cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prenatal Diagnosis of Chromosome Abnormalities

The history of prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis dates back to 1955, when Serr et al. (1955) and Fuchs and Riis (1956) reported that antenatal sex determination can be made by examination of the X-chromatin body in human amniotic fluid cells. A decade later, Steele and Breg (1966) succeeded in culturing amniotic fluid cells and karyotyping fetal chromosomes. This discovery advanced the role of genetic counseling for parents at risk of having a chromosomally defective offspring. In 1977, Milunsky conducted a worldwide survey, collecting data from 32,443 genetic amniocenteses, of which 17,839 cases had been referred because of advanced maternal age. From 1978 to early 1985, there were many reports on the results of prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis published both by individual institutions and from collaborative studies. At least 18 publications have reported results from 1000 or more cases of prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis (Hsu et al., 1978; Boue et al., 1979; Golbus et al., 1979; Polani et al., 1979; Crandall et al., 1980; Stengel-Rutkowski, 1980; Webb et al., 1980; Verjaal et al., 1981; Daniel et al., 1982; Porreco et al., 1982; Simoni et al., 1982; Squire et al., 1982; Cruikshank et al., 1983; Philip et al., 1983; Young et al., 1983; Loft and Tabor, 1984; Benn et al., 1985; Dacus et al., 1985). These add up to approximately 50,000 cases, which represent only a small fraction of the amniocenteses that have been performed worldwide.
Collaborative Sites of Resistance

This chapter imagines the productive possibilities of globalisation’s relaxed national boundaries in plays that can be considered examples of collectivist resistance to the neoliberal consensus, particularly in light of Brexit. The everyday experiences of austerity dramatised in Anders Lustgarten’s If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep (2013) are similarly taken up by Alexander Zeldin’s Love (2016) and Faith, Hope and Charity (2019), plays that find a theatrical antecedent in Caryl Churchill’s Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976), whose collaborative origins were elided in the play’s spectacular, large-scale revival in 2015. The chapter also examines Simon Stephens’s Three Kingdoms (2011), an international co-production that resists the nativist, Eurosceptic discourse that has led to Brexit not only by indexing Britain’s entanglement with the continent but also by celebrating the kinds of transnational collaboration afforded to the arts in a unified Europe.
Demanding Democracy and Rejecting Autocracy in Africa: The Role of Religion and Regime Experience

Deeply rooted commitments to democracy are reflected in a dual acceptance of democratic governance and rejection of its alternative autocratic forms of government (Bratton, Mattes, & Boadi, 2005). This paper investigates what role religious adherence plays vis-a-vis country-level experiences in fostering such support, and therefore impacting prospects for democracy. At such an hour of global uncertainty regarding religious fundamentalism, political stability and democracy, this paper is animated by the following questions: Is Islam compatible with support for democracy? What lessons can be learned about the role of religion, specifically Islam vis-a-vis Christianity, in fostering democratic possibilities? If religion does seem to affect democratic attitudes, is it truly religion or some other factor driving Africans’ views on democracy? Most scholarship on the compatibility of Islam and democracy centers on evidence from the Middle East, which omits a growing number of Islamic adherents and populations, specifically from the African continent. This paper seeks to address these gaps and questions. This paper takes as its foundation developing African democracies, examining individual citizens’ political attitudes, using Afrobarometer’s rounds 2 through 7 cross-national data as well as qualitative country case studies. These data reveal that what seems to be religion driving inconsistent attitudes regarding democracy and autocracy actually is explained by previous regime experience. Encounters among respondents with various regime forms foster different forms of commitment to democracy in emerging African democracies. Religious adherents’ previous regime experiences serve as formative factors shaping how not only Muslims, but also Christians, are oriented towards democracy and thus the prospects for democratization in emerging African democracies. Other factors, such as education, gender, exposure to political parties, regular consumption of forms of mass media, and the like are not ruled out as affecting political attitudes. However, this paper focuses on religion given the author’s earlier research that found, even in the face of other key factors that influence support for democracy and rejection of its alternatives, religion still seemed to matter. Christians and Muslims in cross-national investigation differed with Muslims seeming to hold inconsistent preferences more often than Christians (Beard 2007). This research adds credence to the idea that there is no fundamental incompatibility between Islam and democracy. Where respondents live and their related experiences with regimes prevail over the apparent relationship between religious identity and political attitudes.
Single-carrier charge collection in thin direct-conversion semiconductor neutron detector: A numerical simulation

