image formation in x-ray lithography: Process optimization

Abstract The optimization of the x-ray proximity lithographic process is discussed based on a complete simulation program we developed. The results show that x-ray masks are easier to make than speculated and the exposure window is very large for an optimized system.
On the linear equivalents of nonlinear systems

This paper studies feedback equivalence of nonlinear systems. An equivalence relation is established for the systems x = f(x, u). A complete characterization of the class of nonlinear systems which are equivalent to controllable linear systems is obtained.
Plant secondary chemistry mediates the performance of a nutritional symbiont associated with a tree-killing herbivore

Many herbivores consume microbial food sources in addition to plant tissues for nutrition. Despite the ubiquity of herbivore-microbe feeding associations, few studies examine how host plant phenotypes affect microbial symbionts of herbivores. We tested the hypothesis that chemical polymorphism in a plant population mediates the performance of nutritional microbial symbionts. We surveyed the composition of ponderosa pine resin in northern Arizona, USA, for variation in six monoterpenes, and we approximated four chemical phenotypes. We reared populations of an herbivorous tree-killing beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis) in ponderosa pine host material, controlling for three monoterpene compositions representing an a-pinene to D-3-carene gradient. Beetles were reared in host material where the dominant monoterpene was a-pinene, D-3-carene, or a phenotype that was intermediate between the two. We isolated nutritional fungal symbionts (Entomocorticium sp. B) from beetle populations reared in each phenotype and performed reciprocal growth experiments in media amended to represent four ''average'' monoterpene compositions. This allowed us to test the effects of natal host phenotype, chemical polymorphism, and the interaction between natal host phenotype and chemical polymorphism on a nutritional symbiont. Three important findings emerged: (1) fungal isolates grew 25-32% faster when acquired from beetles reared in the intermediate phenotype; (2) the mean growth rate of nutritional fungi varied up to 44% depending on which monoterpene composition media was amended with; and (3) fungal isolates uniformly performed best in the intermediate phenotype regardless of the chemical composition of their natal host. The performance of nutritional fungi related to both the chemical ''history'' of their associated herbivore and the chemical phenotypes they are exposed to. However, all fungal isolates appeared adapted to a common chemical phenotype. These experiments argue in favor of the hypothesis that chemical polymorphism in plant populations mediates growth of nutritional symbionts of herbivores. Intraspecific chemical polymorphism in plants contributes indirectly to the regulation of herbivore populations, and our experiments demonstrate that the ecological effects of plant secondary chemistry extend beyond the trophic scale of the herbivore-plant interaction.
Determining depositional events within shell deposits using computer vision and photogrammetry

Abstract Shell deposits are notoriously difficult to excavate, analyze, and interpret as their makeup often precludes the application of traditional stratigraphic models. Using novel methods in which photographs of shell deposits are digitized and analyzed through image-pattern recognition, computer vision, and photogrammetry, a new avenue of research is suggested in which the processes and events responsible for shell deposits are elucidated. These methods are applied to two shell deposits from the southeastern United States and show that, despite overall morphological similarity in their final form, each was created in very different manners.
Evemt Localization in a Continuous Scintillation Detector Using Digital Processing

We have designed, constructed and begun to evaluate a two-dimensional position-sensitive detector which will be used in a multi-slice PET scanner. We have measured 5.2 mm transverse and 6.0 mm axial spatial resolution, with an array of thirty 5-cm PMTs (10-columns by 3 rows). The pulses are shortened and integrated for 240 nsec, which results in a countrate capability of up to 1 Mcps without significant loss of spatial resolution. Although the one-dimensional detector upon which this one is based used analog processing to determine the position of an event, we now use digital processing because of the potential advantages it offers. We can implement variable integration which allows one to choose the optimal setting for high countrate capability and best spatial resolution. Resolution did not improve with longer integration times to the degree expected; however, at 240-nsec integration time resolution was only 0.6 mm worse than the best resolution achieved with longer integration time. This shorter integration time considerably extends our countrate capability and may obviate the need for variable integration for all but the highest countrates. The ability to perform position arithmetics more complicated than a simple centroid calculation might also help localizing the event in two dimensions. Digital processing allows us to use different biases for the transverse and axial centroid calculations, and to vary the bias as a function of position, which helps to extend the useful area.
Spalt transcription factors are required for R3/R4 specification and establishment of planar cell polarity in the Drosophila eye

