cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Between tradition and change: A review of recent research on online news production

Online news media have become a key part of social, economic, and cultural life in many societies. Research about these media has grown dramatically, especially in the past few years, but there have been few reviews of this research and none of the most recent scholarship. This article reviews scholarship on online news production published since 2000. It examines research on fikey topics: historical context and market environment, the process of innovation, alterations in journalistic practices, challenges to established professional dynamics, and the role of user-generated content. A tension between tradition and change emerges from this discussion and is evident at two levels. First, the world of practice seems to straddle the re-enactment of established forms and tinkering with alternative pathways. Second, the modes of inquiry oscillate between using existing concepts to look at new phenomena and taking advantage of these phenomena to rethink these concepts and come up with new ones. The article concludes by identifying shortcomings in the existing scholarship and suggesting avenues for future studies to overcome them. It suggests how scholarship on online news production could contribute to rethinking some of the fundamental building blocks of understanding communication and society in the contemporary media environment.
Loss in heterostructure waveguide bends formed on a patterned substrate

An experimental comparison is made of the loss of Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As heterostructure waveguide routing geometries at approximately 860 nm that were patterned by two methods: Zn-impurity-induced layer disordering and native growth on a patterned substrate. Two multimode geometries were investigated: a raised cosine s-bend and a modified abrupt bend as described by T. Shiina et al. (Opt. Lett., vol.11, p.736-8, 1986). The measured transition distance for 3-dB loss was approximately 300 mu m for 100- mu m offset guides in the s-bend geometry for the patterned substrate samples using wet and dry etching methods. For the so-called Shiina bend, the measured angle corresponding to the 3-dB loss was about 13 degrees for both etching methods. >
10 years after baby-friendly designation: breastfeeding rates continue to increase in a US neonatal intensive care unit.

Background:Mothers of preterm and sick infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) often encounter more difficulties with breastfeeding than mothers of healthy term newborns. The ex...
A robotic end-effector for grasping postal sacks

This article describes a new class of end-effectors that can be used with robotic and material handling devices for grabbing and holding deformable objects with undefined shapes such as sacks and bags. These end-effectors can grab and hold filled sacks from any point on the sack and regardless of the sack orientation and position. The first prototype end-effector, designed for U.S. Postal Service, has two rollers. The rollers are pushed toward each other by the force of a spring. When the rollers are powered to spin, the inward spinning of the rollers causes the sack material to be dragged in between the rollers due to the friction between the surfaces of the rollers and the sack material. The spring pushes the rollers toward each other with sufficient force to hold the sack material in place between the rollers. The end-effector described here has been evaluated and proven to be effective in grabbing and holding postal sacks.
Biphasic anaphylactic reactions in pediatrics

Objectives. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the incidence of biphasic reactions in children with anaphylaxis; 2) establish what risk factors can predict progression to a biphasic reaction; and 3) assess the utility of inpatient observation for patients whose anaphylaxis appears to have resolved. Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of all children admitted to Children9s Hospital inpatient service between 1985 and 1999 with acute anaphylaxis. Data were collected from the medical records regarding past medical history, presenting signs and symptoms, treatment, and hospital course. Patients were considered to have resolution of anaphylaxis if they were documented to have cessation of all symptoms and needed no therapy for at least 1 hour. Biphasic reactions were defined as a worsening of symptoms requiring new therapy after resolution of anaphylaxis. Significant biphasic reactions were defined as those requiring oxygen, vasopressors, intubation, subcutaneous epinephrine, or unscheduled bronchodilator treatments. Patients were considered to benefit from a 24-hour observation period if they had a significant biphasic reaction within 24 hours of admission. Results. Of 108 anaphylactic episodes, 2 (2%) were fatal, and 1 (1%) was a protracted anaphylactic reaction. Among the remaining 105 children with resolution of anaphylaxis, 6 (6%) [95% confidence (CI): 2, 12] had biphasic reactions, of which 3 (3%) [95% CI: .6, 8] were significant. Of those who had a biphasic reactions, the median time from the onset of symptoms to the initial administration of subcutaneous epinephrine was 190 minutes, versus 48 minutes for those without a biphasic reaction. Patients with or without biphasic reactions did not differ significantly in the incidence of initial epinephrine use, initial steroid use, or serious respiratory or cardiovascular symptoms on initial presentation. Two of 105 (2%) [95% CI: .2, 7] patients clinically benefitted from a 24-hour observation period. Conclusions. We found an overall incidence of biphasic reactions of 6%, and an incidence of significant biphasic reactions of 3%, among pediatric patients admitted with anaphylaxis. Delayed administration of subcutaneous epinephrine was associated with an increased incidence of biphasic reactions. Approximately 2% of patients with anaphylaxis potentially benefitted from a 24-hour period of observation after symptoms had resolved.
Increasing the Efficiency of Data Storage and Analysis Using Indexed Compression

