cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An O(K)-time implementation of fuzzy integral filters on an enhanced mesh processor array

Fuzzy integrals as image filters, even with respect to a restrictive fuzzy measure, generalize linear filters such as the averaging filter, morphological filters such as the dilation and the erosion, and order statistic filters such as the median filter. Fuzzy integral filters use fuzzy measures to model ambiguity about each pixel in its neighborhood to enhance an image. However, fuzzy integral filters are computationally intensive. For each pixel, a fuzzy integral filter first sorts all the pixels in its neighborhood according to their values and then takes the ordered weighted sum or maximum with respect to an appropriate fuzzy measure. For an n/spl times/n image and a /spl radic/K/spl times//spl radic/K(=K) neighborhood, the filter with respect to a fuzzy measure that only depends on set cardinalities takes O(n/sup 2/ K log K) time, if implemented on a serial computer. Even combining the moving window technique with a balanced search tree data structure, we can only reduce the time to O(n/sup 2/ K). To achieve real-time filtering performance, we need to employ parallel processing techniques. The SIMD mesh architecture is considered as a natural parallel architecture for image processing, since it directly mirrors image data structures and can be efficiently implemented in hardware. However, fuzzy integral filters require more parallelism within processing elements (PEs) for fast determination of the order statistics of pixels. In this paper, we consider enhancing the PEs of an SIMD mesh computer with comparators and counters to efficiently implement fuzzy integral filters. For the neighborhood of K pixels, we augment the K registers of each PE with K comparators and K counters to speed the sorting process. For an n/spl times/n image on an n/spl times/n enhanced mesh computer, a fuzzy integral filter of size K with respect to a fuzzy measure that only depends on set cardinalities takes O(K) time, which is optimal.
The effect of l-dopa and chlorpromazine on prolactin and growth hormone secretion in normal women

The time course of simultaneous changes in prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone secretion in response to a single dose of L-dopa and chlorpromazine was determined in normal women. L-Dopa induced greater, but shorter (30 minutes), growth hormone release than concomitant suppression of PRL secretion. The PRL peak following chlorpromazine occurred at the same time as the nadir of PRL after L-dopa (3.5 hours). The quantity of PRL release inhibited by L-dopa equaled the amount of PRL secretion during the period of rebound, suggesting L-dopa inhibits PRL release, but not synthesis, by the pituitary.
Lagrangian equations with reciprocal time scales and their application to dissipative systems

A new variational principle, suitable for application to dissipative systems, is devised by considering Lagrangian functions which depend on a set of generalized coordinates q(t) and q(T-t) with reciprocal time scales t in (O, T) and t*=T-t, and their time-derivatives up to the second order. Corresponding Lagrangian equations are derived by the classical variational procedure, and a specific Lagrangian is designed for linear dissipative systems. This Lagrangian is then tested by the Rayleigh-Ritz method, which provides very accurate approximate solutions of a two-point boundary value problem and an initial value problem for a linear dissipative oscillator. >
Renal, Endocrine, and Hemodynamic Effects of Water Immersion in Humans

The sections in this article are: 1 Characterization of the “Afferent” Limb of the Immersion Model 2 Characterization of the “Efferent” Limb of the Immersion Model 2.1 Renal Water Handling 2.2 Mechanisms of the Diuresis 2.3 Renal Sodium Handling 2.4 Dissociation of Natriuresis from Diuresis 2.5 Mechanisms of the Natriuresis 2.6 Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System 2.7 Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) or Antidiuretic Hormone 2.8 Renal Prostaglandins 2.9 Atrial Natriuretic Peptides (ANF) 2.10 Humoral Natriuretic Factor 2.11 Catecholamines and Dopa-Dopamine Systems 3 Considerations for Selecting Water Immersion for Studies of Volume Homeostasis 4 Studies of Disorders Characterized by Deranged Volume Homeostasis 5 Conclusions
EM-ANN modeling of overlapping open-ends in multilayer microstrip lines for design of bandpass filters

This paper describes electromagnetic-artificial neural network modeling based on EM simulation results (EM-ANN) for overlapping gap coupled sections of microstrip lines used in the design of multilayer end-coupled band-pass filters. The overlapping gaps are used for obtaining a wide bandwidth. An EM-ANN model has been developed successfully for reducing the design time. Also, a design for multilayer end-coupled band-pass filter has been performed using this model and compared to the design without using ANN models.
Synthesis and self-association behavior of biodegradable amphiphilic poly[bis(ethyl glycinat-N-yl)phosphazene]- poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers.

