cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive evaluation of disparities in cardiometabolic and reproductive risk between Hispanic and White women with polycystic ovary syndrome in the United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to comprehensively compare cardiometabolic and reproductive health risk between Hispanic and White women with polycystic ovary syndrome in the United States in response to the call by the international guideline for polycystic ovary syndrome to delineate health disparities. Data Sources Databases of MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus were initially searched through October 25, 2020, and confirmed on February 1, 2021. Study Eligibility Criteria Observational studies comparing glucoregulatory, lipid profile, anthropometric, blood pressure, androgen, ovarian morphology, oligoanovulation, and infertility status between Hispanic and White women with polycystic ovary syndrome were included. The primary outcome was metabolic syndrome risk. Furthermore, major cardiovascular events (stroke, coronary heart disease, and heart failure) and mortality rate (cardiovascular death and total mortality) data were evaluated. Studies on adolescents ( 50 years) were excluded. Methods Data were pooled by random-effects models and expressed as mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Risk of bias was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results A total of 11 studies (n=2267; 589 Hispanic and 1678 White women) were eligible. All studies, including both White and Hispanic women, had high-quality assessment (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score of ≥8). Hispanic women exhibited comparable metabolic syndrome prevalence (7% [95% confidence interval, −1 to 14]; P=.06; I2=0%); however, Hispanic women exhibited higher modified Ferriman-Gallwey score (0.60 [95% confidence interval, −0.01 to 1.21]; P=.05; I2=0%), fasting insulin (5.48 μIU/mL [95% confidence interval, 3.11–7.85]; P≤.01; I2=40.0%), and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (1.20 [95% confidence interval, 0.50–1.89]; P≤.01; I2=43.0%) than White women. The 2 groups had comparable glucose, lipid profile, waist circumference, blood pressure, and androgen status (all P≥.08). Findings about group differences in certain reproductive outcomes (ie, ovarian dysmorphology and infertility) were contradictory and described only narratively as inclusion in the meta-analyses was not possible. No study reported on cardiovascular events or mortality. Conclusion Hispanic women with polycystic ovary syndrome exhibited greater impairments in glucoregulatory status than White women. Disparities in reproductive risks could not be concluded. The degree to which glucoregulatory aberrations translate into patient-pressing diseases (diabetes mellitus and infertility) remains a major roadblock given the paucity of available evidence. Our observations have supported the consideration of these disparities in the diagnostic, monitoring, and management practices for polycystic ovary syndrome and reinforced the need to elucidate mechanisms that account for the observed disparities to foster equity in polycystic ovary syndrome care.
Predictive Ability of Delta Radiomic Texture Features (DRTF) Extracted from Liver Patients Treated With Magnetic Resonance Guided Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (MRgSBRT).

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) In the abdomen, real-time MRgSBRT has live motion tracking, high soft tissue contrast, and direct visualization of oncologic targets and organs at risk. Setup images are acquired daily, which generates longitudinal, non-invasive radiographic data points. Our study aimed to identify delta radiomic texture features (DRTF) extracted from daily set up images to predict local progression in liver patients treated with MRgSBRT. MATERIALS/METHODS This work included a prospective analysis of an IRB-approved database of 20 patients with liver lesions treated by MRgSBRT. The gross tumor volume was identified on daily low field strength (0.35T) setup images. MR images were pre-processed using histogram equalization to re-bin the gray level intensities to 64 levels and 39 second-order DRTFs extracted. DRTFs were calculated as the difference between values on the initial set up scan and after intervals of BED 20 Gy (α/β = 10) were delivered. The Gini Index was used to rank features in order of predictive importance during training of a random forest model while using the delta radiomics texture features to predict local control (LC) at 1 year. Leave-one-out (LOO) analysis was performed using the top two features. RESULTS Lesions were treated to a median dose of 50 Gy in 5 fractions, or BED 20 Gy per fraction. The top two features identified after BED 20 Gy (1 fraction) was delivered were gray level co-occurrence matrix features (GLCM) and gray level size zone matrix (GLSZM) based Large Zone Emphasis. The model generated an ROC curve with AUC = 0.9011 [0.752 - 1] using LOO analysis. The same two features were selected as predictive after delivery of BED 40 Gy and LOO analysis resulted in a ROC curve with AUC = 0.6868 [0.3957 - 0.9779]. CONCLUSION DRTFs extracted from daily setup MR images after a single fraction of MRgSBRT were predictive of LC in this cohort. Additional studies are needed to evaluate these features as they may identify patients with radioresistant disease and provide an opportunity for physicians to dose escalate.
Modulation of Peripheral Inflammation by the Spinal Cord

The central nervous system, and the spinal cord in particular, is involved in multiple mechanisms that influence peripheral inflammation. Both pro- and anti-inflammatory feedback loops can involve just the peripheral nerves and spinal cord or can also include more complex, supraspinal structures such as the vagal nuclei and the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Analysis is complicated by the fact that inflammation encompasses a constellation of end points from simple edema to changes in immune cell infiltration and pathology. Whether or not any of these individual elements is altered by any potential mechanism is determined by a complex algorithm including, but not limited to, chronicity of the inflammation, tissue type, instigating stimulus, and state/tone of the immune system. Accordingly, the pharmacology and anatomical substrate of spinal cord modulation of peripheral inflammation are discussed with regard to peripheral tissue type, inflammatory insult (initiating stimulus), and duration of the inflammation.
Plane Registration Leveraged by Global Constraints for Context-Aware AEC Applications

