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The COVID-19 pandemic stressed healthcare systems all over the world. Two primary challenges that healthcare systems faced were a shortage of personal protective equipment and the need for new technologies to handle infection prevention for staff and patients. The Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) Technology Transfer Program responded by prioritizing the development of innovations in the Technology Transfer Assistance Project which addressed the pandemic. This paper describes several innovations that addressed the needs of the VA healthcare system during the pandemic and how they were rapidly developed.

The need for computational models that can incorporate imaging data with non-imaging data while investigating inter-subject associations arises in the task of population-based disease analysis. Although off-the-shelf deep convolutional neural networks have empowered representation learning from imaging data, incorporating data of different modalities complementarily in a unified model to improve the disease diagnostic quality is still challenging. In this work, we propose a generalizable graph-convolutional framework for population-based disease prediction on multi-modal medical data. Unlike previous methods constructing a static affinity population graph in a hand-crafting manner, the proposed framework can automatically learn to build a population graph with variational edges, which we show can be optimized jointly with spectral graph convolutional networks. In addition, to estimate the predictive uncertainty related to the constructed graph, we propose Monte-Carlo edge dropout uncertainty estimation. Experimental results on four multi-modal datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can substantially improve the predictive accuracy for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and ocular diseases. A sufficient ablation study with in-depth discussion is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of each component and the choice of algorithmic details of the proposed method. The results indicate the potential and extendability of the proposed framework in leveraging multi-modal data for population-based disease prediction.

Differences in scanning parameters or modalities can complicate image analysis based on supervised classification. This paper presents two representation learning approaches, based on autoencoders, that address this problem by learning representations that are similar across domains. Both approaches use, next to the data representation objective, a similarity objective to minimise the difference between representations of corresponding patches from each domain. We evaluated the methods in transfer learning experiments on multi-modal brain MRI data and on synthetic data. After transforming training and test data from different modalities to the common representations learned by our methods, we trained classifiers for each of pair of modalities. We found that adding the similarity term to the standard objective can produce representations that are more similar and can give a higher accuracy in these cross-modality classification experiments.

Purpose Proton radiation, when compared with photon radiation, allows delivery of increased radiation dose to the tumor while decreasing dose to adjacent critical structures. Given the recent expansion of proton facilities in the United States, the long-term sequelae of proton therapy should be carefully assessed. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of second cancers in patients treated with proton radiation with a population-based cohort of matched patients treated with photon radiation. Methods and Materials We performed a retrospective cohort study of 558 patients treated with proton radiation from 1973 to 2001 at the Harvard Cyclotron in Cambridge, MA and 558 matched patients treated with photon therapy in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program cancer registry. Patients were matched by age at radiation treatment, sex, year of treatment, cancer histology, and site. The main outcome measure was the incidence of second malignancies after radiation. Results We matched 558 proton patients with 558 photon patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry. The median duration of follow-up was 6.7 years (interquartile range, 7.4) and 6.0 years (interquartile range, 9.3) in the proton and photon cohorts, respectively. The median age at treatment was 59 years in each cohort. Second malignancies occurred in 29 proton patients (5.2%) and 42 photon patients (7.5%). After we adjusted for sex, age at treatment, primary site, and year of diagnosis, proton therapy was not associated with an increased risk of second malignancy (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.52 [95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.85]; P =.009). Conclusions The use of proton radiation therapy was not associated with a significantly increased risk of secondary malignancies compared with photon therapy. Longer follow-up of these patients is needed to determine if there is a significant decrease in second malignancies. Given the limitations of the study, these results should be viewed as hypothesis generating.