The massive data sets produced by the high- throughput, multidimensional mass spectrometry instruments used in proteomics create challenges in data acquisition, storage and analysis. Data compression can help mitigate some of these problems but at the cost of less efficient data access, which directly impacts the computational time of data analysis. We have developed a compression methodology that 1) is optimized for a targeted mass spectrometry proteomics data set and 2) provides the benefits of size and speed from compression while increasing analysis efficiency by allowing extraction of segments of uncompressed data from a file without having to uncompress the entire file. This paper describes our compression algorithm, presents comparative metrics of compression size and speed, and explores approaches for applying the algorithm to a generalized data set.
Modeling the effects of three‐dimensional vegetation structure on surface radiation and energy balance in boreal forests

[1] Radiation and turbulent energy exchange between vegetation and the atmosphere is an important component of land surface-atmosphere interaction. Vegetation properties strongly influence this exchange. Commonly, two-stream models are used to compute net absorbed radiation and the partitioning of absorbed radiation between the vegetation canopy and substrate. Also, the roughness lengths for momentum and heat are often parameterized as simple functions of vegetation height. In this paper, we examine the influence of vegetation three-dimensional (3-D) structure on land surface radiation and energy balance over nonuniform forest canopies. To do this, parameterizations that account for the effects of canopy 3-D structure on radiation and turbulent energy exchange were implemented in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) land surface model (LSM) version 1.0. The NCAR LSM then was run offline for a time period encompassing both wet and dry soil moisture conditions using forcing data from the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). Radiation and energy balance within the vegetation canopy and at the soil surface were examined at diurnal timescales. Results show that the 3-D parameterizations increased net radiation absorbed by the soil surface and that this additional available energy was primarily dissipated through ground evaporation when soil moisture was not limiting. When the soil was dry, the available energy at the soil surface was mostly converted to sensible heat with relatively little change in the ground heat flux. In addition, modeled sensible heat from the vegetation canopy decreased, and relatively small changes in modeled canopy transpiration were observed. Comparisons of modeled heat fluxes using the 3-D parameterizations against observations show improvement over the original treatment included in the NCAR LSM, suggesting that careful treatment of vegetation properties is important to accurate modeling of flux quantities above and underneath the canopy in soil-vegetation-atmosphere-transfer (SVAT) models.
Effects of ozone on foliar nitrogen metabolism of Pinus taeda L. and implications for carbohydrate metabolism

summary Dose-response relationship of ozone effects on foliar nitrogen metabolism of two half-sib families of Pinus taeda L. was studied. Trees were exposed to six ozone concentrations, ranging from 0.2 to 3 times the ambient, for two consecutive growing seasons (1988 and 1989) in open-top chambers. Content of total chlorophyll, soluble protein and soluble amino acids, and activities of glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase, were measured in second-flush needles of 1989, harvested in November of 1989. Root collar diameter growth rate was also determined. Variation in depth to soil mottling, an indicator of changing redox conditions, significantly affected tree growth and nitrogen metabolism. Therefore depth to soil mottling was used as a covariate and dose-response curves were provided with adjusted means. A decline of root collar diameter growth rate and foliar chlorophyll content was found at the highest ozone level. However, both these parameters were affected much more by soil conditions than by ozone. Glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase and amino acids, especially glutamate and glutamine, increased by approx. 2-fold and 3-fold, respectively, at two and three times ambient ozone. However, soluble protein content was only affected at the highest ozone concentration, showing a 25-fold increase. Nitrogen metabolism was more influenced by ozone than by the variation in edaphic conditions. No consistent ozone × family interaction on nitrogen metabolism could be found, but the two half-sib families significantly differed in glutamate dehydrogenase activity and the contents of glutamate and glycine, indicating a regulatory function of this enzyme between nitrogen and carbon metabolism. The increase of amino-N turnover and the following rise in soluble protein content are explained by the strategy of the plant to reallocate the nutrients from needles subjected to accelerated senescence by ozone. Possible implications of this process in carbohydrate metabolism and carbon partitioning are discussed.
Dispositional and organizational influences on sustained volunteerism: An interactionist perspective.

