cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Management of nonpalpable testicular tumors.

Abstract Objectives To report our series of nonpalpable testicular tumors with a review of published studies. Radical orchiectomy remains the reference standard in the treatment of a solid testicular mass. Testis-sparing surgery has recently been advocated for a select group of patients with nonpalpable tumors. Methods Between 1998 and 2002, a nonpalpable testicular mass was discovered in 9 patients. Ultrasonography was performed for infertility evaluation (5 patients), testicular pain (3 patients), and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy (1 patient). Results Radical orchiectomy was performed in 7 of 9 patients and testis-sparing surgery with microsurgical excision of tumor in 1 patient. One patient decided against surgery. A benign testicular tumor was found in 6 and a malignant tumor in 2 of the 8 patients. Conclusions A high incidence of benign nonpalpable tumor and an advanced microsurgical technique justifies organ-sparing surgery as an alternative for radical orchiectomy in a select group of patients. Testicular preservation in patients with a malignant nonpalpable testicular tumor is a feasible, but still controversial, approach.
Case of the season

51-YEAR-OLD MAN with a history of malignant myxoid fibrous histiocytoma presented to his radiation oncologist with a 2-week history of gradually increasing shortness of breath and lower-extremity swelling. He had no chest pain or hemoptysis. Four months earlier, a 24 23 18 cm mass with positive margins was resected from the patient’s right buttock and posterior thigh. He was treated with 63 Gy radiation therapy to the area, but no chemotherapy was given because of preexisting cardiomyopathy. On the day of presentation, physical examination showed a new systolic murmur and bilateral lower-extremity edema. An echocardiogram showed a large mobile mass in the right ventricle causing impairment of pulmonic outflow. This was believed to be a clot. A chest radiograph was unchanged compared with 5 months earlier, showing no enlargement of the heart or pulmonary arteries. Ultrasound of the lower extremity veins was normal. A computed tomography (CT) angiogram of the chest (Fig 1A-D) was performed, which showed near complete filling of the right ventricle and main pulmonary artery by a soft-tissue mass, with only a thin rim of contrast between the mass and the wall of the vessel. No neovascularity or enhancement of the mass was detected. There was dilation without beading of one peripheral pulmonary artery. Two pulmonary nodules were seen. Given the size of the mass and the symptoms, an emergency embolectomy was performed. The mass was adherent to the right ventricular wall and main pulmonary artery, which were partially excised along with the mass. The patient died because of right-sided heart failure shortly after surgery. Pathology revealed malignant fibrous histiocytoma, myxoid subtype.
Discordance between serum cardiac biomarker and immunoglobulin‐free light‐chain response in patients with immunoglobulin light‐chain amyloidosis treated with immune modulatory drugs

We evaluated the capability of soluble cardiac biomarkers to predict tolerability and outcomes of IMiD-containing treatments among 106 patients treated on clinical trials. Baseline elevations in troponin T (TnT) and N-terminal brain naturietic protein (NT-proBNP) predicted for an inability to tolerate IMiD-based regimens. The best predictors for early attrition during cycle 1 were TnT ≥ 0.07 μg/L and NT-proBNP ≥ 11,939 ng/L. NT-proBNP-response underperformed TnT-response as a predictor for overall survival (OS), but both predicted for early protocol attrition. Despite hematologic response, IMiD-treated patients were at higher risk for NT-proBNP rises and early drug discontinuation than a control population but not for early death. These observations prompt two questions: (1) does IMiD-based therapy lead to increased fluid retention and/or cardiac toxicity and (2) is an NT-proBNP-driven cardiac response system valid in IMiD-treated amyloidosis patients? Recognition of potential drug-induced cardiac toxicity is important so that increased cardiac surveillance and drug dose-adjustment or discontinuation may be implemented.
Collegiality and Bureaucracy in the Modern University: The Influence of Information and Power on Decision-Making Structures

(1990). Collegiality and Bureaucracy in the Modern University: The Influence of Information and Power on Decision-Making Structures. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 107-109.
Detecting and overcoming water-impermeable barriers in prickly sida ( Sida spinosa L.) seeds

Barriers to water permeability in prickly sida seeds were characterized using solvents and water-soluble salts. The seeds imbibed water when barriers in the chalazal area broke down. The major barrier was in the distal region of the palisade layer bordered internally by the light line. Soaking dormant seeds in certain organic solvents overcame the barrier and enabled the seeds to imbibe water. The most active were non-polar solvents with dielectric constants between 3.7 and 18.5, and with a high ability to hydrate and swell cellulosic materials. We concluded that the most active solvents (pyridine, diethylamine) overcame the major barrier, entered the proximal portion of the palisade layer and caused the swelling of cellulosic cell components. The cellular expansion created stresses that broke thin walls of the underlying subpalisade cells in the chalazal area. The breakage resulted in separation of the cell layers and rapid entry of water into the seed. Highly non-polar or highly polar solvents had little or no activity. Some solvents overcame the barrier but did not cause swelling and disruption of the cell layers. We propose that the natural breakdown of impermeability in prickly sida seeds was due to the gradual seepage of water past the barrier in the distal portion of the coat in the chalazal area and into the inner portions where swelling of hygroscopic components triggered the breakage of subpalisade cell walls resulting in cell layer separation.
Traumatic rupture of the aortic isthmus: An emergency?

