cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determinants of vaginal length

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe quantitatively the associations between total vaginal length and demographic, historic, and physical characteristics. Study design: At 2 clinical sites, patients completed a standardized questionnaire and physical examination. Bivariate correlations explored relationships between total vaginal length and demographic, historic, and examination variables. Significant variables were evaluated with a multivariate linear regression model. Results: The study included 3247 women. Hysterectomy and pelvic reconstructive surgery contribute 0.63 cm and 0.22 cm, respectively, to total vaginal length shortening; 10 years of age decreases total vaginal length by 0.08 cm. One meter of height and 10 kg of weight increases total vaginal length by 0.09 cm and 0.02 cm, respectively. Menopause is associated with a shortening of total vaginal length by 0.17 cm. Conclusion: Although there appears to be statistically significant associations between total vaginal length and the aforementioned factors, the impact is unlikely to be clinically significant.
History: The path to the quantum atom

John L. Heilbron describes the route that led Niels Bohr to quantize electron orbits a century ago.
The Contribution of Adjacent Subunits to the Active Sites ofd-3-Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase

Abstract d-3-Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH) from Escherichia coli is allosterically inhibited by l-serine, the end product of its metabolic pathway. Previous results have shown that inhibition by serine has a large effect on V max and only a small or negligible effect on K m. PGDH is thus classified as a V-type allosteric enzyme. In this study, the active site of PGDH has been studied by site-directed mutagenesis to assess the role of certain residues in substrate binding and catalysis. These consist of a group of cationic residues (Arg-240, Arg-60, Arg-62, Lys-39, and Lys-141′) that potentially form an electrostatic environment for the binding of the negatively charged substrate, as well as the only tryptophan residue found in PGDH and which fits into a hydrophobic pocket immediately adjacent to the active site histidine residue. Interestingly, Trp-139′ and Lys-141′ are part of the polypeptide chain of the subunit that is adjacent to the active site. The results of mutating these residues show that Arg-240, Arg-60, Arg-62, and Lys-141′ play distinct roles in the binding of the substrate to the active site. Mutants of Trp-139′ show that this residue may play a role in stabilizing the catalytic center of the enzyme. Furthermore, these mutants appear to have a significant effect on the cooperativity of serine inhibition and suggest a possible role for Trp-139′ in the cooperative interactions between subunits.
Assessing the thermal environmental impacts of an groundwater heat pump in southeastern Washington State

Abstract A thermal analysis of a large-scale groundwater heat pump (GHP) installed in southeastern Washington State has been performed using a steady-state numerical modeling approach. Water temperature increases at the upgradient extraction wells in the system and at the downgradient Columbia River are potential concerns, especially since heat rejection to the subsurface will occur year-round. Hence, potential thermal impacts of the GHP were investigated to identify operational scenarios that minimized environmental impacts at the river, and temperature drift at the production wells. Simulations examined the sensitivity of the system to variations in pumping rates and injected water temperatures, as well as to hydraulic conductivity estimates of the aquifer. Results demonstrated that both downgradient and upgradient thermal impacts were more sensitive to injection flow rates than estimates of hydraulic conductivity. Higher injection rates at lower temperatures resulted in higher temperature increases at the extraction wells but lower increases at the river. Conversely, lower pumping rates and higher injected water temperatures resulted in a smaller temperature increase at the extraction wells, but a higher increase at the river. The scenario with lower pumping rates is operationally more efficient, but does increase the likelihood of a thermal plume discharging into the Columbia River. However, this impact would be mitigated by river water mixing with groundwater near the shoreline. Even though transient conditions were not considered, the approach demonstrated the potential for conflict between optimizing GHP operations and minimizing downgradient thermal impacts. The impact under current operational conditions is negligible, but future increases in heat rejection could require a compromise between maximizing operational efficiency and minimizing temperature increases at the shoreline.
Feeding Ecology of Subyearling Chinook Salmon in Riverine and Reservoir Habitats of the Columbia River

Abstract In the Columbia River, we found the diet of subyearling chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha to be predominately caddisflies (Trichoptera; 64% by weight) in riverine nursery habitats, but mostly Daphnia spp. and terrestrial insects in reservoir habitats. A preference analysis indicated that subyearlings did not eat food items in proportion to food availability; they preferred small zooplankters least and terrestrial insects most. Rank in preference of food items was correlated positively with rank in size of available food items, but not with rank in number in the diet. Only rank in number of prey items available in the habitat was consistently correlated with rank in number in the diet. The shift in diet to Daphnia spp. and terrestrial insects in the reservoir was due primarily to the high availability of those food items and the low availability of others. The switch to food items abundant in reservoirs enabled subyearling chinook salmon to use the reservoirs as nursery areas. However, the u...
Radiation of Body Waves Induced by the Sliding of an Elastic Half-Space Against a Rigid Surface