Although direct-conversion solid-state neutron detection has been investigated for over five decades, propelling this technology beyond the basic research stage remains an outstanding challenge. This challenge is due to the very small selection of neutron-sensitive isotopes and therefore lack of mature semiconductor materials available for this technology. Given these constraints, there is a reason to investigate materials with less-than-optimal charge transport properties, which could include low charge carrier mobility/lifetime and/or single-carrier transport (i.e., order of magnitude or greater difference between electron and hole mobility). Such materials are potentially best-suited to a thin-film configuration, which provides not only leniency in terms of charge transport requirements, but also processing flexibility and integration advantages. Single-carrier transport in detectors with thicknesses less than or comparable to radiation penetration depth can lead to partial and position-dependent charge collection effects not treated in the general case of direct-conversion neutron detection. Here, we have developed a theory to include the effect of single-carrier charge collection and the possible mismatch between carrier transit time and integration time to study the performance of thin neutron detectors. Taking a boron carbide (B4C) direct-conversion thermal neutron detector as an example, we use custom Monte Carlo simulations to study the effects of a range of mobility, lifetime, thickness, and integration time values on detection efficiency and pulse height spectra. We discuss the interplay between the traditional mobility–lifetime product ( μ τ ) metric and the integration time to carrier transit time ratio ( t i / t tr ), which takes into account mobility ( μ ) specifically, and their effect on detection efficiency. We describe the effect of these parameters on pulse height spectra and show how, although single-carrier transport leads to a loss of spectral resolution when signal current is fully integrated, using integration times shorter than carrier transit time allows for recovery of spectral features. We additionally present two methods to extract the mobility–lifetime product of a single-carrier device, with the first being based on the steady-state current as a function of electric field under a steady-state radiation detection mode, and the second being based on the shift of spectral peaks as a function of electric field under a single-particle radiation counting mode, both using modified Hecht equations that do not require either surface or uniform radiation absorption conditions. Finally, we discuss the performance of a hypothetical single-carrier 5 μm thick B4C neutron detector, which can provide a maximum intrinsic neutron detection efficiency of 14% with a set lower level discriminator value of 25% of the total energy deposited.
Guatemala cafetalera: tierra, trabajo y politica

Introduccion Hace ya casi una decada, el historiador guatemalteco Julio Castellanos Cambranes presento el primer volumen de lo que se anunciaba como una trilogia sobre la historia agraria de su pais. A partir de 1992 nos ofrece una compilacion en dos volumenes de historia agraria guatemalteca en donde se destacan los temas del cafe y de sus sistemas de trabajo y tenencia de tierra. Pero fuera del trabajo incansable de Cambranes es relativamente poco lo que se ha publicado recientemente en Guatemala sobre la historia del cafe...
The role of CO2 in CH4 exsolution from deep brine: Implications for geologic carbon sequestration

The role of CO 2 in CH 4 exsolution from deep brine: Implications for geologic carbon sequestration Curtis M. Oldenburg 1 Christine Doughty Nicolas Spycher Earth Sciences Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory contact: cmoldenburg@lbl.gov May 31, 2013 Revised August 2, 2013 Abstract The partial pressure exerted by dissolved CO 2 in water (aqueous phase) containing dissolved CH 4 at concentrations near-saturation can lead to the formation of a CH 4 -rich gas phase. We have used numerical simulation with TOUGH2/EOS7C to investigate the process of CH 4 exsolution caused by CO 2 injection for geologic carbon sequestration. We validated the solubility model in TOUGH2/EOS7C against published measurements of solubility and corresponding Henry’s Law coefficients. We verified our simulation results against a previously published 1D test problem, and investigated the effects of numerical dispersion on the CH 4 exsolution and flow processes. In 2D radial simulations of a model system, we found that highly concentrated CH 4 gas regions form at the leading edge of the CO 2 injection front. Because the gas saturations are small in the CH 4 -rich gas regions in the generic system studied here, (1) CH 4 exsolution does not appear to be a problem for seismic monitoring of CO 2 plumes, (2) reservoir pressurization due to dilution of supercritical CO 2 by CH 4 does not appear to be a concern, and (3) relative permeability to water is not strongly reduced.
Significance of meconium in midtrimester diagnostic amniocentesis

The importance of meconium passage as a sign of the third-trimester fetus in distress is well known. The significance of similar observations in the midtrimester fetus is much less certain. The increasing use of amniocentesis during the middle trimester for the diagnosis of genetic disease makes ascertainment of such data important. Ten instances of meconium-stained amniotic fluid in the last 514 amniocenteses performed at our institution for antenatal genetic diagnosis are reported. Seven pregnancies have ended at term with normal deliveries. Three pregnancies have terminated with fetal death. Meconium staining may be a sign of impending fetal death when passed during the second trimester. When accompanied by alpha-fetoprotein elevation two of three pregnancies terminated with fetal death.
Amyl Nitrites and Sexual Behavior