The establishment of planar cell polarity in the Drosophila eye requires correct specification of the R3/R4 pair of photoreceptor cells. In response to a polarizing factor, Frizzled signaling specifies R3 and induces Delta, which activates Notch in the neighboring cell, specifying it as R4. Here, we show that the spalt zinc-finger transcription factors (spalt major and spalt-related) are part of the molecular mechanisms regulating R3/R4 specification and planar cell polarity establishment. In mosaic analysis, we find that the spalt genes are specifically required in R3 for the establishment of correct ommatidial polarity. In addition, we show that spalt genes are required for proper localization of Flamingo in the equatorial side of R3 and R4, and for the upregulation of Delta in R3. These requirements are very similar to those of frizzled during R3/R4 specification. We show that spalt genes are required cell-autonomously for the expression of seven-up in R3 and R4, and that seven-up is downstream of spalt genes in the genetic hierarchy of R3/R4 specification. Thus, spalt and seven-up are necessary for the correct interpretation of the Frizzled-mediated polarity signal in R3. Finally, we show that, posterior to row seven, seven-up represses spalt in R3/R4 in order to maintain the R3/R4 identity and to inhibit the transformation of these cells to the R7 cell fate.
Longevity of Man: Relative Weight and Fatness in Middle Age

By February, 1948, examinations in the Twin Cities Prospective Study were completed on 284 executive men, then aged 45-55 and “healthy”. In 35 years 183 died, 110 were alive, one was lost. Entry body fatness, indicated by body mass index, skinfold thickness at three sites, relative girth, and body density, did not significantly discriminate the 35-year dead from survivors. Age at death was not related to any fatness measure. The multiple logistic equation in five solutions using age, blood pressure and smoking plus each fatness item separately, found no discrimination of dead from survivors by any fatness measure. In other long time prospective studies, two suggested excess mortality at far extremes of over- and underweight, several found survivors significantly fatter than the dead, others found no relation between fatness and longevity. Framing-ham reported fatness a risk factor for death when allowance is made for smoking but that singular claim has been criticized.
Nociceptin/orphanin FQ dilates pial arteries by KATP and Kca channel activation

Abstract Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOC/oFQ) is a recently discovered endogenous ligand for the opioid like receptor, ORL-1. In the piglet, cGMP activates the ATP sensitive (KATP) while cAMP activates both the KATP and the calcium sensitive (Kca) K+ channel to elicit vasodilation. The present study was designed to characterize the role of cGMP, cAMP, KATP, and Kca channel activation in NOC/oFQ-induced pial artery dilation in newborn pigs equipped with a closed cranial window. NOC/oFQ (10−8, 10−6 M) induced pial arteriole dilation was decreased by the protein kinase A inhibitor Rp 8-Br cAMPs (16±1 and 30±1 vs. 5±1 and 10±1%). NOC/oFQ dilation was associated with elevated CSF cAMP (1037±58 vs. 1919±209 fmol/ml for control and 10−6 M NOC/oFQ). Glibenclamide and iberiotoxin, KATP and Kca channel antagonists, attenuated NOC/oFQ induced dilation (15±1 and 28±1 vs. 10±1 and 19±1% before and after iberiotoxin). In contrast, the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, l -NNA, and the protein kinase G inhibitor, Rp 8-Br cGMPs had no effect on NOC/oFQ dilation while such dilation was not associated with a change in CSF cGMP. The putative ORL-1 receptor antagonist [F/G] NOC/oFQ (1–13)–NH2 blocked NOC/oFQ dilation while responses were unchanged after naloxone (17±1 and 30±2 vs. 3±1 and 5±1%, before and after [F/G] NOC/oFQ (1–13)–NH2). Dilation to other opioids (e.g., methionine enkephalin) was unchanged by [F/G] NOC/oFQ (1–13)–NH2. These data show that NOC/oFQ elicits pial artery dilation, at least in part, via cAMP, KATP, and Kca channel dependent mechanisms. These data suggest that such a mechanism involves the sequential release of cAMP and subsequent KATP and Kca channel activation.
A Brand New Day: Strengthening Our Identity

Interventional radiology showcases the very best of today’s medicine—bringing together clinical insight, procedural expertise, and advanced image-guided technology to deliver high-quality patient care. Our branding efforts reinforce how SIR continues to support our members as they deliver outstanding clinical care and how we will continue to do so in the years to come. The society’s new tagline, “The Vision to Heal,” reflects the innovative, patient-driven care that boardcertified interventional radiologists have delivered by integrating imaging guidance with minimally invasive techniques to provide treatment with less risk, less pain, and shorter recovery time than traditional surgery. The techniques we have pioneered over the past 50 years
Knowledge Management in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

