cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of prostate size in university and Veterans Affairs Health Care System patients with negative prostate biopsies

Abstract Objectives. Many important prostate studies take place at Veterans Affairs hospitals. We have examined whether the patient population at these institutions is comparable to the population presenting for prostate evaluation at university hospitals. Methods. We included all patients presenting for transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) and biopsy in whom systematic biopsies failed to reveal prostate cancer at both Stanford University Medical Center (90 patients) and the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System (103 patients) from August 1, 1995 to July 31, 1996. Identical techniques and equipment for TRUS examination and prostate size determination were used at both institutions. Results. There was no significant difference in the age or prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of the patients at the two institutions. The mean prostatic volume of the Stanford University patients was 71 cm 3 (median 63 cm 3 ), whereas the mean prostatic volume of patients at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs hospital was 52 cm 3 (median 43 cm 3 ), a highly statistically significant difference ( P = 0.0009). Conclusions. The smaller size of the prostate glands in Veterans Affairs patients may be the result of differences in referral base, socioeconomic factors, or environmental factors. These data may have significance for trials conducted only on the prostates of men who are seen at Veterans Affairs hospitals.
Controversies in the Timing of Orthodontic Treatment

The approaches to the skeletal component of malocclusion and the timing of treatment are reviewed based on changing concepts in craniofacial growth and evidence-based results from clinical trials and meta-analysis. Timing of treatment has traditionally been considered “early” versus “late mixed” or “preadolescent dentition.” The rationales are based on modification of growth during the greatest somatic and facial growth period or the option of camouflage and orthognathic surgery depending on the severity of the malocclusion. To illustrate controversies in the timing of treatment a retrospective study is reported with data from three approaches: (1) growth modification, (2) camouflage, and (3) orthognathic surgery in Class II skeletal correction. Inclusion criteria for all 3 groups included overjet of 6 mm or greater and Class II molar relationships. Results demonstrated positive skeletal changes for the growth modification group and orthognathic surgery group. Upper incisor retraction was common in all treatment groups, but compensation in the camouflage group resulted in the upper incisors being in a significantly retrusive position. Growth modification treatment resulted in lower incisor compensation. In the orthognathic surgery group, upper incisor retraction occurred pre and post surgery and lower incisor decompensation occurred post surgery. For all treatments incisor axial inclination changes and bodily movement played an important part in treatment outcome. The timing of treatment interventions was influenced by the severity of the malocclusion and the age and maturation of the patient at the time the patient presented for treatment.
You Get What You Ask For Questioning, Assisting, and Giving Feedback

Instructional approaches for helping students respond successfully in the classroom are outlined and discussed.
Reflective Theory and Practice: A Constructivist Process for Curriculum and Instructional Decisions

Abstract This study investigated the reflective insights secondary education preservice teachers constructed about their curriculum and instructional practices during a teacher education course and related field experiences. The course was grounded by the principles and assumptions of a constructivist learning theory in which meaning is constructed through the reflective analysis of experiences. A qualitiative research design was used for the data collection and analysis of six preservice teachers' lesson plans, reflective analysis papers, videotaped lessons, and interviews. A dialectical process followed throughout the interviews served as a catalyst for reflection and allowed the preservice teachers to explore the conceptual understandings being constructed about their experiences. Through these discussions the meanings of ideas were explored and interrelationships between teacher's ideas and practices were examined for clarity and consistency.
Use of gadolinium chelates in MR imaging of lesions of the extracranial head and neck.

Keywords: Contrast enhancemen; adoliniu; ead, MR, 10,1214; Head and neck neoplasms, MR, 10.1214.20.1214; Facial nerves; Larynx, MR, 27.1214; Larynx, neoplasms, 27.30; Mouth, MR, 26.1214; Mouth, neoplasms, 26.30; Nasopharynx, MR, 26.1214; Nasopharynx, neoplasms, 26.30; Neck, MR, 20.1214; Neck, infection, 20.24; Skull, MR, 12.1214; Skull, diseases, 12.21, 12.30; Temporal bone, MR, 21.1214
16.2: Influence of rough surface upon optical characteristics of reflective LCD with a polarizer

We have developed bright 260,000-color “High Reflective TFT (HR-TFT)” liquid crystal display (LCD) with diffused “Micro Reflective Structure (MRS)” inside a panel. In this paper, influences of rough surface upon the optical characteristics of the reflective type LCD are discussed.
Using quizzes to enhance summative-assessment performance in a web-based class: An experimental study

