cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intrafraction Variability and Deformation Quantification in the Breast

Purpose To evaluate intrafraction variability and deformation of the lumpectomy cavity (LC), breast, and nearby organs. Methods and Materials Sixteen left-sided postlumpectomy and 1 bilateral breast cancer cases underwent free-breathing CT (FBCT) and 10-phase 4-dimensional CT (4DCT). Deformable image registration was used for deformation analysis and contour propagation of breast, heart, lungs, and LC between end-exhale and end-inhale 4DCT phases. Respiration-induced motion was calculated via centroid analysis. Two planning target volumes (PTVs) were compared: PTV FBCT from the FBCT volume with an isotropic 10 mm expansion (5 mm excursion and 5 mm setup error) and PTV 4DCT generated from the union of 4DCT contours with isotropic 5 mm margin for setup error. Volume and geometry were evaluated via percent difference and bounding box analysis, respectively. Deformation correlations between breast/cavity, breast/lung, and breast/heart were evaluated. Associations were tested between cavity deformation and proximity to chest wall and breast surface. Results Population-based 3-dimensional vector excursions were 2.5 ± 1.0 mm (range, 0.8-3.8 mm) for the cavity and 2.0 ± 0.8 mm (range, 0.7-3.0 mm) for the ipsilateral breast. Cavity excursion was predominantly in the anterior and superior directions (1.0 ± 0.8 mm and −1.8 ± 1.2 mm, respectively). Similarly, for all cases, LCs and ipsilateral breasts yielded median deformation values in the superior direction. For 14 of 17 patients, the LCs and breast interquartile ranges tended toward the anterior direction. The PTV FBCT was 51.5% ± 10.8% larger ( P 4DCT . Bounding box analysis revealed that PTV FBCT was 9.8 ± 1.2 (lateral), 9.0 ± 2.2 (anterior–posterior), and 3.9 ± 1.8 (superior–inferior) mm larger than PTV 4DCT . Significant associations between breast and cavity deformation were found for 6 of 9 axes. No dependency was found between cavity deformation and proximity to chest wall or breast surface. Conclusions Lumpectomy cavity and breast deformation and motion demonstrated large variability. A PTV 4DCT approach showed value in patient-specific margins, particularly if robust interfraction setup analysis can be performed.
Contrast media for cardiothoracic MR imaging

Contrast media have been used for the study of disease of the thorax. Most experience has consisted of the use of MR contrast media for improving the delineation of acute myocardial infarction, for demarcating the area of acute myocardial ischemia, and for demonstrating the area of potentially jeopardized myocardium after acute coronary occlusion. Contrast agents demonstrate the ischemic or jeopardized area as a zone of decreased signal intensity to normal myocardium. On the other hand, the magnetic susceptibility agents demonstrate the ischemic or jeopardized area as a zone of increased signal intensity to normal myocardium. Little experience exists concerning the use of MR contrast media for enhancing mediastinal and lung masses. The few reports to date demonstrate that contrast media can improve the conspicuity of thoracic masses. A new nonionic contrast medium, gadodiamide injection, has been shown to considerably increase S/N and C/N of thoracic masses. Further studies are necessary to define the role of MR contrast media in the evaluation of myocardial ischemia and thoracic masses in clinical practice.
Holographic recording on thermoplastic films

Experimental results related to holographic recording on thermoplastic films will be given. Covered are the following areas: the various recording processes, the photosensitivity measurements, the induced frost, the deformation growth process, the bandwidth problem, and the corona damage. These, aspects are of relevance to the thermoplastic's being used as a storage medium in a read-write holographic memory. A specific recording process will be reported that possesses the combined advantages of consistency, high diffraction efficiency, and large bandwidth recording.
Complicity: The theory of negative difference

The critical consideration of “the other”; has become a key strategy in many feminist, afrocentric, and rhetorical theories of discourse. Scholars in these areas have explicated various indictments of the phallocentric, eurocentric, and essentialist linguistic strategies defined and perpetuated by dominant population groups, and some have begun the difficult task of addressing the complicitous nature of hegemonic discourse. This essay explores the problem of complicity as it is manifest in contemporary critical theories of race, gender, and rhetoric. The analysis suggests that these theoretical approaches maintain the principle of negative difference by their adherence to an underlying epistemological principle of essentialist logic, yet offer the possibility of a theory of rhetoric discourse grounded in an affirmative approach to linguistic and social definition.
Antibody to rabbit reticulocytes.