The objectives of this study were to explore the hypotheses that: (1) patients with traumatic rupture of the aortic isthmus (TRA) who have not exsanguinated into the pleural cavity upon hospital presentation are unlikely to develop rupture of the hematoma during the time necessary to investigate all injuries and attend to those of more immediate danger; and (2) appropriate medical therapy can prevent free rupture of the hematoma. The medical records of 112 patients who were proved to have TRA at the isthmus resulting from injury within the preceding 7 days were reviewed. Fifty of these patients received medical treatment aimed at decreasing aortic wall stress; 46 were managed under a formal protocol. The available English language and European literature for the past 15 years was surveyed for evidence of the effects of delay between injury and aortic repair. Eight patients died before aortic repair, six of aortic exsanguination (all within 4 hours of injury). Of 77 patients for whom the time of injury was recorded and the aorta was repaired, 36 were repaired within 12 hours of injury and 41 between 12 hours and 24 weeks; none developed aortic hemorrhage. No patient receiving adequate medical therapy died of rupture of the hematoma. Other major surgery preceded aortic repair in 33 patients. We conclude that the concept that traumatic rupture of the aorta should always take priority over other injuries is incorrect. Pharmacologic reduction of wall stress appears to decrease the probability of rupture of the periaortic hematoma.
Autonomous monitoring of control hardware to predict off-normal conditions using NIF automatic alignment systems

Abstract The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a high power laser system capable of supporting high-energy-density experimentation as a user facility for the next 30 years. In order to maximize the facility availability, preventive maintenance enhancements are being introduced into the system. An example of such an enhancement is a camera-based health monitoring system, integrated into the automated alignment system, which provides an opportunity to monitor trends in measurements such as average beam intensity, size of the beam, and pixel saturation. The monitoring system will generate alerts based on observed trends in measurements to allow scheduled pro-active maintenance before routine off-normal detection stops system operations requiring unscheduled intervention.
Solving measurement problems with the Rasch model.

Science conquers experience by finding the most succinct explanations to which experience can be forced to yield. Progress marches on the invention of simple ways to handle complicated situations. When a person tries to answer a test item the situation is potentially complicated. Many forces might influence the outcome-too many to be named in a workable theory of the person's response. To arrive at a workable position, we must invent a simple conception of what we are willing to suppose happens, do our best to write items and test persons so that their interaction is governed by this conception and then impose its statistical consequences upon the data to see if the invention can be made useful.
Do Drug Treatment Facilities Increase Clients’ Exposure to Potential Neighborhood-Level Triggers for Relapse? A Small-Area Assessment of a Large, Public Treatment System

Research on drug treatment facility locations has focused narrowly on the issue of geographic proximity to clients. We argue that neighborhood conditions should also enter into the facility location decision and illustrate a formal assessment of neighborhood conditions at facilities in a large, metropolitan area, taking into account conditions clients already face at home. We discuss choice and construction of small-area measures relevant to the drug treatment context, including drug activity, disadvantage, and violence as well as statistical comparisons of clients’ home and treatment locations with respect to these measures. Analysis of 22,707 clients discharged from 494 community-based outpatient and residential treatment facilities that received public funds during 1998–2000 in Los Angeles County revealed no significant mean differences between home and treatment neighborhoods. However, up to 20% of clients are exposed to markedly higher levels of disadvantage, violence, or drug activity where they attend treatment than where they live, suggesting that it is not uncommon for treatment locations to increase clients’ exposure to potential environmental triggers for relapse. Whereas on average both home and treatment locations exhibit higher levels of these measures than the household locations of the general population, substantial variability in public treatment clients’ home neighborhoods calls into question the notion that they hail exclusively from poor, high drug activity areas. Shortcomings of measures available for neighborhood assessment of treatment locations and implications of the findings for other areas of treatment research are also discussed.
Mechanisms of arsenic-induced cell transformation

