cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Variability in fibrosis in tissue samples obtained during diaphragmatic and apical LVAD implantation

Abstract Background Histopathologic study of left ventricular (LV) tissue can provide structural data on the heart at the time of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. We assessed the effect of cannula placement site (apical/diaphragmatic) and cardiomyopathy etiology (ischemic/nonischemic) on cardiac histopathologic changes. Methods In 77 heart failure patients, tissue was obtained from the standard apical cannula insertion site or the diaphragmatic surface site during implantation of the HeartMate II ( n =53) or HeartWare ( n =24) LVAD. Fibrosis and hypertrophy (cytoplasmic and nuclear diameter) were evaluated by computerized morphometry. Results Thirty-two patients (27 men, 5 women; age, 57±15 years) underwent diaphragmatic implantation, and 45 (32 men, 13 women; age, 53±12 years) underwent apical implantation. The incidence of ischemic cardiomyopathy in the diaphragmatic and apical groups was 11/32 (34%) vs. 25/45 (56%) ( P =.104). Overall, diaphragmatic tissue had less fibrosis than apical tissue (15.7±11.7% vs. 22.0±17.4%, P =.033), but both showed similar hypertrophic changes (cytoplasmic diameter, 39.0±10.3μm vs. 36.3±8.7μm, P =.141; nuclear diameter, 15.5±2.5μm vs. 14.8±3.0μm, P =.171). Likewise, in ischemic cardiomyopathy, apical samples showed more fibrosis than diaphragmatic samples (26.54±19.0% vs. 15.86±11.08%, P =.046) but similar hypertrophic changes (cytoplasmic diameter, 34.95±6.12μm vs. 37.48±12.07μm, P =.288; nuclear diameter, 14.66±2.69μm vs. 14.78±1.31μm, P =.451). Conclusion Myocardial histology results at the time of LVAD placement and their prognostic implications may be affected by inlet placement site and cardiomyopathy etiology. In this study, LV samples from apical implantation in ischemic cardiomyopathy patients were the most fibrotic. Thus, sampling site and cardiomyopathy etiology should be considered when interpreting LV samples obtained during LVAD implantation.
Thick PMMA layer formation as an x-ray imaging medium for micromachining

Conventional resist application techniques are based on spinning a resist layer onto a mechanically dominating substrate. As thicker imaging layers are required, the integrity of the resist/substrate system is influenced by the resist thickness. The traditional LIGA approach is to form a PMMA resist sheet on the substrate by casting using a press. This method causes high stresses in the resist and at the resist/substrate interface. Another method consists of gluing or bonding a PMMA sheet with subsequent machining to a desired thickness. The stresses can be high enough to cause the resist to crack and/or separate from the substrate. In this paper, alternative and improved techniques are presented. One of these is a modified multiple coating spin-on method, suitable for producing PMMA resist thickness of 60-80 micrometers . The other method is based on bonding a solid PMMA sheet of desired thickness using an appropriate solvent. These techniques produce uniform PMMA layers with thicknesses ranging from 5 micrometers to 1500 micrometers and above. A mechanical cleaving test was used to estimate the resist/substrate bond strength and characterize the bonding solvents. Issues such as radiation swelling and thickness losses associated with latent image formation in PMMA are addressed.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Energy impact of secure computation on a handheld device

Computation offloading is an important approach to save the energy consumption while improving performance for wireless networked handheld devices. With such an approach, computational tasks are offloaded from the handheld device to a server, depending on the tradeoff between the communication cost and the computation cost. Adding security to the wireless network changes the relative cost of computation and communication. In this paper, we measure the energy consumption characteristics of multimedia applications on a handheld device, supported by computation offloading though a wireless LAN which is secured with IPsec. The measurement indicates that despite the overhead of the security mechanism, offloading remains quite effective as a method to reduce program execution time and energy consumption.
Synthesis and properties of equine β‐melanotropin and its naturally occurring des‐Asp analog

The syntheses of equine β-melanotropin and newly isolated des-Asp1-β-melanotropin are described. The syntheses have been accomplished by the solid-phase method. The lipolytic potency of des-Asp1-βe-MSH is about 5 times higher than that of βe-MSH.
Design and analysis issues in genome-wide somatic mutation studies of cancer

The availability of the human genome sequence and progress in sequencing and bioinformatic technologies have enabled genome-wide investigation of somatic mutations in human cancers. This article briefly reviews challenges arising in the statistical analysis of mutational data of this kind. A first challenge is that of designing studies that efficiently allocate sequencing resources. We show that this can be addressed by two-stage designs and demonstrate via simulations that even relatively small studies can produce lists of candidate cancer genes that are highly informative for future research efforts. A second challenge is to distinguish mutated genes that are selected for by cancer (drivers) from mutated genes that have no role in the development of cancer and simply happened to mutate (passengers). We suggest that this question is best approached as a classification problem and discuss some of the difficulties of more traditional testing-based approaches. A third challenge is to identify biologic processes affected by the driver genes. This can be pursued by gene set analyses. These can reliably identify functional groups and pathways that are enriched for mutated genes even when the individual genes involved in those pathways or sets are not mutated at sufficient frequencies to provide conclusive evidence as drivers.
Thumos and the Daring Soul: Craving Honor and Justice

The Greek conception of the spirited aspect of soul reaches back to the Pre-Socratics and to the Homeric tradition, and is crucial to tragedy. In public assembly for political protest, perceptions, passions, and embodied ways of knowing are put into action.This work is a philosophical examination of indignation. I examine the Greek notion of the spirited part of the soul which resents injury and resists injustice. To take actions for the sake of one’s moral and political dignity and for the moral dignity of others may involve the risking arrest and detention. Challenging the wishes of the political authority to which one owes allegiance has psychosomatic effects. To examine these effects from the point of view of Greek psychic descriptions is the purpose of this study. Both Homeric and tragedic Greek literary contexts, and a contemporary incident of civil disobedience, will inform this discussion. The human soul may be thought of as the distinctively human way of being aware of and acting in one’s environment. That being so, it is perhaps best understood as the multiply layered and deeply interactive set of psychic capacities that we become acquainted with in the works of Aristotle. Such a conception of psyche, a psyche understood as the reflexively mediated set of capacities for human living, derives from culturally deep sources. It has a long taproot reaching back to the Pre-Socratics and to the Homeric tradition. In public assembly for political protest, perceptions, passions, and embodied ways of knowing are put into action. This work is a philosophical examination of indignation, honor, and justice. I examine the Greek notion of the spirited part of the soul which seek honor, resents injury and resists injustice. To take actions for the sake of one’s moral and political dignity and for the moral dignity of others may involve the risking arrest and detention. Challenging the wishes of the political authority to which one owes allegiance has psychosomatic effects. To examine these effects from the point of view of Greek psychic descriptions is the purpose of this study. Homeric and tragedic Greek literary texts will inform this
A comparison of mixed phase titania photocatalysts prepared by physical and chemical methods: The importance of the solid-solid interface

Abstract Mixed phase titania photocatalysts, such as Degussa P25, typically show higher photocatalytic activity than pure phase titania, as reported by many researchers. Our previous experimental results indicate that the solid–solid interface is a key factor in enhancing the photocatalytic reactivity of mixed phase titania and may be the location of catalytic “hot spots”. In this study, titania photocatalysts consisting of varying amount of anatase and rutile phases are prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering and by a modified sol–gel method. These titania materials are characterized with a variety of techniques and are tested in the photocatalytic degradation of acetaldehyde. Mixed phase titania thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering have a high density of anatase–rutile interfaces and display the highest photocatalytic activity among the catalysts tested. Studies by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy show a unique distribution of charge trapping sites which are characteristic of the sputtered films. The role of anatase–rutile interface to separate charge and improve the photoactivity of mixed phase materials is discussed.
Theory of the Ablative Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability

Theory of the ablative Richtmyer-Meshkov instability is presented. It is shown that the main stabilizing mechanism of the ablation-front perturbations during the shock transit time is the dynamic overpressure that causes perturbation oscillations. The amplitude of the oscillation is proportional to ${c}_{s}/\sqrt{{V}_{a}{V}_{\mathrm{bl}}}$ and its frequency is $\ensuremath{\omega}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}k\sqrt{{V}_{a}{V}_{\mathrm{bl}}}$, where $k$ is the wave number, and ${c}_{s}$, ${V}_{a}$, and ${V}_{\mathrm{bl}}$ are sound speed, ablation, and blow-off plasma velocities, respectively.
Weighted universal recovery, practical secrecy, and an efficient algorithm for solving both

In this paper, we consider a network of n nodes, each initially possessing a subset of packets. Each node is permitted to broadcast functions of its own packets and the messages it receives to all other nodes via an error-free channel. We provide an algorithm that efficiently solves the Weighted Universal Recovery Problem and the Secrecy Generation Problem for this network. In the Weighted Universal Recovery Problem, the goal is to design a sequence of transmissions that ultimately permits all nodes to recover all packets initially present in the network. We show how to compute a transmission scheme that is optimal in the sense that the weighted sum of the number of transmissions is minimized. For the Secrecy Generation Problem, the goal is to generate a secret-key among the nodes that cannot be derived by an eavesdropper privy to the transmissions. In particular, we wish to generate a secret-key of maximum size. Further, we discuss private-key generation, which applies to the case where a subset of nodes is compromised by the eavesdropper. For the network under consideration, both of these problems are combinatorial in nature. We demonstrate that each of these problems can be solved efficiently and exactly. Notably, we do not require any terms to grow asymptotically large to obtain our results. This is in sharp contrast to classical information-theoretic problems despite the fact that our problems are information-theoretic in nature. Finally, the algorithm we describe efficiently solves an Integer Linear Program of a particular form. Due to the general form we consider, it may prove useful beyond these applications.
CHOP chemotherapy for the treatment of canine multicentric T-cell lymphoma.

Dogs with multicentric T-cell lymphoma are commonly treated with CHOP chemotherapy protocols that include cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of CHOP chemotherapy for dogs with multicentric T-cell lymphoma. Identification of prognostic factors in this specific subset of dogs was of secondary interest. Twenty-three out of 24 dogs responded to CHOP chemotherapy and these dogs remained on the protocol for a median of 146 days. No variable was associated with progression free survival (PFS) including stage, substage, hypercalcemia or radiographic evidence of a cranial mediastinal mass. The median overall survival time (OST) for all dogs was 235 days. Dogs that were thrombocytopenic at presentation experienced a significantly longer OST (323 versus 212 days, P = 0.01).
Recent Issues in Risk-Informed Inservice Inspection of Piping

Issues related to RI-ISI that have arisen recently include: augmented ISI programs and the synergistic effects when multiple degradation mechanisms exist in a segment; start of the RI-ISI program and details of merging the RI-ISI program with the existing ASME XI program when the RI-ISI program does not start at the beginning of an interval; updates to RI-ISI programs and living program criteria; criteria to be used for additional examinations when ISI reveals unacceptable flaws; application of RI-ISI methodology to inservice examination (ISI) of break exclusion region (BER) piping.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Resource discovery algorithms for channel aggregation in Cognitive Radio Networks

In Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs) secondary users (SUs) are allowed to transmit data exploiting the wireless resources (i.e., channels) not utilized by licensed primary users (PUs). Efficient resource discovery for finding available channels is a key aspect for successful SUs' operation. In this paper we investigate and propose different algorithms to discover the best CRN channels that, exploited for transmission jointly as aggregate OFDM carriers, will maximize SUs' throughput. By using CRN channels statistics such as channel availability and link quality, together with current channel discovery results, SUs attempt to make the best choice at each decision point. This is choosing to continue the discovery process or stop and transmit using the aggregated resources found available so far. All the proposed algorithms run in polynomial time, which is a significant complexity reduction from the typical exponential order of optimal stopping rule algorithms. The simulation study confirms the validity of our algorithms in different CRN scenarios, comparing their throughput performance with the theoretically best achievable results.
A Finite-Element Simulation of Pulsatile Flow in Flexible Obstructed Tubes

A finite-element model for pulsatile flow in a straight flexible partially obstructed tube is developed. In the unobstructed sections of the tube the model considers the continuity equation, the one-dimensional momentum equation, and an equation of state relating tube cross-sectional area to pressure. For the obstructed region, a nonlinear relationship between the flow and the pressure drop across the stenosis is considered. The applicability of a model is checked by comparing predicted flow and pressure waveforms with corresponding in-vitro experimental measurements obtained on a mechanical system. These comparisons indicated that the model satisfactorily predicts pressures and flows under variety of frequencies of oscillation and stenosis severities.
Endocrine diseases and the airway

RWAY MANAGEMENT is the cornerstone of safe anesthesia delivery. Endocrine disorders such as diabetes mellitus, acromegaly, obesity, a nd thyroid disorders including goiter and malignancies may adversely affect the airway and increase the risk of difficult intubation. Given the thorough review of the pathophysiology of various endocrine diseases in other parts of this monograph, this article will focus solely on how these disorders affect the airway and its management.
Self-Ownership and Moral Relations to Self in Early Modern Britain

SummaryThis paper scrutinises early modern thinking about our moral relations to ourselves. It begins by reiterating the too-often-ignored point that full self-ownership was not a position defended in Britain—by Locke or anyone else. In fact, the actual early modern positions about the moral relations we have to ourselves have been obscured by our present-day interest in self-ownership. The paper goes on to organise the moral history of the self by examining the reasons available for prohibiting self-harm. Those reasons typically had their source in God, self, and others. Major divisions in the period arose over which kinds of reasons could be invoked and why. The defining feature of this intellectual landscape was the debate between ‘other-regarding’ and ‘dignity’ theorists, who differed over the moral status of the self and over its importance as a source of moral reasons. More dramatically and controversially, various freethinkers and sceptics questioned the importance of God as a source of prohibition...
Dipyrromethane + dipyrromethanedicarbinol routes to an electron deficient meso-substituted phlorin with enhanced stability.

Two dipyrromethane + dipyrromethanedicarbinol routes to a meso-substituted phlorin bearing electron-withdrawing pentafluorophenyl substituents (TpFPPhl) were investigated in an attempt to obtain a phlorin with enhanced stability toward light and air and to explore the application of dipyrromethanecarbinol chemistry to the preparation of phlorins. For each route, a systematic survey of reaction parameters for the two-step, one-flask reaction leading to TpFPPhl was performed. The analytical-scale reactions were monitored for yield of TpFPPhl by HPLC. Sharp differences were observed in the yield of TpFPPhl afforded by the two synthetic routes. The most promising reaction condition (TFA catalysis, 100 mM) was performed on a preparative scale providing TpFPPhl in a yield of 45% (189 mg). The stability of the electron-deficient phlorin in dilute solution upon exposure to light and air was probed in a number of solvents, and decomposition was monitored by UV−vis spectroscopy and HPLC. Many of the solutions of Tp...
On the Use of Published Demographic Data for Population-Level Risk Assessment in Birds

ABSTRACT As the practice of using population models for wildlife risk assessment has become more common, so has the practice of using surrogate data, typically taken from the published scientific literature, as inputs for demographic models. This practice clearly exposes the user to inferential errors. However, it is likely to continue because demographic data are expensive to gather. We review potential errors associated with the use of previously published demographic data and how those errors propagate into the endpoints of demographic projection models. We suggest methods for inferring bias in model endpoints when multiple and opposing biases are present in the demographic input data. We provide an example using Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna), a common songbird in Midwestern grasslands and agro-ecosystems. We conclude with a brief review of methods that could improve inference made using published demographic data, including methods from life-history theory, meta-analysis, and Bayesian statistics.
Very slowly tumbling spin labels: Saturation recovery

Abstract The recovery of electron magnetization following pulsed saturation is determined of spectral diffusion and spin—lattice relaxation processes. For dilute solutions of slowly tumbling spin labels (nitroxide radicals), spectral diffusion arises as the result of rotational diffusion modulating anisotropic electron Zeeman and electron—nuclear hyperfine interactions. The effects of such spectral diffusion upon pulsed microwave experiments (pulsed electron—electron double resonance, saturation recovery employing a Bloch scheme, saturation recovery, and spin echo) are treated quantitavely by employing a form of the stochastic Liouville equation for the spin density matrix appropriately modified to include Markoffian diffusion operators modulating oriental variables and hence anisotropic magnetic interactions. Particular attention is paid to the effects of pulse conditions (pump field intensity, pulse length) and to the details of the isotropic rotational diffusion process (motional model such as brownian, free, or jump diffusion; correlation time).
Multiple ionic mechanisms are activated by the potent agonist quisqualate in cultured cerebellar Purkinje neurons

Abstract Current clamp recordings were used to analyze responses of cultured cerebellar Purkinje neurons to quisqualate and several other selectivenon- N -methyl- d -aspertate (NMDA) agonists. Quisqualate, a potent agonist in the cerebellar Purkinje neuron, evoked both short- and long-term changes in excitability, that activated within seconds and lasted for several minutes. Two components of the response were activated differentially by subtype selective agonists, and differed in their mechanism of expression and time course. The initial component of the response was activated by ionotropic agonists ((RS)-d-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) domoate), and by quisqualate and glutamate which are effective at both the ionotropic and metabotropic quisqualate receptor subtypes, but not by the metabotropic agonist trans(±)-1amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (ACPD). This component was dependent on extracellular Na + , and characterized by a rapid depolarization with a short latency (
Muon Polarization in the Decay K L 0 → π − μ + ν μ , an Experimental Test of Time-Reversal Invariance

We report the results of a high-statistics scintillation-counter electronics experiment measuring the muon polarization in the decay ${{K}_{L}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ by the method of spin precession. We present results for the real and the imaginary parts of the form-factor ratio.
Influence of mean zonal motion and meridional temperature gradients on the solar semidiurnal atmospheric tide - A revised spectral study with improved heating rates

Abstract Calculations of the semidiurnal atmospheric tide at solstice using improved heating rates are presented. The heating rates for solar absorption by water vapor are based on a global water vapor distribution (Jenne, 1969, 1975; Jenne et al., 1974), the data of McClatchey et al. (1972), and an absorptivity parameterization of Lacis and Hansen (1974); rates for solar absorption by ozone are based on the midlatitude ozone distribution of the U.S. Standard Atmosphere (COESA, 1976) and detailed radiative calculations using the solar fluxes and absorption cross sections of Ackerman (1971) with the Schumann-Runge band cross sections of Kockarts (1971). The heating rates for solstice are quite similar to those reported by Forbes and Garrett (1978) and significantly different from those of Lindzen and Hong (1974), which were used in the previous study of Walterscheid and Venkateswaran (1979b) investigating the influence of mean zonal motion and meridional temperature gradients on the solar semidiurnal tide....
Leukemias related to treatment with DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors.

The epipodophyllotoxins etoposide and teniposide and other DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors including anthracyclines and dactinomycin are highly efficacious anticancer drugs. All are associated with a distinct form of leukemia characterized by chromosomal translocations as a treatment complication. Most of the translocations disrupt a breakpoint cluster region (bcr) of the MLL gene at chromosome band 11q23. Other characteristic translocations also may occur. The normal function of the nuclear enzyme DNA topoisomerase II is to catalyze changes in DNA topology between relaxed and supercoiled states by transiently cleaving and re-ligating both strands of the double helix. Anticancer drugs that are DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors are cytotoxic because they form complexes with DNA and DNA topoisomerase II. The complexes decrease the re-ligation rate, disrupt the cleavage-re-ligation equilibrium, and have a net effect of increasing cleavage. The increased cleavage damages the DNA and leads to chromosomal breakage. Cells with irreparable DNA damage die by apoptosis. The association of DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors with leukemia suggests that the drug-induced, DNA topoisomerase II-mediated chromosomal breakage may be relevant to translocations in addition to this anti-neoplastic, cytotoxic action. Epidemiological studies, genomic translocation breakpoint cloning and in vitro DNA topoisomerase II cleavage assays together lead to a model for treatment-related leukemia in which DNA topoisomerase II causes chromosomal breakage and translocations form when the breakage is repaired.
Plasma-tunable metamaterials and periodic structures

In this paper, we examine methods in which plasmas can be used to tune the responses of RF/microwave periodic structures and artificially-engineered materials. In particular, we exploit microwave-induced plasmas created in periodic structures when the power of the incident electromagnetic wave exceeds the breakdown threshold power level. Based on the nature of the plasma created within the unit cell of a periodic structure, the structure can either be physically reconfigured or its impedance can be changed continuously. The former phenomenon results in a reconfigurable (or switchable) periodic structure and the latter results in a tunable one. We examine this phenomenon in several planar periodic structures, which are designed to be opaque at microwave frequencies. We demonstrate that these structures can be made transparent when the devices are driven to breakdown in air at atmospheric pressure. We also discuss the behavior of these structures when the plasma is created in Argon at different pressure levels.
How often should we screen for cervical cancer

Over the past 60 years, the mortality from cervical cancer — once one of the most common and lethal cancers in women in the United States — has decreased dramatically. Much of the reduction has bee...
Pictorial essay: Diverse imaging features of spinal schwannomas

In this pictorial review, we present diverse imaging features of spinal schwannomas with an idea to familiarize spine imagers with the varied spectrum of presentation of these tumors. Different types of spinal schwannomas presented include multiple schwannoma (n = 3), schwannoma with cystic degeneration (n = 3), schwannoma with hemorrhage (n = 2), melanotic schwannoma (n = 1), intraosseous schwannoma (n = 2), schwannoma growing into the foramen transversarium (n = 1), intramedullary schwannoma (n = 1), large or giant schwannoma (n = 1), malignant schwannoma (n = 2), and infarcted schwannoma (n = 1). We present imaging findings in these cases and review their differential diagnosis. Awareness of the uncommon presentations of these seemingly common tumors is important in offering a correct diagnosis.
The Titanium Vacuum Chamber for the Zero Gradient Synchrotron

An all metal, titanium alloy inner vacuum chamber has been built for the Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS). This chamber has high radiation resistance, high mechanical strength, and provides mountings for pole face windings. The upper and lower surfaces of the chamber consist of 0.012" titanium skins which span the 32" aperture along the 54' length of the octant. These skins are reinforced with radial T-shaped ribs 3/8" high to withstand the design loading of 30 torr. The 20 miles of titanium ribs are diffusion bonded to the skins to provide high strength joints without welding. Eddy-current problems are minimized by using an alloy of high electrical resistivity. Pole face windings mounted in holes in the ribs will be used to correct the effects of the residual eddy currents. Many of the new techniques that were developed for aerospace applications were used to produce and test this chamber. These techniques and the results of the tests will be discussed.
The Central Image (CI) in Recent Dreams, Dreams That Stand out, and Earliest Dreams: Relationship to Boundaries:

The CI (Central Image or Contextualizing Image) can be considered the emotional center of the dream. The CI can sometimes be seen as picturing the emotion behind the dream—as in the paradigmatic “Tidal Wave Dream.” The CI is the best-remembered part of the dream. CI Intensity, rated on a reliable scale, is higher after trauma, after 9/11/01, and in dreams considered “important” by the dreamer. In this study we examined CI Intensity, as well as “dream-likeness” and “bizarreness,” of recent dreams, dreams that stand out, and earliest dreams in 40 students, 20 who scored very “thick” and 20 who scored very “thin” on the short form of the Boundary Questionnaire. Results showed, first of all, that for the group as a whole, CI Intensity was rated higher in dreams that stand out, and in earliest dreams, than in recent dreams. “Thin” students had higher CI Intensity than “thick” students in recent dreams and dreams that stand out, but not in earliest dreams. In “dreams that stand out,” there was a significant pos...
Eutrophication: focus on phosphorus.

The Policy Forum by D. J. Conley et al. (“Controlling eutrophication: Nitrogen and phosphorus,” 20 February, p. [1014][1]) advocates expensive and unnecessary nitrogen (N) control in lakes. Many demonstrations of successful phosphorus (P)–only control in lakes are found in the literature ([ 1
Use of Information Sources Referenced in and Attitudes about Televised DTC Prescription Drug Advertisements

Unlike most advertising, direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising on television frequently contains warnings. Because of the brevity of the warning message, a follow-up source with more detailed information is given. This research examined the reported likelihood of using several follow-up sources as well as their beliefs about the completeness/accuracy and ease of access of those sources. Also examined were various other beliefs and attitudes associated with DTC prescription drug television advertising. Participants reported that they would more likely to use certain follow-up sources such as the Internet more than other sources such as an advertisement in a particular magazine and believed that certain sources provide more complete/accurate and more accessible information than other sources. The results indicate that the Internet is a growing information source that people use to find out more about prescription drugs viewed in advertisements. Participants' responses indicate skepticism ab...
SU-E-J-182: A Feasibility Study Evaluating Automatic Identification of Gross Tumor Volume for Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Using Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging

Purpose: To develop a computerized pharmacokinetic model-free Gross Tumor Volume (GTV) segmentation method based on dynamic contrastenhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) data that can improve physician GTV contouring efficiency. Methods: 12 patients with biopsy-proven early stage breast cancer with post-contrast enhanced DCE-MRI images were analyzed in this study. A fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering-based method was applied to segment 3D GTV from pre-operative DCE-MRI data. A region of interest (ROI) is selected by a clinician/physicist, and the normalized signal evolution curves were calculated by dividing the signal intensity enhancement value at each voxel by the pre-contrast signal intensity value at the corresponding voxel. Three semi-quantitative metrics were analyzed based on normalized signal evolution curves: initial Area Under signal evolution Curve (iAUC), Immediate Enhancement Ratio (IER), and Variance of Enhancement Slope (VES). The FCM algorithm wass applied to partition ROI voxels into GTV voxels and non-GTV voxels by using three analyzed metrics. The partition map for the smaller cluster is then generated and binarized with an automatically calculated threshold. To reduce spurious structures resulting from background, a labeling operation was performed to keep the largest three-dimensional connected component as the identified target. Basic morphological operations including hole-filling and spur removal were useutilized to improve the target smoothness. Each segmented GTV was compared to that drawn by experienced radiation oncologists. An agreement index was proposed to quantify the overlap between the GTVs identified using two approaches and a thershold value of 0.4 is regarded as acceptable. Results: The GTVs identified by the proposed method were overlapped with the ones drawn by radiation oncologists in all cases, and in 10 out of 12 cases, the agreement indices were above the threshold of 0.4. Conclusion: The proposed automatic segmentation method was shown to be promising and might be used to improve physician contouring efficiency. J Horton receives grant from NIH and Varian Medical Systems; F-F Yin receives grant from Varian Medical Systems
Relationship of the Third Heart Sound to Transmitral Flow Velocity Deceleration

Background The third heart sound (S3) occurs shortly after the early (E-wave) peak of the transmitral diastolic Doppler velocity profile (DVP). It is thought to be due to cardiohemic vibrations powered by rapid deceleration of transmitral blood flow. Although the presence, timing, and clinical correlates of the S3 have been extensively characterized, derivation and validation of a causal, mathematical relation between transmitral flow velocity and the S3 are lacking. Methods and Results To characterize the kinematics and physiological mechanisms of S3 production, we modeled the cardiohemic system as a forced, damped, nonlinear harmonic oscillator. The forcing term used a closed-form mathematical expression for the deceleration portion of the DVP. We tested the hypothesis that our model’s predictions for amplitude, timing, and frequency of S3 accurately predict the transthoracic phonocardiogram, using the simultaneously recorded transmitral Doppler E wave as input, in three subject groups: those with audib...
The Association of Cigarette Smoking and Alcohol Consumption with Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Men from Seoul, Korea

Abstract PURPOSE: To explore the effects of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glucose intolerance in Korean men. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we gathered the smoking and drinking history by self-administered questionnaire between June 1994 and May 1995 among 1053 men, age 20–77, who visited a prevention center for a multiphasic health check at St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul. RESULTS: Cigarette smoking had a significant inverse association with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), and alcohol consumption, the odds ratio of hypercholesterolemia (⩾ 240 mg/dl) was 1.30 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–1.55), lower high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ( CONCLUSIONS: In this Korean population study, although alcohol consumption increased HDL cholesterol, which might have a protective effect on coronary heart disease, cigarette smoking was associated with decreased blood pressure, smoking was confirmed to have dyslipidemic effect such as increasing total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride and decreasing HDL cholesterol, and alcohol consumption was confirmed to be associated with hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and glucose intolerance as in Caucasian. Further prospective intervention studies are needed for evaluating cardiovascular effects after cessation of smoking and drinking.
Predicting Japanese American Drinking Behavior

Empirical data on Japanese American drinking behavior are scarce. The present study was a random sample (N = 295) of households in Los Angeles with Japanese surnames. Japanese Americans born in the United States tended to drink less than those born in Japan. The study also observed significant gender differences in Japanese American drinking behavior which were attributed to ascribed social roles. Other demographic and social determinants of drinking were examined through two logistic regression models. The first model predicted drinking (as opposed to abstaining), while the other distinguished heavy drinkers from those who drank alcohol in more moderate amounts. Potential reference groups (e.g., parents, friends, church groups, etc.) were often significant in predicting whether and how much a Japanese American drank.
FTIR Difference Spectroscopy in Combination with Isotope Labeling for Identification of the Carbonyl Modes of P700 and P700+ in Photosystem I

Room temperature, light induced (P700+-P700) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) difference spectra have been obtained using photosystem I (PS I) particles from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 that are unlabeled, uniformly 2H labeled, and uniformly 15N labeled. Spectra were also obtained for PS I particles that had been extensively washed and incubated in D2O. Previously, we have found that extensive washing and incubation of PS I samples in D2O does not alter the (P700+-P700) FTIR difference spectrum, even with ∼50% proton exchange. This indicates that the P700 binding site is inaccessible to solvent water. Upon uniform 2H labeling of PS I, however, the (P700+-P700) FTIR difference spectra are considerably altered. From spectra obtained using PS I particles grown in D2O and H2O, a (1H-2H) isotope edited double difference spectrum was constructed, and it is shown that all difference bands associated with ester/keto carbonyl modes of the chlorophylls of P700 and P700+ downshift 4–5/1–3 cm−1 upon 2H labeling, respectively. It is also shown that the ester and keto carbonyl modes of the chlorophylls of P700 need not be heterogeneously distributed in frequency. Finally, we find no evidence for the presence of a cysteine mode in our difference spectra. The spectrum obtained using 2H labeled PS I particles indicates that a negative difference band at 1698 cm−1 is associated with at least two species. The observed 15N and 2H induced band shifts strongly support the idea that the two species are the 131 keto carbonyl modes of both chlorophylls of P700. We also show that a negative difference band at ∼1639 cm−1 is somewhat modified in intensity, but unaltered in frequency, upon 2H labeling. This indicates that this band is not associated with a strongly hydrogen bonded keto carbonyl mode of one of the chlorophylls of P700.
Some properties of matrix sign functions derived from continued fractions

This paper proposes an alternate representation of a matrix sign function based on an irrational function described by a continued fraction. The properties of the continued fraction and the truncated continued fractions are investigated. Also, new algorithms for computing the matrix sign function are developed. The matrix sign function is then extended to a generalised matrix sign function for directly solving discrete-time system problems.
High-resolution absolute SPECT quantitation for I-131 distributions used in the treatment of lymphoma: a phantom study

Clinical lymphoma I-131 radioimmunotherapy (RIT) studies are underway at the authors' institution. The effectiveness of treatment can be evaluated through accurate time-dependent three-dimensional (3-D) dosimetry calculations based on SPECT images. The authors compared the absolute quantitative SPECT performance of a high-resolution rotating parallel-hole collimator (RPHC) designed to minimize septal penetration with that of a traditional medium-energy parallel-hole collimator (MEPHC). The authors scanned a phantom consisting of four spheres having inner diameters of 2.2 and 2.8 cm and whose activity concentration ratios with respect to the surrounding medium were between 5:1 and 17:1. Images were reconstructed using the OSEM algorithm (10 subsets, 20 iterations) with spatial resolution modeling. Quantitation of the MEPHC SPECT images yielded a large over-estimation of the surrounding activity concentration (50%) due to septal penetration. Quantitation of the RPHC SPECT image yielded a surrounding medium activity concentration within 8% of the expected value, and the activity within the spheres was estimated to within 20% of their absolute expected values for the RPHC. The authors also investigated the effect of out of field-of-view (FOV) uncollimated gamma rays on SPECT quantitation. It is concluded that for the present quantitation application, the benefits of septal penetration suppression by the RPHC outweigh the increased image noise due to low count rate. These results point to the feasibility of using a large-FOV collimator based on the imaging principles of the RPHC for accurate clinical SPECT quantitation of I-131 RIT.
Effect of Strain, Sex and Dietary Riboflavin on Pyridoxamine (Pyridoxine) 5′-Phosphate Oxidase Activity in Rat Tissues

Weanling male rats of four strainsâ€"Buffalo, Long-Evans, Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Wistarâ€"were fed a control or a riboflavin-deficient purified diet for 6 weeks. Both strain and diet had significant effects on pyri- doxamine (pyridoxine) 5'-phosphate (PMP) oxidase activity in liver and kidney. No single strain had extreme PMP oxidase values or was consistently more re sponsive than the others to riboflavin deficiency. Weanling male and female SD rats were fed purified diets containing 2.5, 1.0, 0.5 or 0 ing of riboflavin/kg diet for 9 weeks. PMP oxidase values generally were lower in the females than in the males. In both sexes, increases in dietary riboflavin level were reflected in increases in PMP oxidase activity in liver and kidney. These results confirm that PMP oxidase activity is a sensitive indicator of riboflavin status in the rat. J. Nutr. 110: 1940-1946, 1980.
Behavioral Economic Analysis of Cue-Elicited Craving for Tobacco: A Virtual Reality Study

Introduction Subjective craving is a prominent construct in the study of tobacco motivation; yet, the precise measurement of tobacco craving poses several difficulties. A behavioral economic approach to understanding drug motivation imports concepts and methods from economics to improve the assessment of craving. Methods Using an immersive virtual reality (VR) cue reactivity paradigm, this study tested the hypothesis that, compared with neutral cues, tobacco cues would result in significant increases in subjective craving and diverse aspects of demand for tobacco in a community sample of 47 regular smokers. In addition, the study examined these motivational indices in relation to a dual-component delay and cigarette consumption self-administration paradigm. Results In response to the VR tobacco cues, significant increases were observed for tobacco craving and the demand indices of Omax (i.e., maximum total expenditure toward cigarettes) and Breakpoint (i.e., price at which consumption is completely suppressed), whereas a significant decrease was observed for Elasticity (i.e., lower cigarette price sensitivity). Continuous analyses revealed trend-level inverse associations between Omax and Intensity in relation to delay duration and significant positive associations between subjective craving, Omax, and Elasticity in relation to the number of cigarettes purchased. Conclusions The results from this study provide further evidence for the utility of behavioral economic concepts and methods in understanding smoking motivation. These data also reveal the incremental contribution of behavioral economic indices beyond subjective craving in predicting in vivo cigarette consumption. Relationships to previous studies and methodological considerations are discussed.
The Evolving Arms Control Agenda: Implications of the Role of NGOs in Banning Antipersonnel Landmines

This article examines the role ngos have played in placing and controlling the landmine-ban issue on the international arms control agenda, which eventually changed state behavior toward landmines. It develops a framework for agenda setting to examine how and why ngos were successful in this role. More importantly, the article also examines how ngos were able to generate state action toward the support of the Ottawa Treaty banning antipersonnel landmines, which marked the first time a weapon in widespread use has been banned. The article makes two interrelated arguments. First, ngos initiated the landmine ban by placing it on the international arms control agenda, which gained intense media and public attention for the cause. The ngos accomplished their goal by utilizing cognitive attribution strategies to educate the public about the minimal military utility of landmines and the humanitarian problems they pose. Second, ngos changed states' perception toward the legality and use of landmines once the issue was on the agenda by highlighting the horrible effects and disproportionate consequences of landmine use, playing leadership games with influential individuals and states, and claiming that anti-ban states were using incoherent arguments. In comparison, ngos have not been included in the agenda-setting processes of most other major arms control and disarmament treaties, which typically are negotiated at the behest of major powers. These arguments address the broader question of agency in world politics by showing potential conditions of how ngos can instigate governments to address issues in a way that may culminate in international law.
Multiscale SPC using wavelets: Theoretical analysis and properties

Most practical process data contain contributions at multiple scales in time and frequency, but most existing SPC (statistical process control) methods are best for detecting events at only one scale. For example, Shewhart charts are best for detecting large, localized changes, while EWMA and CUSUM charts are best for detecting small changes at coarse scales. A multiscale approach for SPC, adaptable to the scale of relevant signal features and developed based on wavelet analysis, detects abnormal events at multiple scales as relatively large wavelet coefficients. Univariate and multivariate multiscale SPC (MSSPC) for detecting abnormal operation are theoretically analyzed, and their properties are compared with existing SPC methods based on their average run lengths. SPC methods are best for detecting features over a narrow range of scales. Their performance can deteriorate rapidly if abnormal features lie outside this limited range. Since in most industrial processes, the nature of abnormal features is not known a priori, MSSPC performs better on average due to its adaptability to the scale of the features and for monitoring autocorrelated measurements since dyadic wavelets decorrelate most stochastic processes. MSSPC with dyadic discretization is appropriate for SPC of highly autocorrelated or nonstationary stochastic processes. If normal measurements are uncorrelated or contain only mild autocorrelation, it is better to use MSSPC with integer or unformly discretized wavelets. Many existing methods such as MA, EWMA, CUSUM, Shewhart, batch means charts, and their multivariate extensions are special cases of MSSPC.
Optimizing data locality using array tiling

Data transformation is one of the key optimizations in maximizing cache locality. Traditional data transformation strategies employ linear data layouts, e. g., row-major or column-major, for multidimensional arrays. Although a linear layout matches the linear memory space well in most cases, it can only optimize for self-spatial locality for individual references. In this work, we propose a novel data layout transformation framework that is able to determine a tiled layout for each array in an application program. Tiled layout can exploit the group-spatial locality among different references and improve cache line utilization. In our strategy, the data elements accessed by different references in one loop iteration are placed into a tile and fetched into the same cache line at runtime. This helps minimizing conflict misses in caches. We evaluated our data layout transformation framework using 30 benchmarks on a commercial multicore machine. The experimental results show that our approach outperforms state-of-the-art data transformation strategies and works well with large core counts.