THE functional differences between reticulocytes and erythrocytes suggest that there may be antigenic differences on their surfaces. If there were antigen(s) only on immature erythroid cells, they could be useful markers in studies of erythroid development. We have found guinea-pig antibody which reacts specifically with rabbit reticulocytes but not with erythrocytes, leucocytes, platelets, dextran, albumin or transferrin.
Integrating Remote Sensing Data Into Geographic Information Systems

[1] Bridging the Gap Between Remote Sensing and GIS; Redlands, California, 17–18 November 2010; Fifty remote sensing scientists and geographic information systems (GIS) experts attended a joint NASA–Environmental Science Research Institute (ESRI) workshop at the headquarters of ESRI. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together a diverse community of experts to explore benefits and barriers to the integration of remote sensing data into GIS. Remote sensing represents an ever-expanding source of scientific data about our planet. Some individual NASA missions alone provide more than 1 terabyte of data per day. Remote sensing data can help solve problems in diverse applications, including disaster response, environmental planning, global change, insurance, and private investment. These data attain their greatest value when combined with other data from a variety of sources, yet this seemingly simple step is often very challenging.
Phenol coefficients and the Ferguson principle.

It is shown that the thermodynamic activity at which many phenols produce an equal degree of antibacterial action is approximately the same. The thermodynamic activity of a dissolved phenol can be expressed in terms of the per cent saturation by setting the saturates solution as the standard state of reference. Thus it is demonstrated that the equitoxic solutions of different phenols are those in which the thermodynamic activity or the per cent saturation and not the actual concentrations are the same. It is shown that, as expected, the reported phenol coefficients of 23 different phenols examined are approximately the same as the ratios between the solubility of the unknown disinfectant and the solubility of phenol and that the deviations are interpretable.
Structure and Fluctuations of Charged Phosphatidylserine Bilayers in the Absence of Salt

Using x-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy, we present structural and material properties of phosphatidylserine (PS) bilayers that may account for the well documented implications of PS headgroups in cell activity. At 30°C, the 18-carbon monounsaturated DOPS in the fluid state has a cross-sectional area of 65.3 A2 which is remarkably smaller than the area 72.5 A2 of the DOPC analog, despite the extra electrostatic repulsion expected for charged PS headgroups. Similarly, at 20°C, the 14-carbon disaturated DMPS in the gel phase has an area of 40.8 A2 vs. 48.1 A2 for DMPC. This condensation of area suggests an extra attractive interaction, perhaps hydrogen bonding, between PS headgroups. Unlike zwitterionic lipids, stacks of PS bilayers swell indefinitely as water is added. Data obtained for osmotic pressure versus interbilayer water spacing for fluid phase DOPS are well fit by electrostatic interactions calculated for the Gouy-Chapman regime. It is shown that the electrostatic interactions completely dominate the fluctuational pressure. Nevertheless, the x-ray data definitively exhibit the effects of fluctuations in fluid phase DOPS. From our measurements of fluctuations, we obtain the product of the bilayer bending modulus KC and the smectic compression modulus B. At the same interbilayer separation, the interbilayer fluctuations are smaller in DOPS than for DOPC, showing that B and/or KC are larger. Complementing the x-ray data, 31P-chemical shift anisotropy measured by NMR suggest that the DOPS headgroups are less sensitive to osmotic pressure than DOPC headgroups, which is consistent with a larger KC in DOPS. Quadrupolar splittings for D2O decay less rapidly with increasing water content for DOPS than for DOPC, indicating greater perturbation of interlamellar water and suggesting a greater interlamellar hydration force in DOPS. Our comparisons between bilayers of PS and PC lipids with the same chains and the same temperature enable us to focus on the effects of these headgroups on bilayer properties.
An integrated approach to estimating LAI using multitemporal and multidirectional remote sensing measurements

Leaf area index (LAI) is one of the most important physical parameters in controlling hydrological processes across the geosphere-biosphere-atmosphere boundaries. Estimation of this parameter using remote sensing techniques has been associated with computation of vegetation indices (VIs). The inversion of bidirectional reflectance distribution function modeling approaches appear to be promising, but require simultaneous bidirectional observations. Attempts have been made to substitute multitemporal observations for simultaneous multidirectional measurements. This approach works well if the surface of interest consists of slow-growing vegetation. When applied to fast-growing vegetative surfaces, multitemporal observations cannot be used in BRDF model inversion because of changes in vegetation amount. In this study, a growth compensation model is proposed with the use of VIs, which is applied to multitemporal observations over a fast-growing alfalfa canopy. The compensated data are then used in the inversion of BRDF models to estimate LAI. The results showed that this approach is promising and there exists a potential for operational applications.
Fractal Surfaces: Measurement and Applications in the Earth Sciences

Earth scientists have measured fractal dimensions of surfaces by different techniques, including the divider, box, triangle, slit-island, power spectral, variogram and distribution methods. We review these seven measurement techniques, finding that fractal dimensions may vary systematically with measurement method. We discuss possible reasons for these differences, and point to common problems shared by all of the methods, including the remainder problem, curve-fitting, orientation of the measurement plane, size and direction of the sample. Fractal measurements have been applied to many problems in the earth sciences, at a wide range of spatial scales. These include map data of topography; fault traces and fracture networks; fracture surfaces of natural rocks, both in the field and at laboratory scales; metal surfaces; porous aggregate geometry; flow and transport through heterogeneous systems; and various microscopic surface phenomena associated with adsorption, aggregation, erosion and chemical dissolut...
Ancestry Dependent DNA Methylation and Influence of Maternal Nutrition