Arsenic is a well-established carcinogen in humans, but there is little evidence for its carcinogenicity in animals and it is inactive as an initiator or tumor promoter in two-stage models of carcinogenicity in mice. Studies with cells in culture have provided some possible mechanisms by which arsenic and arsenical compounds may exert a carcinogenic activity. Sodium arsenite and sodium arsenate were observed to induce morphological transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells in a dose-dependent manner. The trivalent sodium arsenite was greater than tenfold more potent than the pentavalent sodium arsenate. The compounds also exhibited toxicity; however, transformation was observed at nontoxic as well as toxic doses. At low doses, enhanced colony forming efficiency of the cells was observed. To understand the mechanism of arsenic-induced transformation, the genetic effects of the two arsenicals were examined over the same doses that induced transformation. No arsenic-induced gene mutations were detected at two genetic loci. However, cell transformation and cytogenetic effects, including endoreduplication, chromosome aberrations, and sister chromatid exchanges, were induced by the arsenicals with similar dose responses. These results support a possible role for chromosomal changes in arsenic-induced transformation. The two arsenic salts also induced another form of mutation-gene amplification. Both sodium arsenite and sodium arsenate induced a high frequency of methotrexate-resistant 3T6 cells, which were shown to have amplified copies of the dihydrofolate reductase gene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Chaos and nonisochronism in weakly coupled nonlinear oscillators.

Nonisochronism, the dependence of oscillation frequencies on amplitudes, substantially changes the dynamics of two weakly coupled nonlinear oscillators. Using averaged equations, we find that a nonisochronous passive circuit coupled with an active oscillator displays chaotic and two-frequency oscillation regimes, behaviors not found in the corresponding isochronous system. This system also shows hysteresis at the transitions from two- to one-frequency regimes, and from the one-frequency regime to the suppression of oscillations. The transitions to chaos, via period doubling and type-I intermittency, occur as the detuning of the two partial frequencies of the oscillators is varied, and we identify conditions for the onset of chaos in this system.
A CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF THE PRODUCTS OF THE REACTION OF OSMIUM TETROXIDE WITH UNSATURATED LIPIDS

Thin films of methyl oleate, oleic acid, and di-octadecenoyl phosphatidylcholine were reacted with a 2% solution of OsO4 in water for 1 hr at 0°. As controls, methyl 9,10-dihydroxystearate and 9,10-dihydroxystearic acid were reacted with OsO4 in 0.25 N NaOH in methanol for 1 hr at room temperature. The reaction products were isolated, purified, and analyzed by thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, and infrared and visible spectroscopy. In all cases, the products were identified as diesters of osmic acid in which two molecules of fatty acids are linked through 1 molecule of osmic acid.
Late Pleistocene protein residues from the Mahaffy cache, Colorado

This paper reports the analysis of protein residues from tools recovered in a cache within the city limits of Boulder, Colorado, USA. This cache included a total of 83 artifacts, all of which we subjected to cross-over immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP). Four of the 83 produced results, with residues from each of these reacting with antigens from a different taxon: one tool shows evidence of use on sheep, one on bear, one on horse, and one on camel. Varieties of sheep and bear have been present in Colorado throughout human history, but horses and camelids have been in the state either during the Pleistocene or the last 200 years. Several lines of evidence indicate that the cache cannot be recent, and our CIEP results therefore imply that the cache date to the late Pleistocene. Typological aspects of the artifacts in the cache are consistent with artifacts known to be Clovis, and the combination of CIEP and typological data thus indicate that the cache is Clovis as well. These data contribute to an increasing dataset documenting the broad range of animals other than elephants hunted by Clovis groups in North America.
GRAPH INVARIANTS AND THE TOPOLOGY OF RNA FOLDING

A new general method is described for obtaining ambient isotopy or regular isotopy invariants of even valence rigid vertex graphs embedded in three-dimensional space. The paper concentrates on the case of 4-valent vertices and defines an RNA vertex in analogy to the structure of a folded molecule. Examples are given to show how these methods can discriminate graph embeddings that are indistinguishable via Vassiliev invariants. Applications to molecular folding are discussed.
Protein denaturation by addition and removal of acetonitrile: application to tryptic digestion of acetylcholinesterase

Bovine erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase was prepared for tryptic digestion by radiomethylating with [14C]HCHO and NaCNBH3, cleaving with purified bacterial phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C to remove the lipid portion of the glycoinositol phospholipid anchor, and reducing and alkylating the intersubunit disulfide bonds. Two alternative denaturation procedures were then compared prior to incubation with trypsin. In the conventional procedure, acetylcholinesterase was treated with 6 M guanidine hydrochloride for 40 min at room temperature and dialyzed. In a new procedure, acetonitrile (CH3CN) was added to 30% v/v for 10-15 min at room temperature and then removed by vacuum evaporation. The CH3CN concentration during evaporation could be estimated from the apparent pH of the solution (20 mM phosphate buffer), which varied linearly over the range of 0-75% CH3CN. CH3CN was removed in a mixture of constant composition (approximately 11% H2O-89% CH3CN), so that a final CH3CN content of 0-5% could be monitored by solution weight alone. The tryptic digests of the two denatured stocks yielded comparable HPLC profiles for A215 and radioactivity. This new denaturation protocol may be of general utility because of its convenience and gentle conditions.
A dual-polarized, dual-frequency, corrugated feed horn for SMAP