Community service often involves sustained prosocial actions by individuals. This article focuses on one kind of such actions, volunteerism. Volunteerism involves long–term, planned, prosocial behaviors that benefit strangers, and usually occur in an organizational setting. A selective review of the literature on the correlates of volunteerism is presented. One part of the review concerns the relationship between dispositional variables and volunteerism; it includes new data from an on–line survey that show significant relationships among personality traits, religiosity, and volunteer activities. The other part concerns how organizational variables, alone and in combination with dispositional variables, are related to volunteerism. A theoretical model of the causes of sustained volunteerism is presented and the practical implications of this model are discussed.
Interference immune multi-hop relaying and efficient relay selection algorithm for arbitrarily large half-duplex Gaussian wireless networks

It has been a challenge to develop efficient algorithms for relay selection and relay power optimization in arbitrarily large multi-hop wireless networks. In this paper, considering Gaussian networks with half-duplex decode-and-forward relays, we develop a practical network-wide signal processing procedure with which the relay's data rate is not degraded by mutual interference. Multi-hop relaying is thus immune to mutual interference. Then, we develop an algorithm to find approximately the optimal hop count and the optimal relays for source-destination transmission rate maximization. With a quadratic complexity O(N2), where N is the network size, this algorithm is efficient for arbitrarily large wireless networks. More interestingly, this algorithm is similar to the well-known Dijkstra's algorithm of wired networks.
The value of children: Inter-generational support, fertility, and human capital

Abstract This paper offers robust empirical evidence of a Darwinian pro-natalist mechanism: parents can improve their old-age support with an additional child. Using the incidence of first-born twins as an instrument for fertility outcomes, I find that Chinese senior parents with more children receive more financial transfers and are more likely to co-reside with an adult child. They are also less likely to work past retirement age. The estimated effects are large, despite the evidence that adult children from larger families are less educated and earn significantly less. Interestingly, the effect of an increase in the number of children on old-age support does not depend on the child's gender.
Method for Minimal Design of Axisymmetric Plates

A method of minimum volume design for axisymmetric plates, exclusively based on statical considerations, is developed. The method uses a novel technique of stress variation by which a given stress of the plate is transformed into another stress. The volume variation resulting from this transformation is assessed for plates of sandwich construction obeying Tresca’s criterion. A reduction in volume indicates that the given stress does not lead to the minimum volume design, which is eventually determined by a short elimination process. The minimum volume designs of a class of sandwich axisymmetric plates not studied before are determined and some unknown aspects of the problem in cases previously studied are revealed.
Performance and complexity of color gamut scalable coding

Wide color gamut such as BT.2020 allows pictures to be rendered with sharper details and more vivid colors. It is considered an essential video parameter for next generation content generation, and has recently drawn significant commercial interest. As the upgrade cycle of content production work flow and consumer displays take place, current generation and next generation video content are expected to co-exist. Thus, maintaining backward compatibility becomes an important consideration for efficient content delivery systems. The scalable extension of HEVC (SHVC) was recently finalized in the second version of the HEVC specifications. SHVC provides a color mapping tool to improve scalable coding efficiency when the base layer and the enhancement layer video signals are in a different color gamut. The SHVC color mapping tool uses a 3D Look-Up Table (3D LUT) based cross-color linear model to efficiently convert the video in the base layer color gamut into the enhancement layer color gamut. Due to complexity concerns, certain limitations, including limiting the maximum 3D LUT size to 8x2x2, were applied to the color mapping process in SHVC. In this paper, we investigate the complexity and performance trade-off of the 3D LUT based color mapping process. Specifically, we explore the performance benefits of enlarging the size of the 3D LUT with various linear models. In order to reduce computational complexity, a simplified linear model is used within each 3D LUT partition. Simulation results are provided to detail the various performance vs. complexity trade-offs achievable in the proposed design.
The dynamism of the current global (and globalized) moments: implications for teachers, administrators, and other educational leaders

This article deals with the current conditions that have an impact upon teachers and their teaching. These global conditions are influenced by corporatist, corporativist, and neo-liberal forces, which are also discussed here. These global and increasingly globalizing trends make teaching difficult, even dangerous work, especially for the conscientious teacher, who must mediate helping the student in his/her becoming and doing the state’s work. Doing the state’s work generally involves disciplining the student and others, or policing the distribution of the sensible, and mediating these competing interests is difficult. Instructional supervision, educational leadership and educational administration are taken up, informed, especially, by Hazony’s discussion of the shepherd and the farmer.
Wound Infections and Recurrence in Head and Neck Cancer

Recent publications in the general surgery literature have reported improved survival in abdominal cancer surgery in those in whom a postoperative wound infection develops. We reviewed our experience with 100 consecutive patients operated on for head and neck cancer. All patients had 5-year followup. The complete report covers site and stage. In summary, for all cancers of the larynx (N = 60), the recurrence rate was 45% for those in whom a wound infection developed and 26% for those in whom no such infection developed. For cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx (N = 40), the recurrence rate was 80% for those in whom wound infections developed and 51% for those who had no infections. Because of the small number of patients in whom recurrence developed, with or without infection, the relationship does not reach statistical significance. For head and neck cancer, unlike abdominal cancer, the development of a postoperative wound infection may have an adverse effect on survival rather than a salutory effect.
Methylated arginines in chronic erythemic myelosis.

