cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantifying Value of Hope.

Abstract Background ‘Hope’ is a construct in patient-centered value frameworks, but few studies have attempted to measure the value of hope separately from treatment-related gains in quality of life and survival to support its application in economic evaluation. Objective To generate quantitative information on the “value of hope”. Methods We designed a discrete-choice experiment in which treatment alternatives varied the probability of achieving 10-year survival, expected survival as the weighted sum of short-term and long-term survival, health status, and out-of-pocket cost. Two-hundred patients with cancer or history of cancer recruited by Cancer Support Community each completed 10 choice questions. We used mixed-logit and latent-class models to analyze the choice data. Results Relative to fixed survival periods of two, three or five years with 0% chance of 10-year survival, participants positively valued treatments with 5% and 10% chances of 10-year survival. However, participants negatively valued a 20% chance of 10-year survival that required an offsetting 80% chance of shorter survival. This finding was particularly strong when expected survival was two years. Compared to a 0% chance, dollar-equivalent values of 5% and 10% chances of long-term survival were $5,975 and $12,421, respectively, independent of health status or expected survival. The corresponding value for 20% versus 0% chance of long-term survival was negative. Latent-class analysis revealed 4 groups with distinct preference patterns. Conclusions Our findings affirm positive value for hope independent of expected survival and health status. However, this finding does not universally hold in all situations nor across all groups.
Artificial Intelligence Techniques for an Interdisciplinary Science Course

This chapter describes an innovative course developed and taught at The University of Alabama in which students in the College of Education are given an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques including expert systems, fuzzy systems, neural networks, and genetic algorithms. The class, ESM 130: Artificial Intelligence Systems in Science, was developed and is team-taught by professors from the Colleges of Engineering and Education. When artificial intelligence techniques are taught in an engineering or computer science curriculum, the focus is generally on the mathematical or algorithmic details of the various techniques. In ESM 130, however, the focus is on the biological systems upon which most artificial intelligence techniques are based, and the subsequent modeling of the biological paradigm. The goal of the class is to provide future educators with enough information about the science of the twenty-first century to effectively educate, motivate, and stoke the fires of inquiry burning in their future students. To do this, they must have at least a fundamental understanding of artificial intelligence: what it is, where it comes from, and what it can be used for.
Populismus: Inklusion und Exklusion als politischer Stil

Ausgehend von der gegenwartigen semantischen Konjunktur und einer theoriestrategischen »Rahmung«, in der Populismus als Symptom der Krisenerscheinungen demokratischer Regime gelesen wird, sollen einige der Um- und Neudefinitionen des Politischen, die sich in diesen Phanomenen andeutungsweise Ausdruck verschaffen, beschrieben werden. »Populistische Momente«, so Laurence Goodwyn, sind typisch fur eine historische Konstellation abrupter Modernisierung, in der den affektiven Bindungen ganzer Bevolkerungsgruppen an die existierende soziale Ordnung der Boden entzogen wird (Dubiel 1986:47). In einer solchen Konstellation entstehen nicht nur Freiraume fur populistische Politikstile, sondern auch neue Inklusionserzahlungen, die als kollektive Selbstdeutungen und Gruppenidentitaten verfestigt, politisch folgenreich werden. Populistische Momente waren dann jene kritischen Augenblicke, in denen kulturelle Wissensbestande, politische Routinen und Normalitatsstandards einer Gesellschaft aufgebrochen und neu zusammengesetzt werden.
The Kennesaw Database Courseware (KDC): strong points, weak points, and experience using it in a classroom environment

This paper describes the experience in using the Kennesaw Database Courseware (KDC), a database courseware intended to supplement the dominant textbooks, emphasizing and reinforcing concepts displayed in the animations. KDC is freely available at (http://coffee.kennesaw.edu). A more complete description of the project, can be found at [1--3] as well as at our web-site. The first section provides an overview of software's current stage. The second section provides the main educational advantages of using the software. The third section describes the weak points of the software as well as what we currently working on. The fourth section describes how the software is currently being used in a classroom setting. The last section summarizes the project. The work is the result of an NSF funded project (#0089412).
The relationship of mineralogy and strength development in dry FGD derived cements

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the relation between mineralogy and strength gain for mixtures comprised mainly of a typical dry flue gas desulfurization (FGD)-derived cement. The physical behavior of specimens created from dry FGD-derived cements over time depend on curing environment, particularly water availability, and initial mix properties. The mineralogical and physical studies provides evidence that the formation of gypsum from anhydrite in an environment containing excess water contributes to dramatic swell and strength loss over 30 days curing. Ettringite formation does not appear to contribute as significantly to strength loss over this time period while it may significantly enhance strength. Development of a mix for use in engineered applications, such as filling mine adits depends not only on initial mix chemistry but also on the availability of water in the environment where the fill is placed.
Metal‐dependent conformational reorganization reveals spontaneous mutagenesis mechanism promoted by human DNA polymerase β (735.2)

