cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tectonic and magmatic development of the Salinian Coast Ridge Belt, California

[1] We present new field, structural, petrographic, and geochronologic data on a rare midcrustal (� 25 km) exposure of a Cordilleran arc, the Coast Ridge Belt, located in the Santa Lucia Mountains of central California. The study area is composed primarily of a deformed suite of upper amphibolite to granulite facies rocks (the ‘‘Sur Series’’), which is dominated by metaigneous tonalites, diorites, and gabbros with subordinate metasedimentary quartzite and marble. Inherited zircons in magmatic rocks suggest that the provenance of framework rocks is drawn heavily from miogeoclinal formations and that sedimentation occurred in the late Paleozoic or later. Minor magmatism in the Coast Ridge Belt began in the Early or Middle Cretaceous, but magmatic activity was most intense during a short period time from 93 to 81 Ma, based on U-Pb zircon ages of a felsic gneiss and two less-deformed diorites. The time period 93– 81 Ma also brackets a period of extensive thickening and high-temperature ductile deformation. While a thrusting cause for ductile deformation cannot be ruled out, we favor the hypothesis that the exposed rocks correspond to a zone of return flow of supracrustal rocks locally displaced by granitoid plutons in the shallower crust. Magmatism ended throughout Salinia between81and76Ma,coincidentwiththeattainmentof peak pressure and temperature conditions of 0.75 GPa and 800� C. Exhumation followed immediately, bringing the Coast Ridge Belt to the surface within 8 My at a rate of at least 2–3 mm/yr. Exhumation was coincident with an episode of extensional collapse that has been documented elsewhere in the southern California arc during the early Laramide orogeny and that may be related to underthrusting of the forearc at that time. INDEX TERMS: 8102 Tectonophysics: Continental contractional orogenic belts; 8035 Structural Geology: Pluton emplacement; 3640 Mineralogy and Petrology: Igneous petrology; 8030 Structural Geology: Microstructures; 8124 Tectonophysics: Earth’s interior—composition and state (1212);
The permanent income hypothesis in underdeveloped countries: Mea culpa

Ram’s CII icism of obscuration in my nr,tc [Fry (;1978c)] is well taken. In the first inst..nc.:, I applied first, second and third order polynomials to the coeffkients of current and past rates of inflation i in the money demand function ‘:q. (2) in Fry (i978c, p. 399) to obtain alternative measures of expected inflation i*. The dependent variable was per capita real money balances broadly defined, i.e., M2 or money plus yuasi-money, in natural logarithms m. The same procedure was repeated on the coefficients of current and past values of per capita actual real GNP in natural logarithms y for alternative measures of permanent income y*. Choice of polynomial degree and lag length was based on both the pattern of the lag coefficients and the R2. The coefficients had to decline monotonically or exhibit an inverted U shape. The lag length v !s determined by the criterion that ail coeflkients should be positive. The estimate meeting these criteria and giving the highest E2 was selected. None of the polynomial lags T;$ied to the income variable raised the fi’ for Taiwan. In all other cases, R2s increased, as shown in Fry (1978c, table 1, p. 401). Ram points out correctly that the estimates of eq. (1) in Fry (1978c, p. 399) suffered from strong first order positive autocorrelation in the residuals. Now autocorrelation is often caused by omitting relevant variables whose values are themselves correlated over time. Hence, autocorrelation suggests misspecifkation. The optimal solution is to introduce the relevant omitted variables. Correcting for autocorrelation through generalised least squares (GLS) is second best. In this particular case, I believed that the omitted variables were lagged income and lagged rafes of inflation. Howr ver, GLS correction for first-order positive autocorrelation is almost equivalent to including these variables with
Chapter 6 Indium-based Nitride Compounds

Publisher Summary The high equilibrium vapor pressure of nitrogen required during growth to prevent the dissociation of the In–N bond represents a significant problem in the growth of In-based nitride compounds. The potential for phase separation in this material system especially for high In concentration was suggested by Moustakas is another problem. This chapter reviews the current progress of In-based nitride compounds. The incorporation of In to form InGaN is controlled by several simultaneous competitive processes. In-based nitride compounds are lagging behind their Ga and Al counterparts. This may be because of the weak In–N bond and the demand for a high nitrogen over-pressure. The segregation of In at the growing surfaces and interfaces also represents another difficulty. More work is needed to adjust growth parameters to achieve device quality films and double heterostructures. High quality single crystal InN with low carrier concentration and good photoluminescence (PL) properties have not been achieved. This can be due to the lack of suitable substrates, high concentration of nitrogen vacancies, and low growth rates. Thus, the optical, electrical, and physical properties are still lagging behind other III nitride compounds.
Large format long-wavelength GaAs/AlGaAs multi-quantum well infrared detector arrays for astronomy

