Incidence of phrenic nerve block and hypercapnia in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy under cervical plexus block

Past approaches for inducing protective stepping to preserve standing balance in humans have either lacked the flexibility of control over the initial conditions of falling, or involved considerable mass which limits mobility of the system. This report describes the design and function of a stepper motor closed-loop waist-pull system for evoking protective stepping responses. Bench testing with applied load-motion profile combinations indicated performance degradation for force levels greater than 204 N which was well within the levels encountered in human experiments. An optical encoder feedback design allowed a positional accuracy of 0.00225 mm per step. A regression analysis of specified versus recorded velocities resulted in an acceptable fit (r2 = 0.99). The mean rise time was 63.0+/-18.0 (SD) ms and was consistent up to the load limits of the device. In human experiments repeated perturbations were consistently realized. Applied motion profiles were generally comparable at the pelvic level for subjects of different geometry, weight, and inertia despite a tendency for slight positional lag. The method allows flexible and accurate control of the initial conditions of a perturbation-induced fall to elicit steps. The system dimensions and moveability allow it to be implemented into clinical environments.     

Robinson anterior cervical discectomy and arthrodesis for cervical radiculopathy. Long-term follow-up of one hundred and twenty-two patients

We evaluated the results of the Robinson method of anterior cervical discectomy and arthrodesis with use of autogenous iliac-crest bone graft, at one to four levels, in 122 patients who had cervical radiculopathy. A one-level procedure was done in sixty-two of the 122 patients; a two-level procedure, in forty-eight; a three-level procedure, in eleven; and a four-level procedure, in one. The average duration of clinical and roentgenographic follow-up was six years (range, two to fifteen years). The average age was fifty years (range, twenty-five to seventy-eight years). Preoperatively, 118 patients had pain in the arm, fifty-five had weakness of one or more motor roots, and seventy-seven had sensory loss. At the time of follow-up, eighty-one patients had no pain in the neck, twenty-six had mild pain in the neck, nine had moderate pain in the neck, four had mild radicular pain, and two had a combination of mild radicular pain and moderate pain in the neck. One hundred and eight patients had no functional impairment, and fourteen had a slight limitation of function during the activities of daily living. Nine of eleven patients who had symptoms related to a change at one level cephalad or caudad to the site of a previous arthrodesis had another operative procedure. Lateral roentgenograms of the cervical spine, made in flexion and extension, showed a pseudarthrosis at twenty-four of 195 operatively treated segments. Sixteen of the patients who had a pseudarthrosis were symptomatic, but only four had sufficient pain to warrant revision. The risk of pseudarthrosis was significantly greater after a multiple-level arthrodesis than after a single-level arthrodesis (p < 0.01). At the time of the most recent follow-up, fifty-three of the fifty-five patients who had had a motor deficit had had a complete recovery, and the two remaining patients had had a partial recovery. Seventy-one of the seventy-seven patients who had had a sensory loss had regained sensation. None of the patients had an increased neurological deficit postoperatively. Our results suggest that the Robinson anterior cervical discectomy and arthrodesis with an autogenous iliac-crest bone graft for cervical radiculopathy is a safe procedure that can relieve pain and lead to resolution of neurological deficits in a high percentage of patients.     

Controlled trial of pulse versus continuous prednisolone and cyclophosphamide in the treatment of systemic vasculitis

Intraperitoneal and intracranial inoculation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV 2) into BALB/cN and C57BL/6N mice was carried out to induce experimental myelitis. The myelitis was clearly observed in C57BL/6N mice following intraperitoneal inoculation. Within 24 hours before death, the mice showed urinary and rectal incontinence and paraplegia of the hind legs. Randomly distributed, severe necrosis was demonstrated in the spinal cord, mainly at the lower cord. In BALB/cN mice the clinical symptoms were not clearly observed, as the mice died shortly after their onset. Although spinal cord necrosis was more prominent in C57BL/6N mice than BALB/cN mice, brain necrosis was only found in the latter, and not in the former. Both strains of mouse showed marked nuclear pyknosis of the nerve cells and slight nuclear pyknosis of the astrocytes in the brain where HSV 2 antigen was demonstrated immunohistochemically. The antigen was also detected in the necrotic spinal cord. In contrast, intracranial inoculation of the virus into both strains did not cause myelitis. Spinal cord necrosis was not demonstrated and virus DNA was not detected, by PCR, in spinal cord samples. In the brain, however, the virus was demonstrated by both PCR and immunohistochemistry.     

Extending the Unified Modeling Language for ontology development

There is rapidly growing momentum for web enabled agents that reason about and dynamically integrate the appropriate knowledge and services at run-time. The dynamic integration of knowledge and services depends on the existence of explicit declarative semantic models (ontologies). We have been building tools for ontology development based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML). This allows the many mature UML tools, models and expertise to be applied to knowledge representation systems, not only for visualizing complex ontologies but also for managing the ontology development process. UML has many features, such as profiles, global modularity and extension mechanisms that are not generally available in most ontology languages. However, ontology languages have some features that UML does not support. Our paper identifies the similarities and differences (with examples) between UML and the ontology languages RDF and DAML+OIL. To reconcile these differences, we propose a modification to the UML metamodel to address some of the most problematic differences. One of these is the ontological concept variously called a property, relation or predicate. This notion corresponds to the UML concepts of association and attribute. In ontology languages properties are first-class modeling elements, but UML associations and attributes are not first-class. Our proposal is backward-compatible with existing UML models while enhancing its viability for ontology modeling. While we have focused on RDF and DAML+OIL in our research and development activities, the same issues apply to many of the knowledge representation languages. This is especially the case for semantic network and concept graph approaches to knowledge representations. Initial sbmission: 16 February 2002 / Revised submission: 15 October 2002 Published online: 2 December 2002     

The absorption of direct dyes by crosslinked cellulose. II. Rate of dyeing and diffusivity

The effect of crosslinking in the dry state on the rate of dyeing of cellophane with two direct dyes, Chrysophenine G and Chlorazol Sky Blue FF, has been studied. Dimethylolethyleneurea and bis(hydroxyethyl) sulfone were the crosslinking agents. It was found that the rate of dyeing was reduced at high degree of crosslinking by more than 90%, whereas the amount of dye absorbed at equilibrium was reduced by only 40%. It was concluded that the major factor in the practical undyeability of the crosslinked cellulose fibers in commerce is the reduction of the rate of dyeing rather than that of the absorption at final equilibrium. The average diffusivities of the dyes in the cellulose film were calculated from the rate data. The diffusion coefficients as functions of the dye concentration in the films were estimated from the diffusivity values. The two models of swollen cellulose, the pore model and the gel model, were applied to explain the effect of crosslinking on the diffusion coefficients. The pore model offers a satisfactory explanation by assuming that crosslinking reduces the average pore diameter and therefore increases the drag and also the tortuosity. The gel model offers an equally satisfactory explanation by assuming that crosslinking reduces the free volume by increasing the rigidity and concentration of the cellulose chains in the cellulose gel.     

Temperature Dependence of Average Energy Per Pair in Semiconductor Detectors

An accurate measurement of the average energy lost by charged particles per hole-electron pair produced in semiconductor detectors as a function of temperature is desirable in view of the recently noted response of detectors at low temperatures. A simple model for the value of ?, the average energy per hole-electron pair, was proposed by Shockley in 1960. This model has been extended in the present work to predict temperature effects upon ?. Silicon and germanium lithium-drifted counters were designed and built for detecting 1 Mev electrons and/or 5.5 Mev alphas over a temperature range of 4°K to 300°K. Techniques and the necessary equipment to measure the charged produced from a single indident ionizing particle within 0.4% were developed. Data were taken for silicon and germanium detectors for temperature ranging from 20°K to 300°K. These data only qualitatively agree with the simple model. The evidence points to an additional effect over the ones invoked by Shockley. The room temperature values of ? for the silicon lithium-drifted counters observed in the present experiment agree with those for silicon surface barrier detectors which were recently published.     

Aspects of the regulation of long-chain fatty acid oxidation in bovine liver

Factors involved in regulation of bovine hepatic fatty acid oxidation were examined using liver slices. Fatty acid oxidation was measured as the conversion of 1-[14C] palmitate to 14CO2 and total [14C] acid-soluble metabolites. Extended (5 to 7 d) fasting of Holstein cows had relatively little effect on palmitate oxidation to acid-soluble metabolites by liver slices, although oxidation to CO2 was decreased. Feeding a restricted roughage, high concentrate ration to lactating cows resulted in inhibition of palmitate oxidation. Insulin, glucose, and acetate inhibited palmitate oxidation by bovine liver slices. We suggest the regulation of bovine hepatic fatty acid oxidation may be less dependent on hormonally induced alterations in enzyme activity as observed in rat liver and more dependent upon action of rumen fermentation products or their metabolites on enzyme systems involved in fatty acid oxidation.     

Control of bovine hepatic fatty acid oxidation

Fatty acid oxidation by bovine liver slices and mitochondria was examined to determine potential regulatory sites of fatty acid oxidation. Conversion of 1-[14C]palmitate to 14CO2 and total [14C]acid-soluble metabolites was used to measure fatty acid oxidation. Oxidation of palmitate (1 mM) was linear in both liver slice weight and incubation time. Carnitine stimulated palmitate oxidation; 2 mM dl-carnitine produced maximal stimulation of palmitate oxidation to both CO2 and acid-soluble metabolites. Propionate (10 mM) inhibited palmitate oxidation by bovine liver slices. Clofenapate, an inhibitor of fatty acid esterification, alone increased palmitate oxidation and was able to prevent the propionate-induced inhibition of palmitate oxidation by liver slices. Propionate (.5 to 10 mM) had no effect on palmitate oxidation by mitochondria, but malonyl Coenzyme A, the first committed intermediate of fatty acid synthesis, inhibited mitochondrial palmitate oxidation (inhibition constant = .3 microM). Liver mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.21) exhibited Michaelis constants for palmitoyl Coenzyme A and l-carnitine of 11.5 microM and .59 mM, respectively. Long-chain fatty acid oxidation in bovine liver is regulated by mechanisms similar to those in rats but adapted to the unique digestive physiology of the bovine.     

Finite element modeling of the time-dependent behavior of nonlinear ductile polymers

A finite element algorithm developed previously has been successfully extended to the study of nonlinear time-dependent problems. Nonlinear viscoelastic and viscoplastic models have been used to study the time-dependent deformation and failure of high density polyethylene (HDPE). Two classes of nonlinear models have been identified; those that allow stress redistribution with time under specified traction boundary conditions, and those that do not. The implications of using viscoelastic vs. viscoplastic models, as well as the specific mathematical form of the constitutive equations selected for use, have been studied. Strains predicted using the FE algorithm have been compared with experimental measurements for (i) a HDPE plate with a hole and (ii) a double edge notch HDPE specimen, both under remote tension. Excellent agreement was obtained between numerical predictions and the experimental values.     

Age differences in proactive interference, working memory, and abstract reasoning.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 23(4) of Psychology and Aging (see record 2008-19072-007). The original article contained an incorrect DOI. The correct DOI is as follows: 10.1037/a0012577.] It has been hypothesized that older adults are especially susceptible to proactive interference (PI) and that this may contribute to age differences in working memory performance. In young adults, individual differences in PI affect both working memory and reasoning ability, but the relations between PI, working memory, and reasoning in older adults have not been examined. In the current study, young, old, and very old adults performed a modified operation span task that induced several cycles of PI buildup and release as well as two tests of abstract reasoning ability. Age differences in working memory scores increased as PI built up, consistent with the hypothesis that older adults are more susceptible to PI, but both young and older adults showed complete release from PI. Young adults' reasoning ability was best predicted by working memory performance under high PI conditions, replicating M. Bunting (2006). In contrast, older adults' reasoning ability was best predicted by their working memory performance under low PI conditions, thereby raising questions regarding the general role of susceptibility to PI in differences in higher cognitive function among older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)