In this article, we propose a new registration algorithm and computing framework, the KEG tracker, for estimating a camera's position and orientation for a general class of mobile context-aware applications in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC). By studying two classic natural marker-based reg- istration algorithms, Homography-from-detection and Homography-from-tracking, and by overcoming their specific limitations of jitter and drift, our method applies two global constraints (geometric and appearance) to prevent tracking errors from propagating between con- secutive frames. The proposed method is able to achieve an increase in both stability and accuracy, while being fast enough for real-time applications. Experiments on both synthesized and real-world test cases demonstrate that our method is superior to existing state-of-the-art registration algorithms. The article also explores several AEC applications of our method in context-aware com- puting and desktop-augmented reality.
Workstation Design Optimization through a Simulation Model

A man-machine systems simulation model was developed as a cost-effective marketing tool for systems design in the retail sales environment. SAINT (Systems Analysis Integrated Network of Tasks) mode...
A transcription map of the 6p22.3 reading disability locus identifying candidate genes

Reading disability (RD) is a common syndrome with a large genetic component. Chromosome 6 has been identified in several linkage studies as playing a significant role. A more recent study identified a peak of transmission disequilibrium to marker JA04 (G72384) on chromosome 6p22.3, suggesting that a gene is located near this marker. In silico cloning was used to identify possible candidate genes located near the JA04 marker. The 2 million base pairs of sequence surrounding JA04 was downloaded and searched against the dbEST database to identify ESTs. In total, 623 ESTs from 80 different tissues were identified and assembled into 153 putative coding regions from 19 genes and 2 pseudogenes encoded near JA04. The identified genes were tested for their tissue specific expression by RT-PCR. In total, five possible candidate genes for RD and other diseases mapping to this region were identified.
Critical points of failure in the therapy of cancer of the cervix: A reappraisal

Abstract All patients admitted to the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and the Francis Delafield Hospital from January 1, 1955, to December 31, 1964, with recurrent carcinoma of the cervix have been studied in regard to initial staging, histologic type, age, pretreatment pyelogram, and initial therapy. The pattern of recurrence has been classified according to Munnell and Bonney's 1 system, and the results of treatment have been analyzed. Of the 134 patients with recurrence, 54 could be treated for cure, the remaining 80 patients receiving only supportive or palliative therapy. Fourteen of the 54 patients (25.9 per cent) treated for cure, or 10.4 per cent of the entire 134 patients, survived more than 5 years after treatment of the recurrence. Central recurrences are most amenable to therapy; peripheral pelvic and metastatic recurrences, least amenable. Back pain, sciatic pain, weight loss, and obstructive uropathy are grave prognostic signs. The proper method of treating a recurrence depends on the pattern of recurrence and the type of therapy previously employed. Since the most common sites of recurrence are the parametria, uterosacral ligaments, rectum, and bladder, it is evident that methods of primary therapy should be re-examied with respect to their effectiveness in destroying all of the cancer at the periphery of the treated fields.
Specification and verification of complex location events with panoramic

We present the design and evaluation of Panoramic, a tool that enables end-users to specify and verify an important family of complex location events. Our approach aims to reduce or eliminate critical barriers to deployment of emerging location-aware business activity monitoring applications in domains like hospitals and office buildings. Panoramic does not require users to write code, understand complex models, perform elaborate demonstrations, generate test location traces, or blindly trust deterministic events. Instead, it allows end-users to specify and edit complex events with a visual language that embodies natural concepts of space and time. It also takes a novel approach to verification, in which events are extracted from historical sensor data traces and then presented with intelligible, hierarchical visualizations that represent uncertainty with probabilities. We build on our existing software for specifying and detecting events while enhancing it in non-trivial ways to facilitate event specification and verification. Our design is guided by a formative study with 12 non-programmers. We also use location traces from a building-scale radio frequency identification (RFID) deployment in a qualitative evaluation of Panoramic with 10 non-programmers. The results show that end-users can both understand and verify the behavior of complex location event specifications using Panoramic.
Generalized fractional integration of the \overline{H}-function

A significantly large number of earlier works on the subject of fractional calculus give interesting account of the theory and applications of fractional calculus operators in many different areas of mathematical analysis (such as ordinary and partial differential equations, integral equations, special functions, summation of series, et cetera). In the present paper, we study and develop the generalized fractional integral operators given by Saigo. First, we establish two Theorems that give the images of the product of H-function and a general class of polynomials in Saigo operators. On account of the general nature of the Saigo operators, H-function and a general class of polynomials a large number of new and known Images involving Riemann-Liouville and Erdelyi-Kober fractional integral operators and several special functions notably generalized Wright hypergeometric function, generalized Wright-Bessel function, the polylogarithm and Mittag-Leffler functions follow as special cases of our main findings.
Towards provenance-based anomaly detection in MapReduce