Polβ, despite lacking an intrinsic proofreading exonuclease activity, makes only few errors per 10,000 nucleotides incorporated. Interestingly, 60% of base substitution errors made by polβ are T•G ...
Modeling and analysis of the position-guided sliding-window routing protocol

The position-guided sliding-window routing (PSR) protocol is a scalable single tier routing protocol designed for operation in mobile ad hoc networking environments. In this paper, we provide an analytical model and framework in order to study the various design issues and trade-offs of PSR routing mechanism, discuss their impact on the protocol's operation and effectiveness, identify optimal values for critical design parameters under different mobility scenarios, and finally provide guidelines to optimize the protocol's performance.
The selectionist meaning of C. S. Peirce and B. F. Skinner

The selectionist meaning of C. S. Peirce and B. F. Skinner, which has an empirical existence, is advanced against essentialist meaning, which does not. Against a tradition that advocates essentialist meanings, the development of selectionist meaning is traced from Darwin through Peirce and on to Skinner. The views of Peirce and Skinner on meaning are presented as sharing a compatible conceptual foundation with contrasting but complementary distinctions. Support for selectionist meaning comes from contemporary dictionary construction, pragmatist philosophers, and recent views of scientific verbal behavior. Some implications are discussed.
Solitary wave train formation in Hertzian chains

Experiments show that perturbation by an incident striker can generate solitary wave trains in unloaded, monodispersed elastic sphere alignments (Lazaridi A. N. and Nesterenko V. F., Prikl. Mekh. Tekh. Fiz., 3 (1985) 115). We report the first dynamical studies in the elastic regime that confirm and extend upon the results obtained in existing experiments and define the conditions for which controlled generation of solitary wave trains may be possible.
Novel wave/ion beam interaction approach to isotope separation

Numerical simulations and experimental studies have been made related to the possibility of employing an externally imposed electrostatic potential wave to separate isotopes. This wave/ion interaction is a sensitive function of the wave/ion difference velocity and for the appropriate wave amplitude and wave speed, a lighter faster isotope will be reflected by the wave to a higher energy while leaving heavier, slower isotopes virtually undisturbed in energy--allowing subsequent ion separation by simple energy discrimination. In these experiments, a set of some 200 individual electrodes, which surrounded a microamp beam of neon ions, was used to generate the wave. Measurements of the wave amplitudes needed for ion reflection and measurements of the final energies of those reflected ions are consistent with values expected from simple kinetic arguments and with the more detailed results of numeric simulations.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Identification of metabolites from degradation of naphthalene by a Mycobacterium sp.

A Mycobacterium sp. isolated from oil-contaminated sediments was previously shown to mineralize 55% of the added naphthalene to carbon dioxide after 7 days of incubation. In this paper, we report the initial steps of the degradation of naphthalene by a Mycobacterium sp. as determined by isolation of metabolites and incorporation of oxygen from 18O2 into the metabolites. The results indicate that naphthalene is initially converted to cis- and trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene by dioxygenase and monooxygenase catalyzed reactions, respectively. The ratio of the cis to trans-naphthalene dihydrodiol isomers was approximately 25:1. Thin layer and high pressure liquid chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques indicated that besides the cis- and trans-1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydronaphthalene, minor amounts of ring cleavage products salicylate and catechol were also formed. Thus the formation of both cis and trans-naphthalene dihydrodiols by the Mycobacterium sp. is unique. The down-stream reactions to ring cleavage products proceed through analogous dioxygenase reactions previously reported for the bacterial degradation of naphthalene.
Neural mechanisms for the concepts of difference and similarity

A neurobiophysical mechanism which reacts todifferences in different modalities of a stimulus pattern is suggested. Another mechanism is suggested which reacts tosimilarity. The latter is measured by the number of neurons in common to the two stimulus patterns.
Stability of a Counter-Rotating Vortex Pair Immersed in Cross-Stream Shear Flow

The three-dimensional stability and nonlinear evolution of a single vortex and a pair of vortices of opposite strength immersed in a weak cross-stream shear flow are examined. The shear flow rate S is assumed to be sufficiently small compared to the average core vorticity Γ/πσ 2 that the vortex cross sections are nearly circular and the effect of stretching of the background shear flow is negligible, while being sufficiently large compared to the vortex mutual interaction frequency Γ/2πb 2 to significantly influence the stability of the vortex pair. The effect of shear flow on the long- and short-wave instabilities are studied using a combination of linear theory and numerical simulations for nonlinear disturbances.
Collection Development Assessment for New Collection Development Librarians