This report describes the occurrence of methylated arginines in hydrolysates of histones obtained from bone marrow erythroid precursors of five patients with chronic erythremic myelosis (DiGuglielmo's syndrome). Methylated arginines such as those to be described were not found in similar histone hydrolysates obtained from patients with a variety of other disorders of erythropoiesis.Materials and Methods. Sternal or iliac bone marrow was obtained in a heparinized glass syringe immediately after the diagnostic aspiration from five patients with chronic erythremic myelosis. All of these patients had refractory macrocytic anemia with splenomegaly and intense megaloblastoid erythroid hyperplasia of the bone marrow. Four of the patients had at least 20% proerythroblasts in the marrow, and one patient had as high as 40% proerythroblasts. A PAS (periodic acid-Schiff) stain on the marrows revealed PAS-positive material within the cytoplasm of proerythroblasts, and a Prussian blue stain disclosed many ringed sidero...
The warm pool variability of the tropical northeast Pacific

The Eastern Pacific warm pool (EPWP) defined by the area enclosed within the 28.5 °C isotherm is examined for its seasonal cycle and interannual variability. The study characterizes the EPWP by its area and objectively defined onset, demise, and length of its seasonality. The onset of the EPWP season is defined by the day when the daily anomaly of the area of EPWP exceeds its climatological annual mean. Similarly, the demise of the EPWP season is defined when the daily anomaly of the area of the EPWP falls below its climatological annual mean, after the onset date is detected. We show that the seasonal evolution of the EPWP has a strong asymmetry, with the climatological peak of the EPWP area occurring approximately 41 days from the onset while the demise of the season occurs after nearly 106 days from the climatological peak. The EPWP is part of a larger Western Hemisphere warm pool (WHWP) that extends into the Intra-Americas Seas and parts of the tropical northwest Atlantic Ocean. This study finds that the EPWP is weakly related to the Atlantic counterpart of the WHWP. This is partly due to the fact that the EPWP season precedes the seasonal peak of the warm pool in the Atlantic by several months and the size of the former is much smaller than the latter; therefore, the EPWP does not have a strong remote forcing on the Atlantic warm pool. The interannual variability of the area of EPWP is closely related to the El Nino and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variations in the equatorial Pacific with large (small) EPWP years associated with warm (cold) ENSO years.
P17.21 Failure to engage as key factor of loss to follow-up from care and treatment among hiv-infected children in botswana: a case-control study

Introduction Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is a critical factor in determining clinical outcome in HIV treatment programs. Identifying modifiable factors of LTFU is fundamental for designing effective patient retention interventions. We analysed factors contributing to children LTFU from a treatment program to identify those that can be modified. Methods A case-control study involving 313 children was used to compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of children LTFU (cases) with those remaining in care (controls) at a large paediatric HIV care setting in Botswana. We traced children through caregiver contacts and those we found, we conducted structured interviews with the patients’ caregivers. Results Children Conclusion Paediatric patients and their caregivers need to be targeted and engaged at their initial clinic visit, with special attention to children Disclosure of interest statement Funding for this study was made possible through Fogarty International Centre of the National Institutes of Health, (M. W. Kline – Principal Investigator) under grant number D43 TW01036.
Study on occupational exposure limit of dimethoxymethane in workplace air

Objective To study the occupational exposure limit of dimethoxymethane (DMM) in workplace air.Methods Literature research was conducted on DMM; information on its physicochemical properties,toxicology,and occupational epidemiology was collected.Upon analyzing these data,an occupational exposure limit of DMM in workplace air was proposed according to the guidelines and principles of developing occupational exposure limits for harmful factors in workplaces.Results A total of 165 air samples were collected from DMM manufacturers,14 of which had a DMM concentration over 3000 mg/m3,accounting for 8.48％ of all samples.Compared with the control group,the exposed employees had a significantly increased incidence of discomfort symptoms when exposed to more than 6000 mg/m3 DMN (P＜0.01).No significant differences in the constituent ratios of abnormal results in physical examinations were found between the exposure groups and control group (P＞0.05).Conclusion We recommend to set the permissible concentration-time weighed average to 3100 mg/m3 as the occupational exposure limit of DMM in workplace air in China.This occupational exposure limit standard meets the relevant requirements of toxicology and occupational epidemiology,as well as fits well with our country' s current economical and technological levels.This standard has high applicability in China's domestic settings. Key words: Dimethoxymethane; Occupational exposure limit
Success and its Limits: Mary O’Malley, Wendy Wasserstein, Nell Dunn, Beth Henley, Catherine Hayes, Marsha Norman

