cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
VAGINAL ECTOPIC URETER WITH GARTNER'S DUCT CYST

In ureteral duplication anomalies a distal lower ectopic ureter usually will not require removal after heminephrectomy. We recently cared for a woman presenting with a purulent vaginal discharge. Retained secretions in an ectopic ureter draining into a Gartner’s duct cyst necessitated distal ureterectomy. The Gartner’s duct cyst was left in place in the vagina. CASE REPORT A 24-year-old woman presented with recurrent urinary tract infections and persistent purulent vaginal discharge. Evaluation of incontinence at age 5 years had revealed a duplicated collecting system on the right side, and right upper pole heminephrectomy was performed. The location of the upper pole ureteral orifice was never identified. At age 19 years further evaluation for the same symptoms revealed a ureteral orifice adjacent to the urethral meatus at the introitus. Left upper pole heminephrectomy was performed with resolution of incontinence. Excretory urography was performed for the recurrent symptoms and confirmed the bilateral heminephrectomies. Cystoscopy revealed normally placed ureteral orifices in the bladder. The left ectopic ureteral orifice could not be seen at the introitus or in the urethra. On vaginal examination a purulent discharge was seen coming from the area of a right Gartner’s duct cyst (fig. 1). Abdominal computerized tomography revealed a tubular, fluid filled structure running adjacent to the right ureter (fig. 2). Distal ureterectomy through a suprapubic approach was performed without removal of the vaginal component. The patient remains well 6 months following distal ureterectomy. The Gartner’s duct cyst remains palpable but no further treatment has been necessary. duplicated collecting system on the left side with an ectopic FIG, 1, speculum examination reveals Gartner,s duct cyst (large lateral to cervix DISCUSSION Embryologically, the ureteral bud arises from the mesonephric duct, separates from its origin and inserts into the urogenital sinus.’ The distal remnant of the mesonephric duct becomes the Gartner’s duct, which runs from the hymen to the uterine adnexae along the lateral vaginal wall. Failure of the ureteral bud to separate from the mesonephric duct leads to ureteral termination in the Gartner’s duct or Gartner’s duct cyst. Vaginoscopy or speculum examination may reveal the Gartner’s duct cyst lateral to the cervuf as Seen in this patient. While the urological literature descnbes ectopic ureteral entry into a Gartner’s duct cyst, documented case reports are rare due to the infrequency with which the distal ureter needs to be removed.z.3 Whether the Gartner’s duct cyst itself needs to be removed and with what morbidity are not well delineated in the urological literature. we elected not to remove the cyst to avoid entering the vawa but we would perform marsupialization of the cyst If the Patient were to become symptomatic.
A drug-eluting contact lens.

Purpose To formulate and characterize a drug-eluting contact lens designed to provide extended, controlled release of a drug.
Power management and design optimization of fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicles

Power management strategy is as significant as component sizing in achieving optimal fuel economy of a fuel cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV). We have formulated a combined power management/design optimization problem for the performance optimization of FCHVs. This includes subsystem-scaling models to predict the characteristics of components of different sizes. In addition, we designed a parameterizable and near-optimal controller for power management optimization. This controller, which is inspired by our stochastic dynamic programming results, can be included as design variables in system optimization problems. Simulation results demonstrate that combined optimization can efficiently provide excellent fuel economy.
Magnetic behavior of Pr1 − xMxCo5 compounds (M = Ti, Zr and Hf)

Abstract Magnetic characteristics of Ti-, Zr- and Hf-substituted PrCo 5 alloys have been studied over the temperature range from 77 to 300 K and for applied fields up to 20 kOe. It is established that Ti, Zr and Hf substitute for Pr. Single-phase materials are formed for all values of x up to 0.2 in the system Pr 1− x Zr x Co 5 but for x only up to 0.1 for Pr 1− x Ti x Co 5 and Pr 1− x Hf x Co 5 alloys. Larger amounts of Zr can be substituted if the material is made hyperstoichiometric in Co, e.g., Pr 0.7 Zr 0.3 Co 5.5 . All the alloys show a decrease in magnetic moment and an increase in Curie temperature as x increases. Anisotropy fields decrease as x increases at 295 K. Anomalous behavior is observed at 77 K, suggested that these ternary alloys may have a cone structure at this temperature.
Design of Conservative Simulated Particles for Validation of a Multiphase Aseptic Process