A number of articles have been written in the past several years that provide practical advice for librarians new to collection development, particularly in terms of understanding terminology, learning collection development processes, and gaining familiarity with one's library and institution. This article furthers this discussion, but with attention to working in collection development within the OhioLINK consortial environment. In order to thrive in this environment, new bibliographers are benefited by becoming familiar with and using data such as usage statistics, consortium reports, and peer institution statistics to develop and expand collections in one's assigned disciplines. Attention is also given to creating subject collection statements, faculty networking, and colleague assistance. The writer, himself relatively new to collection development, provides insights and perspectives on these matters, chiefly applicable to others new to collection development.
Query optimization over crowdsourced data

Deco is a comprehensive system for answering declarative queries posed over stored relational data together with data obtained on-demand from the crowd. In this paper we describe Deco's cost-based query optimizer, building on Deco's data model, query language, and query execution engine presented earlier. Deco's objective in query optimization is to find the best query plan to answer a query, in terms of estimated monetary cost. Deco's query semantics and plan execution strategies require several fundamental changes to traditional query optimization. Novel techniques incorporated into Deco's query optimizer include a cost model distinguishing between "free" existing data versus paid new data, a cardinality estimation algorithm coping with changes to the database state during query execution, and a plan enumeration algorithm maximizing reuse of common subplans in a setting that makes reuse challenging. We experimentally evaluate Deco's query optimizer, focusing on the accuracy of cost estimation and the efficiency of plan enumeration.
A note on sorting sparse matrices

The problem of sorting all the rows of a sparse matrix according to increasing or decreasing column indices is considered. An algorithm for doing the sort in order τ operations (where τ is the number of nonzeroes in the matrix) is given.
Natural convection effects on thermal ignition in a porous medium II. Lumped thermal model-I

In this paper, we examine the disappearance of criticality, ignition locus and bifurcation diagrams of temperature against Rayleigh number of a one-dimensional diffusion-convection-reaction model with the assumption of infinite thermal conductivity and zero species diffusivity. The predictions of this model are compared with those of the Semenov model to determine the impact of the species diffusion term. It is shown that for large values of the Rayleigh number (R* > 1), the ignition locus may be expressed in a parametric form BLs = t/lnt+t/(t-1) (1 < t < 3.4955), ?flR* = (BLs)2 ((t- 1)/t) exp {-BLs+BLs/t} ln t, where B is the heat of reaction parameter, #f is the Semenov number and Ls is a (modified) Lewis number. Criticality is found to disappear at BLs = 4.194. When these results are compared with those of the Semenov model, it is found that neglecting the species diffusion term gives conservative approximations to the ignition locus, and criticality boundary. It is found that the lumped thermal model-I has five different types of bifurcation diagrams of temperature against Rayleigh number (singlevalued, isola, inverse S, mushroom, inverse S+isola). These diagrams are qualitatively identical to the bifurcation diagrams of temperature against flow rate for the forced convection problem under the assumption of infinite thermal conductivity and zero species diffusivity.
Effects of legal X piperazine analogs on dopamine and serotonin release in rat brain

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a popular illicit drug that evokes transporter-mediated release of serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) from nerve cells. Recently, drug users have ingested combinations of the piperazine analogs, 1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) and 1-(m-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (TFMPP), in an attempt to mimic the subjective effects of MDMA. In the present study, we compared neurochemical effects of MDMA, BZP, and TFMPP in rat brain. The ability of MDMA, BZP, and TFMPP to stimulate efflux of [ 3 H]5-HT and [ 3 H]MPP + (a DA transporter substrate) was determined in vitro using release assays in synaptosomes. The ability of these drugs to increase extracellular 5-HT and DA in vivo was assessed using intracranial microdialysis in nucleus accumbens. MDMA stimulated transporter-mediated release of 5-HT (EC 5 0 = 58 nM) and MPP + (EC 5 0 = 119 nM). BZP was a selective releaser of MPP+ (EC 5 0 = 175 nM), whereas TFMPP was a selective releaser of 5-HT (EC 5 0 = 121 nM). MDMA injections (1 and 3 mg/kg, i.v.) increased dialysate 5-HT and DA in a dose-related manner, but actions on 5-HT were predominant. BZP (3 and 10 mg/kg, i.v.) elevated dialysate DA and 5-HT, while TFMPP (3 and 10 mg/kg, i.v.) elevated only 5-HT. The coadministration of BZP plus TFMPP (BZP/TFMPP) produced marked elevations in extracellular 5-HT and DA that mirrored the effects of MDMA. At the high dose of BZP/TFMPP (10 mg/kg, i.v.), the rise in dialysate DA exceeded the summed effects of the drugs alone. Our results support the hypothesis that the BZP/TFMPP combination mimics the neurochemical mechanism of MDMA, providing a basis for recreational use of these agents. Additionally, the findings suggest possible drug-drug synergism when piperazine drugs are coadministered at high doses.
The influence of the ion-atom potential on molecular dynamics simulations of sputtering