The steady sliding of a flat half-space against a rigid surface with a constant interfacial coefficient of friction is investigated. It is shown here that steady sliding is compatible with the formation of a pair of body waves (a plane dilatational wave and a plane shear wave) radiated from the sliding interface. Each wave propagates at a different angle such that the trace velocities along the interface are equal and supersonic with respect to the elastic medium. The angles of wave propagation are determined by the Poisson's ratio and by the coefficient of friction. The amplitude of the waves are indeterminant, subject only to the restriction that the perturbations in interface contact pressure and tangential velocity satisfy the inequality constraints for unilateral sliding contact. It is also found that a rectangular wave train, or a rectangular pulse, can allow for motion of the two bodies with a ratio of remote shear to normal stress which is less than the coefficient of friction. Thus the apparent coefficient of friction is less than the interface coefficient of friction. Furthermore it is shown that the apparent friction coefficient decreases with increasing speed even if the interface friction coefficient is speed-independent. This result supports the interpretation of certain friction behavior as being a consequence of the dynamics of the system, rather than strictly as an interface property. In fact no distinction is made between the static and kinetic interface friction coefficients.
Patterns of regional diastolic function in the normal human left ventricle: an ultrafast computed tomographic study.

Abstract The detailed evaluation of regional diastolic filling at multiple ventricular levels in the normal human left ventricle has not previously been reported. Ultrafast computed tomography was used to characterize global and regional early diastolic filling in the left ventricle of 11 normal male volunteers. Regional early diastolic filling data from six distinct ventricular levels (apex to base) were fit to a third-order polynomial curve, and the peak rate of diastolic filling and time of peak filling were determined. Peak filling rate was 259 ± 17 ml/s (±SEM) as a global average, where peak filling rate referenced to end-diastolic volume and stroke volume across the levels examined was 3.78 ± 0.17 s − and 4.83 ± 0.20 s − respectively. Average filling fraction was 39 ± I%, and time to peak filling from end-systole was 145 ± 5 ms. Regional (tomographic) peak filling rates, except for the most apical level examined, were not statistically different across the ventricle. Filling fraction and time to peak filling were remarkably constant from one level to another. However, reference of regional peak filling rate to regional end-diastolic volume demonstrated significant nonuniformity from apex (120% of average for all levels) to base (87% of average for all levels). Peak filling rate referenced to tomographic stroke volume was less variable and not statistically different across the ventricle as a whole. In conclusion, values of regional absolute early peak diastolic ventricular filling rate or values normalized for regional end-diastolic volume are characteristically nonuniform across the left ventricle, whereas other variables such as filling fraction, time to peak filling and regional peak filling rate referenced to regional stroke volume are highly uniform. This confirms an intimate relation between rates of regional diastolic filling and regional ventricular size and stroke volume in the normal human heart.
Inhibition of gonadotropin and prolactin release by dopamine: effect of endogenous estradiol levels.

The influence of endogenous estradiol (E2) levels on gonadotropin and PRL sensitivity to dopamine (DA) infusion (4 μg/kg/min) was assessed at different stages of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Basal LH and FSH levels were comparable in day 2 and day 12 subjects, and despite a 4-fold increase in E2 concentration, the inhibition of LH by DA was small and quantitatively similar and there was no discernible effect on FSH in either group. In marked contrast, day 14 subjects with an elevated basal LH level exhibited a dramatic increase in the sensitivity of LH and FSH to DA inhibition. Further, a remarkable rebound release for LH but not FSH occurred on the termination of DA infusion. There was a significant correlation between basal LH and response to DA (r = 0.979). This unique increase in response to DA at a time when hypothalamic LRF secretion is assumed to be elevated suggests that DA may exert its effect by inhibiting LRF release. The inhibition of PRL release by DA is correlated with endoge...
Précis of Gallistel's The organization of action: A new synthesis

The book describes three elementary units of action – the reflex, the oscillator, and the servomechanism – and the principles by which they are combined to make complex units. The combining of elementary units to make complex units gives behavior and the neural circuitry underlying behavior a hierarchical structure. Circuits at higher levels govern the operation of lower circuits by selective potentiation and depotentiation: by regulating the potential for operation in lower circuits – raising the potential for some and lowering it for others – a higher unit establishes the overall pattern to be exhibited in the combined operations of the lower units, while leaving it to the lower units to determine the details of the implementation of this pattern. A theory of motivation of the kind long championed by ethologists and physiological psychologists grows out of the notion of the selective potentiation and depotentiation of hierarchically structured units of behavior. The question then becomes how this conception of motivation may be integrated with a conception of a learned representation of the world to yield a theory of how animals produce novel motivated behavioral sequences based on learned representations. The representation of space, which is central to the behavior of organisms at least as lowly as the digger wasp, is a promising domain for the investigation of this question. Another promising area is the representation of skilled movements, such as handwriting. A number of issues in cognitive and developmental psychology are illumined by this theory about the organization of action. Among these are the degrees-of-freedom problem, the role of practice in development and in the learning of skilled action, and the role of mental rotation of spatial representations.
Growth of wireless ad hoc networks