Success in the theatre is most often measured by box-office receipts. The relationship of feminist drama to commerce and public attention in many ways follows a predictable pattern. While some of the most innovative and challenging plays by feminists are produced in obscure venues and are heralded by a relatively small group of supporters, the dramas by women that have achieved commercial success in the West End or Broadway tend to take fewer theatrical risks and to be less threatening to middle-class audiences than those performed on the fringe of the theatre establishment. Whether this pattern will continue is not yet clear, although it is increasingly apparent that feminist scripts are more subversive than the productions in which they are rendered in the large, commercial theatres.
Secondary information from filter bank may not yield higher resolution of line

The entropy based Hirschman optimal transform (HOT) is superior to the energy based discrete Fourier transform (DFT) in terms of its ability to separate or resolve two limiting cases of localization in frequency, viz pure tones and additive white noise. In this paper, we implement a stationary line spectral estimation method using filter banks, which are constructed with the HOT and the DFT. We combine these filter banks with the classic interpolating procedure developed by Barry Quinn to develop our line estimation algorithm. We call the resulting algorithm the smoothed HOT-DFT line periodogram. We compare its performance (in terms of frequency resolution) to Quinn's smoothed periodogram. In particular, we compare the performance of the HOT-DFT with that of the DFT in resolving two close frequency components in additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). We find the HOT-DFT to be superior to the DFT in frequency estimation, and ascribe the difference to the HOT's relationship to entropy. It is well-known that the frequency estimation (i.e. the secondary inference that is desired from the signal model) is highly related with the modeling performance. In fact, we will show that while the residual energy is lower for the DFT filter bank, the frequency estimation error might be higher.
Hepatoprotection by dimethyl sulfoxide. II. Characterization of optimal dose and the latest time of administration for effective protection against chloroform and bromobenzene induced injury.

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has previously been shown to attenuate chloroform (CHCl3) and bromobenzene (BB) induced hepatotoxicity in the rat when a dose of 2.0 ml/kg is given 24 hr after the toxicants. However, the optimal dose of DMSO and the latest time at which DMSO can be administered and still provide effective protection have not been determined. In order to determine the latest time at which DMSO can interrupt the development of necrosis, male Sprague Dawley rats received either 0.75 ml/kg CHCl3 or 0.5 ml/kg BB, 20% in corn oil, p.o., followed by single dose of 2 ml/kg DMSO, 50% in saline, i.p., at 24, 26, 28 or 30 hr later. Positive control groups received either CHCl3 or BB and then 4.0 ml/kg saline, i.p., 24 hr later. All of the animals were then killed 48 hr after toxicant dosing. The extent of liver injury present when DMSO was administered was examined by killing animals at 24, 26, 28 or 30 hr after toxicant dosing. The optimal dose of DMSO for providing protection was estimated by administering either 0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0 ml/kg DMSO at 24 hr after toxicant dosing and then killing the animals at 48 hr. Delaying DMSO administration to times later than 24 hr after toxicant dosing led to a loss of protection as indicated by both plasma ALT activity and the light microscopic appearance of liver tissue. The distinctive liver lesions present at 24 hr after CHCl3 or BB dosing rapidly expanded from being limited around central veins to bridging between centrilobular areas in only a few hours. This was accompanied by large increases in plasma ALT. With both toxicants, doses of DMSO greater than 2 ml/kg did not enhance its protective action while the lower dose of 1 ml/kg DMSO was not as effective. The loss of DMSO's antidotal action when given at times later than 24 hr after the toxicants indicates irreversible changes were underway as the centrilobular lesions progressed from being limited to more bridging in nature. Hopefully, further elucidation of the mechanism(s) by which DMSO interrupts the rapid progression of injury will both help to understand the steps involved in lesion development and provide insights into therapeutic interventions for drug and chemical induced hepatitis.
Abstract 2056: SIRT1 silencing suppresses prostate cancer growth and metastasis in an orthotopic prostate cancer mouse model

