cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New approach to the rapid semiempirical calculation of molecular electrostatic potentials based on the AM1 wave function: comparison with ab initio HF/6–31G results

A new approach to the computation of molecular electrostatic potentials based on the AM1 wave function is described. In contrast to the prevailing philosophy, but consistent with the underlying NDDO approximation, no deorthogonalization of the wave function is carried out. The integrals required for the computation of the electronic contributions to the molecular electrostatic potential are evaluated in a manner similar to that of the AM1 core-electron attraction integrals, while the nuclear contributions are computed using a new semiempirical function—ZA(SASA, SpSp)[1 + exp[ – ωA(RAi – δA)]]—where the atomic parameters ωA and δA are obtained by calibration against the results of ab initio HF/6-31G* calculations. Isopotential contour maps for guanine and cytosine obtained with the new method are qualitatively almost indistinguishable from their HF/6-31G* counterparts, while quantitative comparisons for the minima for a wide range of molecules are reproduced with an rms error of 5.2 kcal mol−1. The locations of the “lone-pair” minima for a wide range of heterosubstituted organic molecules generally fall within 0.02 A of the corresponding HF/6-31G* minima while those in the π-regions of unsaturated molecules are generally within 0.2 A. Because of the rapid integral evaluation, the fully semiempirical method described here is extremely economical. For example, for the guanine–cytosine base pair it is >500 times faster than calculations in which the complete integral matrix is computed analytically from the deorthogonalized AM1 wave function. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A performance comparison of transducer designs for interferometric fiber optic accelerometers

Interferometric fiber optic accelerometers constitute a high-responsivity, high-resolution sensing architecture, with achievable sensitivities of several rad/g and resolutions in the micro-g range, depending on the specific configuration. Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) optical accelerometers offer ease of multiplexing but are inherently less sensitive than their interferometric counterparts. Fiber-based accelerometers have the usual optical advantages of being lightweight, electromagnetically immune, and non-spark emitting over traditional (piezo-electric) accelerometer architectures. Among fiber optic sensing methodologies, both interferometric and FBG accelerometers can be interrogated using phase-based demodulation, which offers advantages over intensity-based sensing schemes such as increased linearity, repeatability, and insensitivity to extraneous measurands. The performance of an accelerometer is often characterized in terms of its bandwidth, sensitivity, and resolution, all of which depend on the specific transducer design (the mechanical architecture) as well as the optical interrogation architecture. For a given optical interrogation architecture, a fundamental tradeoff exists in accelerometer transducer design between bandwidth and sensitivity; attempts to increase bandwidth will generally result in a decrease in sensitivity. This paper investigates the frequency and displacement characteristics that govern this tradeoff for several transducer configurations, in order to determine a pair of configurations that offer the greatest sensitivity for a given optical interrogation methodology (interferometric or FBG), at a prescribed bandwidth. The feasibility of several mechanical architectures is assessed based on the physical dimensions required for a given configuration to achieve a primary resonance of at least 15 kHz. The deflection of those configurations under their own self-weight is then considered a measure of accelerometer sensitivity in the measurement band below primary resonance. This paper has been reviewed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and received the following release number: LA-UR 10-00671.
Finite size effects with 2-D ZN lattice gauge models

Abstract The 2-D Z2 lattice gauge model with zeros or ones on the links is solved by directly producing all possible configurations. By doing this for larger and larger lattices, the proper combinatorial relations are deduced for any size lattice. The results of course are the same as the 1-D Ising model. An interesting boundary value problem is studied which seems to yield infinite volume results for finite lattices. Identical results for other ZN groups were found using the Monte Carlo technique.
Effect of Co-MCM-41 Conversion to Cobalt Silicate for Catalytic Growth of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Cobalt silicate was studied as a model catalyst to seek an understanding of why Co-MCM-41 catalyst is not active for single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) upon treatment at high temperature. Cobalt orthosilicate was formed during high-temperature pretreatment of Co-MCM-41 (at 900 °C) in an oxidizing environment. Cobalt silicate did not produce any carbon species during the first reaction cycle because the high thermal stability of cobalt silicate did not result in sufficient metallic Co clusters responsible for carbon dissociation in CO disproportionation. With repeated reaction cycles, however, undesirable carbon species, i.e., amorphous carbon and graphite, were produced resulting from larger metallic cobalt clusters formed at the high reduction temperature and without the confinement and/or anchoring of the MCM-41 matrix. These relatively large clusters do not catalyze the growth of SWNT.
Incorporation of radionuclides in crystalline titanates

