cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Editorial Commentary: Use Remplissage as a “Fill In” for Latarjet in Patients With Shoulder Instability and Hill Sachs Lesions

Abstract Remplissage minimizes recurrence and confers minimal motion loss when applied to glenoid defects up to 20% and humeral loss up to 40% in patients with shoulder instability. However, variability in the reporting of volume of both glenoid and humeral head bone loss deters the formulation of distinct thresholds for indications and contraindication for remplissage. However, there appears to be little downside in the performance of this “biologic” solution to Hill-Sachs lesions.
Identification of Two Types of Stem Cells in Methylene Blue-stained Sections of Untreated and Diethylstilbestrol-treated Human Prostate Cancer and Their Characterization by Immunogold Localization of CD133

Background The basal compartment of the prostatic acinus harbors stem and basal cells, whereas the luminal compartment contains cuboidal and columnar cells. Mutation in the genes of stem cells is required for benign (normal) prostate to develop into prostatic adenocarcinoma. Stem/basal cells survive androgen deprivation therapy in humans and castrated mice to repopulate glandular cells by proliferation when stimulated by androgen. We hypothesized that using different embedding and staining methods, it would be possible to identify two types of stem cells in human prostate by localization of CD133. Materials and methods Prostate biopsy or prostatectomy pieces from 13 untreated and eight diethylstilbestrol-treated men with prostate cancer were sectioned, stained by methylene blue and CD133 was localized by immunogold technique. Results Methylene blue stained basic proteins in dark basal cells, but not in light cells. Light basal cells expressed androgen receptors and dark cells estrogen receptors. Light and dark cells expressed CD133, indicating them to be stem cells. Light stem cells produced the lineage of columnar/cuboidal cells. Estrogen-dependent dark cells produced a lineage of columnar/cuboidal cells, that also expressed estrogen receptors. Conclusion Our analysis indicates that stem/basal cells are privileged cells in the basal compartment. Stem cells are not under the regulation of steroid hormones, whereas their lineage of cuboidal/columnar cells are. The lineage of androgen-dependent cells are columnar/cuboidal cells and the lineage of estrogen-dependent cells are also columnar/cuboidal cells. Epon-embedding and methylene blue staining showed two types of CD133-positive stem cells in prostate. Paraffin sections did not show two types of stem cells in prostate and bone marrow leukemia cells. Our study indicates the continuity of embryonic stem cells into adult prostate as organ-specific stem cells. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify two types of stem cells in human prostate.
Effect of the body mass index and sexual difference on the muscle activity during trunk exercise: a preliminary study

There was lack of study which evaluated the effects of characteristics of subjects such as the body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC), as well as sexual differences on trunk muscle activities. The purpose of the present study was to compare the abdominal muscle activities among the groups dividing criterion as the BMI, WC, and the gender. As a criterion of BMI and WC, subjects were arranged to three groups. Female subjects who were less than 25 kg/m2 BMI, and less than 90 WC were arranged as female with underweight group (FU), male subjects who were greater than 25 kg/m2 BMI and greater than 85 WC were arranged as male with overweight group (MO), male subjects who were less than 25 kg/m2 BMI and less than 85 WC were arranged in male with underweight group (MU). Surface electromyography responses of the rectus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique muscles and lumbar level of erector spinae were obtained during the plank and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). The MO group showed significantly higher %MVIC value of the internal oblique and lumbar level of erector spinae, compared to the MU group (P<0.05). The %MVIC of the rectus abdominis was significantly greater with the FU group (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the root mean squared (RMS) values from MVIC among the three groups (P<0.05). Regardless of muscles differences, the MO group showed significantly lower RMS activity values than the FU and the MU groups (P<0.05). Present study indicates some considerations of interpreting surface electromyography (sEMG) signal from region overlapping large fat tissue especially for trunk muscles. Individual characteristics such as gender, BMI, and WC could affect the sEMG signals. The female and male with overweight represent relatively high %MVICs during exercise, but it might be due to relatively low RMS values from procedure of MVICs.
Risk Factors Associated with Persistent Anterior Uveitis after Cataract Surgery.

Purpose To identify risk factors for the development of persistent anterior uveitis (PAU) following uncomplicated phacoemulsification cataract extraction in patients without histories of uveitis or autoimmune diseases. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods Medical records were reviewed of patients who underwent phacoemulsification cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016, at the University of Colorado Hospital. Exclusion criteria included patient history of autoimmune disease and/or uveitis, cataract surgery combined with another intraocular surgery, and complicated cataract surgery. Patients with PAU were identified according to Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature Working Group criteria. Data including sex, race/ethnicity, surgery length and cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), and postoperative visual acuity (VA) and intraocular pressure (IOP) were obtained. Main outcome measurements were risk factors for the development of PAU. Results The charts of 3,013 eyes from 2,019 patients were reviewed. A total of 61 eyes (2.0%) from 48 patients developed PAU. African Americans were more likely than whites to develop PAU (relative risk = 11.3; P Conclusions African Americans have a higher risk of developing PAU after uncomplicated phacoemulsification cataract extraction. The mechanism leading to this is unclear. Although PAU requires prolonged treatment, it does not appear to lead to worse visual outcomes.
In the company of citizens: the rhetorical contours of Singapore's neoliberalism

This essay explores how the language and priorities of the corporate world seep into the halls of government, and the ensuing implications of such rhetoric. Situating my analysis in Singapore's Nat...
Combined Model for Partially-Observable and Non-Observable Task Switching: Solving Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning Problems Statically and Dynamically with Transfer Learning.