Abstract The influence of the ion–atom potential on sputtering parameters calculated with molecular dynamics simulations was last investigated in detail by Harrison in 1980 [J. Appl. Phys. 52 (1981) 1499]. Harrison concluded that except for total yields, layer yields, yields from different crystal orientations and atom per single ion (ASI) distributions, most sputtering properties were relatively insensitive to the choice of ion–atom potential. Since conventional sputtering theory predicts that only the total yields should be dependent on the ion–atom potential, we have reinvestigated this problem with much higher precision. We find that only the total yields are sensitive to the ion–atom potential, and these appear to depend on the strength of the ion–atom potential at a separation radius of approximately 0.7 A rather than the larger separation radius range of 0.8–1.1 A suggested by Harrison. The total sputtering yields also were found to correlate well with the stopping power computed for each of the ion–atom potentials that were tested.
Reactions of phosphine-nitrile ligands: the formation of phosphine-amine and phosphine-imidate complexes of tungsten carbonyl from 3(diphenylphosphino)propionitrile and 3(diphenylphosphino)2-methylpropionitrile

Reactions of W(CO)6 and NaBH4 with the phosphine-nitrile ligands Ph2PCH2CH2CN or Ph2PCH2CH(CH3)CN in hot ethanol or propanol for limited reaction times provide mixtures of the corresponding phosphine-imidate and phosphine-amine complexes of the stoichiometry (CO)4WL. Longer reaction times provide, in high yield, only the phosphine-amine complexes. Proton-decoupled carbon-13 NMR data from (CO)4W[Ph2PCH2CH(CH3)CH2NH2] are consistent with a locked, six-membered chelate ring in which the methyl group occupies an equatorial position. The NH and NH2 donor groups in the W(CO)4L complexes are displaced upon reaction with PhP(CH3)2 providing mixtures of cis and trans (CO)4WLL′ complexes.
Chronically ill mothers experiencing pain: relational coping strategies used while parenting young children

Objective: There has been little research on women who are parenting while they experience pain and none of this research has focused on mothers with young children. The purpose of this study was to consider relational coping strategies generated by mothers that they used when parenting young children and experiencing pain.Methods: Two-hundred sixty-two mothers participated in this survey research; 171 who have either multiple sclerosis (MS) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and a comparison group of 91well mothers. Mothers completed questionnaires inquiring about (a) their coping strategies, (b) levels of pain, fatigue and physical functioning, and (c) if they were currently experiencing an exacerbation of their chronic illness.Results: Well mothers reported using more self-care when parenting while experiencing pain. Mothers with RA were more likely to set boundaries around their behaviour. Women with MS who were experiencing an exacerbation changed their coping strategies to include more child activities a...
Continua of H-graphs: convexity and isoperimetric stability

In this paper we consider nonparametric solutions of the volume constrained Plateau problem with respect to a convex planar curve. Existence and regularity is obtained from standard elliptic theory, and convexity results for small volumes are obtained as an immediate consequence. Finally, the regularity is applied to show a strong stability condition (Theorem 8) for all volumes considered. This condition, in turn, allows us to adapt an argument of Cabre and Chanillo [CC97] which yields that any solution enclosing a non-zero volume has a unique nondegenerate critical point.
Anti-Anginal and Anti-Ischemic Effects of Late Sodium Current Inhibition

The effective treatment of coronary artery disease targets two distinct goals, controlling symptomatic angina and decreasing the adverse events associated with ischemia. Traditional anti-anginal and anti-ischemic drugs function by altering the determinants of myocardial oxygen supply or demand, usually by altering loading conditions, changing the heart rate, or impacting contractility. Blockade of the late inward sodium current, late INa, offers another target for the treatment of ischemia. Blockade of late INa reduces the sodium and calcium overload that follows ischemia. This improves myocardial relaxation and reduces left ventricular diastolic stiffness, in turn enhancing myocardial contractility and perfusion. Ranolazine, a late INa inhibitor, has been shown to provide both anti-anginal and anti-ischemic benefits without significant alterations in the heart rate and blood pressure in patients with stable coronary artery disease. When evaluated in patients with acute coronary syndrome, ranolazine has been shown to decrease recurrent ischemia, but not significantly reduce the risk of death or myocardial infarction. This review will address the rationale that inhibition of the late sodium current is beneficial in reducing cardiac dysfunction during ischemia, and discuss the clinical studies supporting the use of ranolazine for its anti-anginal and anti-ischemic effects.
Ab initio simulations of silicene hydrogenation

Abstract Silicene, a silicon equivalent of graphene, is a newly synthesized nanostructure with unique features and promising potential. Using density functional theory, the geometries and energetics of partially hydrogenated silicene (hydrogenation ratios between 3.1 and 100 atom%) are calculated. We find that the hydrogenation energy increases with the hydrogenation ratio, reaching 3.01 eV/H for complete hydrogenation. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the stability of the adsorption configurations. Our results show that partial and patterned hydrogenation, achievable through exposing silicene to hydrogen gas with various densities and/or masking techniques, provide the attractive possibility of metal/semiconductor/insulator functionality within the same silicon nanosheet.
The sequential uptake of (14C) deoxyglucose in brain after embolic stroke