There is extensive variation in DNA methylation between individuals and ethnic groups. These differences arise from a combination of genetic and non-genetic influences and potential modifiers include nutritional cues, early life experience, and social and physical environments. Here we compare genome-wide DNA methylation in neonatal cord blood from African American (AA; N = 112) and European American (EA; N = 91) participants of the CANDLE Study (Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood). Our goal is to determine if there are replicable ancestry-specific methylation patterns that may implicate risk factors for diseases that have differential prevalence between populations. To identify the most robust ancestry-specific CpG sites, we replicate our results in lymphoblastoid cell lines from Yoruba African and CEPH European panels of HapMap. We also evaluate the influence of maternal nutrition—specifically, plasma levels of vitamin D and folate during pregnancy—on methylation in newborns. We define stable ancestry-dependent methylation of genes that include tumor suppressors and cell cycle regulators (e.g., APC, BRCA1, MCC). Overall, there is lower global methylation in African ancestral groups. Plasma levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D are also considerably lower among AA mothers and about 60% of AA and 40% of EA mothers have concentrations below 20 ng/ml. Using a weighted correlation analysis, we define a network of CpG sites that is jointly modulated by ancestry and maternal vitamin D. Our results show that differences in DNA methylation patterns are remarkably stable and maternal micronutrients can exert an influence on the child epigenome.
Introduction and overview of therapeutic apheresis

Chidi Okafor, David M. Ward, Michele H. Mokrzycki, Robert Weinstein, Pamela Clark, and Rasheed A. Balogun* Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York Departments of Medicine and Pathology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Sediment transport and bedforms in a carbonate tidal inlet; Lee Stocking Island, Exumas, Bahamas

An active oolitic sand wave was monitored for a period of 37 days in order to address the relationship between the direction and strength of tidal currents and the resultant geometry, and amount and direction of migration of bedforms in carbonate sands. The study area is situated in a tidal channel near Lee Stocking Island (Exumas, Bahamas) containing an estimated 5.5 to 6 × 105 m3 of mobile oolitic sand. Tidal ranges within the inlet are microtidal and the maximum current velocity at the studied site is 0.6 m s−1. At least 300–400 m3 of mostly oolitic sand are formed within, or brought into, the channel area every year. The tidal inlet is subdivided into an ocean-orientated segment, in which sand waves are shaped by both flood and ebb tides, and a platform-orientated segment, where sand waves are mainly shaped by flood tides. The studied sand wave lies on the platformward flood-tide dominated segment in a water depth of 3.5.4.5 m. During the 37 days of observation, the oolitic and bioclastic sand wave migrated 4 m in the direction of the dominant flood current. The increments of migration were directly related to the strength of the tide. During each tidal cycle, bedforms formed depending on the strength of the tidal current, tidal range and their location on the sand wave. During flood tides, a steep lee and a gentle stoss side formed and current ripples and small dunes developed on the crest of the sand wave, while the trough developed only ripples. The average lee slope of the sand wave is 24.2°, and therefore steeper than typical siliciclastic sand waves. During ebb tides, portions of the crest are eroded creating a convex upward ebb stoss side, covered with climbing cuspate and linguoid ripples and composite dunes. The area between the ebb-lee side and the trough is covered with fan systems, sinuous ripples and dunes. The migration of all bedforms deviated to a variable degree from the main current direction, reflecting complex flow patterns in the tidal inlet. Small bedforms displayed the largest deviation, migrating at an angle of up to 90° and more to the dominant current direction during spring tides.
Personality and the latent structure of PTSD comorbidity

This study examined the structure of PTSD comorbidity and its relationship to personality in a sample of 214 veterans using data from diagnostic interviews and the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-Brief Form (MPQ-BF; Patrick, Curtin, & Tellegen, 2002). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a three factor model composed of Externalizing, Fear and Distress factors. Analyses that examined the location of borderline personality disorder revealed significant cross-loadings for this disorder on both Externalizing and Distress. Structural equation models showed trait negative emotionality to be significantly related to all three comorbidity factors whereas positive emotionality and constraint evidenced specific associations with Distress and Externalizing, respectively. These results shed new light on the location of borderline personality disorder within the internalizing/externalizing model and clarify the relative influence of broad dimensions of personality on patterns of comorbidity.
Reifying Socioemotional Wealth

We extend recent commentary about socioemotional wealth by reviewing theory and offering suggestions aimed at enhancing the correspondence between the theoretical construct and its empirical correlate. While it is clear that the field has made vast strides since its introduction in 2007, the research literature remains diverse and disjointed: an outcome we attribute, in part, to the use of underspecified research models. We hope our suggestions help researchers establish a robust methodological foundation on which future research can build.
Victim and Offense Characteristics: Impact on Police Investigative Decision-Making

