3,267 research outputs found
Transcaruncular Medial Wall Orbital Decompression: An Effective Approach for Patients with Unilateral Graves Ophthalmopathy
Purpose. To evaluate the reduction in proptosis, incidence of postoperative diplopia, and postoperative globe symmetry after transcaruncular medial wall decompression in patients with unilateral Graves ophthalmopathy. Methods. Retrospective review of 16 consecutive patients who underwent unilateral transcaruncular medial wall orbital decompression from 1995 to 2007. The diagnosis of Graves ophthalmopathy was based on history and clinical findings including proptosis, lagophthalmos, lid retraction, motility restriction, and systemic thyroid dysfunction. Results. The mean reduction in proptosis was 2.3âmm. The mean difference in exophthalmometry preoperatively between the two eyes in each patient was 3.1âmm whereas postoperatively the mean difference was 1.1âmm (P = 0.0002). Eleven of 16 patients (69%) had 1âmm or less of asymmetry postoperatively. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of diplopia pre and postoperatively (P = 1.0). Conclusions. Medial wall orbital decompression is a safe and practical surgical approach for patients with unilateral Graves orbitopathy. The procedure carries a low risk of morbidity and yields anatomic retrusion of the globe that is comparable to other more invasive methods and may yield more symmetric postoperative results
Conjoint Analysis of Breaded Catfish Nuggets: Consumer Preferences for Price, Product Color, Cooking Method and Country of Origin
A new product, marinated, breaded catfish nuggets, was developed. This conjoint study was designed to evaluate consumersâ preferences for certain attributes of the nuggets. An in-store survey was conducted to collect data. The data collected will be used to determine the market potential for the catfish nuggets.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
Thioxoethenylidene (CCS) as a bridging ligand
The reaction of [Mo(âĄCBr)(CO)2(Tp*)] (Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)borate) with [Fe2(ÎŒ-SLi)2(CO)6] affords, inter alia, the unsymmetrical binuclear thioxoethenylidene complex [Mo2(ÎŒ,Ï(C):η2(CâČS)-CCS)(CO)4(Tp*)2], which may be more directly obtained from [Mo(âĄCBr)(CO)2(Tp*)] and Li2S. The reaction presumably proceeds via the intermediacy of the bis(alkylidynyl)thioether complex S{CâĄMo(CO)2(Tp*)}2, which was, however, not directly observed but explored computationally and found to lie 78.6 kJ molâ1 higher in energy than the final thioxoethenylidene product. Computational interrogation of the molecules [M2(ÎŒ-C2S)(CO)2(Tp*)2] (M = Mo, W, Re, Os) reveals three plausible coordination modes for a thioxoethenylidene bridge which involve a progressive strengthening of the CâC bond and weakening of the MâC and MâS bonds, as might be expected from simple effective atomic number considerations.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (DP130102598 and DP110101611)
The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope: Instrument and Data Characteristics
The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) was flown as part of the Astro
observatory on the Space Shuttle Columbia in December 1990 and again on the
Space Shuttle Endeavor in March 1995. Ultraviolet (1200-3300 Angstroms) images
of a variety of astronomical objects, with a 40 arcmin field of view and a
resolution of about 3 arcsec, were recorded on photographic film. The data
recorded during the first flight are available to the astronomical community
through the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC); the data recorded
during the second flight will soon be available as well. This paper discusses
in detail the design, operation, data reduction, and calibration of UIT,
providing the user of the data with information for understanding and using the
data. It also provides guidelines for analyzing other astronomical imagery made
with image intensifiers and photographic film.Comment: 44 pages, LaTeX, AAS preprint style and EPSF macros, accepted by PAS
Corticosterone Acts in the Nucleus Accumbens to Enhance Dopamine Signaling and Potentiate Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking
Stressful life events are important contributors to relapse in recovering cocaine addicts, but the mechanisms by which they influence motivational systems are poorly understood. Studies suggest that stress may âset the stageâ for relapse by increasing the sensitivity of brain reward circuits to drug-associated stimuli. We examined the effects of stress and corticosterone on behavioral and neurochemical responses of rats to a cocaine prime after cocaine self-administration and extinction. Exposure of rats to acute electric footshock stress did not by itself reinstate drug-seeking behavior but potentiated reinstatement in response to a subthreshold dose of cocaine. This effect of stress was not observed in adrenalectomized animals, and was reproduced in nonstressed animals by administration of corticosterone at a dose that reproduced stress-induced plasma levels. Pretreatment with the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486 did not block the