Amphiphilic diblock copolymers with varying compositions of hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and hydrophobic poly[bis(ethyl glycinat-N-yl)phosphazene] (PNgly) were synthesized via the controlled cationic-induced polymerization of a phosphoranimine (Cl3PNSiMe3) at ambient temperature using a PEO−phosphoranimine macroinitiator. The aqueous-phase transition behavior of PEO−PNgly-3 (Mn = 10 000) and micelle formation of both PEO−PNgly-3 and PEO−PNgly-4 (Mn = 8500) were investigated using fluorescence techniques and dynamic light scattering. The critical micelle concentrations (cmc's) of PEO−PNgly-3 and PEO−PNgly-4 were determined to be 3 and 12 mg/L with the mean diameters of micelles being 120 and 130 nm, respectively. The hydrolytic degradation of these diblock copolymers was also studied in solution. These studies coupled with the biodegradability of the poly[bis(ethyl glycinat-N-yl)phosphazene] block to give benign products make PEO−PNgly copolymers well-suited for a wide variety of biomedical appli...
Evaluation of influenza A virus receptors

Abstract Sialic acid has long been considered the sole cellular receptor for influenza viruses, but it has been demonstrated that influenza can infect cells independently of surface sialic acid [Glycobiology 10 (2000) 649]. Here, we evaluate possible alternative influenza virus receptors, and find evidence for specific virus-binding-proteins in vitro and mediation of entry by carbohydrates containing terminal α- N -acetylgalactosamine. Characterization of such receptors may lead to identification of alternative targets for the design of anti-influenza drugs.
Oxygen exchange between a ‘model’ pond and the atmosphere

Abstract Oxygen exchange between a sheltered ‘model’ farm pond (6 m diameter and 2.5 m deep) and the atmosphere averaged 0.33 m/day for measurements made from April to December. This value was similar to those reported for isolated surfaces in sheltered waters and in laboratory tanks but below those of large, inland waters. Low average wind velocity (0.7 m/sec) probably caused the low O 2 exchange rate. Interactions between air and water temperatures and precipitation may be important factors governing short-term O 2 exchange in highly sheltered waters.
Alterations in crevicular fluid flow during healing following gingival surgery

The relationship between gingival crevicular fluid flow and healing after gingival surgery, as assessed by biopsy, cytologic and microbial smears, was evaluated. Eighty-five periodontal pockets from the maxillary anterior and premolar teeth were studied in nine patients. Gingival fluid flow measurements, cytologic and microbial smears were taken weekly from each periodontal pocket for five weeks. The gingivectomy was performed at the first week and the tissue biopsied. Additional biopsies were also taken of selected areas on the fifth week. The results were analyzed to ascertain any correlation between gingival crevicular fluid flow and gingival inflammation during healing. The following conclusions can be drawn: 1 Quantity of gingival crevicular fluid, sulcular cytologic and microbial smears can be of value in assessing gingival status. 2 A direct relationship exists between the rate of crevicular fluid flow and healing following gingival surgery. 3 A healthy crevicular epithelium lining the gingival sulcus appears to function as a barrier, thereby retaining the gingival tissue fluid.
HLA-H mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish population.

Hereditary hemochromatosis is a common disorder in people of European origin. The HLA-H gene has been found to have two mutations that apparently cause hemochromatosis. The principal mutation, 845G-->A (C282Y), is believed to have arisen relatively recently in the Celtic population. To determine the incidence of this mutation and the other hemochromatosis-associated mutation, 187C-->G (H63D), among Ashkenazi Jews, a people who are believed to have arrived in Europe in about the 8th Century A.D., we have examined the DNA from 381 unrelated Jewish subjects and 206 non-Jewish white controls. The gene frequency for the 845G-->A mutation among Jewish subjects was only 0.013 compared with a frequency of 0.070 among controls, a difference that is significant at the 0.00001 level. The phenotypically milder nt 187C-->G mutation had a frequency of 0.155 in the non-Jewish population and 0.097 in the Jewish population, a difference that was also statistically significant at the <0.01 level.
Heat recirculation and heat transfer in porous burners

Flames stabilized within porous media differ from conventional flames primarily due to the heat recirculation provided by the solid matrix. Heat is recirculated through solid conduction and solid-to-solid radiation from the matrix downstream of the flame to the matrix upstream of the flame. Solid-to-gas convection upstream of the flame preheats the incoming reactants, resulting in enhanced flame speeds and local temperatures above the adiabatic flame temperature. In this paper, the heat recirculation in a porous burner is analyzed using a one-dimensional time-dependent formulation with complete chemistry. The enhancement of flame speed is presented in terms of a ratio between the effective flame speed of a flame in a porous medium and the laminar flame speed. A heat recirculation efficiency is defined as a percentage of the firing rate transferred into the preheat zone. The importance of solid conduction and solid-to-solid radiation is discussed for various stable operating conditions. The radiant output efficiency is also presented. In addition, discussions of peak and exit gas temperature trends are included. Results indicate that with increasing equivalence ratio, heat recirculation efficiency decreases. Both solid conduction and radiation play important roles in the heat transfer process. In addition, the results indicate that the observed trends are valid for burners of various lengths.
Pharmacy residents and students as an adjunct to current smoking cessation education

