cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparison between the effects of drug costs and share of family income on drug costs in determining drug price.

ABSTRACT High health care and medication expenditures pose a financial burden on Americans seeking care. It is imperative to determine the role of affordability in influencing access to health care and medications.To investigate the association between financial burden and health care access by comparing the effects of absolute and relative financial burdens, measured by total health care/medication expenditure (Expenditure) and health care/medication expenditure as a share of annual family income (Expenditure Share), respectively.Delay in receiving health care services and delay in obtaining prescription medications.A cross-sectional analysis of the 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey using multivariate logistic regressions with Expenditure and Expenditure Share variables standardized to facilitate comparison.While both absolute and relative financial burdens were found to be positively associated with the outcomes, the relative measure had a significantly higher association that was about twice as much as the absolute one. For the outcome of delay in getting health care, the standardized odds ratios (OR) for health care expenditure and health care expenditure as a share of family income were 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-1.18) and 1.25 (95% CI = 1.20-1.32), respectively. For the outcome of delay in getting medications, the standardized OR for medication expenditure and medication expenditure as a share of family income were 1.11 (95% CI = 1.08-1.15) and 1.23 (95% CI = 1.18-1.29), respectively.The study illustrated the importance of including income in policy considerations intended to balance value, access, and affordability. Specifically, income should be included in measures assessing the value of medications.
Patterns and Graded Algebraic Thinking

In this concluding chapter, we discuss ways in which algebra can be grounded in patterning activity. As a consequence, the development of algebraic generalization is also graded from nonsymbolic, to pre-symbolic, and finally to symbolic, reflective of the conceptual changes that occurred in the history of the subject. Over the course of four sections, we clarify the following points: (1) the different contexts of patterning activity and the kinds of algebraic generalizations they generate; (2) the relationship between arithmetical thinking and context-based structural thinking; (3) the grounding of algebra, functions, and models in nonsymbolic and pre-symbolic algebraic contexts; and (4) the graded vs. transitional nature of pattern generalization.
Mining High-Dimensional Data

With the rapid growth of computational biology and e-commerce applications, high-dimensional data becomes very common. Thus, mining high-dimensional data is an urgent problem of great practical importance. However, there are some unique challenges for mining data of high dimensions, including (1) the curse of dimensionality and more crucial (2) the meaningfulness of the similarity measure in the high dimension space. In this chapter, we present several state-of-art techniques for analyzing high-dimensional data, e.g., frequent pattern mining, clustering, and classification. We will discuss how these methods deal with the challenges of high dimensionality.
Legal Research: Restatements: An Influential Secondary Source

Written for the ABA's Student Lawyer magazine, this column examines Restatements and their value to legal researchers. A product of an enormous amount of time, effort, and expertise, Restatements can be highly influential in the courts. Legal researchers should be familiar with Restatements and what they offer. This column examines the basics of Restatements, including some of the difficulties in researching them on WestlawNext and Lexis Advance.
A Critical Analysis of Global Competition in Higher Education: Synthesizing Themes

In this final chapter of the volume, the editors synthesize key themes that emerge from the preceding chapters. They also highlight the contributions the authors make through emphasizing critical perspectives and the tension between global and local forces.
Reshaping Rubrene by Controlled Reduction with Alkali Metals

Mono-, di- and tetraanions of rubrene, (C42H28, Rub0), were generated by the controlled reduction of neutral polyarene with various alkali metals in the appropriate solvent. The X-ray diffraction studies of the resulting adducts of Rub1–, Rub2– and Rub4– with alkali-metal ions revealed the distortion of the rubrene core upon the stepwise acquisition of electrons. Coordination of the Cs+ ion and a noticeable deformation of Rub1– are observed at the first reduction step. Two types of rubrene dianions showing an essentially different conformation and coordination environment for the central tetracene core have been seen in the cesium adduct of Rub2–. Various types of supramolecular assembly between the tetrareduced rubrene anion, Rub4–, and lithium or rubidium cations have been found in the corresponding products in the solid state. The structures of rubrene anions and their aggregation with alkali-metal ions in solution have been studied by ESR and multinuclear NMR (1H, 13C, 7Li and 133Cs) spectroscopy.
Comparative pathway prediction via unified graph modeling of genomic structure information

Genomic information other than sequence similarity is important for comparative analysis based prediction of biological pathways. There is evidence that structure information like protein-DNA interactions and operons is very useful in improving the pathway prediction accuracy. This paper introduces a graph model that can unify the protein-DNA interaction and operon information as well as homologous relationships between involved genes. Under this model, pathway prediction corresponds to finding the maximum independent set in the model graph, which is solved efficiently via non-trivial tree decomposition-based techniques. The developed algorithm is evaluated based on the prediction of 30 pathways in E. coli K12 using those in B. subtilis 168 as templates. The overall accuracy of the new method outperforms those based solely on sequence similarity or using different categories of structure information separately.
TLR2 and TLR4 Expression and Inflammatory Cytokines are Altered in the Airway Epithelium of Those with Alcohol Use Disorders.