An integral function of fully autonomous robots and humans is the ability to focus attention on a few relevant percepts to reach a certain goal while disregarding irrelevant percepts. Humans and animals rely on the interactions between the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC) and the Basal Ganglia (BG) to achieve this focus called Working Memory (WM). The Working Memory Toolkit (WMtk) was developed based on a computational neuroscience model of this phenomenon with Temporal Difference (TD) Learning for autonomous systems. Recent adaptations of the toolkit either utilize Abstract Task Representations (ATRs) to solve Non-Observable (NO) tasks or storage of past input features to solve Partially-Observable (PO) tasks, but not both. We propose a new model, PONOWMtk, which combines both approaches, ATRs and input storage, with a static or dynamic number of ATRs. The results of our experiments show that PONOWMtk performs effectively for tasks that exhibit PO, NO, or both properties.
Complete versus incomplete coronary revascularization: definitions, assessment and outcomes

Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Selected patients with obstructive coronary artery disease benefit from revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Many (but not all) studies have demonstrated increased survival and greater freedom from adverse cardiovascular events after complete revascularization (CR) than after incomplete revascularization (ICR) in patients with multivessel disease. However, achieving CR after PCI or CABG surgery might not be feasible owing to patient comorbidities, anatomical factors, and technical or procedural considerations. These factors also mean that comparisons between CR and ICR are subject to multiple confounders and are difficult to understand or apply to real-world clinical practice. In this Review, we summarize and critically appraise the evidence linking various types of ICR to adverse outcomes in patients with multivessel disease and stable ischaemic heart disease, non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, with or without cardiogenic shock. In addition, we provide practical recommendations for revascularization in patients with high-risk multivessel disease to optimize their long-term clinical outcomes and identify areas requiring future clinical investigation.
Local transport and reaction rates in a fixed bed reactor tube: Exothermic partial oxidation of ethylene

Abstract Particle-resolved 3-D computational fluid dynamics (PRCFD) simulations of highly exothermic ethylene partial oxidation in a fixed bed were made to evaluate heterogeneous pseudo continuum reaction engineering models. The ethylene oxidation results were compared to a previous study (Dixon, Chem. Eng. Sci., 168 , 156–177 (2017)) of endothermic steam methane reforming (SMR). The 1-D pseudo continuum reactor model predicted too high a reaction rate compared to the PRCFD simulations. Unlike the endothermic SMR, manipulation of the fluid-particle heat and mass transfer coefficients did not improve agreement. For the 2-D pseudo continuum reactor model, agreement was not helped by the inclusion of radial voidage and velocity profiles, but was improved by the radial heat transfer model, again in contrast to SMR. These results arose from the differences between heating from the strong heat flux applied to the tube wall, and from the weaker heat source supplied by reaction in the main fixed bed.
Traumatic optic neuropathy management: A Survey assessment of current practice patterns

Introduction: The treatment of traumatic optic neuropathy (TON) is highly controversial with a lack of substantiated evidence to support the use of corticosteroids or surgical decompression of the optic nerve. The aim of the study was to determine if there was a general consensus in the management of TON despite controversy in the literature. Methods: An anonymous survey of members of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society regarding their practice patterns in the management of patients with TON was performed. Results: The majority of 165 respondents indicated that they treated TON with corticosteroids (60%) while a significant minority (23%) performed surgical interventions (P
Assessing Interventions That Prevent Multiple Infectious Diseases: Simple Methods for Multidisease Modeling.

