cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A convolutional route to abbreviation disambiguation in clinical text.

Abstract Objective Abbreviations sense disambiguation is a special case of word sense disambiguation. Machine learning methods based on neural networks showed promising results for word sense disambiguation (Festag and Spreckelsen, 2017) [1] and, here we assess their effectiveness for abbreviation sense disambiguation. Methods Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were trained, one for each abbreviation, to disambiguate abbreviation senses. A reverse substitution (of long forms with short forms) method from a previous study was used on clinical narratives from Cleveland Clinic, USA, to auto-generate training data. Accuracy of the CNN and traditional Support Vector Machine (SVM) models were studied using: (a) 5-fold cross validation on the auto-generated training data; (b) a manually created, set-aside gold standard; and (c) 10-fold cross validation on a publicly available dataset from a previous study. Results CNN improved accuracy by 1–4 percentage points on all the three datasets compared to SVM, and the improvement was the most for the set-aside dataset. The improvement was statistically significant at p Conclusion The neural network models work well in disambiguating abbreviations in clinical narratives, and they are robust across datasets. This avoids feature-engineering for each dataset. Coupled with an enhanced auto-training data generation, neural networks can simplify development of a practical abbreviation disambiguation system.
Health Literacy Burden Is Associated With Access to Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND Getting listed for liver transplantation is a complex process. Institutional health literacy may influence the ability of patients with limited educational attainment (EA) to list. As an easily accessible indicator of institutional health literacy, we measured the understandability of liver transplant center education websites and assessed whether there was any association with the percentage of low EA patients on their waitlists. METHODS Patients on the waitlist for liver transplantation 2007-2016 were identified in Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. Understandability of patient education websites was assessed using the Clear Communication Index (CCI). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set itself a goal CCI of 90 as being easy to understand. Low EA was defined as less than a high school education. We adjusted for center case-mix, Donor Service Area characteristics, and EA of the general population. RESULTS Patients (84 774) were listed across 112 liver transplant centers. The median percent of waitlisted patients at each center with low EA was 11.0% (IQR, 6.6-16.8). CCI ranged from 53 to 88 and correlated with the proportion of low EA patients on the waitlist. However, CCI was not associated with the percentage of low EA in the general population. For every 1-point improvement in CCI, low EA patients increase by 0.2% (P < 0.05), translating to a 3.6% increase, or additional 3000 patients, if all centers improved their websites to CCI of 90. CONCLUSIONS Educational websites that are easier to understand are associated with increased access to liver transplantation for patients with low EA. Lowering the health literacy burden by transplant centers may improve access to the liver transplant waitlist.
Kranion, an open-source environment for planning transcranial focused ultrasound surgery: technical note

Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) ablation is an emerging incision-less treatment for neurological disorders. The factors affecting FUS treatment efficiency are not well understood. Kranion is open-source software that allows the user to simulate the planning stages of FUS treatment and to "replay" previous treatments for off-line analysis. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between skull parameters and treatment efficiency and to create a metric to estimate temperature rise during FUS. CT images from 28 patients were analyzed to validate the use of Kranion. For stereotactic targets within each patient, individual transducer element incident angles, skull density ratio, and skull thickness measurements were recorded. A penetration metric (the "beam index") was calculated by combining the energy loss from incident angles and the skull thickness. Kranion accurately estimated the patient's skull and treatment parameters. The authors observed significant changes in incident angles with different targets in the brain. Using the beam index as a predictor of temperature rise in a linear-mixed-effects model, they were able to predict the average temperature rise at the focal point during ablation with < 21% error (55°C ± 3.8°C) in 75% of sonications, and with < 44% (55°C ± 7.9°C) in 97% of sonications. This research suggests that the beam index can improve the prediction of temperature rise during FUS. Additional work is required to study the relationship between temperature rise and lesion shape and clinical outcomes.
Randomized phase II trial of adjuvant hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) + systemic FOLFIRI +/- panitumumab (Pmab) in patients with resected RAS wild type colorectal cancer hepatic metastases (CRLM).