MapReduce enables parallel and distributed processing of vast amount of data on a cluster of machines. However, such computing paradigm is subject to threats posed by malicious and cheating nodes or compromised user submitted code that could tamper data and computation since users maintain little control as the computation is carried out in a distributed fashion. In this paper, we focus on the analysis and detection of anomalies during the process of MapReduce computation. Accordingly, we develop a computational provenance system that captures provenance data related to MapReduce computation within the MapReduce framework in Hadoop. In particular, we identify a set of invariants against aggregated provenance information, which are later analyzed to uncover anomalies indicating possible tampering of data and computation. We conduct a series of experiments to show the efficiency and effectiveness of our proposed provenance system.
Engineering research centers: the Purdue experience

Activities at the Purdue Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, created in May, 1985, are described. The Purdue ERC has established a clear research agenda, a strong education program, close industry collaboration, and the organizational structure and policies to manage this ambitious effort. Over 200 students and faculty from 13 departments are directly involved in the ERC research activities, and over 1000 publications have already resulted. The Purdue ERC targets all of the technical activities involved in discrete product manufacturing from early design to final assembly and finishing. The integration of knowledge from different engineering disciplines is a common theme throughout research and education programs. The author outlines some of the most important aspects of the Purdue ERC consortium, including the research and educational objectives, the mechanisms employed for industrial collaboration and technology transfer, and the policies instituted to support the goals. >
Spontaneous abortion in the carcinoid syndrome

Abstract Excessive circulating serotonin seems capable of producing congenital abnormalities and abortion in man and experimental animals. This report documents another instance of pregnancy in a young woman with a functioning carcinoid who had had an abortion with no demonstrable structural abnormality in the fetus or placenta.
Respiratory virus infection of mice provokes a permanent humoral immune response.

Abstract We have observed that respiratory virus infection of mice provokes an extremely persistent humoral immune reaction, due to a long-sustained population of antibody-secreting cells in the bone marrow. Theories of humoral immunity that strongly distinguish primary and secondary reactions thus may not adequately describe the immune response to respiratory viruses.
Learning the Moral Economy of Commodified Health Care: “Community Education,” Failed Consumers, and the Shaping of Ethical Clinician-Citizens

Leaders of health professional schools often support community-based education as a means of promoting emerging practitioners’ awareness of health disparities and commitment to serving the poor. Yet, most programs do not teach about the causes of health disparities, raising questions regarding what social and political lessons students learn from these experiences. This article examines the ways in which community-based clinical education programs help shape the subjectivities of new dentists as ethical clinician-citizens within the US commodified health care system. Drawing on ethnographic research during volunteer and required community-based programs and interviews with participants, I demonstrate three implicit logics that students learned: (1) dialectical ideologies of volunteer entitlement and recipient debt; (2) forms of justification for the often inferior care provided to “failed” consumers (patients with Medicaid or uninsured); and (3) specific forms of obligations characterizing the ethical clinician-citizen. I explore the ways these messages reflected the structured relations of both student encounters and the overarching health care system, and examine the strategies faculty supervisors undertook to challenge these messages and relations. Finally, I argue that promoting commitments to social justice in health care should not rely on cultivating altruism, but should instead be pursued through educating new practitioners about the lives of poor people, the causal relationships between poverty and poor health, and attention to the structure of health care and provider–patient interactions. This approach involves shining a critical light on America’s commodified health care system as an arena based in relations of power and inequality.
Electrochemical Deposition of Mesoporous Nickel Hydroxide Films from Dilute Surfactant Solutions

A series of micelle-templated mesoporous nickel hydroxide films were prepared by electrochemical deposition from dilute surfactant solutions by using different types of template and by varying plating solvent composition. Lamellar mesostructured Ni(OH)2 films are obtained with only anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the template. In particular, a unique cooperative assembly fashion, that is, the combination between Ni2+ and a complex composed of the primary template SDS and a cosurfactant, such as triblock poly(ethylene oxide)−poly(propylene oxide)−poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO−PPO−PEO) copolymers and poly(ethylene glycol), was explored, by which two-dimensional hexagonal mesoporous Ni(OH)2 films were electrodeposited. Meanwhile, the deposition medium also plays a crucial role in determining the mesostructure of Ni(OH)2 films. For the composite nickel hydroxide films deposited from aqueous solution or dilute aqueous solution of ethylene glycol (<20 wt %) in the presence of SDS or the SDS−poly(...
Temporal evolution of cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen utilization using MRI in a middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke

The balance between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) is important in determining the status of tissue viability during acute cerebral ischemia 1, 2. After ischemic onset, CBF decreases, accompanied by an increase in OEF in order to maintain cerebral oxygen cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen utilization (CMRO2). A persisted or further reduced CBF results in a decline of CMRO2, leading to neural cell death. In this study, a T2* (T2') approach 3 and a dynamic tracer method 4 are used to obtain OEF and CBF, respectively, which in turn allows the estimates of MR_CMRO2, in a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model. The temporal evolution of cerebral haemodynamic changes is examined. In total, three male Long Evans rats were studied. Cerebral ischemia was induced using the suture model inside the magnet bore with approved animal protocols. All images were acquired on a Siemens 3 T Allegra scanner. A 2D multi-echo gradient echo/spin echo sequence (MEGESE) was utilized to obtain OEF 3. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps was obtained from segmented EPI diffusion weighted images (DWI). MEGESE and DWI images were acquired prior to MCAO and continued up to three hours post MCAO. A tracer dynamic perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) was utilized to obtain CBF at the end of the entire study so as to avoid the contamination of contrast agent induced susceptibility for the oxygenation measurements. CBF is assumed to remain constant throughout the entire post MCAO period in a permanent MCAO. MR_CMRO2 was calculated by multiplying OEF and CBF. ROIs were defined in both ipsilateral and contralateral hemisphere to obtain ADC, OEF, CBF and CMRO2 changes. Before MCA occlusion, ADC, OEF were not statistically different in the ipsilateral and contralateral hemisphere ROIs. Immediately after MCAO, ADC reduced, while OEF increased. As lesion progressed, the initially elevated OEF returned to or below the baseline, while the ADC might have little change. In addition, CMRO2 showed a moderate decrease to 30–55% followed by a severe reduction to 9–20% of that of normal tissue. The time period of moderate reduction of CMRO2 depends on the severity of CBF. In one rat, a 14% of CBF reduction corresponded to a 40 minutes moderate CMRO2 reduction followed by severe CMRO2 reduction. In another rat, a 21% CBF reduction allows a moderate CMRO2 reduction for about 90 minutes. With a MCAO rat model, our results demonstrate the temporal biphasic behavior of OEF with an initial increase and followed by a returning baseline values. In addition, the temporal evolution of CMRO2 agree with the reported results in the literature using PET 5. In conclusion, non-invasive methods to assess cerebral oxygenation status in vivo may provide us more insight into the ischemic tissue viability.
Country Segmentation of the International Market Using ICP-Based Consumption Patterns

Abstract Political and economic risks dominate the discussion in the international investment literature. Little attention is given to the risks involved with the variability in consumption patterns of countries around the globe. This article treats the issue of consumption risks in international investment and proposes market segmentation as a strategy for reducing them. Using household consumption expenditure based on the ICP (International Comparison Programme), 54 countries of the world were segmented into 5 groupings of relatively homogenous consumption patterns. The same countries were segmented using their income level. Results showed a significant difference between country segments produced by using income level, and the ones obtained with ICP-based consumption pattern. Tested over a 10-year period, using the Rand index, stability of partitions was found to be high for the ICP-based country segmentation. Managerial implications of these results for risk-reducing diversification strategies in inte...
Haematocoele in a stallion and recovery of fertility following unilateral castration.

SUMMARY A stallion was examined because of a pronounced scrotal swelling of three weeks' duration. A sudden loss of fertility with the finding of increased numbers of abnormal sperm indicated degeneration of the seminiferous epithelium. Based on the results of the physical examination and analysis of fluid aspirated from a fluctuant portion of the swelling, a tentative diagnosis of haematocoele was made. Unilateral castration was performed. Periodic examination of the stallion's semen for eight months after surgery indicated recovery of normal spermatogenesis in the remaining testis. The fertility of the stallion returned to normal in the subsequent breeding season. RESUME Un etalon fut examine pour oedeme important du scrotum datant de trois semaines. Une perte soudaine de la fertilite avec accroissement du nombre des spermatozoides anormaux indiquait une degenerescence de l'epithelium des tubes seminiferes. Un diagnostic presomptif d'hematocele fut fait. Une castration unilaterale fut operee. Le controle periodique du sperme de cet etalon durant les huit mois suivant l'operation montra la recuperation d'une semence normale et la fertilite de l'etalon fut normale l'annee suivante. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Wegen einer 3-Wochen bestehenden, ausgepragten Skrotalschwellung wurde ein Hengst untersucht. Ein plotzlicher Fertilitatsverlust zusammen mit einem vermehrten Auftreten abnormer Spermien liess eine Degeneration des samenbildenden Epithels vermuten. Auf-grund der klinischen Untersuchung und der Analyse eines aspirierten Punktats aus einer fluktuierenden Stelle der Schwellung wurde die Verdachtsdiagnose “Haematocele” gestellt und eine unilaterale Kastration vorgenommen. Periodische Samenuntersuchungen wahrend der folgenden acht Monate wiesen auf das Wiedereinsetzen einer normalen Spermatogenese im verbleibenden Hoden hin. Die Fertilitat des Hengstes war in der nachsten Zuchtperiode wieder normal.
Color of the K Corona

Observations at the 7 March 1970 eclipse were carried out for the purpose of measuring an expected difference in color between the radially and tangentially polarized components of the corona. The basic instrument was an array of Wollaston prisms and filters in association with a telescope and camera. Excellent photographs were obtained and are now being analyzed. It is expected that the color difference can be used in determination of the three-dimensional configuration of coronal features.
SOLiT: An automated system for synthesising reliable sequential circuits with multilevel logic implementation