The utility of a node in an energy-limited wireless ad hoc network is defined as a positive linear function of the number of bits that the node sends as a source and the number of bits that it receives as a destination. First, we show that under the one-to-one traffic model in which every node wants to send traffic to a randomly chosen destination node, a utility that grows asymptotically at least as c/sub n/(N/logN)/sup (n-1)/2/ is achievable for every node when the nodes are distributed randomly on the surface of a fixed sphere. In this expression, N denotes the number of nodes, n denotes the transmit power fall-off exponent, and c/sub n/ is a constant that depends on n and is independent of N. Second, we introduce a "dollars-per-Joule pricing" system for wireless ad hoc networks, in which each node can charge any other node a price per Joule of energy that it expends on the other node's traffic. Under this pricing system, we extend the definition of the utility of a node to include the revenue that the node raises and the payments that it makes on the network. We show that the core capacity region of a wireless ad hoc network is non-empty under this dollars-per-Joule pricing system. Further, we show that there exists a sequence of utility vectors in the core capacity region such that the average of the utilities of the nodes grows asymptotically at least as c/sub n/(N/logN)/sup (n-1)/2/ under the one-to-one traffic model.
PROSTATE ABSCESS FOLLOWING INTRAVESICAL BACILLUS CALMETTE-GUERIN TREATMENT

A 47-year-old man was evaluated for irritative voiding symptoms and microhematuria in August 1997. Voided urine cytology at that time was consistent with urothelial carcinoma. Upper tract imaging was normal and subsequent cystoscopy revealed a papillary bladder tumor on the right lateral wall. This lesion was biopsied and histological analysis confirmed grade 3/3 transitional cell carcinoma invading the lamina propria with accompanying carcinoma in situ. Subsequent cystoscopic examinations and urine cytology were normal, and the patient was treated with BCG therapy. He received a 6-week induction course followed by 3 weekly maintenance treatments at 3, 6 and 12 months, and then at 6-month intervals until presentation. Full strength, Connaught strain, BCG was always used, and there was never any difficulty with instillation, any evidence of BCG toxicity and no recurrent bladder tumor. In April 2001 perineal pain developed. Physical examination was normal except for slight induration of the right side of the prostate. Tentative diagnosis was prostatitis and levofloxacin was prescribed. The symptoms worsened during the following week, and he returned for further evaluation. Temperature was 102 Fahrenheit and a fluctuant, left perineal mass was detected. Computerized tomography of the pelvis revealed a hypoattenuating mass extending from the perineum through the apical portion of the prostate (see figure). The physical and radiographic findings were consistent with a prostatic abscess. Open transperineal surgical drainage of the mass confirmed the diagnosis. Examination of the purulent drainage demonstrated numerous acid-fast bacilli on Kinyoun and Auramine smears. The patient was placed on 2-drug antimycobacterial therapy with isoniazid and ethambutol while culture results were pending. Final identification of the acid-fast bacilli was Mycobacterium bovis. The patient is currently undergoing a 12-month antimycobacterial treatment regimen.
Scattering parameter-based simulation of transients in lossy nonlinearly terminated packaging interconnections

A new and efficient approach is presented for the transient analysis of coupled transmission line structures frequently encountered in microelectronic packaging applications. Frequency-dependent parameters for the transmission lines, as well as nonuniformities in the cross-section of the structures are taken into account. The method is based on the scattering parameter representation of the lossy and/or nonuniform interconnects, An important advantage of this approach compared to previous scattering parameter formulations is that the scattering parameter models have been fully integrated with the standard SPICE models of nonlinear semiconductor devices such as bipolar and CMOS transistors, thus allowing realistic modeling of the driver and receiver circuits terminating the transmission lines. Moreover, measured scattering parameters and non-TEM models can also be included in the simulation. To illustrate the capabilities of this new method, several simulation studies showing the effects of losses and nonuniform interconnect geometries on the propagating signals in transmission line circuits with nonlinear terminations are included in the paper. >
Biological risk of GCR determined using PHITS and FLUKA simulation

Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) pose a substantial risk to humans in space. 12Uncertainties in risk estimates, caused by the interaction of GCR in human tissue, stem primarily from uncertainties in quality factors. The generally accepted methods for determining Quality Factor don't account for differences in particle tracks of different ions with equal Linear Energy Transfer (LET). The LET can also be equal for different particle species with different velocities but radiobiological studies often indicate differing levels of damaging ability. Ionization density of particle tracks for different ions of equal LET decreases with increasing atomic number and velocity. In this case, the heavier and higher velocity ions produce a wider delta ray penumbra and, therefore, a lower ionization density for the same dose to a target. Variations in the particle trajectories of different ions cause a change in energy deposition and the resulting target effects on the cellular level. This paper presents findings that account for variations in particle traversals of different ions and compares the ionization densities of their tracks. Transport modeling, using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS) and FLUKA tool kits provide this function and is compared with well-accepted theoretical models developed by A. Chatterjee (1976) and J.J. Butts and R. Katz (1967).
Vibrational Spectra of Spodiosite Analogs

