cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dielectric properties of concrete at S and X bands: a near-field investigation

When inspecting concrete structures with microwaves (radars, embedded microwave sensors, modulated scattering techniques, etc.) the dielectric properties of the concrete are considered as a ground truth data and must be known. During the past three years, extensive microwave near-field measurements of the reflection properties of concrete specimens with varying water-to-cement (w/c) ratios, sand-to-cement (s/c) ratios and coarse aggregate-to-cement (ca/c) ratios have been conducted. These experiments were conducted using open-ended rectangular waveguide probes radiating into a half-space of these concrete specimens. These measurements were conducted at S- (2.6 - 3.95 GHz) and X-bands (8.2 - 12.4 GHz). Moreover, an electromagnetic model, which took into account the presence of higher-order modes at the waveguide aperture, was also used to model this process. Finally, a root finding technique was applied to calculate the effective dielectric properties of the concrete specimens. This paper presents the results of these measurements and calculations as they related to determining the dielectric properties of concrete. Since concrete is a heterogeneous material, the results from many locations in a specimen are reported rendering effective dielectric properties showing the mean and standard deviation of the measurements and calculations at these frequency bands. The results of the dielectric constant can also be used to predict the reflection properties of concrete when using a standoff distance (i.e. non-contact measurements) or when using other types of microwave sensors.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Inhibiting Lateral Domain Formation in Lipid Bilayers: Simulations of Alternative Steroid Headgroup Chemistries

Cholesterol is an essential component of lateral domain formation in lipid bilayers. Experiments using structural analogues of cholesterol have revealed that slight changes to the steroid headgroup chemistry can lead to significantly different degrees of domain formation. For example, the seemingly slight modification to 4-cholesten-3β-one changes the molecule from domain enhancing to domain inhibiting. To investigate the relationship between steroid headgroup structure and domain formation, we have performed a series of coarse-grain molecular dynamics simulations in which the hydrophobicity of the steroid headgroup is altered. We show that bilayers containing steroids with polar headgroups undergo lateral phase separation, with the steroids adopting the canonical, upright orientation. However, increasing the hydrophobicity of the steroid’s headgroup dramatically changes the orientation of the molecule such that it lies at the center of the bilayer, perpendicular to the bilayer normal. As a fundamental co...
Combining 3D optical imaging and dual energy absorptiometry to measure three compositional components

We report on the design of the technique combining 3D optical imaging and dual-energy absorptiometry body scanning to estimate local body area compositions of three compartments. Dual-energy attenuation and body shape measures are used together to solve for the three compositional tissue thicknesses: water, lipid, and protein. We designed phantoms with tissue-like properties as our reference standards for calibration purposes. The calibration was created by fitting phantom values using non-linear regression of quadratic and truncated polynomials. Dual-energy measurements were performed on tissue-mimicking phantoms using a bone densitometer unit. The phantoms were made of materials shown to have similar x-ray attenuation properties of the biological compositional compartments. The components for the solid phantom were tested and their high energy/low energy attenuation ratios are in good correspondent to water, lipid, and protein for the densitometer x-ray region. The three-dimensional body shape was reconstructed from the depth maps generated by Microsoft Kinect for Windows. We used open-source Point Cloud Library and freeware software to produce dense point clouds. Accuracy and precision of compositional and thickness measures were calculated. The error contributions due to two modalities were estimated. The preliminary phantom composition and shape measurements are found to demonstrate the feasibility of the method proposed.
A new species of Schoengastia (Acari: Trombiculidae) from mammals collected in sulawesi, indonesia

ABSTRACT Schoengastia sulawesiensis, n. sp., is described from specimens collected off Maxomys hellwaldii, Maxomys musschenbroekii and Bunomys fratrorum, taken in Indonesia.
Computational structural determination and energy landscape analysis of the hepatic carcinogen 2-(acetylamino)fluorene

2-(Acetylamino)fluorene (AAF), a potent mutagen and a prototypical example of the mutagenic aromatic amines, forms covalent adducts to DNA after metabolic activation in the liver. A benchmark study of AAF is presented using a number of the most widely used molecular mechanics and semiempirical computational methods and models. The results are compared to higher-level quantum calculations and to experimentally obtained crystal structures. Hydrogen bonding between AAF molecules in the crystal phase complicates the direct comparison of gas-phase theoretical calculations with experiment, so Hartree–Fock (HF) and Becke–Perdew (BP) density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used as benchmarks for the semiempirical and molecular mechanics results. Systematic conformer searches and dihedral energy landscapes were carried out for AAF using the SYBYL and MMFF94 molecular mechanics force fields; the AM1, PM3 and MNDO semiempirical quantum mechanics methods; HF using the 3-21G*and 6-31G* basis sets; and DFT using the nonlocal BP functional and double numerical polarization basis sets. MMFF94, AM1, HF and DFT calculations all predict the same planar structures, whereas SYBYL, MNDO and PM3 all predict various nonplanar geometries. The AM1 energy landscape is in substantial agreement with HF and DFT predictions; MMFF94 is qualitatively similar to HF and DFT; and the MNDO, PM3 and SYBYL results are qualitatively different from the HF and DFT results and from each other. These results are attributed to deficiencies in MNDO, PM3 and SYBYL. The MNDO, PM3 and SYBYL models may be unreliable for compounds in which an amide group is immediately adjacent to an aromatic ring.
Effectiveness of different verbal reinforcement combinations on a discrimination-reversal problem in children