Background Mycobacteria, along with exospore forming Streptomyces, belong to the phylum actinobacteria. Mycobacteria are generally believed to be non-differentiating. Recently however, we showed that the mycobacterial model organism M. smegmatis is capable of forming different types of morphologically distinct resting cells. When subjected to starvation conditions, cells of M. smegmatis exit from the canonical cell division cycle, segregate and compact their chromosomes, and become septated and multi-nucleoided. Under zero nutrient conditions the differentiation process terminates at this stage with the formation of Large Resting Cells (LARCs). In the presence of traces of carbon sources this multi-nucleoided cell stage completes cell division and separates into Small Resting Cells (SMRCs). Here, we carried out RNA-seq profiling of SMRC and LARC development to characterize the transcriptional program underlying these starvation-induced differentiation processes. Results Changes among the top modulated genes demonstrated that SMRCs and LARCs undergo similar transcriptional changes. The formation of multi-nucleoided cells (i.e. LARCs and the LARC-like intermediates observed during SMRC formation) was accompanied by upregulation of septum formation functions FtsZ, FtsW, and PbpB, as well as the DNA translocase FtsK. The observed compaction of chromosomes was accompanied by an increase of the transcript level of the DNA binding protein Hlp, an orthologue of the Streptomyces spore-specific chromosome condensation protein HupS. Both SMRC and LARC development were accompanied by similar temporal expression patterns of candidate regulators, including the transcription factors WhiB2, WhiB3, and WhiB4, which are orthologues of the Streptomyces sporulation regulators WhiB, WhiD and WblA, respectively. Conclusions Transcriptional analyses of the development of mycobacterial resting cell types suggest that these bacteria harbor a novel differentiation program and identify a series of potential regulators. This provides the basis for the genetic dissection of this actinobacterial differentiation process. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3190-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The objective of this study was to determine the optimum floor space allocation to maximize the immune response and growth performance of weaning pigs. 180 crossbred (6.02 ± 0.55 kg) were subjected to a 28-day feeding trial (3 pens/treatment) in which the effects of the following four space allocation were compared: S0.43 (0.43 m 2 /pig; 10 pigs/pen), S0.30 (0.30 m 2 /pig; 14 pigs/pen), S0.27 (0.27 m 2 /pig; 16 pigs/pen) and S0.21 (0.21 m 2 /pig; 20 pigs/pen). Linear effect of space allocation on body weight (BW) at day 14 ( P 0.01) and day 28 ( P P 0.05) during the first 14 days after weaning. Within 28 days of experiment, there was a linear decrease in ADG ( P k , were 0.073, 0.052, 0.047, and 0.038 each corresponding to the space allocation of 0.43, 0.30, 0.27, and 0.21 m 2 /pig, respectively. There was a linear increase in the concentration of serum IL-1β and cortisol on day 28 ( P 2 /pig. The concentration of serum TNF-α was not affected by space allocation. However, the concentration of serum TNF-α was numerically lower in the S0.30 group than in the other groups. Serum IgA and IgG were not influenced by space allocation of the weaning pigs. The linear response to decreasing space allocation from 0.43 to 0.21 m 2 /pig suggests that the space allocation for maximizing growth performance and immune response of weaning pigs until 15 kg BW is between 0.30 and 0.43 m 2 /pig. These results indicate that stress caused by reduced space allocation may disrupt the cellular immune system in piglets and stimulate the releases of cortisol.

A 57-year-old right-handed man presented with speech disturbance 1 day prior to his admission. The standardized aphasia test batteries showed transcortical sensory aphasia. MRI revealed a left frontal and insular infarct. Positron emission tomography scans also revealed a glucose hypometabolism in the same region as the infarcted area on MRI. Repeated aphasia testing showed that his aphasia only partially improved.

The current study was undertaken to determine the effect of various conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomerson differentiation of pig preadipocyte during culture. Preadipocyte(stroma-vascular cell) was isolated from thebackfat of newborn pigs and cultured to differentiate into mature fat cell. Different doses of CLA isomers weretreated to the culture media at different times. Cell diffe rentiation was determined by measuring the glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity of the cultured preadipocytes. Twenty and fifty M ofμ trans 10- cis 12 iso-mer of CLA inhibited differentiation of pig preadipocyte whereas cis 9- cis 11 isomer stimulated thedifferentiation. Both cis 9- trans 11 and trans 9- trans 11 isomers showed no effect. Effect of CLA isomer wasmore evident at the early stage of culture(day 0-8), than the late stage(day 8-14). These results suggest thateach CLA isomer has different effect on pig preadipocyte differentiation. ( Key words :CLA,Pig,Preadipocyte, Differentiation)Corresponding author : Dr. Chung Soo Chung, Department of Animal Science, Chungbuk National University,Cheongju, Chungbuk 361-769, Republic of Korea, Phone : 82-43-261-2549, E-mail :chungpig@hotmail.com

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) in the solid solution state with post-ECAP low-temperature aging treatment was found to be quite effective in enhancing the mechanical properties of 2024 Al alloy. Yield stress (YS) as high as 630 MPa could be achieved. Moreover, the ductility of ECAPed alloy was improved after the aging treatment.

