cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parametric characterization of the rat Hering-Breuer reflex evoked with implanted and non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation.

Abstract Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has rapidly gained interest as a treatment for a variety of disorders. A number of methods have been employed to stimulate the vagus nerve, but the most common relies on a cuff electrode implanted around the cervical branch of the nerve. Recently, two non-invasive methods have increased in popularity: transcutaneous cervical VNS (tcVNS) and transcutaneous auricular VNS (taVNS). Despite promising clinical results, there has been little direct comparison of these methods to stimulation delivered via an implanted device. In this study, we directly compared both non-invasive strategies to stimulation with an implanted cuff electrode on activation of the Hering-Breuer (HB) reflex, a non-invasive biomarker of A-fiber activation in the vagus. Stimulation was delivered across a wide range of parameters using tcVNS, taVNS, and an implanted cuff electrode in female rats. Activation of the HB reflex, changes in heart rate, and neck muscle twitch force were recorded. Consistent with low thresholds reported in previous studies, we found that the threshold to activate the HB reflex using an implanted cuff electrode was 0.406 ± 0.066 mA. tcVNS was capable of activating the HB reflex, but the threshold was 34.18 ± 1.86 mA, over 15 fold higher than the stimulation intensity that caused twitching of the neck muscles (2.09 ± 0.16 mA). No activation of the HB reflex was observed with taVNS at any parameters. These results describe activation of the HB reflex with each strategy and provide initial evidence regarding differences in the activation of the vagus nerve with invasive and non-invasive methods.
VASE: A 256-Channel Readout ASIC for Column- Parallel CCDs with 14b Dynamic Range

A 256-channel readout ASIC called VASE, intended for the readout of Column-Parallel Charge-Coupled Devices (CP-CCD), is presented. Each channel employs a chargesensitive amplifier and a first-order Sigma Delta ADC that acts as the front end of an Extended Counting ADC. To reduce the noise due to input capacitance and to ensure a compact camera, each VASE channel is pitch matched to the CP-CCD to allow chip-to-chip bonding with minimal parasitic capacitance. VASE, with a die area of approximately 38.1 mm2 and fabricated in 180 nm CMOS technology, achieves approximately 22 e- ENC at a 4 MHz pixel rate while dissipating 1.1 mW per channel. The prototype has been used to successfully image X-ray diffraction at a soft X-ray synchrotron.
J/psi Production: Tevatron and Fixed-Target Collisions

In this talk I show the results of a fit of the NRQCD matrix elements to the CDF data for direct $J/\psi$ production, by including the radiative corrections to the colour-singlet channel and the effect of the $k_T$-smearing. Furthermore I perform the NLO NRQCD analysis of $J/\psi$ production in fixed-target proton-nucleon collisions and I fit the colour-octet matrix elements to the available experimental data. The results are compared to the Tevatron ones.
Remarks on $2$–dimensional HQFTs

We introduce and study algebraic structures underlying 2-dimen- sional Homotopy Quantum Field Theories (HQFTs) with arbitrary target spaces. These algebraic structures are formalized in the notion of a twisted Frobenius algebra. Our work generalizes results of Brightwell, Turner, and the second author on 2-dimensional HQFTs with simply-connected or aspherical targets.
Primary pulmonary hyalinizing spindle cell tumor with giant rosettes: A clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of 2 cases.

Abstract Two cases of primary intrapulmonary hyalinizing spindle cell tumor with giant rosettes are presented. The patients are one woman and one man ages 37 and 42 years respectively. Both patients presented with non-specific symptoms of cough, dyspnea, and chest pain. Imaging revealed the presence of an intrapulmonary mass. One tumor was located in the left lower lobe while the other tumor was in the right upper lobe. Both patients underwent lobectomy. The tumors ranged from 2.4 to 3.0 cm in greatest dimension and were characterized by the presence of a bland spindle cell proliferation with areas of hyalinization and the presence of the so-called giant rosettes. Immunohistochemical stains were performed and the spindle cell component show positive staining for vimentin and negative staining for Bcl-2, CD34, STAT6, p40. Keratin immunohistochemical stain highlighted the entrapped alveolar epithelium while S-100 protein showed weak focal staining in the spindle cells. Both patients have remained alive and well without evidence of recurrence or metastasis for a period of 6 to 14 months post-surgical resection. The cases herein presented highlight the ubiquitous distribution of this tumor and underscores the importance of keeping this particular tumor in the differential diagnosis of spindle cell tumors of the lung.
Fabrication of Nanopores Polylactic Acid Microtubes by Core-Sheath Electrospinning for Capillary Vascularization.