Research on police decision-making has traditionally focused on the street-level police officer's decision to arrest. This decision has often been characterized as one having low visibility and is thus highly discretionary. Although the on-scene arrest is dramatic and fits the popular conception of policing, a great deal of police work involves follow-up investigations of citizen complaints. While decisions about the level of investigative effort to be applied to a particular complaint are also of low visibility and are highly discretionary, they have been the object of little research. Though it might be expected that these investigative decisions would be determined almost exclusively by the level of evidence available, previous research suggests that the personal characteristics of the victim or complainant also affect these decisions. Findings from this study indicate that victim characteristics differentially affect the investigative decision in various types of criminal complaints. Discussion focuses on the need in future research to consider extra-legal characteristics of victims and suggests an approach for such analyses.
METALLURGICAL INFLUENCES ON SHEAR BAND ACTIVITY

Metallurgical effects on shear band behavior were studied by applying a state of uniform dynamic shear strain and then suddenly removing it by explosively expanding a hollow specimen cylinder to a diameter determined by a massive confining cylinder. Because geometry-induced stress concentrations are absent and because shear band development can be stopped at various stages, the procedure emphasizes the role of metallurgical features on shear band activity.
Measuring cardiac index with a focused cardiac ultrasound examination in the ED

Abstract Objectives Noninvasive technology may assist the emergency department (ED) physician in determining the hemodynamic status in critically ill patients. The objective of our study was to show that ED physicians can accurately measure cardiac index (CI) by performing a bedside focused cardiac ultrasound examination. Methods A convenience sample of adult subjects were prospectively enrolled. Cardiac index, left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) diameter, velocity time integral (VTI), stroke volume index, and heart rate were obtained by trained ED physicians and a certified cardiac sonographer. The primary outcome was percent of optimal LVOT diameter and VTI measurements as verified by an expert cardiologist. Results One hundred patients were enrolled, with obtainable CI measurements in 97 patients. Cardiac index, LVOT diameter, VTI, stroke volume index, and heart rate measurements by ED physician were 2.42 ± 0.70 L min −1 m −2 , 2.07 ± 0.22 cm, 18.30 ± 3.71 cm, 32.34 ± 7.92 mL beat −1 m −2 , and 75.32 ± 13.45 beats/min, respectively. Measurements of LVOT diameter by ED physicians and sonographer were optimal in 90.0% (95% confidence interval, 82.6%-94.5) and 91.3% (73.2%-97.6%) of patients, respectively. Optimal VTI measurements were obtained in 78.4% (69.2%-85.4%) and 78.3% (58.1%-90.3%) of patients, respectively. In 23 patients, the correlation ( r ) for CI between ED physician and sonographer was 0.82 (0.60-0.92), with bias and limits of agreement of −0.11 (−1.06 to 0.83) L min −1 m −2 and percent difference of 12.4% ± 10.1%. Conclusions Emergency department ED physicians can accurately measure CI using standard bedside ultrasound. A focused ultrasound cardiac examination to derive CI has potential use in the management of critical ill patients in the ED.
Architectural design and implementation of highly available and scalable medical system with IBM Websphere middleware

Medical systems require the end-to-end high availability and scalability. There are many components in a medical system, and each individual component contributes to the overall system availability and scalability. We present the formulas to assess the overall system availability and capacity planning, and we architect approaches and technologies to make all components highly available in all tiers by clustering, workload management, and replication. We discuss how to unify all medical systems and design the uniform framework for different kinds of medical systems to hook up with this framework so that we can maintain a highly available and highly scalable system with ease. We use the n-tier distributed component based architecture and J2EE technologies as well as Web services to interact with .NET and others. We discuss how to program in the framework for high availability and scalability and how to upgrade application software without service interruption to achieve continuous availability. We show how to add or reduce hardware capacity in each tier and how to maintain hardware and software without service interruption as well as how to balance the capacity and availability among tiers.
Cyclic Nucleotide-Dependent Protein Kinase in the Thyroid: Partial Purification and Characterization

Cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinase (CNDPK) has been previously demonstrated in thyroid tissue. We confirm its presence in bovine and rat thyroid tissue, and describe a procedure for the partial purification of bovine CNDPK. This involves an acid precipitation step, followed successively by Sephadex G-200 filtration, DEAE-cellulose and hydroxylapatite chromatography. A 70–100-fold increase in specific activity was achieved. Evaluation of bovine thyroid CNDPK showed half maximal phasphorylation of calf thymus histone type IIA at a concentration of 100 μg histone per standard assay in the presence and absence of cyclic-AMP. The Km for ATP was 3.3 × 10-5M in the presence and absence of cyclic-AMP. The Km for cyclic-AMP was 4 × 10-8M, and that for cyclic- IMP 6 × 10-7M. Cyclic-AMP and cyclic-IMP were equally the most stimulatory of the cyclic nucleotides (343 and 334% of control respectively), followed by cyclic-GMP (171%), cyclic- CMP and cyclic UMP (144%), and dibutyryl cyclic-AMP (125%). Cyclic-TMP ...
Ambient Temperature Activity of Horned Adders, Bitis caudalis: How Cold Is Too Cold?