Abstract The solid solubilities of some or all of Cs, Sr, Y, La, U, Th, and Na in each of barium hollandite, zirconolite and titanite were investigated by X-ray diffraction in samples prepared by ceramic techniques at 1100–1400 °C. Various charge compensation schemes were used in attempts to incorporate aliovalent ions. Cs and Sr, but not the other ions, have extensive solid solubilities in barium hollandite. Zirconolite dissolves relatively large amounts of Na, as well as actinides and the smaller rare earths. Appreciable amounts of Sr, Na, rare earths, and actinides can be accommodated in titanite. Titanite is compatible with zirconolite but not with barium hollandite at ∼ 1200°C.
Normal cervical spine variations mimicking injuries in children

Evaluation of the cervical spine is a constant problem. This communication deals with the various normal variations and congenital anomalies that are frequently misinterpreted for traumatic lesions. Emphasis is on how to identify these anomalies and how to differentiate them from traumatic injuries of the cervical spine.
Gravitational Microlensing at Large Optical Depth

A large number of numerical models of gravitational microlensing by stars in the lensing galaxy have been calculated, and properties of the models are described. The expected light intensity variations are more rapid when optical depth to microlensing is large, but the time scale is a few years in the best cases, and much longer in a typical case. However, microlensing introduces considerable scatter, up to two or three orders of magnitude, to the intensity of macroimages expected at any given time, and this may considerably complicate the analysis of the observed lenses. It is shown that macroimage is surrounded with a faint 'halo' made of a large number of microimages from individual stars with average surface brightness falling off as R to the -4th. It is also shown that a high surface mass density of continuously distributed matter may affect very strongly properties of microlensing, making possible very large declines in observed intensity, up to two or three orders of magnitude.
Immersion lithography fluids for high NA 193 nm lithography

Immersion lithography has become attractive since it can reduce critical dimensions by increasing numerical aperture (NA) beyond unity. Among all the candidates for immersion fluids, those with higher refractive indices are desired. However, for many of the fluids, the strong absorption at 193nm becomes a serious problem. Therefore, it is essential to find a fluid that is transparent enough (with absorbance less than 0.5mm-1) and has high refractive index (above water, 1.44) at 193nm. Characterization of various fluid candidates has been performed and the absorbance of these fluids has been measured. To measure the absolute refractive index, a prism deviation angle method was developed. This method offers the possibility of measuring fluid refractive indices accurately. This paper also presents the obtained refractive indices of these fluids. Several candidates have been identified for 193nm application with refractive indices near 1.55, which is about 0.1 higher than that of water at this wavelength. Cauchy parameters of these fluids were generated and approaches were investigated to tailor the fluid absorption edges to be close to 193nm. The effects of these fluids on photoresist performance were also examined with 193nm immersion lithography exposure at various NA's. 1.5 NA was obtained to image 32nm lines with phosphoric acid as the immersion medium. These fluids are potential candidates for immersion lithography technology.
Symmetric indefinite systems for interior point methods

We present a unified framework for solving linear and convex quadratic programs via interior point methods. At each iteration, this method solves an indefinite system whose matrix is $$\left[ {\begin{array}{*{20}c} { - D^{ - 2} } & {A^T } \\ A & 0 \\ \end{array} } \right]$$ instead of reducing to obtain the usualAD 2 A T system. This methodology affords two advantages: (1) it avoids the fill created by explicitly forming the productAD 2 A T whenA has dense columns; and (2) it can easily be used to solve nonseparable quadratic programs since it requires only thatD be symmetric. We also present a procedure for converting nonseparable quadratic programs to separable ones which yields computational savings when the matrix of quadratic coefficients is dense.
Digital Micro-mirror Device-based broadband optical image sensor for robust imaging applications

Abstract To the best of the authors' knowledge, presented for the first time is the design of a robust broadband optical image sensor using a Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD). Electronic focus control of the imaging lens and full programmability of the spatial sampling aperture shape, size, and location on the DMD plane that mechanically scans the incident incoherent optical irradiance distribution lead to imaging smartness. Dual port single-point photo-detection design provides imaging operation robustness to the global light irradiance variations such as via environmental effects, e.g., moving clouds. As the Texas Instruments (TI) DMD can provide light modulation over 400 nm to 2500 nm wavelengths, visible, Near Infrared (NIR), and Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) bands can be simultaneously processed to generate three independent band images via three point photo-detectors. A proof-of-concept experiment in the SWIR band at 1580 nm is conducted using an incoherent heart-shaped target that is sampled using the DMD imager set for a 68.4 μm side square moving pinhole. A 60 × 60 pixel image from the proposed imager produces a 0.94 cross-correlation peak when compared to an optically attenuated heart shape image produced by a near 9 μm pixel size phosphor coated Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imager. Using the dual-detection method, robust 633 nm visible light imaging of an Air Force (AF) Chart figure is successfully demonstrated for 3 Hz global light fluctuation. Applications for the proposed imager include optical sensing in the fields of astronomy, defense, medicine, and security.
Influence of a plasticizer on water sorption by polymethyl methacrylate