3555Background: HAI therapy has improved recurrence free (RF) survival in several randomized trials after resection of CRLM. The purpose of this trial was to determine whether systemic Pmab added t...
Understanding and Eliminating the Detrimental Effect of Thiamine Deficiency on the Oleaginous Yeast Yarrowia lipolytica

Thiamine is a vitamin that functions as a cofactor for key enzymes in carbon and energy metabolism in all living cells. While most plants, fungi, and bacteria can synthesize thiamine de novo, the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica cannot. In this study, we used proteomics together with physiological characterization to elucidate key metabolic processes influenced and regulated by thiamine availability and to identify the genetic basis of thiamine auxotrophy in Y. lipolytica Specifically, we found that thiamine depletion results in decreased protein abundance for the lipid biosynthesis pathway and energy metabolism (i.e., ATP synthase), leading to the negligible growth and poor sugar assimilation observed in our study. Using comparative genomics, we identified the missing 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine phosphate synthase (THI13) gene for the de novo thiamine biosynthesis in Y. lipolytica and discovered an exceptional promoter, P3, that exhibits strong activation and tight repression by low and high thiamine concentrations, respectively. Capitalizing on the strength of our thiamine-regulated promoter (P3) to express the missing gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (scTHI13), we engineered a thiamine-prototrophic Y. lipolytica strain. By comparing this engineered strain to the wild-type strain, we revealed the tight relationship between thiamine availability and lipid biosynthesis and demonstrated enhanced lipid production with thiamine supplementation in the engineered thiamine-prototrophic Y. lipolytica strain.IMPORTANCE Thiamine plays a crucial role as an essential cofactor for enzymes involved in carbon and energy metabolism in all living cells. Thiamine deficiency has detrimental consequences for cellular health. Yarrowia lipolytica, a nonconventional oleaginous yeast with broad biotechnological applications, is a native thiamine auxotroph whose affected cellular metabolism is not well understood. Therefore, Y. lipolytica is an ideal eukaryotic host for the study of thiamine metabolism, especially because mammalian cells are also thiamine auxotrophic and thiamine deficiency is implicated in several human diseases. This study elucidates the fundamental effects of thiamine deficiency on cellular metabolism in Y. lipolytica and identifies genes and novel thiamine-regulated elements that eliminate thiamine auxotrophy in Y. lipolytica Furthermore, the discovery of thiamine-regulated elements enables the development of thiamine biosensors with useful applications in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.
Governing Equations of Motion

In the previous chapter, we considered certain geometric concepts associated with the motion of a continuous medium. We now wish to consider the set of mechanical laws that are customarily assumed to govern the actual continuum motion. These laws express the well-known mechanical principles of conservation of mass, balance of linear momentum, and balance of angular momentum.
Behavioural choice emerges from nonlinear all-to-all interactions between drives

Under the right conditions any drive can overcome nearly any other, yet studies of behavioural selection predominantly focus on only one, or occasionally two behaviours. We present an experimental and computational framework that captures and explains the resolution of conflicts between several competing motivations. We characterize neurons that integrate information from all rival drives to generate an aggregate signal that urges male Drosophila to transition out of mating. Experimental investigation of these Drive Integrating Neurons (DINs) revealed time-varying, supralinear interactions among competing drives that stimulate the DINs and induce a change in behaviour. Extending these findings to model the interactions between all of an animal9s motivations led to the surprising prediction that, under many conditions, all-to-all interactions actually buffer the dominant drive against challengers. We experimentally validated this prediction, showing that weak drives for a variety of tertiary goals can have a profound stabilizing effect on the ongoing behaviour. These results emerge only if non-linear integration of other motivations occurs for each of an animal9s drives, suggesting the potential universality of this mechanism. Our findings emphasize the interconnectedness of motivational systems and the consequent importance of considering the full motivational state of an animal to understand its behaviour.
A Novel Approach to Fiberoptic Intubation in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Purpose In an effort to protect health care workers at the beginning and end of oral and maxillofacial surgeries, we describe a negative-pressure intubation hood (NPIH) designed to reduce the risk aerosol exposure from fiberoptic intubation (FOI) and extubation. This design is especially important during the Coronavirus disease 2019 era, as it provides greater protection from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 during FOI and extubation, which are some of the most high-risk, aerosol generating procedures of oral and maxillofacial surgery cases. Materials and Methods This article describes the step-by-step process of assembling a NPIH for FOI using various supplies found commonly in hospitals and surrounding community retail stores, which include transparent medical dressings, equipment covers, intravenous pole clips, polyvinylchloride pipes and adaptors, copper pipe, and a Buffalo smoke evacuator. We then discuss how to create access ports for the anesthesiologist to insert their arms and FOI instrumentation and provide a demonstration of us using the hood with a manikin on an operating room table. Results This study successfully demonstrates a novel technique for performing FOI in a NIPH assembled from basic supplies found commonly among hospital and community retail stores. Conclusions This NIPH for FOI is easily made and adaptable to operating room tables, and provides protection against aerosols generated from FOI and subsequent extubation during oral and maxillofacial surgeries.
COVID-19 worry, mental health indicators, and preparedness for future care needs across the adult lifespan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of worry for many, but older adults have been identified as more vulnerable to serious cases and may therefore feel more concerned about the virus. We assess...
Tunable optical parametric oscillators

This paper reviews progress on tunable optical parametric oscillators. Topics considered include: parametric amplification of Gaussian beams: threshold; tuning techniques, spectral output, and stability; saturation and power output; spontaneous parametric emission; nonlinear materials; and far infrared generation.
Knowing you are there makes the difference: perceived social support, preferences for using support, and health.