Background The lung has a highly regulated system of innate immunity to protect itself from inhaled microbes and toxins. The first line of defense is mucociliary clearance, but if invaders overcome this, inflammatory pathways are activated. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed on the airway epithelium. Their signaling initiates the inflammatory cascade and leads to production of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8. We hypothesized that airway epithelial insults, including heavy alcohol intake or smoking, would alter the expression of TLRs on the airway epithelium. Methods Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage and brushings of the airway epithelium was performed in otherwise healthy subjects who had normal chest radiographs and spirometry. A history of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) was ascertained using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and a history of cigarette smoking was also obtained. Age, gender, and nutritional status in all groups were similar. We used real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to quantitate TLR1 to 9 and enzyme-linked immune assay to measure tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, and IL-8. Results Airway brushings were obtained from 26 nonsmoking/non-AUD subjects, 28 smoking/non-AUD subjects, 36 smoking/AUD subjects, and 17 nonsmoking/AUD subjects. We found that TLR2 is up-regulated in AUD subjects, compared to nonsmoking/non-AUD subjects, and correlated with their AUDIT scores. We also measured a decrease in TLR4 expression in AUD subjects that correlated with AUDIT score. IL-6 and IL-8 were also increased in bronchial washings from AUD subjects. Conclusions We have previously demonstrated in normal human bronchial epithelial cells that in vitro alcohol exposure up-regulates TLR2 through a NO/cGMP/PKG-dependent pathway, resulting in up-regulation of inflammatory cytokine production after Gram-positive bacterial product stimulation. Our current translational study confirms that TLR2 is also up-regulated in humans with AUDs.
Rain Tanks, Springs, and Broken Pipes As Emerging Water Commons Along Salmon Creek, CA, USA

Large waterworks helped to produce California's cities, agricultural bounty, and attendant discourses of progress, private property, and human control over riverine ecosystems (Woelfle-Erskine, 2007). However, over the past two decades, water governance has been decentralized and some infrastructure diversified with rain tank retrofits, creating new local waterscapes in the interstices of California's ‘hydraulic society’ (California Department of Water Resources, 2005; Worster, 1992). These local waterscapes emerge entangled with alternate discourses of human-ecological collaboration and water as a public trust or commons, which in turn generate new cultural practices and governance strategies (Woelfle-Erskine, in press). I develop a field interview approach to investigate how installing rain tanks initiates shifts in water practices and environmental imaginaries along Salmon Creek (Sonoma County). There, a collaborative citizen-agency project has to date installed rain tanks with a total capacity of two million litres, aiming to improve water security for rural residents and increase late-summer streamflow to benefit endangered salmon. Residents who participate in monitoring salmon populations, water quality, and their own springs and rain tanks report that these activities have increased their sense of interdependence with other human and nonhuman neighbours who rely on the watershed’s limited water sources. Drawing on Barad’s (2007) concepts of apparatus and intra-action, I argue that the notion of water as an interspecies commons is co-evolving with rainwater harvesting and that collective choice frameworks that embrace both management practices and environmental imaginaries represent a coherent alternative both to state and market frameworks of water governance and to traditional adaptive management methods and discourses.
Weight discrimination in the workplace: a meta-analytic examination of the relationship between weight and work-related outcomes

This study provides a meta-analytic review of correlational research examining the relationship between job incumbent/applicant weight and work-related outcomes. Giventhedifferencesbetweencorrelationalandexperimentalresearch,ourfindings show an understandably weaker relationship between weight and work-related outcomes than has been found in past meta-analyses of the experimental research. However,ourfindingsdosupportthedirectionalityof(a)theoveralleffectofweight onwork-relatedoutcomes,and(b)themoderatingroleof jobincumbent/applicant sex and the type of work-related outcome found in past meta-analyses of experimental research.In addition,this review provides initial meta-analytic evidence for the roles of race,the sex‐race interaction,and age as moderators of the relationship between weight and work-related outcomes.
Metal‐Free One‐Pot Oxidative Amination of Aromatic Aldehydes: Conversion of Benzaldehyde to N‐Benzoyl Pyrrolidine

Benzaldehyde Pyrrolidine N-Benzoyl pyrrolidine tert-Butyl hydroperoxide Keywords: Metal-free; One-pot amination; Aromatic aldehydes; Oxidation; Waste disposal; Secondary amines
The Ability To Rearrange Dual TCRs Enhances Positive Selection, Leading to Increased Allo- and Autoreactive T Cell Repertoires

