cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transaction atomicity in the presence of network partitions

A study is made of the network partition failure and the necessary and sufficient conditions are determined for the implementation of atomic transactions in the presence of partitions. Two aspects are explored: properties of the distributed system and the topology of the communication network. The essence of the results reported is that protocols to implement atomic actions in spite of partitions exist only under unrealistically strong conditions. >
Performance assessment of automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) considers computer aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) systems to be an important element of their advanced public transportation systems (APTS) program. In 1992 the Denver Regional Transportation District contracted with the Westinghouse Company (now TMSI) to equip their fleet of over 800 buses with AVL, using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to provide position data. The system to be installed also included CAD, which enables the dispatchers to see the positions of each bus in the fleet at all times. The FTA, through the Volpe Center, contracted with Sandia National Laboratories to perform a technical assessment of the AVL system. This paper describes both the methodology and some of the results obtained in that evaluation, which was performed in the summer of 1995, just prior to system acceptance. The evaluation looked at position accuracy under a variety of conditions, and in a variety of locations. Reliability of the data communications between the vehicles and dispatch center was measured as well.
The FDA's role in the development of medical mobile applications.

The use of mobile apps is revolutionizing health-care delivery and has the potential to transform health care by allowing doctors to diagnose patients with potentially life-threatening conditions outside traditional health-care settings, as well as helping consumers manage their own health and wellness and gain access to useful information when and where they need it. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2014); 95 5, 485–488. doi:10.1038/clpt.2014.45
Para além da sociedade civil: reflexões sobre o campo feminista

This essay proposes a conceptual language, an interpretive framework, and a new unit of analysis for re-thinking the changing dynamics of feminisms in Brazil and the rest of Latin America. Theorizing feminisms as discursive fields of action in light of this analytical perspective, it develops a narrative revision of three moments in the trajectory of contemporary feminisms: 1) the "centering" and configuration of feminism in the singular; 2) the de-centering and pluralization of feminisms and the mainstreaming (or vertical flows) of gender; and 3) the current moment of side-streaming (or horizontal flows) of plural feminisms and the multiplication of feminist fields.
Transnational Socialist Imaginary and the Proletarian Woman in China

In her article "Transnational Socialist Imaginary and the Proletarian Woman in China" Anup Grewal discusses 1930s Shanghai and representations of the proletarian woman in relation to the intellectual New Woman and the fashionable Modern Girl. Grewal considers the concept of the proletarian woman in socialist culture first within the context of a local and global field of contending modernist visions of femininity, class, and the city. Next, Grewal analyses how the figure of the Chinese proletarian woman activates a socialist transnationality through shared formal and narrative innovations of translational leftist literature and cinema. Through her analysis, Grewal suggests how the 1930s Chinese transnational socialist imaginary presents a moment of global modernity based on simultaneity and affinity through political solidarity. Anup Grewal, "Transnational Socialist Imaginary and the Proletarian Woman in China" page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.2 (2013): Thematic Issue Asian Culture(s) and Globalization. Ed. I-Chun Wang and Li Guo
Changes in membrane structure induced by electroporation as revealed by rapid-freezing electron microscopy

Cells can be transiently permeabilized by exposing them briefly to an intense electric field (a process called "electroporation"), but it is not clear what structural changes the electric field induces in the cell membrane. To determine whether membrane pores are actually created in the electropermeabilized cells, rapid-freezing electron microscopy was used to examine human red blood cells which were exposed to a radio-frequency electric field. Volcano-shaped membrane openings appeared in the freeze-fracture faces of electropermeabilized cell membranes at intervals as short as 3 ms after the electrical pulse. We suggest that these openings represent the membrane pathways which allow entry of macromolecules (such as DNA) during electroporation. The pore structures rapidly expand to 20–120 nm in diameter during the first 20 ms of electroporation, and after several seconds begin to shrink and reseal. The distribution of pore sizes and pore dynamics suggests that interactions between the membrane and the submembrane cytoskeleton may have an important role in the formation and resealing of pores.
A Model of β1-Adrenergic Regulation of L-Type Ca2+ Current and Ryanodine Receptors in Mouse Ventricular Myocytes