Most physiological processes are greatly affected by temperature; therefore animals thermoregulate to maintain a body temperature (Tb) that approximates that which is optimal for physiological performance (reviews by Avery, 1982; Huey, 1982; but see Webb and Shine, 1998). As an ectotherm, a snake relies on external heat sources to maintain its preferred Tb. Although heat sources are readily available during the day, the nocturnal environment has few, if any, heat sources. Even though the nocturnal environment poses a significant thermal handicap, numerous snakes species are nocturnal (Greene, 1997). Because of the lack of heat sources, activity of nocturnal species should be sensitive to ambient temperature (Ta). The physiological and behavioral means by which snakes adapt to thermal challenges associated with nocturnality has not received extensive study. Many performance measures including locomotion, digestion rate, tongue flick, and strike velocity are maximized at relatively high Tb (e.g., Stevenson et al., 1985; Ayers and Shine, 1997; Dorcas et al., 1997; Webb and Shine, 1998). These body functions are near maximum levels during the day but are significantly reduced at night (Stevenson et al., 1985). Activity at night would not only require a snake to use physiological processes associated with foraging (e.g., locomotion, tongueflick rate, strike velocity) when they are suboptimal but could also negatively impact temperature-sensitive physiological processes, which are not associated with activity (e.g., digestion). Nocturnal activity of rubber boas, Charina bottae, led to a Tb below that which would occur if the snake remained in a nighttime refugium (an inverted Tb pattern; Dorcas and Peterson, 1998). A nocturnally active snake typically has a Tb that approximates Ta (Dorcas and Peterson, 1998); therefore, Ta may be more critical to performance of nocturnal species than of diurnal species, where radiation and conductance can lead to a Tb much greater than Ta (Peterson, 1987). Because of the thermosensitivity of processes critical to foraging, thermal factors might constrain the timing, place, and duration of predatory bouts (Ayers and Shine, 1997). Such constraints can lead to seasonal differences in activity period. For example, copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix, are diurnal during cool seasons (spring and fall) but are nocturnal during the warm summer months (Sanders and Jacob, 1981). Thermal constraints can also lead to ontogenetic differences in activity period. Adult diamond pythons, Morelia spilota spilota, forage nocturnally, whereas juveniles are diurnal (Ayers and Shine, 1997). We used a controlled laboratory environment to test the
The Role of Exo1p Exonuclease in DNA End Resection to Generate Gene Conversion Tracts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast Exo1p nuclease functions in multiple cellular roles: resection of DNA ends generated during recombination, telomere stability, DNA mismatch repair, and expansion of gaps formed during the repair of UV-induced DNA damage. In this study, we performed high-resolution mapping of spontaneous and UV-induced recombination events between homologs in exo1 strains, comparing the results with spontaneous and UV-induced recombination events in wild-type strains. One important comparison was the lengths of gene conversion tracts. Gene conversion events are usually interpreted as reflecting heteroduplex formation between interacting DNA molecules, followed by repair of mismatches within the heteroduplex. In most models of recombination, the length of the gene conversion tract is a function of the length of single-stranded DNA generated by end resection. Since the Exo1p has an important role in end resection, a reduction in the lengths of gene conversion tracts in exo1 strains was expected. In accordance with this expectation, gene conversion tract lengths associated with spontaneous crossovers in exo1 strains were reduced about twofold relative to wild type. For UV-induced events, conversion tract lengths associated with crossovers were also shorter for the exo1 strain than for the wild-type strain (3.2 and 7.6 kb, respectively). Unexpectedly, however, the lengths of conversion tracts that were unassociated with crossovers were longer in the exo1 strain than in the wild-type strain (6.2 and 4.8 kb, respectively). Alternative models of recombination in which the lengths of conversion tracts are determined by break-induced replication or oversynthesis during strand invasion are proposed to account for these observations.
Generalized linear model for partially ordered data

Within the rich literature on generalized linear models, substantial efforts have been devoted to models for categorical responses that are either completely ordered or completely unordered. Few studies have focused on the analysis of partially ordered outcomes, which arise in practically every area of study, including medicine, the social sciences, and education. To fill this gap, we propose a new class of generalized linear models--the partitioned conditional model--that includes models for both ordinal and unordered categorical data as special cases. We discuss the specification of the partitioned conditional model and its estimation. We use an application of the method to a sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth to illustrate how the new method is able to extract from partially ordered data useful information about smoking youths that is not possible using traditional methods.
Feature analysis and selection for acoustic event detection

Speech perceptual features, such as Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), have been widely used in acoustic event detection. However, the different spectral structures between speech and acoustic events degrade the performance of the speech feature sets. We propose quantifying the discriminative capability of each feature component according to the approximated Bayesian accuracy and deriving a discriminative feature set for acoustic event detection. Compared to MFCC, feature sets derived using the proposed approaches achieve about 30% relative accuracy improvement in acoustic event detection.
Vomiting in the pediatric age group

Vomiting is a common complaint in any healthcare facility that deals with children. A child recently presented to our emergency department with an occult cause of vomiting, which led to the development of the following differential diagnosis of vomiting in children. Although usually of gastrointestinal origin, vomiting can be caused by the dysfunction of many different organ systems, the results of which may range from benign to life threatening. The differential diagnosis is presented in order of frequency, in order to make it as clinically relevant as possible, and then each section is further broken down to the pathophysiology, the historical facts, the pertinent physical examination findings, and the therapeutics of each diagnosis is discussed in variable detail.
Anxiety-like behavior in mice in two apparatuses during withdrawal from chronic ethanol vapor inhalation.