The paper presents SOLiT, an automated system for synthesising reliable sequential circuits with multilevel logic implementation. The reliability enhancement is achieved by using concurrent error detection scheme with coding techniques. The system receives the behavioural description of finite-state machines, determines the required checker circuits, and generates the physical layouts. The synthesised circuits can detect multiple unidirectional errors. A novel output partitioning algorithm is presented to reduce the hardware cost of the required checker circuits. Results show that the overhead for reliability enhancement of the synthesised sequential circuits is relatively low.
“Appearances notwithstanding, we are all doing something like political ecology”

En reponse aux articles de S. Shapiro et A. Gowri consacres aux etudes sur la science et la technologie («Caught in a web: the implications of ecology for radical symmetry in STS» et «Towards a moral ecology: what is the relationship between collective and human agents?», in «Social epistemology», 11, 1, 1997, pp. 73-110), l'A. examine le role de la nature dans l'histoire des transformations economiques et politiques de la societe humaine, a travers la critique de la culture entreprise par R. Williams, d'une part, et definit les conditions d'une ecologie politique fondee sur une analogie entre les STS et la theorie ethique, d'autre part
An investigation on possible oligomer formation in pharmaceutical formulations of cisplatin

Abstract Concern has been raised that the anti-neoplastic agent, cisplatin, when formulated in isotonic sodium chloride solution may degrade to di-μ-hydroxo-bis( cis -diammineplatinum(II)) 4 and tri-μ-hydroxo-tris( cis -diammineplatinum(II)) 5 which have been shown to be therapeutically inactive and highly toxic. The formation of 4 and 5 in pharmaceutical preparations of 1 is therefore of concern and was the subject of this study. Using HPLC procedures developed for the monitoring of cis -diamminemonochloro-monoaquoplatinum(II)) 2 , cis -diamminediaquoplatinum(II) 3 and oligomeric species 4 and 5 , the long-term (1 year) stability of cisplatin (1 g 1 ) was investigated in 0.9% sodium chloride solution. Oligomeric products 4 and 5 were not found at the detection limits of 1 mg l . The degradation of 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 in aqueous sodium chloride solutions were also studied; all of these sp degraded to cisplatin. Results stongly suggest that 4 and 5 are not formed in formulations in which cisplatin is dissolved in isotonic sodium chloride solution.
Transient Convective Effects on Diffusion Measurements in Liquids

The transient effects of convective disturbances on self-diffusivity measurements are evaluated using numerical simulations. “ Codastefano-type” diffusivity measurements, where continuous real-time measurements of the concentration of the diffusing species are made at two discrete locations using a radioactive tracer, are considered. Convection arises due to buoyancy caused by the interaction of temperature gradients with either gravity (terrestrial experiments) or residual acceleration (microgravity experiments). For small deviations from ideal isothermal conditions, the system’ s response to residual microgravity disturbances is examined. The consequences of heating and cooling “ temperature ramps” are also examined for both microgravity and terrestrial conditions. The frequency, amplitude, and orientation of the residual acceleration vector and the magnitude of heating or cooling rates all affect the e delity of a given measurement. It is also shown that, for actual high-temperature experiments, it is important to assess the degree of isothermality that can be attained.
Satellite retrieval of aerosol absorption over the oceans using sunglint

[1] Aerosol absorption of sunlight, in particular by black carbon - soot and dark organic material produced from incomplete combustion of fossil fuel and from vegetation fires, is emerging as a key component of climate forcing. However, global characterization of black carbon emissions, distribution and absorption of sunlight cannot be determined within a factor of 5. Here we propose that the oceanic sunglint can be used as a bright background against which aerosol absorption can be measured from space. The method can map global ocean glint every 4–10 days and determine the distribution of aerosol absorption optical thickness with an error of ±25% for aerosol optical thickness of 0.2 to 0.4. 18 % of the ocean observations are for this range of optical thicknesses. The monthly average aerosol absorption is estimated to have an error of ±12% and uncertainty in the single scattering albedo of ±0.02. We outline a satellite design to perform the measurements.
Further Experience with Exsanguination for Descending Thoracic Aneurysms

Resection and graft replacement of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms is associated with potential ischemic sequelae related to aortic cross-clamping. Such complications are minimized when the ischemic period is shorter than 30 minutes. We have devised a technique in which a single aortic cross-clamp is applied proximal to the lesion, and the distal anastomosis is performed in “open” fashion, with limited distal aortic dissection. This technique depends upon continuous autotransfusion, which allows distal aortic decompression by means of partial exsanguination through the open distal aorta and segmental spinal arteries. In addition, the period of cord ischemia from aortic clamping is minimized. From April 1989 to October 1993, we used this approach in 71 consecutive patients (50 men and 21 women), 8 (11.3%) of whom died during the early postoperative period. Complications included 6 cases of spinal cord dysfunction (8.5%) and 4 cases of renal failure (5.6%). Our success with this approach may contradict more accepted concepts of spinal cord protection from ischemic injury. (J Card Surg 1994;9:625–630)
Determination and evaluation of selected organic chemical tracers for wood smoke in airborne particulate matter

