cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Asthma With Hyperpolarized Helium-3 MRI: Correlation With Clinical Severity and Spirometry

Background Accurate characterization of asthma severity is difficult due to the variability of symptoms. Hyperpolarized helium-3 MRI (H3HeMR) is a new technique in which the airspaces are visualized, depicting regions with airflow obstruction as "ventilation defects." The objective of this study was to compare the extent of H3HeMR ventilation defects with measures of asthma severity and spirometry. Methods Patients with a physician diagnosis of asthma and normal control subjects underwent H3HeMR. For each person, the number and size of ventilation defects were scored and the average number of ventilation defects per slice (VDS) was calculated. The correlations of the imaging findings with measures of asthma severity and spirometry were determined. Results There were 58 patients with asthma (mild-intermittent, n=13; mild-persistent, n=13; moderate-persistent, n=20; and severe-persistent, n=12) and 18 control subjects. Mean ± SE VDS for asthmatics was significantly greater than for control subjects (0.99 ± 0.15 vs 0.26 ± 0.22, p=0.004). Among asthmatics, VDS was significantly higher for the group with moderate-persistent and severe-persistent disease than for the group with mild-intermittent and mild-persistent disease (1.37 ± 0.24 vs 0.53 ± 0.12, p Conclusions Regional changes of airflow obstruction in asthmatics depicted by H3HeMR correlate with measures of asthma severity and spirometry.
Instrumentation Problems Encountered Making Man-Made Electromagnetic Noise Measurements for Predicting Communication System Performance

One of the factors involved in communication system performance is the electromagnetic interference environment (broad-band radiated electronic noise). Attempts are often made to use commercially available radio-frequency interference field intensity meters for these measurements. Measurements made with these instruments are of limited use since detector functions like peak and quasi-peak are not useful parameters in statistical communication theory. It is recommended, instead, that rms voltage be measured simultaneously with average voltage and average logarithm of the voltage. These latter three parameters may be used to infer the amplitude probability distribution, which is a required statistic for predicting the performance of communication systems. Data are given on dynamic range requirements for accurate measurement of these statistical parameters for a given man-made noise sample. An Appendix contains several hardware solutions to the problems posed in this paper.
On representing block designs in terms of their automorphisms

Abstract Block designs are analyzed in terms of the structure imposed upon them by their automorphisms. An extension of the notion of a difference set is used to describe necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a given automorphism acting on the design. In addition, it is shown that the possible point and block orbit configurations relative to an automorphism acting on a design are rather limited. The development is carried out with a view toward finding unknown designs and studying the automorphism groups of known designs.
Novel Quantum Dot Probes for Single-Molecule Biophysics

Quantum dots (QDs) have proved to be invaluable fluorophores across many in vitro microscopy applications because of their greater photostability and brightness than organic dyes and fluorescent proteins. However, commercially available QDs are ∼20 nm in diameter due to their bulky passivating layer, a diameter which is prohibitively large for use in small or confined systems. We have developed a novel wrapping and functionalizing procedure of hydrophobic QD core-shells. Our small QDs have similar brightness and water solubility to commercially available QDs and their size (6-8 nm in diameter) is comparable to that of GFP. Development of small QDs enabled us to study the stepping mechanism of kinesin using two different colors at high spatiotemporal resolution. These studies provided further insight into the coordination mechanism between the two kinesin heads during processive motility. We anticipate that our small QDs will allow high signal-to-noise measurements in a diverse range of systems currently inaccessible via bulky hydrophilic quantum dots.
Radiation biology for pediatric radiologists

The biological effects of radiation result primarily from damage to DNA. There are three effects of concern to the radiologist that determine the need for radiation protection and the dose principle of ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable). (1) Heritable effects. These were thought to be most important in the 1950s, but concern has declined in recent years. The current ICRP risk estimate is very small at 0.2%/Sv. (2) Effects on the developing embryo and fetus include weight retardation, congenital anomalies, microcephaly and mental retardation. During the sensitive period of 8 to 15 weeks of gestation, the risk estimate for mental retardation is very high at 40%/Sv, but because it is a deterministic effect, there is likely to be a threshold of about 200 mSv. (3) Carcinogenesis is considered to be the most important consequence of low doses of radiation, with a risk of fatal cancer of about 5%/Sv, and is therefore of most concern in radiology. Our knowledge of radiation carcinogenesis comes principally from the 60-year study of the A-bomb survivors. The use of radiation for diagnostic purposes has increased dramatically in recent years. The annual collective population dose has increased by 750% since 1980 to 930,000 person Sv. One of the principal reasons is the burgeoning use of CT scans. In 2006, more than 60 million CT scans were performed in the U.S., with about 6 million of them in children. As a rule of thumb, an abdominal CT scan in a 1-year-old child results in a life-time mortality risk of about one in a thousand. While the risk to the individual is small and acceptable when the scan is clinically justified, even a small risk when multiplied by an increasingly large number is likely to produce a significant public health concern. It is for this reason that every effort should be made to reduce the doses associated with procedures such as CT scans, particularly in children, in the spirit of ALARA.
Nature and post-conflict violence: water management under the Communist Party of Kampuchea, 1975–1979