A long-wavelength large format quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) focal plane array has been successfully used in a ground based astronomy experiment. QWIP arrays afford greater flexibility than the usual extrinsically doped semiconductor infrared (IR) arrays. The wavelength of the peak response and cutoff can be continuously tailored over a range wide enough to enable light detection at any wavelength range between 6-20 /spl mu/m. The spectral band width of these detectors can be tuned from narrow (/spl Delta//spl lambda///spl lambda/ /spl sim/ 10%) to wide (/spl Delta//spl lambda///spl lambda/ /spl sim/ 40 %) allowing various applications. Also, QWIP device parameters can be optimized to achieve extremely high performances at lower operating temperatures (/spl sim/ 30 K) due to exponential suppression of dark current. Furthermore, QWIPs offer low cost per pixel and highly uniform large format focal plane arrays (FPAs) mainly due to mature GaAs/AlGaAs growth and processing technologies. The other advantages of GaAs/AlGaAs based QWIPs are higher yield, lower 1/f noise and radiation hardness. Recently, we operated an infrared camera with a 256/spl times/256 QWIP array sensitive at 8.5 /spl mu/m at the prime focus of the 5 m Hale telescope, obtaining the images. The remarkable noise stability - and low 1/f noise - of QWIP focal plane arrays enable cameras to operate by modulating the optical signal with a nod period up to 100 s. A 500 s observation on dark sky renders a flat image with little indication of the low spatial frequency structures associated with imperfect sky subtraction or detector drifts.
Viterbi Training Improves Unsupervised Dependency Parsing

We show that Viterbi (or "hard") EM is well-suited to unsupervised grammar induction. It is more accurate than standard inside-outside re-estimation (classic EM), significantly faster, and simpler. Our experiments with Klein and Manning's Dependency Model with Valence (DMV) attain state-of-the-art performance --- 44.8% accuracy on Section 23 (all sentences) of the Wall Street Journal corpus --- without clever initialization; with a good initializer, Viterbi training improves to 47.9%. This generalizes to the Brown corpus, our held-out set, where accuracy reaches 50.8% --- a 7.5% gain over previous best results. We find that classic EM learns better from short sentences but cannot cope with longer ones, where Viterbi thrives. However, we explain that both algorithms optimize the wrong objectives and prove that there are fundamental disconnects between the likelihoods of sentences, best parses, and true parses, beyond the well-established discrepancies between likelihood, accuracy and extrinsic performance.
The Effects of Removal and Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament on the Contact Characteristics of the Patellofemoral Joint

Seven cadaveric knees were used to investigate the effects of removal and reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with a bone-patellar tendon-bone graft on contact characteristics of the patellofemoral joint during physiologic levels of quadriceps muscle loads at 30 degrees, 60 degrees, and 90 degrees of knee flexion. Loads were applied to the quadriceps tendon to equilibrate externally applied flexion moments equivalent to one-third of values for maximum isometric extension moments. Patellofemoral contact areas and pressures were measured using pressure-sensitive film. Excision of the anterior cruciate ligament resulted in significant decreases in the total patellofemoral contact area by as much as 94 mm2 (68%), the medial facet contact area by as much as 55 mm2 (93%), the combined average contact pressure by 0.7 MPa (21%), the medial facet average contact pressure by 2.3 MPa (70%), the combined peak contact pressure by 3.0 MPa (38%), and the medial facet peak contact pressure by 5.4 MPa (76%), all at 30 degrees of knee flexion. Excision of the anterior cruciate ligament also resulted in significant decreases in total, medial facet, and lateral facet patellofemoral contact areas at 60 degrees and 90 degrees of knee flexion. Intraarticular reconstruction returned these to levels not significantly different from those of the intact knee.
Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic growth in the American lion and sabertoothed cat from Rancho La Brea

Sexual dimorphism has long been purported in the American lion Panthera atrox well-known from the asphalt deposits at Rancho La Brea. However, few studies have quantified this dimorphism. Along with the sabertoothed cat, Smilodon fatalis, we examine sexual dimorphism in dentaries from the Rancho La Brea tar pits using extant Panthera leo as a guide. Although growth rate in large carnivores declines after a certain age, it has been demonstrated to continue well beyond adulthood, therefore age must also be incorporated into a measure of sexual dimorphism in large carnivores. Prior studies demonstrated that tooth wear can be an inaccurate measure of age in Rancho La Brean carnivores, as it is affected by both diet and age. This study, instead, uses per cent pulp cavity closure of the lower canine tooth which is solely a measure of relative age, combined with linear measurements of the dentaries to separate the sexes of these two extinct cats. Results show that P. atrox has similar, or slightly greater, levels of sexual dimorphism than P. leo, whereas S. fatalis shows little to no sexual dimorphism. Our results also demonstrate that both Panthera species continue to grow into adulthood, strengthening the case that it is necessary to incorporate a measure of age into studies of sexual dimorphism in large carnivores, living or extinct.
RADON TRANSFORMS OF PROJECTION FUNCTIONS

We show that a centrally symmetric convex body is determined, up to translation, by any Radon transform of one of its projection functions. It is also proved that all Radon transforms are injective when restricted to projection functions of polytopes. Both results were known previously in the case of Radon transforms R i,j with i j . Here we use harmonic analysis on Grassmann manifolds to show that these results extend to all Radon transforms.
Late anastomotic leaks in pancreas transplant recipients – clinical characteristics and predisposing factors