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of individualized tobacco cessation counseling provided by pharmacy residents and students to patients in the inpatient setting at an academic medical center.Methods: Documented tobacco users were evaluated for study inclusion. The intervention group received counseling specific to their readiness to quit. After discharge, patients in the intervention group received weekly phone calls for additional counseling and data collection. One month after discharge, the standard therapy group received one phone call for data collection.Results: No significant differences were found between groups for demographic variables or number of years smoking. At baseline, the intervention group reported significantly fewer quit attempts and more packs per day than the control group. The odds ratio (OR) for the primary outcome, abstinence, was 1.68 [95%CI=0.29:9.748] favoring the intervention group. The OR for patients using outpatient pharmacotherapy was 3.20 [95%CI=0.484:21.167] for the intervention group compared to the control group. The percentage of patients using outpatient treatment programs was 5.26% in the control group vs. 0% in the intervention group.Conclusions: Results showed a trend toward significance for abstinence and increased use of outpatient pharmacotherapy; however, our sample size and study period limit conclusions that may be drawn. Further study is warranted for definitive results.
A simple chromatographic procedure for the preparation of rabbit-muscle myosin a free from AMP deaminase

Abstract The chromatography of rabbit-muscle myosin A has been carried out on both cellulose phosphate and DEAE-cellulose columns. Cellulose phosphate chromatography resulted in virtually complete removal of AMP deaminase from the myosin. DEAE-cellulose chromatography was used to further purify the deaminase free myosin. The final preparation was free from AMP deaminase and nucleic acids and showed a higher ATPase specific activity than the original myosin. The chromatography of myosin solutions stored in 50% glycerol at −20° was compared with that of fresh myosin and similar results were obtained. The effect of AMP on deaminase free myosin was studied briefly, and it was observed that AMP appears to exhibit a slight competitive inhibition of the ATPase activity of the final purified myosin.
Writing multi-user applications in APL2

This paper presents a general scheme for quickly implementing multi-user applications. Several facilities of APL2 are discussed which make APL2 a particularly suitable solution for such problems. The resulting implementation is used to demonstrate how the advanced facilities of APL2 affect the writing of programs. The simplicity of the programs indicates how productive APL2 can be. The paper does not discuss the necessary user-friendly front end that any application should have because that is no different from a single user application.
Statins and Renal Disease: Friend or Foe?

The role of statins in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease, acute coronary syndromes, diabetes, or stroke, is well established. However, there are still some questions regarding the role of statins in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dyslipidemia is a known cardiovascular risk factor in individuals without CKD. In these patients, however, the relation of dyslipidemia to cardiovascular risk is complex, and the underlying pathobiological mechanisms are complex. Statins have proven to be highly effective in patients with initial stages of CKD; however, their effects in patients with advanced-stage CKD have been neutral despite a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol–lowering effect. In this review, we summarize the findings of the recent clinical trials of statins in renal disease and make recommendations for our patients.
Perioperative Management of a Patient With Fontan Physiology for Posterior Spinal Fusion

The Fontan operation remains a common palliative surgical approach for complex cardiac malformations characterized by single ventricle anatomy. Given improvements in surgical technique and perioperative care, these patients are now living into the second decade of life and beyond. As such, they may require additional surgical procedures to address other co-morbid conditions. We present a 12-year-old girl presenting for posterior spinal fusion for the treatment of scoliosis. She had been born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and had subsequently undergone successful conversion to Fontan physiology. The authors describe the perioperative preparation and anesthetic management of the patient with Fontan anatomy. J Med Cases. 2014;5(7):392-396 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1789w
The dicrotic arterial pulse.

The study consisted of observations on nine male patients with palpable dicrotic as evidenced by cardiomegaly and the presence of prominent atrial and ventricular diastolic gallop sounds. Most of these patients were diagnosed as having primary myocardial disease. The indirect carotid pulse was characterized by a single systolic wave, a low dicrotic notch, and a large dicrotic wave. The direct brachial arterial pressure pulse had a similar configuration with a shortened ejection time index. The hemodynamic data on these patients was characterized by low cardiac output, low stroke volume, elevated pulmonary arterial wedge pressures, and high total systemic resistance. From these observations we conclude that the presence of a marked dicrotic pulse in afebrile patients at rest may indicate severe functional impairment of the myocardium.
Correlated evolution of prey chemical discrimination with foraging, lingual morphology and vomeronasal chemoreceptor abundance in lizards