Between 1975 and 1979 approximately two million people died in Cambodia. Whereas most literature has focused on the ‘direct’ killing associated with torture and execution, we focus on the structures of violence that contributed to the death of men, women and children through famine-related causes. Accordingly, this paper sits at the intersection of three bodies of literature: water management policies, post-conflict reconstruction and political violence. Through a case study of Democratic Kampuchea, we first add to contemporary research that has destabilised the dichotomy between ‘conflict’ and ‘post-conflict’, by showing how post-conflict societies are not necessarily free from violence: indeed post-conflict policies of state rebuilding may establish structures that engender widespread violence. Second, we provide a variation on ‘environmental violence’. In contrast to previous literature, we consider how environmental management policies contribute to violence in a post-conflict setting rather than focus on environmental degradation following conflict. Third, and more narrowly, we provide a transformative understanding of the Cambodian ‘genocide’. Together, we argue that Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) water management was a key component of a larger post-conflict reconstruction effort of Democratic Kampuchea's leadership. Agricultural surplus production was essential, but the CPK understood that increases in agricultural productivity were impossible without a systematic water management strategy. The imposition of post-conflict policies would manifest in the death of millions, but not because CPK policies were unplanned or unorganised. Rather, the remarkable death toll that ensued was just the opposite; it was the result of a highly organised attempt to reconstruct Cambodia.
Inverse design for phase mask lithography: erratum

An error was made in calculating the complex electric field vector for the diffracted beams. We have corrected the error and repeated the optimization to achieve a phase mask design bearing the same result. The overall approach remains unchanged.
How Future Trends in Societal Aging, Air Bag Availability, Seat Belt Use, and Fleet Composition Will Affect Serious Injury Risk and Occurrence in the United States

The objective of this study was to quantify the importance of societal aging relative to other factors that are known to affect injury risk. An aging population's effect on Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3+ injury trends for passenger car drivers in frontal crashes was projected and compared to the effects of projected changes in fleet composition, changes in seat belt usage, and changes in air bag availability. It was determined that increased frailty due to an aging population will result in 19,816 to 43,568 additional injuries to passenger car drivers in frontal crashes from 1996 to 2012. Aging was shown to have an effect similar to the increased presence of light trucks in the fleet (a cumulative increase of approximately 47,428 injuries). Aging and changing fleet composition were shown to have a smaller effect than the projected increases in seat belt use or air bag availability, though the effect of increased belt use is not much greater than the effect of aging. After 2012, however, air bag availability and seat belt use will plateau, while societal aging will continue.
An All-at-Once Approach For Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

In order to demonstrate the applicability of an AllAt-Once approach to a multidisciplinary design problem, we consider the aeroelastic optimization of a subsonic wing. As a first step, the aerodynamic and structural disciplines are formulated independently for single-discipline All-At-Once optimization. Then, the coupled, multidisciplinary All-At-Once formulation is presented. In this study, we use the gradient based optimizer NPSOL, however the optimizer is treated as a "black box" and could easily be replaced by another method. Issues such as organization, implementation, and performance are discussed, as well as the direction of current and future work.
A Randomized Trial of Population-Based Clinical Decision Support to Manage Health and Resource Use for Medicaid Beneficiaries

To determine whether a clinical decision support system can favorably impact the delivery of emergency department and hospital services. Randomized clinical trial of three clinical decision support delivery modalities: email messages to care managers (email), printed reports to clinic administrators (report) and letters to patients (letter) conducted among 20,180 Medicaid beneficiaries in Durham County, North Carolina with follow-up through 9 months. Patients in the email group had fewer low-severity emergency department encounters vs. controls (8.1 vs. 10.6/100 enrollees, p < 0.001) with no increase in outpatient encounters or medical costs. Patients in the letter group had more outpatient encounters and greater outpatient and total medical costs. There were no treatment-related differences for patients in the reports group. Among patients <18 years, those in the email group had fewer low severity (7.6 vs. 10.6/100 enrollees, p < 0.001) and total emergency department encounters (18.3 vs. 23.5/100 enrollees, p < 0.001), and lower emergency department ($63 vs. $89, p = 0.002) and total medical costs ($1,736 vs. $2,207, p = 0.009). Patients who were ≥18 years in the letter group had greater outpatient medical costs. There were no intervention-related differences in patient-reported assessments of quality of life and medical care received. The effectiveness of clinical decision support messaging depended upon the delivery modality and patient age. Health IT interventions must be carefully evaluated to ensure that the resultant outcomes are aligned with expectations as interventions can have differing effects on clinical and economic outcomes.
From Methodology to Practice Inductive Iteration in Comparative Research