There has been substantial progress in tissue engineering of biological substitutes for medical applications. One of the major challenges in development of complex tissues is the difficulty of creating vascular networks for engineered constructs. The diameter of current artificial vascular channels is usually at millimeter or submillimeter level, while human capillaries are about 5 to 10 µm in diameter. In this paper, a novel core-sheath electrospinning process was adopted to fabricate nanoporous microtubes to mimic the structure of fenestrated capillary vessels. A mixture of polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene glycol (PEO) was used as the sheath solution and PEO was used as the core solution. The microtubes were observed under a scanning electron microscope and the images were analyzed by ImageJ. The diameter of the microtubes ranged from 1–8 microns. The diameter of the nanopores ranged from 100 to 800 nm. The statistical analysis showed that the microtube diameter was significantly influenced by the PEO ratio in the sheath solution, pump rate, and the viscosity gradient between the sheath and the core solution. The electrospun microtubes with nanoscale pores highly resemble human fenestrated capillaries. Therefore, the nanoporous microtubes have great potential to support vascularization in engineered tissues.
DeepDebug: Fixing Python Bugs Using Stack Traces, Backtranslation, and Code Skeletons.

The joint task of bug localization and program repair is an integral part of the software development process. In this work we present DeepDebug, an approach to automated debugging using large, pretrained transformers. We begin by training a bug-creation model on reversed commit data for the purpose of generating synthetic bugs. We apply these synthetic bugs toward two ends. First, we directly train a backtranslation model on all functions from 200K repositories. Next, we focus on 10K repositories for which we can execute tests, and create buggy versions of all functions in those repositories that are covered by passing tests. This provides us with rich debugging information such as stack traces and print statements, which we use to finetune our model which was pretrained on raw source code. Finally, we strengthen all our models by expanding the context window beyond the buggy function itself, and adding a skeleton consisting of that function's parent class, imports, signatures, docstrings, and method bodies, in order of priority. On the QuixBugs benchmark, we increase the total number of fixes found by over 50%, while also decreasing the false positive rate from 35% to 5% and decreasing the timeout from six hours to one minute. On our own benchmark of executable tests, our model fixes 68% of all bugs on its first attempt without using traces, and after adding traces it fixes 75% on first attempt. We will open-source our framework and validation set for evaluating on executable tests.
How Does the Food Environment Affect Juvenile Obesity? A Study of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, Ohio

It is well known that unhealthy food can contribute to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. It is also believed that the composition of the food environment (density and location of convenience stores, grocery stores, supermarkets, and restaurants in a neighborhood) can play a role in obesity and obesity-related diseases—further exacerbating or reducing health disparities that are already present in our society. To further our understanding of the role the food environment plays in health, this article will assess how the food environment may influence by utilizing geo-located individual electronic medical records (EMR) measured BMI percentile for juvenile patients in and around Cleveland, Ohio. The findings of this study demonstrate that in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (Cleveland) food deserts or availability of healthy food retailers nearby, have no statistically significant impact on juvenile obesity. The number of unhealthy food retailers, however, does have a statistically significant impact on juvenile BMI percentile—thus the more fast-food outlets or convenience stores present nearby will increase the likelihood of higher BMI percentile. However, the size of this effect is rather small, so policy makers should heed caution before seeking to dramatically reduce the number of unhealthy retailers in a community.
KDDLog:Performance and Scalability in Knowledge Discovery by Declarative Queries with Aggregates

Demand for powerful, high-performance analytics on large Data Bases has been ever growing. Database Management Systems have long shown that descriptive analytics can be supported quite effectively by enriching traditional aggregates with constructs such as Data Cubes and other ROLAPs — thus extending the optimizability and parallelizability of RDBMS. In this paper, we show that these benefits can now be extended to predictive analytics, e.g. clustering, classification and association, by using aggregates in declarative recursive queries. Therefore, we introduce KDDLog, a scalable framework which leverages recursive queries with aggregates and our newly-proposed chain aggregates to enable users to build or customize knowledge discovery models with concise and expressive queries. We further propose specialized compilation techniques for semi-naive fix-point computation in the presence of aggregates, and optimizations for complex recursive queries on distributed data platforms. We provide KDDLib to build knowledge discovery tasks and advanced interfaces to ease users of porting new models. Extensive evaluations on large-scale datasets demonstrate that our approach achieves promising performance gain while offering both increased generality and ease of programming knowledge discovery applications.
Patient ABO blood type is a major predictor of a positive DAT following a transfusion reaction

Background: A direct antiglobulin test (DAT) checks for antibody or complement on the surface of RBCs and is often done following a transfusion reaction. While passive anti-A and anti-B antibodies are known to cause positive DATs, the extent this occurs following transfusion is unknown. Study Design and methods: DAT results, ABO type and blood product information was recorded on 1097 transfusion reactions at a large academic hospital over 8 years. The effect of patient blood type, product type and plasma compatibility of blood product transfused on DAT results were determined. Statistical significance was determined using Chi-squared testing. Results: Plasma compatibility of the product was a strong predictor of a positive DAT with plasma compatible transfusions having a 9.4% positive rate while plasma incompatible transfusions were positive 44% of the time (P<0.0001). Patient ABO blood type was a strong predictor of a positive DAT with Type O patients having 6.6% positive rate and non-O patients having a positive rate of 20.6% (P <0.0001). These results were significant for individual blood types as well. Type A, B or AB patients had higher DAT positive rates even when plasma incompatible transfusions were excluded from the analysis (P<0.0001). Platelets were significantly more likely to be associated with a positive DAT when compared to RBC transfusions. Conclusions: These results show plasma compatibility and ABO types are strong predictors of positive DAT results following a transfusion reaction. Anti-A and anti-B antibodies are estimated to account for about 50% of positive DATs in this study.
Laboratory Models for Central Nervous System Tumor Stem Cell Research