PM2.5 is released during combustion reactions and industrial processes. The chemical composition of PM can be a strong indicator of its origin, or source. A method was developed for the determination of selected chemical tracers for wood smoke in particulate matter using solvent extraction and GCMS analysis. The chosen tracers were levoglucosan, dehydroabietic acid, abietic acid, vanillin, acetovanillone, guaiacol, and 4-ethylguaiacol. Deuterated compounds of similar structure to the chosen tracers were employed as standards in the procedure to eliminate the possible effects of incomplete extraction from the filters and other fluctuations throughout the analysis period. The method had recoveries of 105 ± 7.7% for levoglucosan, 64 ± 3.5% for dehydroabietic acid, 60±3.6% for abietic acid, 98±2.2% for vanillin, 102 ± 3.8% for acetovanillone, 104 ± 4.9% for guaiacol and 116 ± 4.7% for 4-ethylguaiacol. The developed analytical method was applied to ambient particulate matter samples collected in Libby, MT. Lib...
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PSYCHOMETRIC DIMENSIONS OF ITEM QUALITY AND STUDENT RATINGS OF ITEM RELEVANCY AND AMBIGUITY

Students rated the quality of the items on a classroom test that had been taken previously. On the same test, psychometric item indices were calculated. The results showed that the student ratings were related to the item difficulty, but not to the item-test correlation. In addition, the better-achieving students tended to rate the items as less ambiguous. Finally, the ambiguity ratings were more highly related to the item-test correlations for the better achieving students. These findings support opinions held by many instructors of students' judgments of item quality.
Analysis of a long-duration hyperpolarization produced by octopamine in an identified effector neuron of Helisoma.

Abstract Recent studies have demonstrated that patterned activity in the buccal ganglion of Helisoma trivolvis can be modulated by a variety of neuroactive substances. This study examines the effect of one of these substances, octopamine, on the identified buccal neuron B5. Perfusion of B5 with octopamine produces a 10–20 mV, long-duration hyperpolarization which is associated with an increase in membrane conductance. The magnitude of the hyperpolarization is dose-dependent with a dissociation constant of approximately 5 μM. The reversal potential for the octopamine-induced hyperpolarization (−84 mV) is nearly identical to the predicted potassium equilibrium potential (−85 mV). This result, together with the results of experiments in which extracellular potassium concentrations were altered, demonstrates that octopamine modulated a potassium current in B5.
Binding Induced Folding in p53-MDM2 Complex

The MDM2 N-terminal domain can bind to the transactivation domain of p53 and downregulate its ability to activate transcription. It was found that binding with p53 stabilizes the MDM2 N-terminal domain. Thus the coupling between binding and folding is essential in the normal functional interactions between p53 and MDM2. We have performed explicit-solvent molecular dynamics simulations (MD) for both bound MDM2N and apo-MDM2 to study the interdependence of binding and folding in the p53−MDM2 complex. Kinetic analysis of high-temperature MD simulations shows that both bound MDM2N and apo-MDM2 unfold via a two-state process. Both kinetics and free energy landscape analyses indicate that bound MDM2 unfolds in the order of p53 unbinding, tertiary unfolding, and finally secondary structure unfolding. Our data show that the unfolding pathways are different between bound MDM2N and apo-MDM2: the unfolding order of unstable helices and tertiary contacts is reversed. Transition state analysis shows that the transiti...
Periotest Comes with Many False Alarms for Predicting Early Implant Loss

Article Title and Bibliographic Information Early Implant Failure. Prognostic Capacity of Periotest: Retrospective Study of a Large Sample Noguerol B, Munoz R, Mesa F, de Dios Luna J, O’Valle F. Clin Oral Implants Res 2006;17(4):459-64. Level of Evidence 4 Purpose/Question To assess Periotest values at first surgery predicts implant loss Source of Funding In part by Research Group #CTS-503 Type of Study/Design Retrospective consecutive case-series
03.1.2 Redundancy of Lagged Regressors in a Conditionally Heteroskedastic Time Series Regression—Solution

Redundancy of lagged regressors in a conditionally heteroskedastic time series regression—solution.
A population-based study comparing laparoscopic and robotic outcomes in colorectal surgery