본 연구는 시판 비육후기용 사료와 볏짚을 급여한 관행적 비육후기 사료급여형태(대조구)와 특정 비육농가에서 급여하고 있는 섬유질배합사료의 단독급여 효과를 비교하기 위해 증체량, 사료효율, 도체등급 등을 조사하였고(시험 1), 결과 해석을 위해 시험 2에서 반추위 발효성상에 미치는 영향과 소화율을 조사하였다. 비육후기의 섬유질배합사료 사료의 급여효과 시험에서는 섬유질배합사료의 건물 사료섭취량이 1일 7.4kg으로 대조구와 차이가 없었고, 일당 증체량에서는 718ｇ으로 대조구 775ｇ보다 낮았으나 유의성은 없었다. 1kg 증체에 필요한 사료요구량에서는 섬유질배합사료구가 10.5kg으로 대조구보다 약 0.8kg 더 높았다. 대조구의 Ａ등급 출현율은 22%였으나, 섬유질배합사료구는 33%로 섬유질배합사료구의 A등급 출현율이 높았고, 육질 등급에서도 1등급 출현율이 대조구와 섬유질배합사료구에서 각각 56%와 75%로 섬유질배합사료구가 현저히 높았다. 섬유질배합사료 사료의 건물을 비롯한 조단백, 조지방, 그리고 총에너지의 전장소화율은 대조구와 비교하여 약 1.2-1.6배 더 유의적으로 높았던 것으로 나타났다. 반추위 내의 pH 변화는 섬유질배합사료구가 배합사료를 급여한 관행구보다 높은 pH 6.0이상에서 비교적 안정적으로 유지되었다. 반추위내 NH3-N 농도는 섬유질배합사료구가 사료급여 후 8시간 후까지 높은 수준에서 유지되었고, 특히 사료급여 2시간 후 까지 대조구의 2배에 이르는 28.2mg/ $d\ell$ 까지 급격히 증가하였다(P 【This experiment was carried out to compare the effects of feeding commercial formula feed and rice straw separately (control) versus a total mixed ration (TMR) on productivity of Hanwoo steers in late stage of fattening and on ruminal fermentation characteristics and digestibilities. Ruminal digesta from the cannulated cattle were sampled at 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 hour after feeding. The steers fed TMR consumed 7.4kg per day and there was no difference between feeding systems. Daily weight gain was not significantly (P>0.05) between feeding systems, however, TMR group showed lower daily gain than control group. The amount of feed consumption per kg weight gain was higher in TMR group than control group (10.5kg and 9.7kg, respectively), resulting in a greater efficiency of feed utilization for gain. In the result of appearance rates of quality grade A were 33% higher for TMR group than those in control group. Appearance rates of grade 1 showed 56% and 75% when fed the control and TMR, respectively. Digestibilities of dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber and gross energy for TMR treatment were significantly higher (P $d\ell$ during 1-2 hour which was two times (P】

The experiment was conducted to evaluate a ventilation system, which was devised to encourage farmers to use the enclosed poultry housing system. The study was observed in the National Livestock Research Institute from May 9 to May 30 in 2002. The main results of the experiment are as follows: 1. Although the outside temperature of the enclosed poultry house was 9.6 21.2 with 11.6 variation, the house with an excellent heat insulation was maintained at 3233 in a variation of 2 which is within the range of the optimal temperature for broiler, being aided with two small electric heaters. 2. The average of air flow rates of the upper, middle and low parts of the room in the broiler house were detected at 0.57, 0.22 and 0.04 m/sec, respectively. The air flow in the whole room was distibuted uniformly by a perforated duct. In conclusion, heat and humidity could be controlled without any problem in this enclosed housing system. Especially, air flow in all parts of the room was detected in uniform rates, resulting in the better ventilation performance with air inhalation through the duct and air exhaust through the side walls of the house.