Spodiosite analogs are a class of compounds related to the apatite family. The ir spectra (4000 to 200 cm−1) and the laser-Raman spectra were obtained for several analogs (Ca2(XO4)Cl in which X=P, As, or V) prepared by a reaction flux technique. Fundamental modes were identified, and empirical band assignments were made. Unquestionable band assignment of the v2 modes can be made using Raman spectra. Effects of solid-state interactions were noted in the spectra and interpreted by factor-group analysis using the factor group D2h. The spectra of chlorspodiosite (Ca2(PO4)Cl) were compared with the spectra of synthetically prepared chlorapatite.
Imaging of pregnancy-associated breast cancer

With pregnancy coming later and later in a woman's life, breast cancer during gestation or postpartum may be seen more often. In this context, the imaging techniques commonly used to diagnose and treat cancer offer unique challenges.
Victims of Terrorism and the Right to Redress Challenges and Contradictions in the 2012 Emmerson Report

The U.N. Global Counterterrorism Strategy (A/RES/60/288) recognizes that the war on terror can only be won by protecting the rights of its victims. However, almost a decade since its adoption, the ...
Endothelial cells release a chemoattractant for retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro.

• Though the pathogenesis of choroidal neovascular membranes is uncertain, there is evidence to support a primary dysfunction in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). This suggests the possibility that a healthy RPE may provide a physical and/or chemical barrier to subretinal endothelial cell invasion. It has recently been shown that RPE cells in culture produce an inhibitor of neovascularization. Histopathologic evidence suggests that RPE cells tend to surround new blood vessels and contain them. We therefore investigated the possibility that RPE cells are guided toward endothelial cells by chemoattractants. Using a modified Boyden chamber technique, we showed that endothelial cells in culture produce a chemoattractant for RPE cells. The active component is trypsin sensitive, stable at extremes of pH (3 through 10), and nondialyzable (12,000- to 14,000-dalton cutoff). It is partially heat stable but becomes completely heat stable in the presence of 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate. These are all characteristics of the previously described endothelial cell-derived growth factor, suggesting that this mitogen might be the chemoattractant. The ability of RPE cells to be attracted to sites of new blood vessel formation may enhance their potential function as inhibitors of neovascularization.
Bacterial Meningitis in Children Whose Cerebrospinal Fluid Contains Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes Without Pleocytosis

A retrospective study was performed of 424 children who received diagnostic lumbar puncture for analysis of cerebrospinal fluid during evaluation of an acute illness. In 106 children, the CSF contained polymorphonuclear leukocytes without pleocytosis. Of these 106 patients, 90 percent had a CSF differential cell count with 20 percent or less PMN's and 88 percent had glucose and protein concentrations within the range of normal limits. All patients had a Gram-stained smear of CSF that revealed no organisms. In no instance was a CSF culture positive for a bacterial pathogen. In most instances, cerebrospinal fluid that contains total white cell count and glucose/protein concentrations within limits of normal, Gram-stained smear which reveals no organisms, and a differential cell count with less than 20 percent PMN's is not indicative of risk for bacterial meningitis. If the clinical situation warrants, the majority of children with this profile do not require hospitalization and initiation of empiric antibiotic therapy pending CSF culture results.
Homophily Through Nonreciprocity: Results of an Experiment

This study outlines a new explanation for homophily in social networks that is neither intended nor imposed by constraints on partner choices. Rather, homophily is an endogenous product of the emergent exchange process, in which actors seek high-value partners who reciprocate their gestures. Whereas all actors initially direct exchange toward higher value partners, the gestures of lower value actors are more likely to go unreciprocated. This imbalance drives lower value actors to seek new partners, who end up being others who are also lower value. The consequence is homophily on value despite no such preference. I draw upon social exchange theory to articulate how this process unfolds in a newly forming network. A laboratory experiment tests hypotheses about how exchange patterns change over time. Findings reveal that shifts in participants' behavior over time were consistent with a concern for reciprocity, resulting in increasing levels of homophily in the network.
Relative replication capacity of phenotypic SIV variants during primary infections differs with route of inoculation

Background: Previous studies of human and simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV and SIV) have demonstrated that adaptive mutations selected during the course of infection alter viral replicative fitness, persistence, and pathogenicity. What is unclear from those studies is the impact of transmission on the replication and pathogenicity of the founding virus population. Using the SIV-macaque model, we examined whether the route of infection would affect the establishment and replication of two SIVmne variants of distinct in vitro and in vivo biological characteristics. For these studies, we performed dual-virus inoculations of pig-tailed macaques via intrarectal or intravenous routes with SIVmneCl8, a miminally pathogenic virus, and SIVmne027, a highly pathogenic variant that replicates more robustly in CD4 + T cells. Results: The data demonstrate that SIVmne027 is the dominant virus regardless of the route of infection, indicating that the capacity to replicate efficiently in CD4 + T cells is important for fitness. Interestingly, in comparison to intravenous co-infection, intrarectal inoculation enabled greater relative replication of the less pathogenic virus, SIVmneCl8. Moreover, a higher level of SIVmneCl8 replication during primary infection of the intrarectally inoculated macaques was associated with lower overall plasma viral load and slower decline in CD4 + T cells, even though SIVmne027 eventually became the dominant virus. Conclusions: These results suggest that the capacity to replicate in CD4 + T cells is a significant determinant of SIV fitness and pathogenicity. Furthermore, the data also suggest that mucosal transmission may support early replication of phenotypically diverse variants, while slowing the rate of CD4 + T cell decline during the initial stages of infection.
Pulmonary vascular pressure profiles in broilers selected for susceptibility to pulmonary hypertension syndrome: Age and sex comparisons

Broilers that are susceptible to pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS, ascites) have an elevated pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) when compared with PHS-resistant broilers. Two distinctly different syndromes, pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary venous hypertension (PVH), both are associated with increases in PAP. Pulmonary arterial hypertension occurs when the right ventricle must elevate the PAP to overcome increased resistance to flow through restrictive pulmonary arterioles upstream from the pulmonary capillaries. In contrast, PVH is commonly caused by increased downstream (postcapillary) resistance. The sites of resistance to pulmonary blood flow are deduced by making contemporaneous measurements of the PAP and the wedge pressure (WP) and calculating the transpulmonary pressure gradient (TPG) (TPG = PAP - WP). We obtained PAP and WP values from 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, and 24-wk-old anesthetized male and female broilers from a PHS-susceptible line. Pressures were recorded as a catheter was advanced through a wing vein to the pulmonary artery and onward until the WP was obtained. In addition to sex and age comparisons of vascular pressure gradients, the data also were pooled to obtain 3 cohorts for broilers having the lowest PAP values (n = 52; range: 12 to 22.9 mmHg), intermediate PAP values (n = 63; range: 23 to 32.9 mmHg), and highest PAP values (n = 62; range: 33 to 62 mmHg) independent of age or sex. Within each of the age, sex, and PAP cohort comparisons, broilers with elevated PAP consistently exhibited the hemodynamic characteristics of pulmonary arterial hypertension (elevated PAP and TPG combined with a normal WP) and not PVH (elevated PAP and WP combined with a normal or reduced TPG). Susceptibility to PHS can be attributed primarily to pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with increased precapillary (arteriole) resistance.
Planning Support Systems: A New Perspective on Computer-Aided Planning:

This article examines the changing views of planning and computer-based information that provide the foundations for a new perspective on computer-assisted planning. It begins by tracing the evolving view of planning as applied science in the 1 960s, as politics in the 1970s, and then as communication in the 1980s. It then reviews the evolving concern of the information sciences with data in the 1960s, information in the 1970s, and knowledge in the 1980s. It concludes by suggesting that the increasingly popular topic of planning support systems (PSS) can be seen as continuing these trends to a include broader concern with intelligence and collective design.
Contribution tracking: participating in task-oriented dialogue under uncertainty

The contribution of this dissertation is to show how interlocutors in dialogue can reason probabilistically about natural language interpretation, dialogue state (context), and natural language generation in a way that is consistent with three fundamental claims made by mainstream theories of pragmatic reasoning in human-human dialogue: (1) interlocutors track and exploit the evolving context to coordinate their individual contributions; (2) the current context depends on what the previous utterances of both interlocutors have meant (contributed); (3) what a speaker can recognizably mean (contribute) by a specific choice of words depends on the current context. Mainstream pragmatic theories depend on these assumptions to explain how a speaker can make linguistic choices that the hearer will interpret as intended, but these theories do not lend themselves to straightforward probabilistic reasoning. Engineering approaches to building dialogue systems implement straightforward probabilistic reasoning, but sacrifice one or more (sometimes all) of these fundamental aspects of pragmatic theory in order to do so. This dissertation shows how we can achieve the robustness and data-driven methodology enjoyed by engineering approaches while keeping our interlocutors on a sound theoretical footing, and thereby points the way toward a new class of dialogue systems that are empirically driven, that are robust pragmatic reasoners, and that exhibit human-like sensitivity to the ins and outs of language use in context.
Objective Evidence of Severe Disease: Opioid Use in Chronic Pain