: Background: Anastomotic leaks after pancreas transplants usually occur early in the postoperative course, but may also be seen late post-transplant. We studied such leaks to determine predisposing factors, methods of management, and outcomes. Results: Between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 2002, a total of 25 pancreas transplant recipients at our institution experienced a late leak (defined as one occurring more than 3 months post-transplant). We excluded recipients with an early leak or with a leak seen immediately after an enteric conversion. The mean recipient age was 40.3 yr; mean donor age, 31.3 yr. The category of transplant was as follows: simultaneous pancreas–kidney (n = 5, 20%), pancreas after kidney (n = 10, 40%), and pancreas transplant alone (n = 10, 40%). At the time of their leak, most recipients (n = 23, 92%) had bladder-drained pancreas grafts; only two recipients (8%) had enteric-drained grafts. The mean time from transplant to the late leak was 20.5 months (range = 3.5–74 months). A direct predisposing event or risk factor occurring in the 6 wk preceding leak diagnosis was identified in 10 (40%) of the recipients. Such events or risk factors included a biopsy-proven episode of acute rejection (n = 4, 16%), a history of blunt abdominal trauma (n = 3, 12%), a recent episode of cytomegalovirus infection (n = 2, 8%), and obstructive uropathy from acute prostatitis (n = 1, 4%). Non-operative or conservative care (Foley catheter placement with or without percutaneous abdominal drains) was the initial treatment in 14 (56%) of the recipients. Such care was successful in nine (64%) of the 14 recipients; the other five (36%) required surgical repair after failure of conservative care at a mean of 10 d after Foley catheter placement. Of the 25 recipients, 11 underwent surgery as their initial leak treatment: repair in nine and pancreatectomy because of severe peritonitis in two. After appropriate management (conservative or operative) of the initial leak, five (20%) of the 25 recipients had a recurrent leak; the mean length of time from initial leak to recurrent leak was 5.6 months. All five recipients with a recurrent leak ultimately required surgery. Conclusions: Late anastomotic leaks are not uncommon; they may be more common with bladder-drained grafts. One-third of the recipients with a late leak had experienced some obvious preceding event that predisposed to the leak. For two-thirds of our stable recipients with bladder-drained grafts, non-operative treatment of the leak was successful.
Study of frustrative nonreward in children.

Summary It was hypothesized that an enhancement of goal objects would occur for children who were frustrated from receiving these goal objects. Three dependent measures were used to measure the frustration effects: size estimation, verbal evaluation, and selective attention. Seventy-two middle-class children were divided into frustration, partial frustration, and reward groups. The results were nonsignificant in contrast to studies that show very significant effects for lower-class children. The strong behavioral effect noticed in the middle-class children had dissipated during the delay interval between the performance and measurement phase, suggesting that the increased frustration tolerance of middle-class children results in a more rapid dissolution of the frustration effects.
Constructing nation: national narratives of history teachers in Ukraine

This paper scrutinizes history narratives as a practice of a specific kind of nation-building and analyzes the role of history teachers in this process. Based on 60 semi-structural interviews with history teachers in Ukraine, this paper analyzes three major national narratives used by history teachers to produce specific meaning of social identity among school pupils. This paper shows how history teachers reproduce national identity in their classrooms by altering the teaching program and textbook narratives and by promoting their vision of a nation, rights of specific groups to participate in nation-building process and defining enemies and allies.
Progranulin and β-Amyloid Distribution: A Case Report of the Brain From Preclinical PS-1 Mutation Carrier

Background: Progranulin (PGRN) is a multifunctional growth factor that is found in many tissues. Mutations in the PGRN gene cause familial frontotemporal dementia with ubiquitin-positive inclusions...
An asymptotic analysis of stationary and moving cracks with frictional contact along bimaterial interfaces and in homogeneous solids

Abstract The plane strain and plane stress problem of a stationary or steadily moving crack with frictional sliding crack surface contact is investigated, with emphasis on the asymptotic structure of the crack tip fields. The crack is assumed to lie along the interface of an elastic anisotropic bimaterial with an aligned plane of symmetry, which covers special cases where the bimaterial is orthotropic or isotropic, or where the bimaterial becomes homogeneous. A full representation of the asymptotic fields around the interface crack is derived in terms of several arbitrary analytic functions, with explicit expressions for the singular crack tip stress and displacement fields given for a steadily propagating interface crack in an isotropic bimaterial, which are used to predict the direction of possible crack deviation from the interface. For a stationary crack, the singularity of the stresses can be, in general, stronger or weaker than r−½ (where r is the distance to the crack tip) depending on the loading history, while for a steadily growing crack, the singularity must be weaker than r−½, resulting in zero energy release rate at the crack tip. For bimaterials with orthotropic symmetries, the form of the singular stress field is found somewhat similar to that of the classic mode II problem. When these types of materials become homogeneous, and irrespective of the amount of friction between the contacting crack faces, the singular crack tip fields are identical to those of the classic mode II problem. Hence, the solutions are also governed by the conventional stress intensity factor KII, implying a nonzero crack tip energy release rate, which is related to KII in the usual manner. Implications of the above findings will be discussed.
Machine Learning Forecasts of Risk to Inform Sentencing Decisions