Effet de la teneur en phtalate de dioctyle sur la sorption d'eau et la temperature de transition vitreuse du PMMA
Use of paper cups as an extraction vessel for soil nutrient-element analysis

Abstract To compare the wax coated paper cups with Erlenmeyer flasks as nutrients extraction vessels and to compare their cost effectiveness, 45 soil samples with a wide range in properties were selected. Samples 1–25 were analyzed for extractable P, K, Ca, and Mg and 26–45 for Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu first time using wax coated paper cups, and a second time using Erlenmeyer flasks as the extraction vessel. The levels of each nutrient extracted in Erlenmeyer flasks and those in paper cups were almost identical. The coefficient of correlation between the levels of each nutrient (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu) extracted in paper cups and those extracted in Erlenmeyer flasks were highly significant. Paper cups appeared to be more cost effective than Erlenmeyer flasks.
PEDIATRIC ACUTE PAIN MANAGEMENT

The past decade has brought about an explosion of knowledge about the physiology of nociception and many new techniques for pain relief, new analgesic drugs, and new applications of old analgesic drugs. These techniques include methods of opioid administration by transdermal and transmucosal absorption and the use of neuraxial analgesia for the management of pain in children. Interest in the use of regional anesthesia in children has been rekindled, and analgesic properties and pre-emptive analgesic properties of many agents not typically considered analgesics, such as clonidine and ketamine, have been recognized. Perhaps the greatest advance has been the paradigm shift in the recognition that pain not only exists in infants and children but also is a significant cause of morbidity and even mortality. Given the unprecedented interest in pain management in adults and children, physicians can now look forward to the development of new methods of drug delivery and of receptor-specific drugs that divorce analgesia from the untoward side effects of existing analgesics. Improvement in the quality of life of hospitalized children also will occur.
Some practical experiences in applying nonlinear programming to CAD

Abstract Nonlinear programming is one method of solving process design problems. The formulation of a problem is: given a revenue or cost function subject to both equality and inequality constraints, find the optimal vector of design variables or operating conditions. Difficulties in meshing codes that solve nonlinear programming problems with process models and simulation packages are discussed here. Major difficulties arise because the representation of operations in a chemical plant involves highly modular equations. subroutines from which the equations cannot be readily extracted, implicit relations between subroutines and associated databases, and large numbers of constraints and variables. In addition, certain problems arise because of the iterative numerical techniques of solution employed in the optimization problems such as: how can suitable initial guesses for the independent variables be obtained, how can numerical computational errors be reduced, how can ill-conditioning of the matrices used be diminished, and how can undefined arguments of the constraints and objective function be avoided. All of these factors and ways to resolve them are considered. We also discuss briefly the relative performance of nonlinear programming codes that can be employed in design.
Distribution of Metal Complexes Bound to DNA Determined by Normal Pulse Voltammetry

The effects of DNA binding on the normal pulse voltammetry of metal complexes have been investigated. Studies were performed both for oxidation of OsL32+/3+ and for reduction of CoL33+/2+ (L is bpy = 2,2‘-bipyridine or phen = 1,10-phenanthroline). The diffusive current obtained from voltammograms at potentials well past E1/2 gives an accurate measure of the extent to which the complexes codiffuse with DNA or are free in solution, and this response is not affected by kinetic factors resulting from slow heterogeneous electron transfer. Analysis of the diffusion-limited current using the appropriate binding isotherm provides binding constants in good agreement with those measured by other methods. For the bpy complexes, the ionic strength dependence, the relative binding constants for the 2+ and 3+ forms, and the associated change in E1/2 upon DNA binding are in good agreement with the predictions of polyelectrolyte theory where the 3+ ion binds more strongly. For the phen complexes, the reverse trend is obs...
Measurement of Situation Awareness in Dynamic Systems

Methodologies for the empirical measurement of situation awareness are reviewed, including a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the potential limitations of the measures from a theoretical and practical viewpoint. Two studies are presented that investigate questions of validity and intrusiveness regarding a query-based technique. This technique requires that a simulation of the operational tasks be momentarily interrupted in order to query operators on their situation awareness. The results of the two studies indicate that the query technique is not intrusive on normal subject behavior during the trial and does not suffer from limitations of human memory, which provides an indication of empirical validity. The results of other validity studies regarding the technique are discussed along with recommendations for its use in measuring situation awareness in varied settings.
Explanation of Academic Achievement of Asian American Students.