Using cluster analysis, we investigated whether perceived social support and individual differences in preferences to use support combined to form distinct profiles. Self-report data were collected...
Pricing Swaptions Within an Affine Framework

Valuation theory for the most widely used interest rate derivatives, such as swaps, bond options, and caps and floors, is highly developed. But adapting the theory for use in the field is not trivial. Several stochastic factors at least are needed to approximate the empirical term structure, with which the model must be consistent. Affine models offer a general multifactor structure with good mathematical properties. However, if the factors follow standard probability processes, Gaussian or Cox-Ingersoll-Ross square root diffusions, for instance, the probability distributions for future bond prices, swap rates, and so on, will not have common forms. Valuing interest rate derivatives typically requires burdensome numerical solution of multivariate integrals, which limits the number of stochastic factors that can be considered, as well as the accuracy with which any given solution can be computed. Collin-Dufresne and Goldstein present a new technique for pricing interest rate derivatives in a much more efficient manner. Within an affine framework, the probability density for a bond price will not normally exist in closed-form, but all of its moments will. An Edgeworth expansion using a small number of these analytic moment expressions yields an approximation to the density function that is both very accurate and extremely fast to compute. Pricing accuracy and computation speed are increased by many orders of magnitude for a single option, and little additional computation is needed to price multiple contracts with differing strikes.
Owner attention facilitates social play in dog-dog dyads (Canis lupus familiaris): evidence for an interspecific audience effect.

Domestic dogs are a highly playful species that are evidently sensitive to the attentional state of conspecifics as well as humans. Given that an animal’s social environment can influence play, audience effects may catalyze social play. While prior research has shown that intraspecific attention maintains social play in dog–dog dyads, it is unknown whether interspecific (specifically, human) attention maintains social play between dogs. Our objective in the present study was to examine whether a relationship exists between the availability of human attention and social play in domestic dogs. Familiar dog–dog dyads were exposed to three sessions each consisting of three experimental conditions that differed in the degree of availability of owner attention. Observed levels of social play were significantly higher during conditions in which an attentive owner was present than during conditions in which an owner was either inattentive or absent. Furthermore, this effect was maintained across repeated sessions. This is the first experimental evidence of an interspecific audience effect facilitating social play in domestic dogs. The availability of caretaker attention may be a proximate explanation for social play in canids that have ontogenetically rich histories with humans and also retain neotonized behavior as adults. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms contributing to the relationship between interspecific attention and social play in these populations and establish a more comprehensive understanding of play behavior in animals.
An ON-OFF Magneto-Optical Probe of Anisotropic Biofluid Crystals: A β-Hematin Case Study

We have designed, developed, and evaluated an innovative portable magneto-optical detector (MOD) in which a light beam with variable polarization passes through a fluid sample immersed in a variable magnetic field. The light intensity is measured downstream along the forward scattering direction. The field is turned on and off through the in-and-out motion of nearby permanent magnets. As a result, for sufficiently, magnetically, and optically anisotropic samples, the optical absorption is sensitive to changes in the light polarization. Both detection and characterization applications are, therefore, available. For instance, both the degree of malaria infection and hemozoin crystalline properties can be measured and studied, respectively. We present experimental results for synthetic hemozoin and describe them in terms of the basic physics and chemistry underlying the correlations of the directions of the external magnetic field and the light beam polarization. We connect this work to a commercialized product for malaria detection and compare it with other magneto-optical instruments and methods. We conduct tests of absorption parameters and the electric polarizability tensor, and we discuss the connection to magnetic and electric dipole moments.
Exchange Rate And Economic Policy In Three Regional Blocks: The EU, The GCC And The CFA

The central lesson from the Bretton Woods system of fixed parities was that there is a unique relation of the domestic price level (wage rate and interest rate) to the price level (wage rate and interest rate) in the rest of the world that is consistent with balance of payments equilibrium and full employment. Simply said, countries can simultaneously enjoy full employment and balance of payments equilibrium if they adjust parities to reflect divergences in economic policies or if they coordinate economic policies (a unique real exchange rate) while maintaining fixed nominal parities.1
From Open Secrets to Secret Voting: Democratic Electoral Reforms and Voter Autonomy