BackgroundMany cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) only consider outcomes for a single disease when comparing interventions that prevent or treat 1 disease (e.g., vaccination) to interventions that ...
A 91.15% Efficient 2.3–5-V Input 10–35-V Output Hybrid Boost Converter for LED-Driver Applications

This article presents a hybrid boost converter architecture for improving the efficiency of light-emitting diode (LED) drivers used in mobile applications. By cascading a low-switching frequency time-interleaved series–parallel switched-capacitor (SC)-stage with an inductive-boost converter, we facilitate lower voltage-rated switches, thus significantly reducing the switching losses. Charge-sharing losses of the SC stage are minimized by soft-charging flying capacitors with the inductor of the boost (BST) stage. Fabricated in 180-nm bipolar CMOS DMOS (BCD) process, the prototype converter generates 30-V output voltage from a Li-ion battery source. It can provide a load current in the range of 0–100 mA with an excellent peak power efficiency of 91.15% at 30 mA, which represents a 3% improvement over the state of the art.
Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Elamipretide in Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Noncentral Geographic Atrophy: ReCLAIM NCGA Study

Abstract Purpose To assess safety, tolerability, and feasibility of subcutaneous administration of mitochondrial targeted drug elamipretide in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and noncentral geographic atrophy (NCGA) and to perform exploratory analyses of change in visual function. Design Phase 1, single-center, open-label, 24-week clinical trial with preplanned NCGA cohort. Participants Adult patients, age ≥ 55 years, with dry AMD and NCGA. Methods Participants received subcutaneous elamipretide 40 mg daily, with safety and tolerability assessed throughout the study. Ocular assessments included normal luminance best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), low-luminance best-corrected visual acuity (LLVA), normal luminance binocular reading acuity (NLRA), low luminance binocular reading acuity (LLRA), spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus autofluorescence (FAF), and patient self-reported function by low luminance questionnaire (LLQ). Main Outcome Measures The primary endpoint was safety and tolerability. Prespecified exploratory endpoints included changes in BCVA, LLVA, NLRA, LLRA, GA area, and LLQ. Results Subcutaneous administration of elamipretide was highly feasible. All participants (n=19) experienced ≥ 1 non-ocular adverse events (AEs), but all AEs were either mild (73.7%) or moderate (26.3%); no serious AEs were noted. Two participants exited the study due to AEs (conversion to neovascular AMD (n=1); intolerable injection site reaction (n=1)), one participant discontinued due to self-perceived lack of efficacy, and one participant chose not to continue with study visits. Among participants completing the study (n=15), mean change (standard deviation (SD)) in BCVA from baseline to week 24 was +4.6 (5.1) letters (P=0.0032), while mean change (SD) in LLVA was +5.4 (7.9) letters (P=0.0245). While there was minimal change in NLRA, mean change (SD) in LLVA was -0.52 (0.75) logMAR units (P=0.005). Mean change (SD) in GA area (SQRT) from baseline to week 24 was 0.14 (0.08) mm by FAF and 0.13 (0.14) mm by OCT. Improvement was observed in LLQ for dim light reading and general dim light vision. Conclusions Elamipretide appears to be well tolerated without serious AEs in patients with dry AMD and NCGA. Exploratory analyses demonstrate possible positive effect on visual function, particularly under low luminance. A Phase 2b trial is underway to further evaluate elamipretide in dry AMD and NCGA.
Electronic Tax Fraud - Are There 'Sales Zappers' in Japan?

Although there is no public acknowledgement - in the press, in a court case, though any announcement by the Japanese National Tax Administration, or in any academic studies or papers - that Zappers and Phantom-ware are a fraud problem in Japan, a number of factors suggest that Japan may be very fertile ground for technology-assisted cash skimming fraud. Those factors include: (1) a high concentration of small to medium sized businesses; (2) the fact that the retail economy is highly cash-based; and (3) the high level of technology acceptance in the Japanese retail sector - electronic cash registers (ECRs) and point of sale (POS) networks are commonly employed in the retail trade. It is something of an anomaly that this kind of fraud appears to be a very serious and well documented in wide range of developed countries (Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Australia and Sweden) but it does not appear to be visible in the two largest developed economies Japan and the United States. The US has two cases; Japan has reported none. Although it may be possible that Zappers and Phantom-ware are not in use in the US and Japan, it seems more likely that they are being used (perhaps widely) but that insufficient (or technologically limited) audit resources are committed to computer fraud detection in the small and medium sized business sector. Detecting Zapper and Phantom-ware fraud requires auditors to break down and analyze the programming of modern ECRs and POS systems. There are three major sections to this paper. The first section outlines the historical development of Zappers and Phantom-ware. The second measures the significance of this fraud. Two measures are used direct and indirect. The direct uses the few (empirical) studies that governments have made public on this problem. The indirect measure considers the case law which shows that large amounts of cash have been diverted by these programs, and that once established in a marketplace large numbers of businesses follow one another in adopting this technology. The final section considers government responses. The paper concludes, that if the Japanese National Tax Administration perceives Phantom-ware and Zappers to be a serious threat to revenue, and if Japan would like to consider a rules-based (fiscal memory) solution as opposed to a principles-based (comprehensive traditional audits supplemented with enhanced training in technology) solution, then the Greek, Quebec and German approaches to this problem need to be looked at carefully. This is an approach that fights technology with technology.
Visual discrimination learning requires sleep after training.