Comparative data from ten families of lizards suggest that correlated evolution has occurred between the ability to identify prey chemicals and several aspects of lingual function and morphology, abundance of vomeronasal chemoreceptor cells, and foraging behavior. Ability to discriminate prey chemicals from control substances was measured experimentally and correlated with other variables by Felsenstein's method. This ability increased with evolutionary increases in degree of lingual protrusion during tongue-flicking, which may reflect the tongue's ability to reach substrates to be sampled. It increased with deepened lingual forking and greater lingual elongation, which may be important for scent-trailing and sampling ability, respectively. Discriminatory ability also increased with abundance of vomerolfactory chemoreceptors, which presumably reflects some aspects of analytical capacities of the vomeronasal system. Prey chemical discrimination increased with degree of active foraging. Natural selection for improved vomerolfactory sampling and analysis of prey chemicals by active, but not ambush, foragers appears to account for the observed relationships. In active foragers that use vomerolfaction to locate prey, natural selection favors increased abilities to lingually sample chemicals from environmental substrates, analyze the samples for prey chemicals, and respond appropriately if prey chemicals or possible prey chemicals are detected. Such selection can account for the observed relationships among the sampling device and its movements, the sense, the discriminations, and variations in foraging ecology.
Why States No Longer Declare War

Why have states stopped issuing declarations of war? Declaring war was a norm of international politics for millennia, but now appears to have exited states’ behavioral repertoires. I argue that the proliferation of codified jus in bello, the law of war governing belligerent conduct, has created disincentives for states to issue formal declarations of war. The increasing number of codified international laws that govern belligerent conduct during warfare has made complying with the laws of war extremely costly. One way for states to limit these costs is to avoid admitting they are in a formal state of war by refraining from declaring war. I test this claim, as well as others, using an original data set. I also discuss several cases of nineteenth and twentieth century wars that illustrate the logic of this argument.
mSIGMA: An Efficient Handoff Scheme for Multi-Class Networks

Wireless networks are becoming more heterogeneous; different classes of networks co-exist and users want to connect to any available network, anytime. So, it is important to have a mobility management scheme that can manage handoff for both inter-class and intra-class mobility so that the users can connect to and roam between any network. We propose an end-to- end mobility management scheme, Multi-class SIGMA (mSIGMA), that performs soft handoff for inter-class and intra-class mobility in wireless network. Our analysis shows mSIGMA performs seamless handoff across networks with low delay and packet loss. We have also shown though experimental analysis that mSIGMA is implementable with existing networking technologies and can perform handoff efficiently.
G9a/GLP histone lysine dimethyltransferase complex activity in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex is required for gene activation and silencing during memory consolidation.

Learning triggers alterations in gene transcription in brain regions such as the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex (EC) that are necessary for long-term memory (LTM) formation. Here, we identify an essential role for the G9a/G9a-like protein (GLP) lysine dimethyltransferase complex and the histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) marks it catalyzes, in the transcriptional regulation of genes in area CA1 of the rat hippocampus and the EC during memory consolidation. Contextual fear learning increased global levels of H3K9me2 in area CA1 and the EC, with observable changes at the Zif268 , DNMT3a , BDNF exon IV , and cFOS gene promoters, which occurred in concert with mRNA expression. Inhibition of G9a/GLP in the EC, but not in the hippocampus, enhanced contextual fear conditioning relative to control animals. The inhibition of G9a/GLP in the EC induced several histone modifications that include not only methylation but also acetylation. Surprisingly, we found that downregulation of G9a/GLP activity in the EC enhanced H3K9me2 in area CA1, resulting in transcriptional silencing of the non-memory permissive gene COMT in the hippocampus. In addition, synaptic plasticity studies at two distinct EC–CA1 cellular pathways revealed that G9a/GLP activity is critical for hippocampus-dependent long-term potentiation initiated in the EC via the perforant pathway, but not the temporoammonic pathway. Together, these data demonstrate that G9a/GLP differentially regulates gene transcription in the hippocampus and the EC during memory consolidation. Furthermore, these findings support the possibility of a role for G9a/GLP in the regulation of cellular and molecular cross talk between these two brain regions during LTM formation.
Acute Transient Deafness Representing a Negative Epileptic Phenomenon

We report herein 2 children who presented with acute deafness heralding an epileptic event manifesting thereafter by loss of consciousness and tonic generalized posturing, possibly reflecting a negative epileptic phenomenon. The first previously healthy male had 2 paroxysmal episodes 7 months apart, starting with acute deafness lasting for a few minutes followed by loss of consciousness and generalized tonic posturing for 10 minutes. Electroencephalography (EEG) during the second episodes demonstrated generalized epileptiform discharges. The second with previously controlled partial complex seizures presented with episodes of complete deafness lasting for a few minutes followed by loss of consciousness and focal tonic posturing lasting 10 minutes. Such acute deafness represented an aura of a focal seizure substantiated by right focal temporal epileptic discharges within the region of the primary auditory cortex. Therefore, EEG should be performed in any case of acute transient deafness, even in the absenc...
An Overview of the Results of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP I)