An i.v. bolus of (14C) deoxyglucose was injected into 4 groups of rats which simultaneously were embolized through the internal carotid artery. 15 and 30 min post embolization there was a massive decrease in (14C) deoxyglucose uptake in both deep and cortical structures. At 4 h a small zone of increased (14C) deoxyglucose uptake persisted around each embolized microsphere.
New approaches for persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn

The management of PPHN entered a new era with the development of inhaled NO therapy for the relief of pulmonary hypertension. The wider application of INO therapy and improved ventilation strategies led to a decrease in the need for invasive life-sustaining therapies such as ECMO. The remarkable advances in the understanding and treatment of PPHN were made possible by the extensive investigations in the laboratory using animal models. Further decreases in morbidity and mortality are possible with specific strategies targeted to correct the alterations in NO and prostacyclin biology and strategies to reduce lung injury. Further research is needed to understand the basis for the biologic susceptibility of some infants to environmental insults such as intra-uterine stressor exposure to NSAIDs in utero.
Human physiological models of insomnia

Despite the wide prevalence and important consequences of insomnia, remarkably little is known about its pathophysiology. Available models exist primarily in the psychological domain and derive from the demonstrated efficacy of behavioral treatment approaches to insomnia management. However, these models offer little specific prediction about the anatomic or physiological foundation of chronic primary insomnia. On the other hand, a growing body of data on the physiology of sleep supports a reasonably circumscribed overview of possible pathophysiological mechanisms, as well as the development of physiological models of insomnia to guide future research. As a pragmatic step, these models focus on primary insomnia, as opposed to comorbid insomnias, because the latter is by its nature a much more heterogeneous presentation, reflecting the effects of the distinct comorbid condition. Current understanding of the regulation of sleep and wakefulness in mammalian brain supports four broad candidate areas: 1) disruption of the sleep homeostat; 2) disruption of the circadian clock; 3) disruption of intrinsic systems responsible for the expression of sleep states; or 4) disruption (hyperactivity) of extrinsic systems capable of over-riding normal sleep-wake regulation. This review examines each of the four candidate pathophysiological mechanisms and the available data in support of each. While studies that directly test the viability of each model are not yet available, descriptive data on primary insomnia favor the involvement of dysfunctional extrinsic stress-response systems in the pathology of primary chronic insomnia.
Ohm's law for a relativistic pair plasma.

We derive the fully relativistic Ohm's law for an electron-positron plasma. The absence of nonresistive terms in Ohm's law and the natural substitution of the four-velocity for the velocity flux in the relativistic bulk plasma equations do not require the field gradient length scale to be much larger than the lepton inertial lengths, or the existence of a frame in which the distribution functions are isotropic.
Gas Chromatography/Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry: Analytical Validation and Applicability to Metabolic Profiling

Gas Chromatography (GC)-Mass Spectrometry (MS) with Atmospheric Pressure (AP) interface was introduced more than 30 years ago but never became a mainstream technique, mainly because of technical difficulties and cost of instrumentation. A recently introduced multipurpose AP source created the opportunity to reconsider the importance of AP ionization for GC. Here, we present an analytical evaluation of GC/APCI-MS showing the benefits of soft atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for GC in combination with a Time of Flight (TOF) mass analyzer. During this study, the complete analytical procedure was optimized and evaluated with respect to characteristic analytical parameters, such as repeatability, reproducibility, linearity, and detection limits. Limits of detection (LOD) were found within the range from 11.8 to 72.5 nM depending on the type of compound. The intraday and interday repeatability tests demonstrate relative standard deviations (RSDs) of peak areas between 0.7%-2.1% and 3.8%-6.4% correspondingly. Finally, we applied the developed method to the analysis of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples to check the potential of this new analytical combination for metabolic profiling.
Observation of broken time-reversal symmetry with Andreev bound state tunneling spectroscopy