When threats to public safety are a factor in sentencingdecisions, forecasts of ‘‘future dangerousness’’ are neces-sarily being made. Sometimes the forecasts are effectivelymandatory. Federal judges, for example, are required toassess risk in every case. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2)(C),‘‘[t]he court, in determining the particular sentence to beimposed, shall consider...(2) the need for the sentenceimposed...(C) to protect the public from further crimes ofthe defendant...’’ A judge must look into the future,determine the likelihood and seriousness of criminalbehavior, and within certain bounds, sentence to minimizethe harm that could result.Ideally, the forecasts should be highly accurate. Theyalso should be derived from procedures that are practical,transparent, and sensitive to the consequences of forecast-ing errors. However, there is usually no compelling guid-ance on precisely how these goals can best be achieved.Subjective judgment, sometimes called ‘‘clinical judg-ment,’’ is an approach that relies on intuition guided byexperience. As discussed below, the resulting risk assess-ments are often wildly inaccurate and their rationale opa-que. ‘‘Actuarial’’ methods depend on data that allow one tolink ‘‘risk factors’’ to various outcomes of interest. Theassociations found can then be used to forecast those out-comes when they are not known. Over the past severaldecades, regression statistical procedures have dominatedthe actuarial determination of empirically based risk fac-tors. By and large, this enterprise has been a success. Butthe increasing availability of very large datasets coupledwith new data analysis tools promise dramatically bettersuccess in the future. Machine learning will be a dominantstatistical driver.There is now a substantial and compelling literature instatistics and computer science showing that machinelearning statistical procedures will forecast at least asaccurately, and typically more accurately, than olderapproaches commonly derived from various forms ofregression analysis.
An optimality theoretic approach to variation in negative inversion in AAVE

Examples like ‘Can't nobody beat 'em.’ (‘Nobody can beat them.’) in African-American Vernacular English (aave) have the inverted form of questions but the falling intonation and sentence meaning of (emphatic) declaratives. Labov et al. (1968) concluded that this phenomenon of ‘negative inversion’ (ni) requires two overlapping but distinct syntactic analyses. Recasting them in current terms, these proposals are Aux-to-Comp movement, as in subject-auxiliary inversion in interrogatives, and a non-movement structure containing a null expletive subject. Two explanatory problems arise with the view that Labove et al. present: (i) why the single phenomenon of ni should find its expression in two distinct structures and (ii) why this inversion phenomenon is restricted to negative sentences. Using ideas from Optimality Theory, we develop a syntactic account of the ni data that also directly addresses problems (i) and (ii). We show that the relevant aspects of the syntax of aave and Standard English (se) can be accounted for in terms of the different rankings of three relevant constraints. The account is driven in part by consideration of an apparent change since the 1960's in the acceptability of ni examples in embedded clauses. Some problems which our research raises, but does not fully resolve, include a complete analysis of the function of ni structures, the explanation for the quantitative favoring of inverted over non-inverted structures, and the extent to which negative inversion in aave has changed since the 1960's, in particular whether it has become closer to similar structures found in se.
Design of H ∞ -optimal feedback systems

In this paper we provide a treatment of the H∞-mixed sensitivity optimization approach to feedback system design which is viewed as a generalization of the H∞-sensitivity minimization problem introduced by Zames [1979, 1981] The optimization problem is shown to reduce to a nonstandard interpolation problem which can nonetheless be solved for a prespecified performance level. The optimal performance is characterized as the norm of a Hankel plus Toeplitz operator and some computational approaches for implementing the design method are suggested. It is hoped that the design method proposed here will contribute to extending the scope of H∞-optimization methods.
Influence of body position on breathing and its implications for the evaluation and treatment of speech and voice disorders

This paper examines how breathing differs in the upright and supine body positions. Passive and active forces and associated chest wall motions are described for resting tidal breathing and speech breathing performed in the two positions. Clinical implications are offered regarding evaluation and treatment of breathing behavior in clients with speech and voice disorders.
An "Urban Legend" of Global Proportion: An Analysis of Nonfiction Accounts of the Ebola Virus

Using Brunvald's (1981) six criteria of successful urban legends, this study explores nonfiction accounts of the Ebola virus. Focusing particularly on Richard Preston's book The Hot Zone (1994), this study addresses the social construction of the predatorial virus, demonstrating how events are constructed as social problems via media representations, and reality is transformed into legend. The implications of these depictions of the predatorial virus are discussed, along with exploring the effects of mass media reports on health care beliefs and practices. Likewise, implications regarding these stories, cultural beliefs and values are discussed.
Segmentation of left atrial intracardiac ultrasound images for image guided cardiac ablation therapy

Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE), a technique in which structures of the heart are imaged using a catheter navigated inside the cardiac chambers, is an important imaging technique for guidance in cardiac ablation therapy. Automatic segmentation of these images is valuable for guidance and targeting of treatment sites. In this paper, we describe an approach to segment ICE images by generating an empirical model of blood pool and tissue intensities. Normal, Weibull, Gamma, and Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions are fit to histograms of tissue and blood pool pixels from a series of ICE scans. A total of 40 images from 4 separate studies were evaluated. The model was trained and tested using two approaches. In the first approach, the model was trained on all images from 3 studies and subsequently tested on the 40 images from the 4th study. This procedure was repeated 4 times using a leave-one-out strategy. This is termed the between-subjects approach. In the second approach, the model was trained on 10 randomly selected images from a single study and tested on the remaining 30 images in that study. This is termed the within-subjects approach. For both approaches, the model was used to automatically segment ICE images into blood and tissue regions. Each pixel is classified using the Generalized Liklihood Ratio Test across neighborhood sizes ranging from 1 to 49. Automatic segmentation results were compared against manual segmentations for all images. In the between-subjects approach, the GEV distribution using a neighborhood size of 17 was found to be the most accurate with a misclassification rate of approximately 17%. In the within-subjects approach, the GEV distribution using a neighborhood size of 19 was found to be the most accurate with a misclassification rate of approximately 15%. As expected, the majority of misclassified pixels were located near the boundaries between tissue and blood pool regions for both methods.
Mercury in sediment and fish from North Mississippi Lakes

Abstract Sediments and/or fish were collected from Sardis, Enid and Grenada Lakes, which are located in three different watersheds in North Mississippi, in order to assess mercury contamination. The mean total mercury concentration in sediments from Enid Lake in 1997 was 0.154 mg Hg/kg, while 1998 sediment concentrations in Sardis, Enid and Grenada Lakes were 0.112, 0.088 and 0.133 mg Hg/kg, respectively. Sediment mercury concentrations in 1999 were similar in all three lakes but, generally lower than 1998. Mean total mercury concentrations in edible fillets of fish collected from Enid Lake in 1998 were above the human health FDA action level (>1.0 mg Hg/kg) for bass (1.40), crappie (1.69) and gar (1.89); however, tissue concentrations were less than 1.0 mg Hg/kg in carp (0.63) and catfish (0.82). Human hazard indexes for each species was ⩾1 for both adults and children, indicating that there is a potential for toxic effects to occur. In addition, calculated consumption limits indicate that adults may consume 4–12 oz. of fish per month, depending on the species consumed. For children, 2 oz. per month may be consumed. Further studies are needed to determine the exact environmental consequences and human health impacts associated with mercury contamination in North Mississippi and the Southeastern United States.
Investigation of etch pits on KDP crystals with porous sol–gel coatings

We have investigated etch-pit formation on potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystals with porous anti-reflective coatings. Etch pits develop beneath the sol–gel coatings after exposure to ambient humidity. The etch pits are homogeneously distributed with a density and an average size governed by the relative humidity and the coating thickness. Furthermore, the etch pits are self-similar in shape and possess facets corresponding to low-energy planes of KDP. Results from optical microscopy, light scattering, and atomic force microscopy support the following model for etch-pit formation in this system. Water adsorbed from the environment into the porous sol–gel coating contacts the crystal surface, causing etch-pit nucleation at high undersaturation. The plume of KDP rising from an etch pit slowly diffuses laterally, reducing the undersaturation and shutting off nucleation in the surrounding area. Because surface kinetics are rapid compared to mass transport through the sol–gel, etch pits continually undergo equilibration to maintain a low-energy geometry and generate an average spacing. Growth continues until the reservoir of water in the sol–gel is saturated with KDP. Coarsening is only observed in high relative humidity environments.
Intracavity sensing via compliance voltage in an external cavity quantum cascade laser

We demonstrate a technique for gas phase spectroscopy and sensing by detecting changes in compliance voltage of an external cavity quantum cascade laser due to intracavity absorption. The technique is characterized and used to measure the absorption spectrum of water vapor and Freon-134a.
The effect of underlying health status on patient or surrogate preferences for end-of-life care: a pilot study.

This study explored the role of health status, as measured by the Palliative Performance Score, in shaping patient preferences for end-of-life care. Scores were correlated with 3 potential goals of care: prolonging life, maintaining function, and maximizing comfort among patients seen in palliative care consultation. Eighty-six patients expressed treatment preferences: 16 (19%) preferred prolonging life, 23 (27%) preferred maintaining function, and 47 (54%) preferred maximizing comfort (P < .0001); their average scores ± standard deviation were, respectively, 51.9 ± 19.4, 56.5 ± 16.7, and 45.3 ± 14.1 (P = .0459). There was a significant relationship between patient preferences and Palliative Performance Score, with lower scores indicating preferences for comfort and higher scores indicating a preference for maintaining function and life expectancy. Further research is needed to test the sensitivity of health status, as measured by the Palliative Performance Score, in affecting patient preferences.
Endothelial Vasodilator Production by Uterine and Systemic Arteries. VIII. Estrogen and Progesterone Effects on cPLA2, COX-1, and PGIS Protein Expression