SMAP will be the first Earth science mission to use a deployable 6m mesh reflector for both radar and radiometric measurements from low Earth orbit. The instrument antenna will spin at about 14 rpm, making the design of both reflector and feed more challenging. While the performance requirements imposed by the radar instrument are relatively benign, those pertinent to the radiometer are more difficult to meet. Extreme care was necessary in designing the feed, especially from a performance stability perspective. Thermal variations due to the spacecraft going in and out of eclipse during orbit and direct solar radiation into the horn are just two of the challenges faced during the design phase. In this paper, the basic concepts behind the design of SMAP's feed will be discussed. Each component of the feed will be analyzed in detail with particular emphasis on its impact on major RF requirements. Overall performance of the feed will also be discussed.
Meditation and Atonement in the Art of Marc Chagall

Abstract Chagall’s crucifixion paintings, long a delicate subject among art historians, are best contextualized in the light of his life-long repatriation of Christian iconography to its Jewish foundation. Chagall reverses typological sequences familiar to Christians, so that instead of the Old Testament being seen as prefiguring the events of the Gospels, in his work the New Testament refers back to the Hebrew Scriptures in such a way as to illuminate the universal in Jewish experience. In Solitude (1933) and The Yellow Crucifixion (1943) we see how Chagall achieves a remarkable fusion of Jewish and Christian understandings of meditation and visual commentary on the Scriptures, prophetically calling both traditions to repentance and reconciliation.
FILTER DESIGN FOR SUPPRESSION OF SURFACE MULTIPLES IN A NON‐NORMAL INCIDENCE SEISMOGRAM*

In this paper we design a non-linear filter to suppress surface multiples in a non-normal incidence plane wave seismogram of a horizontally-layered elastic (or acoustic) earth model. Our filter is optimal in a least-squares sense and is very efficient in suppressing surface multiples, especially for small incidence angles. The design is based on an extension of earlier work by Mendel on normal incidence Bremmer series decomposition to the case of non-normal incidence, and relies heavily on work by Aminzadeh on a non-normal incidence state space model.
Size of motoneuron pool may be related to number of myotubes in developing muscle.

Abstract The number of myotube clusters in various chicken hindlimb muscles has been counted at the time of motoneuron cell death and found to be quantitatively similar to the number of neurons which innervate these muscles in the adult. It is proposed that the capacity of a muscle to support motoneurons is related to the number of “myotube clusters” in that muscle at the time of motoneuron cell death.
Effect of long-term antihypertensive therapy on cardiac anatomy in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract M-mode echocardiography was used in 12 patients with essential hypertension to study changes in cardiac anatomy during long-term therapy with hydrochlorothiazide (50 to 100 mg) and alpha-methyldopa (500 to 1,750 mg). Echocardiographic examination was performed after six weeks of treatment with hydrochlorothiazide alone and after four to six weeks, six months, and nine months of treatment with both hydrochlorothiazide and alpha-methyldopa. Hydrochlorothiazide alone induced a small, and not significant, change in blood pressure (from 157 ± 16 (SD)/105 ± 9 to 150 ±14/101 ±5 mm Hg). Changes in echocardiographic parameters of cardiac anatomy were not observed during short-term diuretic therapy. Addition of alpha-methyldopa further reduced blood pressure (to 133 ± 11/90 ± 6 mm Hg, p 2 , p
Relationship of depression to death or hospitalization in patients with heart failure.

Background: Depression is widely recognized as a risk factor in patients with coronary heart disease. However, patients with heart failure (HF) have been less frequently studied, and the effect of depression on prognosis, independent of disease severity, is uncertain. Methods: Two hundred four outpatients having a diagnosis of HF, with a ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less, underwent baseline assessments including evaluation of depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory and of HF severity determined by plasma Nterminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to examine the effects of depressive symptoms on a combined primary end point of death and hospitalizations because of cardiovascular disease (hereafter referred to as cardiovascular hospitalization) during a median follow-up of 3 years.
Assessment of design approaches for high-efficiency GaAs solar cells

A comprehensive, two-dimensional numerical simulation program for GaAs-based solar cells is used to project achievable efficiency limits for concentrator cells. With lifetimes characteristic of high-quality GaAs, it is projected that conventional p/n heteroface cells can achieve just over 30% conversion efficiency under 500 AM1.5 direct suns. The n/p cell should achieve just under 30% efficiency. These projections assume no shadowing or reflection losses. Simulations show that bandgap-narrowing effects degrade cell performance, but the effects can be largely overcome in n/p cells by using heterojunction back-surface fields. GaAs cells with lightly doped base regions are also investigated, but simulations show that they offer no substantial performance advantage over more conventional designs and are especially sensitive to surface recombination. The simulations suggest that heteroface cells can achieve efficiencies only a few percentage points below the approximately 35% thermodynamic limit under 50 AM1.5 suns. >
Interest Rates and Crowding-Out During Britain's Industrial Revolution