1. Introduction 2. The protection of voters' autonomy 3. Electoral intimidation by state employees 4. Electoral intimidation by private actors 5. The production of irregularities at times of elections: a quantitative analysis 6. The adoption of electoral reforms 7. Labor scarcity, rural inequality, and electoral reforms: the determinants for electoral reform of the Prussian electoral system 8. Voting for opposition candidates: economic concentration, skills, and political support for social democracy 9. Dilemmas on the right and the road to proportional representation 10. From macro- to micro-historical analysis in comparative research.
Mating in the reproduction of bacterial viruses.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on some special aspects of bacteriophage growth. It deals with the question of whether a genetic interaction may occur between bacteriophage and hostcell genome not only during the lysogenic cycle but also during the Zytic cycle. The chapter considers the lethal effects produced in bacterial viruses and their host cells by the decay of incorporated P32 atoms and by X- and UV irradiation. It was seen that a variety of bacterial viruses can be divided into two groups. The chapter attempts to show that the differences between these two groups can be understood on the basis of a unitary hypothesis: the phages of the second group mate repeatedly with the genome of the host cell during their intracellular reproduction, whereas those of the first group do not. The chapter also proposes a molecular mechanism of replication of DNA, which was designed principally to incorporate the notion that the mating of hereditary structures of the vegetative phages is a necessary aspect of their replication.
Community radio in Sandinista Nicaragua, 1979-1992: The evolution of participatory radio in the revolutionary process

(1996). Community radio in Sandinista Nicaragua, 1979–1992: participatory communication and the revolutionary process. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 221-241.
Protecting Transgender Families: Strategies for Advocates

For a transgender (trans) man or woman, what begins as the dissolution of a relationship may be transformed into a public nightmare in which the individual is forced to defend the authenticity of his or her gender in the face of relentless, brutal, and humiliating questions about the most intimate details of personal anatomy and sexual practices. This Article discusses this reality in the case of Michael Kantaras, a transsexual man in Clearwater, Florida in 2002.
Induction of c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression by basic fibroblast growth factor in cultured rat Müller cells.

PURPOSE Exogenous basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) induces bFGF gene expression in cultured rat Muller cells. To elucidate the mechanism that links exogenous bFGF to transcriptional regulation of bFGF gene expression in these cells, the authors examined mRNA expression of the proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-jun in response to exogenous bFGF in cultured rat Muller cells. METHODS Muller cells from 1- to 3-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were isolated and cultured in essential modified Eagle's medium + 10% fetal calf serum. Cultured cells were identified by immunocytochemical analysis using antibodies against vimentin, carbonic anhydrase C, and glutamine synthetase. Cells of passages 1 through 4 were treated with bFGF (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 ng/ml), either the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors H-7 (30 microM) and GF109203X (1 microM) or the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA; 1, 10, 100, 500 nM), and either adenylate cyclase activator forskolin (5 microM) or adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ22536 (100 microM). Northern blot analysis was performed to determine the mRNA expression of c-fos, c-jun, and bFGF. RESULTS Addition of bFGF to culture medium induced c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Induction of c-fos mRNA was observed as early as 10 minutes (9.6-fold) after exposure to bFGF at a dose of 10 ng/ml. It reached a maximum of 17.4-fold by 30 minutes. A rapid decline of c-fos mRNA level was observed after 45 minutes of bFGF treatment. The temporal pattern of c-jun gene expression was similar to that of c-fos, whereas a maximum induction of c-jun mRNA (8.2-fold) was seen after 45 minutes of treatment. Induction of c-fos and c-jun gene expression started at a bFGF concentration of 0.1 ng/ml. It reached peak levels of 15-fold for c-fos and 7.6-fold for c-jun mRNA at 10 ng/ml. A dose-dependent upregulation of c-fos and c-jun gene expression by the PKC activator PMA was also observed. A maximum induction was seen at 100 nM PMA. The induction of c-fos and c-jun gene expression by bFGF or by PMA was blocked by the PKC inhibitors H-7 (30 microM) or GF109203X (1 microM). SQ22536 (100 microM), an adenylate cyclase inhibitor, did not inhibit bFGF-induced c-fos and c-jun gene expression, whereas forskolin (5 microM), an adenylate cyclase activator, upregulated the expression. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that exogenous bFGF induces c-fos and c-jun gene expression in cultured rat Muller cells through PKC activation. The proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-jun may play a role in the regulation of bFGF gene expression in response to exogenous bFGF in retinal Muller cells. These findings provide further insight into the roles of Muller cells and exogenous bFGF in protecting against photoreceptor degeneration.
Managing Interjurisdictional Waters Under the Great Lakes Charter Annex