Thymic selection is designed to ensure TCR reactivity to foreign Ags presented by self-MHC while minimizing reactivity to self-Ags. We hypothesized that the repertoire of T cells with unwanted specificities such as alloreactivity or autoreactivity are a consequence of simultaneous rearrangement of both TCRα loci. We hypothesized that this process helps maximize production of thymocytes capable of successfully completing thymic selection, but results in secondary TCRs that escape stringent selection. In T cells expressing two TCRs, one TCR can mediate positive selection and mask secondary TCR from negative selection. Examination of mice heterozygous for TRAC (TCRα(+/-)), capable of only one functional TCRα rearrangement, demonstrated a defect in generating mature T cells attributable to decreased positive selection. Elimination of secondary TCRs did not broadly alter the peripheral T cell compartment, though deep sequencing of TCRα repertoires of dual TCR T cells and TCRα(+/-) T cells demonstrated unique TCRs in the presence of secondary rearrangements. The functional impact of secondary TCRs on the naive peripheral repertoire was evidenced by reduced frequencies of T cells responding to autoantigen and alloantigen peptide-MHC tetramers in TCRα(+/-) mice. T cell populations with secondary TCRs had significantly increased ability to respond to altered peptide ligands related to their allogeneic ligand as compared with TCRα(+/-) cells, suggesting increased breadth in peptide recognition may be a mechanism for their reactivity. Our results imply that the role of secondary TCRs in forming the T cell repertoire is perhaps more significant than what has been assumed.
Advancing Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Skills in First Year College Students

ABSTRACT This article provides a case study of recent curriculum development in a freshman skills program which integrates critical thinking and English composition as linked courses at Gonzaga University. Known as “thought and expression” courses, this block of courses, which also includes speech communication, can be taken by students separately or in a linked cohort with the same twenty students in each class. In linked courses, faculty are generally aware of each others' course topics and assignments, and they meet to discuss student progress and look for opportunities for curriculum integration. In this case study, library faculty were included in the instructional team, and information literacy skills that relate to critical thinking were integrated into the goals of the critical thinking and English composition courses. Faculty involved in the courses believe that integrating library skills into course goals adds coherence to the curriculum; it also helps students to achieve the developmental goals...
Terrestrial gravitational noise on a gravitational wave antenna

A random gravitational force can be generated by seismic noise, by atmospheric acoustic noise, and by moving massive bodies. An estimate of the gravitational power spectrum at a point on the Earth is given. Such a force is an important source of noise in an interferometric gravitational wave antenna below $f=10$ Hz.
Phosphatidylserine binding sites in erythroid spectrin: location and implications for membrane stability.

The erythrocyte membrane is a composite structure consisting of a lipid bilayer tethered to the spectrin-based membrane skeleton. Two complexes of spectrin with other proteins are known to participate in the attachment. Spectrin has also been shown to interact with phosphatidylserine (PS), a component of the lipid bilayer, which is confined to its inner leaflet. That there may be multiple sites of interaction with PS in the spectrin sequence has been inferred, but they have not hitherto been identified. Here we have explored the interaction of PS-containing liposomes with native α- and β-spectrin chains and with recombinant spectrin fragments encompassing the entire sequences of both chains. We show that both α-spectrin and β-spectrin bind PS and that sites of high affinity are located within 8 of the 38 triple-helical structural repeats which make up the bulk of both chains; these are α8, α9−10, β2, β3, β4, β12, β13, and β14, and PS affinity was also found in the nonhomologous N-terminal domain of the β-...
Mars: Dust devil track survey in Argyre Planitia and Hellas Basin

Dust devils and dust devil tracks have been frequently observed in Viking Orbiter and Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images, but the parameters that control their distribution have been poorly constrained. Here we investigate the abundance of dust devil tracks in two large study areas, Argyre Planitia and Hellas Basin, using a survey of over 3000 MOC narrow-angle (NA) images. We report the effect of season, elevation, and surface properties on track distribution using measurements of dust devil track density (the number of dust devil tracks per square kilometer). In both areas, dust devil tracks occur predominantly in summer and are rarely observed in winter. The lifetime of dust devil tracks is inferred to be short (i.e., less than a few months). There is no unambiguous correlation of abundance with elevation; rather the spatial distribution follows albedo patterns, suggesting that dust availability controls the abundance of dust devil tracks. We estimate the total dust lifting potential of dust devils using the average dust devil track density for Argyre and Hellas and conclude that, unless the average dust devil track is greater than 20 m wide, longer than 2 km, and more than 40 mm deep, they cannot account for the estimated global sedimentation rate. In addition, by comparing 2 Mars years of observations, we find no evidence of an increase in dust devil track density prior to the global dust storm that occurred in June 2001. We conclude that dust devils did not trigger this storm.
Mitochondrial disorders as windows into an ancient organelle

Much of our current knowledge about mitochondria has come from studying patients who have respiratory chain disorders. These disorders comprise a large collection of individually rare syndromes, each presenting in a unique and often devastating way. In recent years, there has been great progress in defining their genetic basis, but we still know little about the cascade of events that gives rise to such diverse pathology. Here, we review these disorders and explore them in the context of a contemporary understanding of mitochondrial evolution, biochemistry and genetics. Fully deciphering their pathogenesis is a challenging next step that will inspire the development of drug treatments for rare and common diseases.
Early Increases in Breast Tumor Xenograft Water Mobility in Response to Paclitaxel Therapy Detected by Non-Invasive Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging

An important goal in cancer chemotherapy is to sensitively and quantitatively monitor the response of individual patients' tumors to successful, or unsuccessful, therapy so that regimens can be altered iteratively. Currently, tumor response is monitored by frank changes in tumor morphology, yet these markers take long to manifest and are not quantitative. Recent studies suggest that the apparent diffusion coefficient of water (ADCw), measured noninvasively with magnetic resonance imaging, is sensitively and reliably increased in response to successful CTx. In the present study, we investigate the combination chemotherapy response of human breast cancer tumor xenografts sensitive or resistant to Paclitaxel by monitoring changes in the ADCw. Our results indicate that there is a clear, substantial, and early increase in the ADCw after successful therapy in drug sensitive tumors and that there is no change in the ADCw in p-glycoprotein-positive tumors, which are resistant to Paclitaxel. The mechanism underlying these changes is unknown yet is consistent with apoptotic cell shrinkage and a concomitant increase in the extracellular water fraction.
Catalog of saddle shaped surfaces in crystals

Abstract We present a catalog of features of surfaces of minimum surface free energy. The types of surfaces considered are interfaces between two phases, at least one of which is solid; the surface free energy is a given anisotropic function. We list all possible local structures of the interfaces under certain quite general conditions. Included in the list are features which have not earlier been recognized as being minimizing. Various techniques of describing the local structure of minimizing surfaces and of proving minimality are also given, the most useful of which involve n-diagrams and barriers.
Techniques Used in Metabolism Studies with Surgically Modified Hens

Abstract STUDIES with the fowl involving the separate collection of urine and feces have been quite limited. Research to be reported in this and subsequent papers showed that a surgical procedure which allowed separate collection of feces and urine was a valuable research tool in the study of avian metabolism. The purpose of this paper is to describe certain techniques which were developed and refined to enhance the value of surgically modified fowl as research animals. SURGICAL TECHNIQUES The surgical techniques used in the studies reported in this paper were those developed by Dixon and Wilkinson (1957) and by Dixon (1958). After the conclusion of the latter experiment certain refinements in surgical techniques were made in order to maintain long term collection from hens having exteriorized recta. These are described in the following paragraphs. Experience with hens having exteriorized ureters and with hens having exteriorized recta soon showed that the hen …
Wound matrix attachment regulates actin in cells of the granulation tissue

Background. Both extracellular matrix attachment and actin cytoskeletal organization are associated with a pro-proliferative, pro-survival state. We hypothesized that the actin organization of wound cells is increased in the presence of wound matrix attachment and is decreased after attachment disruption. Methods. In Experiment A, 18 rats were wounded (2 × 2 cm from dorsum) followed by no intervention (NI), flap with wound edge release (MCF), or wound edge release only (R) on day 5. In Experiment B, 18 rats were wounded with affixation of a perimeter splint, followed by splint continuation (S), desplinting (D), or desplinting with wound edge release (D/R) on day 7 (n = 6 for all subgroups). The content, intensity, and directionality of the phalloidin-labeled actin cytoskeleton of serially sectioned wound specimens were determined with image analysis software 24 h after disruption of wound matrix attachment. Results. Content (=% of field stained for actin), intensity (=gray value of 8-bit image), and directionality (a 0–1 fraction; 0.5 = no direction, 0 = vertical, 1 = horizontal) are given as mean ± SD (∗P < 0.05 compared to NI in Exp A, or S in Exp B; ANOVA + unpaired t-test). TABLE—ABSTRACT 106. Exp Wound Content Intensity Directionality A NI 55.2 ± 17.1 39.1 ± 2.6 0.664 ± 0.054 A MCF 40.7 ± 16.1∗ 41.6 ± 3.5 0.471 ± 0.086∗ A R 44.8 ± 19.8 37.9 ± 2.0 0.531 ± 0.085∗ B S 18.7 ± 8.2 34.5 ± 2.5 0.826 ± 0.035 B D 17.5 ± 8.0 32.4 ± 1.8∗ 0.716 ± 0.075∗ B D/R 4.5 ± 4.7∗ 30.9 ± 1.8∗ 0.683 ± 0.058∗ Full-size table Table options View in workspace Download as CSV Conclusions. Disruption of wound matrix attachment decreased actin polymerization (as measured by content and intensity) and fiber directionality in the granulation tissue. Our data support the concept that the state of wound matrix attachment regulates the actin cytoskeleton of wound cells and that mechanoregulation likely is involved in acute wound dynamics.
N-body models

The experimental discovery of an overstability in the central regions of galaxies is briefly discussed, and numerical methods for integrating orbits are briefly addressed. The overstability manifests itself as a growing amplitude in the orbit of a galaxy's nucleus about its mass centroid. This finding may complicate studies of the topological properties of orbits and studies of the bifurcation structure of orbits. A sample problem is used to illustrate the importance of a Liouville theorem in N-body calculations.
Transformation into a High Performance Process Plant: What is the Roadmap?