Simulated food particles with conservative (fast moving and slow heating) properties are required for validation of multiphase aseptic processing for production of shelf-stable low-acid foods. The validation process requires simulated particles to contain residence time tags, thermosensitive implants, and/or bioloads for temperature detection, time-temperature integration, and bactericidal efficacy confirmation. Conservative particle design (CPD) software was used to determine the wall thickness required for conservative behavior of such particles made with polypropylene (PP) and polymethylpentene (PMP) of wall thickness 1 mm (0.0393 inches) and 2 mm (0.0787 inches) containing tube inserts. Thermocouples were inserted in the simulated and real food particles and the particles were heated up to 127 degrees C under pressurized (24 psi) conditions. Based on the heating rates of the real and simulated particles, an appropriate simulated particle was identified for each type of real food particle. This would allow a food processor to use these designed particles with an appropriate tube insert (diameter) to validate an aseptic process for a multiphase food containing any or all the above tested food materials.
Comparison of acute rapamycin nephrotoxicity with cyclosporine and FK506

Comparison of acute rapamycin nephrotoxicity with cyclosporine and FK506. Acute cyclosporine (CsA) nephrotoxicity is characterized by a reduction of glomerular filtration rate (GFR), hypomagnesemia and tubular injury. The mechanisms of CsA's immunosuppressive action and presumably its nephrotoxicity are mediated through inhibition of the renal phosphatase, calcineurin. FK506 (FK), which has a different chemical structure and binding immunophilin, also inhibits calcineurin. We compared the renal effects of these drugs to those of rapamycin (RAPA), which although similar in structure and intracellular binding to FK, does not work by changing calcineurin activity. Rats were given CsA (15 mg/kg/s.c), FK (6 mg/kg/p.o.), RAPA (3 mg/kg/p.o.) or vehicle (V) for two weeks on a low salt diet. CsA and FK strikingly decreased urinary excretion of nitric oxide, renal blood flow and GFR, whereas RAPA did not. In contrast, all these three drugs caused significant hypomagnesemia associated with inappropriately high fractional excretion of magnesium, suggesting renal magnesium wasting. In addition, with all three drugs there were lesions in the rat kidneys consisting of tubular collapse, vacuolization and nephrocalcinosis. We thus showed that only the calcineurin inhibitors produced glomerular dysfunction in an acute experimental model of nephrotoxicity. The mechanism of hypomagnesemia and tubular injury induced by all three immunosuppressive drugs is unclear but may be independent of calcineurin. The mechanism of renal vasoconstriction on the other hand may be related to inhibition of calcineurin.
EPA-0957 - Professionalism in social networking: the do's and don'ts for psychiatrists

The world of Web 2.0 involved the shift of media from passive viewing to active bi-directional interface. The new generation of technology makes access to others much easier through social networking, blogging, and the abundance of information available via search engines. A simple Google search of a physician's name will grant a patient access to their health grades, publications, office website, Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin accounts and on some occasions cell phone, email, and home address. With more and more young physicians using the web for both personal and professional reasons, caution should be taken in the amount of information available and be wary of possible boundary and privacy violations. Several physicians have made national headlines over information posted on social networking sites, such as the OB/GYN who reprimanded her patient over Facebook for being late to appointments. Young physicians should be aware of potential pitfalls of patients have easy accessibility to physicians such as a suicide threat sent via Facebook message, text, or email. The purpose of this workshop will be to provide education to psychiatrists about the specific guidelines as they relate to interfacing with Web 2.0 including using social networking sites, blogs, email and text in both personal or professional interactions. Potential boundary and HIPAA violations will be presented using real life examples. Discussion will be fostered among attendees on ways to handle situations such as a friend request from a patient, an inappropriate post from a colleague, a suicide threat over email, and how to monitor your Internet presence.
Antithrombotic therapy in left ventricular thrombosis and systemic embolism

Left ventricular (LV) thrombi are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in our society. Twenty-five percent of cardiogenic emboli are associated with acute and chronic myocardial infarction. With the development of noninvasive imaging techniques LV thrombi have been increasingly recognized as an important clinical entity; the imaging method of choice is two-dimensional echocardiography. LV mural thrombi occur in one third of Q wave anterior myocardial infarctions; their occurrence in patients with non-Q wave infarction and inferior Q wave myocardial infarction is less than 5%. More than half of all LV thrombi are formed within 48 hours of acute myocardial infarction, and nearly all thrombi have been formed within a week of infarction. The development of an LV thrombus is associated with some risk of systemic embolization. To prevent LV thrombosis and systemic embolism, full-dose heparin followed by warfarin therapy for at least 3 months is indicated for patients with large anterior infarctions and those with heart failure. The use of thrombolytic therapy does not reduce the risk of LV thrombus formation; few data exist on whether early coronary angioplasty reduces the risk of LV thrombus formation and the risk of embolization. The proper treatment for patients with chronic LV thrombi remains unknown.
Facial Motor Nucleus

This report contains a summary of expression patterns for genes that are enriched in the facial motor nucleus (VII) of the medulla. All data is derived from the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA) in situ hybridization mouse project. The structure's location and morphological characteristics in the mouse brain are described using the Nissl data found in the Allen Reference Atlas. Using an established algorithm, the expression values of the facial motor nucleus were compared to the values of its larger parent structure, in this case the medulla, for the purpose of extracting regionally selective gene expression data. The highest ranking genes were manually curated and verified. 50 genes were then selected and compiled for expression analysis. The experimental data for each gene may be accessed via the links provided; additional data in the sagittal plane may also be accessed using the ABA. Correlations between gene expression in the facial motor nucleus and the rest of the brain, across all genes in the coronal dataset (~4300 genes), were derived computationally. A gene ontology table (derived from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 2007) is also included, highlighting possible functions of the 50 genes selected for this report.
Modular group, operator ordering, and time in (2+1)-dimensional gravity.