Abstract Asian American students generally have higher academic achievement than other minority students. One possible explanation is that they are more likely to experience certain home environments and educational activities that are conducive to learning. This hypothesis was examined in this study. Data were drawn from the base-year survey of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The findings indicated that Asian American students were more likely to live in an intact two-parent family, to spend more time doing homework, and to attend more lessons outside of school. Also, Asian American parents had higher educational expectations for their children, although they did not directly help their children in schoolwork more than other parents. Furthermore, the differences in home environments and educational activities accounted for a large part of the difference in achievement between Asian American and other minority students.
A latent variable model of the Family-of-Origin Scale for adolescents

The Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS) is a recently developed 40-item instrument originally designed to assess adults' perceptions of the family in which they were raised. A modified version of the FOS has shown promise for assessing adolescents' perceptions of the extent to which their family fosters autonomy and intimacy. The current study involved administration of the FOS to a large sample of adolescents currently residing with their family of origin. Confirmatory factor analysis supports the scale's original 13 theoretical constructs and establishes factorial validity. Follow-up hierarchical tests indicate the current confirmatory model provides a significant refinement over other plausible models proposed by several different authors finding a similar unitary factor employing exploratory factor analyses.
Normative Power and Conflict Potential

The return potential model for norms and roles is extended to yield concepts and measures of normative power and conflict potential, conceived to be complementary attributes of all normative systems. An input-output energy model is proposed to represent the normative process, without assuming either equilibrium tendencies or ego's motivation to conform. Organized, disorganized, and unorganized states of a normative system are defined in terms of the relative values of normative power and conflict potential. Results of applying the model are presented from studies of a white-collar role in a telephone company, the acceptance of an innovative nursing role, and norms for decision-making in four state mental hospitals. Theoretical assumptions and implications of the ideas are discussed, with the conclusion that role theory can be formulated to represent both stability and change and need not be tied to traditional paradigms in sociology.
An experimental study of the difference in vibrational entropy between ordered and disordered Fe3A1

The difference in vibrational entropy between disordered and D03-ordered Fe3Al was measured by calorimetry to be (0.10 ± 0.03)k B/atom at high temperatures, with the ordered alloy having the lower vibrational entropy. Analysis of the vibrational modes of the ordered and disordered alloys with a Born-von Karman model showed that the lower vibrational entropy of the ordered alloy originates from high-frequency optical modes involving the vibration of the aluminum-rich sublattice. These modes are consistent with the large changes in local vibrational amplitudes of Al atoms upon ordering that were measured by extended electron energy loss fine structure spectrometry.
PHENOMENOLOGICAL THEORY OF MAGNETIC ORDERING: IMPORTANCE OF INTERACTIONS WITH THE CRYSTAL LATTICE.

The diverse, and sometimes exotic, magnetic behavior of the rare earth elements and their alloys as observed in the past fifteen or so years is basically understood in terms of a very simple physical picture. The key element of this picture is that one makes a sharp distinction between localized, magnetic, 4f electrons and outer-shell conduction electrons; and one takes the magnetic system for these metals as a lattice of localized tripositive rare earth ions (divalent for Eu) with moments corresponding to the unfilled 4f shells. (The ionic moment is quite well given by the application of Hund’s rules so that in general, J, the total spin plus orbital angular momentum, is treated as a good quantum number for the magnetic system of tripositive ions.) This lattice of localized ions, with their corresponding localized moments, is then immersed in a sea of conduction electrons to which each rare-earth atom contributes its three outer electrons. This picture is excellent for the heavy rare earth metals(1, 2) (gadolinium through thulium), and is reasonably good for most of the light rare earths. (The most complex behavior in the rare earth series, requiring concepts beyond those of this simple picture, is found for the end members, cerium and ytterbium.)
Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy in breast cancer patients who test negative for BRCA mutations.

Abstract Background Determination of BRCA1 and 2 mutation carrier status is important. Although BRCA carriers are offered bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy, most who test negative decline. Some women choose contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis despite testing negative. Methods A total of 110 women with breast cancer received genetic testing before surgical treatment. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical treatment, and magnetic resonance imaging use were recorded. Results Results revealed BRCA1/2 mutation in 33%, variant of unknown significance in 6%, and no mutation in 61% of women. In BRCA-negative women, 37% chose CPM. Marital status was significant for CPM ( P = .03). Race, age, stage of presentation, and biomarker status were not associated with choice of CPM. Ninety-six percent of CPM recipients underwent breast reconstruction. Magnetic resonance imaging use did not affect CPM rates ( P = .99). Conclusions Increased rates of CPM have been observed. In our study married women were more likely to choose CPM. We recommend genetic genotyping before surgery. These findings warrant further investigation.
Putting practice into perspective: Child prodigies as evidence of innate talent