Mathematical modeling protein signaling networks is one of the most rapidly developing fields of science. This includes creation and investigation of the models for protein signaling systems in the heart cells. β1-adrenergic signaling system is one of the most important systems in cardiac myocytes. We developed an experimentally-based mathematical models of β1-adrenergic regulation of L-type Ca2+ current and ryanodine receptors in mouse ventricular myocytes. The model includes several modules and describes signal transduction in the cells. In the model, β1-adrenergic receptors (β1-ARs) are stimulated by application of β1-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol. Activation of β1-ARs in turn activates Gs proteins, Gsα subunit of which subsequently stimulates cyclic AMP (cAMP) synthesis by adenylyl cyclases. cAMP further activates protein kinase A (PKA) holoenzyme and dissociates PKA catalytic subunit from regulatory subunit. cAMP is degraded by phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that can be inhibited by 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX). Inhibition of PDEs by IBMX leads to an increase in cAMP level and more profound stimulation of PKA. PKA is also regulated by heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor. β1-ARs are desensitized by β-adrenergic receptor kinase-1 and by catalytic subunit of PKA that creates negative feedback for this signaling pathway. PKA phosphorylates L-type Ca2+ channel, which results in an increase of channel's opening probability and current amplitude. Phosphorylation is removed by protein phosphatases 1 and 2A. We developed a Markov model for L-type Ca2+ channel that consists of two parallel activation-inactivation pathways for non-phosphorylated and phosphorylated states. There are also transitions between corresponding non-phosphorylated and phosphorylated states in the model (closed, open, or inactivated states). Similar approach was applied to the Markov model development for ryanodine receptors. Both models reproduced experimentally observed behavior of the channels.
Nanobiotechnology in drug delivery

Nanotechnology is a novel branch of science that deals with the characterization, creation, and utilization of materials, devices, and systems at the nanometer scale. Advances in nanotechnology are spurring a revolution in science, engineering and therapeutics, particularly in drug delivery. Targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules is the most desirable feature of an effective drug therapy. Conventional chemotherapy faces major drawbacks such as poor specificity of the drug, increased adverse effects, and reduced therapeutic efficacy. Application of nanotechnology in drug delivery systems has provided new avenues for engineering materials with molecular precision. This aids in fabricating nanoscale delivery devices that combine diagnostic and therapeutic actions for immediate administration of therapy. Nanotechnology can generate a library of sophisticated drug delivery systems that integrate molecular recognition and site-specific delivery of the therapeutic agents. It formulates therapeutic agents in biocompatible nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanocapsules, liposomes, and micelles. This review focuses on some of the nano-sized systems used in drug delivery and discusses the potential applications of nanotechnology in the delivery of macromolecular therapeutic agents.
Metabolism, gas exchange, and acid-base balance of giant salamanders

The giant salamanders are aquatic and paedomorphic urodeles including the genera Andrias and Cryptobranchus (Cryptobranchidae), Amphiuma (Amphiumidae), Siren (Sirenidae), and Necturus (Proteidae, of which only N. maculosus is considered 'a giant'). Species in the genera Cryptobranchus and Necturus are considered aquatic salamanders well adapted for breathing water, poorly adapted for breathing air, and with limited abilities to compensate acid-base disturbances. As such, they are water-breathing animals with a somewhat fish-like respiratory and acid-base physiology, whose habitat selection is limited to waters that do not typically become hypoxic or hypercarbic (although this assertion has been questioned for N. maculosus). Siren and Amphiuma species, by contrast, are dependent upon air-breathing, have excellent lungs, inefficient (Siren) or no (Amphiuma) gills, and are obligate air-breathers with an acid-base status more similar to that of terrestrial tetrapods. As such, they can be considered to be air-breathing animals that live in water. Their response to the aquatic hypercarbia that they often encounter is to maintain intracellular pH (pH(i) ) and abandon extracellular pH regulation, a process that has been referred to as preferential pH(i) regulation. The acid-base status of some present-day tropical air-breathing fishes, and of Siren and Amphiuma, suggests that the acid-base transition from a low PCO(2) -low [] system typical of water-breathing fishes to the high PCO(2) -high [] systems of terrestrial tetrapods may have been completed before emergence onto land, and likely occurred in habitats that were typically both hypoxic and hypercarbic.
Oxygen budget of a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake.

A bulk O2 budget for Lake Hoare, Antarctica, is presented. Five years of seasonal data show the lake to be persistently supersaturated with O2. Oxygen is carried into the lake in glacial meltstreams and is left behind when this water is removed as ice by ablation and sublimation. A diffusive loss of O2 from the lake through the summer moat is suggested. Measured values of the total O2 in the water column indicate that the time scale of O2 turnover is much longer than a year. Based on these results, it is suggested that the amount of O2 in the water does not change significantly throughout the year and that the lake is also supersaturated with N2.
The ties that heal: Guatemalan immigrant women's networks and medical treatment

Using participant observation and in-depth interviews with ladina and indigenous Guatemalan immigrant women, this article examines the intricate social networks - both local and transnational - through which these immigrants obtain treatment for their own and their families' illnesses. Although Guatemalan women also relied on ties with friends, families and acquaintances to obtain a cure in their country, these ties acquire more significance within the broader U.S. politicoeconomic context that restricts their medical choices. Under these conditions, these women's informal networks become key in putting within reach a variety of treatments that include prescription drugs (obtained over the counter) and “traditional” medicines, which are acquired both locally and from contacts back home. Giving and receiving help through these social networks, however, is a negotiated process punctuated by disillusions, tension, and frustration as much as by cohesiveness and support.
Molecular genetic evidence of a unifocal origin for human serous ovarian carcinomas