Tumor environment is critical for tumor growth and progression, and orthotopic mouse model allows accurately study tumor development in an appropriate tumor environment. SIRT1, a class III histone deacetylase, has been shown overexpressed in prostate cancer and is a biomarker for prostate cancer recurrence. Although these data have suggested the importance of the role SIRT1 plays in prostate cancer progression, the role of SIRT1 in tumor growth and progression within, specifically, a prostate tumor environment has not been established. In this study, we established an advanced prostate cancer PC3MM2 orthotopic mouse model to study the effects of SIRT1 silencing on prostate cancer growth and progression. Our data has shown that SIRT1 knockdown greatly suppresses tumor formation within a prostate tumor environment, along with an inhibition of metastasis to bone and liver. To further study the mechanism by which SIRT1 controls tumor growth and progression, we demonstrated that SIRT1 silencing reduces prostate cancer cell adhesion to cell matrix, and that this silencing also suppresses cancer cell growth and colony formation in a cell matrix dependent manner. Moreover, our data showed that SIRT1 regulates integrin expression and focal adhesion complex formation. Furthermore, we shows that SIRT1 silencing from prostate cancer cell significantly inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) tube formation, suggests an important role of SIRT1 in prostate cancer angiogenesis. Thus, we have reported for the first time that SIRT1 plays a critical role in prostate cancer growth and progression using orthotopic mouse model, and demonstrated for the first time that SIRT1 regulates integrin expression, focal adhesion formation, tumor cell and matrix interaction, and angiogenesis. These results suggest SIRT1 regulates prostate cancer growth and progression through multiple mechanisms and that SIRT1 is a potential target in prostate cancer treatment. Citation Format: Yan Dai, Lijia Zhu, Elizabeth Cho, Audrey Hagiwara, Douglas Faller, Sun-Jin Kim, Isaiah J. Fidler, Marina Amaro. SIRT1 silencing suppresses prostate cancer growth and metastasis in an orthotopic prostate cancer mouse model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2056. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2056
Testicular biopsy and vasography in the evaluation of male infertility

Testicular biopsy is performed mainly to differentiate primary testicular failure from obstructive ductal lesions (usually occurring in the epididymis in azoospermic patients who have normal serum gonadotropins). Testicular biopsy may be performed easily on an outpatient basis with excision of a small piece of seminiferous tissue using a "no-touch" technique. Needle core biopsy and needle aspiration biopsy may become more widely used in the future. The role of flow cytometry for purposes of interpreting testicular specimens may be expanded in the future. Vasography should be performed only at the time of planned definitive correction of obstructive lesions of the genital duct system. Various techniques of performing vasography are discussed. Emphasis is placed on deferring vasography until the time that definitive surgery is performed to correct the patient's ductal obstruction. In that regard, vasography therefore generally is not performed as an isolated outpatient procedure.
Updated results of a phase I/II study of inotuzumab ozogamicin in combination with low-intensity chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) as frontline therapy for older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

7014Background: Inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO) is an anti-CD22 antibody-toxin conjugate that is effective in patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory ALL. Given the poor tolerance of elderly pts to int...
Greening the Curriculum: Beyond a Short Music History in Ecomusicology

Most of the ecomusicology literature deals either with music of and, especially, after the nineteenth century or with music/sound of non-Western cultures. What about the historical music of the Western tradition before the nineteenth century? This essay provides a few tentative possibilities. After providing a conspectus of ecomusicology and a brief conspectus of work in this field, I emphasize the problem of this "short music history" in ecomusicology. After presenting a syllabus and overview of my own music and environment class, which represents that problem, I critique that class and propose ideas for revising it and for incorporating ecomusicology topics into a typical Western music history survey course. I conclude by reflecting on the place of ecomusicology in the general greening of the liberal arts curriculum.
Preliminary Experiments on Ti:Al2O3 Laser

We report on the laser performance of Ti:Al2O3 laser when pumped by a doubled Nd:YAG laser. Several cavity configurations were used for both 60° and 90° cut Ti:Al2O3 laser crystals shaped as rods and plates. Laser damage was found to be a problem with this laser when operated at 10 Hz. The scattering losses and absorption at 750 nm are being investigated, and may be due to divalent titanium ions.
Urine-induced apoptosis in cultured bladder urothelial cells.

There is controversy in much research and clinical literature regarding the causation of interstitial cystitis (IC), an enigmatic disease that may very well be the most disabling nonmalignant disorder seen in the urology clinic. IC is commonly referred to as “painful bladder syndrome,” in recognition of the constellation of irritative voiding, chronic pelvic pain, and other associated symptoms.22 It is frequently described in literature as an inflammatory bladder disease primarily affecting women, but men with prostadynia represent a subset of patients with IC, as well.18 Prostatitis pain can be reproduced with bladder filling and/or contraction in 45% of men with prostatitis; this is similar to the pain experienced by bladder filling in female patients with IC.29 Moderate to severe petechiae have also been noted in the bladders of men with prostatitis or prostadynia after hydrodistention.2,20 The incidence of IC in men, therefore, may be very much underestimated. The disease remains a clinical syndrome defined by chronic irritative voiding symptoms and sterile and cytologically negative urine with characteristic cystoscopic findings.19 The diagnosis of IC has primarily been one of exclusion, largely because of the lack of good clinical markers.
An Introduction to Research Work, Scholarship, and Paving a Way to a Career in Academic Medicine

Introduction Despite high faculty attrition and challenges to expanding the number of clinician-researchers, career development to heighten trainees' pursuit of an academic research career remains ...
Comparing pharmacological treatments for cocaine dependence: Incorporation of methods for enhancing generalizability in meta-analytic studies.