KM principles often apply to large companies (more than 200 employees), where issues of general management and skill sets, as well as resources, often require comprehensive and multi-department solutions. However, many small businesses experience the same issues of knowledge sharing and management, but may find boundaries in the development and implementation of programs. How can small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) benefit from KM principles? What areas in the traditional literature immediately apply, and what boundaries arise? Often encompassing multiple roles, managerial practices, and efforts in microcosm, how can these smaller companies provide the structure and impact needed to make KM principles work for them? This work analyses the problems that small businesses face in the collection, dissemination, and storage of company knowledge, including issues of technology, communities of practice, and "stickiness" for best-practice goals. The definitions of small business, as outlined by the European Commission and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), will serve as a useful tool for scope and discussion. This research will explore three key classifications of traits — structural or systemic, communication, and qualitative — through a review of the areas in which the challenges of small businesses, because of their size, imply somewhat different approaches to KM.
Introducing competition to the global currency markets

Abstract The global capital markets are inefficient and imperfect, ie unstable, subject to overshoot, and with excessive transaction costs, unaccounted externalities, and monopolistic characteristics. A social innovation is proposed: a new foreign exchange facility to introduce competition, lower transaction and external costs, make the capital markets fair and more accessible, and produce revenues for further harmonizing currency regulations, reducing criminal behaviour, and other legitimate purposes. National governments, finance ministers, and central banks with ad hoc policies to defend their currencies and domestic policy options are offered new tools to regain some of the sovereignty they lost in the 1980s when international capital markets were deregulated. National policy makers can no longer tell their voters that the loss of domestic safety nets and the exposure of their most vulnerable citizens is an inevitable price of maintaining ‘global competitiveness’.
Improved Synthesis of 1-(Azidomethyl)-3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)benzene: Development of Batch and Microflow Azide Processes

A batch process was developed to produce 1-(azidomethyl)-3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)benzene, 1, in 94% yield by an efficient nucleophilic substitution reaction between 3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)benzyl chloride, 4, and sodium azide. Hydrazoic acid (HN3), a toxic volatile compound with explosive properties, can be formed in the reactor headspace during conventional batch processing that requires significant engineering controls. In order to improve the overall safety profile, the process to produce azide 1 was optimized for operation in a microcapillary tube reactor. In addition, azide 1 was prepared in a simple biphasic solvent system using phase-transfer catalysis which results in an overall low e-factor. The product was purified via wiped film evaporation (WFE) technology.
Radiologic errors, past, present and future

During the 10-year period beginning in 1949 with publication of five articles in two radiology journals and UKs The Lancet, a California radiologist named L.H. Garland almost single-handedly shocked the entire medical and especially the radiologic community. He focused their attention on the fact now known and accepted by all, but at that time not previously recognized and acknowledged only with great reluctance, that a substantial degree of observer error was prevalent in radiologic interpretation. In the more than half-century that followed, Garland's pioneering work has been affirmed and reaffirmed by numerous researchers. Retrospective studies disclosed then and still disclose today that diagnostic errors in radiologic interpretations of plain radiographic (as well as CT, MR, ultrasound, and radionuclide) images hover in the 30% range, not too dissimilar to the error rates in clinical medicine. Seventy percent of these errors are perceptual in nature, i.e., the radiologist does not "see" the abnormality on the imaging exam, perhaps due to poor conspicuity, satisfaction of search, or simply the "inexplicable psycho-visual phenomena of human perception." The remainder are cognitive errors: the radiologist sees an abnormality but fails to render a correct diagnoses by attaching the wrong significance to what is seen, perhaps due to inadequate knowledge, or an alliterative or judgmental error. Computer-assisted detection (CAD), a technology that for the past two decades has been utilized primarily in mammographic interpretation, increases sensitivity but at the same time decreases specificity; whether it reduces errors is debatable. Efforts to reduce diagnostic radiological errors continue, but the degree to which they will be successful remains to be determined.
An analysis of factors affecting traditional family expectations and perceptions of ideal fertility

This study examines (1) the conditions giving rise to variation in sex-role orientation and the perceived cost of having children, and (2) the role these variables play as mechanisms linking antecedent variables to perceptions of ideal fertility. Data are drawn from a metropolitan area sampling of 401 adults. Antecedent variables of sex, employment status, age, education, exposure to metropolitan living, and religious traditionalism — though correlated with ideal fertility — have no direct effects on that variable. Rather, the effects of these variables on fertility are mediated through sex-role orientation and the perceived cost of having children.
An ultrastructural analysis of fertilization in the surf clam, Spisula solidissima. II. Development of the male pronucleus and the association of the maternally and paternally derived chromosomes.