The hypothesis that ovarian cancer is multifocal in origin was examined using molecular genetic techniques. Patterns of allelic deletion on chromosome 17 were studied in 16 informative cases of Stage III serous epithelial ovarian carcinoma. DNA was extracted from specimens collected from the omentum and both ovaries, and the specific alleles and chromosomal loci involved in the deletion were identified and compared. In all cases, the patterns of allelic deletion were identical for the tumors that had been collected from different sites in the same patients. In addition, 4 of the 16 cases were heterozygous for the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) gene on the X-chromosome and were examined for methylation status. In all 4, the same parental allele of the HPRT gene was methylated in tumor cells collected from both ovarian and omental sites, suggesting that the patterns of inactivation of the X-chromosome are identical. This pattern of allelic deletion and HPRT-gene methylation in tumor samples collected from different sites implies that ovarian carcinomas have a unifocal origin.
Nutritional screening tools for hospitalized children: Methodological considerations

Children who are admitted to the hospital are at a risk of developing undernutrition, especially children with an underlying disease. High percentages of both acute and chronic undernutrition have been reported in various Western countries for many years. Several nutritional screening tools have been developed for hospitalized children in the last years. This review gives an overview of the nutritional screening tools that are currently available with a focus on their aims, clinical use and validity.
Effects of ozone on white pine saplings: Variation in inhibition and recovery of net photosynthesis

Abstract Net photosynthesis of white pine (P. strobus) saplings collected from suburban nurseries and exposed to ozone was monitored over extended periods using the small chamber technique. The threshold of ozone suppression was approximately 50 pphm for a minimum of 4 h. Above this threshold, three categories of ozone sensitivity were detected: susceptible, intermediate, and resistant. In intermediate trees, suppression was reversible if an ozone-free recovery period was made possible. Visible symptom expression on the foliage of the current year was not a good index of the timing or the severity of ozone-induced photosynthetic suppression. This report represents the first documentation of net photosynthetic suppression, in individuals older than seedlings, of a forest tree species.
Why voucher and certificate users live in distressed neighborhoods

Abstract The Section 8 voucher and certificate program potentially allows recipients to choose better neighborhoods than they might otherwise be able to afford. This article compares the location of households using Section 8 vouchers and certificates with the location of other renter households, both low‐income renters and all renters. In 1998, Section 8 users were 75 percent as likely as other poor tenants to live in distressed neighborhoods but 150 percent more likely than all renters to live in such tracts. These national averages obscure substantial variation among metropolitan areas. Section 8 users concentrate in distressed neighborhoods when rental housing concentrates there, but they avoid distressed neighborhoods with very low rents. Concentration also hinges on race; when assisted households are mostly black and other residents are mostly white, assisted households are much more likely to live in distressed neighborhoods.
Of agency and embodiment: Angelina Jolie’s autographic transformations

This article analyses Angelina Jolie through her status as an exemplary celebrity – that is, as both particular and typical – considering how that exemplarity has been constructed through gender over the last two decades. The article focuses specifically on Jolie’s autographic presentation of her agency and embodiment, two elements crucial to gender analysis in celebrity studies. From the 1990s to the 2000s, Jolie’s celebrity underwent a significant transformation that altered the dimensions, scope, and character of her celebrity image. From a provocative ‘bad girl’, she became a global action star, philanthropist, committed partner in the Jolie–Pitt celebrity dyad, and mother of six, including adoptive children born in Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Vietnam, and biological children born in Namibia and France. Surprisingly, as her power, visibility, and global celebrity increased, her presentation of her agency has assumed a more receptive, feminine, and invisible character.
Proteomics Analysis Identifies Phosphorylation-dependent α-Synuclein Protein Interactions

Mutations and copy number variation in the SNCA gene encoding the neuronal protein α-synuclein have been linked to familial Parkinson disease (Thomas, B., and Beal, M. F. (2007) Parkinson's disease. Hum. Mol. Genet. 16, R183–R194). The carboxyl terminus of α-synuclein can be phosphorylated at tyrosine 125 and serine 129, although only a small fraction of the protein is phosphorylated under normal conditions (Okochi, M., Walter, J., Koyama, A., Nakajo, S., Baba, M., Iwatsubo, T., Meijer, L., Kahle, P. J., and Haass, C. (2000) Constitutive phosphorylation of the Parkinson's disease associated α-synuclein. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 390–397). Under pathological conditions, such as in Parkinson disease, α-synuclein is a major component of Lewy bodies, a pathological hallmark of Parkinson disease, and is mostly phosphorylated at Ser-129 (Anderson, J. P., Walker, D. E., Goldstein, J. M., de Laat, R., Banducci, K., Caccavello, R. J., Barbour, R., Huang, J. P., Kling, K., Lee, M., Diep, L., Keim, P. S., Shen, X. F., Chataway, T., Schlossmacher, M. G., Seubert, P., Schenk, D., Sinha, S., Gai, W. P., and Chilcote, T. J. (2006) Phosphorylation of Ser-129 is the dominant pathological modification of α-synuclein in familial and sporadic Lewy body disease. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 29739–29752). Controversy exists over the extent to which phosphorylation of α-synuclein and/or the visible protein aggregation in Lewy bodies are steps in disease pathogenesis, are protective, or are neutral markers for the disease process. Here we used the combination of peptide pulldown assays and mass spectrometry to identify and compare protein-protein interactions of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated α-synuclein. We showed that non-phosphorylated α-synuclein carboxyl terminus pulled down protein complexes that were highly enriched for mitochondrial electron transport proteins, whereas α-synuclein carboxyl terminus phosphorylated on either Ser-129 or Tyr-125 did not. Instead the set of proteins pulled down by phosphorylated α-synuclein was highly enriched in certain cytoskeletal proteins, in vesicular trafficking proteins, and in a small number of enzymes involved in protein serine phosphorylation. This targeted comparative proteomics approach for unbiased identification of protein-protein interactions suggests that there are functional consequences when α-synuclein is phosphorylated.
Electrochemical reduction of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutatriene

Abstract Polarograms and cyclic voltammograms for reduction of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutatriene at mercury electrodes in dimethylformamide containing tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate exhibit four waves; the first and second waves are due to stepwise formation of the radical anion and dianion of the starting material, whereas the third and fourth waves are attributable to reduction of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,2-butadiene and 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1-butene, respectively. Electrolysis of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutatriene at potentials corresponding to the second wave yields 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,3-butadiene exclusively; at a slightly more negative potential, the latter undergoes reduction to 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1-butene. When 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutatriene is electrolyzed in the presence of glacial acetic acid and at any potential on the first or second wave, a mixture of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,2-butadiene (56%) and 1,1,4,4-tetraphneyl-2-butyne (43%) is produced. Electrolysis of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutatriene at a potential on the third wave gives only 1,1,4,4-tetraphneyl-1-butene in the absence of a proton donor and a mixture of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-2-butyne (50%) 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1-butene (17%), and 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-2-butene (33%) in the presence of glacial acetic acid. At potentials on the fourth wave, electrolyses yield solely 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutane when no proton donor is present and a mixture of 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-2-butyne (50%), 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-2-butene (33%), and 1,1,4,4-tetraphenylbutane (17%) when an excess of glacial acetic acid is present.
Leptin, adiposity, and testosterone in captive male macaques.

Leptin is considered to act as a signal relating somatic energetic status to the reproductive sys- tem. However, the nature of that signal and its relation- ship with male reproductive function across nonhuman primate species are unclear. We suggest that species-spe- cific differences in leptin physiology may be related to the degree of environmental variation and variation in the importance of energy stores for male reproduction. In or- der to test the role of seasonality in species differences among nonhuman primates, we compared leptin, testos- terone, and body composition in male rhesus (n 69) and pig-tailed (n 43) macaques. Despite having larger ab- dominal fat deposits, the rhesus macaques did not exhibit significantly higher leptin levels (rhesus, 2.21 0.43 ng/ ml; pig-tailed, 2.12 0.39 ng/ml). Both species showed increases in leptin across adolescent, subadult, and adult age-groups (P 0.036 for rhesus; P 0.0003 for pig-tailed by ANCOVA). Testosterone was not significantly associ- ated with leptin in either the rhesus (r 0.039; P 0.754) or pig-tailed (r 0.2862; P 0.066) samples. Comparison of leptin levels across the two species using univariate modeling procedures showed no significant age-group by abdominal fat interaction. These findings suggest little difference in leptin production between these two closely related species, despite the difference in breeding season- ality. Am J Phys Anthropol 127:335-341, 2005. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Inelastic neutron studies of the low-energy phonon excitations in the RENi2B2C superconductors (RE = Lu, Y, Ho, Er)

The authors studied the low-energy phonon excitations for wavevectors close to the Fermi surface nesting vector {rvec {xi}}{sub m} {approx_equal} 0.55{rvec a}. They find that above T{sub c} the frequencies of the {Delta}{sub 4} [{zeta}00] lowest-lying optical and acoustic phonon modes decrease with decreasing temperature, for {rvec {xi}} close to {rvec {xi}}{sub m}, and there is a shift of intensity from the upper to the lower mode, an effect characteristic of coupled modes. From approximately 120K down to temperatures in the vicinity of T{sub c}, only a single unresolved peak is observed. Below T{sub c} the phonon spectra of the Y and Lu compounds change dramatically: they consist of a sharp peak at approximately 4.5 meV with a weak shoulder at the higher energy side. No such sharp peak was observed below T{sub c} in the Ho and Er compounds.
Skin decontamination of glyphosate from human skin in vitro