Available evidence on interest rates and government borrowing during Britain's industrial revolution, while limited, does not support the idea that war spending crowded out private investment. This article demonstrates the importance of using data on net receipts from borrowing, rather than changes in government debt. Weaknesses of the crowding-out model concerning capital markets and investment, openness of the economy, and full employment are identified for the historical case. The case raises broader issues of whether conceptions of saving and investment based in neoclassical supply-constrained models are as appropriate as theories of capital accumulation.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in elderly patients: The Philadelphia chromosome may not be a significant adverse prognostic factor

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in elderly patients (59 years or older) carries a poor prognosis, and this finding may be attributed to the relatively high frequency of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph). To test this hypothesis, we reviewed the clinicopathologic features of 23 consecutive, newly diagnosed elderly patients with ALL (14 men, 9 women, aged 59-92 years) uniformly treated at our institution and compared the Ph+ and Ph– groups. Conventional cytogenetic data were available for 21 of 23 cases; 7 (33%) were Ph+. All Ph+ cases were of precursor B-cell type. The remaining 16 tumors were of precursor B-cell (10), mature B-cell (2), precursor T-cell (3), and mixed precursor T-cell/B-cell (1) type. Ph+ and Ph– groups did not differ significantly in median survival (13.4 months vs 19.0 months) or other variables studied. The Ph may not be a significant adverse prognostic factor in ALL in elderly patients.
Aggregation and Reactivity of Phenyllithium Solutions

Phenyllithium forms a mixture of tetramer and dimer in ether. Complete conversion to dimeric solvates is achieved by the addition of THF, dioxolane, DME, or TMEDA in near stoichiometric amounts. The addition of 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran favors dimer, but tetramer is still detectable at 14 equiv of cosolvent. PMDTA converts PhLi to monomer in ether. In THF, PhLi is a mixture of dimer and monomer. Addition of TMEDA forms a series of complexes, but the dimer/monomer ratio is essentially unaffected. PMDTA and HMPA form monomeric PhLi stoichiometrically. HMTTA and DMPU also result in monomer formation but several equiv are required. 12-Crown-4 shows no spectroscopically detectable complexation of PhLi in THF. All of the cosolvents tested increase the reactivity of PhLi in THF in a test metalation reaction: HMPA and 12-crown-4 show the largest effects, PMDTA is intermediate, and HMTTA and TMEDA result in the least activation. In two selectivity tests, HMPA and 12-crown-4 show a substantially lower selectivity than the other cosolvents. We postulate that a contribution from a highly reactive separated ion pair (SIP) intermediate is responsible for the lower selectivity.
Career Development of Foreign-Born Workers: Where Is the Career Motivation Research?.

Immigrants and/or foreign-born workers are entering the American work-force at an increasing rate. Career motivation for these new entrants requires research attention. As this literature review sh...
T2 detection of tumor invasion within segmented components of glioblastoma multiforme.

Purpose To use T2-weighted images to detect tumor invasion when comparing normal individuals to groups of gliomablastoma multiforme (GBM) patients with varying levels of CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that promotes tumor migration. Materials and Methods T2-weighted images were acquired preoperatively in 22 treatment-naive GBM patients. Two groups were formed based on the expression levels of CXCR4. A third group of normal volunteers was used for comparison. Each image was segmented to obtain four different clusters for tissue types identified as white matter, basal ganglia, gray matter/edema and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/tumor. Signal intensity histograms were formed for each cluster and compared between groups. Results In every cluster the GBM groups displayed significantly higher standard deviations of intensity distributions when compared to normal subjects. Significant differences in skewness were found between normal subjects and GBM patients in the white matter, basal ganglia, and CSF/tumor. Further, when the two groups of GBM patients were compared the CXCR4-high group was found to have a significant shift in the median intensity values in the cluster containing gray matter and peritumoral edema. Conclusion T2 signal intensity histograms in normal subjects differ significantly from those obtained from GBM groups, suggesting widespread dissemination of disease. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;29:251–257. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Race, Inequality and Educational Accountability: The Irony of "No Child Left Behind".

The No Child Left Behind Act, the major education initiative of the Bush Administration, was intended to raise educational achievement and close the racial/ethnic achievement gap. Its strategies include focusing schools’ attention on raising test scores, mandating better qualified teachers and providing educational choice. Unfortunately, the complex requirements of the law have failed to achieve these goals, and have provoked a number of unintended negative consequences which frequently harm the students the law is most intended to help. Among these consequences are a narrowed curriculum, focused on the low‐level skills generally reflected on high stakes tests; inappropriate assessment of English language learners and students with special needs; and strong incentives to exclude low‐scoring students from school, so as to achieve test score targets. In addition, the law fails to address the pressing problems of unequal educational resources across schools serving wealthy and poor children and the shortage ...
Influence of Dampers on Seismic Response of Cable-Supported Bridge Towers