Abstract ‘High performance’ are the key words in the 21st century for all plants – manufacturing and process. High performance plants are also known as ‘World class’ plants, ‘lean management’ plants or they are given some other similar name that implies high performance. Whatever the name may be, to be successful in the 21st century, a manufacturing or process plant must adopt the principles through which it can be transformed into and recognised as a high performance plant. This paper lays down a roadmap that will transform a process plant into a high performance plant, the so-called ‘roadmap’ is in two parts: technical and managerial.
Chronic hepatitis C as a risk factor for colorectal adenoma

Introduction Over the last decade, epidemiologic studies have determined a relationship between chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and malignancies other than hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly in gastrointestinal malignancies. This study aims to evaluate the incidence of colorectal adenomas and advanced neoplasia in CHC patients compared to the general population and to evaluate whether CHC infection is an independent risk factor for colorectal adenomas and advanced neoplasia.
Bandwidth shaping of microresonator-based frequency combs via dispersion engineering

We investigate experimentally and theoretically the role of group-velocity dispersion and higher-order dispersion on the bandwidth of microresonator-based parametric frequency combs. We show that the comb bandwidth and the power contained in the comb can be tailored for a particular application. Additionally, our results demonstrate that fourth-order dispersion plays a critical role in determining the spectral bandwidth for comb bandwidths on the order of an octave.
Nonserotonergic control of nucleus accumbens dopamine metabolism by the median raphe nucleus

Abstract Injections of the GABA agonist muscimol into the median raphe nucleus (MR) have been shown to result in an acceleration of dopamine metabolism within the nucleus accumbens. To examine whether serotonergic mechanisms play a role in this effect, muscimol or its vehicle was injected into the MR of either control subjects or of rats that had received prior injections of the serotonin-depleting agent p -chlorophenylalanine (PCPA). Although PCPA treatments produced massive depletions of forebrain serotonin, they failed to alter the effect of muscimol infusions on dopamine metabolism. This finding suggests that the effects of intra-MR injections of muscinol on accumbens dopamine turnover do not result entirely from an interaction between serotonergic and dopaminergic systems.
Improving Dementia Care Through Physician Education: Some Challenges

Most of the estimated 4.5 million Americans who currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease are cared for by primary care physicians rather than geriatric or other specialists. Although clinical practice guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for diagnosing and managing dementia, a number of barriers prevent their implementation in the primary care setting. These barriers include the nature of dementing illness which make its symptoms difficult to recognize and respond to, time and other constraints in the primary care setting, and physician attitudes. As well as presenting sound evidence-based knowledge, effective medical education programs must use effective educational approaches and must seek strategies to overcome these barriers.
Conditionally replicative adenoviral vectors for malignant glioma

High-grade gliomas constitute an important challenge to modern medicine, and although great effort has been made to prolong patient survival, the prognosis for this disease remains poor. Due to recent discoveries in the molecular basis of gliomas, gene therapy is becoming a promising alternative. In this review, we discuss the use of conditionally replicative adenoviral vectors (CRAd) and their applications in neuro-oncology. Such vectors, when rendered conditionally replicative via transductional and transcriptional modifications, offer great promise for patients with malignant brain tumours. We review data from preclinical and clinical studies utilising such vectors and discuss the limitations and future perspectives of CRAd oncolytic therapy for malignant glioma.
Maternal Self-Efficacy: Does It Explain School Involvement?.

ABSTRACT Using a predominantly African American Head Start sample, this study examined whether maternal self-efficacy moderated the relationships between parent involvement (comfort and endorsement of school, school-based involvement, and parent-teacher contact) and children's academic readiness, approaches to learning, and socioemotional development. Mothers rated themselves as highly efficacious, whereas teachers rated mothers as low in their involvement in their children's learning. Regression analyses indicated that children benefited when their highly efficacious mothers were highly involved in school events, whereas when less efficacious mothers were less involved in the school setting, their children were rated as more advanced in their school readiness skills. The findings from this study provide evidence of the importance of self-efficacy and involvement in children's school readiness. In addition, the results emphasize the need to examine activities occurring in the home when mothers may not be ...
Transcriptional control of MHC class II antigen expression on mouse T cell lines.