Performance on a visual discrimination task showed maximal improvement 48–96 hours after initial training, even without intervening practice. When subjects were deprived of sleep for 30 hours after training and then tested after two full nights of recovery sleep, they showed no significant improvement, despite normal levels of alertness. Together with previous findings11 that subjects show no improvement when retested the same day as training, this demonstrates that sleep within 30 hours of training is absolutely required for improved performance.
Energy Utilization in Food-Restricted Female Rats

We studied changes in energy utilization in mature female rats exposed to varying degrees of food restriction. Food-restricted rats showed considerable energy conservation, exhibited primarily as a reduction in the energy required for daily maintenance. When a given body weight loss was produced by starvation (3 or 6 d), changes in body composition and energy utilization differed only slightly (and temporarily) compared with the same body weight lost by partial food restriction. All food-restricted groups demonstrated a remarkable ability to reduce maintenance energy costs and to achieve zero energy balance at food intakes 40-50% of controls. By contrasting these results with our previous work in food-restricted male rats, we identified possible gender differences in the response to food restriction. Females appear to preserve lean mass to a greater degree than male rats by utilizing relatively more fat for energy needs. This preference for fat as a fuel during negative energy balance suggests that females would lose less body weight for a given reduction in carcass energy than males, since fat is calorically denser than lean mass.
Arthroscopic treatment for lipoma arborescens of the knee: a case report.

Lipoma arborescens is a rare intra-articular condition that can result in painless swelling of a joint10,17. It almost always affects the knee, although there have been case reports of involvement of the wrist, hip, and ankle10,12,15,17. The lesion is a benign hyperplastic process that has been defined as a diffuse collection of fat replacing the subsynovial layer and resulting in the formation of villous projections13,16. We report the case of a patient who was managed with an arthroscopic procedure because of lipoma arborescens involving both knees. To our knowledge, this is the first report of arthroscopic treatment of this condition. A fifty-eight-year-old man was seen because of a three-month history of recurrent painless effusion in the left knee. Aspiration of the knee and injection of cortisone had been performed at another institution, but the effusion had recurred after one to two weeks. The effusion was not relieved with use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. The patient had not noted catching, locking, or giving-way of the knee, but the swelling seemed to be worse after activities that involved twisting. Physical examination revealed a large effusion in the left knee. The active range of motion was from 5 to 125 degrees of flexion. Tests for instability were negative, and there was no tenderness at the joint line. Anteroposterior radiographs (made with the patient bearing weight), lateral radiographs, and Merchant radiographs revealed normal tibiofemoral joint spaces and mild patellofemoral osteoarthrosis. Because the patient had a history of recurrent effusion, magnetic resonance imaging of the left knee was performed to rule out a meniscal tear. The magnetic resonance images revealed a small vertical tear of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus and a moderate joint effusion. T1 and …
Initial Usability and Feasibility Evaluation of a Personal Health Record-Based Self-Management System for Older Adults

Introduction: Electronic personal health record-based (ePHR-based) self-management systems can improve patient engagement and have an impact on health outcomes. In order to realize the benefits of these systems, there is a need to develop and evaluate heath information technology from the same theoretical underpinnings. Methods : Using an innovative usability approach based in human-centered distributed information design (HCDID), we tested an ePHR-based falls-prevention self-management system—Self-Assessment via a Personal Health Record (i.e., SAPHeR)—designed using HCDID principles in a laboratory. And we later evaluated SAPHeR’s use by community-dwelling older adults at home. Results: The innovative approach used in this study supported the analysis of four components: tasks, users, representations, and functions. Tasks were easily learned and features such as text-associated images facilitated task completion. Task performance times were slow, however user satisfaction was high. Nearly seven out of every ten features desired by design participants were evaluated in our usability testing of the SAPHeR system. The in vivo evaluation suggests that older adults could improve their confidence in performing indoor and outdoor activities after using the SAPHeR system. Discussion/Conclusion: We have applied an innovative consumer-usability evaluation. Our approach addresses the limitations of other usability testing methods that do not utilize consistent theoretically based methods for designing and testing technology. We have successfully demonstrated the utility of testing consumer technology use across multiple components (i.e., task, user, representational, functional) to evaluate the usefulness, usability, and satisfaction of an ePHR-based self-management system.
A fiber-optic technique to determine blood residence times and washout patterns in the Penn State artificial heart

Low shear regions tend to be sites of stasis or stagnation of blood cells. To quantify and evaluate the degree of stagnation, a flush-mountable fiber-optic probe was developed, and dye dilution techniques utilizing the fluorescent dye fluorescein were applied. This method allowed the washout patterns to be determined at several locations within the chamber, extending approximately 2 mm from the chamber wall. Both the 100-cm/sup 3/ angle port and 70-cm/sup 3/ parallel port chamber configurations were investigated under 30% and 50% systolic duration regimes. >
BADGE: A novel Bayesian model for accurate abundance quantification and differential analysis of RNA-Seq data