Abstract The Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP), initiated in 1989 under the auspices of the World Climate Research Programme, undertook the systematic validation, diagnosis, and intercomparison of the performance of atmospheric general circulation models. For this purpose all models were required to simulate the evolution of the climate during the decade 1979—88, subject to the observed monthly average temperature and sea ice and a common prescribed atmospheric CO2 concentration and solar constant. By 1995, 31 modeling groups, representing virtually the entire international atmospheric modeling community, had contributed the required standard output of the monthly means of selected statistics. These data have been analyzed by the participating modeling groups, by the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, and by the more than two dozen AMIP diagnostic subprojects that have been established to examine specific aspects of the models' performance. Here the analysis and valida...
Migraine and Stress: A Daily Examination of Temporal Relationships in Women Migraineurs

This study examined daily temporal relationships between stress, cognitive appraisal, coping, and migraine in a group of young women migraineurs sampled from a general population. Participants (N = 20) meeting International Headache Society criteria for migraine with or migraine without aura provided headache activity, perceived stress, cognitive appraisal, and coping strategy data across 2 months of data collection. A time-series analytic approach was used to cross-correlate daily stress, appraisal, and coping data with daily headache data controlling for factors that can inflate correlations in data collected across time. Analyses revealed that between 50% and 70% of subjects showed significant, substantial, and meaningful temporal correlations between their daily stress and their daily migraine activity. Furthermore, these data support the hypothesis that stress and migraine are reciprocally related (ie, cyclically influencing each other across time). In addition, despite some measurement concerns, our data suggest that cognitive appraisal and coping are also related to migraine activity in a reciprocal fashion.
The emergence of novel influenza viruses among pigs in North America due to interspecies transmission and reassortment

Abstract In 1997–1998, H3N2 influenza viruses of different genotypes emerged among North American pigs. Triple reassortant H3N2 viruses containing human, classical swine and avian virus genes spread widely within the swine population and gave rise subsequently to reassortant H1N2 and H1N1 viruses. Together with wholly avian viruses recovered from North American pigs since 1999, these viruses emphasize that influenza virus interspecies transmission and reassortment in pigs can occur throughout world. They provide important research tools with which the genetic factors that control interspecies transmission can be investigated.
Calibration and validation of a spar-type floating offshore wind turbine model using the FAST dynamic simulation tool

High-quality computer simulations are required when designing floating wind turbines because of the complex dynamic responses that are inherent with a high number of degrees of freedom and variable metocean conditions. In 2007, the FAST wind turbine simulation tool, developed and maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), was expanded to include capabilities that are suitable for modeling floating offshore wind turbines. In an effort to validate FAST and other offshore wind energy modeling tools, DOE funded the DeepCwind project that tested three prototype floating wind turbines at 1/50th scale in a wave basin, including a semisubmersible, a tension-leg platform, and a spar buoy. This paper describes the use of the results of the spar wave basin tests to calibrate and validate the FAST offshore floating simulation tool, and presents some initial results of simulated dynamic responses of the spar to several combinations of wind and sea states. Wave basin tests with the spar attached to a scale model of the NREL 5-megawatt reference wind turbine were performed at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands under the DeepCwind project. This project included free-decay tests, tests with steady or turbulent wind and still water (both periodic and irregular waves with no wind), and combined wind/wave tests. The resulting data from the 1/50th model was scaled using Froude scaling to full size and used to calibrate and validate a full-size simulated model in FAST. Results of the model calibration and validation include successes, subtleties, and limitations of both wave basin testing and FAST modeling capabilities.
The Test which Inventions must Pass: A Correction

Section II of my article published in the November 1951 issue of this Journal describes an analytical framework for "testing" inventions, and it contains a statement on the minimum requirement which inventions must satisfy to pass the test in the sense of being promptly adopted as industrial innovations. Criticism expressed by Mr. Alvin Marty has made me realize that the true minimum requirement is more severe than that which I have suggested. I said that the "C-D gap" in the marginal cost curve, which occurs at the output where old variable cost becomes equal to new total cost (Figure 3, p. 563), must have shifted to the left sufficiently to make the lower limit of the gap (point D) lie on or below the MR curve. In reality the gap must have shifted to the left sufficiently to put D below MR by at least a distance such that the area bordered by SM, MR, and LM (new) be no smaller than the area PDC. If MR goes through the gap in such a way that the two areas, which on linear assumptions are triangles, are just equal, then the choice between producing at the MR-SM intersection, with the original method, and the MR-LM (new) intersection, with the improved method, will be a matter of indifference to the producer. Expanding from the MR-SM intersection to the output corresponding to the C-D gap causes a loss measured by the area lying between SM and MR in this output range; and further expanding from the C-D output to the MR-LM (new) intersection causes a gain measured by the area lying between MR and LM (new) in this output range. The italicized condition, supra, means that the gain area is no smaller than the loss area.' It remains true of course that any output beyond the C-D gap will be produced by the new method, if it is produced at all. But the output corresponding to the C-D gap and the outputs lying in a definite zone around the gap, will never be produced. This buffer zone extends from the MR-SM intersection to the MR-LM (new) intersection at the time when the test becomes satisfied.2 A producer who maximizes his profits, subject to the inequality here in question, wvill always "jump" over this zone.
A non-isothermal model of a nickel-metal hydride cell