Background: Anxiety during ethanol withdrawal may be a factor in relapse to alcohol abuse and dependence. Animal models of ethanol withdrawal have typically used forced consumption of an ethanol-containing liquid diet to induce dependence. Ethanol vapor inhalation offers an advantage over liquid diet consumption in that the onset of withdrawal can be temporally controlled more precisely, allowing studies of the development of withdrawal symptoms. Methods: The purpose of the current study was to induce ethanol dependence in mice using an inhalation procedure and to assess withdrawal anxiety symptoms behaviorally in the elevated zero maze and in the light/dark box. Male and female mice were exposed to 3 days of ethanol vapors. Anxiety-like behavior was measured on the elevated zero maze and light/dark box at multiple time points during withdrawal. Results: Mice experiencing ethanol withdrawal demonstrated increased anxiety-like behaviors relative to control animals in both apparatuses. However, this finding was specific to the procedure used with the elevated zero maze and was strongly influenced by sex in the light/dark box. Conclusions: Ethanol vapor inhalation appears to be a valid tool for the study of withdrawal-induced anxiety.
Regional, Geographic, and Ethnic Differences in Medication Adherence Among Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND:Medication adherence, a critical component of glycemic control for patients with type 2 diabetes, differs by race/ethnicity. However, few studies have examined regional and rural/urban differences in medication adherence and whether racial/ethnic differences persist after controlling for these differences.OBJECTIVE:To examine regional, rural/urban, and racial/ethnic differences in medication adherence in a national sample of veterans with type 2 diabetes.METHODS:We performed a cohort study of a national sample of veterans with diabetes (N = 690,968) receiving prescriptions for insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents in 2002. Patients were followed until death, loss to follow-up, or through December 2006. We calculated the annual medication possession ratio (MPR) for each veteran across 4 groups of medication users: individuals using (1) insulin only, (2) oral hypoglycemic agents only, (3) insulin combined with hypoglycemic agents, and (4) insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents (primary analysis).RESUL...
Novel mutations of TMPRSS3 in four DFNB8/B10 families segregating congenital autosomal recessive deafness

Editor—Congenital deafness occurs in approximately 1 in 1000 live births and 50% of these cases are hereditary. Non-syndromic deafness is classified according to its mode of inheritance as DFN, DFNA, and DFNB (X linked, autosomal dominant, and autosomal recessive, respectively). Non-syndromic recessive deafness accounts for ∼80% of congenital hereditary deafness cases.1 At least 30 DFNB loci have been mapped in the past few years by genetic linkage studies, but the causative gene has been identified for only eight of these loci2-4 (Hereditary Hearing Loss Homepage, http://www.uia.ac.be/dnalab/hhh). Two of the previously reported loci for non-syndromic recessive deafness are DFNB8 and DFNB10, both located on chromosome 21q22.3 (MIM 601072 and 605316). The DFNB8 locus was originally identified in a large consanguineous Pakistani family, segregating childhood onset deafness,5 while DFNB10 was identified in a large consanguineous Palestinian family, in which deafness was congenital.6 Recently, the TMPRSS3 gene was shown to be mutated in affected subjects of both families.7 TMPRSS3 belongs to a family of transmembrane serine proteases, also including TMPRSS1,8 TMPRSS2,9 and TMPRSS4.10 The TMPRSS3 gene extends over 24 kb and comprises 13 exons. It has four alternative transcripts ( TMPRSS3 a , b , c , and d ), encoding putative peptides of 454, 327, 327, and 344 amino acids, respectively.7 TMPRSS3a , which contains all 13 exons, is the most abundant transcript and its expression could be detected in various tissues, including fetal cochlea.7 In addition to the serine protease and the transmembrane domains, TMPRSS3 also encodes low density lipoprotein receptor class A (LDLRA) and scavenger receptor cysteine rich (SRCR) domains, which are potentially involved in binding with extracellular molecules and/or the cell surface.7 To identify DFNB8/B10 linked families, we analysed a total of 159 consanguineous Pakistani families that …
On Curved Simplicial Elements and Best Quadratic Spline Approximation for Hierarchical Data Representation