The aim of this study was to investigate the origin of globus pharyngis with particular reference to esophageal disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), motility disorders, structural abnormalities, other gastrointestinal tract diseases, and psychological profile. Previous studies on this subject using 24-hour pH monitoring give conflicting results and are hampered by the high background prevalence of asymptomatic GERD in the normal Western population. The local Chinese population is known to have a very low background level of GERD and therefore is an ideal study population. Twenty-six patients with globus pharyngis underwent 24-hour ambulatory pH monitoring, esophageal manometry, and esophagogas-troduodenoscopy with lower esophageal biopsy. A control group of 20 patients presenting with non-ulcer dyspepsia was similarly investigated. Personality profiles of the globus pharyngis subjects and an appropriate control group were assessed. Eight of the globus pharyngis group (30.7%) had evidence of GERD, whereas only one of the controls (5%) demonstrated GERD on 24-hour esophageal pH monitoring (P < 0.05). The manometric and personality profile studies did not show significant differences between study and control groups. We concluded that the finding of GERD in patients with globus pharyngis is not a coincidental finding but that there is a true association between GERD and globus pharyngis.

When the diffraction pattern of the focused laser beam of the read-out system falls on the plane surface between the pits (or bumps), substantially all the light is reflected back to pass through the focusing objective. When it falls on a bump (or pit), phase differences are imparted to the light in the diffraction pattern, and some of the light returning from the disc is diffracted to pass outside the focusing objective; it is this reduction in the light returning through the objective that constitutes the read-out signal. The strength of this signal depends on the height profile of the bump or pit which (because of the photoresist process) will show more or less ‘rounding’ of the edges.

The recent introduction of laparoscopy into the armamentarium of the general surgeon has revolutionized many aspects of surgical practice. The repair of perforated peptic ulceration is ideally suited to a laparoscopic approach. An accurate diagnosis is obtained, and closure of the perforation with thorough peritoneal toilet safely can be undertaken. The main advantages include the avoidance of a major incision and the reduction of postoperative pain. This may benefit the patient with associated respiratory disease in particular. Although mobilization may be improved, early discharge from the hospital is unlikely because the patient must recover from the peritonitis and associated ileus. The main drawback is a longer operating time caused by technical difficulty with laparoscopic suturing. Many innovative techniques have been described to simplify the procedure. The reported experience with laparoscopic repair of perforated peptic ulcers is encouraging, and randomized trials comparing it with open surgery are eagerly awaited.

This research assessed the importance of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor mutation in the ability of apigenin to induce cell cycle arrest using HT29-APC cells, which contain inducible wild-type APC under the metallothionein promoter. HT29-GAL cells, containing beta-galactosidase (GAL), were included as control. Treatment with apigenin (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 microM) for 48 h resulted in reduction in the cell number (P < 0.05) concurrent with flow cytometry results showing a dose-dependent accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase in both HT29-APC and HT29-GAL cells without ZnCl(2) treatment. Flow cytometric analysis showed an increase (P < 0.05) in the percentage of cells in G2/M when HT29-APC cells were treated with 80 microM apigenin for 120 h. This increase was not present in HT29-APC cells when treated with both 80 microM apigenin and 100 microM ZnCl(2) for 120 h. Western blot analysis verified the induction of APC protein expression in ZnCl(2)-treated HT29-APC cells but not in ZnCl(2)-treated HT29-GAL cells. Apigenin plus ZnCl(2) treatment increased the expression of APC protein in HT29-APC cells by 50 fold above expression observed with ZnCl(2) alone. Upon induction of the APC gene with ZnCl(2) in HT29-APC cells, the percentage of apoptotic cells increased significantly (P < 0.05) after 120-h treatment. Additionally, apigenin treatment (80 microM) further increased the percentage of apopototic HT29-APC following ZnCl(2) treatment to induce wild-type APC expression. These results suggest that APC dysfunction may be critical for apigenin to induce cell cycle arrest in human colon cancer cell lines and furthermore, apigenin enhances APC expression and apoptosis in cells with wild-type APC.