Most methods in comparative politics prescribe a deductive template of research practices that begins with proposing hypotheses, proceeds into analyzing data, and finally concludes with confirmatory tests. In reality, many scholars move back and forth between theory and data in creating causal explanations, beginning not with hypotheses but hunches and constantly revising their propositions in response to unexpected discoveries. Used transparently, such inductive iteration has contributed to causal knowledge in comparative-historical analysis, analytic narratives, and statistical approaches. Encouraging such practices across methodologies not only adds to the toolbox of comparative analysis but also casts light on how much existing work often lacks transparency. Because successful hypothesis testing facilitates publication, yet as registration schemes and mandatory replication do not exist, abusive practices such as data mining and selective reporting find easy cover behind the language of deductive proce...
Attitudes, experience and knowledge among farmers to recycling of sludge

Abstract Today's wastewater systems have been built to improve the hygiene level within households and the quality of water for other users, but have on the other hand created another environmental problem in the production of sludge. In many Western societies more than 50% of sludge produced is being distributed on agricultural land, and resistance to this practice among farmers is growing. In a survey answered by 1050 farmers, attitudes, experiences and knowledge towards use of sludge were investigated. Reasons for use were soil conditioner properties and compensation schemes. Reasons for non-use were fear of toxic compounds and infectious remnants, restrictions on use of land and unfamiliarity with use. There was more knowledge among users than among non-users. Compensation for sludge among farmers implied a perception of sludge as a waste. If farmers must accept sludge, then reliable and complete information from trusted sources is required: economic arguments about agronomic benefits are not sufficie...
Financial dependence and growth: diminishing returns to improvement in financial development

This paper examines how much financial development facilitates economic growth by nonparametrically estimating the effect of financial development on reducing the costs of external finance to firms. The data reveal substantial evidence of diminishing returns to improvement in financial development.
Modeling the full monty: baring the nature of surfaces across time and space

Abstract Computational materials research has made great strides in recent years in the description of the science of surfaces and interfaces. So far, however, the approaches generally have been limited to fixed resolutions of time and space. In effect, each group of scientists has chosen its specific scale for the “road maps” used by them to investigate surfaces and interfaces, some focusing only on highly resolved “city maps”, others considering the big picture of the “countrywide” view. So, just as in the planning for improvements of, e.g., a nation's infrastructure, future progress in the field requires limitations of the models to single length and time scales to be overcome. Recently, the first steps have been taken to set up multi-scale modeling techniques, often involving collaborations of chemists, physicists, and engineers. Here, it is our aim to present a representative survey of these techniques. In particular, we discuss informed continuum approaches, the quasicontinuum method, the kinetic Monte Carlo technique and accelerated molecular dynamics simulation. We show where they have been used to date and outline where their future application holds promise.
Low-temperature Pd bonding of III-V semiconductors

The authors have developed a low-temperature Pd bonding technique for integrating InP structures onto GaAs substrates. The solid phase reactions of Pd with both InP and GaAs allows Pd to be used as a sandwiched ohmic contact between two dissimilar materials. The InP-Pd-GaAs interfaces have been characterised by scanning electron microscopy, optical reflectance, and electrical transport measurement.
Parent-adolescent communication and sexual risk behaviors among African American adolescent females.

Abstract Objective: To examine associations between parent-adolescent communication about sex-related topics and the sex-related communication and practices of African American adolescent females with partners, as well as their perceived ability to negotiate safer sex. Design: A theory-guided survey and structured interview were administered to 522 sexually active African American females 14 to 18 years old. Recruitment sites were neighborhoods with high rates of unemployment, substance abuse, violence, and sexually transmitted diseases. Multivariate analyses, controlling for observed covariates, were used to identify the association of less frequent parent-adolescent communication with multiple assessed outcomes. Results: Less frequent parent-adolescent communication (scores below the median) was associated with adolescents' non-use of contraceptives in the past 6 months (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.7) and non-use of contraceptives during the last 5 sexual encounters (AOR = 1.6). Less communication increased the odds of never using condoms in the past month (AOR = 1.6), during the last 5 sexual encounters (AOR = 1.7), and at last intercourse (AOR = 1.7). Less communication was also associated with less communication between adolescents and their sex partners (AOR = 3.3) and lower self-efficacy to negotiate safer sex (AOR = 1.8). Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the importance of involving parents in human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy prevention efforts directed at female adolescents. Pediatricians and other clinicians can play an important role in facilitating parent-adolescent communication about sexual activity. (J Pediatr 2001;139:407-12)
Determination of the cDNA sequence and mRNA expression of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in horses.