We present a method for hierarchical data approximation using curved quadratic simplicial elements for domain decomposition. Scientific data defined over two- or three-dimensional domains typically contain boundaries and discontinuities that are to be preserved and approximated well for data analysis and visualization. Curved simplicial elements make possible a better representation of curved geometry, domain boundaries, and discontinuities than simplicial elements with non-curved edges and faces. We use quadratic basis functions and compute best quadratic simplicial spline approximations that are C 0 -continuous everywhere except where field discontinuities occur whose locations we assume to be given. We adaptively refine a simplicial approximation by identifying and bisecting simplicial elements with largest errors. It is possible to store multiple approximation levels of increasing quality. Our method can be used for hierarchical data processing and visualization. 1998 ACM Subject Classification I.3.5 Computational Geometry and Object Modeling
Empagliflozin: a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor for treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Purpose The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy, adverse effects, dosage and administration, and drug–drug interactions of empagliflozin are reviewed. Summary Empagliflozin is a direct inhibitor of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), which acts to lower the renal threshold and increase urinary glucose excretion. SGLT2 is found in the proximal tubules of the kidneys and reabsorbs about 90% of the filtered glucose. Because the mechanism of action of empagliflozin is not insulin dependent or insulin sensitive, it may be used in patients at different stages of diabetes with nonfunctional or impaired pancreatic β cells. Furthermore, empagliflozin can be used with other antidiabetic drugs due to its lack of any additive hypoglycemic effects. Long-term efficacy studies revealed significant reductions with empagliflozin in glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) values at week 78 compared with placebo. Secondary endpoints in clinical trials showed improvements in lowering blood pressure and reductions in body weight. The risk:benefit ratio must be assessed for empagliflozin as the safety profile includes an increase in urinary and genital infections. Conclusion Empagliflozin has shown efficacy in lowering HbA1c and blood glucose levels both as monotherapy and as an add-on to existing therapy. Despite the drug’s promising outlook, empagliflozin also leads to common but serious adverse events not seen with other classes of antihyperglycemic agents. Considering the current data on its efficacy and its safety profile, empagliflozin can be used as a second- or third-line agent in treating diabetes.
Thermogravimetric Studies on Ba2YCu3O7−x

The recently discovered high transition temperature superconducting oxide Ba2yCu3O7−x is a p-type psuedoperovskite with ordered oxygen defects. The normal state conductivity is treated in terms of equilibrium defect concentrations using a modified Verway model.
Brachymitrion immersum (Splachnaceae, Musci), a New Species from Cameroon

The new species Brachymitrion immersum is described based on a single collection from Cameroon. The species appears closely related to the new world B. cochabambae from which it differs in sporophytic characters. Brachymitrion immersum is easily distinguished from the sympatric B. jamesonii and B. moritzianum by its immersed to emergent capsules. The species is illustrated and a key to the species of Brachymitrion is presented.
Exogenous Emulsifiers and Fat Absorption.

SummaryAs determined by changes in the blood fat levels and by recovery of fat from the intestine after an absorptive period, the rate of fat absorption in normal, orally fed rats appears to be unaffected by 6 or 20% supplements of a number of exogenous emulsifiers. The lack of changes in the degree of fat splitting and intestinal motility which could affect fat absorption are in complete agreement with the above finding. The action of lecithin in promoting fat absorption seems best explained by other than its emulsifying action.
Analysis and thinking of low epidemic of AIDS in Japan

The AIDS epidemic in Japan had been keeping at a low level since the first AIDS case was reported in 1985. China should pay close attention to the AIDS epidemic situation and the experience of AIDS prevention and control in Japan. The paper sums up the AIDS epidemic,strategies and analyzes the reasons for such a low level AIDS epidemic in Japan by literature reviewing and interviewing with experts. The high crisis awareness of Japanese,stringent administration of blood products,vigorous combat against drugs,less injection drug users,efficient primary health care system,health education on safe sex,high awareness of condom usage,most HIV-infected individuals living in big cities and effective non-government organizations participation are all the reasons for the low epidemic level of AIDS in Japan.
Requirements for clinical contents presentation of the package insert on antibacterial agents in China

Now,some issues about the presentation which influence the guidance role for clinical medication existed in the clinical contents of the package insert on antibacterial agents.So,this article introduce the new requirements about the this part of contents in the newly revised guide-lines for clinical research of antibacterial agents in order to make the re-lated presentation more scientific and more reasonable.
The Craft of Bureaucratic Neutrality: From Regulatory Search to Enforcement

The previous chapter argued that OSHA's leadership has chosena strategically neutral enforcement posture. But actual enforcement in thefield, seeking out and punishing those who violate the law, may differ substantially from this ideal vision proffered by agency leaders in Washington. This chapter examines OSHA's field enforcement program from start to finish, considering separately OSHA's deployment of resources (staffing of regions and local offices), search for violators (inspection targeting and inspector productivity), and punitiveness. Thus, it takes an “inside the agency” look at how agency leaders attempt to structure and manage the agency's field enforcement efforts, successfully or not, in order to secure their larger political goals. An additional motivation for this inquiry is to reconcile the arguments made in Chapter 2 about OSHA's geographic neutrality with previous scholarship that portrays OSHA's field enforcement efforts as heavily affected by a variety of local political concerns – the preferences of locally elected members of Congress, business and labor advocacy group strength, and local constituency preferences (Scholz and Wei 1986; Scholz, Twombly, and Headrick 1991). These arguments are hard to dismiss given the aggregate association between state-level politics and OSHA's enforcement efforts. For example, there is a strong positive correlation between statewide Democratic Party support and OSHA's enforcement efforts. Table 3.1 shows that in states where support for Clinton was greater in the 1992 presidential election, OSHA inspected a larger proportion of businesses than in states where Bush did better.
Nondestructive Characterization of Fiber-Matrix Adhesion in Composites by Vibration Damping

