cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Variation in diaphragm position and shape in adults with normal pulmonary function.

Background Diaphragm position and shape on chest radiographs are routinely used as indicators of normal or abnormal lung volume. However, previous population studies of normal diaphragm position and shape frequently lack objective radiographic measurements and documentation of pulmonary function, and do not account for the observed variability. Study objectives To determine the spectrum of diaphragm position and shape on chest radiographs using objective measurements, in patients with normal pulmonary function, and to identify the relationship of diaphragm position and shape to demographic variables and radiographic thoracic dimensions. Design Prospective cross-sectional observational study. Setting University hospital. Patients One hundred fifty-three adults with normal FEV 1 (≥ 80% predicted) and normal total lung capacity (80 to 120% predicted). Measurements and results Diaphragm position and shape relative to anatomic landmarks were determined from posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs. We used descriptive statistics to calculate normal values, and linear correlation, two-tailed t tests, and multivariate analysis to relate findings to age, weight, gender, and thoracic dimensions. The right hemidiaphragm dome was positioned at 9.7 ± 0.8 thoracic vertebral levels (body plus disk space) [mean ± SD] below the top of the first thoracic vertebra (range, 7.4 to 11.3 vertebral levels), and the left hemidiaphragm dome was positioned at 10.2 ± 0.8 vertebral levels (range, 8.1 to 11.8 vertebral levels). The right hemidiaphragm radius was 13.8 ± 3.8 cm (range, 7.2 to 29.6 cm), and the ratio between the height and the anteroposterior dimension of the right hemidiaphragm was 0.23 ± 0.05 cm (range, 0.08 to 0.36 cm). The diaphragm tended to be lower with higher age, lower weight, and smaller transverse and anteroposterior thoracic dimensions ( r = 0.22 – 0.47, p r = 0.32 – 0.42, p R 2 = 0.31 − 0.38). Conclusions The substantial variability in normal diaphragm position and shape is related to weight, age, and thoracic dimensions. Consideration of these factors may be useful when evaluating chest radiographs.
Climate Change and Human Health

What kinds of climate-mediated diseases exist, and how are projected climate changes expected to alter their spread and timing? Disease is produced in a complex way, through coupled interactions between natural and human systems. Climate is a major factor controlling ecosystem variability and therefore the potential for outbreaks of certain diseases. Yet, the concept of vulnerability shows how overall disease risk depends not only on the environmental exposure, but also on the sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the group and place experiencing it. These interactions between environment and society are highlighted through a set of climate-related diseases, ranging from direct to complex relationships, including extreme heat, air pollution, aeroallergens, fungi, water- and food-borne diseases, influenza, rodent-borne diseases, and insect-borne diseases.
Identification of OBO nonalignments and its implications for OBO enrichment

Motivation: Existing projects that focus on the semiautomatic addition of links between existing terms in the Open Biomedical Ontologies can take advantage of reasoners that can make new inferences between terms that are based on the added formal definitions and that reflect nonalignments between the linked terms. However, these projects require that these definitions be necessary and sufficient, a strong requirement that often does not hold. If such definitions cannot be added, the reasoners cannot point to the nonalignments through the suggestion of new inferences. Results: We describe a methodology by which we have identified over 1900 instances of nonredundant nonalignments between terms from the Gene Ontology (GO) biological process (BP), cellular component (CC) and molecular function (MF) ontologies, Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) and the Cell Type Ontology (CL). Many of the 39.8% of these nonalignments whose object terms are more atomic than the subject terms are not currently examined in other ontology-enrichment projects due to the fact that the necessary and sufficient conditions required for the inferences are not currently examined. Analysis of the ratios of nonalignments to assertions from which the nonalignments were identified suggests that BP–MF, BP–BP, BP–CL and CC–CC terms are relatively well-aligned, while ChEBI–MF, BP–ChEBI and CC–MF terms are relatively not aligned well. We propose four ways to resolve an identified nonalignment and recommend an analogous implementation of our methodology in ontology-enrichment tools to identify types of nonalignments that are currently not detected. Availability: The nonalignments discussed in this article may be viewed at http://compbio.uchsc.edu/Hunter_lab/Bada/nonalignments_2008_03_06.html. Code for the generation of these nonalignments is available upon request. Contact: mike.bada@uchsc.edu
Models for reader interaction systems

paper we discuss models for systems that support reading. Our account identifies important models and presents a framework for organizing them. To evaluate this account, we show its ability to suggest a wide range of text presentation systems, many of them novel. This evaluation not only provides interesting ideas for future systems, it also shows the usefulness of the account, and further, exemplifies a general approach to evaluating meta-level discussions such as this, namely, evaluating by assessing ability to generate interesting implications.
Can two streams of auditory information be processed simultaneously? Evidence from the gleaning bat Antrozous pallidus