corticosterone effect. Corticosterone potentiated cocaine-induced increases in extracellular dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and pharmacological blockade of NAc dopamine receptors blocked corticosterone-induced potentiation of reinstatement. Intra-accumbens administration of corticosterone reproduced the behavioral effects of stress and systemic corticosterone. Corticosterone treatment acutely decreased NAc dopamine clearance measured by fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, suggesting that inhibition of uptake2-mediated dopamine clearance may underlie corticosterone effects. Consistent with this hypothesis, intra-accumbens administration of the uptake2 inhibitor normetanephrine potentiated cocaine-induced reinstatement. Expression of organic cation transporter 3, a corticosterone-sensitive uptake2 transporter, was detected on NAc neurons. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which stress hormones can rapidly regulate dopamine signaling and contribute to the impact of stress on drug intake
Study of an Alternate Mechanism for the Origin of Fermion Generations
In usual extended technicolor (ETC) theories based on the group
, the quarks of charge 2/3 and -1/3 and the charged
leptons of all generations arise from ETC fermion multiplets transforming
according to the fundamental representation. Here we investigate a different
idea for the origin of SM fermion generations, in which quarks and charged
leptons of different generations arise from ETC fermions transforming according
to different representations of . Although this
mechanism would have the potential, {\it a priori}, to allow a reduction in the
value of relative to conventional ETC models, we show that, at least
in simple models, it is excluded by the fact that the technicolor sector is not
asymptotically free or by the appearance of fermions with exotic quantum
numbers which are not observed.Comment: 6 pages, late
Pion and Eta Strings
In this paper we construct a string-like classical solution, the pion-string,
in the linear sigma model. We then study the stability of the pion-string, and
find that it is unstable in the parameter space allowed experimentally. We also
speculate on the existance of an unstable eta-string, associated with
spontaneous breakdown of the anomalous symmetry in QCD at high
temperatures. The implications of the pion and eta strings for cosmology and
heavy ion collisions are briefly mentioned.Comment: 5 pages, LATE
UIT Astro-2 Observations of NGC 4449
The bright Magellanic irregular galaxy NGC 4449 was observed by the
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) during the Astro-2 Spacelab mission in
March, 1995. Far ultraviolet (FUV) images at a spatial resolution of ~3 arcsec
show bright star-forming knots that are consistent with the general optical
morphology of the galaxy and are often coincident with bright H II regions.
Comparison of FUV with H-alpha shows that in a few regions, sequential star
formation may have occurred over the last few Myr. The bright star forming
complexes in NGC 4449 are superposed on a smooth, diffuse FUV background that
may be associated with the H-alpha "froth."Comment: 4 pages, Latex with AIP proceedings macros, 2 EPS figures. To appear
in proceedings of U. Maryland October Astrophysics Conf., 1996, AIP pu
Synthetic High-Resolution Line Spectra of Star-Forming Galaxies Below 1200A
We have generated a set of far-ultraviolet stellar libraries using spectra of
OB and Wolf-Rayet stars in the Galaxy and the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud.
The spectra were collected with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer and
cover a wavelength range from 1003.1 to 1182.7A at a resolution of 0.127A. The
libraries extend from the earliest O- to late-O and early-B stars for the
Magellanic Cloud and Galactic libraries, respectively. Attention is paid to the
complex blending of stellar and interstellar lines, which can be significant,
especially in models using Galactic stars. The most severe contamination is due
to molecular hydrogen. Using a simple model for the H line strength, we
were able to remove the molecular hydrogen lines in a subset of Magellanic
Cloud stars. Variations of the photospheric and wind features of CIII 1176, OVI
1032, 1038, PV 1118, 1128, and SIV 1063, 1073, 1074 are discussed as a function
of temperature and luminosity class. The spectral libraries were implemented
into the LavalSB and Starburst99 packages and used to compute a standard set of
synthetic spectra of star-forming galaxies. Representative spectra are
presented for various initial mass functions and star formation histories. The
valid parameter space is confined to the youngest ages of less than 10 Myr for
an instantaneous burst, prior to the age when incompleteness of spectral types
in the libraries sets in. For a continuous burst at solar metallicity, the
parameter space is not limited. The suite of models is useful for interpreting
the restframe far-ultraviolet in local and high-redshift galaxies.Comment: 33 pages including 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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