Background: Recent advances in RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology have offered unprecedented scope and resolution for transcriptome analysis. However, precise quantification of mRNA abundance and identification of differentially expressed genes are complicated due to biological and technical variations in RNA-Seq data. Results: We systematically study the variation in count data and dissect the sources of variation into between-sample variation and within-sample variation. A novel Bayesian framework is developed for joint estimate of gene level mRNA abundance and differential state, which models the intrinsic variability in RNA-Seq to improve the estimation. Specifically, a Poisson-Lognormal model is incorporated into the Bayesian framework to model within-sample variation; a Gamma-Gamma model is then used to model between-sample variation, which accounts for over-dispersion of read counts among multiple samples. Simulation studies, where sequencing counts are synthesized based on parameters learned from real datasets, have demonstrated the advantage of the proposed method in both quantification of mRNA abundance and identification of differentially expressed genes. Moreover, performance comparison on data from the Sequencing Quality Control (SEQC) Project with ERCC spikein controls has shown that the proposed method outperforms existing RNA-Seq methods in differential analysis. Application on breast cancer dataset has further illustrated that the proposed Bayesian model can ‘blindly’ estimate sources of variation caused by sequencing biases. Conclusions: We have developed a novel Bayesian hierarchical approach to investigate within-sample and between-sample variations in RNA-Seq data. Simulation and real data applications have validated desirable performance of the proposed method. The software package is available at http://www.cbil.ece.vt.edu/software.htm.
Import Liberalization in a Developing Country with Import Intensive Industry: The Case of Bangladesh

This paper examines the effect of import liberalization in Bangladesh using a modestly disaggregated numerical general equilibrium model. Because intermediate goods account for a major share of imports, the removal of import restrictions has an overwhelming effect on the supply side of the economy. The domestic manufacturing sector is found to expand, particularly the manufacture of exportables. Sensitivity of the results obtained is tested by perturbing certain key parameters. Additional related results are discussed. [F 1, O 5]
Wiggler, undulator and free electron laser radiation sources development at the national synchrotron light source☆

Abstract An overview is presented of the special radiation sources development at the NSLS for incorporation in a 2.5 GeV X-ray storage ring and a 700 MeV VUV storage ring. This includes a superconducting high field multipole wiggler, λ c = 0.5 A ; a permanent magnet wiggler, λ c = 2.0 A ; a maximum photon energy undulator (5–7 keV); an undulator for a soft X-ray line or “continuum” spectrum and a free electron laser source tunable in the 2500–4500 A region. Source characteristics and status of development are given. In addition, the incorporation of a backscattered Compton photon source is being studied and relevant parameters are presented.
Identification of subsurface damage in freestanding HVPE GaN substrates and its influence on epitaxial growth of GaN epilayers

Freestanding hydride vapor phase epitaxy grown GaN substrates subjected to various polishing methods were characterized for their surface and subsurface conditions. Although different polishing processes led to very smooth surfaces as seen in atomic force microscopy and optical microscopy, they resulted in drastically different optical properties measured by photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL). PL measurements showed a large increase in defect luminescence. There was also subsurface damage evidenced in CL imaging for one polishing process. Morphological and optical characteristics of an overgrown GaN thin film indicate great differences in the initial nucleation on the substrates subjected to different polishing processes even though the starting surface roughness was similar. This difference continued for the growth of a 405 nm light emitting diode (LED) structure. A PL lifetime reduction by factors of two and four, respectively, was seen for the band edge peak of the GaN layer and the quantum well peak of the LED structure as measured by time-resolved PL. This variability in device performance emphasizes the need for a greater understanding of the effects of starting surfaces, and subsurface characteristics, on the epitaxial growth.
Selective survival of ß1-adenergic receptors in rat cerebellum following neonatal X-irradiation

Although beta 2-adrenergic receptors predominate in adult rat cerebellum, a small number of beta 1-receptors are also present. To investigate the cellular localization of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors, the effects of intermittent neonatal X-irradiation focused on the cerebellum were determined on the densities of the two subtypes of beta-adrenergic receptor. This treatment destroys the late-maturing cerebellar interneurons including the granule, basket and stellate cells. A 60--70% loss of cerebellar mass was observed in 2-, 6- and 12-week-old animals. The large early-maturing Purkinje cells are resistant to the effects of X-irradiation. The total number of beta-adrenergic receptors per cerebellum, measured by Scatchard analysis of saturation isotherms of specific [125I]iodohydroxybenzylpindolol (IHYP) binding, was reduced by 70--80% in 2-, 6- and 12-week-old animals. The relative proportion of beta 1- and beta 2-receptors was determined by analyzing the inhibition of specific IHYP binding by the beta 1 selective antagonist practolol. The total number of beta 2-adrenergic receptors per cerebellum was reduced by 81--83% in 6- and 12-week-old X-irradiated rats. However, the number of beta 1-adrenergic receptors per cerebellum in 6- and 12-week-old X-irradiated rats was not significantly different from that in control animals. The results suggest that beta 2 receptors in the rat cerebellum are primarily associated with the small interneurons destroyed by neonatal X-irradiation. The beta 1 receptors may be located on a cell population which is unaffected by this treatment, possibly on cerebellar Purkinje cells.
Learned tolerance to the behaviorally disruptive effects of ethanol