This paper looked into the abuse of inhalable nitrites, mainly amyl nitrites, commonly known by the street name of poppers. This paper compiled several studies of nitrite inhalant abuse and the risk associated with the sexual practices that may concur. The paper explores first, the history and true intentions of nitrite inhalants, then the increasing abuse mainly within the homosexual community, and the legitimacy of the link of nitrites and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Various studies discussed in the paper will show that there is no legitimate link between poppers increasing the chance of HIV/AIDS but it is the unsafe sexual practices that occur with poppers that lead to various sexually transmitted diseases. The dangers of inhalable nitrites come from legal loopholes, use with other drugs such as Viagra, and the nature of unsafe sexual practices mostly within the homosexual community.
The influence of ice-crystal size on creep

Uniaxial compression tests were conducted on polycrystalline-ice samples with random c-axis orientation and steady-state creep rates were determined. Experiments were conducted on both inclusion-bearing and inclusion-free ice and were run at constant stress and constant temperature. During freezing, the presence of inclusions in low concentrations inhibits crystal growth; variations in the volume-fraction of inclusions thus result in variations in ice-crystal size. The creep rate of polycrystalline ice at high temperatures and moderate stresses is extremely sensitive to variations in ice-crystal size. Due to an apparent inversion between dislocation-controlled creep and diffusion-controlled creep, the optimum grain size for creep resistance is about 1.0 mm. Increasing or decreasing the average crystal size from this critical value results in an increase in secondary-creep rate.
Purkinje Cell Autoantibodies, Type 1 (Yo)

Publisher Summary This chapter includes methods for detecting Purkinje cell autoantibodies, type 1 (PCA-1) and characterizes antigenic and biological properties of these autoantibodies. PCA-1 was first reported in patients with paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD). Among several associated antibodies, some are highly specific for the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum whereas, others react with neurons of the peripheral and central nervous system. Immunohistochemistry and immunoblot analysis of human tissues identify that PCA-1 in serum display coarse granular reactivity with the cytoplasm of Purkinje cells and to a much lesser degree with some large neurons of the brainstem. Detection of PCA-1 is an important marker for the presence of an underlying tumor, usually breast or ovarian cancer. In patients with known cancer developing symptoms of cerebellar dysfunction, detection of high titers of PCA-1 serves to confirm the paraneoplastic nature of the disorder.
Toll-Like Receptor 9 Signaling Activates NF-κB through IFN Regulatory Factor-8/IFN Consensus Sequence Binding Protein in Dendritic Cells

Unmethylated CpG DNA binds to the Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) and activates NF-kappaB to induce cytokine genes in dendritic cells (DCs). IFN regulatory factor (IRF)-8/IFN consensus sequence binding protein is a transcription factor important for development and activation of DCs. We found that DCs from IRF-8(-/-) mice were unresponsive to CpG and failed to induce TNF-alpha and IL-6, targets of NF-kappaB. Revealing a signaling defect selective for CpG, these cytokines were robustly induced in IRF-8(-/-) DCs in response to LPS that signals through TLR4. IRF-8(-/-) DCs expressed TLR9, adaptor myeloid differentiation factor 88, and other signaling molecules, but CpG failed to activate NF-kappaB in -/- cells. This was due to the selective inability of -/- DCs to activate I-kappaB kinase alphabeta, the kinases required for NF-kappaB in response to CpG. IRF-8 reintroduction fully restored CpG activation of NF-kappaB and cytokine induction in -/- DCs. Together, TLR signals that activate NF-kappaB are diverse among different TLRs, and TLR9 signaling uniquely depends on IRF-8 in DCs.
Eyeblink Conditioning and Novel Object Recognition in the Rabbit: Behavioral Paradigms for Assaying Psychiatric Diseases

Analysis of data collected from behavioral paradigms has provided important information for understanding the etiology and progression of diseases that involve neural regions mediating abnormal behavior. The trace eyeblink conditioning (EBC) paradigm is particularly suited to examine cerebro-cerebellar interactions since the paradigm requires the cerebellum, forebrain, and awareness of the stimulus contingencies. Impairments in acquiring EBC have been noted in several neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), progressive supranuclear palsy, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although several species have been used to examine EBC, the rabbit is unique in its tolerance for restraint, which facilitates imaging, its relatively large skull that facilitates chronic neuronal recordings, a genetic sequence for amyloid that is identical to humans which makes it a valuable model to study AD, and in contrast to rodents, it has a striatum that is differentiated into a caudate and a putamen that facilitates analysis of diseases involving the striatum. This review focuses on EBC during schizophrenia and AD since impairments in cerebro-cerebellar connections have been hypothesized to lead to a cognitive dysmetria. We also relate EBC to conditioned avoidance responses that are more often examined for effects of antipsychotic medications, and we propose that an analysis of novel object recognition (NOR) may add to our understanding of how the underlying neural circuitry has changed during disease states. We propose that the EBC and NOR paradigms will help to determine which therapeutics are effective for treating the cognitive aspects of schizophrenia and AD, and that neuroimaging may reveal biomarkers of the diseases and help to evaluate potential therapeutics. The rabbit, thus, provides an important translational system for studying neural mechanisms mediating maladaptive behaviors that underlie some psychiatric diseases, especially cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia and AD, and object recognition provides a simple test of memory that can corroborate the results of EBC.
Assessing the Similarity of the Factor Structure of the K-ABC for African-American and White Children:

The K-ABC test data from both the standardization sample and a sociocultural sample were analyzed for African-American (n = 345) and White children (n = 887) to assess the similarity of the factor structure of the test for the two ethnic groups. Four statistical techniques are applied in the analysis: comparison of the first principal component loadings; congruence coefficients based on loadings from exploratory factor analysis; congruence coefficients based on loadings from confirmatory factor analysis; and correlational analysis for assessing the similarity of the correlation matrices of the test battery for the two ethnic groups. The results show that the factor structure of the K-ABC is very similar for the Black and the White samples across the age groups. These empirical findings indicate that the construct validity of the K-ABC should hold well for both the Black and White groups.
Ultrafast dissociation dynamics of ketones at 195 nm

Abstract The photodissociation dynamics of the 3s Rydberg state of three ketones (CH3CO–R, R=C2H5, C3H7, and iso-C4H9) and the ensuing dissociation of the nascent acetyl radical following 195 nm excitation were investigated by ultrafast photoionization spectroscopy. The 3s state the lifetimes of these ketones are similar (2.5–2.9 ps), though lifetimes of the acetyl radical range from 8.6 ps for CH3CO–C2H5, 15 ps for CH3CO–C3H7, to 23 ps for CH3CO–(iso-C4H9), which suggests that for larger R more vibrational degrees of freedom compete for the excess energy so that less energy is partitioned into the internal energy of the acetyl radical.
Overcoming transport barriers for interstitial-, lymphatic-, and lymph node-targeted drug delivery

Despite drug formulation improving circulation times and targeting, efficacy is stymied by inadequate penetration into and retention within target tissues. This review highlights the barriers restricting delivery to the connective tissue interstitium, lymphatics, and lymph nodes as well as advances in engineering drug carriers to overcome these delivery challenges. Three-dimensional tissue physiology is discussed in the context of providing material design principles for delivery to these tissues; in particular the influence of interstitial and lymphatic flows as well as differential permeabilities of the blood and lymphatic capillaries. Key examples of materials with different characteristics developed to overcome these transport barriers are discussed as well as potential areas for further development.
Dual-atmosphere tolerance of Ag–CuO-based air braze

Abstract Recently, a new braze filler metal based on the silver–copper oxide system was developed for use in sealing high-temperature, solid-state electrochemical devices such as solid oxide fuel cells. One of the concerns regarding the viability of this joining technique is the long-term stability of silver-based alloys under a high-temperature, dual oxidizing/reducing gas environment. This paper reports on an initial series of exposure experiments that were conducted to characterize the effects of (1) filler metal composition, (2) brazing temperature, and (3) exposure time on the microstructural stability of Ag–CuO-brazed Al 2 O 3 / Al 2 O 3 joints under a prototypic operating environment for an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell stack. In general joints exposed simultaneously to air on one side and hydrogen on the other for short periods of time at 800 ∘ C (100 h) showed no signs of degradation with respect to hermeticity or joint microstructure. Samples exposed for longer periods of time (1000 h) displayed some internal porosity, which extends approximately halfway across the joint and is not interconnected. Little effect of the filler metal's composition on its tolerance to dual-atmosphere exposure was observed. However, brazing temperature was found to have a measurable effect. Higher brazing temperature leads to a more extensive formation of an interfacial reaction phase, copper aluminate, which tends to tie up some of the free CuO in the filler metal and minimize the formation of porosity in the air-brazed joints during long-term, dual-atmosphere exposure. The effect is due to the greater chemical stability of the copper aluminate relative to copper oxide.
Electromagnetic fields due to a horizontal electric dipole antenna laid on the surface of a two-layer medium

With applications to geophysical subsurface probings, electromagnetic fields due to a horizontal electric dipole laid on the surface of a two-layer medium are solved by a combination of analytical and numerical methods. Interference patterns are calculated for various layer thickness. The results are interpreted in terms of normal modes and the accuracies of the methods are discussed.
Open language implementation

Writing multi-threaded shared variable code is notoriously difficult because a given program can result in different possible executions due to non-determinism. Observed executions may also vary depending on the specific compiler and runtime system at hand. Many aspects of behavior are beyond the control of the programmer at the language's level of abstraction (e.g., compiler transformations), and as a result, debugging and performance tuning are very difficult tasks. In this position paper, we propose that the language implementation stack (compiler, runtime system) should be open, i.e., transparent, accountable, and interactive, so that the programmer may have direct access to invaluable information, and regain control over the behavior of the program in a given environment.
Endothelial Function in Clinical Pulmonary Hypertension