Abstract A model for a nickel–metal hydride cell was constructed based on the planar electrode approximation. The mass balances of active species, the kinetics of electrochemical reactions, the ohmic effects of internal resistance, and the energy balance of the whole cell were considered in the model. An empirical approach was utilized to account for the hysteresis potential behavior of the nickel electrode. The model predictions showed favorable agreement with the experimental data.
Treatment of nephrotic adults with a supplemented, very low-protein diet

Optimal dietary protein intake for adults with the nephrotic syndrome has not been established; very low-protein diets are believed to be contraindicated. Sixteen patients with the nephrotic syndrome were nevertheless prescribed a very low protein diet (0.3 g/kg) supplemented by 10 to 20 g/d essential amino acids (or, in a few cases, ketoacids) for an average of 10 months (range, 1 to 36 months). In 11 patients with initial glomerular filtration rates (GFRs) < or = 30 mL/min/3 m2 of height (ht)2, significant but modest improvement was seen (on the average) in proteinuria, serum albumin, and serum cholesterol; all 11 eventually went on to dialysis. The other five patients, with initial GFRs of 32 to 69 ml/min/3 m2 of ht2, had either focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy, or, in one patient, both. The nephrotic syndrome associated with these disorders rarely remits spontaneously. However, during the following 3 to 15 months mean proteinuria decreased from 9.3 to 1.9 g/d, mean serum albumin increased from 2.5 g/dL to 3.8 g/dL, and mean serum cholesterol decreased from 415 mg/dL to 255 mg/dL (all P < 0.001). The GFR either remained constant or increased. Four of these five patients have resumed normal or nearly normal diets and remain in remission or near-remission for 6 to 24 months. We conclude that severe protein restriction plus an essential amino acid supplement may induce prolonged remission in adults with the nephrotic syndrome provided that GFR is not severely reduced. The mechanism of this paradoxical response to protein restriction remains to be determined.
Sexual functioning and self‐reported depressive symptoms among college women

We conducted an exploratory study comparing 47 college-aged women reporting depressive symptoms but not receiving antidepressant medication to 47 age-matched controls. We examined various dimensions of sexual functioning, including sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, pain, pleasure, and satisfaction. The women with depressive symptoms reported more inhibited sexual arousal, more inhibited orgasm, more sexual pain problems, and less sexual satisfaction and pleasure than control participants. Novel to this study, the women with depressive symptoms reported greater desire for sexual activity alone (masturbation) than the nondepressed women. The findings are discussed in terms of primary reinforcers and depressive symptomology.
Building Equity Improvement into Quality Improvement: Reducing Socioeconomic Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening as Part of Population Health Management

BACKGROUND Improving colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates for patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds is a recognized public health priority.
Situation generality of overcorrective functional movement training.

A multiple baseline design across situations was employed to assess (a) the effects of an overcorrective functional movement training procedure on stereotypic head-turning and (b) the generality of behavioral change to two non-treatment situations. Results indicated that the overcorrection procedure was immediately effective in reducing head-turning in the treatment situation. Head-turning initially increased in the two non-treatment situations and then gradually declined.
Adaptive Processing With Feature Extraction To Enhance The Intelligibility Of Noise-Corrupted Speech

In this paper a method is proposed to provide enhancement of the intelligibilty of speech which has been contaminated by additive noise. The method is based on the assumption that intelligibility enhancement can be achieved by making use of information directly related to speech intelligibility. A structure which provides the means to implement the method is presented and a discussion of some preliminary results obtained with the method is included.
On the explicit versus family solution of the fully diurnal photochemical equations of the stratosphere

The family approach used to solve chemical equations is examined by integrating a heirarchy of versions of a 2D model of stratospheric chemistry and transport on an isentropic surface. Errors of up to 20 percent in radical concentrations can result from the use of a small number of families; the use of more families increases the accuracy of the solutions. The minimum number of families which can be used to provide an accurate solution is discussed, and the parameterization of long-time-scale species is recommended for making the model more efficient. The most pervasive errors are found in calculations of the concentrations of radical species, a problem which can lead to errors in predicting O3 over the long run. Methods for improving the schemes are presented, emphasizing the possibility of producing an improved 3D model.
A Rigorous Re-Definition of the Piasmal Reaction