SUMMARY We have analysed the factors which regulate MHC class II expression in mouse T cell lines. Two such lines, BW 5147 and PLT-24.2, were used in this study. Using 5-azacytidine (5 AzaC) we have shown that hypomethylation of DNA can induce class II antigen synthesis in BW 5147. The expression of class II in PLT-24.2 cells seems to be under a different control mechanism. Southern blot analysis of I-Aβ gene in PLT-24.2 suggests that the expression of class II in this cell line is probably the outcome of a gene rearrangement. We hypothesise that insertion of viral long terminal repeats (LTR) next to the class II genes in transformed T cell lines can act as a promoter for the expression of class II antigens.
Cardiac Tamponade following Mitral Valve Replacement for Active Infective Endocarditis with Ring Abscess

Periannular extension and abscess formation are rare but deadly complications of infective endocarditis (IE) with high mortality. Multimodality cardiac imaging, invasive and noninvasive, is needed to accurately define the extent of the disease. Debridement, reconstruction, and valve replacement, often performed in an emergent setting, remain the treatment of choice. Here we present a case of severe IE in a 29-year-old intravenous drug user who after undergoing debridement of the abscess, annular reconstruction, and mitral valve replacement (MVR) presented with recurrence of shortness of breath and pedal edema. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed a cm cavity, posterior to and communicating with the left ventricle through a 3 cm wide fistulous opening, in proximity of the reconstructed mitral annulus. The patient underwent a redo MVR with patch closure of the fistulous opening, with good clinical outcome. This case highlights the classic TTE findings and the necessity for close follow-up in the perioperative period in patients undergoing surgery for periannular extension of infection. A cardiac magnetic resonance imaging can be considered, preoperatively, in such cases to identify the extent of myocardial involvement and surgical planning.
Handling irreducible loops: optimized node splitting versus DJ-graphs

This paper addresses the question of how to handle irreducible regions during optimization, which has become even more relevant for contemporary processors since recent VLIW-like architectures highly rely on instruction scheduling. The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, a method of optimized node splitting to transform irreducible regions of control flow into reducible regions is formally defined and its correctness is shown. This method is superior to approaches previously published since it reduces the number of replicated nodes by comparison. Second, three methods that handle regions of irreducible control flow are evaluated with respect to their impact on compiler optimizations. First, traditional node splitting is evaluated. Second, optimized node splitting is implemented. Third, DJ-Graphs are utilized to recognize nesting of irreducible (and reducible) loops and apply common loop optimizations extended for irreducible loops. Experiments compare the performance of these approaches with unrecognized irreducible loops that cannot be subject to loop optimizations, which is typical for contemporary compilers. Measurements show improvements of 1 to 40p for these methods of handling irreducible loops over the unoptimized case. Optimized node splitting may be chosen to retrofit existing compilers since it has the advantage that it only requires few changes to an optimizing compiler while limiting the code growth of compiled programs compared to traditional node splitting. Recognizing loops via DJ-Graphs should be chosen for new compiler developments since it requires more changes to the optimizer but does not significantly change the code size of compiled programs while yielding comparable improvements. Handling irreducible loops should even yield more benefits for exploiting instruction-level parallelism of modern architectures in the context of global instruction scheduling and optimization techniques that may introduce irreducible loops, such as enhanced modulo scheduling.
Surface Reactivity of OH Molecules during Deposition of SiO2 from Siloxane-Based Plasmas

The surface interactions of OH(X 2 Π) radicals during SiO 2 deposition from 1,3,5,7-tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS)/oxidant (O 2 or N 2 O) and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMOS)/oxidant (O 2 or N 2 O) plasmas have been measured by using the imaging of radicals interacting with surfaces (IRIS) method. The reactivity of OH at the surface of a growing SiO 2 film has been determined as a function of the applied rf plasma power (P), the precursor-to-oxidant ratio, and the substrate temperature (T s ). For both Si precursors, the surface reactivity (R) of OH during SiO 2 deposition on a 300 K Si substrate is ∼0.60 and is unaffected by changing precursor:oxidant ratio but does increase slightly with P. In contrast, at higher substrate temperatures (T s > 350 K), R decreases to 0.16 ′ 0.10 for 1:10 TMCTS/O 2 plasma (P = 100 W) and to 0.42 ′ 0.03 for 1:10 DMDMOS/O 2 plasma (P = 100 W). The rotational (OR) and translational (Θ T ) temperatures of the OH radicals have also been determined. The formation and role of OH in SiO 2 deposition are discussed and compared with previous results for TEOS/O 2 plasmas.
The Crisis of Liberal Italy

Part I. Giolittian Italy, 1901-1914: 1. The political economy of Giolittian Italy: the dilemmas of welfare, warfare and development Part II. World War I, August 1914-November 1918: 2. The collapse of the Italian fiscal system 3. The limits of state borrowing capacity 4. Monetary policy and the banking system 5. International accounts: Italy's loss of financial independence Part III. The Post-War Crisis, November 1918-October 1922: 6. A difficult readjustment: the political economy of the Orlando and Nitti governments, November 1918-June 1920 7. From Giolitti to Mussolini: monetary and financial stabilisation, and political collapse Conclusion.
VMeter: Power modelling for virtualized clouds