Abstract Quasiparticle (QP) planar tunneling spectroscopy is used to investigate the density of states (DoS) of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (YBCO). Temperature, crystallographic orientation, doping, damage and magnetic field dependencies confirm that the observed zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) is an Andreev bound state (ABS), an intrinsic property of a d-wave superconducting order parameter (OP) at an interface. In zero applied field, the splitting of the ZBCP below ∼8 K confirms a near-surface phase transition into a superconducting state with spontaneously broken time-reversal symmetry (BTRS). Tunneling into the ABS provides a phase-sensitive spectroscopy that can be used to measure a variety of DoS properties in an unconventional superconductor.
Dynamic changes in left ventricular outflow tract flow velocities after amyl nitrite inhalation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Doppler echocardiography was performed in 21 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC), in nine patients with no evidence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy by two-dimensional echocardiography, and in five patients with systemic hypertension and concentric LV hypertrophy. The LV outflow tract (LVOT) peak velocity was recorded by continuous wave Doppler technique at rest and after amyl nitrite inhalation. The LVOT pressure gradient was calculated by the modified Bernoulli equation. A significant increase in heart rate and a drop in systolic blood pressure were observed in all patients after amyl nitrite inhalation; no adverse effects were encountered. The peak LVOT velocity and pressure gradient increased significantly after provocation in all patients, but the increase was much more pronounced in patients with HC (peak LVOT velocity increased from 2.2 +/- 0.8 to 4.3 +/- 1.0 m/sec and peak gradient increased from 22 +/- 17 to 78 +/- 36 mm Hg). The Doppler spectral signal in patients with HC demonstrated a characteristic contour, with peak velocity occurring in late systole. However, the observed increase in LVOT peak velocity was not statistically different between treated (with beta-blockers and calcium blockers) and untreated patients with HC. We conclude that LVOT peak velocity and pressure gradients in patients with HC can be readily assessed by Doppler echocardiography both at rest and after amyl nitrite inhalation. The dynamic changes in LVOT velocity induced by this provocation have certain characteristic features in obstructive HC but appear to be independent of the medical regimen used, at least in the dosages tested in our study.
Preparing for a product launch in a medical communications department

This article provides an overview of the range of activities and responsibilities of the medical communications department within the product launch process and provides a basis for both experienced professionals and first timers to form a plan. It covers: identifying personnel requirements for the launch process; preparing core launch materials; interactions with and services provided to other departments; training issues; evaluating resources; and postlaunch considerations. A proactive approach to launch responsibilities and clear and timely communication with all involved parties will help eliminate surprises and ensure that the product needs are met and the launch is successful.
The effects of reverse atrial electrical remodeling on atrial defibrillation thresholds.

MANGRUM, J.M., et al.: The Effects of Reverse Atrial Electrical Remodeling on Atrial Defibrillation Thresholds. The implantable atrial defibrillator is a developing therapeutic option for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, but shock related discomfort continues to be a limiting factor. To further characterize successful defibrillation, the relationship between reverse atrial electrical remodeling and internal atrial defibrillation thresholds in canines with chronic atrial fibrillation was examined. Testing was performed in 21 dogs. Chronic atrial fibrillation was induced in eight dogs by creating moderate mitral regurgitation and rapidly pacing the right atrium for ≥ 6 weeks. The atrial fibrillation cycle length, atrial effective refractory period, refractory period dispersion, and internal atrial defibrillation thresholds were determined after establishment of chronic atrial fibrillation after 4 hours of sinus rhythm postcardioversion and 7 days of sinus rhythm postcardioversion. These measurements were then compared to a normal population of 13 dogs. The atrial defibrillation thresholds were 6.6 J (1.9–10.1 J) initially, 2.9 J (1.5–3.7 J) after 4 hours of sinus rhythm, and 0.9 J (0.4 – 1.3 J) after 7 days of sinus rhythm (P = 0.04). This decrease was associated inversely with the atrial effective refractory period (P < 0.03), and atrial fibrillation cycle length (P < 0.05), and with a decrease in atrial refractory period dispersion after 7 days of sinus rhythm (P = 0.04). These electrophysiological measurements reached normal population levels by 7 days. Atrial defibrillation thresholds decrease as atrial reverse electrical remodeling occurs and this reduction corresponds to increased atrial fibrillation cycle length, increased atrial refractoriness, and decreased refractory period dispersion.
Poster 4: The Effect of Video Game-Based Exercise on Dynamic Balance and Mobility in Individuals with Huntington's Disease

Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disease in which balance and gait impairments inevitably develop, placing individuals at high risk for injurious falls and lowering their quality of life. Methods In a study designed to examine the efficacy of an exercise program using the video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to improve balance and mobility in individuals with HD, participants will be 20 adults with HD who can ambulate 10 feet without assistance. A randomized, cross-over, control design is used. Subjects are alternately assigned to experimental (n = 10) and control (n = 10) groups. The experimental group performs DDR for 45 minutes 2×/week for 6 weeks in their homes with a researcher who provides instructions. The control group performs a hand-held video game that controls for the effects of the attention and novelty of the DDR intervention. After completing the initial intervention, the control group crosses over to the DDR intervention and the experimental group performs the hand-held video game. Compliance with the control phase and fall incidence is determined via weekly phone calls. All outcome measures including the Tinetti Mobility Test (TMT), the 4-square step test, the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, forward, backward, and obstacle course spatiotemporal gait measures using the GaitRite walkway, and subjects' reported perceptions of the video games are obtained by one of the researchers, who is blinded to group assignment. Results and Discussion Preliminary data analysis of subjects who have completed the study (n = 7) shows a trend for improvements in balance measures such as the TMT and performance on an obstacle course following the DDR intervention. The majority of subjects report that the DDR game is fun, challenging, and highly motivating, whereas the hand-held games tend to be difficult and inconvenient to play. The preliminary results indicate that DDR is well tolerated, and may improve balance in this population.
Advantages of Geographically Weighted Regression for Modeling Benthic Substrate in Two Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Streams