spring 1998, the Nova Group of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, proposed to ship nearly 160 million gallons of Lake Superior water annually via tanker to Asia. See International Joint Commission, Protection of the Waters of the Great Lakes: Final Report to the Governments of Canada and the United States 44 (2000) (2000 IJC Report). Nova's proposal coincided with declining water levels in the Great Lakes, and the resulting public outcry and pressure from other Great Lakes governments persuaded Ontario to revoke Nova's permit just a few months later. The Nova proposal prompted the eight American states and two Canadian provinces bordering the Great Lakes to revisit the Great Lakes Charter of 1985 and adopt Annex 2001. See Annex to the Great Lakes Charter, June 18, 2001, available at www.cglg.org/lpdfs/Annex2001.pdf (Annex 2001). Annex 2001 commits the Great Lakes governors and premiers to improve their management of Great Lakes water resources through binding agreements. Their self-imposed, three-year deadline for meeting this mandate is June 18, 2004. This article examines the history of water resources management in the Great Lakes Basin and considers the challenges and opportunities presented by Annex 2001. The Great Lakes Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior cover approximately ninety-five thousand square miles and contain 20 percent of the world's and 95 percent of North America's fresh surface water. Due to their vast size, Great Lakes water levels remain remarkably steady overall, with normal fluctuation ranging from one to two feet in any given year. Even so, Great Lakes water levels are highly sensitive to climatic variability, as demonstrated during the severe droughts of the 1930s and 1960s. See 2000 IJC Report at § 2. In recent years, Great Lakes water levels have been on a downward trend, and they are currently at their lowest level since 1965. There is growing consensus that climate change will have a dramatic affect on global precipitation patterns and the hydrologie cycle, and lake levels in the Great Lakes possibly could drop an additional two to five feet before the end of the twentyfirst century.
The vertical distribution of Martian aerosol particle size

Using approximately 410 limb-viewing observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), we retrieve the vertical distribution of Martian dust and water ice aerosol particle sizes. We find that dust particles have an effective radius of 1.0 µm over much of the atmospheric column below 40 km throughout the Martian year. This includes the detached tropical dust layers detected in previous studies. Little to no variation with height is seen in dust particle size. Water ice clouds within the aphelion cloud belt exhibit a strong sorting of particle size with height, however, and the effective radii range from >3 µm below 20 km to near 1.0 µm at 40 km altitude. Conversely, water ice clouds in the seasonal polar hoods show a near-uniform particle size with an effective radius of approximately 1.5 µm throughout the atmospheric column.
BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON A VARIANT OF BRANCHED CHAIN KETOACIDURIA IN A 19-YEAR-OLD FEMALE

Branched chain ketoaciduria (BCKA) or maple syrup urine disease is a rare, serious, and usually early fatal disease found in newborn infants. The finding of 233 mg of branched chain α-keto acids in the urine of a young adult was therefore surprising. The patient was physically in good health and had a full scale IQ of 76. The excretion of branched chain amino acids and branched chain α-keto acids could be increased by feeding a diet high in protein. Branched chain α- keto acid dehydrogenase activities in the peripheral leukocytes and in skin fibroblasts were found to be decreased to only a very small fraction of control values and were comparable to the levels found in a case of classic BCKA.
NMR and Mössbauer study of spin dynamics and electronic structure of Fe2+xV1-xAl and Fe2VGa

In order to assess the magnetic ordering process in ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}\mathrm{VAl}$ and the related material ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}\mathrm{VGa},$ we have carried out nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and M\"ossbauer studies. ${}^{27}\mathrm{Al}$ NMR relaxation measurements covered the temperature range 4--500 K in ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2+x}{\mathrm{V}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{Al}$ samples. We found a peak in the NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate, ${}^{27}{(T}_{1}^{\ensuremath{-}1}),$ corresponding to the magnetic transitions in each of these samples. These peaks appear at 125 K, 17 K, and 165 K for $x=0.10,$ 0, and -0.05, respectively, and we connect these features with critical slowing down of the localized antisite defects. M\"ossbauer measurements for ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}\mathrm{VAl}$ and ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{2}\mathrm{VGa}$ showed lines with no hyperfine splitting, and isomer shifts nearly identical to those of the corresponding sites in ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}\mathrm{Al}$ and ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{3}\mathrm{Ga},$ respectively. We show that a model in which local band filling leads to magnetic regions in the samples, in addition to the localized antisite defects, can account for the observed magnetic ordering behavior.
Complexity and Intermittent Turbulence in Space Plasmas

Sporadic and localized interactions of coherent structures arising from plasma resonances can be the origin of “complexity” of the coexistence of non-propagating spatiotemporal fluctuations and propagating modes in space plasmas. Numerical simulation results are presented to demonstrate the intermittent character of the non-propagating fluctuations. The technique of the dynamic renormalization-group is introduced and applied to the study of scale invariance of such type of multiscale fluctuations. We also demonstrate that the particle interactions with the intermittent turbulence can lead to the efficient energization of the plasma populations. An example related to the ion acceleration processes in the auroral zone is provided.
Carcinoma of the vulva: analysis of treatment failures.