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are complex organ systems comprising of a neoplastic component with associated vasculature, inflammatory cells, and reactive cellular and extracellular components. Research has identified a subset of cells in CNS tumors that portray defining properties of neural stem cells, namely, that of self-renewal and multi-potency. Growing evidence suggests that these tumor stem cells (TSC) play an important role in the maintenance and growth of the tumor. Furthermore, these cells have also been shown to be refractory to conventional therapy and may be crucial for tumor recurrence and metastasis. Current investigations are focusing on isolating these TSC from CNS tumors to investigate their unique biological processes. This understanding will help identify and develop more effective and comprehensive treatment strategies. This chapter provides an overview of some of the most commonly used laboratory models for CNSTSC research.
Abstract 2074: Metastasis prevention using fibroblast activation protein-targeting prodrugs at the pre-metastatic niche

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Metastasis is the major cause of cancer death, and therapies that effectively target this process are required in order to improve patient survival. Previous work by Kaplan et al demonstrated that activated resident stromal cells and recruited bone marrow derived cells (BMDCs) form an altered microenvironment at distant sites in response to the primary tumor, termed the pre-metastatic niche, that promotes metastatic progression. Current on-going studies in the laboratory focus on in-depth investigations of the role, composition and mechanism of action by which each cell population including the bone marrow-derived hematopoietic cells and the activated stromal cells within the pre-metastatic niche contribute to metastatic progression. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a serine protease that is overexpressed by tumor associated stromal cells, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and is implicated in the suppression of tumor immunity. Using a mouse model that expresses FAP promoter-driven mCherry and luciferase, we demonstrate that FAP gene expression is up-regulated in both tumor-bearing mice in pre-metastatic tissue at pre-metastatic time-points and in non-tumor-bearing mice injected with tumor-conditioned media, suggesting that metastatic tumors secrete factors that increases the number of FAP-expressing cells at the pre-metastatic niche. The studies described herein investigate the hypothesis that FAP-expressing cells at the pre-metastatic niche promote metastasis, and FAP-targeted cytotoxic drug delivery will aid in targeting tumor colonization and inhibiting metastatic progression. Citation Format: Meera Murgai, Amber Giles, Miki Kasai, Yorleny Vicioso, Crystal Mackall, Rosandra Kaplan. Metastasis prevention using fibroblast activation protein-targeting prodrugs at the pre-metastatic niche. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2074. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2074
Estimation of fetal maturity by cytologic examination of amniotic fluid

Abstract The cellular content of amniotic fluid is primarily composed of desquamated fetal cells of two origins, squamous and sebaceous, readily differentiated by staining with Nile blue sulfate. The squamous cells are histologically distinctive and stain light blue with dark blue nuclei. A smaller number of lipid-containing cells, shed from sebaceous glands, are different in structure and stain orange to pink in color. The percentage of such “fat cells” in the amniotic fluid, reflecting progressive development of sebaceous glands, increases with advancing gestational age. Three hundred and fifty specimens of amniotic fluid were obtained at various stages of gestation, stained for fat, and a differential cell count performed. There was a reliable logarithmic augmentation of fat cells with increasing fetal age and development. When their count was less than 2 per cent, the prematurity rate was 85 per cent. When the fat cell count exceeded 20 per cent, all infants weighed over 2,500 grams and had a gestational age of 36 weeks or more. When the need to determine fetal age exists, particularly if there is either an unreliable menstrual history or controversial physical findings, this means of its estimation is as reliable as other presently used methods, including radiography.
The adsorption of methanol and water on H-ZSM-5

Abstract The adsorption of water and methanol on H-ZSM-5 has been characterized by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission infrared spectroscopy. For water, adsorption of the first molecule at the cation site occurs with a heat of adsorption of 12.1 kcal/mol. The heat of adsorption drops rapidly when more than one water molecule per cation is adsorbed and all additional water can be removed by evacuation at room temperature. For methanol, TPD shows adsorption in two desorption states. The higher temperature state corresponds to one molecule adsorbed at each cation site, while the lower temperature state is more weakly adsorbed and may not be associated with the cation. No reaction products were observed during desorption, indicating that methanol was the only species present on the surface. In the coadsorption of water and methanol, methanol vapor was found to rapidly displace adsorbed water, while water could not displace adsorbed methanol. However, deuterium-exchange experiments indicate that water is not blocked from approaching the cation sites by adsorbed methanol. Possible implications of these results on reactions carried out in the presence of water are discussed.
Co-stimulatory members of the TNFR family: keys to effective T-cell immunity?

Interactions between co-stimulatory ligands and their receptors are crucial for the activation of T cells, the prevention of tolerance and the development of T-cell immunity. It is now evident that members of the immunoglobulin-like CD28–B7 co-stimulatory family cannot fully account for an effective long-lasting T-cell response or the generation of memory T cells. Several members of the tumour-necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily — OX40, 4-1BB, CD27, CD30 and HVEM (herpes-virus entry mediator) — are poised to deliver co-stimulatory signals both early and late after encounter with antigen. The roles of these molecules in initiating and sustaining the T-cell response and in promoting long-lived immunity are discussed.
Characterization and hormonal regulation of estrogen binding proteins in the MTW-9B transplantable rat mammary tumor.

A two-component estrogen (E2)-binding system has been characterized in the E2-independent MTW-9B rat mammary tumor by Scatchard analysis, sucrose gradient analysis, and isoelectric focusing. One cytosol receptor protein (type I) conforms to the classical estrogen receptor with a high affinity (Kd = 0.45 nM) for E2 and limited binding capacity [maximum binding (Bmax) = 53 fmol/mg protein]. The second component (type II) demonstrates a high number of sites (Bmai = 164 fmol/ mg protein) and low E2-binding affinity (Kd = 22.3 nM). The type I and type II E2-binding components were shown to sediment on sucrose gradients at 9.6S and 4.5S, respectively, and to focus at isoelectric points of 6.6 and 8.0, respectively. The addition of 0.4 M KC1 to the homogenization buffer converted the high affinity receptor species to a form that cosedimented and cofocused with the low affinity E2-binding protein. When tumors were grown in intact male rats, the ratio of the type II to the type I protein, as assessed by sucrose gr...
Mutagenicity of 1,3-butadiene at the Hprt locus of T-lymphocytes following inhalation exposures of female mice and rats.

Abstract The species specific response to 1,3-butadiene (BD), an important industrial chemical, was investigated by determining the influence of exposure duration and exposure concentration on the mutagenicity of BD in mice and rats and by defining the spectra of mutations in the Hprt gene T-cell mutants from control and BD-exposed mice. Female B6C3F1 mice and F344 rats (4–5 weeks old) were exposed by inhalation to 0, 20, 62.5, or 625 ppm of BD for up to 4 weeks (6 h/day, 5 days/week). Groups of control and exposed animals ( n =4–12/group) were necropsied at multiple time points after exposure and the T-cell cloning assay was used to measure Hprt mutant frequencies in lymphocytes isolated from spleen. Mutant clones collected from control and BD-exposed mice were propagated and analyzed by RT–PCR to produce Hprt cDNA for sequencing. In animals necropsied 4 weeks after 2 or 4 weeks of BD exposure (0 or 625 ppm), the rate of accumulation of mutations was greater in mice than in rats. Supra-linear dose–response curves were observed in BD-exposed mice, indicating a higher efficiency of mutant induction at lower concentrations of BD. The mutagenic potency estimates (represented by the differences in the areas under the mutant T-cell `manifestation' curves of treated vs. control animals) in mice were 11 and 61 following 4 weeks of exposures to 62.5 and 625 ppm of BD, respectively, while mutant frequencies (M f s) in rats were significantly increased only at 625 ppm BD (mutagenic potency of 7). Molecular analysis of Hprt cDNA from expanded T-cell clones from control and BD-exposed mice demonstrated an increased frequency of mutants in exposed animals that likely contain large deletions in the Hprt gene ( P =0.016). These data indicate that both exposure duration and exposure concentration are important in determining the magnitude of mutagenic response to BD, and that mutagenic and carcinogenic properties of BD in mice may be related more to the ability of its metabolites to cause chromosomal deletions than to produce point mutations.
STEM enrichment programs and graduate school matriculation: the role of science identity salience

Improving the state of science education in the United States has become a national priority. One response to this problem has been the implementation of STEM enrichment programs designed to increase the number of students that enter graduate programs in science. Current research indicates enrichment programs have positive effects for student performance, degree completion, interest in science and graduate enrollment. Moreover, research suggests that beyond improving performance in STEM, and providing access to research experience and faculty mentoring, enrichment programs may also increase the degree to which students identify as scientists. However, researchers investigating the role of science identity on student outcomes have focused primarily on subjective outcomes, leaving a critical question of whether science identity also influences objective outcomes such as whether students attend graduate school. Using identity theory, this study addresses this issue by investigating science identity as a mechanism linking enrichment program participation to matriculation into graduate science programs. Quantitative results from a panel study of 694 students indicate that science identity salience, along with research experience and college GPA, mediate the effect of enrichment program participation on graduate school matriculation. Further, results indicate that although the social psychological process by which science identity salience develops operates independently from student GPA, science identity amplifies the effect of achievement on graduate school matriculation. These results indicate that policies seeking to increase the efficacy of enrichment programs and increase representation in STEM graduate programs should be sensitive to the social and academic aspects of STEM education.
Higgs doublets, split multiplets and heterotic SU( 3)C × SU( 2)L × U( 1)Y spectra

A methodology for computing the massless spectrum of heterotic vacua with Wilson lines is presented. This is applied to a specific class of vacua with holomorphic SU(5)-bundles over torus-fibered Calabi–Yau threefolds with fundamental group Z2. These vacua lead to low-energy theories with the standard model gauge group SUC(3)×SUL(2)×UY(1) and three families of quark/leptons. The massless spectrum is computed, including the multiplicity of Higgs doublets.
Agreement and Disagreement in Group Deliberation: Effects on Deliberation Satisfaction, Future Engagement, and Decision Legitimacy

While research on democratic deliberation has burgeoned, little systematic work has been done on the effects of the communication content of deliberations. We examine how expressions of agreement and disagreement during online deliberation affect participants' evaluations of their experience, including satisfaction, reevaluation of opinions, and expected future participation. The effects of these evaluations on perceived legitimacy and opinion ambivalence also are considered. Several alternative hypotheses are entertained, including avoidance, in which high disagreement reduces evaluations; reevaluation, in which high disagreement enhances evaluations; sociability, in which high agreement enhances evaluations; balance, which suggests that a balance of agreement and disagreement would enhance evaluations; and disequilibrium, which indicates that high agreement and low disagreement and the reverse yield good evaluations. The hypotheses are tested with survey data and a discussion content analysis of a repre...
Ray tracing NPR-style feature lines

Though the goal of ray tracing and other physically based rendering techniques is ultimately to produce photorealistic images, it is often helpful to use non-photorealistic rendering techniques to illustrate or highlight certain features in a rendering. We present a method for ray tracing constant screen-width NPR-style feature lines on top of regularly rendered scenes, demonstrating how a variant of line rasterization can be included in a ray tracer, thus allowing for the inclusion of NPR-style enhancements. We are able to render silhouette edges, marking the boundary of an object in screen space against the background (or against farther parts of the same object), intersection lines, marking the curves along which two primitives intersect, and crease edges, indicating curves along which a primitivepsilas normal field is dicontinuous. Including these lines gives the viewer an additional cue to relative positions of objects within the scene, and also enhances particular features within objects, such as sharp corners. The method in this paper was developed in particular for enhancing glyph-based scientific visualization; however, the basic technique can be adapted for many illustrative purposes in different settings.
Reactions involving HOCl or ClO2 with fatty acids under aqueous conditions and mutagenicity of reaction products

Abstract Reactions involving aqueous chlorine and chlorine dioxide with oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, arachidonic acid, their methyl esters, and triolein were examined. Aqueous chlorine was found to be more reactive than chlorine dioxide with respect to its behavior towards unsaturated fatty acids. The reaction of oleic acid with aqueous chlorine was pH-sensitive proceeding faster at higher pH. The reactivities of the fatty acids with aqueous chlorine and chlorine dioxide were correlated to the number of double bonds in the molecules. Methyl esters had lower reactivity than their corresponding fatty acids, but the relationship between degree of unsaturation and reactivity was maintained. Mutagenicity studies with the Salmonella/microsome assay of the chloroform:methanol (2:1) extractable portions of the reaction mixtures of aqueous chlorine with fatty acids indicated that none of the fractions was mutagenic to strain TA 98 or TA 100 in the presence or absence of rat liver S9 mix. Resume On a etudie les reactions mettant en cause le chlore aqueux et le dioxyde de chlore avec l'acide oleique, l'acide linoleique, l'acide arachidonique, leurs esters methyliques, et la trioleine. Le chlore aqueux s'est revele plus reactif que le dioxyde de chlore dans son comportement envers les acides gras insatures. La reaction de l'acide oleique avec le chlore aqueux fut sensible au pH, etant plus rapide a pH eleve. Les reactivites des acides gras avec le chlore aqueux et le dioxyde de chlore furent correlees au nombre de doubles liaisons dans les moledules. Les esters methyliques eurent doubles liaisons dans les molecules. Les esters methyliques eurent une reactivite plus faible que leurs acides gras correspondants, mais a la relation entre le degre d'insaturation et la reactivite fut maintenue. Des etudes de mutagenicite a l'aide du test Salmonella/microsome des portions extractibles au chloroforme: methanol (2:1) des melanges reactifs de chlore aqueux avec des acides gras ont indique qu'aucune des fractions ne fut mutagene aux lignees TA, 98 ou TA 100 avec ou sans melange au foie du rat S9.
Contrast-enhanced, real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging of tissue perfusion: preliminary results in a rabbit model of testicular torsion

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (US) imaging is potentially applicable to the clinical investigation of a wide variety of perfusion disorders. Quantitative analysis of perfusion is not widely performed, and is limited by the fact that data are acquired from a single tissue plane, a situation that is unlikely to accurately reflect global perfusion. Real-time perfusion information from a tissue volume in an experimental rabbit model of testicular torsion was obtained with a two-dimensional matrix phased array US transducer. Contrast-enhanced imaging was performed in 20 rabbits during intravenous infusion of the microbubble contrast agent Definity® before and after unilateral testicular torsion and contralateral orchiopexy. The degree of torsion was 0° in 4 (sham surgery), 180° in 4, 360° in 4, 540° in 4, and 720° in 4. An automated technique was developed to analyze the time history of US image intensity in experimental and control testes. Comparison of mean US intensity rate of change and of ratios between mean US intensity rate of change in experimental and control testes demonstrated good correlation with testicular perfusion and mean perfusion ratios obtained with radiolabeled microspheres, an accepted 'gold standard'. This method is of potential utility in the clinical evaluation of testicular and other organ perfusion.
Ion channel involvement in hypoxia-induced spreading depression in hippocampal slices.

Abstract Rat hippocampal tissue slices were made hypoxic in control medium and in medium containing the ion channel blockers tetraethylammonium (TEA), 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), or tetrodotoxin (TTX). Postsynaptic evoked potentials, extracellular DC potential V ec , and in some experiments extracellular potassium concentration [K + ] o were monitored in stratum pyramidale of the CA1 region. TEA (10 mM) decreased the latency of hypoxia-induced spreading depression (SD), and reduced the amplitudes of the changes in V ec and [K + ] o . 4-AP (50 μM) also decreased the latency of SD but had no effect on the V ec shift. In most slices, TTX (1 μM) increased SD latency but had no effect on the V ec shift. In some slices, TTX blocked the occurrence of SD.
Single Quantum-Well Transistor Lasers Operating Error-Free at 22 Gb/s

Data are presented showing error-free transmission by a 200- $\mu $ m-long transistor laser at 15 °C. The device has a threshold current of 30 mA and exhibits a modulation bandwidth of $f_{\mathbf {-3dB}} = 10.4$ GHz at I $_{B}= 85$ mA and V $_{\mathrm {\mathbf {CE}}} = 1.5$ V. At this bias point, the device is able to transmit $2^{7}$ -1 Pseudo Random Binary Sequence (PRBS) data with no errors at 22 Gb/s. The effect of transistor laser input impedance on optical modulation amplitude is discussed and short cavity ( $200~\mu $ m) devices are shown to exhibit a better match to the 50 $\Omega $ impedance of the signal generator.
Doing more for Keisha.

In their editorial “Doing more for Kate” (16 Dec. 2005, p. [1741][1]), T. Cech and D. Kennedy describe a young woman who might have been a productive scientist, but was transformed into a business major by the anomie of a large research university. Keisha, a valedictorian from a working class high school, was also overwhelmed at a large research university. Rather than changing majors, however, Keisha transferred to a smaller public comprehensive university. There she was soon noticed by an instructor, who drew out her story and introduced her to other faculty. She is now engaged in an undergraduate research project, is academically successful, and seems well on the way to graduate school and a scientific career. Although efforts to energize teaching in large classes should be applauded, it is a mistake to believe that this is more than a palliative for the real pathology that afflicts the U.S. scientific pipeline. The anecdotes about Kate and Keisha really say that scientific training and the development of a scientific workforce are intensely personal and human activities. This is not the mission of large research universities, nor are teachers of even the best large classes particularly good at it. Assuming that intellectual capability in the young is not determined solely by the income of their parents, perhaps the greatest unexploited pool of scientific talent exists among the children of the working class. It is the public comprehensive universities, those invisible and disregarded institutions, that are most likely and best qualified to mentor and develop this impecunious human resource. Yet it is precisely those institutions that are being starved to death by state legislatures nationwide. If Cech and Kennedy are correct that the U.S. scientific enterprise is threatened, then the science establishment might do even more for Kate and Keisha by attacking the political disease rather than the pedagogical symptoms. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1123580
Fractal character of quasi-energy states in intense polychromatic fields

Abstract The quasi-energy eigenfunctions of N -level quantum systems driven by intense M -mode polychromatic fields are studied by means of the many-mode Floquet theory. It is found that the eigenfunctions exhibit striking self-similar (fractal) behavior in the temporal Fourier space. A method is presented for the calculation of the fractal ( D f ) and entropy ( D s ) dimensions of quasi-energy states and applied to the study of the behavior of two-level systems perturbed by bichromatic fields. The fractal dimensions are found to be (laser) intensity dependent and obey the relationship D f ⩽ D s M .
Factors Affecting Bank Formation during Surfactant-Enhanced Mobilization of Residual NAPL

Two-dimensional flow cell experiments were used to investigate the flow dynamics and factors affecting tetrachloroethylene (PCE) mobilization and bank formation in an otherwise water-saturated porous medium. Aqueous phase injection rates and flow cell angles were varied to control both buoyancy and viscous forces, and both macroscopic- and pore-scale images were captured and analyzed to determine the effects of these forces on PCE transport characteristics. Results were interpreted in terms of a nondimensional bank number, NBa, which relates the forces on the trapped nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) ganglia parallel to the flow direction to those forces perpendicular to the flow. NBa, was found to predict bank formation well except for NBa ≈ 1, where other characteristics may have been important, such as droplet coalescence. Pore-scale observations showed that the mobilized PCE moved through the porous medium as noncoalesced droplets and that some of the trapped NAPL was mobilized through a dissolution/mobi...
High Spatial Resolution Speckle Tracking Improves Accuracy of 2-Dimensional Strain Measurements: An Update on a New Method in Functional Echocardiography

Background We previously found that a 2-dimensional (2D) strain echocardiography method had some limitations in the assessment of low magnitudes and rates of deformation. Here, we study whether a recently introduced high spatial resolution speckle tracking (HRT) method improves accuracy of 2D strain measurements. Methods A gelatin block was cyclically compressed by a hydraulic piston. Regional deformations measured by 2D-HRT were compared with reference strains obtained from an embedded pair of sonomicrometry crystals. Global deformations (along the gelatin block) were compared to strains calculated from tracings of piston motion. We tested a wide range of strains (5.4%-21.5%) and combined each measurement with simulated heart rates (24-196/min). Results Regional deformations measured by 2D-HRT demonstrated excellent correlation ( r = 0.99, P r = 0.99, P Conclusion In our in vitro setting, the 2D-HRT method produced precise and accurate measurements of strains for clinically relevant ranges of deformation magnitudes and ranges.
Parathyroid hormone-related protein stimulates plasma renin activity via its anorexic effects on sodium chloride intake

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) increases renin release from isolated perfused kidneys and may act as an autacoid regulator of renin secretion, but its effects on renin in vivo are unkn...
Cutaneous chordee Fact or fancy

Abstract That cutaneous chordee is the most common cause of the ventral curvature in distal penile hypospadias and in many instances of chordee without hypospadias is not common knowledge. Recognition of this fact allows for single-stage repair. Excellent results employing the Allen-Spence technique and its variants are detailed in 15 patients.
A novel 3-0 sulfatase from human urine acting on methyl-2-deoxy-2-sulfamino-α-D-glucopyranoside 3-sulfate

Abstract Human urine contains a novel sulfatase which is specific for the 3-0 sulfate ester of sulfaminoglucopyranoside 3-sulfate. Of the three isomeric sulfamate derivatives, 3,4 and 6-0 sulfate esters, only the 3-0 ester is hydrolyzed. Enzymatic activity requires that the amino group be sulfated; sulfate is not released if the amino group is free or acetylated. The enzyme has been purified 70-fold. It has a pH optimum of 6.3 and is inhibited by inorganic sulfate and phosphate. The specificity of this enzyme suggests that a 3-0 sulfated glucosamine moiety may have a role in the physiological activity of heparin or heparan sulfate.
Microwave plaque thermoradiotherapy for choroidal melanoma.

Microwave thermoradiotherapy was used as a primary treatment for 44 patients with choroidal melanoma. An episcleral dish-shaped microwave antenna was placed beneath the tumour at the time of plaque brachytherapy. While temperatures were measured at the sclera, the tumour9s apex was targeted to receive a minimum of 42 degrees C for 45 minutes. In addition, the patients received full or reduced doses of plaque radiotherapy. No patients have been lost to follow-up. Two eyes have been enucleated: one for rubeotic glaucoma, and one for uveitic glaucoma. Though six patients have died, only one death was due to metastatic choroidal melanoma (39 months after treatment). Clinical observations suggest that the addition of microwave heating to plaque radiation therapy of choroidal melanoma has been well tolerated. There has been a 97.7% local control rate (with a mean follow-up of 22.2 months). We have reduced the minimum tumour radiation dose (apex dose) to levels used for thermoradiotherapy of cutaneous melanomas (50 Gy/5000 rad). Within the range of this follow-up period no adverse effects which might preclude the use of this microwave heat delivery system for treatment of choroidal melanoma have been noted.
High-speed data acquisition system and receiver configurations for time-domain radiofrequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging.

Abstract Design strategies, system configuration, and operation of a dual-channel data acquisition system for a radiofrequency (RF) time-domain electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer/imager operating at 300 MHz are described. This system wasconfigured to incorporate high-speed analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) and summation capabilities with both internal and external triggering via GPIB interface. The sampling rate of the ADC is programmable up to a maximum of 1 GS/s when operating in a dual-channel mode or 2 GS/s when the EPR data are collected in a single-channel mode. By using high-speed flash ADCs, a pipelined 8-bit adder, and a 24-bit accumulator, a repetition rate of 230 kHz is realized to sum FIDs of 4096 points. The record length is programmable up to a maximum of 8K points and a large number of FIDs (224) can be summed without overflow before the data can be transferred to a host computer via GPIB interface for further processing. The data acquisition system can operate in a two-channel (quadrature) receiver mode for the conventional mixing to baseband. For detection using the single-channel mode, the resonance signals around the center frequency of 300 MHz were mixed with a synchronized local oscillator of appropriate frequency leading to an intermediate frequency (IF) which is sampled at a rate of 2 GS/s. Comparison of quadrature-mode and an IF-mode operation for EPR detection is presented by studying the FID signal intensity across a bandwidth of 10 MHz and as a function of transmit RF power. Imaging of large-sized phantoms accommodated in appropriately sized resonators indicates that IF-mode operation can be used to obtain distortion-free images in resonators of size 50 mm diameter and 50 mm length.
Simultaneous degradation of disinfection byproducts and earthy-musty odorants by the UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation process

Abstract Advanced treatment technologies that control multiple contaminants are beneficial to drinking water treatment. This research applied UV/H2O2 for the simultaneous degradation of geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, four trihalomethanes and six haloacetic acids. Experiments were conducted in de-ionized water at 24 ± 1.0 °C with ng/L amounts of odorants and μg/L amounts of disinfection byproducts. UV was applied with and without 6 mg/L H2O2. The results demonstrated that brominated trihalomethanes and brominated haloacetic acids were degraded to a greater extent than geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol. Tribromomethane and dibromochloromethane were degraded by 99% and 80% respectively at the UV dose of 1200 mJ/cm2 with 6 mg/L H2O2, whereas 90% of the geosmin and 60% of the 2-methylisoborneol were removed. Tribromoacetic acid and dibromoacetic acid were degraded by 99% and 80% respectively under the same conditions. Concentrations of trichloromethane and chlorinated haloacetic acids were not substantially reduced under these conditions and were not effectively removed at doses designed to remove geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol. Brominated compounds were degraded primarily by direct photolysis and cleavage of the C–Br bond with pseudo first order rate constants ranging from 10−3 to 10−2 s−1. Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol were primarily degraded by reaction with hydroxyl radical with direct photolysis as a minor factor. Perchlorinated disinfection byproducts were degraded by reaction with hydroxyl radicals. These results indicate that the UV/H2O2 can be applied to effectively control both odorants and brominated disinfection byproducts.
How Far Along Are You

I stood quietly in the middle of the circle, with 4 or 5 friendly hands on my belly. Nothing in my career to that point had prepared me for this moment, but I found myself relaxing and enjoying the...
Mating preference and sexual reinforcement in female rats

Abstract Intact female rats chose between sexually active males and inactive males or females in a runway-choice apparatus. In either a discrete choice or continuous choice format, sexually receptive female rats demonstrated a preference for sexually active males over the other two incentive animals. No preference was demonstrated when females were sexually non-receptive. The results demonstrate that, for sexually receptive female rats, copulation can have reinforcing effects distinct from the reinforcing effects of more general social and exploratory factors.
Family interviews as a method for family research.

Title. Family interviews as a method for family research Aim. This paper is a description of the experience of conducting family interviews in a study to come to understand from families their experience of the hospitalization of a critically ill family member. Background. Traditional family research has been done quantitatively, with a focus on the needs of individual family members rather than the family as a whole. The limited amount of qualitative family research has been done primarily by interviewing individual family members rather than the family as a group. Method. The original study was conducted within a framework of phenomenology and 11 families, for a total of 41 individuals, were interviewed about their experiences. Family groups from two to seven members, some including adolescents and young adults, participated in semi-structured interviews. Findings. Findings revealed that gathering families together, even early in the critical illness experience, is not only feasible but beneficial for them and opens the door to dialogues that have a therapeutic effect on the family and help them manage the critical illness experience. Although daunting and challenging, family interviews are feasible and provide rich family-level data that contribute knowledge to family science and family caring. Strategies for family recruitment, conduct of family interviews and family-level data analysis are presented. Conclusion. Families want to tell their stories and clearly have a need for nurses to develop relationships with them while caring for their ill loved ones. Family interviews both affirm the family and give nurses greater understanding of family issues, concerns and meanings.
Construction workers’ perceptions of health and safety training programmes

As zero-accidents cultures expand in popularity, knowledge and implementation of safety regulations have become priorities for construction organizations. An expanded literature review revealed that many industry leaders have responded by increasing the frequency and content of health and safety training programmes; however the provision of training largely has remained consistent. Identifying workers’ conceptions of the training they receive is critical to the design and deployment of effective workplace education programmes. Utilizing a hybrid questionnaire of qualitative and quantitative components to assess perceptions and knowledge, data were collected from a sample (n = 121) representing construction professionals across the United States who had completed an OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety Training Course. The data described a workforce dissatisfied with training effectiveness and characterized a widespread situation in which the distinguishing characteristics of adult learning had not been addres...
Characterisation of olefin copolymers using terahertz spectroscopy

Terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy has been used to characterise cyclic olefin polymers in the range 0.2-1.2 THz. A comparison of the optical properties of the polymer with standard materials currently used to fabricate THz optics, namely high density polyethylene and Picarin, is also presented. This comparison suggests that olefin copolymers are potential candidates for manufacturing optical components for the GHz and THz range