OBJECTIVE To determine the complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in horses and compare messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of IL-1ra among horses of various breeds. SAMPLE POPULATION Blood samples from neonatal and adult horses examined for a variety of diseases. PROCEDURE A polymerase chain reaction procedure was used to amplify a 220 base pair (bp) portion of the genomic DNA. The upstream and downstream regions of the cDNA sequence were determined by means of 5' and 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) procedures. Northern blot hybridization was used to examine steady-state mRNA expression of IL-1ra. RESULTS The consensus sequence of the cDNA obtained with the 5'-RACE procedure and the sequence for the 220 bp portion of the genomic DNA represented the putative sequence for secreted IL-1ra. The predicted secreted IL-1ra amino acid sequence contained 176 residues with an in-frame stop codon; the N-terminal 25 amino acid residues resembled the signal peptide reported for human secreted IL-1ra. An approximately 1.3 kilobase pair (kb) band that represented a portion of the 3' end of the coding region and the 3' untranslated region was obtained by use of the 3' -RACE procedure. Northern blot hybridization detected a 1.6 kb transcript in blood RNA from adult Arabian, Belgian, Thoroughbred, and Standardbred horses. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that the DNA for equine secreted IL-1ra has a short (29 bp) 5' untranslated region, a 534 bp coding region, and a long (approximately 1,080 bp) untranslated region.
Multiple phosphorylation of rat-liver glycogen synthase by protein kinases

The phosphorylation sites in liver synthase were studied using gel filtration and high performance liquid chromatography of 32P-labeled tryptic peptides. Phosphorylase b kinase, calmodulin-dependent glycogen synthase kinase and glycogen synthase kinase 4 from liver phosphorylated the same low Mr tryptic peptide. cAMP-dependent protein kinase mainly phosphorylated the low Mr tryptic peptide, but also incorporated phosphate into two other peptides. Glycogen synthase kinase 5 phosphorylated a single tryptic peptide, whereas glycogen synthase kinase 3 phosphorylated several tryptic peptides. Calcium-phospholipid-dependent protein kinase phosphorylated two tryptic peptides, the major one of which had the same chromatographic properties as the low Mr peptide described above. These findings confirm that liver glycogen synthase undergoes multi-site phosphorylation and suggest that the topography of the sites is generally similar to that in muscle glycogen synthase.
Ethics of Genetic Modifications of behavior

Genetic interventions to ameliorate genetically-based diseases can serve the private and public good. Genetic modification of behavior raises serious moral, ethical, social, regulatory and policy i...
Cyclic polyesters: synthetic approaches and potential applications

The synthetic strategies that have been developed for the preparation of cyclic polyesters are reviewed. While linear and branched polyesters are used extensively for biomedical and materials applications, the synthetic difficulty of preparing cyclic polyesters has limited their exploration. Recently synthetic methodologies have been developed which compliment previous techniques, and promise to increase the availability of cyclic polyesters for future studies. The relative advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed, as well as some of the unique physical properties demonstrated by cyclic polymers.
Elevated cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure in a pediatric demyelinating disease cohort.

Abstract Background Cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure is elevated with central nervous system infection and vasculitis, but has not been studied in inflammatory demyelinating disease. This retrospective study sought to determine whether children with demyelinating disease demonstrate elevated cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure, and to explore possible clinical and radiologic correlates. Methods Pediatric patients with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, or a clinically isolated syndrome (including optic neuritis and transverse myelitis) who had a lumbar puncture within 1 month of presentation were eligible for inclusion, and were compared with a reference cohort of healthy children from the same institution. Regression analyses were used to determine the association of variables collected with opening pressure. Results Opening pressure was elevated in 15 of 53 (28%) children, which was significantly higher than the reference cohort ( P = 0.001). There was no relationship between elevated opening pressure and any of the clinical or radiologic variables collected. Conclusion Although almost one third of children with inflammatory demyelinating disease have an elevated cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure, the clinical and radiologic variables evaluated in this study did not explain this finding, and further understanding may require assessment of cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics.
17-dehydrolimonoate A-ring lactone: A possible metabolite of limonoate A-ring lactone in Citrus fruits☆

Abstract A new limonoid, 17-dehydrolimonoate A-ring lactone (III), was isolated from orange peel, juice and lemon seeds and seedlings. This compound which is non-bitter appears to be an initial product of limonoate A-ring lactone (II) metabolism. As such it may be the initial intermediate in at least one debittering pathway in citrus fruits.
A Sample of Clusters of Extragalactic Ultracompact H II Regions