We present a method of momentum measurement of charged particles using emulsion data from the DONuT experiment, and report results from the momentum analysis of secondary particles from neutrino interactions. In 578 neutrino interactions, 2338 secondary particles were analyzed and 83.2% of attempted particles were measured by multiple coulomb scattering. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dimethylpolysiloxane (DMPS), used as a second phase in a suspension culture of Polygonum tinctorium, increased indirubin production by up to 259% and 16% in shake flask and air-lift bioreactors, respectively. In the shake flask culture, indirubin production increased by up to 248 mg/l using 90% v/v DMPS (volume of DMPS/volume of medium). In an air-lift bioreactor culture grown at a perfusion rate of 0.05 day−1 the indirubin concentration reached a maximum of 130 mg/l using 50% (v/v) DMPS. For the same DMPS content, the lower indirubin production in an air-lift bioreactor was probably due to the mass transfer limitation of indirubin between the two phases. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998

The Yellow Sea is one of the marginal seas of the Northwest Pacific receiving large amounts of material from the continent via rivers and atmosphere. In order to understand the sources and present levels of key artificial radionuclides ( 90 Sr, 137 C and 239+240 Pu) in the Yellow Sea, the processes affecting their distribution in the water column and their burial in the sea floor, their concentrations were determined in seawater and bottom sediment samples collected from the Yellow Sea during 1994–2000, and from the East China Sea and the tropical Northwest Pacific during 1993 and 1994. The atmospheric and riverine inputs were also assessed at the mid-eastern coast of the Yellow Sea. The atmospheric deposition of radionuclides appears to be dominated by the long-range transport from the arid regions of the Asian continent with the highest values during the spring Asian dust storms and lowest in the summer wet monsoon period. The dry atmospheric deposition flux appeared to be particularly important for 239+240 Pu. Riverine fluxes of radionuclides dominated the total input due to the sheer size of the riverine water and sediment fluxes into the sea. The river input was seen in their distribution in the surface of the sea, particularly for 90 Sr in winter. In summer, the water column stratification segregates these radionuclides vertically, so they are depleted in the surface layer and enriched in the bottom layer. The half-removal rate for 90 Sr and 137 Cs was estimated to be 7 years. The levels of radionuclides in the Yellow Sea were higher than in the adjacent seas, and significant amounts of them have been exported from the Yellow Sea to the adjacent seas.

The experimental apparatus used for the first direct observation of the tau neutrino (the DONUT experiment) is described. Its main features consisted of a target system composed of nuclear emulsion targets and scintillation fiber trackers, a magnetic charged-particle spectrometer and detectors for lepton identification. This paper will concentrate on the description of the electronic detectors and their performance in selecting neutrino interactions, making the vertex predictions necessary for locating events in the emulsion target and lepton identification. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Presents a generalized parallel structure fuzzy system (PSFS2) for prediction of chaotic time series like sunspot number data. The PSFS2 consists of a multiple number of component fuzzy systems connected in parallel. Each component fuzzy system in the PSFS2 predicts future data independently based on its past time series data with different embedding dimension and time delay. An embedded dimension determines the number of inputs of each component fuzzy system and a time delay decides the interval of inputs of the time series. According to the embedding dimension and the time delay, the component fuzzy system takes various input output pairs. The PSFS determines the final predicted value as an average of all the outputs of the component fuzzy systems in order to reduce the error accumulation effect.

We determine the efficacy of conventional dose, external beam radiation for localized prostate cancer using cohort analysis with maximized followup.A total of 205 men with T1-2 prostate cancer were treated with conventional external beam radiation to a median and modal dose of 68.4 Gy during a 16-month period from 1991 to 1993. Followup was maximized in these patients, and median followup for those alive with or without disease was 114 months.Median patient age at treatment was 72 years, and overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 78% and 53%, respectively. The actuarial risk of local failure was 18% at 10 years as was the risk of metastatic disease. The actuarial risk of being free of biochemical failure at 10 years (American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology definition) was 49%. That risk was 42% if the definition was used without backdating failure to a time between last low value and first increase. When a crude analysis of 10-year outcome was performed 127 of the 205 treated patients (62%) were still alive, including 59% with no evidence of biochemical failure and a median prostate specific antigen of 1.0 ng/ml. Of the 78 men (38% of total) who died during the 10 years 32 died either of or with recurrent cancer.Mature followup minimizes many of the biases seen in previously published radiation series. This study provides a yardstick against which newer radiation modalities may be measured.