Nonlinear time history analyses were performed to investigate the seismic response of the new San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge East Span self-anchored suspension (SAS) bridge and cable-stayed (CS) bridge alternative with the signature towers protected by friction dampers and viscous dampers in lieu of the as-designed steel shear links. Response of the damper and shear link equipped towers were compared to determine if equipping bridge signature towers with passive dampers, that would not experience residual deformations, is a viable option for cable supported bridges, particularly in retrofit applications. Viscous dampers were the most beneficial to the SAS and CS tower response in the transverse direction of the bridges. Dampers placed in toggle-braced configurations further improved the tower response for the SAS bridge transverse direction by magnifying the damper displacement demands. With the addition of stiffness to the signature tower being more critical in the longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction, the diagonal friction dampers were the most beneficial in the longitudinal direction of the SAS bridge tower.
Predictive Validity of Central-Composite Design Regression Equations

The predictive validity of the Mills and Williges (1973) empirically derived prediction equations of single operator performance in a simulated surveillance system was assessed by measuring 16 additional data points on the same four subjects participating in the original study. Correlations between predicted and observed performance on 16 points augmented to the design compared favorably with estimated shrunken multiple-correlation coefficients. In addition, the averages of each of the 16 additional treatment conditions were compared to the 95% confidence interval of the predicted values using the Mills and Williges (1973) regression equations. The 16 data points were also chosen such that a supplementary factorial analysis of variance could be conducted on the data. Comparisons were made between the analysis of variance and the multiple-regression analysis. It was concluded that the response surface methodology procedures for developing overall prediction equations of human performance demonstrate a high...
Perceived Role Restriction and Adjustment of Mothers of Children with Chronic Physical Disability

Examined the relationship between maternal perceived role restriction, the extent to which a mother feels unable to pursue her own interests due to responsibilities with raising a child with a chronic physical condition, and psychosocial adjustment in 50 mothers with children 6-11 years old who had a chronic physical disability. Perceived role restriction accounted for a significant increment in the variation in adjustment beyond that contributed by objective indices of the child's disability. Neither these objective parameters of the child's disability nor his or her level of problem behaviors predicted perceptions of role restriction. However, perception of social support did. The potential role of intrapersonal processes was discussed as a neglected component of a multidimensional model of adjustment in mothers of children with a chronic physical condition.
Associations between spontaneous movement abnormalities and psychotic-like experiences in the general population

An accumulating body of literature supports the notion that psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) may occur as a continuous phenotype. However, researchers are still working to determine if these events accompany an underlying continuum of neurobiological vulnerability as well. Within this context, it is notable that spontaneous dyskinetic movements are linked to specific pathogenic factors underlying schizophrenia, but to date there has been little research directed towards determining whether these events are associated with PLEs. In this study, 119 individuals were assessed for PLEs and administered with a sensitive instrumental test of upper extremity dyskinesia. Present findings suggest a relationship between subtle dyskinesia and PLEs in the general population, and provide a new perspective of the psychosis continuum by indicating that basal ganglia pathology may also underlie PLEs at the non-clinical end of this spectrum.
Cache Valley Virus in a Patient Diagnosed with Aseptic Meningitis

Cache Valley virus was initially isolated from mosquitoes and had been linked to central nervous system-associated diseases. A case of Cache Valley virus infection is described. The virus was cultured from a patient's cerebrospinal fluid and identified with real-time reverse transcription-PCR and sequencing, which also yielded the complete viral coding sequences.
Comparative study of stochastic algorithms for system optimization based on gradient approximations

Stochastic approximation (SA) algorithms can be used in system optimization problems for which only noisy measurements of the system are available and the gradient of the loss function is not. This type of problem can be found in adaptive control, neural network training, experimental design, stochastic optimization, and many other areas. This paper studies three types of SA algorithms in a multivariate Kiefer-Wolfowitz setting, which uses only noisy measurements of the loss function (i.e., no loss function gradient measurements). The algorithms considered are: the standard finite-difference SA (FDSA) and two accelerated algorithms, the random directions SA (RDSA) and the simultaneous-perturbation SA (SPSA). RDSA and SPSA use randomized gradient approximations based on (generally) far fewer function measurements than FDSA in each Iteration. This paper describes the asymptotic error distribution for a class of RDSA algorithms, and compares the RDSA, SPSA, and FDSA algorithms theoretically (using mean-square errors computed from asymptotic distributions) and numerically. Based on the theoretical and numerical results, SPSA is the preferable algorithm to use.
Analysis of the curing behavior of bismaleimide resins

The curing behavior of bismaleimide resins was investigated using formulations containing different stoichiometric ratios of 1,1′-(methylenedi-4,1-phenylene) bismaleimide (BMI) and 4,4′-methylenedianiline (MDA). The resin cure involved a low temperature primary amine addition to the maleimide double bounds and a high temperature homopolymerization of the maleimide double bonds. The kinetics of the amine addition and the homopolymerization reactions were determined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The nucleophilic addition of the primary amines to the maleimide double bonds occurred by a second-order reaction, and was at least two orders of magnitude faster than the homopolymerization reaction, which occurred by a multistep mechanism involving thermal initiation of chain growth, followed by chain propagation. A kinetic model for the curing behavior was developed and used to predict the extents of the amine addition and the homopolymerization reactions in networks cured under isothermal or dynamic conditions.
On-road target tracking using radar and image sensor based measurements