The endothelium regulates the concentrations of several types of vasoactive substances that affect pulmonary vascular tone, and endothelia can oppose vasoconstriction in some circumstances by releasing vasodilators. To assess some of these endothelial functions in patients with pulmonary hypertension, we made measurements of selected vasoactive substances before and during attempts at pharmacologic vasodilatation. Studies were performed in 16 patients (1½ to 23 years of age) with either idiopathic pulmonary hypertension (n = 11) or pulmonary hypertension as a consequence of unexpected early pulmonary vascular disease accompanying congenital heart defects (n = 5). In six of ten children, norepinephrine levels were elevated, and in two of the six, the concentrations of norepinephrine were greater in the aorta than in the pulmonary artery. In four out of 16 patients, thromboxane levels were increased, and in three of the four, the concentrations of thromboxane were greater in the aorta than in the pulmonary artery. These concentration gradients suggest pulmonary release of these vasoconstrictors. Identification of the contribution to pulmonary vasoconstriction made by changes in the endothelial metabolism of vasoactive substances may lead to a more fundamental understanding of the control of the pulmonary circulation, and hence lead to more specific modes of therapy for pulmonary hypertension.
Functional Assessment of Pharmacological Telomerase Activators in Human T Cells

Telomeres are structures at the ends of chromosomes that shorten during cell division and eventually signal an irreversible state of growth arrest known as cellular senescence. To delay this cellular aging, human T cells, which are critical in the immune control over infections and cancer, activate the enzyme telomerase, which binds and extends the telomeres. Several different extracts from the Astragalus membranaceus root have been documented to activate telomerase activity in human T cells. The objective of this research was to compare two extracts from Astragalus membranaceus, TA-65 and HTA, for their effects on both telomerase and proliferative activity of human CD4 and CD8 T cells. Our results demonstrate that, TA-65 increased telomerase activity significantly (1.3 to 3.3-fold relative to controls) in T cell cultures from six donors tested, whereas HTA only increased telomerase levels in two out of six donors. We also demonstrate that TA-65 activates telomerase by a MAPK- specific pathway. Finally, we determine that during a three-day culture period, only the T cells treated with the TA-65 extract showed a statistically significant increase in proliferative activity. Our results underscore the importance of comparing multiple telomerase activators within the same experiment, and of including functional assays in addition to measuring telomerase activity.
Review and update of the results of the NIOSH medical study of workers exposed to chemicals contaminated with 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlorodibenzodioxin

In 1987, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted a cross-sectional medical study to examine the long-term health effects of occupational exposure to chemicals and materials contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). This study compared living workers employed more than 15 years earlier in the production of sodium trichlorophenol (NaTCP), and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic ester (2,4,5-T ester) with an unexposed comparison group. Health status of the worker and comparison populations was collected through a comprehensive set of standardized interviews and medical examinations. Lipid adjusted serum TCDD levels were also measured. Workers had a statistically significantly elevated mean serum lipid-adjusted TCDD level (workers = 220 pg per g of lipid [range = not detected–3,400 pg per g of lipid], and referents 7 pg per g of lipid [range not detected–20 pg per g of lipid], P < 0.001). Compared to a community-based referent population, the prevalence of chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral neuropathy, depression, cardiovascular outcomes (myocardial infarction, angina, cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, and abnormal peripheral arterial flow), abnormal porphyrin levels, and abnormal ventilatory function parameters FEV1.0, FVC, or FEV1.0/FVC% in workers, was not statistically significantly different. In contrast, relationships were observed between serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD levels and the enzyme γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), the reproductive hormones serum testosterone, luteinizing, and follicle-stimulating hormones, and abnormal high-density lipoprotein concentration, counts of CD3/Ta1 cells (helper lymphocytes), and fasting serum glucose levels. Current diagnosis of chloracne was associated with the highest levels of serum 2,3,7,8-TCDD. Analysis of other endpoints continues. Teratogenesis Carcinog. Mutagen. 17:241–247, 1997/98.© 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Surface modification and characterization of microfabricated poly(carbonate) devices: manipulation of electroosmotic flow.

Poly(carbonate), PC, surfaces are chemically modified by treatment with sulfur trioxide gas. Sulfur trioxide gas sulfonates the aromatic rings of the poly(carbonate) surfaces, making the surfaces more hydrophilic. Sulfonation of the poly(carbonate) surface is confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. The modified polymer surfaces are found to be smoother in comparison to their unmodified counterparts, as noted by scanning force microscopy. The effects of the surface modification on electroosmotic flow are studied at a pH range of 4–10. The electroosmotic flow in sulfonated poly(carbonate) microchannels was found to be significantly higher than that in unmodified poly(carbonate) microchannels at pH values below 8.
Bisalbuminemia in the serum of chicken-turkey hybrids.