239+240Pu concentrations and 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios in coastal seas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula were determined, during the period 1999 to 2002, to assess the current distribution and to identify sources of Pu isotopes. 239+240Pu concentrations in surface waters ranged from 3.1 to 22.3 mBq m(-3) with higher concentrations in winter than in summer. 239+240Pu concentrations in seawaters around the Korean Peninsula are greater than that in the western North Pacific. 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios ranged from 0.18 to 0.33 with an average value of 0.25+/-0.03, which is significantly higher than the global fallout average. The 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios of the 2000 m deep entire water column in the south western part of the East Sea (Sea of Japan) was comparable to that observed in waters near Bikini Atoll. The higher 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios than that of global fallout may be explained by the hypothesis that the earlier input signal of low 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio (0.18-0.19) of global fallout plutonium in seas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula is being gradually diluted by the high 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio plutonium transported from the tropical Pacific Proving Grounds via prevailing ocean current.

Purpose To estimate the biases inherent in prostate cancer outcome that arise from different failure end points and variations in follow-up time and intensity using a cohort of men with long follow-up. Methods and materials The study cohort consisted of 205 men with T1–T2N0-Nx prostate cancer treated with conventional radiotherapy between 1991 and 1993. The median follow-up was 103 months. Outcome was assessed using different definitions of biochemical failure, including the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) consensus criteria and the "nadir plus two" criteria (any rise of 2 ng/mL greater than the current nadir). Patient subgroups were created according to where patients had received their last 2 years of follow-up. Patients were also stratified according to whether they were initially present in the departmental database (under regular surveillance) or were uncovered after more vigorous investigation (previously "lost to follow-up"). Results In this series with maximized follow-up, the 10-year biochemical disease-free survival rate did not change significantly with varying definitions of failure, 49% and 45% for ASTRO and "nadir plus two" criteria, respectively. Patients followed by outside physicians ( n = 99) were faring better at 10 years than those followed at the treating institution by either their radiation oncologist ( n = 50) or their medical oncologist or urologist ( n = 52). This was by all measures of outcome, including overall survival, and metastasis-free survival. Patients previously lost to follow-up ( n = 43) who were tracked down also appeared to be doing better than those on our database for whom information had been readily available ( n = 161). This, however, may have been an artifact of the ASTRO criteria, which underestimates failure when insufficient prostate-specific antigen values are available. Conclusion The ASTRO definition of failure underestimates late failure. This bias may be compensated for by the use of cohorts with long follow-up or the use of the "nadir plus two" definition of failure. The use of institutional prostate cancer databases may overestimate failure rates because patients followed outside of the treating institution fared better with respect to both survival and biochemical recurrence. Vigorous attempts to obtain follow-up beyond the hospital walls may correct this bias.

The DONUT experiment used an emulsion/counter-hybrid-detector, which succeeded in detecting tau-neutrino charged-current interactions. A new method of emulsion analysis, NETSCAN, was used to locate neutrino events and detect tau decays. It is based on a fully automated emulsion readout system (Ultra Track Selector) developed at Nagoya University. The achieved plate-to-plate alignment accuracy of ∼0.2 μm over an area of 2.6 mm×2.6 mm permitted an efficient and systematic tau decay search using emulsion data. Moreover, this accuracy allowed measurement of particle momenta by multiple Coulomb scattering, and contributed to the efficient background rejection for the ν τ candidates. This paper describes details of our emulsion analysis methods. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Using a neutrino beam in which a ν τ component was identified for the first time, the ν τ magnetic moment was measured based on a search for an anomalous increase in the number of neutrino-electron interactions. One such event was observed when 2.3 were expected from background processes, giving an upper 90% confidence limit on μ ντ of 3.9 × 10 -7μ B. ©2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