Sixty 4- and 6-year-old Ss were given a discrimination reversal task employing a right-blank (Rb), wrong-blank (Wb). or right-wrong (RW) verbal reinforcement condition. The discrimination problem performance in the Wb and RW conditions was similar and superior to performance in the Rb condition. The reversal problem indicated that in the Wb condition older Ss reversed faster than did younger Ss and that younger Ss rcversed faster in the RW condition than in the Wb condition. These results, in eonjunetion with percentage analyses of the aequisition and reversal data. were discussed with reference to Spence 's information hypothesis. 5everal experiments involving adult Ss (e.g .. Buss. Braden, Orgel, & Buss. 1956; Buchwald. 1959a. b. 1962: Spenee, 1964. 1966a: Spence & Lair, 1965: Spenee. Lair. & Goodstein, 1963) have compared the effects of different verbal reinforcement eombinations (VRC) on performance in a variety of conceptual and discrimination problems. Three response-contingent conditions have been employed in procedures using verbal reinforcement combinations. These conditions consist of E's informing S of (I) correct responses
Observations of Mothers of 49 School Phobic Children

Over the last 35 years, and especially in the last 15, there have been alarge number of papers describing various facets of the etiology, treatment, and prognosis of children with school phobia. Outstanding among these are the reports of Johnson et al. (1941), Klein (1945), Coolidge et al. (1957, 1962), Lippman (1962), and Sperling (1967). Two groups have carried on extensive follow-up studies on the children (Rodriguez et al., 1959; Coolidge et al., 1964). The etiological significance of faulty mothering has been well documented and is generally accepted by psychotherapists whose persuasion is essentially psychoanalytic. The anecdote of the mother urging her child to play, while grasping his arm in a vicelike grip (Kahn and Nursten, 1962), graphically portrays the generally accepted notion of maternal ambivalence regarding separation. Nevertheless, reports of work and the outcome of work with mothers and families are rare. Weiss and Cain (1964) and Malmquist (1965) have described some of the family interactions, but, as far as we can ascertain, no assessment of results of work with the parents. This paper, then, serves as a beginning of such a process. We have focused primarily on those parents who were studied in-
Interactions of magnetohydrodynamic waves with gravitomagnetic fields, and their possible roles in black-hole magnetospheres.

The magnetospheres of rotating, magnetized black holes are thought to generate some of the jets observed in quasars and active galactic nuclei. Previous research on such magnetospheres has focused on stationary configurations. This paper is an initial, exploratory study of dynamical magnetospheres. Because a dynamical study in a rotating hole's Kerr spacetime would be exceedingly difficult, this paper introduces a class of simpler, plane-symmetric or cylindrically symmetric model spacetimes in which to explore the dynamics. These model spacetimes preserve the key physical features of the Kerr geometry: they have a Kerr-type gravitomagnetic potential (shift function), a Kerr-type horizon, and a Kerr-type asymptotically flat region far from the horizon. This first exploratory study is restricted to the simplest of these spacetimes, one with the planar metric ds2=-dt2+(dx+βdt)2+dy2+dz2, gravitomagnetic potential β=VF(tanh z-1), and horizon lateral velocity dx/dt=2VF. In this spacetime the asymptotically flat region is at z≫1, and the horizon has been pushed off to z=-∞. We treat the dynamical magnetospheres using the 3+1 formalism of general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) developed in an earlier paper. Kerr-type models of stationary magnetospheres are built in this spacetime as exact solutions to the fully nonlinear equations of GRMHD. In these solutions the magnetic field, under the influence of the horizon's lateral motion, is driven to move laterally with velocity dx/dt=VF; and plasma particles (e+e- pairs) are created at z=0, and are then driven up to relativistic velocities by magnetic-gravitomagnetic coupling, as they flow off to "infinity" (z=+∞) and down toward the "horizon" (z=-∞). Weak perturbations of these analytic magnetospheres are studied using a linearization of the GRMHD perturbation equations. The linearized perturbation equations are Fourier analyzed in t and x[exp(-iωt+ikxx)] and are solved numerically to obtain the z dependence of the perturbations. The numerical solutions describe the response of the magnetosphere to oscillatory driving forces in the plasma-injection plane, z=0. This models the response of a Kerr hole's magnetosphere to oscillatory driving forces near the plasma-production region—forces that might arise when lumpy magnetic fields, anchored in an accretion disk, orbit the hole, pressing inward on the magnetosphere. In our model spacetime the magnetosphere responds resonantly at frequencies (as measured at infinity) ω=kxVF, i.e., at frequencies for which the perturbations are stationary as seen in the field lines' rest frame. The analog for a Kerr magnetosphere would be resonant responses at ω=mΩF, where m is the azimuthal quantum number of the perturbation and ΩF is the field-line angular velocity (roughly equal to half the horizon angular velocity). Such resonances, if they occur in real black-hole magnetospheres, would show up as a modulation of the jet's outflowing energy flux.
Proteochondroitin sulfate synthesis and chondrogenic expression.