We report on the detection of optically thick free-free radio sources in the galaxies M33, NGC 253, and NGC 6946 using data in the literature. We interpret these sources as being young embedded star birth regions that are likely to be clusters of ultracompact H II regions. All 35 of the sources presented in this article have positive radio spectral indices (α > 0 for Sν ∝ να), suggesting an optically thick thermal bremsstrahlung origin from the H II region surrounding the hot stars. The estimated emission measures for these sources are EM6 cm 108 cm-6 pc, and energy requirements indicate that the sources in our sample have a range of a few to ~560 O7 V star equivalents powering their H II regions. Assuming a Salpeter initial mass function with lower and upper mass cutoffs of 1 and 100 M☉, respectively, this range in NLyc corresponds to integrated stellar masses of 0.1-60 × 103 M☉. For roughly half of the sources in our sample there is no obvious optical counterpart, which gives further support for their deeply embedded nature; for most of the remaining sources, the correspondence to an optical source is insecure owing to relative astrometric uncertainty. Their luminosities and radio spectral energy distributions are consistent with H II regions modeled as spheres of plasma with electron densities from ne ~ 1.5 × 103 to ~1.5 × 104 cm-3 and radii of ~1-7 pc. Because of the high densities required to fit the data, we suggest that the less luminous of these sources are extragalactic ultracompact H II region complexes, those of intermediate luminosity are similar to W49 in the Galaxy, and the brightest will be counterparts to 30 Doradus when they emerge from their birth material. These objects constitute the lower mass range of extragalactic "ultradense H II regions," which we argue are the youngest stages of massive star cluster formation yet observed. The sample presented in this paper is beginning to fill in the continuum of objects between small associations of ultracompact H II regions and the analogous massive extragalactic clusters that may evolve into globular clusters.
Treatment of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in newborns

Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury is the most common cause of encephalopathy and seizures in term newborn infants. There is no single, valid test for birth asphyxia leading to HI brain injury, and thus this disorder is often poorly characterized, and the timing and etiology of the injury can be difficult to ascertain. Optimal management of HI brain injury involves prompt resuscitation, careful supportive care including prevention of hyperthermia and hypoglycemia, and treatment of clinical and frequent or prolonged subclinical seizures. Recent evidence suggests that therapeutic hypothermia by selective head or whole-body cooling administered within 6 hours of birth reduces the incidence of death or moderate/severe disability at 12 to 22 months. Hypothermia is a promising new therapy that physicians should consider within the context of a registry or study. Optimal seizure treatment remains controversial because the most widely used drug, phenobarbital, has limited efficacy, and the value of monitoring and treating subclinical seizures is uncertain. There is compelling need for well-designed clinical trials to address treatment of ongoing brain injury in the setting of hypoxia-ischemia and seizures. Emerging evidence from preclinical studies suggests that future therapy for HI brain injury and neonatal encephalopathy will combine novel neuroprotective and anti-seizure agents. Pilot clinical trials of newer anticonvulsants are ongoing and will provide critical information for care of neonatal seizures.
The effect of lameness on the resting behavior and metabolic status of dairy cattle during the transition period in a freestall-housed dairy herd.

The objective of this observational study was to examine the effect of lameness on the resting behavior of dairy cattle through the transition period in a mattress-bedded commercial freestall facility, and explore the relationships between lameness, behavior, and metabolic indicators of disease. A convenience sample was used, comprised of 40 multiparous and 17 primiparous Holstein cows that were recruited as they entered the close-up pen and tracked through the maternity, hospital, and fresh pens. At recruitment, 87.5% of multiparous cows and 23.5% of primiparous cows showed evidence of abnormal gait. Lying time decreased from 16 d before calving from a least squares means ± standard error of 13.5 ± 0.6 h/d to a nadir of 10.6 ± 0.38 h/d on the day of calving. After a period of increased rest after calving, lying time stabilized by d 6 to between 9.8 and 10.8 h/d. This change was accompanied by an increase in the number of lying bouts per day from least squares means (95% confidence limits) of 11.2 (10.0 to 12.4) bouts per day to a peak of 17.7 (16.5 to 18.8) bouts per day on the day before calving, and a decrease in the duration of each lying bout. Resting behavior was influenced by calving month, temperature humidity index, body condition, parity, and lameness. Moderate and severely lame cows had significantly longer lying times throughout the transition period before and after calving, but most notable was a dramatic increase in the number of lying bouts observed 3 d before and after calving. In the straw-bedded, loose-housed maternity pen, moderate and severely lame cows had 20.3 (19.1 to 21.5) bouts per day, compared with 15.6 (14.3 to 16.8) bouts per day for nonlame cows. We hypothesized that this alteration in behavior may be associated with hypersensitivity to pain due to lameness. A total of 26.3% of cows tested above a threshold of 1,400 μM β-hydroxybutyrate. Moderate and severely lame cows had a least squares means (95% confidence limits) β-hydroxybutyrate concentration of 1,165 (1,037 to 1,291) μM that was significantly greater than 697 (560 to 834) μM for slightly lame cows and 687 (551 to 824) μM for nonlame cows. In summary, lameness significantly altered the resting behavior of cows during the transition period and was associated with elevated risk for ketosis in the study herd.
Interaction of [D-Ser2,Leu5]enkephalin-Thr6 (DSLET), a relatively selective delta ligand, with MU1 opioid binding sites