Abstract The testing effect—a mnemonic benefit of quizzing or testing—has been oft-demonstrated in the laboratory, but rarely evaluated experimentally in the classroom. In a college web-based class, using a within-subjects design, core target concepts were quizzed with multiple choice and short-answer questions, presented for reading, or not presented (no additional-exposure control). Multiple attempts on each quiz (and in the read-control) were encouraged and feedback was available after each. When exam questions were identical to earlier-seen quizzes, short answer and multiple choice quizzes enhanced exam performance over rereading targeted material. When examination questions were different but related to the quizzes, short answer and multiple-choice quizzes conferred benefits over unquizzed target content, and produced exam performance that was nominally better than rereading target material. These experimental results indicate that unsupervised on-line quizzing in a college course enhances exam performance, thereby representing an important extension of laboratory testing effects into the classroom setting.
Do mares possess an intracellular endometrial inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis during early pregnancy

Cytosol was prepared from endometrium collected from pregnant or nonpregnant mares 14 d after ovulation and was added to a prostaglandin-generating system (bovine fetal cotyledonary microsomes). Addition of endometrial cytosol from pregnant mares suppressed microsomal synthesis of prostaglandin F, but addition of endometrial cytosol from nonpregnant mares increased microsomal synthesis of prostaglandin F. The results suggest that mares possess an intracellular inhibitor of prostaglandin F synthesis during early pregnancy.
Quantification of the endothelial surface glycocalyx on rat and mouse blood vessels.

The glycocalyx on the surface of endothelium lining blood vessel walls modulates vascular barrier function, cell adhesion and also serves as a mechano-sensor for blood flow. Reduction of glycocalyx has been reported in many diseases including atherosclerosis, inflammation, myocardial edema, and diabetes. The surface glycocalyx layer (SGL) is composed of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans, of which heparan sulfate is one of the most abundant. To quantify the SGL thickness on the microvessels of rat mesentery and mouse cremaster muscle in situ, we applied a single vessel cannulation and perfusion technique to directly inject FITC-anti-heparan sulfate into a group of microvessels for immuno-labeling the SGL. We also used anti-heparan sulfate for immuno-labeling the SGL on rat and mouse aortas ex vivo. High resolution confocal microscopy revealed that the thickness of the SGL on rat mesenteric capillaries and post-capillary venules is 0.9 ± 0.1 μm and 1.2 ± 0.3 μm, respectively; while the thickness of the SGL on mouse cremaster muscle capillaries and post-capillary venules is 1.5 ± 0.1 μm and 1.5 ± 0.2 μm, respectively. Surprisingly, there was no detectable SGL in either rat mesenteric or mouse cremaster muscle arterioles. The SGL thickness is 2.5 ± 0.1 μm and 2.1 ± 0.2 μm respectively, on rat and mouse aorta. In addition, we observed that the SGL is continuously and evenly distributed on the aorta wall but not on the microvessel wall.
Relapsed Hodgkin Lymphoma: Management Strategies

Although Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is largely curable with first-line therapy, approximately one-third of patients will not have a complete response to frontline treatment or will subsequently relapse. Only 50 % of these patients will be effectively salvaged with conventional therapies. The prognosis is particularly poor for those patients with chemotherapy refractory disease, who are unable to obtain even transient disease control, and for patients who relapse following high dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant. In this review, we summarize the most recent updates on the management of patients with relapsed HL, the role of novel therapies such as brentuximab vedotin, and an overview of promising new agents currently under investigation. We also discuss the role of consolidation strategies such as high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant, and reduced-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, and the need for new strategies in the elderly patient population.
A graph-theoretic approach to quantitative structure—activity/reactivity studies

Abstract Characterization of molecular species based on the use of suitable graph invariants (graph paths, in particular) can provide a quantitative means of encoding structure; the technique is complementary to commoner approaches to studies of quantitative structure— activity relationships. Graph path encoding is here applied to quantitative studies of relationships between molecular structures and biological activity; the examples are the rates of various substrate reactions with hexoldnase, and the potential opiate-like activity of enkephalin analogs.
Status inconsistency: an antecedent to bullying behaviour in groups

Bullying is a common and constantly reoccurring phenomenon in organizations. The increasing diversity of the workplace is an accepted fact, which has the potential to increase the occurrence of status inconsistency. The purpose of this paper is to examine the theory of status inconsistency and its usefulness as a predictor to identifying when bullying might occur in a work group setting. In addition, the possible impact of bullying on group dynamics and ultimately group performance is explored. The central tenet of this paper is that bullying is a possible behaviour given a group member's intense emotional feelings of stress related to status inconsistency. The paper concludes by highlighting a few managerial implications relative to effectively addressing bullying behaviour in groups and identifying future directions to better understanding and researching bullying in a group context. In a recent study, it was found that: (1) 78% of the respondents felt incivility [bullying] in the workplace has worsened...
Mineral Concentrations of Cool Season Pasture Forages in North Florida During Winter-Spring Grazing Season. I. Macrominerals and Forage Organic Constituents