Datacenters are seeing unprecedented growth in recent years. The energy requirements to operate these large scale facilities are increasing significantly both in terms of operation cost as well as their indirect impact on ecology due to high carbon emissions. There are several ongoing research efforts towards the development of an integrated cloud management system to provide comprehensive online monitoring of resource utilization along with the implementation of power-aware policies to reduce the total energy consumption. However, most of these techniques provide online power monitoring based on the power consumption of a physical node running one or more Virtual Machines (VM). They lack a fine-grained mechanism to profile the power of an individual hosted VM. In this work we present a novel power modelling technique, VMeter, based on online monitoring of system-resources having high correlation with the total power consumption. The monitored system sub-components include: CPU, cache, disk, and DRAM. The proposed model predicts instantaneous power consumption of an individual VM hosted on a physical node besides the full system power consumption. Our model is validated using computationally diverse and industry standard benchmark programs. Our evaluation results show that our model is able to predict instantaneous power with an average mean and median accuracy of 93% and 94%, respectively, against the actual measured power using an externally attached power meter.
Total synthesis of (+)-balanitol and of (+)-selin-4-(15)-ene-1β,11-diol

Abstract (+)-Balanitol (1) and (+)-selin-4-(15)-ene-1β,11-dio1 (2), two recently-isolated naturally occurring eudesmanoid bicyclic sesquiterpene alcohols, have been synthesized stereoselectively by a route involving a [2 +2] photocycloaddition of a cyclobutene and a suitably structured 2-cyclohexenone. The structure and stereochemistry of the compounds are thereby corroborated.
An Extremely Simple Preparation of Ethylenedinitrilobis(2-Pent-3-En-4-Olato) Nickel

Abstract The ligand of the title complex is prepared, simply and in high yield, by the condensation of ethylenediamine with acetylacetone in aqueous bicarbonate solution. Addition of a nickel salt to the completed reaction mixture causes the formation and crystallization of the title complex, again in high yield
Preoperative chemotherapy does not increase morbidity or mortality of hepatic resection for colorectal cancer metastases

Hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer (mCRC) is best treated with a multidisciplinary approach. Conflicting data exist regarding the impact of preoperative chemotherapy on morbidity and mortality after hepatectomy. We hypothesized that preoperative chemotherapy does not adversely impact complications or mortality associated with hepatectomy. A retrospective analysis was performed and included patients with mCRC who underwent hepatectomy from 1996 to 2006. Patients were separated into two groups: those who received preoperative chemotherapy and those who did not. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with morbidity and mortality. Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to determine disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). One hundred eighty-six patients were analyzed: 112 (60%) received preoperative chemotherapy for a median of 4.2 months. Eighty patients (43%) underwent major hepatectomy. When comparing the two groups, there were no differences in hepatic tumor size (median 3 cm; p = 0.35), type of resection (p = 0.62), stage (p = 0.44) or location (p = 0.10) of the primary tumor, preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (p = 0.80), or number of nodes in lymphadenectomy (p = 0.62). Only number of positive nodes after colectomy (p = 0.02), age (p < or = 0.0001), and combined resection/radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (p = 0.004) were statistically different between the two groups. There was no difference in rates of morbidity (p = 0.81), mortality (p = 0.29), DFS (p = 0.25) or OS (p = 0.30). We conclude that the use of preoperative chemotherapy did not increase the risk of complications or death for patients undergoing hepatectomy for metastatic colorectal cancer. Pre-hepatectomy chemotherapy appears to be safe and is an important part of the multidisciplinary approach for this disease.
The Subtropical/Subpolar Gyre Exchange in the Presence of Annually Migrating Wind and a Meandering Jet: Water Mass Exchange

Abstract A simple barotropic double gyre–jet ocean circulation model is developed, driven by surface wind. The model consists of a subtropical gyre in the south and a subpolar gyre in the north and a meandering jet between them. Using this ocean model, the water mass exchange between two gyres is investigated by calculating the Lagrangian trajectories of the water column. The results show that the meandering jet will cause strong intergyre exchange, and the exchange will be substantially enchanced when the wind is allowed to migrate north and south. For example, in the standard case adapted after the Gulf Stream, it is found that about 10% subtropical water mass has been transferred into the subpolar gyre in 25 years when the wind is steady; whereas it is increased to about 18% in the same period of time when the wind is migrating annually with a distance 800 km. When the wind is steady, the subtropical water mass enters the subpolar gyre mainly through the western boundary. It flows eastward and then pen...
Estimation of CO Heats of Adsorption on Metal Surfaces from Vibrational Spectra

An empirical relationship between the bond dissociation energy at 0 K, D0, and the force constant, k, was obtained for a series of heteronuclear carbon-containing and homonuclear metal diatomic species, suggesting that the potential wells for these species have similar curvature. This D0−k relationship was then used as part of a simple mathematical formalism to calculate the metal−carbon and carbon−oxygen bond strengths of CO adsorbed on metal surfaces directly from experimental values of A1 vibrational modes. By assuming a rigid metal lattice, whose bonds remain unperturbed as a result of CO adsorption, it was thus possible to directly calculate the heat of adsorption of CO, Qad, from the calculated bond strengths. Although calculated values of Qad for CO on 3d and 4d transition metals were in reasonable agreement with experimental values reported in the literature, agreement was not satisfactory for the 5d transition metals. Further analysis indicates that the discrepancy is likely due to the assumption...
Asymptotic behavior of solutions of asymptotically constant coefficient systems of linear differential equations