OBJECTIVES Few head-to-head comparisons of cocaine dependence medications exist, and combining data from different randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is fraught with methodological challenges including limited generalizability of the RCT findings. This study applied a novel meta-analytic approach to data of cocaine dependence medications. METHODS Data from 4 placebo-controlled RCTs (Reserpine, Modafinil, Buspirone, and Ondansetron) were obtained from the National Institute of Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (n = 456). The RCT samples were weighted to resemble treatment-seeking patients (Treatment Episodes Data Set-Admissions) and individuals with cocaine dependence in general population (National Survey on Drug Use and Health). We synthesized the generalized outcomes with pairwise meta-analysis using individual-level data and compared the generalized outcomes across the 4 RCTs with network meta-analysis using study-level data. RESULTS Weighting the data by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health generalizability weight made the overall population effect on retention significantly larger than the RCT sample effect. However, there was no significant difference between the population effect and the RCT sample effect on abstinence. Weighting changed the ranking of the effectiveness across treatments. CONCLUSIONS Applying generalizability weights to meta-analytic studies is feasible and potentially provides a useful tool in assessing comparative effectiveness of treatments for substance use disorders in target populations.
Cohousing IoT: Design Prototyping for Community Life

Cohousing IoT uses research through design to both probe alternative modes of living and prototype speculative domestic Internet of Things devices. These prototype technologies are informed by a public design process that works in two ways. First, it imagines alternatives to existing arrangements of things and devices in the home; and second, it produces prototypes that argue for new roles for internet-connected things that both support and sustain the social life of a cohousing community.
Discrepancy in perceived social support among typically developing siblings of youth with autism spectrum disorder

Social support can buffer against stressors often associated with having family members with autism spectrum disorder. This study included 112 parents and typically developing siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. Relations between self-reported typically developing sibling emotional and behavioral problems and discrepancy between social support frequency and importance were examined via polynomial regression with response surface analysis. Typically developing siblings who described social support as frequent and important reported relatively few problems. Typically developing siblings who reported social support as highly important but infrequent exhibited the highest emotional and behavioral difficulties. Thus, typically developing siblings with little support who view support as highly important may be particularly responsive to social support improvement efforts.
Case 22: Zone I/II Open Globe Injury with Anterior Metallic Wire Foreign Body

A 21-year-old man presented with a Zone I-II open globe injury of the left eye with intraocular foreign body. The patient was a mechanic and a metal wire hit the left eye while he was working under a car. The patient underwent repair of this open globe injury. It was critical to remove the foreign body in the controlled setting of an operating room in order to have control of the anterior chamber, to carefully remove the wire that was adjacent to the lens and posterior cornea, and to minimize patient discomfort. Prompt repair was especially crucial to avoid endophthalmitis related to an intraocular foreign body, progressive edema of the cornea complicating wound repair, further deposition of rust into the ocular tissues, and due to the wire rubbing and traumatizing the posterior aspect of the cornea with each movement of the eyelids causing rotation of the wire. This patient did well post-operatively and the final visual acuity was affected by the posterior corneal scarring.
Tokyo-1 Mutation: Hereditary Spherocytosis in a Hispanic Newborn Presenting as Early Onset Severe Hyperbilirubinemia.

Background: Hereditary spherocytosis in the Hispanic population does not often present with severe hyperbilirubinemia. Spectrin and band 3 mutations are most frequent in this population. Case repor...
Shear wave inversion using the horizontal to vertical ratio of Scholte wave particle velocity

Estimation of shear wave properties is very important in characterizing ocean bottom sediments in the context of underwater acoustic propagation, seabed slope stability, and strength and rigidity of seabed sediments for foundation design. The shear speed in the sediments can be estimated by measuring the interface waves such as Rayleigh, or Scholte waves. Interface wave properties such as frequency dependent phase and group speeds and ratio of the horizontal to vertical particle displacements are strongly dependent on the shear wave speed as a function of depth below the water-sediment interface. Data from a single 3-axis geophone were used in this study to invert for the shear speeds using the particle velocity ratio in various layers of sediment below the sensor location. Data used in this study were collected as part of an acoustic monitoring program near the Block Island Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island.
Steam Oxidation of Zirconium–Yttrium Alloys from 500– $$1100\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ 1100 ∘ C