This study compared three model decontaminant solutions (tap water, isotonic saline, and hypertonic saline) for their ability to remove a model herbicide (glyphosate) from an in vitro human skin model. Human cadaver skin was dosed (approximately 375microg) of [14C]-glyphosate on 3cm2 per skin. After each exposure time (1, 3, and 30min post-dosing, respectively), the surface skin was washed three times (4ml per time) with each solution. After washing, the skin was stripped twice with tape discs. Lastly, the wash solutions, strippings, receptor fluid, and remainder of skin were liquid scintillation analyzer counted to determine the amount of glyphosate. There were no statistical differences among these groups at any time points. The total mass balance recovery at three time exposure points was between 94.8% and 102.4%. The wash off rates (glyphosate in wash solutions) at three different exposure times is 79-101.2%. Thus the three tested decontaminants possess similar effectiveness in removing glyphosate from skin. This in vitro model is not only economic and rapid, but also provides quantitative data that may aid screening for optimal decontaminants.
Visual terrain mapping for traversable path planning of mobile robots

In this paper, we have primarily discussed technical challenges and navigational skill requirements of mobile robots for traversability path planning in natural terrain environments similar to Mars surface terrains. We have described different methods for detection of salient terrain features based on imaging texture analysis techniques. We have also presented three competing techniques for terrain traversability assessment of mobile robots navigating in unstructured natural terrain environments. These three techniques include: a rule-based terrain classifier, a neural network-based terrain classifier, and a fuzzy-logic terrain classifier. Each proposed terrain classifier divides a region of natural terrain into finite sub-terrain regions and classifies terrain condition exclusively within each sub-terrain region based on terrain visual clues. The Kalman Filtering technique is applied for aggregative fusion of sub-terrain assessment results. The last two terrain classifiers are shown to have remarkable capability for terrain traversability assessment of natural terrains. We have conducted a comparative performance evaluation of all three terrain classifiers and presented the results in this paper.
Analysis of fields and forces in a permanent magnet linear synchronous machine based on the concept of magnetic charge

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional field distributions produced by permanent magnets (PMs) of a permanent-magnet linear synchronous motor (PMLSM) are obtained in analytical forms, based on the concept of magnetic charge and the method of images. The determination of electromagnetic forces and parameters of this type of a motor is examined. The proposed method and the resulting simplified formulas are useful for the design and analysis of PMLSMs as well as for other types of PM motors. Calculated results compare favorably with the experimental results, and thus validate the assumptions and the analysis. >
Synthesis and Structural Properties of the Binary Framework C–N Compounds of Be, Mg, Al, and Tl

The synthesis of crystalline Be(CN)2 and Mg(CN)2 has been demonstrated and X-ray diffraction studies indicate simple-cubic structures with four-coordinate metal atoms surrounded by an average of two N and two C atoms. The symmetry of Be(CN)2 is Pn3m, a=5.339(1) A, Z=2. The symmetry of Mg(CN)2 is also Pn3m, a=6.122(1) A, Z=2. A thallium cyanide with composition Tl(CN)2 was prepared and was shown to have a similar simple-cubic structure with a=6.660(1) A. On the basis of the X-ray diffraction pattern, IR spectra, and combustion analysis, this material is assigned the formula TlITlIII(CN)4. Crystalline Al(CN)3 with simple-cubic structure has been prepared for the first time. Rietveld refinement indicated that the structure in- corporates CN groups with orientational disorder in a Prussian- blue-like octahedral network. 27Al NMR spectroscopy confirmed C,N disorder in cubic Al(CN)3. The symmetry for Al(CN)3 is Pm3m, a=5.205(1) A.
The Fair Allocation of Power to Air Conditioners on a Smart Grid

Our objective is to allocate power to air conditioners in a fair manner when the demand for power exceeds the supply or when the load in regions of the network exceeds the capacity of the transmission links. This is an alternative to the current practice of brown outs or black outs and to the proposed pricing mechanisms that curtail demand. The procedure operates on a smart grid. Customers request a thermostat setting for their air conditioner, and the power company sets the thermostat to fairly allocate the available power. We describe 1) simple techniques to predict changes in power consumption for modest changes in the setting of a thermostat in each residence, 2) algorithms to apply two fairness metrics used in communications networks to power allocation, 3) an algorithm to control power to different parts of a capacity constrained distribution network, and 4) a practical procedure to apply these techniques.
1377 VARYING FEEDING CONTAINER RIGIDITY: EFFECT ON INTAKE AND VENTILATION IN PRETERM INFANTS

Following observations that reducing milk container rigidity may help oral feedings, five preterm infants (x+SEM GA 33±1.2 wks, weight 1.7±0.1 kg, post-natal age 4.2±0.9 wks) were studied at sequential feeds with equal volumes of milk from two containers, rigid (R) and collapsible (C). Ventilation, sucking pressure, duration of feeding (DF) were measured. No significant difference in ventilation during sucking was found between containers. Nipple sucking pressure was significantly greater with R (12.1±0.9 cmH20, P<0.001) Suck-pause sucking pattern was clearly seen only with R, where pause occupied 21.7±2.8% of total time. Pause ventilation was similar to baseline. No significant difference in total airway closure time was found between containers. Result suggest that reducing the oral load decreasesingestion time without further impairment of ventilation, and maybe useful in aiding the oral feeding of preterm infants.
Individual Differences in Interest and Narrative Writing