Abstract Continuous follow-up of 224 patients treated for primary invasive equamous cell carcinoma of the vulva in a 20-year period (1955 to 1975) at the Mayo Clinic resulted in the detection of recurrent (or persistent) neoplasia in 59 (26%). Rates of treatment failure increased with advancing stage of disease—from 14% for Stage I to 71% for Stage IV. The rate of local vulvar recurrence was 18%, which was about three times greater than the recurrence rates for the groin, pelvis, and distant sites. However, the 1- and 5-year survival rates of 73% and 50% respectively, after vulvar recurrence were in sharp contrast to the corresponding rates of 34% and 10% for regional or distant recurrence. When 35 patients with central vulvar extension of disease were evaluated, groups at excessive risk for treatment failure (lesions 4 cm or larger or inguinal node involvement, or both) were identified and modifications in conventional therapy applicable to these groups were considered.
Human and proud of it! A structural treatment of headhunting rites and the social definition of enemies

This article is a reprint of McKinley, Robert. 1976. “Human and proud of it! A structural treatment of headhunting rites and the social definition of enemies.” In Studies in Borneo societies: Social process and anthropological explanation , edited by G. N. Appell, 92–126. DeKalb, IL: The Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Northern Illinois University. The appendix, containing reflections on a debate between J. van Baal and the author, was written for publication in HAU .
Angiopoietin-1 improves endothelial progenitor cell-dependent neovascularization in diabetic wounds.

Background The diabetic phenotype of wound healing is in part characterized by impaired neovascularization and deficient endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) recruitment. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) is a potent mobilizer of EPCs from the bone marrow (BM). A suggested mechanism for EPC mobilization from the BM is mediated by matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and stem cell factor (SCF). Taken together, we hypothesized that overexpression of Ang-1 in diabetic wounds will recruit EPCs and improve neovascularization and wound healing. Methods An endothelial lineage BM-labeled murine model of diabetes was developed to track BM-derived EPCs. FVBN mice were lethally irradiated and then reconstituted with BM from syngeneic Tie2/LacZ donor mice. Diabetes was induced with streptozotocin. Dorsal wounds in BM-transplanted mice were treated with Ad-Ang-1, Ad-GFP, or phosphate-buffered saline. At day 7 after injury, wounds were harvested and analyzed. A similar experiment was conducted in EPC mobilization deficient MMP-9 -/- mice to determine whether the effects of Ang-1 were EPC-dependent. Results Overexpression of Ang-1 resulted in greatly improved re-epithelialization, neovascularization, and EPC recruitment in diabetic BM-transplanted wounds at day 7. Ang-1 treatment resulted in increased serum levels of proMMP-9 and SCF but had no effect on vascular endothelial growth factor levels. According to our FACS results, peripheral blood EPC (CD34(+)/Cd133(+)/Flk1(+)) counts at day 3 after wounding showed impaired EPC mobilization in MMP-9 -/- mice compared with those of wild-type controls. EPC mobilization was rescued by SCF administration, validating this model for EPC-mobilization-deficient mechanistic studies. In MMP-9 -/- mice, Ad-Ang-1 accelerated re-epithelialization in a similar manner, but had no effect on neovascularization. Conclusion Our results show that Ang-1 administration results in improved neovascularization which is dependent on EPC recruitment and has direct effects on wound re-epithelialization. These data may represent a novel strategy to correct the phenotype of impaired diabetic neovascularization and may improve diabetic wound healing.
Estimation of serum ferritin in blood obtained by heelstick

RESULTS Eight sections from each child were tested. Tissues from the first patient, whose course is presented above, yielded a presumed positive identification in every section. Areas of moderate fluorescence with coccobacillary morphology were clearly visible at multiple sites. No fluorescence was seen in negative controls or With nonspecific conjugate. No sections from the second patient exhibited fluorescence. DISCUSSION In 1919, Wolback 6 described the presence of rickettsiae in endothelial cells of vessels from various tissues of human beings who died with RMSF. The fluorescent antibody technique was first used in 19607 to identify the organism in ticks. Woodward et at 4 reported identification of R. rickettsii by the immunofluorescent technique in skin biopsy specimens Obtained from two patients with RMSF on days 4 and 8 of illness. In a series of 17 patients with RMSF, Walker et al s diagnosed nine cases of RMSF by immunofluorescence. There were no false positive results. False negative findings correlated with prior tetracycline or chloramphenicol treatment and failure to select an involved area of skin, Our results are in line with the report of Walker et al? In our first patientl a biopsy was obtained within one hour of admission, on the sixth day of illness and before antibiotic treatment. The diagnosis was confirmed by the finding of coccobacillary forms exhibiting bright green fluorescence in vascular walls in the dermis. Serologic confirmation was not available for several weeks. The technique of direct immunofluorescence offers rapid laboratory aid in the diagnosis of RMSF. When fluorescent c0ccobacillary forms are present in the vascular endothelium, appropriate anfimicrobial therapy should be started and continued for a full course regardless of serology However, when the biopsy is negative, the physician must still b e guided by clinical factors until the incidence of false negative specimens has been more fully evaluated. REFERENCES
Discrete stability analysis of the mollification method for numerical differentiation