Using binding approaches, we have confirmed the high selectivity of [D-Ser2,Leu5]enkephalin-Thr6 (DSLET) to delta, as opposed to morphine-preferring (mu2) sites in rat brain. However, detailed experiments studies indicate that this ligand also labels mu1 sites with very high affinity. Saturation studies of 3H-DSLET binding reveal curvilinear plots. Treating tissue with naloxonazine to block mu1 sites, eliminates the higher affinity binding component. Competition studies of the other peptides against 3H-DSLET and 3H[D-Ala2,MePhe4,Gly(ol)5]enkephalin (3H-DAMPGO) binding also implied high affinity binding of these peptides to mu1 sites. The ability of these peptides to interact with mu1 sites may help explain some of their pharmacological actions.
Calcium Channel Blockers in Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

The demonstration that the calcium channel blockers reduce pulmonary vasomotor tone in experimental models of pulmonary hypertension has served as the rationale for their use in the management of primary pulmonary hypertension. The three currently available agents, verapamil, nifedipine, and diltiazem, have varying degrees of pulmonary vasoactivity. Experience with their use is reviewed.
Preoperative habituation and effects of prefrontal lesions on an autonomic response of the rat

Skin potential responses to an auditory stimulus were increased in amplitude following bilateral prefrontal lesions in the rat. If skin potential responses were habituated across days before surgery, however, the effect of prefrontal lesions was considerably reduced. Results of two control experiments indicated that this finding was probably not due to extraneous factors. These results agree with earlier observations on heart rate by Glaser and Griffin (1962). It is concluded that although the prefrontal cortex normally maintains inhibitory control over autonomic responses, during habituation of an autonomic response this inhibitory control tends to shift from the prefrontal cortex to other parts of the brain. It was further found that after the amplitudes of SP responses are increased by prefrontal lesions, they will habituate. This suggests that the prefrontal cortex is not essential for habituation.
Upper critical fields of cubic and tetragonal single crystal and polycrystalline Nb3Sn in DC fields to 30 tesla

Abstract Measurements of the upper critical field, H c2 (T), in single crystal Nb 3 Sn were extended to 30 tesla (300 kG) with dc fields produced by a Hybrid magnet. Observations of H c2 (T) were made for materials which remain in the cubic (c) phase and those which show a martensitic transformation at the tetragonal (t) phase. H c2 (T) measurements of Nb 3 Sn for a pure crystal for which the de Haasvan Alphen (DHVA) effect was observed and for polycrystalline (t) phase and (c) phase materials are also reported. Measured values of H c2 (4.2 K) and calculated values of H c2 (0) are: 1) along the [100] direction for our earlier Nb 3 Sn, H c2 (4.2 K) = 26 T for the (c) phase and 21.5 T for the (t) phase; H c2(0) = 29T for the (c) phase and 24 T for the (t) phase; 2) along the [100] direction for the DHVA material H c2 (4.2 K) = 18 T and H c2 (0) = 20 T; 3) for polycrystalline Nb 3 Sn (t) phase material H c2 (4.2 K) = 23 T and H c2 (0) = 25 T and for (c) phase material H c2 (4.2 K) = 26 T and H c2 (0) = 29 T. The values of (dH c2 /dT) T=Tc vary from 2.4T/K for the highest H c2 (T) material to 1.6T/K for the DHVA material. The anisotropy for various Nb 3 Sn single crystal materials is small and independent of temperature from T c to 0.1 T c . δT c between the (c) and (t) phase is c2 (T) with theory are obtained assuming a dirty or clean Type II superconductor with no Pauli paramagnetic limiting. Experimental details and strong-coupling effects are discussed. When strong-coupling is included, the effects of any paramagnetic limiting would be small and not detectable within our present experimental error. Brief comments also are made concerning H c2 of V 3 Si.
Talent scouts, not practice scouts: Talents are real

Howe et al. have mistaken gene x environment correlations for environmental main effects. Thus, they believe that training would develop the same level of performance in anyone, when it would not. The heritability of talents indicates their dependence on variation in physiological (including neurological) capacities. Talents may be difficult to predict from early cues because tests are poorly designed, or because the skill requirements change at more advanced levels of performance. One twin study of training effects demonstrated greater heritability of physical skill after than before training. In summary, talents are real.
Response of space structures to orbital debris particle impact

Abstract All long-duration space and aerospace and transportation systems, such as the Space Station Freedom and the Space Shuttle, are susceptible to impacts by pieces of orbital debris. These impacts occur at high speeds and can damage the flight-critical systems of such spacecraft. Therefore, the design of a structure that will be exposed to a hazardous orbital debris environment must address the possibility of such hypervelocity impacts and their effect on the integrity of the entire structural system. A technique is developed for analyzing the response of dual-wall structures to oblique Hypervelocity projectile impact. Ballistic limit curves that predict the potential of an impacting projectiles to perform the main wall of a dual-wall strucutral system are obtained using the techniques and are compated against experimentally derived curves. Comparisons are performed for a variety of impact velocities, trajectory obliquities and projectile masses. It is shown that the results obtained using the technique developmed herein compare very well with experimetanl results.
Community Food Environment, Home Food Environment, and Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Children and Adolescents