Abstract Two hundred twenty-four undergraduate students wrote about one-half of an inning of a baseball game and about one-half of a soccer game, counterbalanced, for 20 min each. Students then completed two six-item interest inventories—one each on the topics of baseball and soccer—and tests of baseball knowledge and soccer knowledge. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that individual interest in baseball was significantly related to the proportions of game actions and irrelevant-nongame actions, controlling for gender, discourse knowledge, and topic knowledge. Topic knowledge was significantly related to thematic maturity, controlling for gender and discourse knowledge. Students wrote more topic-relevant information on the baseball story—a relatively high-interest topic—than on the soccer story, a relatively low-interest topic. Implications for the Flower and Hayes (1981) writing model and for assigning students writing topics are discussed.
The LLNL AMS facility

The AMS facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) routinely measures the isotopes 3H, 7Be, 10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca, and 129I. During the past two years, over 30000 research samples have been measured. Of these samples, approximately 30% were for 14C bioscience tracer studies, 45% were 14C samples for archaeology and the geosciences, and the other isotopes constitute the remaining 25%. During the past two years at LLNL, a significant amount of work has gone into the development of the Projectile X-ray AMS (PXAMS) technique. PXAMS uses induced characteristic X-rays to discriminate against competing atomic isobars. PXAMS has been most fully developed for 63Ni but shows promise for the measurement of several other long lived isotopes. During the past year LLNL has also conducted an 129I interlaboratory comparison exercise. Recent hardware changes at the LLNL AMS facility include the installation and testing of a new thermal emission ion source, a new multi-anode gas ionization detector for general AMS use, re-alignment of the vacuum tank of the first of the two magnets that make up the high energy spectrometer, and a new cryo-vacuum system for the AMS ion source. In addition, we have begun design studies and carried out tests for a new high-resolution injector and a new beamline for heavy element AMS.
Far-Infrared Properties of Quartz and Sapphire

A grating monochromator based on the Czerny–Turner system and having 12-in.-diameter mirrors is used for measurements in a wavelength range from 40–300 μ. Indices of refraction of quartz and sapphire are determined by studying the channel spectrum observed in transmission of polarized radiation by 1-mm-thick plates. Results, extrapolated to zero frequency, are: n0⊥=2.102, n0‖=2.153 in quartz and n0⊥=3.060, n0‖=3.402 in sapphire to an accuracy of 0.1%. Dispersion and absorption are measured and are shown to be consistent with theory. An absorption band is observed in the ordinary ray in quartz centered at a wavelength of 78.0 μ and having a width of about 3μ. No other absorption anomaly is clearly distinguishable in any of the measurements.
Synthesis, Characterization and Sulfur Dioxide Sensing Performances of Hierarchical Zinc Oxide Nanorods Based Sensor

Zinc oxide nanostructures were successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method. Structural characterizations by means of X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy were conducted, and the as synthesized products composed of numerous nanorods have a hierarchical flower-type structure. The optimum operating temperature of the sensing material to sulfur dioxide is about 270 °C, and the linear correlation coefficient of the sensing material to sulfur dioxide gas is equal to 0.978. Furthermore, this sensing material demonstrates reversible sensing response and rapid response-recovery characteristic to sulfur dioxide. All results indicate our products a promising sensing material for recognition of sulfur dioxide.
Sweeping Preconditioner For the 3D Helmholtz Equation

TheHelmholtz equation describes wave propagation in the frequency domain and,as such, can be used for seismic imaging and fullwaveform inversion. We present two novel preconditioners for the efficientsolution of the Helmholtz equation in three dimensions. Both methodsfollow the general structure of constructing an approximate LDLt factorizationby eliminating the unknowns layer by layer starting from anabsorbing layer or boundary condition. In the first approach, werepresent the Schur complement matrices of the factorization in thehierarchical matrix framework. In the second approach, applying each Schurcomplement matrix is equivalent to solving a quasi-2D problem withthe multifrontal method. These preconditioners have linear application cost, andthe preconditioned iterative solvers converge in a number of iterationsthat is essentially independent of the number of unknowns orthe frequency. Numerical results on realistic 3D seismic models toconfirm the efficiency of these methods.
The quenching of an intramembrane fluorescent probe. A method to study the binding and permeation of phloretin through bilayers.