Current data addressing the role of robotic surgery for the management of colorectal disease are primarily from single-institution and case-matched comparative studies as well as administrative database analyses. The purpose of this study was to compare minimally invasive surgery outcomes using a large regional protocol-driven database devoted to surgical quality, improvement in patient outcomes, and cost-effectiveness. This is a retrospective cohort study from the prospectively collected Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative registry designed to compare outcomes of patients who underwent elective laparoscopic, hand-assisted laparoscopic, and robotic colon and rectal operations between July 1, 2012 and October 7, 2014. We adjusted for differences in baseline covariates between cases with different surgical approaches using propensity score quintiles modeled on patient demographics, general health factors, diagnosis, and preoperative co-morbidities. The primary outcomes were conversion rates and hospital length of stay. Secondary outcomes included operative time, and postoperative morbidity and mortality. A total of 2735 minimally invasive colorectal operations met inclusion criteria. Conversion rates were lower with robotic as compared to laparoscopic operations, and this was statistically significant for rectal resections (colon 9.0 vs. 16.9 %, p < 0.06; rectum 7.8 vs. 21.2 %, p < 0.001). The adjusted length of stay for robotic colon operations (4.00 days, 95 % CI 3.63–4.40) was significantly shorter compared to laparoscopic (4.41 days, 95 % CI 4.17–4.66; p = 0.04) and hand-assisted laparoscopic cases (4.44 days, 95 % CI 4.13–4.78; p = 0.008). There were no significant differences in overall postoperative complications among groups. When compared to conventional laparoscopy, the robotic platform is associated with significantly fewer conversions to open for rectal operations, and significantly shorter length of hospital stay for colon operations, without increasing overall postoperative morbidity. These findings and the recent upgrades in minimally invasive technology warrant continued evaluation of the role of the robotic platform in colorectal surgery.
Robust estimation of the process standard deviation for control charts

Control charts are tools used to detect aberrant behavior in manufacturing processes. The x chart plots subsample averages as a function of time, and the R chart plots subsample ranges. Both of these charts rely on an estimate of the standard deviation of the process when it is operating correctly. The estimate has traditionally been based on the average range of 2040 subgroups, but this will produce an estimate that is biased high when outliers are present. One standard solution is to construct a range chart for the original subgroups and estimate the standard deviation only from those subgroups within the control limits, repeating the procedure as necessary. Proposals have also recently been made to use a trimmed mean of the subsample ranges with a fixed percentage of trimming, as well as the trimmed mean of the subsample interquartile ranges. This article presents a new approach to robust estimation of the process standard deviation. The procedure first centers each subsample on its own median and then...
Crystallization of Amorphous Indomethacin during Dissolution: Effect of Processing and Annealing

The crystallization of amorphous drugs during dissolution is a type of solution mediated phase transformation that can reduce the bioavailability enhancement one hoped to gain from the amorphous state. The goal of this study was to explore the effects of processing on the dissolution performance of amorphous indomethacin. The amorphous solids were prepared by four techniques, quench cooling the melted solid, cryogrinding γ indomethacin amorphous for 1 or 3 h and quench cooling the solid followed by 1 h of cryogrinding. Dissolution results assessed in a flow-through intrinsic dissolution apparatus reveal decreases in the dissolution rate of amorphous indomethacin during the experimental time frame indicating that a solution mediated phase transformation has occurred. The amorphous solids prepared by melt quenching and melt quenching followed by cryogrinding showed a significant dissolution rate advantage over the γ form of indomethacin. In contrast, indomethacin that was cryoground amorphous for 1 or 3 h d...
Use of Axillary Staging in the Management of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

50. Miller CL, Specht MC, Skolny MN, et al. Sentinel lymph node biopsy at the time of mastectomy does not increase the risk of lymphedema: implications for prophylactic surgery. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012;135(3):781-789. 51. Osako T, Iwase T, UshijimaM, et al. Incidence and prediction of invasive disease and nodal metastasis in preoperatively diagnosed ductal carcinoma in situ. Cancer Sci. 2014;105(5):576-582.
4-tert-Butyl­pyridinium chloride–4,4′-(propane-2,2-di­yl)bis­(2,6-di­methyl­phenol)–toluene (2/2/1)

In the title solvated salt, C9H14N+·Cl−·C19H24O2·0.5C7H7, two mol­ecules of 4,4′-(propane-2,2-di­yl)bis­(2,6-di­methyl­phenol) are linked via O—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds to two chloride ions, each of which is also engaged in N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonding to a 4-tert-butyl­pyridinium cation, giving a cyclic hydrogen-bonded entity centred at 1/2, 1/2, 1/2. The toluene solvent mol­ecule resides in the lattice and resides on an inversion centre; the disorder of the methyl group requires it to have a site-occupancy factor of 0.5. No crystal packing channels are observed.
Physical characterization of neutron beams produced by protons and deuterons of various energies bombarding beryllium and lithium targets of several thicknesses.

Protons of 35 and 65 MeV and deuterons of 35 MeV were used to bombard beryllium and lithium targets of various thicknesses. Four types of experiments were conducted in order to characterize the neutron fields. They were (1) central axis depth‐dose measurements in a water phantom, (2) dose buildup at small depths in tissue‐equivalent plastic, (3) microdosimetric measurements and LET distributions, and (4) neutron yields and energy spectra at an angle of 0 deg. The results generally show that (a) the central axis depth doses for the 35 and 65 MeV particles roughly approximate those of 60Co and 4‐MeV bremsstrahlung photons, respectively, (b) the neutron dose buildups are more rapid than those of the above‐mentioned photon sources, (c) the microdosimetric spectra show differences which are consistent with the measured neutron energy spectra, and (d) p–Li compared to p–Be neutron spectra have larger high‐energy particle flux for similar target and beam configurations.
Nitric oxide in the control of renal hemodynamics and excretory function