Abstract Two distinct types of albumins occur in sera from chicken-turkey hybrids. 1. 1. Electrophoretic analysis by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and cellulose acetate shows the two bands of albumin in equal concentrations. 2. 2. Migration of the fast albumin band of the hybrid compares to the chicken albumin band, and the slower migrating band of the hybrid compares to the slow migrating turkey albumin band. 3. 3. Confirmation of these albumin electrophoretic mobilities was made by isolating the two distinct albumins from hybrid serum and the albumins from the sera of the parantal chicken and turkey. 4. 4. The albumins in the hybrid sera are also immunologically related to the albumins in the parental sera. These chicken-turkey hybrids display true bis-albuminemia and carry the genetic information for the synthesis of equal concentrations of both chicken and turkey albumins.
Complex radiation degradation behavior of PVC materials under accelerated aging conditions

The radiation degradation behavior of three commercial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials has been investigated. All three exhibit an interesting reversal in the trend of the tensile strength part way through the aging experiment: the tensile strength first drops, then rises. The early drop is associated with oxidative scission; the rise is associated with crosslinking and is preceded by the material reaching the gel point. It was also found that the tensile elongation tended to level out in advanced stages of aging with the leveling-out values dependent on the dose rate. These phenomena pose complications for the design of accelerated aging tests.
Ischemic stroke appearing as a tumor

Herein, we report a case of a patient who initially presented with hemiparesis but later on developed focal seizures. The imaging was concerning for a mass lesion, however; a significant clinical and radiologic improvement was noted after a few weeks. Cortical ischemia can continue to enhance, which can confound clinical management.
Load dependence of the effective regurgitant orifice area in a sheep model of aortic regurgitation.

Abstract Treatment of patients with aortic regurgitation with vasodilators reduces regurgitant volume, ventricular dilation and left ventricular mass. Although these effects are presumably due to afterload reduction, it is also possible that the aortic regurgitant orifice area is not constant. To test the latter hypothesis, aortic regurgitation was created in 10 open chest sheep by partial resection of the noncoronary leaflet under direct visualization. Regurgitant flow was measured with an aortic supravalvular electromagnetic probe; aortic and left ventricular pressures were measured with catheter-tipped micromanometer pressure transducers. The effective regurgitant orifice area was calculated by a modification of the continuity equation in a manner similar to the Gorlin equation. The regurgitant orifice area was measured three times: after aortic regurgitation was created, after mean arterial pressure was increased by 15 to 25 mm Hg with intravenous dopamine and after mean arterial pressure was reduced by 15 to 25 mm Hg with intravenous sodium nitroprusside. Comparison of regurgitant volumes and areas obtained after creation of aortic regurgitation and at the conclusion of the experiment in the absence of dopamine or sodium nitroprusside demonstrated no significant change over time. Dopamine administration was associated with an 86 ± 81% increase in regurgitant volume (p In this model of acute aortic regurgitation, the effective regurgitant orifice area was altered by increasing or decreasing the aortic transvalvular pressure gradient. This dynamic nature of the regurgitant orifice area may be secondary to changes in aortic root geometry at various aortic pressures. Reduction of this area may be one of the mechanisms of the beneficial effect of afterload reduction in patients with aortic regurgitation, particularly when the elasticity of the aortic valve apparatus has not been impaired by fibrosis or calcification.
Alkynyl pyrimidines as dual EGFR/ErbB2 kinase inhibitors

Anilinoalkynylpyrimidines were prepared and evaluated as dual EGFR/ErbB2 kinase inhibitors. A preference was found for substituted phenyl and heteroaromatic rings attached to the alkyne. In addition, the presence of a potential hydrogen bond donor appended to this ring was favored. Selected molecules in the series demonstrated some activity against human tumor cell lines.
Playing to Win: Embedded Librarians in Online Classrooms

The essay presents a quasi-case study of one academic librarian's experience as an embedded librarian in multiple online courses over a five-year period. Technology used included chat, email, and a librarian question-and-answer bulletin board inside an eCollege course management system, and a dedicated-use ElluminateLive! virtual training room for delivery of live resources training with the ability to record and post links inside courses for student reference. The author provides a procedural outline with key elements to consider when seeking administrative authorization to implement new library services, such as an embedded librarian feature in online courses.
A multivariate laboratory data analysis system: Introduction

In an era severely affected by the advanced stages of technocracy, it should not astound anyone that highly sophisticated technologies have metastasized throughout our hospital system. While simplifying many complex problems, the advantages of modern technology also create many interesting conflicts. One such dilemma surfaces as a consequence of clinical laboratories being able to produce a large number of test results in a relatively short time with a high degree of accuracy. Optimization of laboratory information must precede successful utilization of this extensive and expensive wealth of data.
The Interpretation of Remotely Sensed Cloud Properties from a Model Parameterization Perspective