The plasmal reaction is here modified so that it is made strictly specific for acetal lipids alone. The two essential points in making such specificity possible are: (1) limiting the duration of the action of HgCl2 to 2-10 minutes, thus insuring that neither acid hydrolysis nor oxidation participates in the unmasking; (2) obtaining negative controls upon sections of the same block of tissue, these being treated identically in all respects except that immersion in HgCl2 is omitted. Lipids positive under these conditions are acetals but not necessarily acetal phospholipids. In. order to satisfy the second criterion above, material must be either unfixed or fixed for only 1-6 hours in formol. Longer fixation in formol both destroys the acetals and unmasks some non-acetal lipids.
Neonatal porcine pancreatic cell clusters as a potential source for transplantation in humans: Characterization of proliferation, apoptosis, xenoantigen expression and gene delivery with recombinant AAV

Neonatal porcine islets are characterized by reproducible isolation success and high yields, sizable advantages over adult islets. In this work we have analyzed selected phenotypic and functional characteristics of porcine neonatal islets relevant to their possible use for transplant in humans. We show that porcine islet cells proliferate in culture, and synthesize and store islet-specific hormones. Proliferating beta cells can be easily identified. Implant of cultured neonatal islets in immunodeficient rodents results in the reversal of diabetes, albeit with delay. We also show that measurable apoptosis occurs in cultured neonatal porcine islets. Further, antigens recognized by human natural antibodies are expressed in a dynamic fashion over the culture period analyzed and are not limited to the alpha-Gal epitope. Lastly, we demonstrate that a recombinant Adeno-Associated virus can be used to efficiently deliver a reporter gene in porcine islets. This characterization might be helpful in the definition of the potential use of neonatal porcine islets for human transplantation.
Limitations to leading-order asymptotic solutions for ELASTIC–PLASTIC crack growth

Abstract Previous work has shown that there are significant discrepancies between leading-order asymptotic analytical solutions for the elastic–plastic fields near growing crack tips and detailed numerical finite element solutions of the same problems. The evidence is clearest in the simplest physically realistic case : quasi-static anti-plane shear crack growth in homogeneous, isotropic elastic–ideally plastic material. There, the sole extant asymptotic analytical solution involves a plastic loading sector of radial stress characteristics extending about 20° from ahead of the crack, followed by elastic unloading, whereas detailed numerical finite element solutions show the presence of an additional sector of plastic loading, extending from about 20 to about 50°, that is comprised of non-radial characteristics. To explore how the asymptotic analysis can completely miss this important solution feature, we derive an exact representation for the stress and deformation fields in such a propagating region of non-radial characteristics, as well as in the other allowable solution regions. These exact solutions contain arbitrary functions, which are determined by applying asymptotic analysis to the solutions and assembling a complete near-tip solution, valid through second order, that is in agreement with the numerical finite element results. In so doing, we prove that the angular extent of the sector of non-radial characteristics, while substantial until extremely close to the crack tip, vanishes in the limit as the tip is approached, and that the solution in this sector is not of variable–separable form. Beyond resolving the analytical–numerical discrepancies in this specific anti-plane shear problem, the analysis serves to caution, by explicit example, that purely leading-order asymptotic solutions to nonlinear crack growth problems cannot in general capture all essential physical features of the near-tip fields, and that the often-invoked assumption of variable–separable solutions is not always valid.
Biogeochemistry of the Penobscot River watershed, Maine, USA: nutrient export patterns for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus

Watershed exports of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, major solutes, and suspended sediments were examined during five water years in the Penobscot River basin, which forms part of the Gulf of Maine watershed. Mean annual exports of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the Penobscot River were 58 kg C ha−1 year−1, whereas cumulative yearly watershed flux of DOC during the study period ranged from 8.6 to 16.1 × 1010 g C year−1 and averaged 11.7 × 1010 g C year−1. Watershed exports of total soluble N (TN) and total soluble P in the Penobscot River averaged 1.9 and 0.02 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively. Companion studies in two other major Maine rivers indicated that mean annual exports of DOC and TN in the Androscoggin River were 40 kg C ha−1 year−1 and 2.0 kg N ha−1 year−1, whereas exports in the Kennebec River were 43 kg C ha−1 year−1 and 2.2 kg N ha−1 year−1. Extrapolation of results from this investigation and a previous complementary study indicates that estuaries and coastal waters in the Gulf of Maine receive at least 1.0 × 1010 g N year−1 and 2.5 × 1011 g C year−1 in combined runoff from the four largest Maine river basins. Soluble exports of Ca + Mg + Na minus wet deposition inputs of cations in the Penobscot system were approximately 1,840 molc ha−1 year−1, which represents a minimum estimate of cation denudation from the watershed. Based on its low N and P export rates, the Penobscot River watershed represents an example of reference conditions for use as a benchmark in ecological assessments of river water quality restoration or impairment. In addition, the biogeochemical metrics from this study provide an historical baseline for analysis of future trends in nutrient exports from the Penobscot watershed as a function of changing climatic and land use patterns.
Magnetic equation of state of the randomly diluted Ising dipolar-coupled ferromagnet LiTb0.9Y0.1F4