A tenet of auditory scene analysis is that we can fully process only one stream of auditory information at a time. We tested this assumption in a gleaning bat, the pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) because this bat uses echolocation for general orientation, and relies heavily on prey-generated sounds to detect and locate its prey. It may therefore encounter situations in which the echolocation and passive listening streams temporally overlap. Pallid bats were trained to a dual task in which they had to negotiate a wire array, using echolocation, and land on one of 15 speakers emitting a brief noise burst in order to obtain a food reward. They were forced to process both streams within a narrow 300 to 500 ms time window by having the noise burst triggered by the bats’ initial echolocation pulses as it approached the wire array. Relative to single task controls, echolocation and passive sound localization performance was slightly, but significantly, degraded. The bats also increased echolocation interpulse intervals during the dual task, as though attempting to reduce temporal overlap between the signals. These results suggest that the bats, like humans, have difficulty in processing more than one stream of information at a time.
TRANSPORTABLE NATURAL-LANGUAGE INTERFACES TO DATABASES

Abstract : Several computer systems have now been constructed that allow users to access databases by posing questions in natural languages, such as English. When used in the restricted domains for which they have been especially designed, these systems have achieved reasonably high levels of performance. However, these systems require the encoding of knowledge about the domain of application in complex data structures that typically can be created for a new database only with considerable effort on the part of a computer professional who has had special training in computational linguistics and the use of databases. This paper describes initial work on a methodology for creating natural-language processing capabilities for new databases without the need for intervention by specially trained experts. The approach is to acquire logical schemata and lexical information through simple interactive dialogues with someone who is familiar with the form and content of the database, but unfamiliar with the technology of natural-language interfaces. A prototype system using this methodology is described and an example transcript is presented.
New imaging techniques for diagnosing coronary artery disease

New tomographic cardiovascular imaging tests, such as intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS), coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), can be used to assess atherosclerotic plaques for the characterization and early staging of coronary artery disease (CAD). Although IVUS images have very high resolution capable of revealing very early preclinical CAD, it is an invasive technique used clinically only in conjunction with a coronary intervention. Multiple-slice coronary CT angiography, which is noninvasive, shows promise as a diagnostic method for CAD. New 64-slice cardiac CT technology has high accuracy for the detection of lesions obstructing more than 50% of the lumen, with sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values all better than 90% in patients without known CAD. Cardiac MRI is also improving accuracy in coronary plaque detection and offers a better opportunity for plaque characterization. With further advances in tomographic imaging of coronary atheromas, the goal will be to detect plaques earlier in the development of CAD and to characterize the plaques most likely to generate a clinical event.
Maternal health during childhood and later reproductive performance.

Literature concerning the relationship between the health of mothers during their own chilhood and subsequent reproductive performance is reviewed. The author concludes that there is substantial evidence of an indirect nature that intergenerational factors are important in several problems associated with pregnancy outcome. The geographic focus is worldwide. (ANNOTATION)
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes induce human microvascular endothelial cellular effects in an alveolar-capillary co-culture with small airway epithelial cells

Nanotechnology, particularly the use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), is a rapidly growing discipline with implications for advancement in a variety of fields. A major route of exposure to MWCNT during both occupational and environmental contact is inhalation. While many studies showed adverse effects to the vascular endothelium upon MWCNT exposure, in vitro results often do not correlate with in vivo effects. This study aimed to determine if an alveolar-capillary co-culture model could determine changes in the vascular endothelium after epithelial exposure to MWCNT. A co-culture system in which both human small airway epithelial cells and human microvascular endothelial cells were separated by a Transwell membrane so as to resemble an alveolar-capillary interaction was used. Following exposure of the epithelial layer to MWCNT, the effects to the endothelial barrier were determined. Exposure of the epithelial layer to MWCNT induced multiple changes in the endothelial cell barrier, including an increase in reactive oxygen species, actin rearrangement, loss of VE-cadherin at the cell surface, and an increase in endothelial angiogenic ability. Overall increases in secreted VEGFA, sICAM-1, and sVCAM-1 protein levels, as well as increases in intracellular phospho-NF-κB, phospho-Stat3, and phospho-p38 MAPK, were also noted in HMVEC after epithelial exposure. The co-culture system identified that alveolar-capillary exposure to MWCNT induced multiple changes to the underlying endothelium, potentially through cell signaling mediators derived from MWCNT-exposed epithelial cells. Therefore, the co-culture system appears to be a relevant in vitro method to study the pulmonary toxicity of MWCNT.
Biotic, abiotic and performance aspects of the Nevada Desert Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) Facility