Abstract Objectives To determine (1) reliability of new food environment measures; (2) association between home food environment and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake; and (3) association between community and home food environment. Methods In 2005, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with readministration to assess test-retest reliability. Adolescents, parents of adolescents, and parents of children (n = 458) were surveyed in San Diego, Boston, and Cincinnati. Results Most subscales had acceptable reliability. Fruit and vegetable intake was positively associated with availability of healthful food ( r = 0.15-0.27), FV ( r = 0.22-0.34), and ratio of more-healthful/less-healthful food in the home ( r = 0.23-0.31) and was negatively associated with less-healthful food in the home ( r = -0.17 to -0.18). Home food environment was associated with household income but not with community food environment. Conclusions and Implications A more healthful home food environment was related to youth FV intake. Higher income households had more healthful food in the home. The potential influence of neighborhood food outlets warrants further study.
Collaborative Approach to Launch Vehicle Design

Collaborative optimization is a new design architecture specie cally created for large-scale distributed-analysis applications. In this approach, a problem is decomposed into a user-dee ned number of subspace optimization problems that are driven toward interdisciplinary compatibility and the appropriate solution by a system-level coordination process. This decentralized design strategy allows domain-specie c issues to be accommodated by disciplinary analysts while requiring interdisciplinary decisions to be reached by consensus. This investigation focuses on application of the collaborative optimization architecture to the multidisciplinary design of a singlestage-to-orbit launch vehicle. Vehicle design, trajectory, and cost issues are directly modeled in this problem, which is characterized by 95 design variables and 16 constraints. Numerous collaborative solutions are obtained. Comparison of these solutions demonstrates the ine uencethat an a priori ascent-abort criterion has on the vehicle design and the distinction between minimum weight and minimum cost concepts. The operational advantages of the collaborative optimization architecture include minimal framework integration requirements, the ability to use domain-specie c analyses, which already provide optimization without modie cation, inherent system e exibility and modularity, a distributed analysis and optimization capability, and a signie cant reduction in interdisciplinary communication requirements.
Review of Comprehension Instruction: Perspectives and Suggestions

Gerald G. Duffy, Laura R. Roehler, and Jana Mason (Eds.), (1984). Comprehension Instruction: Perspectives and Suggestions. New York: Longman.
Paradigms of Perception in Clinical Practice

Display strategies for medical images in radiology have evolved in tandem with the technology by which images are made. The close of the 20th century, nearly coincident with the 100th anniversary of the discovery of x-rays, brought radiologists to a new crossroad in the evolution of image display. The increasing availability, speed, and flexibility of computer technology can now revolutionize how images are viewed and interpreted. Radiologists are not yet in agreement regarding the next paradigm for image display. The possibilities are being explored systematically through the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology's Transforming the Radiological Interpretation Process initiative. The varied input of radiologists who work in a large variety of settings will enable new display strategies to best serve radiologists in the detection and quantification of disease. Considerations and possibilities for the future are presented in this paper.
Big Data -- Opportunities and Challenges Panel Position Paper

This paper summarizes opportunities and challenges of big data. It identifies important research directions and includes a number of questions that have been debated by the panel.
“Concrete” Testimony to Milankovitch Cycle in Earth's changing obliquity

The present-day obliquity of the ecliptic of the Earth is ϵ = 23°26′ 22″ and is decreasing by about 0″.5 a year. This article reports a “concrete” terrestrial testimony to this time variation, which plays a major part in the Milankovitch cycles. The obliquity is the angle between the equatorial plane, which is determined by Earth's rotation, and the ecliptic plane, defined as Earth's orbital plane around the Sun. It gives rise to the seasons; the two parallels of latitudee, the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere, mark the limits of highest latitudes that the subsolar point reaches at solstices each year.
Whispering-gallery-mode THz pulse propagation on a cylindrically curved metal surface

We demonstrate THz pulse propagation on a 25-cm-long semi-cylindrical aluminum plate with low loss and negligible dispersion via whispering-gallery modes. This represents the first demonstration of these modes on a curved metallic surface in the THz regime, and is important for implementing curved waveguides based on parallel metal plates.
The ethics gap between Britain and the United States: A comparison of the state of business ethics in both countries

Abstract This article contrasts the development in business ethics in Britain and the United States. Specifically, it focuses on the institutionalization of ethical guidelines in the form of so-called corporate codes of ethics and compares the results of a recently conducted British survey with American findings on the subject. Views of executives on the usefulness of such codes are also presented.
The Role of Complement in Phototoxic Reactions

Light, in combination with selected drugs and chemicals, can produce two broad categories of cutaneous photosensitization, namely, photoallergic and phototoxic reactions [14]. Photoallergy is mediated by an immunologic mechanism and occurs in a small percentage of the exposed individuals. It fulfills the criteria for allergic sensitization with respect to induction, incubation period and reaction time [8]. Clinically, it is manifested as cutaneous erythema, edema and a papulovesicular eruption.
A genome-wide association study of hypertension and blood pressure in African Americans.