A study has been made of the relationship between mean cloud radiative properties and cloud fraction in stratocumulus cloud systems. The analysis is of several Land Resources Satellite System (LANDSAT) images and three hourly International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) C-1 data during daylight hours for two grid boxes covering an area typical of a general circulation model (GCM) grid increment. Cloud properties were inferred from the LANDSAT images using two thresholds and several pixel resolutions ranging from roughly 0.0625 km to 8 km. At the finest resolution, the analysis shows that mean cloud optical depth (or liquid water path) increases somewhat with increasing cloud fraction up to 20% cloud coverage. More striking, however, is the lack of correlation between the two quantities for cloud fractions between roughly 0.2 and 0.8. When the scene is essentially overcast, the mean cloud optical tends to be higher. Coarse resolution LANDSAT analysis and the ISCCP 8-km data show lack of correlation between mean cloud optical depth and cloud fraction for coverage less than about 90%. This study shows that there is perhaps a local mean liquid water path (LWP) associated with partly cloudy areas of stratocumulus clouds. A method has been suggested to use this property to construct the cloud fraction paramterization in a GCM when the model computes a grid-box-mean LWP.
Markers of preeclampsia and the relationship to cardiovascular disease: review of the twenty-first century literature.

Objective. The objective of this article was to review the literature to identify the most promising markers of preeclampsia (PE) and the relationship to cardiovascular disease to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of PE to identify women at risk for cardiovascular disease to improve their outcomes.Methods. Forty case–control studies were assessed for relationships between different serum markers to identify PE and to identify markers that may predict women who may be at greater risk for cardiovascular sequela in later life.Results. Angiogenic, proteomic, and tumor necrosis markers were the most promising and important in the development of PE. The interplay among various growth factors, hormones, proteins, and other molecular compounds appears to be critical in the development of PE. Specific angiogenic (sVEGF, PLGF) and antiangiogenic (sFlt-1, sENG) markers and proteomic markers (fibrinogen and a-1-antichymotrypsin, SERPINA1, albumin, 1-antichymotryps) are the most promising markers of PE. Evi...
Video Multicasting With Channel Diversity in Wireless OFDMA Networks

The demand for real-time video services coupled with the need for increased spectral efficiencies has brought a lot of attention to video multicasting in next generation OFDMA systems. Layered video provides an efficient solution to address the channel quality variation across users. However, the frequency selectivity across sub-channels introduced by OFDMA serves as a drawback for multicast scheduling. This significantly diminishes the benefits of video layering and can potentially degrade the system performance to worse than that without channel diversity. Layering the PHY with the help of multi-resolution modulation serves as an effective tool to help retain channel diversity and leverage the benefits of layered video. While layering the PHY provides benefits to multicast in general, we show that its benefits are much more significant in a system with channel diversity. The corresponding multicast scheduling problem now becomes all the more challenging with multi-resolution modulation. In addressing this problem, we provide efficient scheduling solutions both for systems with and without channel diversity. Our solutions have provable performance guarantees and are amenable to practical implementation. Further, evaluation in realistic scenarios reveals close to optimal performance of our proposed solutions as well as the large benefits obtained by layering the PHY in OFDMA systems with channel diversity.
Secondary surgical and neodymium-YAG laser discissions.

Between November 1978 and June 1984, 161 surgical and 102 neodymium-YAG laser discissions were performed. The incidence of discission in patients with a mean three-year follow-up after extracapsular surgery was 22.1% (39 of 176 eyes) after extracapsular cataract extraction alone and 14.5% (81 of 558 eyes) after extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation (P The intraocular pressure was increased in 51% (48 eyes) of the eyes two to five hours after YAG laser discission and was unpredictable in most patients. After surgical discission, the intraocular pressure was increased on the first postoperative day in 13% (18 eyes) of the eyes. With surgical discission, significant complications included vitreous manipulation, wound leak, and intraocular inflammation. Intraocular lens pitting occurred in 20 patients undergoing YAG laser discission. Complications with both procedures included cystoid macular edema, retinal detachment, glaucoma, and closure of a previously adequate discission opening.
Isolation and characterization of the product of inactivation of γ-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase by gabaculine

Abstract Gabaculine (5-amino-1,3-cyclohexadienylcarboxylic acid, 1 Download : Download high-res image (88KB) Download : Download full-size image Scheme 1 . ), a naturally occurring neurotoxin isolated from Streptomyces toyocaenis, has been shown to be a mechanism-based inactivator of γ-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase (GABA-AT) (Rando, R. R. Biochemistry 1977, 16, 4604). Inactivation results from reaction of gabaculine with the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) cofactor. Two HPLC systems for isolating this inactivator-PLP adduct are described as well as a detailed characterization of the adduct, including the ultraviolet–visible spectrum, electrospray mass spectra, and NMR spectrum. The same spectral characterization of the chemically synthesized gabaculine-PLP adduct is also reported.
Markets in hierarchies: organizational and market influences on gender inequality in a state pay system