Abstract The method of numerical differentiation by discrete mollification is presented in a fully discretized environment. New and rigorous results for the numerical stability and error analysis of the algorithm, in the presence of noisy data, are derived. To illustrate the accuracy and flexibility of the numerical procedure, the application of the method to a function identification problem is also investigated.
Heuristic edge detector for noisy range images

This paper presents a heuristic edge detector for extracting wireframe representations of objects from noisy range data. Jump and roof edges were detected successfully from range images containing additive white Gaussian noise with a standard deviation equal to as high as 1.2% of the measured range values. This represents an appreciable amount of noise since approximately 5% of the errors are greater than 12 cm and 32% of errors are greater than 6 cm at a distance of 5 meters. The noise insensitive characteristic of the heuristic edge detector enables low cost range scanners to be used for practical industrial applications. The availability of low cost active vision systems greatly broadens the horizon of integrating robotics vision systems to manufacturing automation.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A comparison of wound healing after epithelial resection by ultrasonic surgical aspiration and ablation by the carbon dioxide laser

Abstract The ultrasonic surgical aspirator (USA) offers unique surgical options in the treatment of vulvar intraepithelial diseases. Clinical observations have shown results that equal those achieved with the use of the carbon dioxide laser with regard to patient satisfaction and incidence of recurrent disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the USA to the carbon dioxide laser in the laboratory with respect to ease of use, adequacy of epithelial removal, amount of tissue damage, and timing of wound healing. The backs of ten Hartley guinea pigs were marked with eight 1-cm 2 patches placed 2 cm apart. Each instrument was used to ablate or resect the area within four patches on each animal's back to the level of the middermis (0.5–1.0 mm). At time intervals from 0 hr to 28 days, the eight 1-cm patches were removed and evaluated histologically. The USA was easier to control and maintain within the 1-cm 2 patch than the laser was. On histologic evaluation, the USA demonstrated less adjacent epithelial damage. The peak inflammatory response, depth of collagen denaturation, reepithelialization, and healing at 28 days were similar in both groups. The study indicates that the ultrasonic surgical aspirator is effective in epithelial removal and allows rapid wound healing with minimal scarring.
A single phase PSCad electric arc furnace model

Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs) are among the larger loads imposed upon the electrical grid. The size of these loads, when combined with the stochastic nature of the electric arc, and the poor reaction of the grid to such loads, makes the EAF worthy of study in general and modeling in particular. The present work develops a model of an EAF that is designed as a custom component for use with the PSCad modeling software but can be used equally well in real-time simulation systems. The model is single-phase, allowing multiple instances to be connected in any configuration so that unbalanced situations can be easily simulated. The model is completely documented so that it can be duplicated with no additional information.
Extremizers and sharp weak-type estimates for positive dyadic shifts

We find the exact Bellman function for the weak L1 norm of local positive dyadic shifts. We also describe a sequence of functions, self-similar in nature, which in the limit extremize the local weak-type (1,1) inequality.
ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF SUPERCONDUCTORS

An integral relationship between the super-current and the vector potential of the electromagnetic field, similar to Pippard's phenomenological equation, is derived from the gauge-invariant theory of Wentzel. Expressions for coherence distance and penetration depth have been calculated.
Effects of organolead compounds on rat embryonic and fetal development

Abstract Tetraethyl lead (TEL) and tetramethyl lead (TML) and trimethyl lead chloride (TriML), were found to be essentially nonteratogenic in Sprague-Dawley rats. Oral doses of TEL (7.5, 15, or 30 mg/kg), TML (40, 80, 112, or 160 mg/kg) and TriML (15, 30, or 38 mg/kg) were administered as 3 divided doses during early organogenesis (days 9, 10, and 11) or late organogenesis (days 12, 13, and 14), the day of positive sperm being day 1. In addition, TriML was administered iv at doses of 20, 28, 33, or 40 mg/kg on individual gestation days 8 through 15 inclusive. The highest dose of each compound in each experiment was lethal to the maternal animal. Lower dose levels produced typical slight to severe maternal organolead toxicity, dependent upon dose. Embryo or fetal toxicity was observed to accompany the administration of the organolead compounds and was characterized by growth retardation and delayed ossification of bone. Marked fetal effects were observed only in maternal animals that exhibited severe organolead toxicity and were, therefore, severely debilitated. Infusion studies with TriML revealed that the rate of placental transfer was minimal when blood concentrations were below an apparent saturation of binding sites on maternal erythrocytes and was greatly increased at maternal blood concentrations above this saturation point. When the maternal animal was by-passed by direct intra-amniotic injections of TriML (10–100 μg/fetus) dose-related fetal lethality was observed.
DNA repeat expansions and human disease