During ovine pregnancy, when both estrogen and progesterone are elevated, prostacyclin (PGI2) production by uterine arteries and the key enzymes for PGI2 production, phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1), and prostacyclin synthetase (PGIS), are increased. This study was conducted to determine whether exogenous estradiol-17b (E 2b) with or without progesterone (P4) treatment would increase cPLA2, COX-1, and PGIS protein expression in ovine uterine, mammary, and systemic (renal, mental, and coronary) arteries. Nonpregnant ovariectomized sheep received vehicle (n 5 10), P4 (0.9-g controlled internal drug release vaginal implants; n 5 13), E 2b (5 mg/kg bolus followed by 6 m gk g 21 day 21 ;n 5 10), or P4 1 E 2b (n 5 12). Arteries were procured on Day 10, and cPLA2, COX-1, and PGIS protein were measured by Western immunoblot analysis in endothelial isolated proteins and vascular smooth muscle (VSM). The levels of cPLA2 was increased in uterine artery endothelium in ewes treated with P4 1 E 2b but was not altered by any steroid treatment in renal, coronary, mammary, or omental artery endothelium or in VSM of any evaluated artery. Similarly, COX-1 was increased in uterine artery endothelium with P4 1 E 2b but was not significantly altered by treatment in other endothelium or VSM. E 2b treatment increased PGIS protein in uterine and renal artery endothelium but did not alter PGIS in other endothelial tissue. P4 increased PGIS expression in the uterine, mammary, omental, and renal artery VSM, and E 2b increased PGIS expression in the uterine and omental artery VSM. Both E 2b and P4 treatments differentially alter protein expression of the key enzymes involved in PGI2 production in different artery types and may play an important role in the control of blood flow redistribution during hormone replacement therapy. estradiol, progesterone, prostaglandins, steroid hormones, uterus
Noninvasive measurements of tissue hemodynamics with hybrid diffuse optical methods

Diffuse optical techniques were used to measurehemodynamics of tissues noninvasively. Spectroscopy and tomography of the brain,muscle, and implanted tumors were carried out in animal models and humans. Two qualitatively different methods, diffuse optical tomography and diffuse correlation tomography, were hybridized permitting simultaneous measurement of total hemoglobin concentration, blood oxygen saturation, and blood flow. This combination of information was processed further to derive estimates of oxygen metabolism (e.g., CMRO 2 ) in tissue. The diffuse correlation measurements of blood flow were demonstrated in human tissues, for the first time, demonstrating continous noninvasive imaging of oxygen metabolism in large tissue volumes several centimeters below the tissue surface. The bulk of these investigations focussed on cerebral hemodynamics. Extensive validation of this methodology was carried out in in vivo rat brain models. Three-dimensional images of deep tissuehemodynamics in middle cerebral artery occlusion and cortical spreading depression (CSD) were obtained. CSD hemodynamics were found to depend strongly on partial pressure of carbon dioxide. The technique was then adapted for measurement of human brain. All optical spectroscopic measurements of CMRO 2 during functional activation were obtained through intact human skull noninvasively. Finally, a high spatiotemporal resolution measurement of cerebral blood flow due to somatosensory cortex activation following electrical forepaw stimulation in rats was carried out with laser speckle flowmetry. New analysis methods were introduced for laser speckle flowmetry. In other organs, deep tissuehemodynamics were measured on human calf muscle during exercise and cuff-ischemia and were shown to have some clinical utility for peripheral vascular disease. In mice tumor models, the measuredhemodynamics were shown to be predictive of photodynamic therapy efficacy, again suggesting the promise of clinical utility. In total, the research has pioneered the development of diffuse optical measurements of blood flow, oxygenation, and oxygen metabolism in a large range of research and clinical applications.
Polar clearing in the Venus clouds observed from the Pioneer Orbiter

PIONEER Venus 1 was put into a 24-h orbit around the planet on 4 December 1978. Since then, it has made remote sensing observations of the clouds and the overlying atmosphere at IR, visible and UV wavelengths. The IR instrument includes a channel at a wavelength of 11.5 µm, which is used to measure the effective temperature of the cloud tops. Carbon dioxide, and all of the known constituents of the gaseous atmosphere, are highly transparent at this wavelength. Earth-based telescopic observations at similar wavelengths1–3 have generally shown fairly uniform temperatures of the order of 240 K across the face of Venus. The accepted interpretation has been that the cloud cover on Venus not only covers the whole planet, but is also extremely uniform. The early Pioneer observations confirmed this general picture, for the equatorial and mid-latitudes which comprise most of the surface area of the planet4. Interesting and meteorologically important structure with diurnal, seasonal and random components is found in the Pioneer measurements, as it was in earlier ground-based and spacecraft observations, but this structure has an amplitude of 10 K or less1–6. However, these subtle contrasts which dominate thermal maps of lower latitudes change to dramatic structure near the pole. Even the Earth-based observers, who must view the polar regions on Venus at very oblique angles, have reported cold bands surrounding one or other of the poles at various times2 and occasional polar ‘hot spots’1. The Pioneer orbit passes almost directly over the pole (inclination = 105°) and so provides the first good views of this interesting region. The IR instrument was operated only in its low spatial resolution mode for the first part of the mission. Results from those observations4 showed a wave-shaped collar of high, cold cloud surrounding the north pole, with warmer cloud temperatures polewards. Close to the pole itself, the observed temperature is the highest anywhere on the planet, not only at the cloud top but also in the overlying atmosphere4. We report here the first high data rate, high spatial resolution observations of the polar region. These were obtained on the tenth orbit of Venus on 15 December 1978.
A kinetic microplate method for quantifying the antibacterial properties of biological fluids.