A choice of time slicing in classical general relativity permits the construction of time-dependent wave functions in the "frozen time" Chern-Simons formulation (2 + 1)-dimensional quantum gravity. Because of operator-ordering ambiguities, however, these wave functions are not unique. It is shown that when space has the topology of a torus, suitable operator orderings give rise to wave functions that transform under the modular group as automorphic functions of arbitrary weights, with dynamics determined by the corresponding Maass Laplacians on moduli space.
Replication of the origin region of simian virus 40 DNA in permeabilized monkey cells.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication was studied in monolayers of infected monkey CV-1 cells, permeabilized with lysolecithin, by incubation with [α-32P]dTTP, the other dNTPs and rNTPs and an ATP-regenerating system. Analysis of the labeled SV40 DNA by sedimentation in alkaline sucrose gradients showed that about 30% of the material synthesized by the permeable cells in the course of 60 min consisted of covalently closed circular SV40 DNA (form I), with the remainder sedimenting as relaxed circles (form II) and replicative intermediates between 18 S and 4 S. The synthesis of SV40 DNA in the permeabilized cell system required the presence of all four dNTPs and was completely inhibited by aphidicolin, consistent, with the involvement of DNA polymerase α. A detailed analysis of the distribution of radioactivity in the DNA synthesized involved cleavage with BstNI restriction endonuclease, followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and radioautography. The extent of labeling of all restriction fragments was nearly proportional to their length, suggesting that the entire SV40 chromosome was being replicated. This was confirmed by the careful comparison of the rate of labeling of a DNA fragment which includes the replication origin, and a fragment which includes the replication terminus. Their labeling was proportional to their size, regardless of the time for which the labeling was carried out. This demonstrated that the replication of the entire SV40 chromosome occurred in a steady state and that the start and termination of replication continuously occurred throughout the labeling period. The availability of an in vitro system in which replication of SV40 DNA undergoes multiple replication cycles should be of considerable value in the analysis of the mechanism of replication of this viral genome.
Fire history and composition of the subalpine forest of western Colorado during the Holocene

Pollen and plant macrofossils from the Keystone forest tree 8000-6400 and 4400-2600 years ago, with Picea Ironbog are used to document changes in species engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa becoming reestablished composition and the dynamics of the subalpine forest in within a couple hundred years. A subalpine meadow or western Colorado over the past 8000 years. Modern pollen grassland covered the fen for about 2000 years between spectra (particularly pollen influx), plant macrofossils, 6400 and 4400 years ago. Over the past 2600 years a stable, observations on modern species composition, and quantified non-successional Pinus contorta (Douglas) spp latifolia densities and mean basal areas of forest trees are used to (Engelmann) Critchfield forest grewl around the fen. interpret the paleoecology of the forest. From 8000 to 2600 This forest stand had a relatively sparse understory. The years ago the fen was surrounded by a subalpine forest. persistence of Pinus contorta at this elevation (2920 m) However, unlike the modern subalpine forest where Abies probably reflects a shift to drier climatic conditions, perhaps lasiocarpa (Hooker) Nuttall is slighlty more abundant than coupled with a change in fire regime to relatively frequent Picea engelmannii (Parry) Engelmann, these Holocene (decadal) surface fires. Following fire Pinus contorta became forests had a greater dominance of P engelmannii, perhaps reestablished at least within 200 years, but the subalpine reflecting a summer wet climate like that of the modern Picea engelmannii-Abies lasiocarpa forest never regenerated
The Wave Group on Asymptotically Hyperbolic Manifolds

Abstract We show that the wave group on asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds belongs to an appropriate class of Fourier integral operators. Then we use now standard techniques to analyze its (regularized) trace. We prove that, as in the case of compact manifolds without boundary, the singularities of the regularized wave trace are contained in the set of periods of closed geodesics. We also obtain an asymptotic expansion for the trace at zero.
Prevalence and Correlates of Blood Pressure Elevation in Children with Guillain-Barre Syndrome

While there have been case reports describing blood pressure elevation in adults and children with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), no previous systematic study has explored the prevalence of hypertension in children with this condition. In a retrospective review, blood pressure elevation was seen in 20 of 30 (66.7%) patients with GBS admitted to a children's hospital during a 10-year period. There was a significant correlation between highest GBS stage and deviation of systolic blood pressure from age- and gender-specific norms (r=0.93, p<0.05). Since blood pressure may be markedly elevated in GBS, the clinician caring for a child with this condition should be aware of this complication.
Outcome following Gastric Bypass Surgery: Impact of Past Sexual Abuse

Background: This study examined gastric bypass (GBP) outcome in 2 groups of morbidly obese females: those with a history of sexual abuse (SA) and those without a history of sexual abuse (NSA). Methods: Subjects were assessed preoperatively and at one of two time points following surgery: either 5 to 9 months or 10 to 14 months. Outcome measures included BMI, level of depression as measured through the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and level of self-esteem as measured through the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE).T-tests were conducted for pre and post scores between the 2 groups on each of the variables. Results: Of the 12 tests conducted, the only statistically significant difference was on BDI scores for the 5 to 9 month post-surgery groups, with the SA groups showing a significantly higher level of depression than the NSA group. Conclusions:The results suggest that females with a history of sexual abuse are as successful with weight loss following GBP as those without a history of abuse.While females with a history of sexual abuse show significantly more depression 5 to 9 months after surgery, they are indistinguishable from those without a history of abuse 1 year following GBP.Thus, sexual abuse does not appear to be a negative prognostic indicator for GBP.
Model-driven parametric monitoring of high-dimensional nonlinear functional profiles

In order to cope with system complexity and dynamic environments, modern industries are investing in a variety of sensor networks and data acquisition systems to increase information visibility. Multi-sensor systems bring the proliferation of high-dimensional functional profiles that capture rich information on the evolving dynamics of natural and engineered processes. This provides an unprecedented opportunity for online monitoring of operational quality and integrity of complex systems. However, the classical methodology of statistical process control is not concerned about high-dimensional sensor signals and is limited in the capability to perform multi-sensor fault diagnostics. It is not uncommon that multi-dimensional sensing capabilities are not fully utilized for decision making. This paper presents a new model-driven parametric monitoring strategy for the detection of dynamic fault patterns in high-dimensional functional profiles that are nonlinear and nonstationary. First, we developed a sparse basis function model of high-dimensional functional profiles, thereby reducing the large amount of data to a parsimonious set of model parameters (i.e., weight, shifting and scaling factors) while preserving the information. Further, we utilized the lasso-penalized logistic regression model to select a low-dimensional set of sensitive predictors for fault diagnostics. Experimental results on real-world data from patient monitoring showed that the proposed methodology outperforms traditional methods and effectively identify a sparse set of sensitive features from high-dimensional datasets for process monitoring and fault diagnostics.
Does my comment count? Perceptions of political participation in an online environment

Since the infancy of the Internet, scholars have posited that the medium would mobilize and engage citizens, yet the reality has proven it to be more nuanced and complex. This project examines citizens' motivations to engage in politics online, assessing how people are driven by both a desire to influence government as well as to communicate political ideas to others. We explore the ways these two behaviors are perceived by citizens in online versus offline contexts. We also examine how such perceptions can predict certain behaviors, such as ''friending'' a candidate and messaging with friends about politics. We find that these behaviors are indeed perceived differently among citizens, and that perceptions predict the likelihood of participating in online political forums.
The effect of freezing and extraction upon striatal dopaminergic function.

Abstract Determinations of striatal dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) concentrations were compared under conditions where tissue was either frozen followed by extraction (FE) or extracted followed by freezing (EF). In Experiment 1, these determinations were performed at 0 (control), 0.5, 1 or 2 h postmortem. In Experiment 2, these two protocols were compared at 0 (control), 0.5 or 72 h after a neurotoxic regimen of methamphetamine. In Experiment 3, potassium-stimulated DA release from superfused striatal tissue was compared between frozen and fresh tissue. The results from the 0 h (control) groups of Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that FE results in significant reductions in DA concentrations as compared with the EF procedure. However, FE diminishes the time-dependent reductions in striatal DA and increases in DOPAC present in the EF group, as obtained under conditions of natural (Experiment 1) or neurotoxin-induced (Experiment 2) degradation. Potassium-stimulated DA release from superfused striatal tissue is significantly decreased when measured from frozen versus fresh tissue. While freezing seems to produce an initial detrimental effect upon measuring striatal DA concentrations and potassium-stimulated release, there appears to be a capacity for preservation of striatal DA and diminution in DOPAC production by freezing when tissue is undergoing degradation. Such results demonstrate the significance of the protocol used for determination of neurotransmitters in postmortem tissue and suggest a potential means for diminishing the adverse effects of insult to striatal tissue that may result from conditions like stroke and exposure to neurotoxins.
Lineaments of the Political Geography of State Formation in Twentieth‐Century South Africa

As a step towards framing an understanding of the politics of the South African transition and the prospects for democracy in that country, this paper asks the question: what kind of state is it that is being transformed? It offers the argument that we should conceptualize the history of state formation within the territory that is presently called South Africa in terms of three inter-related trajectories: imperial, national, and urban. By doing this, it is argued, the dimensions of key obstacles in the path of democratic national governance understood as ‘legacies of apartheid’ become clearer as the new leadership of the state strives to establish new forms of rule. Understanding the history of the imperial state system, as well as stressing the distinctiveness of the urban domain, adds to the well-attested story of racial exclusion in the national state and enables a clearer appreciation of matters such as the status of women, the mobilization of ethnic nationalism, problems of crime and civil disorder, and the new forms of politics that are emerging as local ANC notables become agents of the state in black townships and rural areas.
FACES in the Lab and Faces in the Crowd: Integrating Microcomputers into the Psychology Course

This article describes an exercise that teaches students about methodological issues concerned with making reliable observations of behavior. After learning Ekman's (1972) Facial Affect Scoring Technique from a microcomputer program simulating expressions of emotion, students recorded the facial expression, gender, and age of people in natural settings, computed interobserver agreement scores, and submitted a laboratory report. This exercise generated much discussion about research methods, transferred skills from the classroom to a research setting, and illustrated our view that the microcomputer is a new tool that supplements, but does not replace, existing instructional techniques.
On the communication complexity of zero-knowledge proofs

The fact that there are zero-knowledge proofs for all languages in NP (see [15], [6], and [5]) has, potentially, enormous implications to cryptography. For cryptographers, the issue is no longer "which languages in NP have zeroknowledge proofs" but rather "which languages in NP have practical zeroknowledge proofs." Thus, the concrete complexity of zero-knowledge proofs for different languages must be established. In this paper we study the concrete complexity of the known general methods for constructing zero-knowledge proofs. We establish that circuit-based methods, which can be applied in either the GMR or the BCC model, have the potential of producing proofs which can be used in practice. Then we introduce several techniques which greatly reduce the concrete complexity of circuit-based proofs, and we show that these techniques lead to zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge. Finally, we show how to combine the techniques of Kilian, Micali, and Ostrovsky, for designing zero-knowledge proofs with only two envelopes, with some of our techniques for reducing the number of bits which the prover must commit to.
Benchmarks in environmental psychology

Contemporaneous notes are used to track interactive developments in the ontology of a personal career and the epistogeny of the field of environmental psychology.
The thermal rearrangement of ,-1-fluoro-2-methyl-3-vinylcylopropane. The kinetic effect of a single fluorine substituent.

Abstract It was demonstrated through a kinetic study of the thermal rearrangement of cis , cis -1-fluoro-2-methyl-3-vinylcyclopropane to cis -3-fluoro-1,4-hexadiene that a single fluorine substituent lowers that activation barrier for rearrangement by about 2 kcal/mole as compared to 6.4 kcal/mole for geminal difluoro substitution.
Lack of Cytokinin Activity of Quinolinol Sulfate

Both purine (1, 10) and urea (3) derivatives have been shown by various bioassays to be active cytokinins, the latter leading Bruce and Zwar (3) to hypothesize -NH-CO NH-R as the active portion of the cytokinin molecule. Currently, cytokinins which have been extracted from plant materials, particularly from transfer RNA, are all N6-substituted purines (7, 14). Fox and Chen, after demonstrating that benzyladenine, an N6-substituted purine, is incorporated into transfer RNA, hypothesized that cytokinins structurally complete certain inactive transfer RNA molecules, allowing them to function normally (5). While there is disagreement about this mechanism (8), the importance of purines is undisputed. Chua (4), using the chlorophyll retention assay, has recently identified 8-quinolinol sulfate (Fig. 1), an antimicrobial agent, as a cytokinin with maximal activity at 0.1 to 1 mm. This chemical differs markedly in structure from the usual purine nucleus, and obviously could not function through incorporation into tRNA. Chua suggests, somewhat unclearly, that the controlling activity of 8-quinolinol sulfate may be as a chelator, interfering in specific protein-metal cofactor relationships. In contrast, Rameshwar and Steponkus (16) report that 8-quinolinol sulfate cannot replace kinetin in stimulating the growth of soybean callus. Since the establishment of 8-quinolinol sulfate as a true cytokinin would throw considerable doubt on current ideas of the mechanism of cytokinin action, a more thorough evaluation of this compound, including possible interactions with known cytokinins, is desirable. In view of the fact that the conflicting results mentioned previously are based on only one bioassay performed in each laboratory, we decided to use several assays, each of which is highly specific (11, 18), and conducted in axenic conditions: the growth of tobacco pith (15) and soybean callus (13), and the production of buds by moss protonema (2).
Restriction Enzyme Digestion Exercise - An In-class Activity.

Understanding the concepts of molecular biology and then applying those concepts to laboratory experiments can be challenging to entry-level students. In order to facilitate the topics of restriction enzyme digestion and the generation of compatible ends in the process of gene cloning, an in-class activity was designed. This restriction enzyme digestion exercise, designed for an introductory undergraduate course in genetics, molecular biology and molecular diagnostics, can be utilized in either a lecture or laboratory setting. Students are provided with information on enzyme discovery and origin, sticky, blunt and compatible ends, base-cutters, isoschizomers and isocaudomers. Students then review the components required for restriction enzyme digestion setup, such as DNA concentration, buffer volume and compatibility and multi-enzyme digestions. Upon completion of the theory review, students participate in this classroom activity where scissors and paper replace restriction enzymes and DNA, providing a visual learning experience.
A study of an open source IP multimedia subsystem test bed

In this paper, we present the creation and characterization of an open source Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) test bed. We built this test bed with the intention and motivation of doing research related to the performance of its various functional components as they cooperate to provide IMS features. The IMS specifications describe a set of functional components, the interfaces between those components, and the protocols and procedures to be used across those interfaces. The test bed is built based on the "Open IMS Core", which is an open source set of IMS functional components. We verify that the operation of the test bed is in conformance with the message sequence charts provided by the IMS standards. Moreover, we define four metrics that quantify the overhead associated with IMS implementations, and present the observed values of these metrics collected on the test bed under the conditions of no background traffic. This provides necessary and valuable data for us in order to study the performance when the test bed is under various background traffic loads.
A phase I trial of continuous infusion cisplatin.

Treatment with continuous infusions of cisplatin results in increased filterable drug exposures as measured by the area under the curve (AUC) of nonprotein-bound plasma platinum levels. To determine the dose-limiting toxicity and optimal method of administration, 24 patients were treated with continuous infusions of cisplatin at a dose rate of 25 mg/M2/day in a limited Phase I trial. A total of 47 courses were given. Nine patients received 13 courses of 4 days duration, 19 received 29 courses of 5 days duration, and five received courses of 6 or 7 days duration. Dose-limiting toxicity was found to be leukopenia: 42% of patients receiving the 5-day treatment developed a nadir count of less than 3000 cells/mm3. Nausea and vomiting were easily controlled. Minimal nephrotoxicity occurred in five patients and was associated with daily volume expansion with 2 l of 0.9% NaCl solution in four patients. All other patients were given 3 l of daily volume expansion during treatment. Responses were seen in 6 of 22 evaluable patients (27%). It is concluded that continuous infusion cisplatin at a dose rate of 25 mg/M2/day can be given safely for 5 days as a single agent if concomitant volume expansion with at least 3 l of 0.9% NaCl solution is given daily. Phase III comparative trials with a conventional bolus and newer high-dose regimens for response and toxicity are indicated. Cancer 59:15–18, 1987.
Preparation and high-performance liquid chromatography of iodinated diethylstilbestrols and some related steroids.

Abstract Diethylstilbestrol and estradiol have been converted to their mono- and poly-iodinated derivatives by elelctrophilic substitution of positive iodine into the activated aromatic rings. Both chemical and electrochemical procedures have been employed for the iodination, and the latter procedure proved to be superior. These iodinated derivatives have been purified by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography, and characterized by ultraviolet and mass spectroscopy.
Distal lung inflammation in asthma.

Objective To review the role of distal lung inflammation in asthma. Data Sources and Study Selection Selected peer-reviewed research publications retrieved from MEDLINE search. Search was restricted to English-language publications only. Included articles were selected for their relevance to pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Bibliographies of selected papers served as an additional source of considered publications. Results Inflammation in the small airways and alveolar tissue plays an important role in the clinical manifestations of asthma. Diagnostic modalities such as transbronchial biopsy and evolving radiologic techniques such as high-resolution computed tomography are improving our ability to evaluate this portion of the lung. New ultra-fine particle size metered-dose inhalers and oral agents such as cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonists offer new opportunities for treating small airways inflammation and need to be fully evaluated for their ability to target and treat distal lung inflammation. Conclusions Distal lung inflammation is an important component of airway inflammation in asthma. New modalities for evaluating distal airway inflammation and for targeting the distal lung with inhaled and systemic drugs are rapidly expanding our knowledge of the clinical importance of distal lung inflammation and may ultimately be of critical importance in asthma therapy.
The niche of the potto, Perodicticus potto

Some new field observations on West African pottos are presented and compared with previously published information on substrate use and diet. This evidence suggests that the predominant means by which pottos find food is by carefully searching branches in the forest canopy with their noses and that gums and slow-moving invertebrates found on branch surfaces are major components of their diet. When fruits are scarce, gums may be the potto’s chief source of energy. It is argued that the potto’s deliberate locomotion and some of its anatomical peculiarities are related primarily to this diet and foraging behavior, rather than to concealment from predators or the capture of birds, two factors previously suggested to have been important in the evolution of the potto’s locomotor technique. The potto’s niche is compared to that of other lorisid primates and is found to resemble closely that of Galago crassicaudatusin several respects.
ANALYSIS OF DYNAMIC PRICING SCENARIOS FOR MULTIPLE-GENERATION PRODUCT LINES

In technology-intensive markets, it is a common strategy for companies to develop long-term multiple generation product lines instead of releasing consecutive single products. Even though this strategy is more profitable than sequentially introducing single product generations, it can also result in inter-product line cannibalization. Cannibalization of multiple-generation product lines is a complex problem that needs to be taken into account at the early product line planning stage in order to sustain long-term profitability. In this paper, we propose an agent-based model that can simulate the potential cannibalization scenarios within a multiple-generation product line. We view a multiple-generation product line (MGPL) as complex adaptive system where each product generation in the MGPL adjusts its sales price over time based on the shifts in the market demand. The proposed model provides insights into how various pricing strategies impact the overall lifecycle profitability of MGPL and can be used to assist companies in developing appropriate dynamic pricing strategies at the early product line planning stages.
A Numerical Study of a Rotating Downburst

Abstract Previous studies have revealed that convective storms often contain intense small-scale downdrafts, termed “downbursts,” that are a significant hazard to aviation. These downbursts sometimes possess strong rotation about their vertical axis in the lower and middle levels of the storm, but studies of how this rotation is produced and how it impacts downdraft strength are lacking. In this study a three-dimensional cloud model was used to simulate a rotating downburst based on conditions observed on a day that produced rotating downbursts. It was found that rotating downbursts may occur when the direction of the wind shear vector in the middle levels of the troposphere varies with height. In the early stages of the convective system, vertical vorticity is generated from tilting of the ambient vertical shear by the updraft, resulting in a vertical vorticity couplet on the flanks of the updraft. Later, the negative buoyancy associated with precipitation loading causes the updraft to collapse and to be...
Reassessing media violence effects using a risk and resilience approach to understanding aggression

Public discourse about the effect of violent media on aggression has become contentious. We propose that violent media effects can best be understood within a risk and resilience framework that considers multiple factors that facilitate or inhibit aggression. In a prospective study, 430 third through fourth grade children, their peers, and their teachers were surveyed twice during the school year, about 6 months apart. Six risk/protective factors for aggression were measured: media violence exposure (TV, movies, video games), physical victimization, participant sex, hostile attribution bias, parental monitoring, and prior aggression. Each Time 1 risk factor (including media violence exposure) was associated with an increased risk of physical aggression at Time 2, whereas protective factors were associated with a decreased risk. There was also a Gestalt-type effect, where the combination of risk factors was a better predictor of aggression than the sum of their individual parts. The results offer strong support for a risk and resilience framework for aggression. Results also suggest that the effects of media violence exposure may be underestimated by standard data analysis procedures. Exposure to media violence acts similarly to other risk factors for aggression and therefore deserves neither special acclaim nor dismissal as a risk factor.
Electronic instrumentation in petroleum refineries

Electronic process control systems have overcome the transmission limitations of conventional pneumatic equipment for centralized control, and have facilitated the application of electronic data logging and computational procedures. Product quality is the key parameter in refinery operations and continuous analysers have been developed to overcome the limitations of conventional laboratory testing. The design and performance criteria for process monitors are outlined, and instruments are described for the on-line measurement of specific gravity, boiling range, colour and composition. Continuous analysers can be used for process control and line blending, and similar analytical techniques could be applied to measure the quality of products in storage vessels. Electronic instruments are used for tank level and temperature gauging, flow metering and blending. New instrumental techniques are supplementing conventional methods for plant inspection and maintenance.
Bipolar sealing increases mesenteric reach during bowel transection compared with stapled division: clinical evidence and laboratory support in a porcine model.

The ideal technique for mesenteric division to create tension-free anastomoses has not been defined. For patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), the mesenteric division technique was changed from stapler to bipolar sealing using LigaSure for cost reasons. This study aimed objectively to assess the impact of the mesenteric division method on mobilization length of the Roux limb in an animal model. Clinical complications related to Roux limb tension also were analyzed in the authors’ population of RYGB patients. Bowel and mesenteric divisions were performed in a porcine model. Four pigs received six to eight mesenteric divisions each. Steady force was applied for 1 min. The distances between the divided limbs of bowel were compared. To assess the clinical impact with RYGB patients, anastomotic complications were analyzed before and after incorporation of bipolar sealing in the authors’ practice. In the porcine model, the length of mesenteric stretch averaged 93.7 mm with stapled division and 109 mm with bipolar sealing (p = 0.021). From a laparoscopic RYGB population, 160 patients with stapled division were included, all of whom were at least 1 year beyond their surgery. The study analyzed 792 patients with bipolar sealing for leak or bleeding and included 479 bipolar sealed patients more than 1 year beyond their surgery for analysis of their strictures. No difference in bleeding or leaks was found between these groups. The stricture rate was significantly different, with seven strictures after stapled division (4.37%) compared with one stricture after bipolar sealing (0.2%; p = 0.001). Bipolar sealing for mesenteric division is superior to stapling for optimization of enteric limb length at constant tension in a laboratory model. Clinical evidence supports this hypothesis with patients undergoing RYGB surgery by a decrease in the complications that can arise from Roux limb tension.
The Effects of Feature-Label-Order and Their Implications for Symbolic Learning

Symbols enable people to organize and communicate about the world. However, the ways in which symbolic knowledge is learned and then represented in the mind are poorly understood. We present a formal analysis of symbolic learning—in particular, word learning—in terms of prediction and cue competition, and we consider two possible ways in which symbols might be learned: by learning to predict a label from the features of objects and events in the world, and by learning to predict features from a label. This analysis predicts significant differences in symbolic learning depending on the sequencing of objects and labels. We report a computational simulation and two human experiments that confirm these differences, revealing the existence of Feature-Label-Ordering effects in learning. Discrimination learning is facilitated when objects predict labels, but not when labels predict objects. Our results and analysis suggest that the semantic categories people use to understand and communicate about the world can only be learned if labels are predicted from objects. We discuss the implications of this for our understanding of the nature of language and symbolic thought, and in particular, for theories of reference.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV infection: how antiretroviral pharmacology helps to monitor and improve adherence.

Introduction: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretroviral drugs is a novel biomedical intervention that can prevent HIV transmission among high-risk populations. As findings from multiple PrEP studies have suggested that adherence is vital to achieve the full prevention benefits of PrEP, it is important to understand the clinical pharmacology and pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of PrEP antiretrovirals, the association of PK and PrEP efficacy, and the potential for drug concentration measurement to be used as a tool to monitor PrEP adherence. Areas covered: This review examines studies related to PrEP adherence with attention to the clinical pharmacology and PK of current and novel PrEP agents. Studies of animal models, PK, and clinical trials related to PrEP and adherence were reviewed. Expert opinion: In summary, when combined as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy that includes use of condoms and risk-reduction counseling, PrEP has tremendous promise as an adjunctive biomedical HIV preve...
Phenomenological modeling and simulation in support of model abstraction: computational electromagnetics--an overview

Successful modeling and simulation of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems requires not only the inclusion of the relevant C4ISR processes involved in the problem under study but also inclusion of the physics behind some of the simulation objects. The electromagnetic performance of the various sensors present in the simulation and the electromagnetic effects caused by the platforms on which the sensors reside are examples. The physical science necessary to simulate such physical effects is called Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) and can provide high quality performance data capable of enhancing the accuracy and value of C4ISR simulations. Unfortunately the simulation of these effects from first principles cannot be done in even near real time. Model Abstraction needs to be applied to such phenomenological simulations to extract out data of the required accuracy in reasonable simulation time. This paper reviews state-of-the-art CEM with a view towards stimulating the development of those Model Abstraction techniques required to incorporate CEM phenomenology into the C4ISR modeling and simulation world.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Autonomous Mowing—Improving Efficiency and Safety of Roadside Vegetation Control

This paper discusses the use of autonomous mowers for application in highway vegetation control. In recent work by these writers, a unique autonomous mower testbed has been developed to prove the efficacy of such an approach. The testbed's uniqueness comes from its relatively low cost and its new and accurate sensing method. The mowing performance is evaluated based on the consistency of consecutive mowing paths from actual outdoor testing. Then, a hypothetical implementation is used to evaluate the practicality of the system in California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) applications. Results show that autonomous mowers have the potential to significantly reduce Caltrans' dependence on herbicide, improve worker and public safety, lead to enhanced levels of environmental quality, and decrease the operation's costs.
Orbitally and magnetically induced anisotropy in iron-based superconductors

Recent experimental developments in the iron pnictides have unambiguously demonstrated the existence of in-plane electronic anisotropy in the absence of the long-range magnetic order. Such anisotropy can arise from orbital ordering, which is described by an energy splitting between the two otherwise degenerate ${d}_{xz}$ and ${d}_{yz}$ orbitals. By including this phenomenological orbital order into a five-orbital Hubbard model, we obtain the mean-field solutions where the magnetic order is determined self-consistently. Despite sensitivity of the resulting states to the input parameters, we find that a weak orbital order that places the ${d}_{yz}$ orbital slightly higher in energy than the ${d}_{xz}$ orbital, combined with intermediate on-site interactions, produces band dispersions that are compatible with the photoemission results. In this regime, the stripe antiferromagnetic order is further stabilized and the resistivity displays the observed anisotropy. We also calculate the optical conductivity and show that it agrees with the temperature evolution of the anisotropy seen experimentally.