Treating chronic pain presents numerous challenges. First, assessing patients with chronic pain is complicated by the lack of objective measures of pain itself. Chronic pain guidelines already developed by national organizations rely on careful history taking rather than objective measures. Second, opioids are an accepted element of chronic pain management, but their use is tempered by risks of overdose, dependency, and the potential for diversion. This essay proposes a new standard for the use of long-term opioids for chronic pain: the presence or absence of objective evidence of severe disease. This standard, which supports responsible prescribing of opioids, is one that clinicians can understand and apply when considering prescribing long-term opioids for chronic pain. Until we have measures of pain itself, we should insist upon objective evidence of severe disease before prescribing opioids for chronic pain.
Symptomatic de novo arteriovenous malformation in an adult: Case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) have been long thought to be a congenital anomaly of vasculogenesis in which arteries and veins form direct connections forming a vascular nidus without an intervening capillary bed or neural tissue. Scattered case reports have described that AVMs may form de novo suggesting they can become an acquired lesion. CASE DESCRIPTION The current case report describes a patient who presented with new-onset seizures with an initial negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and subsequently developed an AVM on a MRI 9 years later. CONCLUSION This case joins a small, but growing body of literature that challenges the notion that all AVMs are congenital.
Why Bundled Payments Could Drive Innovation: An Example From Interventional Oncology

Some have suggested that the current fee-for-service health care payment system in the United States stifles innovation. However, there are few published examples supporting this concept. We implemented an innovative temporary balloon occlusion technique for yttrium 90 radioembolization of nonresectable liver cancer. Although our balloon occlusion technique was associated with similar patient outcomes, lower cost, and faster procedure times compared with the standard-of-care coil embolization technique, our technique failed to gain widespread acceptance. Financial analysis revealed that because the balloon occlusion technique avoided a procedural step associated with a lucrative Current Procedural Terminology billing code, this new technique resulted in a significant decrease in hospital and physician revenue in the current fee-for-service payment system, even though the new technique would provide a revenue enhancement through cost savings in a bundled payment system. Our analysis illustrates how in a fee-for-service payment system, financial disincentives can stifle innovation and advancement of health care delivery.
Analysis of histogenesis and regenerative ability of denervated forelimb regenerates of Triturus viridescens.

Forelimb blastemata of the adult newt, Triturus viridescens, were denervated at three stages of regeneration and allowed to differentiate in the absence of nerves. Some of these limbs, after developing to specific regenerative ages, were subjected to hand amputations and second denervations. The central question posed was: if the blastema is allowed to differentiate in the absence of nerves, will the resultant limb upon reamputation at a more distal level be capable of initiating renewed regeneration as are aneurogenic larval limbs that have differentiated in the absence of nerves? The older the blastemata at the time of the first denervation, the greater was the incidence of continued morphogenesis. Preliminary histogenesis at the time of the first denervation did not insured continued morphogenesis, nor did complete absence of histogenesis prevent further development. Cartilage elements and muscle differentiated in nerveless regenerates, but both tissues lagged in development compared to those of the contralateral innervated limb. Muscle was reduced in amount, and some evidence indicated that it underwent degenerative changes if the nerveless state was maintained. None of the completely nerve-free regenerates was able to reinitiate regeneration. Thus blastemal cells were not able to return to the embryonic level of independence of nerve supply under the conditions of the experiment.
Mapping High-Fidelity Volume Rendering for Medical Imaging to CPU, GPU and Many-Core Architectures

Medical volumetric imaging requires high fidelity, high performance rendering algorithms. We motivate and analyze new volumetric rendering algorithms that are suited to modern parallel processing architectures. First, we describe the three major categories of volume rendering algorithms and confirm through an imaging scientist-guided evaluation that ray-casting is the most acceptable. We describe a thread- and data-parallel implementation of ray-casting that makes it amenable to key architectural trends of three modern commodity parallel architectures: multi-core, GPU, and an upcoming many-core Intelreg architecture code-named Larrabee. We achieve more than an order of magnitude performance improvement on a number of large 3D medical datasets. We further describe a data compression scheme that significantly reduces data-transfer overhead. This allows our approach to scale well to large numbers of Larrabee cores.
Frequency response of an interdigital transducer for excitation of surface elastic waves

Excitation of elastic waves in a piezoelectric solid by an interdigital transducer, in terms of a simplified model, has been analyzed using Lamb's integral solution. The transducer generates three types of disturbances propagating at the velocities of irrotational, equivoluminal, and Rayleigh waves. While the amplitudes of the former two waves diminish as the three-half power of the distance from the transducer, that of the latter does not decay with distance on the surface. Dependence of particle displacement of the waves on electric fields, number of electrodes, electrode width, and wave numbers has been derived. It has been shown that a conventional interdigital transducer, in which all the electrode widths and all the spacings are respectively equal among themselves, can respond to fundamental and odd harmonic excitations, but not to the even harmonics. Means to improve the insertion loss and the bandwidth of the transducer are discussed. A flat overall frequency response can be synthesized by parallel operation of two or more transducers, the fundamental frequencies of which are properly staggered.
Rupture process of the MacQuarie Ridge Earthquake of May 23, 1989