Abstract Embryonic limb bud cells were cultured under conditions in which chondrogenic expression takes place. Quantitative and qualitative estimates were made of the proteochondroitin sulfate synthesized under these conditions. A tenfold increase in incorporation into proteochondroitin sulfate is observed over the culture period during which chondrogenic expression takes place. This increase is reflected in a preferential increase of a particular fraction identified on 1% agarose chomatography. Low levels of this chromatographic fraction can be identified in limb buds before any evidence of cartilage expression is evident. We postulate that this preferential augmentation is a cartilage specific event.
Effects of chronic and acute smoking on AMLRs in older and younger listeners.

Chronic and acute smoking effects on the auditory middle latency response (AMLR) were studied in older (55–81 years) and younger (19–30 years) normal-hearing listeners. Forty healthy participants were selected for one of four groups: older smokers, older nonsmokers, younger smokers, or younger nonsmokers. Biochemical urine analyses confirmed participant categorization as smoker or nonsmoker. Click-evoked AMLRs were acquired once from nonsmokers and twice (chronic condition, acute condition) from smokers. Waveform latency (V, Na, Pa) and relative amplitude (V-Na, Na-Pa) were examined with two independent variables (age, smoking) using MANOVA. Results (n=40) revealed no chronic effect of smoking in the AMLR from smokers compared to nonsmokers. However, in both older and younger smokers (n=20), Na-Pa amplitude was significantly larger in the acute compared to the chronic smoking condition, indicating an acute smoking effect. There was no interaction of smoking and aging. This is a first study describing long...
Optical diagnostics for combustion process development of direct-injection gasoline engines

This paper describes the operating principle and the combustion process of spark-ignition engines operating with direct injection (DI) of gasoline and used in passenger cars. This new type of engine has an advantage in efficiency on the order of 15% compared with current port-injected gasoline engines using a three-way catalyst and has a high potential for further improvements. Current knowledge of the combustion process of DI gasoline engines benefits from the application of optical diagnostic techniques which permit deep insights into the in-cylinder processes such as flow development, fuel injection, and spray-air interaction. This paper explains the optical techniques used in research and development (R&D) and shows how laser diagnosties can contribute to the analysis and optimization of various phenomena associated with this promising combustion concept.
Chiral symmetry and the parity-violating NN pi Yukawa coupling

We construct the complete $\mathrm{SU}(2)$ parity-violating (PV) $\ensuremath{\pi},N,\ensuremath{\Delta}$ interaction Lagrangian with one derivative, and calculate the chiral corrections to the PV Yukawa $\mathrm{NN}\ensuremath{\pi}$ coupling constant ${h}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ through $\mathcal{O}(1/{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}_{\ensuremath{\chi}}^{3})$ in the leading order of heavy baryon expansion. We discuss the relationship between the renormalized ${h}_{\ensuremath{\pi}},$ the measured value of ${h}_{\ensuremath{\pi}},$ and the corresponding quantity calculated microscopically from the standard model four-quark PV interaction. We observe that the renormalized ${h}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}$ depends strongly on a number of a priori unknown parameters in the PV effective Lagrangian.
Estimating the economic benefit from improved process control

A method for the a priori estimation of the potential benefit that can be obtained from process control improvements is presented. The improved control benefit in this work arises from a shift in t...
Simulation of miniature optical correlator for future generation of spacecraft precision landing

In this paper, we describe a simulation testbed under development for measuring MOC's performance in a high-fidelity entry, descent, and landing environment, and provide our preliminary simulation result.
Lever-Pressing Performance for Brain Stimulation on F-I and V-I Schedules in a Single-Lever Situation

Rats were trained to lever press for electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) and ultimately were assigned to either a fixed interval 1 min. (FI-1 min.) or a variable interval 1 min. (VI-1 min.) schedule of reinforcement. All Ss easily attained and maintained responding on the schedule to which they had been assigned. Patterns of responding during training and extinction were similar to those observed when conventional rewards, such as food or water, are used. Fixed-interval Ss demonstrated scalloped responding; variable-interval Ss demonstrated steady rates of responding. The implications of these results for understanding ESB as a reward are discussed.
Effect of treatment variation on outcomes in patients with Clostridium difficile.