Stream habitat assessments are commonplace in fish management, and often involve nonspatial analysis methods for quantifying or predicting habitat, such as ordinary least squares regression (OLS). Spatial relationships, however, often exist among stream habitat variables. For example, water depth, water velocity, and benthic substrate sizes within streams are often spatially correlated and may exhibit spatial nonstationarity or inconsistency in geographic space. Thus, analysis methods should address spatial relationships within habitat datasets. In this study, OLS and a recently developed method, geographically weighted regression (GWR), were used to model benthic substrate from water depth and water velocity data at two stream sites within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. For data collection, each site was represented by a grid of 0.1 m2 cells, where actual values of water depth, water velocity, and benthic substrate class were measured for each cell. Accuracies of regressed substrate class data by OLS and GWR methods were calculated by comparing maps, parameter estimates, and determination coefficient r 2. For analysis of data from both sites, Akaike’s Information Criterion corrected for sample size indicated the best approximating model for the data resulted from GWR and not from OLS. Adjusted r 2 values also supported GWR as a better approach than OLS for prediction of substrate. This study supports GWR (a spatial analysis approach) over nonspatial OLS methods for prediction of habitat for stream habitat assessments.
The Individualism-Holism Debate on Intertheoretic Reduction and the Argument from Multiple Realization:

The argument from multiple realization is currently considered the argument against intertheoretic reduction. Both Little and Kincaid have applied the argument to the individualism-holism debate in support of the antireductionist holist position. The author shows that the tenability of the argument, as applied to the individualism-holism debate, hinges on the descriptive constraints imposed on the individualist position. On a plausible formulation of the individualist position, the argument does not establish that the intertheoretic reduction of social theories is highly unlikely. Nonetheless, the reductive project may run into other potential obstacles. For this reason, it is concluded that the prospect of intertheoretic reduction is uncertain rather than unlikely.
The performance of low‐cost commercial cloud computing as an alternative in computational chemistry

The growth of commercial cloud computing (CCC) as a viable means of computational infrastructure is largely unexplored for the purposes of quantum chemistry. In this work, the PSI4 suite of computational chemistry programs is installed on five different types of Amazon World Services CCC platforms. The performance for a set of electronically excited state single-point energies is compared between these CCC platforms and typical, “in-house” physical machines. Further considerations are made for the number of cores or virtual CPUs (vCPUs, for the CCC platforms), but no considerations are made for full parallelization of the program (even though parallelization of the BLAS library is implemented), complete high-performance computing cluster utilization, or steal time. Even with this most pessimistic view of the computations, CCC resources are shown to be more cost effective for significant numbers of typical quantum chemistry computations. Large numbers of large computations are still best utilized by more traditional means, but smaller-scale research may be more effectively undertaken through CCC services. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Phase transitions in gapless Fermi systems with magnetic impurities.

We consider a model of a Kondo-like impurity interacting with a band of fermions for which the density of states is zero or small near the Fermi energy. Renormalization-group arguments and a large-degeneracy technique are used to demonstrate that this model has a nontrivial zero-temperature phase transition at a finite coupling constant, in contrast to the zero-coupling-constant transition of the ordinary Kondo model. Possible experimental realizations of this model include anisotropic superconductors, narrow-gap semiconductors, and systems with flux phases
Melasma and its impact on health‐related quality of life in Hispanic women

Objectives: Melasma poses a substantial emotional and psychosocial burden on patients. Even though melasma is prevalent in Hispanic women, its impact on health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) has been under‐reported. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the impact of melasma on the HRQOL of Hispanic women. Methods: An extensive literature review of articles published in English and Spanish over the last 15 years (1991–2006) was conducted. The search terms used to obtain relevant information were ‘melasma’, ‘women’, ‘health‐related quality of life’, HRQOL’, ‘treatment’, ‘Hispanic’, and ‘Latino’. Specific issues covered include HRQOL issues in melasma, instruments used and treatment modalities available for melasma. Results: The literature search revealed that melasma has a deleterious impact on the HRQOL. It severely affects social life, emotional well‐being, physical health and money matters in Hispanic women. Conclusion: Patient education, awareness and counseling are needed to improve HRQOL outcomes.
Prediction of Random Effects in the Generalized Linear Model

This article develops an estimating function-based approach to component estimation in the two-stage generalized linear model with univariate random effects and a vector of fixed effects. The novelty and unifying feature of the method is the use of estimating functions in the estimation of both the random effects and their variance. Two separate estimating procedures based on the method are proposed that differ in the intensity of numerical computation required. The estimating function approach is especially valuable in the longitudinal setting where the response variable is discrete and the number of repeated observations on each unit is small. Other key features of this empirical Bayes technique are that it uses all available data, it yields familiar forms for the estimators as special cases, and it is less computationally intensive than other methods designed to address the same problem. An application to the estimation of trends in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) incidence across risk group...
THE USE OF THE LINGUISTIC CONTEXT: DO GOOD AND POOR READERS USE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES?