Rats were trained to walk on a moving belt in order to avoid footshock. Rats which were then given ethanol each day before behavioral training became tolerant; rats which received equal doses of ethanol after behavioral training did not become tolerant relative to a group of saline controls. This result was interpreted to mean that the acquisition of behavioral tolerance to ethanol was mediated by learning. The methodology of measuring behavioral tolerance was discussed.
A numerical method for crack growth analysis in linearly viscoelastic materials

Abstract This paper presents a numerical method for the analysis of crack initiation and extension in linearly viscoelastic materials undergoing Mode I plane stress deformation. Plastic deformation near the crack tip is considered by a strip-yielding model. The crack initiation and growth are taken to follow a critical energy release rate fracture criterion, and the plastic work per unit crack extension is included in the calculation of the total energy release rate. The resulting numerical method is presented in algorithmic form and two example problems are solved to demonstrate its application. The two example problems represent unstable and stable crack propagations respectively. The results obtained lend insight into the effect of creep deformation on the initiation and growth of a crack.
Average L-shell fluorescence, Auger, and electron yields

The dependence of the average L-shell fluorescence and Auger yields on the initial vacancy distribution is shown to be small. By contrast, the average electron yield pertaining to both Auger and Coster-Kronig transitions is shown to display a strong dependence. Numerical examples are given on the basis of Krause's evaluation of subshell radiative and radiationless yields. Average yields are calculated for widely differing vacancy distributions and are intercompared graphically for 40< or =Z< or =100 in the case of the fluorescence and Auger yields, and 12< or =Z< or =100 in the case of the electron yield. Average fluorescence and Auger yields are found to differ by less than 7% from the respective L/sub 3/ subshell yields in most cases of inner-shell ionization.
QTLs for cell-membrane stability mapped in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under drought stress

Cell-membrane stability (CMS) is considered to be one of the major selection indices of drought tolerance in cereals. In order to determine which genomic region is responsible for CMS, 104 rice (Oryza sativa L.) doubled haploid (DH) lines derived from a cross between CT9993–5-10–1-M and IR62266-42–6-2 were studied in the greenhouse in a slowly developed drought stress environment. Drought stress was induced on 50-day-old plants by withholding water. The intensity of stress was assessed daily by visual scoring of leaf wilting and by measuring leaf relative water content (RWC). The leaf samples were collected from both control (well-watered) and stressed plants (at 60–65% of RWC), and the standard test for CMS was carried out in the laboratory. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in RWC between the two parental lines as well as among the 104 lines, indicating that all the plants were sampled at a uniform stress level. However, a significant difference (P<0.05) in CMS was observed between the two parental lines and among the population. No significant correlation was found between CMS and RWC, indicating that the variation in CMS was genotypic in nature. The continuous distribution of CMS and its broad-sense heritability (34%) indicates that CMS should be polygenic in nature. A linkage map of this population comprising of 145 RFLPs, 153 AFLPs and 17 microsatellite markers was used for QTL analysis. Composite interval mapping identified nine putative QTLs for CMS located on chromosomes 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12. The amount of phenotypic variation that was explained by individual QTLs ranged from 13.4% to 42.1%. Four significant (P<0.05) pairs of digenic interactions between the detected QTLs for CMS were observed. The identification of QTLs for this important trait will be useful in breeding for the improvement of drought tolerance in rice. This is the first report of mapping QTLs associated with CMS under a natural water stress condition in any crop plants.
Topical tetracycline-induced neuritis: a case report.

Topical application of tetracycline in postextraction third molar sockets is generally considered an innocuous therapy for the prevention of localized alveolar osteitis. Reports of complications associated with this practice are rare. However, there are case reports ~'2 and animal studies 3 that have described adverse effects in soft tissues as a result of tetracycline application. The central theme of these studies and case reports is that topical tetracycline can induce a localized inflammatory reaction in adjacent tissues and that it is not readily resorbed in situ. Our findings in rats have demonstrated a severe inflammatory reaction in the mental nerve when its epineur ium was breached experimental ly and tetracycline was placed against the exposed nerve tissue. 4 The implicat ion was that tetracycline is a neurotoxic chemical irritant and that the epineur ium serves as an effective barrier. This report describes a case in which a neuritis of the inferior alveolar nerve was caused by tetracycline. The surgical and histologic findings are discussed, as well as the similarities shared by the animal studies and this case report. It is concluded that clinicians should avoid the topical application of tetracycline into postextraction sockets when a nerve injury is present.
The low temperature thermodynamic properties of superfluid solutions of 3He in 4He