Abstract The debate over whether exceptional abilities are primarily the product of nature or nurture began centuries ago — and continues to this day. Recently, much of this debate took place within the context of considering the abilities of exceptional musicians. Several of such studies suggested that general intelligence and domain specific skills, both of which fall on the nature side of the spectrum, play a significant role in the development of musical abilities. In this paper, the author demonstrates that those studies which attempted to argue for a purely nurture-driven account of such musical talent, moreover, merely showed that practice has some role to play in the development of talent; they failed to rule out the possibility that factors such as general intelligence and domain specific skills also contribute to the development of exceptional performance abilities. If the evidence generated by studies of exceptional musicians provides a strong basis for believing that nature is the primary driver of exceptional talent, that evidence receives a powerful boost from recent studies of child prodigies. Child prodigies provide a particularly fascinating view on the nature versus nurture debate because of the extremely young age at which the prodigies demonstrate their remarkable abilities, thus, limiting the extent to which their abilities can be solely the result of extreme dedication to practice. Despite this fact, some have still argued that child prodigies' abilities are nurture-driven. Recent research, however, demonstrates that child prodigies' skills are highly dependent on a few features of their cognitive profiles, including elevated general IQs, exceptional working memories, and elevated attention to detail. Other innate characteristics of the child prodigies predict the domain in which the prodigies will excel. Music prodigies, for example, tend to score better with respect to their general IQs, visual spatial abilities, and working memories, than art prodigies. This new research on a group of exceptional – and exceptionally young – performers strongly supports nature as the primary driver of extreme talent.
Are Patients Willing to Engage in Telemedicine for Their Care: A Survey of Preuse Perceptions and Acceptance of Remote Video Visits in a Urological Patient Population.

Objective To examine patient preuse acceptance and perceptions of video visit (VV) technology within an ambulatory urology setting. Methods Patients treated by a single urology department from January to June 2013 were identified. A Web-based survey was conducted evaluating patient demographics, preuse perceptions, and acceptance of VV. Results In total, 1378 patients (25%) completed the survey; of which 868 (63%) were willing to participate in VV for their urologic care. Compared with patients “unlikely,” those “likely” to participate in VV were younger (62 vs 65 years), had a college education (77% vs 65%), had previous exposure to videoconference technology (57% vs 38%), were more comfortable discussing new symptoms (56% vs 30%) and sensitive information (48% vs 27%), and played an active role in their healthcare (65% vs 54%). Moreover, patients willing to participate in VV traveled larger distances (>90 minutes; 69% vs 58%), missed more work (>1 day; 39% vs 29%), and incurred greater expenses for their care (>$250; 52% vs 25%) relative to those who were unlikely. After controlling for associated patient characteristics, a high level of agreement among urology-specific questions remained independently associated with greater likelihood of VV acceptance among both male and female patients. Conclusion A large proportion of patients are willing to participate in VV for their urologic care. This may have significant implications by reducing costs and increasing access to, and quality of, health care services. These findings may assist urologists in strategically directing future efforts to reach diverse patient populations via VV technology.
Scaling in Apollonian Gaskets

The Apollonian packing of circles has long been the prototype of a self-inverse set.1 More recently, physicists have speculated on its role in the long-time behavior of soap cells and froths.2 It is suprising, therefore, that its scaling properties are still poorly understood. Mandelbrot3 has termed the fractal complement of this space-filling packing the “Apollonian gasket.” Here we present some new results on the fractality of Apollonian gaskets. In particular, we show they are multifractals.
Management of midfoot diabetic neuroarthropathy.

Between 1986 and 1990, we treated 68 patients with diabetes and neuroarthropathy of the midfoot, 21 of whom had bilateral involvement. Patients were managed according to a strict protocol defined b...
Recent developments in out-of-plane metallocorrole chemistry across the periodic table

This article presents a brief review of recent developments in metallocorrole chemistry, with a focus on species with significant displacement of the metal from the N4 plane of the corrole ring. Comparisons based on X-ray crystallographic data are made between a range of early and/or heavy transition metal, lanthanide, actinide, and main group metallocorrole species.
Right Upper Lobe Sleeve Resection