The steam oxidation kinetics, oxide formation, and hydrogen uptake of nuclear-grade Zr with 0.01–12 wt% yttrium were studied. Metallography and diffraction of the as-received material showed yttrium remained trapped in solid solution in concentrations up to 2 wt%; therefore, steam oxidation focused on 0.01–1 wt% Y samples. Thermogravimetric analysis was performed in a steam–argon environment at $$500\,^{\circ }\text {C}, 700\,^{\circ }\text {C}, 900\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ , and $$1100\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ at atmospheric pressure. At $$500\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ and $$700\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ , increasing the yttrium concentration increased the total weight gain by up to 300% and caused an increase the oxidation power-law exponent. At $$900\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ , increasing the yttrium concentration caused a much smaller increase in the weight gain, and resulted in a decrease in the oxidation power-law exponent. At the highest temperature, $$1100\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ , increasing the yttrium concentration had a minimal effect on the kinetics. Transmission synchrotron diffraction and cross-sectional optical microscopy showed significant hydrogen uptake at $$500\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ and $$700\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ through the formation of $$\delta$$ and $$\gamma$$ zirconium hydrides. The volume of these two hydride phases increased with increasing yttrium concentration. This hydrogen uptake appears to be linked to the increase in the steam oxidation power-law exponent observed at $$500\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ and $$700\,^{\circ }\text {C}$$ .
ICER, ISPOR AND QALYs: Tales of Imaginary Worlds.

Previous commentaries in the Formulary Evaluation section of INNOVATIONS in Pharmacy have pointed to the lack of credibility in modeled claims for cost-effectiveness and associated recommendations for pricing by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). The principal objection to ICER reports has been that their modeled claims fail the standards of normal science: they are best seen as pseudoscience. The purpose of this latest commentary is twofold: first, to review the latest report by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) on standards and value claims for modeling imaginary cost-per-quality life year (QALY) worlds in health technology assessments and (ii) given ICER’s commitment to ISPOR standards, to consider the credibility of ICER’s QALYs. The concern is that ICER gives the impression that there is a common and agreed utility metric to support QALY constructs and that there is an agreed standard for creating QALYs within the imaginary reference case meme. The purpose of this commentary is to emphasize that there is no ‘gold standard’ QALY, let alone a ‘gold standard’ utility metric. A QALY is what you assume the QALY should be; it is an artificial construct which allows any number of competing QALYs to be generated for the same target population under different imaginary constructs. Similar objections apply to the application of willingness-to-pay thresholds to support ICER’s business case as the sole arbiter, in pole position, of health technology assessments to support pricing recommendations. In the US. A threshold has to be defined for the QALYs and costs captured, by assumption, within the model. Even for the same target patient population a $50,000 cost per QALY threshold will yield different pricing recommendations depending upon the assumptions driving the QALY estimate, such as choice of utility metric, time spent by stage of disease, frequency and severity of adverse events and costs. While this is an obvious point, it appears not to occur to those who, with a limited technical understanding of how the ICER model is constructed (and ICER is not given to extended technical explanations) take at face value the ICER imaginary construct and the QALY value judgements. Of course, it is also beside the point that the ICER reference case imaginary world was never intended to support empirical assessments of the claims made; we have no idea of whether it is right, if it is wrong and, over the lifetime perspective, we will never know and were never intended to know. Article Type: Commentary
Patient Communication and Strategies for Managing Fatigue

Fatigue is common in patients with cancer. Fatigue is very distressing to patients, who often view it as an indication that their disease is progressing or that treatment is ineffective. Patients with a cancer diagnosis frequently have psychological distress. Communication and information help patients cope with the diagnosis of cancer and with the management of side effects. Presenting clear, concise, and well-timed communication to patients regarding fatigue management is an important role for health care providers. This article gives an overview of cancer-related fatigue, the various attitudes that prevail among cancer patients seeking information, and interventions patients can use to help manage their fatigue. Armed with this knowledge, oncology nurses and physicians can better meet the need to provide appropriate information about fatigue to patients and families, and at most appropriate points in the illness.
Nanostructured copper sulfide thin film via a spatial successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction process showing significant surface-enhanced infrared absorption of CO2

The infrared (IR) gas sensing technique is excellent for CO2 gas detection systems that require high accuracy and safety standard; however, there is a significant barrier to its application due to its high cost and difficulty in miniaturization. CO2 sensors that are functional within near- or short-wavelength IR have the potential to reduce this barrier. In this work, a highly sensitive plasmonic material based on nanostructured covellite copper sulfide (CuS), which exhibits desired localized surface plasmon resonance for surface-enhanced IR absorption (SEIRA) throughout near- and mid-IR ranges, was investigated. We prepared CuS thin films facilely in an additive manner based on a spatial successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction process at room temperature. The resulting CuS thin film possesses a structure consisting of hexagonal nanoflakes, and demonstrates significant SEIRA for 100 ppm CO2 with an enhancement factor of 104.