The DONUT experiment has analyzed 203 neutrino interactions recorded in nuclear emulsion targets. A decay search has found evidence of four tau neutrino interactions with an estimated background of 0.34 events. This number is consistent with the Standard Model expectation. © 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

The developmental expression of the individual components of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system in pigs was examined. Serum IGF-I and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels were low during fetal life and increased during postnatal development. Levels of mRNAs encoding these proteins were not greater for liver than for nonhepatic tissues (skeletal muscle, lung, kidney) and did not increase during the postnatal period, whereas hepatic growth hormone (GH) receptor mRNA expression was increased postnatally. Serum IGF-II levels exceeded IGF-I levels at all developmental stages examined and both exhibited postnatal increases. IGF-II mRNA abundance, in contrast, was high in the fetal tissues with the exception of lung and declined during the perinatal transition. Hepatic IGFBP-2 mRNA and serum IGFBP-2 levels increased during the latter half of gestation and then declined postnatally. The levels in muscle and liver of type I IGF receptors and the corresponding mRNAs also exhibited postnatal decreases. The discordance of changes in hepatic IGF-I and IGF-II mRNA abundance with serum IGF levels during the postnatal period does not support the concept that liver is the primary endocrine source of IGFs in the young pig. The postnatal increases in serum IGF levels may reflect decreased plasma clearance rates of these peptides which may be related to the transition in IGFBP type from IGFBP-2 to IGFBP-3 in blood and the reduced tissue expression of IGF receptors.

Objective: To examine the ability of diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) to detect ongoing cerebral ischemia in patients with vascular dementia (VaD). Background: VaD due to small-vessel disease results from the cumulative impact of recurrent cerebral ischemia. Cerebral ischemia may produce clinical manifestations, producing the “stepwise” decline characteristic of VaD. Conventional MRI can detect small regions of ischemic damage but cannot determine when injury developed. In contrast, DWI shows sensitivity in detecting ischemia of recent onset. Design/Methods: Patients with VaD (n = 30) underwent DWI in addition to standard MRI sequences. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of new focal deficits or mental change within 10 days before MRI. In 10 patients of positive group, symptomatic neurologic decline occurred an average of 4.2 days before the imaging procedure. Results: Seven (70%) of 10 patients with a recent neurologic event showed 15 new regions of signal abnormality on DWI. The anatomic distribution of signal change could account for the patients’ new symptoms or signs in all but one patient. Similar signal abnormality was detected in 4 (20%) of 20 patients without a recent neurologic event. New foci of altered signal intensity were distinguishable from prior injuries only with DWI. No significant difference was found between patients with and without DWI abnormalities in gender, age, Mini-Mental State Examination score, Hachinski Ischemic Score, vascular risk factors, or severity of increased signal on T 2 -weighted MRI scans. Conclusion: Small foci of abnormal signal on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), presumably representing recent small infarcts, occur often in vascular dementia (VaD) from small-vessel disease, even in patients without a recent “stepwise decline.” The results suggest that DWI might be used to monitor VaD progression in future observational and interventional studies of this disorder.

Objectives: To study the behavioral and neuroanatomic characteristics of perseverative behavior encountered on a target cancellation task in patients with neglect.Methods: Motor perseverative behavior during line cancellation task was evaluated retrospectively in 60 patients with left hemispatial neglect from right hemispheric stroke.Results: More than 30% of the patients (21 of 60) showed perseveration, manifested as either repetitive cancellation of the same target (18/21) or cancelling extra lines created by the patients themselves (3/21). Neglect severity correlated positively with the frequency of perseverative errors. Perseveration was most prominent in the rightmost portion of the array. Anterior lesions or massive lesions involving anterior and posterior regions were more likely to be associated with motor perseveration than were lesions restricted to posterior areas.Conclusions: Although the mechanism of motor perseveration remains to be elucidated, our findings suggest that the combination of aberrant approach behaviors associated with frontal lobe injury and an attentional or intentional bias toward the rightsided targets might explain the behavior.