The first plastic-reconstructive procedures of the airway were performed after traumatic injury and tuberculous bronchostenosis.' The success of these early procedures led to the first bronchial sleeve resection for adenoma2 and c a r c i n ~ m a , ~ ? ~ during 1951 through 1952. Sleeve lobectomy was considered an alternative to pneumonectomy in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma because it preserved lung tissue and improved the quality of postoperative survival. Recent long-term studies of patients with lung carcinoma suggest that the results of sleeve lobectomy are comparable to the expected survival after standard lobectomy or pneumonectomy. Weisel et a15 reported no difference in the actuarial survival of 70 patients undergoing sleeve lobectomy compared with 70 patients undergoing pneumonectomy for stage I or I1 disease. Firmin et a16 showed that sleeve resection of squamous cell carcinoma of the upper lobe, in the absence of nodal metastases, produced a 5-year survival of 71%. In a series of 52 patients with T2NO or T3NO squamous cell carcinoma, sleeve lobectomy produced 5and 10-year survival rates of 59% and 47%.7 In a series of 101 sleeve lobectomies for stage I through stage I11 disease, RushPresbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center reported overall 5-year survival rates of 30% to 33%.839 The right upper lobectomy is the most common sleeve resection. Surveys in Japan have shown that upper-lobe sleeve resections represent 87% of all sleeve lobectomies performed.I0 Because of the relative length of the bronchus intermedius and the favorable arterial anatomy, right upper-sleeve lobectomies are performed more than twice as frequently as left upper-sleeve lobectomies. lo A review of several published patient series support these findings with 76% of the sleeve lobectomies being performed for cancers of the right upper l 0 b e . ~ 1 ~ J ~ J ~
Bundles branch reentry.

Among the most memorable classic bedside teaching discussions in electrophysiology is the consideration of a narrow complex beat in a patient with fixed bundle branch block. The discussion would frequently extend to questioning how narrow complex tachycardias can arise from the ventricles. As in many aspects of medicine, exceptional cases serve to further understanding of fundamental concepts germane to frequently encountered arrhythmias. In this installment of the Teaching Rounds in Cardiac Electrophysiology, Kusa et al1 continue this educational tradition by guiding us through an intriguing case of ventricular tachycardia (VT) with multiple morphologies that was successfully ablated at a single location. They teach us about the need to think imaginatively, yet logically, when considering the components of the infra-Hisian conduction system that may participate in tachycardia. After combining insight and electrogram analysis and excluding some candidate possibilities, they hypothesize one possible explanation for their findings and success with ablation of the right bundle branch. Article see p e87 A commonly asked question is whether the H-V interval measured during bundle branch reentrant VT is shorter or longer than the H-V interval measured in sinus rhythm. Figure A illustrates the important distinction between true and pseudo-intervals in electrophysiology. The H-V interval in sinus rhythm is a true conduction interval with conduction passing through the region of the recording electrodes near the His bundle and then exiting to the ventricles through the distal bundle branches such that it truly reflects the conduction time from His depolarization to ventricular activation. However, during typical bundle branch reentry, conduction proceeds from a common branch point (marked as A) to the His and concurrently down the right bundle toward the ventricular exit. Thus, there is no actual linear conduction from the His to the V but rather from a common branch point to both of …
Successful disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cell generation from patients with kidney transplantation

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a major public health problem. Although kidney transplantation is a viable therapeutic option, this therapy is associated with significant limitations, including a shortage of donor organs. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology, which allows derivation of patient-specific pluripotent stem cells, could provide a possible alternative modality for kidney replacement therapy for patients with ESRD. The feasibility of iPS cell generation from patients with a history of ESRD was investigated using lentiviral vectors expressing pluripotency-associated factors. In the present article we report, for the first time, generation of iPS cells from kidney transplant recipients with a history of autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), systemic lupus erythematosus, or Wilms tumor and ESRD. Lentiviral transduction of OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and c-MYC, under feeder-free conditions, resulted in reprogramming of skin-derived keratinocytes. Keratinocyte-derived iPS cells exhibited properties of human embryonic stem cells, including morphology, growth properties, expression of pluripotency genes and surface markers, spontaneous differentiation and teratoma formation. All iPS cell clones from the ADPKD patient retained the conserved W3842X mutation in exon 41 of the PKD1 gene. Our results demonstrate successful iPS cell generation from patients with a history of ESRD, PKD1 gene mutation, or chronic immunosuppression. iPS cells from autosomal kidney diseases, such as ADPKD, would provide unique opportunities to study patient-specific disease pathogenesis in vitro.
Relative Antioxidant Effectiveness of α-Tocopherol and γ-Tocopherol in Iron-Loaded Rats

The relative antioxidant effectiveness of RRR-alpha-tocopherol and d-gamma-tocopherol against in vivo lipid peroxidation in vitamin E-depleted, iron-loaded rats was assessed by measurement of expired pentane. Rats fed a vitamin E-deficient diet were each administered 103 +/- 2 mg of iron as iron dextran over a 4-week period. After 3 weeks, their erythrocytes were 96.9 +/- 0.6% hemolyzed by dialuric acid. After 6 weeks, the rats exhaled 22.4 +/- 3.4 pmol pentane/(100 g body weight . minute). Groups of 4 rats each were then fed varying levels of RRR-alpha- and d-gamma-tocopherol for 2 weeks, after which the pentane levels were directly related to the dietary tocopherol content. Covariance analysis of the log of pentane production versus the log of dietary tocopherol showed the relative antioxidant effectiveness of 1:0.31 for alpha-tocopherol:gamma-tocopherol. In an independent estimation of relative antioxidant effectiveness, covariance analysis of the log of lipid soluble fluorophores in the spleens of the rats versus the log of dietary tocopherol showed a ratio of 1:0.37 for alpha-tocopherol:gamma-tocopherol. Regression analysis showed the fluorophores also to be correlated with the integrated amount of pentane produced over the 7-week experiment (r = 0.84, P less than 0.001). gamma-Tocopherol was more effective as an in vivo antioxidant than has been reported for its inhibition of vitamin E-deficiency syndromes.
Religious Participation and Network Closure Among American Adolescents

A large body of empirical studies shows that religion often serves as a factor promoting positive, healthy outcomes in the lives of American adolescents. This research note reports findings of one test of a “network closure” explanation of these religious effects. It uses the national Survey of Parents and Youth (1998–1999) data to examine the relationship between religious participation and five measures of network closure. The findings support the hypothesis that participation in American religious congregations increases network closure between the parents of youth and their children's friends, their children's friends' parents, and their children's teachers.
The increasing role of modeling in high voltage and materials engineering

This paper discusses modeling of physical systems in an engineering context. The key to judicious approximation is a good conceptual understanding of how the world works, which comes only through experience and hard work. One of the benefits of working in this area is that whereas most things in life go downhill with age, the ability to solve technical problems through judicious approximation and modeling continues to improve, presumably to the onset of senility.
Learning 3D appearance models from video

Within the past few years, there has been a great interest in face modeling for anaalysis (e.g. facial expressio recognition) and synthesis (e.g. virtual avatars). There are two primary approaches, the appearance models (AM) and the structure from motion (SFM). These approaches are extensively studied, and both approaches have limitations. We introduce a semi-automatic method for 3D facial appearance modeling from video that addresses previous problems. Four main novelties are proposed: (1) a 3D generative facial appearance model integrates both structure and appearance, (2) the model is learned in a semi-unsupervised manner from video sequences, greatly reducing the need for tedious manual pre-processing, (3) a constrained flow-based stochastic sampling technique improves specificity in the learning process, and (4) in the appearance learning step, we automatically select the most representative images from the sequence. By doing so, we avoid biasing the linear model, speed up processing and enable more tractable computations. Preliminary experiments of learning 3D facial appearance models from video are reported.
Alterations in Follicle Development, Steroidogenesis, and Gonadotropin Receptor Binding in a Model of Ovulatory Blockade

Immature female rats treated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) before gonadotropin-induced follicle development and ovulation ovulate significantly fewer ova compared with controls. This study was designed to investigate potential ovarian-specific mechanisms of TCDD-mediated inhibition of ovulation. Immature hypophysectomized rats were treated with TCDD (32 microg/kg) or corn oil vehicle. Follicle development was initiated by injection of 10 IU PMSG 24 h after TCDD, and ovulation was induced 52 h after PMSG by injection of 10 IU hCG. The number of ova flushed from the oviduct was assessed the morning after hCG injection, and ovaries were collected at multiple times throughout the treatment schedule for histological analysis and analysis of FSH and hCG receptor binding and ovarian cAMP levels. In addition, serum levels of estradiol and progesterone were determined. Control rats ovulated 9.3 +/- 1.5 ova, whereas TCDD-treated rats ovulated 0.6 +/- 0.3. Gonadotropin receptor binding was evaluated 52 h after PMSG at the usual time of hCG injection to induce ovulation. Both FSH binding and hCG binding were significantly reduced in animals treated with TCDD. Serum estradiol levels in control animals were increased by 52 h after PMSG administration. In contrast, serum levels of estradiol in TCDD-treated animals remained low. In response to the ovulatory dose of hCG, serum levels of both estradiol and progesterone increased in control animals. Steroid levels also increased in TCDD-treated animals, but did not reach the peak levels observed in controls. TCDD treatment further resulted in lower ovarian cAMP levels at 52 h post-PMSG and at 5 h post-hCG. Together the data indicate that TCDD treatment altered the ability of the ovary to respond to PMSG, resulting in the development of follicles not comparable to controls (lower gonadotropin binding, lower estradiol production, lower levels of cAMP). It appears that critical steps in the development and maturation of follicles are disrupted by TCDD.
Die mobile Gesellschaft

Die Entdeckung das Wissen eine Ressource ist die produktiv genutzt werden kann markiert - nach der Entdeckung der Nutzbarmachung des Bodens und der Industrialisierung - einen dritten Paradigmenwechsel. Der Wettlauf um diese Markte wird ein Wettbewerb um human ressources: Kapital fliest dorthin wo die besten kreativsten moglichst preiswerten Kopfe sind die Wissen in Wert wandeln. Geistige Leistung ist die einzige Quelle aus der noch strategische Wettbewerbsvorteile erwachsen. Die Nutzung der IT als technische Infrastruktur verbessert die Effizienz der gesamten Wirtschaft. IT und Internet als technische Tools fuhren zu neuen Formen der Kommunikation der Produktion des Marktverhaltens und des Unternehmensmanagements. Die grundsatzlichen Veranderungen in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft bilden sich in den Ausdrucken e-business e-commerce e-marketplaces bereits in der Alltagssprache ab. Neue Business-Modelle bestimmen das Verhaltnis zu Geschaftspartnern und Kunden. Die Kundenbeziehungen andern sich grundlegend bedingt auch durch die mit der Transparenz des Marktes Internet entstehende Machtverschiebung vom Verkaufer zum Kaufer. An das Management von Unternehmen und staatlichen und privaten Institutionen werden neue Anforderungen gestellt werden. Noch im Jahr 2001 wird der stationare Zugang zum Internet zunehmend durch einen mobilen Zugang abgelost werden. Die Internetwirtschaft wird sich jetzt von der New Economy zur Real Economy wandeln. Nicht die dot.com-Firmen beschleungen das Wachstum, sondern die traditionelle Industrie. Gewinner der Informationsgesellschaft werden diejenigen sein, die die Netze fiir sich arbeiten lassen. Dies gilt fiir Unternehmen genauso wie filr Volkswirtschaften und Staaten
Accountability Systems: Implications of Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001:

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 substantially increases the testing requirements for states and sets demanding accountability standards for schools, districts, and states with measurable adequate yearly progress (AYP) objectives for all students and subgroups of students defined by socioeconomic background, race–ethnicity, English language proficiency, and disability. However, states’ content standards, the rigor of their tests, and the stringency of their performance standards vary greatly. Consequently, the percentage of students who score at the proficient level or higher on the state assessments varies radically from state to state. Some states have farther to go than others to meet the mandated target of 100% proficient within 12 years. These differences are illustrated and the implications for achieving AYP targets are discussed. Also addressed are possible uses of results from the biennial state-level administrations of the National Assessment of Educational Progress as a means of leveling the...
Conceptual validity of a phenomenological classification of psychiatric patients.

No SOONER were computers able to handle the data than did psychologists and psychiatrists interested in establishing a more objective and reliable classification of psychiatric patients begin to apply empirical classification methods to psychiatric phenomena. Methods of factor analysis, cluster analysis, Q-sorts and a variety of other techniques have been used. The objective has been to identify the distinct patterns that occur repeatedly in nature in highly similar form. From a simple classification point of view, such distinct homogeneous types should provide the basis for most reliable segregation of patients. Some investigators have reasoned further that syndromes, which are recognized by the coexistence of particular unique patterns, are often found to be associated with distinct disease processes. Others have been more pragmatic, being concerned only with objective, reliable, and useful descriptive classification. WITTENBORN et al.,’ were perhaps first to report extensive multivariate analyses of the phenomena of psychopathology in 1953. BECKY followed the next year with an application of Q-sort methodology that resulted in description of six distinct types of schizophrenia, and GRINKER et al.,3 followed shortly with the description of four sub-types of depression (which bear considerable similarity to those identified in our own work). LORR et al.,4 undertook extensive cluster analyses of symptom and behavior rating profiles for large samples of patients from the general inpatient psychiatric population and identified six major phenomenological types. It is not possible, in this brief introduction, to analyze in detail the similarities and differences in classification concepts that might be derived from these and other empirical investigations. We would note, however, that given certain tolerance for minor discrepancies (due probably to differences in observational techniques, data bases, and methods of analysis), a substantial thread of consistency emerges. Our own work, which was the direct basis for the investigation reported here, is in many particulars not inconsistent with the empirical results obtained by others using different data bases. The primary question left unresolved by all of the empirical classification research concerns whether the typologies have clinical meaning. One aspect of this question involves the extent to which the empirically derived types “ring true” in clinical experience. It is our impression that previous investigators have stopped short of considering this important question.
On Evaluating the Performability of Degradable Computing Systems

If the performance of a computing system is "degradable," performance and reliability issues must be dealt with simultaneously in the process of evaluating system effectiveness. For this purpose, a unified measure, called "performability," is introduced and the foundations of performability modeling and evaluation are established. A critical step in the modeling process is the introduction of a "capability function" which relates low-level system behavior to user-oriented performance levels. A hierarchical modeling scheme is used to formulate the capability function and capability is used, in turn, to evaluate performability. These techniques are then illustrated for a specific application: the performability evaluation of an aircraft computer in the environment of an air transport mission.