Experimental evidence has now been amassed to indicate that inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase reduces total or regional renal blood flow by approximately 25 to 30% and markedly increases the renal vascular resistance, demonstrating that basal release of NO helps to maintain the relatively low vascular resistance that is characteristic for the kidney. It has been demonstrated that intraarterial administration of NO synthase inhibitors causes marked reductions in sodium excretion without changes in filtered load and suppressed the arterial pressure-induced natriuretic responses in the kidney. We also demonstrated that a constant rate infusion of a NO donor in dogs pretreated with a NOS inhibitor resulted in increases in sodium excretion but failed to restore the slope of the relation between arterial pressure and sodium excretion, suggesting that an alteration in intrarenal NO production rate during changes in arterial pressure is involved in the mediation of pressure natriuresis. Further experiments in dogs performed in our laboratory have confirmed that there is a direct relationship between changes in arterial pressure and intrarenal NO activity measured using NO-sensitive microelectrodes in the renal tissue. These arterial pressure-induced changes in intrarenal NO activity were seen positively correlated with the changes in urinary excretion rates of sodium. Collectively, these data suggest that acute changes in arterial pressure alter intrarenal NO production, which inhibits tubular sodium reabsorption to manifest the phenomenon of pressure natriuresis.
Molecular Pathogenesis of Fanconi Anemia

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare autosomal recessive chromosomal breakage disorder characterized by the childhood onset of aplastic anemia, developmental defects, cancer susceptibility, and cellular hypersensitivity to DNA—cross-linking agents. FA patients can be divided into at least 8 complementation groups (FA-A, FA-B, FA-C, FA-D1, FA-D2, FA-E, FA-F, and FA-G). FA proteins encoded by 6 cloned FA genes (FANCA,FANCC,FANCD2,FANCE,FANCF, andFANCG) cooperate in a common pathway, culminating in the monoubiquitination of FANCD2 protein and colocalization of FANCD2 and BRCA1 proteins in nuclear foci. These BRCA1 foci have been implicated in the process of homologous recombination-mediated DNA repair. In this review, we will summarize the current progress in the field of FA research and highlight some of the potential functions of the FA pathway in DNA-damage response.
Effects of Feed-Pairing and Different Doses of Doxorubicin on Mortality and Electrolyte Changes in the Mouse Heart

ABSTRACTVarious electrolyte changes have been documented in the hearts of different species of laboratory animals intoxicated with doxorubicin. However, it has not been determined what role the drug-induced relative nutritional lack plays in the electrolyte imbalance of this antineoplastic drug, nor to what extent the electrolyte imbalance is dose-related. A feed-pairing study performed after a single 20 mg/kg i.p. dose of doxorubicin demonstrated that relative heart weight was significantly increased in responding drug treated mice over ad libitum controls. The heart weights of feed-paired animals were also elevated to the same extent. Nutrition did not appear to have any effect on the drug-induced elevation of total ventricular calcium levels in responding animals. Although heart sodium concentrations were increased over ad libitum controls by feed restriction, they were still significantly lower than the doxorubicin-treated animals. Cardiac levels of magnesium and potassium were significantly decreased...
Bare‐Nucleus Perturbation Theory: Excited States of Hydrogen Molecule

Ground and excited Σ+ states of R = 1.4a0 are treated by perturbation theory. The full interelectronic repulsion is taken as the perturbation, and the energy of each of nine states is calculated through third order. The equation for the first‐order wavefunction is treated by the Hylleraas variational principle, using a linear variational function including up to 30 James–Coolidge basis functions. Comparisons with conventional linear variational calculations using the same basis functions, and with related calculations of other workers, are given. The perturbation results are in most cases superior to variation, especially when small basis sets are used, but it is noted that the inadequacy of the present basis set for excited states leads to slow convergence of the energies of both methods with addition of basis functions. The bare‐nucleus Hamiltonian also becomes a worse starting point for higher states because of electronic shielding, as evidenced by slower convergence of the perturbation energy series. ...
Longitudinal author cocitation mapping: The changing structure of macroeconomics

Author cocitation analysis was used to investigate changes in the intellectual structure of Macroeconomics over two consecutive time periods, 1972–1977 and 1978–1983. Profile analysis, nonmetric multidimensional scaling and clustering techniques were used to create two-dimensional maps displaying the changing relationships among 41 authors as perceived by scholars citing their work over the two time periods. Clusters of points on the map, representing authors, correspond to theory groups or research areas. Authors in Rational Expectations Theory, Implicit Contracts, and a general group labeled “Post-Monetarist” show a marked increase in mean cocitation rate. The first is a school of thought emerging as a new focal point of scholarly activity in Macroeconomics. Two types of scholarly “migration” are observed, based on patterns of significant increases and decreases in correlations among authors—“active migration” (the individual refocussing of a scholar's efforts) and “passive migration” (the result of reevaluation of an author's previous contributions in the context of the rise of new problem areas).