Abstract Phloretin and phloretin-like dipolar non-electrolytes strongly quench the fluorescence of several membrane-bound probes, including 1,6-diphenylhexa-1,3,5-triene and anthroyl derivatives of long-chain fatty acids. Fluorescence intensity measurements therefore provide a simple and sensitive method to study the equilibrium binding properties and permeability of phloretin-like molecules in biological and artificial membrane systems. The dissociation constants for the binding of phloretin and naringenin to phosphatidylcholine vesicle membranes are determined, assuming the Stern-Volmer relation, from the fluorescence intensity of intramembrane probes as a function of phloretin and naringenin concentrations. Results (phloretin, 9 ± 1 μM ; naringenin, 21 ± 4 μM ) agree with the dissociation constants obtained using absorption titration performed in the absence of fluorescent probes. Fluorescence nanosecond lifetime measurements show that the mechanism of quenching of diphenylhexatriene and 16-anthroylpalmitic acid by phloretin and naringenin is largely diffusional in nature. The transmembrane movement of phloretin through phosphatidylcholine vesicles was observed by the stopped-flow technique, in which phloretin is mixed rapidly with a vesicle solution containing a membrane-bound fluorescent probe. The time course obtained by fluorescence measurements was identical to that obtained in a parallel measurement of the time course of optical absorption of phloretin. Stopped-flow data for the permeability of phosphatidylcholine liposomes and red blood cell membranes are also presented. The use of a membrane-bound indicator greatly extends the range of concentrations and pH values as well as the types of systems which can be characterized by optical means.
Single Organ Vasculitis

Purpose of reviewTo provide a critical analysis of a rare disorder, single-organ vasculitis, emphasizing those organs in which the excision of the vasculitic lesion can be curative. To recommend a rational approach to diagnosis, longitudinal follow-up and treatment.Recent findingsPatients with focal
Philadelphia's Black Elite: Activism, Accommodation, and the Struggle for Autonomy, 1787-1848

Acknowledgments Introduction: "The Elite of Our People" 1. The Emergence of the Elite, 1787-1822 2. The Elite and African Resettlement 3. Alternatives to Africa: Emigration to the West Indies and Canada 4. The Elite and Slavery 5. The Philadelphia Leadership and the National Convention Movement, 1830-1835 6. The American Moral Reform Society and Its Opponents: The Second Phase of Conventionism 7. Political Change and Racial Violence, 1830-1848 8. The Elite in 1848 Epilogue: The New Activists Notes Bibliography Index
Direct and indirect acquisition of syringes from syringe exchange programmes in Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Abstract Syringe exchange programmes (SEPs) are a fundamental source of sterile syringes and other health services for injection drug users (IDUs). However, various obstacles prevent many individuals from obtaining syringes from this source. As a result, some IDUs acquire syringes from "secondary exchangers". The current study assessed the acquisition of syringes from the Baltimore City Needle Exchange Program (BNEP) as well as factors associated with obtaining syringes from the BNEP. Participants were asked to identify the colour of the cap of the most recently obtained syringe (red or grey cap suggested BNEP origins). In addition, support and risk network variables were examined. Although 38% reported using a syringe with a grey or red cap, only 7% reported that the BNEP was their primary source of syringes. Multivariate analyses showed that reporting the most recent syringe cap as red or grey was associated with obtaining syringes from the BNEP, obtaining syringes from a spouse, obtaining syringes from friends/neighbours, and number of drug users in their network. Based on these findings, encouraging secondary exchange is an effective method of providing injectors with syringes.
Epidemiologic analysis of histologic cervical inflammation: relationship to human papillomavirus infections

Infections with carcinogenic human papillomaviruses, the causal agents of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer, as well as infections with noncarcinogenic human papillomaviruses, are common but typically resolve spontaneously. Effective cell-mediated immune responses are critical for human papillomavirus clearance; however, data relating cervical inflammation to the outcome of human papillomavirus infection are lacking. To investigate this topic, we performed a masked parallel review of inflammation in the stroma and epithelium of cervical biopsies (n = 564) collected from a retrospectively defined subcohort of women systematically followed up in the Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance/Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion Triage Study. Women in our analysis had undergone colposcopically directed enrollment biopsies diagnosed as negative or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1 and had corresponding human papillomavirus polymerase chain reaction test results of negative (n = 250), positive for a single carcinogenic (n = 237), or noncarcinogenic (n = 81) type. Inflammation in cervical stroma varied with cofactors for human papillomavirus progression: current smokers showed less inflammation (odds ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.31-0.97), whereas current oral contraceptive users had increased inflammation (odds ratio, 1.7; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-3.0) as did those with a self-reported 2-year history of a sexually transmitted disease (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-3.5). Biopsies of women with carcinogenic human papillomaviruses had greater inflammation within the epithelium (odds ratio, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.3) compared with human papillomavirus-negative women. Associations with human papillomavirus type-specific persistence or progression to histologic cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 were diminished among women with moderate or marked inflammation in stroma (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.99) or within epithelium (odds ratio, 0.51; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.97). These data suggest that cervical inflammation varies with human papillomavirus cofactors, type of human papillomavirus infection, and risk of persistence and progression. Additional studies are needed to confirm and extend these findings.
Global optimization of weighted mutual information for multimodality image registration

Failure to align images accurately often is due to the optimization algorithms being trapped in local maxima or spurious global maxima of the mutual information function. Strategies contemplated to improve registration involve modifying the optimization scheme or the registration measure itself. We recently found that normalized mutual information (for 2D image registration) provides a larger capture range and that is more robust, with respect to the optimization parameters, than the non-normalized measure. In this paper we assessed the utility of a stochastic global optimization technique for image registration using normalized and non-normalized mutual information. By conducting large-scale studies with patient data in 2D, we established a success rate baseline with the local optimizer only. Formal proof has not yet been found that incorporating the global optimizer does not impair performance. However, experiments to date indicate that its inclusion leads to better (i.e., higher probability of correct convergence) overall performance. More over, studies now underway show good effectiveness of our approach in a variety of 3D cases.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Bilateral Facial Nerve Palsy in Acute B Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a haematological malignancy that can involve the central nervous system (CNS). Less than 10 % of patients with ALL have CNS involvement at presentation. The cranial nerve most commonly affected is cranial nerve VII although bilateral involvement is rare. Management and outcomes of these patients are not well understood. Moreover bilateral Bells palsy as a presenting symptom of ALL is extremely uncommon. We report a very unusual presentation of ALL with bilateral facial nerve palsy, and discuss the management strategies and outcomes for patients with ALL that present with cranial nerve palsies.
The predictable blepharoplasty

Stanley A. Klatsky, MD ASAPS President, 1986-1987 As a young resident finishing my training at the prestigious Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in York City in 1968, 1 believed that I had achieved state-of-the-art training in reconstructive plastic surgery and that I was fully equipped to embark on my practice in Baltimore and join the staff of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. After all, I had learned to expertly perform hypospadias and myelomeningococele repairs and radical head and neck surgery and reconstruction, as well as pedicle flaps, tube flaps, skin grafts, and hand surgery. If my training program had a shortcoming, I would admit that it was probably in aesthetic surgery. Although my mentors, George Crikelair, MD, and David M. C. Ju, MD, performed expert cosmetic surgery, it was a subject that was little discussed, and very little emphasis was placed on it during my training. In the Residents Clinic few patients were seen for cosmetic surgery; we encountered only an occasional patient seeking blepharoplasty, a face lift, or rhinoplasty. After completing my residency in 1968 I remember telling Dr. Crikelair of my intention to attend a meeting in New Orleans where a new organization (now known as The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery [ASAPS]) was being formed. He said to me in his inimical fashion, “Stanley, don't waste your time; after 2 weeks there won't be anything else left to discuss in cosmetic surgery because they will have said everything there is to say."” I did not listen to his advice. I vividly remember sitting next to a burly gentleman in the auditorium where the scientific presentation was being held; after the session he introduced himself as Simon Fredricks, MD, of Houston, TX. He told me that board certification and at least 7 years of clinical practice—during which more than …
Metamorphism of Precambrian Granitic Xenoliths in a Mica Peridotite at Rose Dome, Woodson County, Kansas: Part 2, Petrologic and Mineralogic Studies

Field, drill-core, petrographic, and mineralogic studies show that the Precambrian granitic rocks exposed on Rose Dome, Woodson County, Kansas, were emplaced as inclusions of basement rock in a mica peridotite magma that intruded the Pennsylvanian section of Rose Dome during Late Cretaceous time. High temperatures of the alkaline ultramafic magma (probably greater than 800° C) led to metamorphism of the granitic inclusions and the formation of high sanidine and high albite from original microcline and albite. Contact metamorphic effects on country rock include the development of buchite-like sanidine-magnesian biotite hornfels from Weston Shale (Pennsylvanian) that was intruded by the mica peridotite. The high temperatures of the peridotite magma also led to partial melting of the granitic rocks; a quartzofeldspathic matrix shows volcanic textures and binds mineral and rock fragments together to produce the varied range of textures and structures of the granitic xenoliths. Partial melting of the granitic rocks accounts for those features that led earlier workers to conclude that the “granite” on Rose Dome had intruded the Pennsylvanian section. Those features included xenoliths of hornfels enclosed by granitic material and apparently intrusive relationships between the granitic rocks and metamorphosed shale. The lack of concordance in the Rb-Sr ages of the granitic rocks (Part 1) may stem partly from melting of the “granite” and exchange of ions with the mica peridotite magma, from the “sampling” of different levels of granitic crust by the upwelling peridotite magma, or from weathering.
Ethical Citizenship in a Postmodern World: Toward a More Connected Approach to Social Education for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract Social studies, as an academic discourse, has played a role in at least two significant conversations related to the evolution of education during the last hundred years. First, since its beginnings a century ago, theorists within the social studies field have sought to address the needs of the community at large rather than just the well-being of the individual. Second, many scholars within the field have considered the importance of connectedness, both in terms of the primary unit of analysis (i.e., the “common good” of the community) and in terms of the approach (e.g., the integration of disciplines for the purposes of citizenship education). We believe these traditional aspects of the social studies—a focus on community and connectedness—are among its greatest virtues. However, we argue that these strengths need to be further examined and their applications broadened in view of important social and intellectual developments that have occurred since the inception of the social studies. Signifi...