Abstract Purpose New guidelines for the treatment of Clostridium difficile -associated diarrhea were published by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) in 2010, however, there has been no literature evaluating the effectiveness of these guidelines. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical outcomes of Clostridium difficile infection including death, C difficile infection recurrence, toxic megacolon, and surgery between patients who received guideline-concordant therapy vs guideline-discordant therapy. Methods Retrospective case-control study of hospitalized adults with C difficile infection presenting to a 420-bed tertiary care referral county teaching hospital. Patients were identified by International Classification of Diseases-9th Revision codes, and included if they were ≥18 years of age and treated for C difficile infection during their hospital visit. Complication rates (death, infection recurrence, toxic megacolon, and surgery) of patients with C difficile infection were measured to determine if following the IDSA guidelines improves outcomes. Results Only 51.7% of the patients' prescribers followed the 2010 IDSA guidelines. Patients whose prescribers followed the IDSA guidelines experienced fewer complications than patients whose prescribers strayed from the guidelines (17.2% vs 56.3%, P P = .0012) and infection recurrence (14% vs 35.6%, P = .0007). Patients who presented with severe and complicated disease received guideline-based therapy significantly less often than patients with mild disease (19.7%, 35.3%, and 81.2%, respectively, P Conclusions There was a significant reduction in C difficile infection recurrence and mortality when prescribers followed the IDSA/Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America guidelines for treatment of C difficile infection.
The periodic structure of chromatin: implications for DNA function.

Summary A structure for chromatin is outlined in which the histone F1 maintains short accessible DNA loops of fixed length between nucleosomes. Evidence is presented that only these DNA loops are accessible to cellular agents and that therefore all DNA functions must originate in these inter-nucleosomal regions, while the bulk of the DNA is shielded from interactions in order to promote cellular efficiency and economy. In view of the non-specific location of nucleosomes, signals which are coded in the DNA sequence, e.g. replication origins and transcription initiation sites, must be short and redundant in order to be accessible. In the case of unique genes, their initiation sequences will be accessible if they are tandemly reiterated over a length corresponding to the structural unit in chromatin. The structural periodicity of chromatin is a potential determinant for uncoded, periodic functions of DNA such as the initiation of Okazaki pieces during DNA replication.
False-positive human chorionic gonadotropin levels caused by a heterophile antibody with the immunoradiometric assay.

Abstract A case of a false-positive test for the β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin as performed by the immunoradiometric assay is described. Further studies revealed that this problem was secondary to a cross-reacting heterophile antibody.
The Protestant Whore: Courtesan Narrative & Religious Controversy in England, 1680-1750 (Review)

ion, but ‘‘the embodied status of the individual.’’ Ms. Conway points to Clarissa’s dealings with the prostitutes and to references to Mme. de Maintenon, mistress to Louis XIV. In Fielding’s Tom Jones, Sophia Western, mistaken for the Jacobite Jenny Cameron, is aligned rhetorically with an apolitical Gwyn. Richardson and Fielding thus both ‘‘realized that the political divisions that haunted England in the wake of the ’45 remained unresolved.’’ Moreover, ‘‘Clarissa and Tom Jones gain their power from an awareness that the answers to the questions raised by the Restoration and its aftermath could only ever be partial and incomplete.’’ Ms. Conway persuasively demonstrates that ‘‘Courtesan narrative opens a window onto a continent of religious controversy and sexual politics that offers no safe harbours for those travelling its coastlines.’’ The achievements of her text are manifold. Rachel Carnell Cleveland State University
Clostridium difficile infection in patients with unexplained leukocytosis

Abstract Purpose To determine whether unrecognized Clostridium difficile infection is responsible for a substantial proportion of cases of unexplained leukocytosis in a tertiary care hospital setting. Methods We prospectively identified 60 patients who had unexplained leukocytosis (white blood cell count ≥15,000/mm 3 ). Fecal specimens were tested for C. difficile toxin using an enzyme immunosorbent assay. We compared the clinical features of patients who had positive or negative assay results, as well as of 26 hospitalized control patients who did not have unexplained leukocytosis. Results Thirty-five (58%) of the patients with unexplained leukocytosis had C. difficile toxin in at least one fecal specimen as compared with 3 (12%) of the controls ( P C. difficile toxin, leukocytosis also tended to resolve during empiric therapy with metronidazole; some of these patients may have had C. difficile infection. Conclusion The majority of patients in our hospital who had unexplained leukocytosis had C. difficile infection. Unexplained leukocytosis in hospitalized patients should prompt a search for symptoms and signs consistent with C. difficile infection and a study to detect C. difficile . Empiric therapy with metronidazole may be effective in the appropriate epidemiologic setting.
Subglacial thermal balance permits ongoing grounding-line retreat along the Siple Coast of West Antarctica