The repeat expansion diseases are genetic disorders caused by intergenerational expansions of a specific tandem DNA repeat. These disorders range from mildly to severely debilitating or fatal, and all have limited treatment options. How expansion occurs and causes disease is only now beginning to be understood. Efforts to model expansion in mice have so far met with only limited success, perhaps due to a requirement for specific cis- or trans-acting factors. In vitro studies and data from bacteria and yeast suggest that in addition to secondary structures formed by the repeats, components of the DNA replication and recombination machinery are important determinants of instability. The consequences of expansion differ depending on where in the gene the repeat tract is located, and range from reduction of transcription initiation to protein toxicity. Recent advances are beginning to make rational approaches to the development of therapies possible.
Auditory asymmetry and strength of manual preference.

Summary The performances of strongly left-handed, moderately left-handed and strongly right-handed subjects on verbal and non-verbal dichotic listening tasks were contrasted. The performance of the strongly lefthanded subjects on the two tasks was indistinguishable from that of strongly right-handed subjects. The moderately left-handed subjects showed a pattern of auditory asymmetry which differed markedly from that of the other two groups. The implications of tese results are discussed.
Blood-based gene expression signatures of infants and toddlers with autism.

Objective Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders that onset clinically during the first years of life. ASD risk biomarkers expressed early in life could significantly impact diagnosis and treatment, but no transcriptome-wide biomarker classifiers derived from fresh blood samples from children with autism have yet emerged. Method Using a community-based, prospective, longitudinal method, we identified 60 infants and toddlers at risk for ASDs (autistic disorder and pervasive developmental disorder), 34 at-risk for language delay, 17 at-risk for global developmental delay, and 68 typically developing comparison children. Diagnoses were confirmed via longitudinal follow-up. Each child's mRNA expression profile in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was determined by microarray. Results Potential ASD biomarkers were discovered in one-half of the sample and used to build a classifier, with high diagnostic accuracy in the remaining half of the sample. Conclusions The mRNA expression abnormalities reliably observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which are safely and easily assayed in infants, offer the first potential peripheral blood–based, early biomarker panel of risk for autism in infants and toddlers. Future work should verify these biomarkers and evaluate whether they may also serve as indirect indices of deviant molecular neural mechanisms in autism.
The Role of Public Policy in Health Care Market Change

Abstract: Market forces appear dominant in the transformation of health care systems across the United States. However, in many markets public policy remains an important factor—guiding, facilitating, and in some cases prompting change. This paper reviews how the debate over health care reform acted as a catalyst in local health care financing and delivery systems, and how other public policy tools are affecting the fifteen markets studied in the Community Snapshots project. We then discuss prospects for public policy in the near term and the longer term, using two scenarios to illustrate possible future roles.
Anemia of Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease may result in complete kidney failure and contribute to many other health issues. Anemia is a logical consequence of the disease because the kidneys are the primary source of erythropoietin, the hormone that acts to stimulate red blood cell production in the bone marrow. All patients with chronic kidney disease are at risk for anemia, and treating anemia is extremely important to their health and well-being. Preventing or reversing the effects of anemia on the heart may decrease morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life. Many patients fail to receive treatment for anemia before requiring renal replacement therapy for end-stage renal disease. Pharmacists can play a vital role in screening, evaluating, designing proper treatment regimens, and monitoring patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease. Current recommendations regarding anemia are reviewed, including evaluation, pharmacotherapeutic agents, monitoring parameters, and goals of therapy.
The effects of heavy-ion irradiation on superconductivity in YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ epitaxial films

The authors report a comparative study of superconducting behavior of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ epitaxial films irradiated with Ag and Au ions of several hundred megaelectronvolt energy. The irradiation results in columnar defects of average diameter approximately 55 AA and approximately 110 AA for Ag/sup +21/ and Au/sup +24/ ions, respectively. A universal linear scaling is observed between the fractional areal damage vs. the superconducting transition temperature and normal state resistivity. The results also show that in these films, which have intrinsically strong pinning, a marginal enhancement in the critical current density (J/sub c/) occurs when the defect density is >