Abstract The low temperature thermodynamic properties of dilute solutions of 3He in 4He are reviewed. The main emphasis is on experiments and theoretical work performed since the discovery that some 3He remains in solution even at T = 0. The experiments include measurements of the heat capacity, phase-separation, equation of state, osmotic pressure, heat of mixing, nuclear magnetic susceptibility and first- and second-sound velocities. The discussion is limited to 3He concentrations below about 15% and temperatures small enough (T ⪅0.6 K) that the contributions from thermal phonons and rotons are neglible. The dependence of the various properties on temperature, concentration and, where data exist, pressure is described and analyzed in terms of various simple theories of helium solutions. The original theory is that of Landau and Pomeranchuk in which the 3He impurities are supposed to behave as free Fermi excitations of effective mass m where m depends only on the pressure. The “Fermi entropy model”, which is useful in the analysis of thermodynamic data at finite temperature, is an empirical generalization of the Landau-Pomeranchuk theory in which the entropy is still given by the ideal Fermi gas formula, but the effective mass is allowed to depend on concentration as well as pressure. The most accurate theory (“dilute solution theory”) includes the effects of interactions between 3He excitations, and it is developed here as an expansion of the ‘osmotic energy’, U − N4 μ4, in terms of the 3He quasi-particle distribution function. Various theories of the effective interaction potential and its relation to the transport properties are reviewed. The results of the experiments are compared with the predictions of the theory, based on the most recent conjectures for the interaction potential, only in the limit of T → 0 at zero pressure. The one exception is the normal mass density of the 3He component ϱn for which the theory is compared with the results of second sound experiments at all temperatures such that the effects of thermal phonons and rotons are neglible. Finally, application of the solution thermodynamics is made to the theory of dilution refrigerators.
Collisions and close encounters between massive main-sequence stars

Smooth-particle hydrodynamics is used to investigate collisions and close encounters between two massive main-sequence stars. Approximate scaling relations and fitting formulas are given for the amount of mass loss and for the critical impact parameters for capture or merging. The more massive stars, which have smaller ratios of specific binding energy to the square of escape velocity, are more easily disrupted in collisions. As the relative velocity increases, the orbital energy of the colliding stars can only be dissipated by shock heating, and the critical capture radius decreases much faster than predicted by linear theory. The average fractional mass loss per collision in a cluster is found not to depend sensitively on the stellar velocity dispersion.
Diagnostic performance of EUS in predicting advanced cancer among patients with Barrett’s esophagus and high-grade dysplasia/early adenocarcinoma: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background The role of EUS among patients with Barrett's esophagus (BE) with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or suspected mucosal carcinoma is controversial. Objective To define the role of EUS in detecting advanced disease among patients with BE. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Setting MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central databases. Patients Patients with BE and HGD or esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) who were referred for endoscopic evaluation and underwent EUS. Interventions EUS. Main Outcome Measurements Pooled proportion of patients with advanced EAC identified by EUS among patients with BE who are referred for HGD or EAC (with or without visible lesions). Forest plots were used to contrast effect sizes in each of the studies and random effect models when tests of heterogeneity were significant ( I 2 > 50% or P Q statistic). Results Of 1278 articles, 47 were reviewed in full text, and 11 articles met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 656 patients. Based on a random-effects model, the proportion of patients with advanced disease detected on EUS was 14% (95% confidence interval, 8%-22%; P P Limitations Significant heterogeneity among studies. Conclusions EUS will result in a change in the therapeutic approach among in a significant minority of patients with BE who are referred for HGD or EAC.
Inferring the natural time history of breast cancer: Implications for tumor growth rate and early detection

This review analyzes the results of 692 breast cancer patients from the Norwegian Radium Hospital. All cases were diagnosed during the period 1951–1959 and the average follow-up time was just under eight years. All patients received a radical mastectomy and had their diagnoses pathologically confirmed by a separate reviewer. The purpose of this paper is to apply a novel method of analysis in order to infer the longitudinal course of the disease as if it had not been interrupted by treatment. The method allows one to estimate the average times between changes in the biological factors which characterize the natural history of the disease. Applying this method to the Norwegian data has resulted in identifying three pathways of the natural history of the disease. The tumor growth rates differ for these pathways and are in the approximate ratio 1:5:27. Furthermore, we can estimate the potential benefit from earlier diagnosis. Two of the three pathways would seem to benefit from earlier detection.
Simulating detection of cattle-fever tick ( Boophilus spp.) infestations in rotational grazing systems