On-road target tracking using radar and image sensor based measurements is studied. A novel 2D road coordinate representation of an on-road moving target is introduced. A natural description of target longitudinal and lateral maneuvering behavior in 2D road coordinates is given using multiple models. An improved mean-adaptive acceleration model is utilized for describing longitudinal maneuver modes of motion. Three IMM-based estimators are developed that use different schemes for fusion of radar and image sensor based measurement data: centralized, distributed, and sequential. Simulation results are presented that illustrate the performance of the proposed estimators in general, and demonstrate their improved capabilities as compared with a known 1D road coordinate (mileage) estimator, in particular.
Simulation of a Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding Process Using a Fully Coupled Thermo-Mechanical FEM Model

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a solid state joining technology that has the potential to be a replacement for processes like resistance spot welding and rivet technology in certain applications. To optimize the process parameters and to develop FSSW tools, it is important to understand the physics of this complex process that involves frictional contact, high temperature gradients, and large deformations. This paper presents a fully coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model (FEM) model of the plunge phase of a modified refill FSSW. The model was developed in Abaqus/Explicit and the simulation results included the temperature, deformation, stress, and strain distributions in the plates being joined. An experimental study was also conducted to validate the temperatures predicted by the model. The simulation results were in good agreement with the temperatures measured in the experiment. Also, the model was able to predict in a reasonable fashion the stresses and plastic strains in the plates.
Cytokinesis in Animal Cells

The organizers of this meeting probably placed cytokinesis first because it has long been an object of curiosity, speculation and investigation and because it appears to be a relatively simple event. It has been studied for so long because it is obviously important in the life of cells; and, for an activity that is controlled and carried out within the resources of a single cell, it is comparatively easy to see. The observer of cytokinesis in a large, relatively transparent cell like a cleaving sea urchin egg may think he has seen all the important aspects of the process, but appearances are deceptive. He can see the overall cell dimensions, the general form of the mitotic apparatus and the distance between the astral centers, the deformation of the surface contour that comprises division and (with the aid of natural or introduced particles) local changes in surface behavior. He cannot see (but may think he can) the location and nature of the constraints and forces that reshape the cell, the outermost limits of the mitotic apparatus and the location of regions where the action of the mitotic apparatus upon the surface is most intense. Whether cytokinesis can serve as a useful example for analysis of other kinds of cell deformation and shape change is not now clear. It seems evident that all shape changes have similar requirements but they may not be carried out by the same processes. Shape change requires that a forceproducing mechanism be created and used. The cell must put the mechanism in the right place and in the right orientation, and it must activate and deactivate it at the right times.
North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry

Background: The North American AED (antiepileptic drug) Pregnancy Registry was established in 1997 for pregnant women in the United States and Canada at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The major objective was to obtain, as quickly as possible, information on the frequency of major malformations among infants whose mothers had taken one or more AEDs to prevent seizures or to treat any other medical condition. The highest priority was new information on the many “new” AEDs marketed in the past 10 years. Methods: The eligible woman calls the toll-free number (1-888-233-2334) to obtain information and, we hope, to enroll. She is sent an informed-consent document to review, sign, and return. She is interviewed 3 times: at enrollment (12 min), 7 months’ gestation (5 min), and 8 weeks after delivery (5 min). The findings by the doctor of each exposed infant are obtained with the mother’s written permission. The study dysmorphologist uses established inclusion/exclusion criteria to identify major malformations (defined as a structural abnormality with surgical, medical, or cosmetic importance). The Scientific Advisory Committee meets separate from the representatives of the sponsoring companies to review anonymously the major findings. Findings in women who have enrolled before having any prenatal screening, a “pure” prospective group, are used to decide when findings should be released. The criterion for release of results for a positive association (relative risk, >1) is met when the lower of the 95% confidence interval (CI) is ≥2.0. The release criterion for no associated increase in the frequency of all major malformations is met when the upper of the 95% confidence limits does not exceed 2.0. The external comparison group
Cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al ages for the Last Glacial Maximum, eastern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada

A chronology for the Last Glacial Maximum based on cosmogenic exposure dating in the Pangnirtung Fjord area, eastern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada, is at odds with many decades of land-based, glacial stratigraphic research. Most previous chronologies focused primarily on relative weathering criteria and suggested that ice extent was restricted during the late Wisconsinan (ca. 24–8 ka). In contrast, by directly dating glacial features, we conclude that late Wisconsinan ice was far more extensive than previously believed. There are 36 gneissic boulders and 8 samples of ice-molded gneissic bedrock that yield late Wisconsinan 10 Be and 26 Al exposure ages for the last glaciation of Pangnirtung Fjord. The prominent Duval moraines, which were previously interpreted to represent a significant early Wisconsinan (100–60 ka) ice advance on southern Cumberland Peninsula, were actually deposited between 24 and 9 ka. Two boulders from a raised glaciomarine delta, stratigraphically related to the Duval moraines, date to about 10 ka. Two recessional moraines and striated bedrock along Pangnirtung Fjord, as well as erratics on the floor of the Kolik River valley, a tributary to Pangnirtung Fjord, indicate that deglaciation began between 12 and 9 ka. In situ produced 10 Be and 26 Al abundances indicate that ice filled Pangnirtung Fjord for about 15 k.y. (either continuously or intermittently) prior to 10 ka, which is compatible with 14 C chronologies for adjacent Cumberland Sound. Thus, our data support other recent studies that suggest the northern and southern margins of the Laurentide ice sheet were generally in phase during the latest Wisconsinan, contrary to earlier interpretations.
Screening Capsicum species of different origins for high temperature tolerance by in vitro pollen germination and pollen tube length

Successful fruit set depends on several reproductive processes including pollen germination and tube growth processes. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of temperature on pollen germination characteristics and to identify species/genotypic differences in Capsicum usingthecumulativetemperatureresponseindex(CTRI)concept.Pollenwascollectedfrom plantsofsevengenotypesfromfiveCapsicumspecies, adapted tovariousparts oftheworld andgrownoutdoorsin largepots.The pollen wassubjectedtoinvitrotemperatures rangingfrom 15to 50 8Cat 5 8C intervals. Pollen germination and tube lengths were recorded for all species after 24 h of incubation at the respective treatments. Species/ genotypes differed significantly for in vitro pollen germination percentage and pollen tube length with mean values of 78% and 734 mm, respectively. The mean cardinal temperatures (Tmin, Topt, and Tmax) averaged over genotypes, were 15.2, 30.7, and 41.8 8C for pollen germination and 12.2, 31.2, and 40.4 8C for pollen tube growth. The CTRI of each species/genotype calculated as the sum of eight relative individual stress response values, such as maximum pollen germination, maximum pollen tube length; Tmin, Topt, and Tmax temperatures of pollen germination, and pollen tube lengths, identified species tolerance to high temperatures. Capsicum annum cv. Mex Serrano from Mexicowas identified as tolerant, C. chacoense cv. 1312 and C. spp. cv. Cobanero from Argentina and Guatemala, respectively as intermediate and C. frutescens cv. Early Spring Giant from China, C. annum cv. Long Green from South Korea ,C .spp. cv. NM89C130 and C. pubescens cv. 90002 from Guatemala as sensitive to high temperatures. The tolerant species/genotypes can be used in breeding programs to develop new genotypes that can withstand high temperature conditions both in the present climate and particularly in a future warmer climate. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Effects of row spacing and plant density on corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) emergence and damage potential to corn.

Planting corn, Zea mays L., in row spacings less than the conventional width of 76 cm has been shown to increase grain yields. This study was conducted to determine if row spacing and plant density affected corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte and D. barberi Smith & Lawrence, adult emergence, larval injury to the roots, and plant tolerance to injury. Field experiments were conducted at Ames and Nashua, IA, in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Treatments were row spacings of 38 and 76 cm, and plant populations of 64,500 and 79,600 plants per hectare. Adult emergence was 31% greater in 38 cm compared with 76-cm rows. However, root injury was not significantly different between row spacings or plant populations. Row spacing alone did not significantly influence tolerance to injury, measured as root size and the amount of root regrowth. However, at one environment where precipitation was low, plants in 38-cm rows produced 25% more regrowth compared with plants in 76-cm rows. Root dry weight and regrowth were suppressed by 16 and 32%, respectively, at the high plant population. Although lodging was 51% lower in the 38-cm rows compared with the 76-cm rows, grain yields were not significantly different between row spacings. Reducing the row spacing of field corn from 76–38 cm should not increase the potential for injury from corn rootworm larvae.
The cGAS-STING Defense Pathway and Its Counteraction by Viruses

Upon virus infection, host cells mount a concerted innate immune response involving type I interferon and pro-inflammatory cytokines to enable elimination of the pathogen. Recently, cGAS and STING have been identified as intracellular sensors that activate the interferon pathway in response to virus infection and thus mediate host defense against a range of DNA and RNA viruses. Here we review how viruses are sensed by the cGAS-STING signaling pathway as well as how viruses modulate this pathway. Mechanisms utilized by viral proteins to inhibit cGAS and/or STING are also discussed. On the flip side, host cells have also evolved strategies to thwart viral immune escape. The balance between host immune control and viral immune evasion is pivotal to viral pathogenesis, and we discuss this virus-host stand-off in the context of the cGAS-STING innate immune pathway.