Summary. This study investigates whether good and poor readers use different strategies when making use of the linguistic context, and in particular whether good readers make better use of the succeeding context by using a better strategy or whether they do so simply because of their superior knowledge. A cloze test was specially constructed to control for the readers' knowledge and, after successive refinements, was administered to 121 7- and 8-year-old children in their first year at junior school. The children were better at using the preceding context than the succeeding context (P< 0.001), and the better the reader the better was his use of the succeeding context (P<0.01). As the knowledge of the readers had been controlled this must have been a consequence of some difference in the strategies used by the better and poorer readers. It was not, however, because the good readers made better use of an overt self-corrective strategy, as self-corrections were not found to be related to reading ability. No conclusion could therefore be drawn as to whether the good readers used a more efficient strategy, or whether they used the same strategy more skilfully. It was also argued that, as poor readers are less able to use the context, it might well be a mistake to conclude that they are reluctant to do so when there is graphic information available simply on the evidence that they make less use of it.
Noren Discount Stores: Death of a Family Business

This case is about a family-owned discount store chain that was unable to survive much beyond its founder. It tells the story of a first-generation American family and its struggle to grow and pros...
Darwin's unpublished letter at the Bradlaugh–Besant trial: A question of divided expert judgment

Abstract We examine the competing views of two sets of “experts” in a historical context, the Bradlaugh– Besant trial of 1877. The case was ostensibly about what constituted “obscenity” and whether, specifically, republishing a book at low cost that contained information on contraception, was obscene. Behind the trial lurked two larger questions: whether natural selection yielded felicitous results in humans; and, supposing it did not, what might be done to improve upon the results of unimpeded natural selection? The “failure” of natural selection was said to occur because people chose to pursue happiness as opposed to perfection of the human race The issue was whether it was advisable to have unrestricted access to information on how to limit births. Some experts, including Charles Darwin, feared that as information became widely available at low cost, it would be used by the wrong sorts of individuals and not by others, so that the salutary effects of natural selection on human perfection would be suspended. Others, like Besant, Bradlaugh and J. S. Mill, advocated wide access in order to mitigate the misery associated with unwanted births and extreme poverty.
Sleep and waking modulate spine turnover in the adolescent mouse cortex

Cortical development involves synaptic formation and elimination. Although synaptogenesis predominates in the early stages and pruning in the later stages, the two processes are thought to happen concurrently. In adults, synaptic strength is modulated by behavioral state, and we asked whether synaptic remodeling may be affected by sleep and waking states. Using two-photon microscopy in adolescent mice, we found that waking results in a net increase in cortical spines, whereas sleep is associated with net spine loss.
Molecular damage induced directly and indirectly by ionizing radiation in DNA.

We describe the interaction of radiation with a double-stranded DNA molecule and with the structural water surrounding it. The results, which include a detailed picture of DNA molecular alterations, as well as their yield and spatial disposition, were obtained with the aid of Monte Carlo codes that simulate, event-by-event and simultaneously, direct and indirect effects. These calculations make use of explicit quantum-mechanical descriptions of the electronic structure of condensed water and of a homopolynucleotide chain. From these we obtain, via the dielectric response function of the two systems, e (q, ω), the interaction probabilities necessary in the transport codes.
Utilization of the Specific Pseudocapacitance for Determination of the Area of Corroding Steel Surfaces

Abstract Determination of the capacitance of a corroding metal-electrolyte interface offers the possibility of an independent measurement of the area of the corroding metal. This in turn allows for the evaluation of the corrosion rate from the current calculated from the measured polarization resistance (ΔV/ΔI). Low carbon steel in fully aerated 1 M sodium sulfate solution was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to evaluate the interfacial capacitance as well as the polarization and ohmic resistances. The value of the capacitance per surface area unit was determined with samples ranging from 0.5 to 40 cm2 over periods of up to 1000 h. The capacitance values changed quite rapidly during the first 72 h while the local chemistry and corrosion potential were stabilizing and then slowly increased to a stable level in ∼500 h. A specific capacitance of ∼200 µF/cm2 was determined and is being applied to polarization resistance values from buried gas transmission pipeline samples to det...
Transient techniques for determining the thermal conductivity of homogeneous polymeric materials at elevated temperatures

Linear thermal conductivity relations at temperatures above room temperature were found from transient temperature–time data for polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, and poly(methyl methacrylate). The relations agree well with literature data for the same temperature ranges, but the computer time and cost of obtaining data points are significantly greater when compared to other measuring techniques of equivalent accuracy.