Adhesion at the fibre-matrix interface in fibre-reinforced composites plays an important role in controlling the mechanical properties and overall performance of composites. Among the many available tests applicable to the composite interfaces, the vibration damping technique has the advantages of being non-destructive as well as highly sensitive. An optical system was set up to measure the damping tangent delta of a cantilever beam, and the damping data in glass fibre-reinforced epoxy-resin composites were correlated with transverse tensile strength which are also a qualitative measurement of adhesion at the fibre-matrix interface. Four different composite systems containing three different glass fibre surface treatments were tested and compared. Our experimental results showed an inverse relationship between damping contributed by the interface and composite transverse tensile strength.
Unlocking Super Bowl Insights: Weighted Word Embeddings for Twitter Sentiment Classification

Sentiment classification plays an important role in Sentiment Analysis. It is challenging to develop an automatic method for classification problems without annotated training data. In this paper, we present a WWE (weighted word embeddings) method, which uses a continuous word representations algorithm (Word2Vec) to train a vector model. According to the cosine similarity between the vector of a word and the vectors of seed words, a polarity score of this word can be calculated. We then use the weighted polarity scores of words to compute a polarity score of the whole tweet. Unlike the previous learning-based approaches, our method does not require annotated data gathered for the purpose of training models. We collected the Super Bowl 50 related tweets to demonstrate the WWE classification method. Experiments are performed with promising outcomes.
Romantic Vagrancy: Money walks: Wordsworth and the right to wander

Wordsworth was once journeying to Lowther Castle to attend a dinner in his honour, at which the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. Justice Coleridge were to be present. They passed down Patterdale by Ullswater, then, leaving the chaise, they struck across some fields toward the castle. Suddenly the path ended in a blind wall. The poet muttered something and attacked the wall as if it were a living entity, crying out, “This is the way, an ancient right of way too,” and passed on. That evening after the ladies had left the room, Mr. Justice Coleridge said to Sir John Wallace who was a near resident: “Sir John, I fear we have committed trespass today; we came over a broken-down wall on your Estate.” Sir John seemed irate and said that could he have caught the man who broke it down, he would have horsewhipped him. The grave old bard at the end of the table heard the words, the fire flashed into his face and rising to his feet he answered: “ I broke your wall down, Sir John, it was obstructing an ancient right of way, and I will do it again. I am a Tory, but scratch me on the back deep enough and you will find the Whig in me yet.’ (Howard Hill, 40) In fact, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute. (Marx, Capital 1.127) COUNTING (AND ACCOUNTING FOR) STEPS My account of Wordsworth's manifesto of the Romantic project of literature, the second, two-volume edition of Lyrical Ballads (1800), is constructed as a meditation on Marx's insistence, in the first volume of Capital, that “in fact, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute” (“it is only the first step that costs”).
Network interactions underlying mirror feedback in stroke: A dynamic causal modeling study

Mirror visual feedback (MVF) is potentially a powerful tool to facilitate recovery of disordered movement and stimulate activation of under-active brain areas due to stroke. The neural mechanisms underlying MVF have therefore been a focus of recent inquiry. Although it is known that sensorimotor areas can be activated via mirror feedback, the network interactions driving this effect remain unknown. The aim of the current study was to fill this gap by using dynamic causal modeling to test the interactions between regions in the frontal and parietal lobes that may be important for modulating the activation of the ipsilesional motor cortex during mirror visual feedback of unaffected hand movement in stroke patients. Our intent was to distinguish between two theoretical neural mechanisms that might mediate ipsilateral activation in response to mirror-feedback: transfer of information between bilateral motor cortices versus recruitment of regions comprising an action observation network which in turn modulate the motor cortex. In an event-related fMRI design, fourteen chronic stroke subjects performed goal-directed finger flexion movements with their unaffected hand while observing real-time visual feedback of the corresponding (veridical) or opposite (mirror) hand in virtual reality. Among 30 plausible network models that were tested, the winning model revealed significant mirror feedback-based modulation of the ipsilesional motor cortex arising from the contralesional parietal cortex, in a region along the rostral extent of the intraparietal sulcus. No winning model was identified for the veridical feedback condition. We discuss our findings in the context of supporting the latter hypothesis, that mirror feedback-based activation of motor cortex may be attributed to engagement of a contralateral (contralesional) action observation network. These findings may have important implications for identifying putative cortical areas, which may be targeted with non-invasive brain stimulation as a means of potentiating the effects of mirror training.