A pivotal issue in sociological theories of labor markets, as well as legal and policy debates on pay equity, is the relative importance of market and organizational forces in determining pay differences between jobs held predominantly by men and those held predominantly by women. This article develops two models of the market organization relationship-an administered-efficiency model and a bureaucratic-politics model. Quantitative analyses of individual and job-level data in a state government pay system indicate that the administered efficiency model does not adequately explain malefemale earnings differences. Documentary, testimonial, and interview data strongly suggest the significance of bureaucratic politics in the pay-determination process. We conclude that market forces influence wage rates but are heavily mediated by organizational factors unrelated to efficiency considerations in the type of organization studied here.
Reproductive health and polycystic ovary syndrome

Women with hyperandrogenic disorders represent a unique group among those with infertility due to anovulation. Although antiestrogens are effective in restoring ovulation in most women, it remains unclear whether these treatments restore fecundability per ovulatory cycle and the ability to maintain pregnancy in these individuals. Moreover, antiestrogens are ineffective in restoring ovulation in some hyperandrogenic anovulatory women, whose condition poses unique and vexing challenges for the infertility therapist. Gonadotropin treatment in antiestrogen-resistant women often leads to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which has been addressed by modification of dosing schedules (e.g., low-dose administration), pretreatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs, and elimination of luteinizing hormone from the administered gonadotropins. Surgical reduction in ovarian volume has met with some success, although there may be a risk of inducing surgical adhesions of the adnexa. The second major reproductive adversity facing these patients is their elevated risk of endometrial cancer. Unopposed estrogen exposure probably contributes to this risk, but hyperandrogenicity and hyperinsulinism may act independently or in concert with estrogen to amplify the risk in these women. While the risks and strategies for preventive care in these women need to be better defined, reproductive health specialists are urged to continue using presently accepted measures, including education, to maintain these women's reproductive health.
An Anomaly Entection Algorithm Inspired by the Immune Syste

Entecting anomaly in a system or a process behavior is very important in many real-world applications such as manufacturing, monitoring, signal processing etc. This chapter presents an anomaly Entection algorithm inspired by the negative-selection mechanism of the immune system, which discriminates betweensellandother.Here self is Enfined to benormal data patternsand non-self is any Enviation exceeding an allowable variation. Experiments with this anomaly Entection algorithm are reported for two data sets - time series data, generated using the Mackey-Glass equation and a simulated signal.Compared to existing methods, this method has the advantage of not requiring prior knowledge about all possible failure moEns of the monitored system. Results are reported to display the performance of the Entection algorithm
Exact solutions for two interacting particles in a one-dimensional ring with a magnetic flux

We solve the one-dimensional extended Hubbard model with a magnetic flux analytically for the case of two particles. We find that bound states are ground states only for attractive interactions. We have studied the variation of the ground-state energy as a function of the flux. For the bound state, the period of the oscillation is half of a flux quantum. The dependence of the magnitude of the energy barrier on the size of the ring is discussed in connection with the possible existence of the flux quantization in the thermodynamic limit.
Racial Differences in Incidence and Clinical Course of Atrial Fibrillation and What Remains to be Investigated

There are many risk factors identified for atrial fibrillation (AF), some of which differ between blacks and whites. These differences and differences in stroke occurrence and clinical course of AF between blacks and whites are reviewed. Risk factors identified to date include age, white race, male sex, body mass index (BMI) ≥30, height ≥173 cm, weight, increased waist circumference, higher levels of systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), increased pulse pressure, diagnosis of hypertension, antihypertensive medication use, HDL 200 mg/dL, lower heart rate, P-R interval >200 ms, ECG left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), ECG left atrial enlargement (LAE), diabetes, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, low birth weight, cystatin C, NT-proBNP, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), left ventricular wall thickness, SES, chronic kidney disease, serum Mg, C-reactive protein, serum uric acid, smoking, serum phosphorus, calcium-phosphorus product, serum aldosterone, and galactin-3. Some genes have been associated with some of the risk factors with different occurrence rates in blacks and whites. The distribution of some of the risk factors has also been shown to differ in effect and frequency between blacks and whites. Hospital treatment of AF has also been seen to differ between blacks and whites. Various combinations of risk factors have been assembled and tested—none have explained more than 65 % of AF risk nor have any groupings of risk factors been shown to differ in risk of AF between blacks and whites, although individual risk factors have shown differences of effect on AF risk between the races. No studies have collected all of these risk factors together in one study so far and the need for such studies is set out with recommendations for other investigative studies not yet undertaken to explain the differences in AF and stroke types and rates between blacks and whites.