Broadband body waves recorded at 15 digital seismic stations worldwide are used to study the rupture process of the May 23, 1989 Macquarie Ridge earthquake. The centroidal solution (strike 211{degree}, dip 86{degree}, rake 180{degree}, and depth of 10 km below the seafloor) indicates shallow rupture with pure right-lateral strike-slip motion along the Pacific-Australia plate boundary, in agreement with motion predicted by plate tectonic models. The total seismic moment is 13.4{times}10{sup 20} Nm, 80% of which was released in the first 24 s of the rupture process. Modeling favors a bilaterally propagating rupture with slightly different dip and rake for the northward and southward fault segments and similar moment release along both directions. The estimated fault length is quite short, about 90 km, and the derived stress drop of 180 bar and average displacement of 17 m are unusually high. The bathymetry in the epicentral region shows topographic segmentation of the ridge, possibly indicating fault segmentation which confines ruptures to short segments.
Dynamic and transient analysis of power distribution systems with fuel Cells-part II: control and stability enhancement

The objective of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of distribution systems that contain fuel cells and to enhance the stability of these systems by controlling the fuel cells. The models used in this second part of the two-part paper are the solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) models developed in part one. The fuel-cell control loops through the power conditioning units are first explained using a one-machine infinite bus system. Then, fuel cells are integrated into a power distribution test system, which initially contains gas turbines only. Simulation results show how a combination of fuel cells and gas turbines can help control frequency fluctuations, and supply power after islanding of the distribution system.
Phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography

The theory of phase-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) flow imaging is discussed. A formula for the velocity-induced phase shift is given. When bipolar gradient-pulses are added to a conventional 2-D MR imaging procedure and differences between acquisitions are determined using opposite-polarity flow-encoding pulses, the stationary signal is effectively cancelled and a flow image is obtained. An example is given in which the arteries and veins of the head and neck of a healthy volunteer are shown. >
Developing Enhanced Light Imaging Test Equipment for DUTS obsolescence

This paper will address the process that was implemented to manage and assess the existing obsolete hardware and implement new modern hardware. Managing obsolete software to process and assess newer technology and improve software functionality and robustness into the existing system in order to meet minimum schedule for qualification and acceptance. Maintaining test equipment that was designed over 20 years ago has presented major issues dealing with obsolescence. The steps of dealing with obsolescence are an ongoing process that will continue as new technology is always emerging. Hardware and software advancements continue to grow to provide faster, smarter and more accurate test equipment. When dealing with obsolete equipment there is often no longer sufficient support for the equipment from the manufacturer and maintaining the equipment to top standards and test procedures can prove difficult. Older obsolete equipment generally will not perform as well as newer technology and when components in the test equipment become obsolete, new technology must be implemented with old equipment to function as desired. Pairing older and newer technology may sometimes be a difficult task considering potential hardware and software incompatibility. All the potential issues must be explored and once understood procuring the new equipment is the next step. Once procured extensive testing must be performed to ensure complete compatibility between old and new equipment. Complete understanding of the obsolete equipment is essential in order to implement new equipment. From there we can learn and understand how newer equipment technology can be implemented with existing hardware and software capabilities. This paper discusses the replacement of the obsolete Computer Automated Display (CAD) test set with the new Enhanced Light Imaging Test Equipment (ELITE) required for the C-17 Display Unit Test Station (DUTS). The purpose is to show how the ELITE is smaller, lighter and enhances functionality than its predecessor.
African American Career Aspirations: Examining the Relative Influence of Internalized Racism

The present study examined the relative influence of aspects of internalized racism on the career aspirations of a sample of African American adults. Participants (N = 315), ranging in age from 18 to 62 years, completed measures of internalized racism and career aspirations online. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relative influence of internalized racism. Regression results indicated that participants who devalued and dismissed an African worldview and its themes had lower career aspirations.
Sympathetic Activation is Associated with Increased IL-6, but not CRP in the Absence of Obesity. Lessons from Postural Tachycardia Syndrome and Obesity