The evidence for the existence of genetic susceptibility variants for the common form of hypertension (‘‘essential hypertension’’) remains weak and inconsistent. We sought genetic variants underlying blood pressure (BP) by conducting a genome-wide association study (GWAS) among African Americans, a population group in the United States that is disproportionately affected by hypertension and associated complications, including stroke and kidney diseases. Using a dense panel of over 800,000 SNPs in a discovery sample of 1,017 African Americans from the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, we identified multiple SNPs reaching genome-wide significance for systolic BP in or near the genes: PMS1, SLC24A4, YWHA7, IPO7, and CACANA1H. Two of these genes, SLC24A4 (a sodium/potassium/calcium exchanger) and CACNA1H (a voltage-dependent calcium channel), are potential candidate genes for BP regulation and the latter is a drug target for a class of calcium channel blockers. No variant reached genome wide significance for association with diastolic BP (top scoring SNP rs1867226, p=5.8610 27 ) or with hypertension as a binary trait (top scoring SNP rs9791170, p=5.1610 27 ). We replicated some of the significant SNPs in a sample of West Africans. Pathway analysis revealed that genes harboring topscoring variants cluster in pathways and networks of biologic relevance to hypertension and BP regulation. This is the first GWAS for hypertension and BP in an African American population. The findings suggests that, in addition to or in lieu of relying solely on replicated variants of moderate-to-large effect reaching genome-wide significance, pathway and network approaches may be useful in identifying and prioritizing candidate genes/loci for further experiments.
Therapeutic interventions for herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis

Background Many clinical trials have been performed on the acute treatment of dendritic epithelial keratitis. Surveys of ocular antiviral pharmacology and of herpes simplex virus (HSV) eye disease have evaluated different interventions, but a systematic review of all comparative clinical studies has not previously been undertaken. Objectives The objective of this review was to compare the effects of various therapeutic interventions for dendritic or geographic HSV epithelial keratitis. Search strategy We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials - CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) in The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2006), MEDLINE (1966 to July 2006, week 3), EMBASE (1980 to 2006, week 30), LILACS (up to August 2006), SIGLE (1980 to March 2005), ZETOC (1 August 2006), BIOSIS (up to 2005), JICT-EPlus (up to 2005), Index Medicus (1960 to 1965), Excerpta Medica Ophthalmology (1960 to 1973), reference lists of primary reports and review articles, and conference proceedings pertaining to ocular virology. Selection criteria This review included comparative clinical trials that assessed one-week or two-week healing rates of topical ophthalmic or oral antiviral agents and or physical or chemical debridement in people with active epithelial keratitis. Data collection and analysis The review author extracted data and assessed trial quality. Interventions were compared by the proportions of participants healed at seven days and at fourteen days after trial enrolment. Main results This review included data from 98 trials that randomised a total of 5211 participants. Compared to idoxuridine, the topical application of vidarabine, trifluridine, or acyclovir resulted in a significantly greater proportion of participants healing within one week of treatment. Among these latter three antiviral agents, no treatment emerged as significantly better for the therapy of dendritic epithelial keratitis. Insufficient placebo-controlled studies were available to assess debridement and other physical or physicochemical methods of treatment. Interferon monotherapy had a slight beneficial effect on dendritic epithelial keratitis but was not better than other antiviral agents. Interferon was very effective when combined with another antiviral agent such as trifluridine. Authors' conclusions Currently available antiviral agents are effective and nearly equivalent. The combination of a nucleoside antiviral with either debridement or with interferon seems to speed healing. Future trials of the acute treatment of HSV epithelial keratitis must aim to achieve adequate statistical power for assessing the primary outcome of epithelial healing and should consider the effect of lesion size and other characteristics on treatment response.
Limitations of the modified transmission line equations, a comparison with NEC

We utilize both the NEC computer code and the transmission line models to compute the resonant frequencies, amplitudes and Q of the low order resonances (<6) of a transmission line illuminated by an electromagnetic wave. We find that the commonly used assumption that the transmission line equations are valid so long as the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave is much larger than the separation between the wires to be insufficient. In addition we find that unless the line is much longer than the separation between the wires, there can be major disagreements between the transmission line equations and Maxwell's equations. We find that in these cases the transmission line equations give resonant frequencies that are too high, field cable coupling that is too high and resonant Q's that are too high. The paper suggests some simple explanations in terms of re-radiation of energy and the electrical length of the transmission lines.