Abstract The magnetic equation of state of the randomly diluted uniaxial dipolar-coupled ferromagnet LiTb0.9Y0.1F4 has been measured using a SQUID magnetometer. It was found that both a random and a random-nonuniversal equation of state predicted for the random Ising dipolar-coupled ferromagnet provide comparable fits to the data. These measurements represent the first determination of the equation of state of a random system at marginal dimensionality.
An Analytical Solution for Three-Dimensional Stationary Flows in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over Terrain

Abstract An analytical solution to the Navier-Stokes equations for three-dimensional stationary flows of small Reynolds number in the atmospheric boundary layer over terrain is presented. Analyses of the effects of topography, horizontal pressure gradient and Coriolis forces on the velocity distribution in the atmospheric boundary layer indicate that 1) the horizontal component of the velocity in the boundary layer turns right (left) with increasing height in the Northern (Southern) Hemisphere, 2) upward (downward) motion occurs on the windward (lee) side of the mountain, and 3) upward (downward) motion also occurs on the slope to the right (left) of the geostrophic wind in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere downward (upward) motion occurs on the slope to the right (left) of the geostrophic wind.
Elena Poniatowska: The feminist origins of commitment

Abstract Elena Poniatowska is a well-known, living Mexican woman writer who portrays the reality of the marginal, the disenfranchised, the oppressed. There is therefore an irony at the centre of her ‘popularity’ for many of the men who have reviewed her books have not recognised the reality she presents: they have imposed their own male reality on her work — and praised it. By such means is her reality negated and made invisible while it is simultaneously appropriated.
MBE growth of lattice-matched ZnCdMgSe quaternaries and ZnCdMgSe/ZnCdSe quantum wells on InP substrates

We report the growth and characterization of a new wide bandgap II-VI alloy, ZnxCdyMg1-x-ySe, grown lattice-matched to InP. High quality quaternary layers with bandgaps ranging from 2.4 to 3.1 eV were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The bandgaps and lattice constants were measured using photoluminescence and single crystal Θ-2Θ scans. Quantum well structures with quaternary barriers and ZnCdSe wells were also grown, entirely lattice matched to InP. Their photoluminescence properties suggest that these materials are suitable for the design of visible semiconductor lasers spanning the blue, green, and yellow regions of the visible range. The absence of strain in these heterostructures is expected to improve the reliability of the materials in device applications.
Factors Related to Psychosocial Quality of Life for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Background. Current health services interventions focus on the treatment of the musculoskeletal impairments of cerebral palsy (CP). The goal of this study was to explore whether the severity of physical symptoms correlates with psychosocial quality of life (QOL) among pediatric patients with CP. Methods. A sample of 53 caregivers of children with CP was surveyed and health status information was extracted from patient medical records. Descriptive analysis explored the association between the main outcome variable, psychosocial QOL (CP QOL-child), and patient demographics, comorbidity (e.g., visual, hearing and feeding impairments, language delays, and epilepsy), CP severity (GMFCS), and the receipt of family centered care (MPOC-20). Results. Child psychosocial QOL decreased with increasing comorbidity but was not associated with CP symptom severity or any measured demographic factors. Reporting high levels of family centered care (FCC) was associated with higher psychosocial QOL in univariate analysis but was not significant when controlling for comorbidities. Conclusion. There is no clear connection between symptom severity and psychosocial QOL in children with CP. Comorbidity however is strongly associated with psychosocial QOL. Focusing on reducing CP comorbidities could have a positive impact on psychosocial QOL.
On-line acquisitions: Use of a vendor system

Abstract LIBRIS, Baker and Taylor's Library Information Service, is an on-line book order system first made available to libraries in 1979. In March 1979, Miami University Libraries became one of ten pilot libraries testing LIBRIS. After three months of testing, we decided to continue with the system, using it for on-line ordering with Baker and Taylor, generation of multiples to be mailed to other vendors, and preparation of form letters off-line.
A tensile test device for in situ atomic force microscope mechanical testing

Abstract The microstructure and mechanical behavior of polymeric-based materials can be controlled at the micro- and nanometer length scales through blending, copolymerization, and the incorporation of micro- and nanometer particles. To facilitate the study of morphology, deformation mechanisms, and mechanical properties of micro- and nanocomposite materials, a tensile testing machine with an integral commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) was designed and built. This testing machine determines the macroscopic stress–strain behavior of materials under different controlled loading conditions, and simultaneously allows the microscopic structure changes to be observed using the AFM.