To evaluate the relative influence of ecological and management factors on the probability of detecting cattle-fever tick (Boophilus microplus and Boophilus annulatus) infestations in rotational grazing systems, we adapted a simulation model of Teel et al. [J. Range Manage. 51 (1998) 501] that examines interactions among Boophilus ticks, cattle, and habitat type under rotational grazing systems developed for semi-arid shrublands of south Texas. We added a submodel that estimates probability of inspectors detecting Boophilus-tick infestations when examining 1, 20, 40, or 80 cows in a tick-infested herd of 80 cattle. Results indicate that probability of detecting infestations depends most on season of initial infestation; less heavily on rotational grazing strategy, habitat type, and number of cows inspected; and only moderately on initial number of infesting tick larvae. Results showed high detection probabilities (≥0.95) usually exist as temporal windows of opportunity during brief but definite periods; outside these windows, detection of existing infestations becomes poor. Each halving of the number of cows inspected tended to shorten duration of these windows by approximately 40%. Probability of detecting tick infestations, however, also depends strongly on inspector training, cow behavior, and weather, factors that we set as implicit constants. Models such as this one can indicate gaps in knowledge about the influence of biophysical and human factors on detection efforts in tick eradication or control programs, estimate magnitude and duration of Boophilus-tick infestations, and indicate potentially favorable inspection periods.
Fabrication and evaluation of biomimetic-synthetic nanofibrous composites for soft tissue regeneration

Electrospun scaffolds hold promise for the regeneration of dense connective tissues, given their nanoscale topographies, provision of directional cues for infiltrating cells and versatile composition. Synthetic slow-degrading scaffolds provide long-term mechanical support and nanoscale instructional cues; however, these scaffolds suffer from a poor infiltration rate. Alternatively, nanofibrous constructs formed from natural biomimetic materials (such as collagen) rapidly infiltrate but provide little mechanical support. To take advantage of the positive features of these constructs, we have developed a composite scaffold consisting in both a biomimetic fiber fraction (i.e., Type I collagen nanofibers) together with a traditional synthetic (i.e., poly-[e-caprolactone], PCL) fiber fraction. We hypothesize that inclusion of biomimetic elements will improve initial cell adhesion and eventual scaffold infiltration, whereas the synthetic elements will provide controlled and long-term mechanical support. We have developed a method of forming and crosslinking collagen nanofibers by using the natural crosslinking agent genipin (GP). Further, we have formed composites from collagen and PCL and evaluated the long-term performance of these scaffolds when seeded with mesenchymal stem cells. Our results demonstrate that GP crosslinking is cytocompatible and generates stable nanofibrous type I collagen constructs. Composites with varying fractions of the biomimetic and synthetic fiber families are formed and retain their collagen fiber fractions during in vitro culture. However, at the maximum collagen fiber fractions (20%), cell ingress is limited compared with pure PCL scaffolds. These results provide a new foundation for the development and optimization of biomimetic/synthetic nanofibrous composites for in vivo tissue engineering.
Violence in bars: exploring the impact of place manager decision-making

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain why some bars generate more crime than others. Using data gathered from bars in Cincinnati, Ohio, we find little support for the hypothesis that high crime bars are simply the product of high crime neighborhoods. To explain the unequal distribution of violence across drinking establishments, we propose a model that recognizes crime as an outcome of place manager decision-making. This model explains how managers create environments that suppress or facilitate violence through business-related choices. Implications of the model for understanding crime distributions, conducting future research, and extending current theoretical frameworks are discussed.
Current results of minimally invasive surgical ablation for isolated atrial fibrillation.

The Cox maze surgical ablation operation is a highly effective treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation, but adoption has been limited by procedure complexity and invasiveness. Minimally invasive approaches using nonsternotomy limited access and eliminating cardiopulmonary bypass have been developed. All published series of minimally invasive surgical ablation for isolated, atrial fibrillation were reviewed. Series were analyzed for method of access, energy source, procedure success, and complications. Outcomes were compiled based on type of atrial fibrillation, method and length of follow-up, and freedom from atrial fibrillation with and without antiarrhythmic drugs. There are 14 published series with outcomes reported in 604 unique patients. Most procedures are performed through bilateral minithoracotomies with video assistance, although in later series a totally thoracoscopic approach is more commonly used. Bipolar radiofrequency is the predominant energy source used, and bilateral pulmonary vein isolation the most common lesion set, with some reports adding ganglionic plexi ablation and more extensive ablation lines. Approximately 53% of the procedures were performed for paroxysmal and 47% for persistent/long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation. Overall freedom from atrial fibrillation at 6–12 months is 84% (59%–91%), with 89% (79%–100%) in paroxysmal and 62% (25%–87%) in persistent/long-standing persistent patients. Overall freedom from atrial fibrillation off of antiarrhythmic drugs is 65% (57%–87%). Results approximating those of the Cox maze procedure are achieved with minimally invasive surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Further developments are necessary to further simplify and standardize the procedure, to replicate the results in larger series from more centers, to standardize the reporting of results, and to define a more effective procedure for persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation.