Performance of natural‐fiber–plastic composites under stress for outdoor applications: Effect of moisture,temperature, and ultraviolet light exposure

The effects of moisture, temperature, and ultraviolet (UV) light on performance of natural‐fiber–plastic composites (NFPC) were assessed. We conducted short‐term tests in the laboratory and long‐term tests under natural exposure and measured changes in mechanical properties and color in samples of the composite. Chemical changes of the composite's materials were measured by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy to elucidate the mechanisms of chemical transformations on the material surface. Relative humidity highly affected the modulus of rupture (MOR) and the modulus of elasticity (MOE), and had a greater effect than temperature and UV exposure on performance of the composite. The lightness of the composite was increased by the UV effect in the short‐ and the long‐term tests. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis suggested that the composite was protected by the UV absorber. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 2570–2577, 2006     

Abnormal behavioral responses to fenfluramine in patients with affective and personality disorders. Correlation with increased serotonergic responsivity

Serotonergic responsivity was assessed in 20 psychiatric patients by the prolactin response to a fenfluramine challenge test. During the fenfluramine challenge 6 of 20 patients (30%) spontaneously reported psychopathologic reactions that included: increased anxiety/agitation, psychotic symptoms, illusions, mood elevation, and anergia. The time of peak behavioral symptoms (2.5 +/- 0.8 hrs) corresponded closely to the time of peak increase in prolactin levels (3.0 +/- 1.1 hr). Abnormal behavioral responders had statistically significant greater increases in prolactin 1 to 4 hr after fenfluramine when compared to normal responders. Patients who developed an abnormal psychopathologic response to fenfluramine were characterized by higher levels of anxiety and agitation at the time of admission to the hospital but otherwise were not distinguishable on the basis of severity of other psychiatric symptoms. This study suggests that increased serotonergic transmission may trigger anxiety, psychosis, and mood elevation in specific vulnerable individuals, whereas other patients with similar psychiatric illnesses are not affected.     

A Simple Constraint-Based Algorithm for Efficiently Mining Observational Databases for Causal Relationships

This paper presents a simple, efficient computer-based method for discovering causal relationships from databases that contain observational data. Observational data is passively observed, as contrasted with experimental data. Most of the databases available for data mining are observational. There is great potential for mining such databases to discover causal relationships. We illustrate how observational data can constrain the causal relationships among measured variables, sometimes to the point that we can conclude that one variable is causing another variable. The presentation here is based on a constraint-based approach to causal discovery. A primary purpose of this paper is to present the constraint-based causal discovery method in the simplest possible fashion in order to (1) readily convey the basic ideas that underlie more complex constraint-based causal discovery techniques, and (2) permit interested readers to rapidly program and apply the method to their own databases, as a start toward using more elaborate causal discovery algorithms.     

Generalization of the Gram-Charlier/Edgeworth Series and Application to Time-Frequency Analysis

We derive a general equation relating probability densities and as special cases we the obtain Gram-Charlier and Edgeworth series. This allows us to generalize these methods and clarify a number of issues pertaining to both probability theory and time-frequency analysis. In particular we show how the Gram-Charlier and Edgeworth series are related to the kernel method of time-frequency analysis. The approach allows us to construct densities that satisfy given constraints such as joint moments or conditional moments. Also, we show that the kernel has to be signal dependent and that to obtain a proper distribution it should be the ratio of two characteristic functions.     

Postoperative radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin appears to improve locoregional control of advanced, resectable head and neck cancers: RTOG 88-24

PURPOSE: Despite aggressive surgery and postoperative radiation therapy, only 30% of patients who have advanced, potentially resectable carcinomas of the head and neck survive for 5 years. In the hope of improving this situation we studied the effect of postoperative radiotherapy delivered concurrently with cisplatin. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Patients who had Stage IV tumors and/or involved surgical margins received 60 Gy in 30 fractions over 6 weeks plus 100 mg/m2 of cisplatin on radiotherapy days 1, 23 and 43. Fifty-two patients participated in this trial and 51 were evaluated. Forty-three (84%) patients had pathologic T3 or T4 disease, 43 (84%) had Stage IV disease, and 27 (53%) had histologically involved surgical margins. RESULTS: Severe and life-threatening toxicities occurred in 20% and 12% of patients, respectively; the most common drug-related toxicities were leukopenia, anemia, nausea, and vomiting. Seventeen patients (43%) remain alive with no evidence of disease. Four patients (8%) died with no evidence of neoplastic disease, and one patient has died of a second independent malignancy. By actuarial analysis at 3 years, 48% of patients are alive, 81% have locoregional control of disease, and 57% are free of distant metastases. CONCLUSIONS: Based on comparison with similar patients treated in a prior Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/Intergroup trial (RTOG), we conclude that postoperative radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin may improve locoregional control rates and should be prospectively tested.     

A comparison of crack-flank displacement fitting for estimating K with a path independent integral

Predicting crack growth under cyclic loading in applications usually requires the efficient extraction of stress intensity factors from finite element analyses of mixed mode situations. Two approaches to this end are examined: one, a competitive fitting procedure using crack-flank displacement data, the other, a path independent integral which can readily distinguish between modes. A protocol is established for comparing the two on a set of about forty test problems which have exact solutions. Analysis is via quarter point elements on a common sequence of three successively refined meshes for each problem. Results show that the path independent integral is more consistently accurate and reliably convergent, yet comparable in implementation effort.     

Neuropeptidergic organization of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi)

The blind mole rat, Spalax, is a subterranean rodent with atrophied, subcutaneous eyes. Whereas most of the visual system is highly degenerated, the retino-hypothalamic pathway in this species has remained intact. Although Spalax is considered to be visually blind, circadian locomotor rhythms are entrained by the light/dark cycle. In the present study we used anterograde tracing techniques to demonstrate retinal afferents to the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and immunohistochemistry to examine the distribution of neuropeptides that are known to be involved in the regulation or expression of circadian rhythmicity. Based on the localization of retinal afferents and neuropeptides, the SCN can be divided into two subdivisions. The ventral region, which receives retinal afferents, also contains vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-containing neurons, and fibers that are immunopositive to neuropeptide Y (NPY) and serotonin (5-HT). The dorsal region contains vasopressinergic neurons, but this latter cell population is extremely sparse compared to that described in other rodents. The dorsal region is also characterized by numerous VIP-immunoreactive fibers. The presence of NPY and 5-HT fibers suggests that the SCN receives afferent projections from the intergeniculate leaflet and from the raphe nuclei, respectively. These neuroanatomical results, together with previous studies of behavior, visual tract tracing, and immediate early gene expression, confirm that an endogenous clock and the capacity for light entrainment of circadian rhythms are conserved in the blind mole rat.