The microplate assay for measuring antibacterial activity was adapted by incorporating a known concentration range of gentamicin as an internal standard. Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus strain ATCC 6538P, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and Lactobacillus spp. were used as target organisms, although other indicator organisms and antibiotics can be examined. Assay range and sensitivity were dependent on the species and density of indicator organism, and conditions (e.g., type, concentration, and pH of growth medium). Plotting the area under the growth curve (AUGC) versus gentamicin concentration (log transformed) yielded a linear curve that was used to quantify in units of gentamicin the antibacterial activity of a secretory fluid (SCF; pancreatic juice) and for comparisons of samples collected at different times, analysed on different days, and from different studies. This adaptation of the microtiter broth method will be useful for investigating man-made compounds, and the antibacterial activity of secretory fluids and the influences of age, diet, and health status.
Development of a type curve to locate partial blockages in gas flowlines

As exploration and production operations move into deeper waters, producers are faced with new flow assurance challenges. One problem associated with deepwater production is the deposition of paraffins, asphaltenes, hydrates, and scale within the pipeline. These depositions form partial pipeline blockages that reduce flow capacity and may ultimately put the subsea flowline at risk. Pigging and other intervention techniques can be used to deal with this problem. This paper develops a method for locating partial gas pipeline blockages and estimating their size. This method can be used to provide important information for monitoring chemical inhibition programs, scheduling pigging, assessing risk for pigging and planning other intervention procedures. The type curve model is based on the pressure transient analysis of a shut-in test. It can locate the blockage when the blockage size (represented by a blockage factor) has been determined by the backpressure technique. A new average pressure model has also been developed. This method can also be used to locate a partial blockage by examining differences in the average pressure that is measured when a flowline is shut-in at both ends.
PAK1 Protein Expression in the Auditory Cortex of Schizophrenia Subjects

Deficits in auditory processing are among the best documented endophenotypes in schizophrenia, possibly due to loss of excitatory synaptic connections. Dendritic spines, the principal post-synaptic target of excitatory projections, are reduced in schizophrenia. p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) regulates both the actin cytoskeleton and dendritic spine density, and is a downstream effector of both kalirin and CDC42, both of which have altered expression in schizophrenia. This study sought to determine if there is decreased auditory cortex PAK1 protein expression in schizophrenia through the use of quantitative western blots of 25 schizophrenia subjects and matched controls. There was no significant change in PAK1 level detected in the schizophrenia subjects in our cohort. PAK1 protein levels within subject pairs correlated positively with prior measures of total kalirin protein in the same pairs. PAK1 level also correlated with levels of a marker of dendritic spines, spinophilin. These latter two findings suggest that the lack of change in PAK1 level in schizophrenia is not due to limited sensitivity of our assay to detect meaningful differences in PAK1 protein expression. Future studies are needed to evaluate whether alterations in PAK1 phosphorylation states, or alterations in protein expression of other members of the PAK family, are present in schizophrenia.
Costs and clinical consequences of suboptimal atrial fibrillation management

Atrial fibrillation (AF) places a considerable burden on the US health care system, society, and individual patients due to its associated morbidity, mortality, and reduced health-related quality of life. AF increases the risk of stroke, which often results in lengthy hospital stays, increased disability, and long-term care, all of which impact medical costs. An expected increase in the prevalence of AF and incidence of AF-related stroke underscores the need for optimal management of this disorder. Although AF treatment strategies have been proven effective in clinical trials, data show that patients still receive suboptimal treatment. Adherence to AF treatment guidelines will help to optimize treatment and reduce costs due to AF-associated events; new treatments for AF show promise for future reductions in disease and cost burden due to improved tolerability profiles. Additional research is necessary to compare treatment costs and outcomes of new versus existing agents; an immediate effort to optimize treatment based on existing evidence and guidelines is critical to reducing the burden of AF.
Reducing bleeding after replacement of the aortic root

Bleeding after replacement of the aortic root continues to be a major surgical problem. We detail two reliable methods, which are quick and simple to perform, that minimize surgical bleeding after aortic root replacement.
Chromium reduces the in vitro activity and fidelity of DNA replication mediated by the human cell DNA synthesome

Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) is known to be a carcinogenic metal ion, with a complicated mechanism of action. It can be found within our environment in soil and water contaminated by manufacturing processes. Cr(VI) ion is readily taken up by cells, and is recognized to be both genotoxic and cytotoxic; following its reduction to the stable trivalent form of the ion, chromium(Cr(III)), within cells. This form of the ion is known to impede the activity of cellular DNA polymerase and polymerase-mediated DNA replication. Here, we report the effects of chromium on the activity and fidelity of the DNA replication process mediated by the human cell DNA synthesome. The DNA synthesome is a functional multiprotein complex that is fully competent to carry-out each phase of the DNA replication process. The IC{sub 50} of Cr(III) toward the activity of DNA synthesome-associated DNA polymerases {alpha}, {delta} and {epsilon} is 15, 45 and 125 {mu}M, respectively. Cr(III) inhibits synthesome-mediated DNA synthesis (IC{sub 50} = 88 {mu}M), and significantly reduces the fidelity of synthesome-mediated DNA replication. The mutation frequency induced by the different concentrations of Cr(III) ion used in our assays ranges from 2-13 fold higher than that which occurs spontaneously, and the types of mutationsmore » include single nucleotide substitutions, insertions, and deletions. Single nucleotide substitutions are the predominant type of mutation, and they occur primarily at GC base-pairs. Cr(III) ion produces a lower number of transition and a higher number of transversion mutations than occur spontaneously. Unlike Cr(III), Cr(VI) ion has little effect on the in vitro DNA synthetic activity and fidelity of the DNA synthesome, but does significantly inhibit DNA synthesis in intact cells. Cell growth and proliferation is also arrested by increasing concentrations of Cr(VI) ion. Our studies provide evidence indicating that the chromium ion induced decrease in the fidelity and activity of synthesome mediated DNA replication correlates with the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of this metal ion; and promotes cell killing via inhibition of the DNA polymerase activity mediating the DNA replication and repair processes utilized by human cells.« less
Microwave dielectric properties of Sr.61Ba.3Nb2O6 single crystals at 35 and 58 GHz

Abstract Microwave measurements on Sr.61Ba.39Nb2O6 single crystal samles show a large nonlinear susceptibility at 58 GHz and a large refractive index (∼ 18 to 20 along the polar axis) at 35 GHz. For propagation along the direction of an applied electric field in a sample cut at 45° to the polar axis, the change in index with applied field is found to be at least 1.2 × 10−6 m/V, corresponding to a half-wave voltage of 2000 V.
Risk factors for plantar fasciitis among assembly plant workers.

Objective The objective of this study was to determine the relative contributions of work activity (time spent standing, walking, or sitting), floor surface characteristics, weight, body mass index, age, foot biomechanics, and other demographic and medical history factors to the prevalence of plantar fasciitis. Design A cross-sectional observational study design was used. Setting The study site was an automobile engine assembly plant. Participants Full-time employees of the assembly plant who had been working at least 6 months. Assessment of Risk Factors The independent variables included baseline demographics, medical history, ergonomic exposures, psychosocial factors, discomfort ratings, shoe characteristics, and foot biomechanics. Main Outcome Measurements The dependent variable was the finding of plantar fasciitis on physical examination. Results The study demonstrated that forefoot pronation on physical examination, high metatarsal pressure on the gait assessment, increasing time spent standing on hard surfaces, increased time spent walking, medium tenure at the plant, and an increased number of times getting in and out of the vehicle (for the truck/forklift drivers) increased the risk of presenting with plantar fasciitis. Rotation of shoes during the work week was found to reduce the risk of presenting with plantar fasciitis. Increased supervisor support showed a trend toward reducing the prevalence of plantar fasciitis. Conclusions Plantar fasciitis is relatively common in the manufacturing setting. These findings suggest several options for primary and secondary prevention strategies. Shoe rotation may be an effective strategy that may be used as either a primary or secondary strategy. The use of shoe orthoses with a medial longitudinal arch and metatarsal pad may be used as a preventive or treatment strategy. Work stations that decrease the percentage of time walking or standing on hard surfaces (eg, allowing workers to alternate between sitting and standing postures or providing cushioning mats for concrete surfaces) may lower the risk for plantar fasciitis.
Charge transfer reactions of gaseous Cl+ ions with organic molecules: relationship of total cross sections to reaction energetics and franck-condon factors

Cross sections for charge transfer reactions of Cl+ ions with organic molecules were measured using time-of-flight techniques. Magnitudes of the cross sections, which ranged from 8 to 105 A2, were correlated with reaction energetics and target molecule Franck-Condon vibrational overlap factors.
Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus.

The records of 102 patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus are analyzed. A protocol for the evaluation and management of this lesion is outlined.
Rhenium-promoted diastereo- and enantioselective cyclopentannulation reactions: furans as 1,3-propene dipoles.

The rhenium furan complexes TpRe(CO)(MeIm)(η2-2-methylfuran) (1) and TpRe(CO)(MeIm)(η2-2,5-dmethylfuran) (2) undergo Lewis acid-promoted cyclopentannulation reactions with enones and enals to generate 3-acetylcyclopentene complexes. During the reaction, a rearrangement occurs such that the α and β carbons of the enone are incorporated into the new carbocycle. Treatment of these complexes with an oxidant (H2O2 or silver triflate) liberates the acetylcyclopentene. When a resolved form of the rhenium complex is used, the acetylcyclopentenes can be obtained enantioselectively.