Sufficient conditions are given for the n × n system y'=(A+P(t))y to have a solution ŷ such that y(t) = eλt (v + o(1)) as t → ∞, where λ is an eigenvalue of the constant matrix A and v is an associated eigenvector. The integrability conditions on P allow conditional convergence and the o(1) terms are specified precisely.
Trail of Bytes: New Techniques for Supporting Data Provenance and Limiting Privacy Breaches

Forensic analysis of computer systems requires that one first identify suspicious objects or events, and then examine them in enough detail to form a hypothesis as to their cause and effect. Sadly, while our ability to gather vast amounts of data has improved significantly over the past two decades, it is all too often the case that we lack detailed information just when we need it the most. In this paper, we attempt to improve on the state of the art by providing a forensic platform that transparently monitors and records data access events within a virtualized environment using only the abstractions exposed by the hypervisor. Our approach monitors accesses to objects on disk and follows the causal chain of these accesses across processes, even after the objects are copied into memory. Our forensic layer records these transactions in a tamper evident version-based audit log that allows for faithful, and efficient, reconstruction of the recorded events and the changes they induced. To demonstrate the utility of our approach, we provide an extensive empirical evaluation, including a real-world case study demonstrating how our platform can be used to reconstruct valuable information about the what, when, and how, after a compromise has been detected. We also extend our earlier work by providing a tracking mechanism that can monitor data exfiltration attempts across multiple disks and also block attempts to copy data over the network.
Computer acquisition and analysis of metastable transition data using electric sector voltage variation

Abstract A program and interface for a DEC PDP-8/I with 4K memory and two 32K discs have been devised to acquire peak intensity data from a double-focusing Hitachi RMU-7 mass spectrometer as a function of time while varying both the magnetic field intensity and the electric sector voltage. The electric sector voltage variation is accomplished by sweeping the electric sector voltage at selected rates: typically, 250 V is swept in 0.5 s. When a signal is detected from the detector amplifier, the sector voltage is sampled to the analog-to-digital converter. Any given set of voltage sweep data that contains eight or more samples is reduced whenever data are not being acquired, and the compacted result is stored on the disc. After data acquisition, time-to- M/z conversion is accomplished using two peak identifications; the mass spectrum is determined from the ϱ = unity data; interpolations provide the value of m * and ϱ * ; and the mass spectrum and identified metastable transitions are output off-line. The performance and current limitations of the system are discussed.
RADIOTHERAPY OF SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS OF THE CANINE NASAL PLANE

Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal plane in eight dogs was treated with radiotherapy. Radiotherapy failed to control the tumor in each dog. Mean time until treatment failure was apparent was 2.9 months. Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal plane in dogs appears to respond more poorly to radiotherapy than does squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva.
Consumer Behavior in “Equilibrium”: How Experiencing Physical Balance Increases Compromise Choice

The authors propose that the physical sensation of balance can affect consumer judgments and decisions. A series of six experiments demonstrates that certain consumer behaviors, such as leaning back in a chair while shopping online, can activate the concept of balance and thereby affect the consumer decision-making process. Specifically, consumers experiencing a heightened sense of balance are more likely to choose compromise options. The authors propose and show evidence for the mechanism underlying these effects: that the concept of balance is metaphorically linked in the mind to the concept of parity and that activating balance increases the accessibility of the parity concept. The increased accessibility of parity changes consumer perceptions of the product offerings in a choice set, increasing the selection of compromise options because they provide parity on the described product attributes.
Fluid simulation of helicon plasma processors

Summary form only given. We have modified the electrostatic drift-diffusion fluid simulation code INDUCT93 (version 1.30 07/17/94) to include static spatially varying magnetic fields, typically with the B field purely axial at the top (RF heating location) and flaring to nearly purely radial at the bottom (wafer location). It is necessary to add the capability for anisotropic diffusion, since the electrons being strongly magnetized will be close to diffusing only parallel to the B field. The usual axial and radial diffusion terms are modified. We illustrate that false cross field diffusion occurs when the B field lines are curved. For just the diffusion module, with a localized uniform heating region, the straight field line case correctly shows only the region with field lines connected to the heating region comes to a steady state with an increased T/sub e/ over the initial value, whereas the region with field lines not connected to the heating region has a continual slow decay of T/sub e/ in time, resulting from the loss term. In contrast, with our flared B field helicon model, we see increases in T/sub e/ everywhere, clearly an error for the regions with B lines not connected to the heating region. This test case is severe since the heating region is a step function in space, not favorable to numerical differencing accuracy.
Optimal Keno Strategies and the Central Limit Theorem.

Summary For the casino game Keno we determine optimal playing strategies. To decide such optimal strategies, both exact (hypergeometric) and approximate probability calculations are used. The approximate calculations are obtained via the Central Limit Theorem and simulation, and an important lesson about the application of the Central Limit Theorem is reinforced.