The events of fertilization involving the incorporation of the spermatozoa, the development of the male pronucleus, and the association of the maternally and paternally derived pronuclei have been investigated in the egg of Spisula solidissima. At the site of gamete plasma membrane fusion, a small fertilization cone is produced through which the contents of the spermatozoon passes. Entrance of the spermatozoon is accompanied by the vesiculation of sperm nuclear envelope. Subsequently the sperm chromatin is dispersed. A male pronuclear envelope and sperm aster are not formed until the maternal chromatin completes meiosis. Following these events, migration occurs and the male and female pronuclei come into proximity with one another. Later the pronuclear envelopes vesiculate and, concomitantly, the chromosomes condense into large reticular aggregates. The two groups of chromosomes become associated on what will become the metaphase plate of the first cleavage spindle. Thus, as in the rabbit and the mussel, no zygote nucleus is produced.
Effect of parasitism by the pyramidellid gastropod Boonea impressa on the net productivity of oysters (Crassostrea virginica).

Abstract The effect of an ectoparasitic gastropod, Boonea (= Odostomia) impressa , on the energy bidget of its host, the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica , was examined. A model was developed from laboratory and field data, as well as from equations developed by Powell and Stanton (1985) . The model predicted that net productivity by large (7 cm length) oysters parasitized by 10 and 30 large (6 mm length) snails would be reduced by 21% and 63%, respectively. In contrast, net productivity in small (3 cm length) oysters would be reduced 25% by only 3 snails. Small oysters would have a negative energy balance when parasitized by 10 snails. The predicted reduction in growth was compared with measured growth in small and large oysters parasitized at abundances typical of Texas oyster reefs. Control oysters (no parasites) gained more shell weight than parasitized oysters. In four-week experiments conducted during the spring and fall, small control oysters gained 86% and 75% more weight than highly parasitized oysters. Large control oysters had 29% and 88% more shell deposition. Snail parasitism produced 75% mortality in small, highly parasitized oysters in the summer. In typical field populations in Texas bays, a minimal estimate of 4–12% of the energy otherwise available to the oyster for growth and reproduction is consumed by Boonea impressa .
Influence of electron radiation and temperature on the cyclic, matrix dominated response of graphite-epoxy

The effects of electron radiation and elevated temperature on the matrix-dominated cyclic response of standard T300/934 and a chemically modified T300/934 graphite-epoxy are characterized. Both materials were subjected to 1.0 x 10 to the 10th rads of 1.0 MeV electron irradiation, under vacuum, to simulate 30 years in geosynchronous orbit. Cyclic tests were performed at room temperature and elevated temperature (121 C) on 4-ply unidirectional laminates to characterize the effects associated with irradiation and elevated temperature. Both materials exhibited energy dissipation in their response at elevated temperature. The irradiated modified material also exhibited energy dissipation at room temperature. The combination of elevated temperature and irradiation resulted in the most severe effects in the form of lower proportional limits, and greater energy dissipation. Dynamic-mechanical analysis demonstrated that the glass transition temperature, T(g), of the standard material was lowered 39 C by irradiation, wereas the T(g) of the modified material was lowered 28 C by irradiation. Thermomechanical analysis showed the occurrence of volatile products generated upon heating of the irradiated materials.
A rapid and highly sensitive method of identifying lymphocyte hydbridomas by electrophoresis of glucose-phosphate isomerase isozymes

Abstract Hybridomas resulting from the fusion of cells expressing opposite glucose-phosphate isomerase isozymes can be quickly tested for the presence of both parental phenotypes. This polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique offers several advantages over the more conventional tarch gel electrophoresis system. The method described can be completely carried out in less than a day and provides greater isozyme resolution without employing expensive electrophoretic equipment. The assay is extremely sensitive: less than 1300 cells of one cell line were sufficient for analysis, and fewer than 3250 hybridoma cells were sufficient to visualize the parental and intermediate isozymes. Moreover, less than 80 μunits of isozyme isomerase activity could be detected by the assay, and about 180 total μunits are necessary to observe the three enzyme phenotypes.