Sympathetic activation is thought to contribute to the inflammatory process associated with obesity, which is characterized by elevated circulating C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). To evaluate whether sympathetic activation is associated with inflammation in the absence of obesity, we studied patients with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition characterized by increased sympathetic tone in otherwise healthy individuals. Compared with 23 lean controls, 43 lean female POTS had greater vascular sympathetic modulation (low-frequency blood pressure variability, LFSBP, 3.2 ± 0.4 vs. 5.5 ± 0.6 mmHg(2), respectively, P = 0.006), lower cardiac parasympathetic modulation (high-frequency heart rate variability, 1,414 ± 398 vs. 369 ± 66 ms(2), P = 0.001), and increased serum IL-6 (2.33 ± 0.49 vs. 4.15 ± 0.54 pg/ml, P = 0.011), but this was not associated with increases in hsCRP, which was low in both groups (0.69 ± 0.15 vs. 0.82 ± 0.16 mg/l, P = 0.736). To explore the contribution of adiposity to inflammation, we then compared 13 obese female POTS patients and 17 obese female controls to matched lean counterparts (13 POTS and 11 controls). Compared with lean controls, obese controls had increased LFSBP (3.3 ± 0.5 vs. 7.0 ± 1.1 mmHg(2); P = 0.016), IL-6 (2.15 ± 0.58 vs. 3.92 ± 0.43 pg/ml; P = 0.030) and hsCRP (0.69 ± 0.20 vs. 3.47 ± 0.72 mg/l; P = 0.001). Obese and lean POTS had similarly high IL-6 but only obese POTS had increased hsCRP (5.76 ± 1.99 mg/l vs. 0.65 ± 0.26; P < 0.001). In conclusion, sympathetic activation in POTS is associated with increased IL-6 even in the absence of obesity. The coupling between IL-6 and CRP, however, requires increased adiposity, likely through release of IL-6 by visceral fat.
Effects of low-level laser exposure on calcium channels and intracellular release in cultured astrocytes

Prompted by a study of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a model system of cultured astrocytes, we discovered that low level laser illumination (LLL) at 660nm elevates the level of intracellular Ca2+. The coherence of the illumination was not essential since incoherent red light also worked. For cells bathed in low Ca2+ saline so that influx was suppressed, the Ca2+ level rose with no significant latency following illumination and consistent with a slow leak of Ca2+ from storage such as from the endoplasmic reticulum and/or mitochondria. When the cells were bathed in normal Ca2+ saline, the internal Ca2+ rose, but with a latency of about 17 seconds from the beginning of illumination. Pharmacologic studies with ryanodine inhibited the light effect. Testing the cells with fluid shear stress as used in the TBI model showed that mechanically induced elevation of cell Ca2+ was unaffected by illumination.
Defects and Future Silicon Technology

The interaction between device technology and the control of defects has been strong since the first transistor. The rapid and unparalled development of this technology can be monitored by changes in device size and process complexity, or reciprocally, in defect density. In the future the emphasis on computation functionality will shift to imaging and learning. In addition high volume manufacturing will cast an emphasis on capital cost, yield, effluent control and safety. These foci require the development of new sensitive defect assessment tools, the modelling of complex defect systems and the understanding of defect properties on the atomic scale. We shall illustrate this interplay between technology and materials science by topics in ULSI circuits, silicon photovoltaics and silicon microphotonics. For ULSI the control of both bulk and surface defects is decisive. The physical chemistry at the silicon surface plays a key role in metal contamination. We shall discuss the use of RF-PCD for in-line monitoring and investigation of reaction kinetics. Silicon for low cost, photovoltaic applications confronts problems involving complex defect systems, but comparatively simple processes. The goal is to optimize growth and cell processing. The objective of silicon microphotonics is to establish an IC compatible process technology for integration of optical interconnection with silicon electronics. By building the first silicon-based LED operating at λ = 1.54 μm at room temperature it has been shown that erbium doping is a viable approach. Codoping with F or O largely enhances the light output. We will show a process simulator for the Si:Er:F system as an example for ligand field engineering.
Potentiometric semimicrodetermination of some anions with 1,2,4,6-tetraphenylpyridinium acetate

A new titrant, 1,2,4,6-tetraphenylpyridinium acetate, has been evaluated for the potentiometric precipitation titration of semimicro amounts of some large inorganic anions. Emf's were monitored with a perchlorate ion-selective electrode and a double-junction reference electrode. Satisfactory results were obtained for perchlorate, perrhenate, periodate, dichromate, permanganate, hexafluorophosphate, and hexachloroplatinate. Fluoroborate yielded a smaller endpoint break and poor precision. Thiocyanate, iodide, molybdate, tungstate, and tetrachloropalladate yielded partial or complete precipitation, but no analytically useful titration curves. We consider it likely that large anions such as pertechnetate, hexafluoro anions such as hexafluoroarsenate, and some complex metal chlorides such as those of mercury and tin (IV) can be determined in a similar fashion.
Localizing Properties of Anti-Rat-Aorta Atibodies.∗†:

SummaryAntisera prepared in rabbits against rat aorta contain antibodies capable of localizing in the liver, kidney and lung of the rat when injected intravenously. The antisera can be fractionated by in vivo purification to yield antibodies capable of localizing preferentially in liver, kidney or lung. This is interpreted as showing that the aorta has antigens in common with the vascular beds of these organs.