ABSTRACT Two experimental late fall-winter-spring grazing studies, each lasting two years, were conducted at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC), Marianna, Florida to evaluate the organic constituents and macromineral concentrations of annual cool season pasture forages grazed by growing beef cattle. Eight 1.32 ha fenced pastures or paddocks were divided into two pasture land preparation/planting methods, four pastures for the sod seeding treatments and four for the prepared seedbed treatments. These pastures were planted with two different forage combinations: rye/oats mix with or without ryegrass for the first two years (Study 1), and oats with ryegrass or ryegrass only for the last two years (Study 2). Each of the four forage/land preparation combination treatments was assigned to two pastures each year, thereby giving two replicates per year. Forage samples were collected at the start of grazing and twice monthly thereafter until the end of grazing season for each year, pooled by m...
Porod's invariant for samples with cylindrical symmetry

Abstract A direct method for obtaining the invariant of samples oriented with their cylindrical axis of symmetry perpendicular to the slit of the Kratky camera is presented. One introduces before or behind the sample a diaphragm covering a finite fraction of the slit and moves either the diagram or the counter with vertical line window in horizontal direction through the beam. A simple geometrical construction yields the invariant as the intercept of the intensity and the line bisecting the asymptote ordinates.
Use of the nuclear microprobe at the University of Arizona for the study of heavy metal deposition in rabbit renal tissue

Abstract Industrial wastes consigned to disposal sites frequently contain substantial amounts of heavy metals. We have successfully applied proton induced X-ray emission analysis (PIXE) in the conduct of heavy metal (Hg, Cd, Cr, As) toxicity studies using precision cut rabbit renal cortical slices. The large beam diameter (4000 μm) of the proton macroprobe at The University of Arizona Ion Beam Analysis facility allowed an overall concentration of the metal(s) of interest in the samples to be determined, but lacked the ability to resolve point concentrations in the tissue. The ability to locate these areas has now been made available to us with the addition of a rastering microprobe (μ-PIXE) to the facility. Studies now being conducted in our laboratory using this micro-technique include analysis of renal tissue taken from rabbits injected intraperitoneally with HgCl2, K2Cr2O7, and NaAsO2. The small beam size (3 μm) and the ability to raster this beam over areas of up to 125 μm × 125 μm has allowed regional mapping of endogenous and non-endogenous metal concentrations and revealed trends in heavy metal deposition in in vivo treated renal tissue, significantly increasing the amount of information obtained from these animal studies using PIXE alone. The combination of small beam size, high resolution, and multi-element detection makes μ-PIXE a powerful tool for investigating the impact of non-endogenous metals on the kidney.
The other end of spectrum in hypertension: 'idiopathic nodular glomerulosclerosis'.

Dear Editor, Nodular glomerulosclerosis is observed in diabetes mellitus, dysproteinemias, lobular membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, glomerular deposition disease, and chronic hypoxic states. Idiopathic nodular glomerulosclerosis (ING), which is a rare clinical entity, is diagnosed in the absence of these conditions. We report a case of ING in an elderly hypertensive lady. An 82-year-old woman was evaluated for chronic kidney disease. Her medical history included hypertension, permanent atrial fibrillation, and osteoarthritis. There was no personal or family history of diabetes mellitus, hepatitis, autoimmune, or connective tissue disease. She did not use any over-the-counter medications, herbal remedies, cigarettes, alcohol, or recreational drugs. On examination, her vitals revealed blood pressure of 140/93 mmHg, with an irregular heart rate of 74–86 beats/min. The rest of the physical examination was unremarkable. Laboratory parameters were significant for mild normocytic anemia with a hemoglobin level of 10.2 mg/dl, BUN of 65 mg/dl, and creatinine level of 1.7 mg/dl. Fasting blood glucose, 2-h glucose tolerance test, autoantibody screening, complements, hepatitis serology, and cryoglobulins were normal. Urinalysis was normal with random protein 18 mg/dl and creatinine 59.2 mg/dl. Serum protein electrophoresis confirmed by immunofixation revealed monoclonal IgM lambda quantitated at 0.11 g/dl; free kappa/lambda ratio was 1.17 (normal 0.26–1.65). Renal ultrasound demonstrated slightly asymmetric kidneys. Renal artery magnetic resonance angiography was normal. Light microscopy of left kidney biopsy showed 6 end-stage sclerotic glomeruli and 14 viable glomeruli. Nodular mesangial expansion, thickened peripheral capillary basement membranes, tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis, arteriolar intimal sclerosis, and patchy lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates were observed (Fig. 1). Congo red stain was negative. Immunofluorescence was positive for focal granular mesangial IgM deposits. Electron microscopy showed thickened glomerular basement membranes and expanded mesangial matrix, frequently forming mesangial matrix nodules. There were no electron dense deposits, and foot processes were fused in a patchy pattern. These findings were suggestive of diffuse and nodular glomerulosclerosis with moderate to severe arteriosclerosis. In the absence of other etiologies, it is possible that hypertension was responsible for nodular glomerulosclerosis in this patient. It is speculated that individuals with long standing hypertension have an increased or reset sensitivity to non-diabetic glycemic levels resulting in an exaggerated glomerulovascular response [1]. R. Kasmani (&) T. Thiyagarajan R. NarwalChadha K. Okoli F. Irani Department of Internal Medicine, St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, 2213, Cherry Street, Toledo, OH 43608, USA e-mail: rahilkasmani@hotmail.com
Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Medical Student Academic Performance: The Tulane Experience

ABSTRACT Background Hurricane Katrina forced the temporary closure of Tulane University School of Medicine requiring relocation to the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. This required curricular restructuring, and resulted in faculty/student challenges. The effect of these stresses on student performance was studied. Methods A pre-Katrina and post-Katrina comparative analysis of all Tulane medical students’ performance on standardized exams, internal examination and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) step exams was performed. A one-way analysis of variance was used to determine if mean examination scores differed from pre-Katrina to post-Katrina. Results Internal examination scores did not differ significantly. National standardized examination grades significantly decreased pre-Katrina to post-Katrina in Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychiatry ( P Conclusions Tulane students had a statistically significant decline in performance on many course and clerkship examinations, though overall performance on licensing examinations was unchanged. Many stresses may have affected students’ ability to perform.
Control of Surface State Emission via Phosphonic Acid Modulation in Ultrasmall CdSe Nanocrystals: The Role of Ligand Electronegativity

Pinned emission from ultrasmall (<1.7 nm) CdSe nanocrystals is dominated by surface trap state emission. In sharp contrast to bulk defect emission, optical properties of the nanocrystal can be tuned through surface chemistry. We demonstrate the ability to alter this pinned emission from 2.79 to 2.91 eV by varying the phosphonic acid ligand. The blue shifting emission is attributed to the increased electronegativity of shorter chain length ligands. Further, the quantum yield of these nanocrystals can be enhanced by increasing the chain length of the ligand. These results indicate that for ultrasmall nanocrystals, the surface ligands play the dominant role in the emission properties.
Investigating authentication methods used by individuals with down syndrome

Although there have been numerous studies investigating password usage by neurotypical users, a paucity of research has been conducted to examine the use of authentication methods used by individuals with cognitive impairment. In this paper, we report a longitudinal study that investigates how individuals with Down syndrome interact with three user authentication mechanisms. It confirms that many individuals with DS are capable of using traditional alphanumeric passwords as well as learning other authentication methods. Contrary to previous belief, the result suggests that mnemonic passwords may not be easier to remember for individuals with DS during initial usage.
Correlation between agarose microdroplet and capillary tube procedures as assays for migration inhibition of target cells.

Abstract We have compared the capillary tube assay for migration inhibition studies with our modification of the agarose microdroplet technique, using several sources of factors with inhibitory activity (lymphokines, bacterial factors) and a variety of cell types (inflammatory exudated cells, tumor cells). In all circumstances both procedures gave quantively similar results, and high statistical correlation was found. These results suggest that the two procedures are measuring similar properties, and in any case may be used interchangeably as assays.
Retention of deuterium in p-tyrosine formed enzymatically from p-deuterophenylalanine

Radioisotope assay methods which depend upon the production of tritiated water from the tritium at the position of hydroxylation have been successfully used in the study of tyrosine hydroxylase (Nagatsu, Levitt and Udenfriend, 1964), proline hydroxylase (Stone and Meister, 19627 Hutton, Tappel and Udenfriend, in press), and tyrosinase (Pomerantz, 1965). Attempts to devise a similar assay for the adaptive phenylalanine hydroxylase of Pseudomonas sp. (ATCC 11299A) (Guroff and Ito, 1963; Guroff and Ito, 1965) using commercial p-tritiophenylalanine were unsuccessful. Unexpectedly, in the case of the Pseudomonas enzyme, although large amounts of tyrosine were produced, little or no tritiated water appeared. Preliminary experiments indicated that the tyrosine still contained large amounts of tritium. In order to investigate this problem further, p-deuterophenylalanine was synthesized by catalytic reduction of p-bromo-DL== phenylalanine with pure deuterium. The deuterophenylalanine was purified by column chromatography and was shown by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of its dichromate oxidation product (Kollmann, 1928), benzoic acid, to contain deuterium in the para
Influence of starch granule swelling on graft copolymer composition. A comparison of monomers

Seven monomers, which varied widely in water solubility and ionic charge, were graft polymerized onto both unswollen starch and starch that had been swollen by heating in water to 60°C. Polymerizations were initiated with ferrous ammonium sulfate hexahydrate–hydrogen peroxide and, where applicable, with ceric ammonium nitrate. Graft copolymers were freed of ungrafted homopolymer by solvent extraction and were characterized by weight percentage of synthetic polymer incorporated in the graft copolymer, molecular weight of grafted branches, and grafting frequency. The influence of starch granule swelling on graft copolymer structure varied with the monomer used and could not be predicted on the basis of water solubility of monomer or its resulting polymer. With acrylonitrile and acrylamide, swollen starch gave higher molecular weight and less frequent grafts than unswollen starch. However, methyl methacrylate, N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate · HNO3, N-t-butylaminoethyl methacrylate. HNO3, and 2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride produced less frequent graft of higher molecular weight when starch was unswollen. With acrylic acid, graft molecular weight was independent of starch granule swelling, although grafting was less frequent when swollen starch was used.
Preoperative weight loss is not a predictor of postoperative weight loss after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Abstract Background Identification of preoperative predictors of weight loss after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) can lead to improved clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether preoperative weight loss was associated with improved percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL) 1 year after LRYGB. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the data from 295 patients who had undergone LRYGB at our institution from July 2004 to November 2005. Routine preoperative weight loss goals were implemented to facilitate the laparoscopic approach and ensure compliance with an appropriate nutritional and exercise program. Patients with an initial consultation BMI of 2 were given weight loss goals of 5 lb and 5% and 10% of body weight, respectively. Results The mean age was 45 ± 10 years, and 89% were women and 70% were white. The mean BMI at the initial consultation was 51 ± 7 kg/m 2 . A significant inverse correlation was found between the preoperative BMI and %EWL at 1 year postoperative ( P P = .002). When controlling for age, gender, race, and consultation BMI, the preoperative weight loss did not predict for the %EWL at 1 year. Conclusion The results of this study have shown that preoperative weight loss does not predict postoperative weight loss 1 year after LRYGB. A lower BMI, younger age, and white race predicted better %EWL.
Length Regulation and Dynamics of Individual Telomere Tracts in Wild-Type Arabidopsis

Although length of the telomeric DNA tract varies widely across evolution, a species-specific set point is established and maintained by unknown mechanisms. To investigate how telomere length is controlled in Arabidopsis thaliana, we analyzed bulk telomere length in 14 wild-type accessions. We found that telomere tracts in Arabidopsis are fairly uniformly distributed throughout a size range of 2 to 9 kb. Unexpectedly, telomeres in plants of the Wassilewskija ecotype displayed a bimodal size distribution, with some individuals harboring telomeres of 2 to 5 kb and others telomeres of 4 to 9 kb. F1 and F2 progeny of a cross between long and short telomere parents had intermediate telomeres, implying that telomere length in Arabidopsis is not controlled by a single genetic factor. We provide evidence that although global telomere length is strictly regulated within an ecotype-specific range, telomere tracts on individual chromosome ends do not occupy a predetermined length territory. We also demonstrate that individual telomere tracts on homologous chromosomes are coordinately regulated throughout development and that telomerase acts preferentially on the shortest telomeres. We propose that an optimal size for telomere tracts is established and maintained for each Arabidopsis ecotype.
Measuring Institutional Quality in Argentina: The Devil Is in the Details

More than a decade after launching a national quality assurance program, Argentina may be pursuing a worthy cause on the wrong path. The country has adopted schemes in use elsewhere without accommodating conditions that make higher education in Argentina very different. Measuring itself by the evaluation criteria applied elsewhere, Argentine universities are diverting attention and resources from improving their primary activityteaching.
It Takes a Spark to Light a Fire: Kindling Interest in Nephrology Careers

Recruiting the future nephrology workforce is a major responsibility and key priority for our specialty. There has been increasing concern regarding an impending shortage of nephrologists despite continued growth in the number of nephrology training programs and fellows during the past decade ([
Switching converter electrical design and simulation tools

A set of power stage and control loop design and simulation tools are described. The power stage design tools produce component values that meet the given specifications; an optimal design is produced by the software based on a user-definable objective function. The control loop design tools also produce optimal designs for current-injected control using the specified requirements. An important point to note is that the design tools produce values for the key components only; thus, the intention is to lay the foundation of the design. The user must complete the design by choosing other component values. Circuit-level simulation tools are described in detail. >
Patch antennas on ferromagnetic substrates

Biased ferrite materials have been used for electromagnetic applications, particularly those involving printed microwave circuits. Their appeal is that their electrical properties can be easily changed with frequency. By varying the strength of the applied magnetic field, ferrites exhibit interesting characteristics, including non-reciprocal effects, frequency tuning by changing external biasing, polarization diversity using a single element, and various other useful properties.
Channel estimation for CDMA systems using iterative cancellations

A matching pursuit followed by cancellation (MPC) algorithm is investigated for time-varying multipath channel estimation in asynchronous CDMA. The algorithm has significantly low computational complexity and consists of two steps. In the first step, a basic matching pursuit algorithm that identifies the strongest channel taps, and successively cancels them, is used. The second step of the algorithm uses the already estimated channel taps to remove interference from the received vector in order to identify the channel coefficients more accurately. The performance of the algorithm is characterized in terms of mean squared identification error (MSIE). The convergence behavior of MPC is described. A method to terminate the MP step of the algorithm successfully is proposed and is shown to perform well. Our results show that MPC achieves performance close to the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB).
Lifelong Learning in the 21st Century and Beyond

Lifelong learning is now recognized by educators, governing bodies, accreditation organizations, certification boards, employers, third-party payers, and the general public as one of the most important competencies that people must possess. Promoting lifelong learning as continuous, collaborative, self-directed, active, broad in domain, everlasting, positive and fulfilling, and applicable to one's profession as well as all aspects of one's life has emerged as a major global educational challenge. Meeting this challenge will require changes in the way teachers teach and learners learn, as teachers take on a more facilitative role and learners take more responsibility for setting goals, identifying resources for learning, and reflecting on and evaluating their learning. For physicians, this will require less dependence on traditional educational venues, such as passive continuing medical education activities, and greater participation in self-assessment, peer assessment, evaluation of performance in practice, documentation of practice-based learning and improvement activities, and learning at the point of care. Radiologists in an academic setting are exposed to multiple opportunities for practicing lifelong learning, such as teaching others, participating in multidisciplinary conferences and journal clubs, and engaging in research. All radiologists can participate in self-audits and group audits of performance and become active participants in national radiology societies, where they can learn from each other. Participation in the American Board of Radiology's Maintenance of Certification program reflects a commitment to actively engage in lifelong learning and is one way of demonstrating to the general public a commitment to maintaining competence.
Re-examination of resistance of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and bradyzoites to pepsin and trypsin digestion

The effect of digestion in trypsin and acid pepsin on Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and bradyzoites was re-evaluated because of recent use of this method to distinguish tachyzoites from bradyzoites. Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites survived better in 0.5% trypsin solution for 1 h than in 1.0% solution, and occasionally survived for 2 h in acid pepsin solution. Extracellular tachyzoites (> or = 1000) were also infectious orally to mice and cats. Bradyzoites survived equally in trypsin and acid pepsin solutions but the digestion of brain tissue in 0.5% trypsin solution was better than in acid pepsin solution. The resistance to digestion in acid pepsin solution is not a reliable method to distinguish tachyzoites from bradyzoites.
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES - THE REQUISITES IN PEDIATRICS,

The book has a promisingly brightly coloured cover, but inside the text, pictures and tables are all in greyscale. The chapters are well laid out with a summary at the beginning, and major points are listed at the end of each chapter. While there are no references in the text, most chapters have a list of suggested readings. There are many clinical photographs and useful summary tables for quick reference. A brief section at the start of the book deals with mechanisms of infections in children and explains how therapeutic agents work. The remaining chapters are based around clinical infections in different body systems. For example, the section on central nervous system infections covers meningitis, encephalitis, and brain and spinal abscesses. There are chapters on respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and genitourinary infections, as well as infections of the skin and soft tissues, and bones and joints. Subsequent chapters cover special topics including infections in at-risk children such as newborns, travellers and children in intensive care. The final chapters address the prevention of infections through infection control and vaccination.
`And so all Israel will be saved': Competing Interpretations of Romans 11.26 in Pauline Scholarship*:

Paul's claim in Rom. 11.26 that 'all Israel will be saved' has often perplexed New Testament scholars. Whereas the classic view in Reformed theology treats 'all Israel' as a reference to the church, which replaces historical Israel, some contemporary scholars hold to a two-covenant view whereby Israel is saved irrespective of Christ faith. In contrast to these, Mark D. Nanos has proposed his own unique reading of the passage. The dominant trend today, however, is for scholars to understand Paul to teach the future salvation of historical Israel at the parousia. Nevertheless, there are still others who understand 'all Israel' to mean the total elect from the nation. This article will explore Paul's argument in Rom. 11 in dialogue with these approaches. It will be demonstrated that this last reading represents the most plausible interpretation of the biblical text.
Patterns and changes in prescriber attitudes toward PDA prescription-assistive technology.

Abstract Context Medication error prevention is a priority for the U.S. healthcare system in the 21st century. Use of technology is considered by some as critical to achieve this goal. Knowledge of the attitudinal barriers to such adoption, however, is limited. Objective To determine the attitudes of frontline prescriber clinicians towards technology in general, and PDAs specifically, before and after introduction of a PDA in the clinical setting of medication prescribing. Design A pre- and post-intervention web-based survey, 12–14 months apart. Setting Academic tertiary care children's hospital. Participants Total of 244 prescriber clinicians. Intervention Distribution of a PDA with pediatric-specific medication prescribing information after completion of an on-line medication safety certification and other safety focused educational sessions. Main outcome measures Ratings (5-point Likert scale) reflecting perceptions and attitudes towards technology in general and technology in medical settings along with self-reported usage of the PDA for Rx. Results Early Adopters and Late Adopters were identified statistically, and the group membership reflected their prior exposure to and ownership of other technologies. Early Adopters tended to be younger and less experienced clinically (e.g., residents) and more frequent owners and users of technology. Early Adopters expressed significantly more favorable attitudes toward technology and PDAs on both pre- to post-intervention survey occasions. They also utilized the PDA for Rx more often than LAs. Interestingly, PDA use for Early Adopters was based on its ease of use, while PDA use among later adopters was based on its clinical usefulness. Conclusions Provision of point of care information using PDAs and a user-friendly, pediatric-specific medication information software package did not positively affect the attitudes of prescriber clinicians among those already favorable toward technology. However, a significant change was found among those with initially less favorable attitudes. Organizations need to understand the nature of both Early and Late Adopters and plan appropriately for managing the respective needs and expectations when potentially beneficial technologies are introduced. In order to ensure the success of an implementation, the training and supportive interventions need to be carefully designed and specifically catered to the personality-based outcome expectations of the prescriber.
Advertisement Call Variation in the Golden Rocket Frog (Anomaloglossus beebei): Evidence for Individual Distinctiveness

Individual distinctiveness in acoustic signals can allow receivers to respond appropriately to different individuals. The aim of this research was to examine signal variation and to investigate the relative importance of different acoustic properties for coding individual distinctiveness in the advertisement calls of male golden rocket frogs (Anomaloglossus beebei). We examined patterns of within-individual and among-individual variability in 760 advertisement calls of 40 males as well as repeatability in 16 additional males that were recorded on two different occasions. We examined eight call properties, and all properties exhibited significant among-individual variation and moderate to high repeatability across days. We employed discriminant function analysis to examine individual distinctiveness statistically. These analyses assigned 79% of calls to the correct individual. Fine temporal properties, including pulse duration, pulse rate, and pulse interval, as well as the spectral property of dominant frequency, contributed most toward discrimination among individuals. These results indicate that individual male golden rocket frogs can be distinguished statistically by their advertisement calls. We use these findings to evaluate results of previous playback studies in A. beebei and to generate testable predictions regarding the potential for specific call properties to function in mate selection and social recognition.
Settlement-Identity: Psychological Bonds with Home Places in a Mobile Society

This investigation addresses the theoretical analysis of one of the means by which the residentially mobile U.S. public may maintain the continuity of residential experiences despite the lack of li...
Stress-Dependent Flow, Mechanical, and Acoustic Properties for an Unconventional Oil Reservoir Rock

Summary Accurate estimation of rock properties has significant impact on reservoir simulation, geophysical interpretation, hydraulic fracture design, and geomechanical analysis. B ecause reservoirs are buried at depth, measurement of these properties should consider a s tress environment that is as close to in-situ as possible. Stress-dependence of permeability, pore volume compressibility, elastic moduli, and acoustic anisotropy has been widely studied in conventional reservoirs. H owever, due to challenges in sample preparation and laboratory setup, most measurements of unconventional rock are still limited to hydrostatic stress conditions. This paper investigates a nano-Darcy unconventional oil reservoir rock under triaxial stress conditions. Rock permeability and pore volume compressibility, strength and Young’s modulus, acoustic velocities, six stiffness coefficients, and Thomsen anisotropy parameters are measured under different levels of loading and confining stresses. The relationship of these properties to the differential stress between loading and confining stresses is identified and compared with conventional hydrostatic tests. The differential stress level reaches as high as 20,000 psi for rock mechanics tests and 10,000 psi for flow tests. S teady pressure and pulse decay methods have been applied to measure permeability with gas or oil fluid flows. Despite high rock strength (greater than 10,000 psi), the rock permeability and acoustic anisotropy strongly depend on the differential stress level. Following a typical slow permeability reduction with increasing stress, a distinguished stage of accelerated permeability reduction is observed when the differential stress exceeds 3,160 psi. Interestingly the initial pore volume compressibility of the strong rock is measured as high as 50×1/Mpsi. After slight decreases until the differential stress reaches a certain level, the compressibility reverses the trend and increases significantly. Both rock strength and Young’s modulus vary greatly with the angles to bedding planes. The stress-strain curves under different confining stresses challenge the traditional modulus-based brittleness. Thomsen anisotropy parameters reduce as much as 80% with the differential stress after observing an initial increase of anisotropy when the stress is low. Among the six stiffness coefficients, the two shear components along vertical and horizontal directions (C12 and C13) vary much more than the others. T his highlights the necessity of applying differential stress, rather than hydrostatic stress, in the laboratory. It also indicates that the studied nano-Darcy rock may be much more compressible and stress-dependent than its strength suggests.
Concepts of Photometric Orbit Determination

The observed light curve is a function L(t; e i ) depending on the time as a known variable and on a set of unknown elements e i , and every measurement contributes one point on this relationship. The functional form of L is much more complicated than it was for the previously discussed types of binaries, and it may contain quite a few parameters e1 to be determined, some of them in a hardly separable fashion. Four elements occur in the simplest version, ten or more in precise studies of complicated light curves. The demand on the observational information grow with the degree of complexity: high-precision measurements in more than one color, and often vital help from spectroscopic data. For instance, the deformation terms in the light curves of contact pairs are separated only after the radial velocities have permitted a close guess at the mass ratio.
The Influence of Semantics and Syntax on what Readers Remember

Your English teachers told you to avoid passive voice, and now your computer grammar checkers also warn you to avoid passive voice. But sometimes when you revise a passive voice sentence that flows smoothly into an active voice sentence, you realize that your new sentence flows less smoothly. Do you ever wonder whether the reader is really going to understand the sentence better or remember more information because of your revision? And what about those debates you have with colleagues about where to place information you particularly want readers to remember? Do you place that information first or last in the passage? Do either or both locations really help the reader hang on to an idea? When technical writers and editors compose or edit text, they continually make decisions that concern semantics—the meaning their words convey—and syntax—the way the words are arranged. However, writers and editors must often base these decisions on assumptions that have not been tested with technically oriented adult readers or technical documents, or perhaps not at all. Thus the actions writers and editors take may not in fact have the expected effects on readers’ performance. In this study, we set out to explore the accuracy of certain assumptions we all depend on by examining the relationship of specific semantic and syntactic text characteristics to what information readers recall. We also examine some characteristics of readers that influence their interpretation of text. Our hope is that this study will provide the groundwork for further investigation. Once we determine how individual variables or combinations of variables affect reader performance, as technical writers and editors we can maximize the effectiveness of our efforts by focusing on those variables that have the greatest impact on readers’ recall of information. In this article, we look at some previous research on reader performance, describe our study design, present and discuss our results, draw conclusions and address their implications, and finally suggest some directions for future study.
Iris melanoma management with iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy in 144 patients: impact of melanoma-related glaucoma on outcomes.

Purpose To evaluate the outcomes of iris melanoma managed with plaque radiotherapy on the basis of the initial presence or absence of glaucoma. Design Retrospective, comparative case series. Participants A total of 144 patients. Intervention Custom-designed iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy delivering planned 8000 cGy to melanoma apex using transcorneal application. Main Outcome Measures Tumor control and treatment-related complications. Results Of 144 patients with iris melanoma, glaucoma was present at the initial visit in 58 (40%). Causes of elevated intraocular pressure included angle infiltration by melanoma in 50 patients (86%), angle neovascularization in 4 patients (7%), and hyphema in 4 patients (7%). At presentation, the eyes displaying iris melanoma with glaucoma (vs. without glaucoma) were statistically more likely to display angle tumor (66% vs. 43%), with minimal thickness (1.9 vs. 2.9 mm), and melanoma seeding in iris stroma (7 vs. 3 clock hours) and angle (5 vs. 2 clock hours). Plaque radiotherapy was performed in all cases. Kaplan–Meier estimates at 7 years post-treatment revealed no statistical differences in outcomes of local recurrence (14% vs. 15%), enucleation (14% vs. 11%), or metastasis (2% vs. 0%) comparing eyes with and without glaucoma. Of the entire group, multivariate analysis for factors predictive of recurrence included partial (vs. complete) anterior segment irradiation and postradiotherapy glaucoma. Factors related to enucleation included diabetes mellitus, poor initial visual acuity, higher radiation dose to tumor apex, and tumor recurrence. There were no factors predictive of metastasis. Conclusions Iodine-125 plaque radiotherapy provides adequate tumor control for iris melanoma with a low metastatic potential of 1% at 7 years. Iris melanoma with secondary glaucoma showed a statistically significant greater likelihood of flat tumor with iris and angle seeding and no difference in outcomes compared with eyes without glaucoma. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Role of mitochondria in neurodegenerative diseases: mitochondria as a therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease.

A growing body of evidence suggests that mitochondrial abnormalities are involved in aging and in age-related neurodegenerative diseases as well as cancer, diabetes, and several other diseases known to be affected by mitochondria. Causal factors for most age-related neurodegenerative diseases—including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Friedrich ataxia (FRDA)—are largely unknown. Genetic defects are reported to cause a small number of neurodegenerative diseases (Slide 1), but cellular, molecular, and pathological mechanisms of disease progression and selective neuronal cell death are not understood fully in these diseases. However, based on several cellular, molecular, and animal model studies of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ALS, FRDA, cancer, and diabetes, aging may play a large role in cell death in these diseases. Age-dependent, mitochondrially-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been identified as important factors responsible for disease progression and cell death, particularly in late-onset diseases, in which genetic mutations are not causal factors.