Changes in the discharge of West Antarctic ice streams are of potential concern with respect to global sea level. The six relatively thin, fast-flowing Ross ice streams are of interest as low-slope end-members among Antarctic ice streams. Extensive research has demonstrated that these “rivers of ice” have a history of relatively high-frequency , asynchronous discharge variations with evolving lateral boundaries. Amidst this variability, a ∼1300 km grounding-line retreat has occurred since the Last Glacial Maximum. Numerical studies of Ice Stream D (Parizek and others, 2002) indicate that a proposed thermal-regulation mechanism (Clarke and Marshall, 1998; Hulbe and MacAyeal, 1999; Tulaczyk and others, 2000a, b), which could buffer the West Antarctic ice sheet against complete collapse, may be over-ridden by latent-heat transport within melt-water from beneath inland ice. Extending these studies to Ice Stream A, Whillans Ice Stream and Ice Stream C suggests that further grounding-line retreat contributing to sea-level rise is possible thermodynamically However, the efficiency of basal water distribution may be a constraint on the system. Because local thermal deficits promote basal freeze-on (especially on topographic highs), observed short-term variability is likely to persist.
Un-supercoiled agarose with a degree of molecular sieving similar to that of crosslinked polyacrylamide

A previous observation by Nochumson et al. [7], showing that agarose after reduction or abolition of its supercoiled structure by hydroxyethylation (SeaPrep 15/45), exhibits a molecular sieving effect similar to polyacrylamide in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was confirmed and quantitated by Ferguson plot analysis in PAGE. SeaPrep 15/45 exhibits an effective fiber radius of 0.8 nm, as compared to 23.8 nm for native agarose and 0.4 nm for 2 % crosslinked polyacrylamide. Its effective pore size (estimated as ) is 0.88 times that of polyacrylamide 2% crosslinked with N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide (Bis). Although this is not a practical result as yet, due to the low melting temperature and poor gel strength of SeaPrep 15/45, it does sound the death knell for the use of crosslinked polyacrylamide in macromolecular separations, by demonstrating that a linear polymer capable of forming a gel on mere cooling is equivalent to the product of a laborious and relatively irreproducible free radical polymerization. It remains to find a linear polymer with higher melting point and better mechanical strength and adherence to glass walls than SeaPrep 15/45 to make crosslinked polyacrylamide obsolete.
Optimal Sites for Supplementary Weather Observations: Simulation with a Small Model

Abstract Anticipating the opportunity to make supplementary observations at locations that can depend upon the current weather situation, the question is posed as to what strategy should be adopted to select the locations, if the greatest improvement in analyses and forecasts is to be realized. To seek a preliminary answer, the authors introduce a model consisting of 40 ordinary differential equations, with the dependent variables representing values of some atmospheric quantity at 40 sites spaced equally about a latitude circle. The equations contain quadratic, linear, and constant terms representing advection, dissipation, and external forcing. Numerical integration indicates that small errors (differences between solutions) tend to double in about 2 days. Localized errors tend to spread eastward as they grow, encircling the globe after about 14 days. In the experiments presented, 20 consecutive sites lie over the ocean and 20 over land. A particular solution is chosen as the true weather. Every 6 h obs...
Novel non-invasive biomarkers that distinguish between benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer

Background: The objective of this study was to discover and to validate novel noninvasive biomarkers that distinguish between benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and localized prostate cancer (PCa), thereby helping to solve the diagnostic dilemma confronting clinicians who treat these patients. Methods: Quantitative iTRAQ LC/LC/MS/MS analysis was used to identify proteins that are differentially expressed in the urine of men with BPH compared with those who have localized PCa. These proteins were validated in 173 urine samples from patients diagnosed with BPH (N = 83) and PCa (N = 90). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictive biomarkers. Results: Three proteins, β2M, PGA3, and MUC3 were identified by iTRAQ and validated by immunoblot analyses. Univariate analysis demonstrated significant elevations in urinary β2M (P< 0.001), PGA3 (P= 0.006), and MUC3 (P=0.018) levels found in the urine of PCa patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed AUC values ranging from 0.618 for MUC3 (P= 0.009), 0.625 for PGA3 (P< 0.008), and 0.668 for β2M (P< 0.001). The combination of all three demonstrated an AUC of 0.710 (95% CI: 0.631 – 0.788, P< 0.001); diagnostic accuracy improved even more when these data were combined with PSA categories (AUC = 0.812, (95% CI: 0.740 – 0.885, P< 0.001). Conclusions: Urinary β2M, PGA3, and MUC3, when analyzed alone or when multiplexed with clinically defined categories of PSA, may be clinically useful in noninvasively resolving the dilemma of effectively discriminating between BPH and localized PCa.
Letrozole Treatment of Precocious Puberty in Girls with the McCune-Albright Syndrome: A Pilot Study

Context: Girls with McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) and related disorders have gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty due to estrogen secretion from ovarian cysts. Their puberty does not respond to GnRH agonist therapy, and short-acting aromatase inhibitors have had limited effectiveness. Objective: Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of the potent, third-generation aromatase inhibitor letrozole in decreasing pubertal progression in girls with MAS and to assess the response of indices of bone turnover associated with the patients’ polyostotic fibrous dysplasia. Design: Subjects were evaluated at baseline and every 6 months for 12–36 months while on treatment with letrozole 1.5–2.0 mg/m2·d. Setting: This was an open-label therapeutic trial at a single clinical center. Patients: Patients included nine girls aged 3–8 yr with MAS and/or gonadotropin-independent puberty. Main Outcome Measures: Measures included rates of linear growth, bone age advance, mean ovarian volume, estradiol, episodes of ...
A three-component light-scattering theory for surfactant solutions containing two different counterions

Abstract The general fluctuation theory of light scattering by multicomponent systems is applied to aqueous solutions containing a surfactant and an added salt. The treatment embraces polyvalent surfactant, co- and counterions. Two procedures, which utilize four micellar models when two different counterions are present, are described for estimating micellar aggregation numbers and charges. In cases examined, the simpler slope-intercept approach gave results which compared favorably with those rendered by the intrinsically more accurate, but cumbersome, trial-and-error (brute-force) method.
The Retinal Homeobox (Rx) gene is necessary for retinal regeneration in Xenopus laevis tadpoles

The Retinal Homeobox (Rx) gene is essential for retinal development. Rx functions to promote maintenance of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs). Loss of Rx function early in eye development results in impairment in or lack of eye development. In the mature retina, Rx is expressed in photoreceptors and, in lower vertebrates, in RPCs in the ciliary marginal zone at the anterior periphery of the retina. Themature Xenopus retina can regenerate after resection. In the second week after resection, the wound fills with RPCs that are proliferative and express RPC markers, including Rx. To investigate the role of Rx in retinal regeneration,weknockeddownRxexpression using a transgenic shRNA approach. We found that Rx expression was essentially normal at late tailbud/early tadpole stages (st 38) but was decreased by st 41. There was no obvious effect on eye development until st 50 when tadpoles exhibited impaired visual function and photoreceptor degeneration. Rx shRNA tadpoles also exhibited deficits in regeneration when 25% of the retinawas removed at st 44. Thewound did not heal normally and RPCs did not develop normally, if at all, in the wound. Regeneration was rescuedbyexpressionof exogenousRx, suggesting that the impairments in regeneration observed in Rx shRNA transgenic tadpoles were specifically due to knockdown of Rx expression. These results demonstrate that Rx expression is necessary for retinal regeneration. Further, these results suggest that Rx is necessary for RPC development/ recruitment during retinal regeneration.
Traumas resulting from sigmoid manipulation

1. Perforation of the sigmoid as a result of diagnostic and therapeutic manipulation is not infrequent. 25 reported perforations in the experience of 28 physicians reveals it not as a rare occurrence.
Color-naming interference in monolinguals and bilinguals

English-speaking monolinguals named colors as quickly as possible when the color stimuli were color names written either in English or a number of other languages. Color naming was found to be slowest for English words and increased in speed as the foreign color names became less similar to their English equivalents. In a second experiment, Spanish-English bilinguals named colors in both languages with color stimuli that were either Spanish color names, English color names, or control Xs. Color naming was slowest when the naming language and the language of the color names was the same although considerable interference also occurred when they differed.
Psychosocial effects in long-term head and neck cancer survivors

Background. To identify and rate the importance of several psychosocial and physiologic influences on quality of life (QOL) among a cohort of 5-year head and neck cancer survivors, we conducted a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample that used both questionnaires and physiologic evaluations. Methods. QOL was assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) and the FACT Head and Neck additional concerns (FACT-HN physiologic factors, consisting of selected physical ability measures; and a combination of psychosocial/physiologic factors. Results. The entire study population of 105 subjects completed the FACT and FACT-HN 86 of these completed the physiologic tests as well. Combined psychosocial/physiologic models best predicted all QOL measures considered. Psychosocial models alone, compared with physiologic models alone, better predicted FACT physical and social/family well-being measures. Physiologic models alone, compared with psychosocial models alone, better predicted FACT-H&N additional concerns measures. Premorbid pessimism (MBHI) was consistently the best predictor of QOL measures. Conclusions. Both psychosocial and physiologic factors influence QOL in patients with head and neck cancer, but many QOL measures are most strongly influenced by psychosocial considerations. Physicians and surgeons caring for long-term head and neck cancer survivors should be cognizant of the importance of psychosocial risk factors in the QOL of their patients. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck27: XXX–XXX, 2005
Legacies of the agricultural past in the forested present: an assessment of historical land-use effects on rich mesic forests

Aim and location The research investigated the long-term effects of human disturbance, namely nineteenth century agricultural land-use, on the modern species composition, structure and distribution of Rich Mesic Forests (RMF) in western Massachusetts, USA. RMF are a species-rich north-eastern variant of the Mixed Mesophytic Forest Type of eastern North America. Methods Land-use history patterns were reconstructed for two towns (c. 16,000 ha) from the onset of widespread European settlement and agricultural land-use in the late eighteenth century until present. Vegetation and a range of environmental variables were sampled in sixty-one 10 · 10 m plots in thirty-four forest stands with varying histories of human disturbance. Vegetation data were ordinated (DCA) to identify patterns of variation and related environmental and historical factors. The distribution patterns of individual taxa in relation to historical land-use and environmental factors were analysed using G-tests of independence and logistic regression. Associations between species secondary forest colonization ability and life history characteristics (e.g. diaspore dispersal mode, degree of vegetative spread) were assessed.
Reinforcement learning for POMDPs based on action values and stochastic optimization

We present a new, model-free reinforcement learning algorithm for learning to control partially-observable Markov decision processes. The algorithm incorporates ideas from action-value based reinforcement learning approaches, such as Q-Learning, as well as ideas from the stochastic optimization literature. Key to our approach is a new definition of action value, which makes the algorithm theoretically sound for partially-observable settings. We show that special cases of our algorithm can achieve probability one convergence to locally optimal policies in the limit, or probably approximately correct hill-climbing to a locally optimal policy in a finite number of samples.
Measured radiation fields in commercial nuclear power plants

This paper presents a compilation of experimental data on radiation fields found in commercial nuclear power plants. Exposure rates for systems and components are described by average values, although these averages may be significantly low (by orders of magnitude) near localized "hot spots". Conditions for, and exposure rates from, important fields are cited for both normal and abnormal operating conditions. Away from hot primary components, exposure rates for both ~ and neutron fields typically range from 0 to 1000 mrem h- ~. Photon fields are most frequently the result of decay from neutron activated materials or fission product deposits. Neutron fields exhibit well-moderated spectra, with few neutrons above 750 keV. There seems to be no correlation between 7 and neutron fields in a typical nuclear power plant outside the reactor core.
Attractiveness of the “Middle of the Road” Political Candidate

Three classroom experiments were done in which subjects evaluated hypothetical political candidates based on the candidates' positions on three issues. In the first study, subjects evaluated the candidate advocating a neutral position on the issues lower than all other candidates. The second study systematically varied the number of neutral positions the candidates could take and the same result was found, viz., the more neutral positions the candidate took, the lower the evaluations. It was further found that one's own political position did not affect the negative evaluation of the neutral candidate. Subjects' perceptions of the candidate advocating neutrality were assessed in a third study. Results are discussed in the framework of dealing with possible optimal political strategies that candidates might use.
Editorial: Celebration and Recognition, The Kingslake Medal and Prize

This PDF file contains the editorial “Editorial: Celebration and Recognition, The Kingslake Medal and Prize” for OE Vol. 33 Issue 08
Immunologically competent cells in adult mouse liver. Studies with parent-to-hybrid radiation chimeras.

Implantation into irradiated hybrids of viable liver cells from adult donor mice of the parental strains caused a wasting disease followed by death in over 90% of the recipients. This foreign liver disease occurred after a sublethal dose of radiation was given to the recipients or after thal dose followed by infusion of isologous hone marrow. It did not occur in nonirradiated recipients but occurred in only 26% of sublethally irradiated F/sup 1/ hybrids infused with isologous bone marrow. In a strain combination in which the F/sup 1/ hybrid was homozygous at the H-2 locus, and the parents should therefore have been antigenetically relatively compatible, the foreign liver disease occurred late after treatment and was enhanced by the hybrid. It was shown that radiation dose and liver cell dose were interrelated factors in determining the development of the disease. Deaths are ascribed to an in vivo immunologic reaction after antibody production by the grafted parental cells against F/sup 1/ antigens. Nevertheless, there is evidence of a possible immune response by the F/sup 1/ hybrid against the parent. (auth)
A completeness proof for adapted probability logic

Abstract Adapted probability logic is a logic appropriate for the study of continuous time stochastic processes. A model consists of an adapted probability space and a family of continuous time stochastic processes on the space. The logic has two quantifiers which appear in building terms, the integral quantifier and the conditional expectation quantifier. The logic was introduced by the author in a seminar in 1979, [4]. Rodenhausen gave a set of axioms and rules for the logic and proved a completeness theorem in [10]. His proof quite long and difficult. The purpose of this paper is to give a simpler proof of the completeness theorem by first proving the completeness of the sublogic which has only integrals and no conditional expectation quantifiers.
Orientation, stress, and strain in an (001) barium titanate single crystal with 90° lamellar domains determined using electron backscatter diffraction

The orientation, stress, and strain in a single crystal of barium titanate (BaTiO3), containing relatively large (0.5–14.5 μm), parallel, lamellar domains, have been determined and mapped using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The strain distribution in the single crystal was determined using cross-correlation analysis of the EBSD patterns. Strain in the (001) single crystal was dominated by strain in the minority a-domain bands with peak values of −0.006 determined in the surface plane, perpendicular to the intersection of the domain walls with the crystal surface, compared to +0.002 in the same direction for the majority c-domains. The out-of-plane strains were negatively correlated with the in-plane strains and were about a factor of two smaller. The experimentally determined strains peak at domain boundaries and suggest a contraction of the c-axis and an expansion of one of the a-axes as the domain wall is approached. The ratios of the in-plane and out-of-plane strains were consistent with the bulk elastic constants of BaTiO3. Stress values determined from the strains and the elastic constants peaked at 400 MPa.
Membranes of Mammary Gland. VIII. Isolation and Composition of Nuclei and Nuclear Membrane from Bovine Mammary Gland

Abstract Nuclei were isolated from lactating bovine mammary tissue homogenates by sedimentation through dense sucrose solutions. Marker enzyme and morphological analyses revealed a high degree of purity and morphological integrity. Nuclear membranes were released from nuclei by deoxyribonuclease digestion and extraction with buffered salt solution and were recovered by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Total lipids, phospholipids, sterols, ribonucleic acid, and sialic acid were concentrated in nuclear membrane on a protein basis. Deoxyribonucleic acid was low in the final nuclear membrane fraction. Approximately 51 to 58% of the total phospholipid and 7 to 8% of the total protein in nuclei were recovered in the nuclear membrane fraction. In terms of lipid composition and phospholipid distribution, nuclear membranes closely resembled rough endoplasmic reticulum.
Lead zirconate titanate thin films directly on copper electrodes for ferroelectric, dielectric and piezoelectric applications

Replacement of noble metal electrodes by base metals significantly lowers the cost of ferroelectric, piezoelectric and dielectric devices. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to process lead zirconate (Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3, or PZT) thin films directly on base metal copper foils. We explore the impact of the oxygen partial pressure during processing, and demonstrate that high-quality films and interfaces can be achieved through control of the oxygen partial pressure within a narrow window predicted by thermodynamic stability considerations. This demonstration has broad implications, opening up the possibility of the use of low-cost, high-conductivity copper electrodes for a range of Pb-based perovskite materials, including PZT films in embedded printed circuit board applications for capacitors, varactors and sensors; multilayer PZT piezoelectric stacks; and multilayer dielectric and electrostrictive devices based on lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate. We also point out that the capacitors do not fatigue on repeated switching, unlike those with Pt noble metal electrodes. Instead, they appear to be fatigue-resistant, like capacitors with oxide electrodes. This may have implications for ferroelectric non-volatile memories.
Very high energy density silicide–air primary batteries

High density electrochemical energy storage is of central importance for mobile power applications. The relatively low energy density and high cost associated with the current approaches to electrochemical energy storage, including various battery and supercapacitor technologies, have been the main hurdles to its more widespread application. Herein we report a new family of silicide based anode materials for high energy density metal–air primary batteries. Several intrinsic features of silicide materials including high electron capacity, high conductivity and high operating voltage make them an excellent class of materials for very high density energy storage. We show that various silicide anodes (Mg2Si, TiSi2, CoSi2 and VSi2) can exhibit excellent electrochemical performance with unparalleled capacity in both thin films and bulk powder pellet forms. With further optimization, silicide materials can promise a new battery family with ultra-high anode capacity and can open up exciting opportunities for future mobile power applications.
THE PYRENOID OF ANTHOCEROS

The single chloroplast of the cells of the gametophyte of the Anthocerotes, with its pyrenoid-like central region, has long been known. Notwithstanding this, detailed descriptions of these chloroplasts and pyrenoids and comparisons with those of the algae, on the one hand, and with the chloroplasts of the liverworts on the other, seem to be lacking. As early as I85I von Mohl (I4) called attention to the fact that there were "wohl 50 bis IOO Amylumk6rner" in the chloroplasts of Anthoceros, but he did not relate them to the starch aggregations to be found in the green algae. The voluminous earlier literature on the morphology of Anthoceros, as far as I can determine, contains only bare mentions of the chloroplasts and pyrenoids. Leitgeb (g) in fact seems to have made no reference whatever to these structures. Schimper (i8) states that the pyrenoids of Anthoceros "zeigten nach Entfernung der Starke durch Verdunklung nur noch corrodierte, unregelmassig eckige Umrisse." His figures I5 and I6 are apparently surface views of entire, living cells and show only diffuse central regions which have no resemblance to the plastids as seen in stained material. Davis (5) in an account of the nuclear division and the fission of the chloroplasts in the spore mother cells of Anthoceros laevis makes no reference to a pyrenoid and nothing in his figures suggests such a structure. He is unable to identify plastids in the archesporial cells and only as these cells become spore mother cells can the single, very minute chloroplast be identified. This chloroplast enlarges rapidly and undergoes two fissions, thus forming the four chloroplasts of the spore tetrad. The large chloroplasts of the mature spores are filled with conspicuous starch grains, becoming thus "storage vesicles of starch. " Campbell (3, 4) has made the most important recent contribution
Regression of a hamster melanoma with intralesional Corynebacterium granulosum.

SUMMARY The present study was undertaken to compare the antitumour effects of intralesionally administered Corynebacterium granulosum, Corynebacterium parvum, BCG and saline on a hamster melanoma. Forty-eight golden hamsters were inoculated subcutaneously with Fortner's melanotic melanoma no. 1. Twenty-four animals bore palpable tumours which were left in situ. The remaining twentyfour animals bore palpable tumours which were excised. No non-excised group animal showed primary tumour regression. In the excised group, the tumours generally recurred at the excision site in the C. parvum, BCG and saline-treated animals. By contrast, the incidence of recurrence was significantly reduced by intralesional injections of C. granulosum.