Summary Arid and semiarid climates comprise roughly 40% of the earth’s terrestrial surface. Deserts are predicted to be extremely responsive to global change because they are stressful environments where small absolute changes in water availability or use represent large proportional changes. Water and carbon dioxide fluxes are inherently coupled in plant growth. No documented global change has been more substantial or more rapid than the increase in atmospheric CO2. Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) technology permits manipulation of CO2 in intact communities without altering factors such as light intensity or quality, humidity or wind. The Nevada Desert FACE Facility (NDFF) consists of three 491 m2 plots in the Mojave Desert receiving 550 μL L–1 CO2, and six ambient plots to assess both CO2 and fan effects. The shrub community was characterized as a Larrea–Ambrosia–Lycium species complex. Data are reported through 12 months of operation.
Selectivity estimators for multidimensional range queries over real attributes

Estimating the selectivity of multidimensional range queries over real valued attributes has significant applications in data exploration and database query optimization. In this paper, we consider the following problem: given a table of d attributes whose domain is the real numbers and a query that specifies a range in each dimension, find a good approximation of the number of records in the table that satisfy the query. The simplest approach to tackle this problem is to assume that the attributes are independent. More accurate estimators try to capture the joint data distribution of the attributes. In databases, such estimators include the construction of multidimensional histograms, random sampling, or the wavelet transform. In statistics, kernel estimation techniques are being used. Many traditional approaches assume that attribute values come from discrete, finite domains, where different values have high frequencies. However, for many novel applications (as in temporal, spatial, and multimedia databases) attribute values come from the infinite domain of real numbers. Consequently, each value appears very infrequently, a characteristic that affects the behavior and effectiveness of the estimator. Moreover, real-life data exhibit attribute correlations that also affect the estimator. We present a new histogram technique that is designed to approximate the density of multidimensional datasets with real attributes. Our technique defines buckets of variable size and allows the buckets to overlap. The size of the cells is based on the local density of the data. The use of overlapping buckets allows a more compact approximation of the data distribution. We also show how to generalize kernel density estimators and how to apply them to the multidimensional query approximation problem. Finally, we compare the accuracy of the proposed techniques with existing techniques using real and synthetic datasets. The experimental results show that the proposed techniques behave more accurately in high dimensionalities than previous approaches.
On the Infeasibility of Training Neural Networks with Small Squared Errors

We demonstrate that the problem of training neural networks with small (average) squared error is computationally intractable. Consider a data set of M points (Xi, Yi), i = 1,2, ..., M, where Xi are input vectors from Rd, Yi are real outputs (Yi ∈ R). For a network f0 in some class F of neural networks, (1/M) Σi=1M (f0(Xi)- Yi)2)1/2 - inff∈F(1/M) Σi=1M (f(Xi) - Yi)2)1/2 is the (avarage) relative error occurs when one tries to fit the data set by f0. We will prove for several classes F of neural networks that achieving a relative error smaller than some fixed positive threshold (independent from the size of the data set) is NP-hard.
Development of a Low Cost Multi-Robot Autonomous Marine Surface Platform

In this paper, we outline a low cost multi-robot autonomous platform for a broad set of applications including water quality monitoring, flood disaster mitigation and depth buoy verification. By working cooperatively, fleets of vessels can cover large areas that would otherwise be impractical, time consuming and prohibitively expensive to traverse by a single vessel. We describe the hardware design, control infrastructure, and software architecture of the system, while additionally presenting experimental results from several field trials. Further, we discuss our initial efforts towards developing our system for water quality monitoring, in which a team of watercraft equipped with specialized sensors autonomously samples the physical quantity being measured and provides online situational awareness to the operator regarding water quality in the observed area. From canals in New York to volcanic lakes in the Philippines, our vessels have been tested in diverse marine environments and the results obtained from initial experiments in these domains are also discussed.
DIRECT SCAVENGING AND INDUCED TRANSPORT OF ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOL BY FALLING SNOW AND ICE CRYSTALS

A survey of aerosol particle deposition on single ice crystal and a large population of scavengers is presented. One cannot expect collection efficiency of single ice crystals higher than 5% if the aerosol size distribution of areas not heavily polluted is considered and if all the main aerosol deposition mechanisms are effective. It is shown that large scale air motion in the falling precipitation zone might considerably affect the transport of atmospheric aerosol toward the ground or snow cover.
Energy release and conversion by reconnection in the magnetotail

Abstract. Magnetic reconnection is the crucial process in the release of magnetic energy previously stored in the magnetotail in association with substorms. However, energy transfer and dissipation in the vicinity of the reconnection site is only a minor part of the energy conversion. We discuss the energy release, transport, and conversion based on large-scale resistive MHD simulations of magnetotail dynamics and more localized full particle simulations of reconnection. We address in particular, where the energy is released, how it propagates and where and how it is converted from one form into another. We find that Joule (or ohmic) dissipation plays only a minor role in the overall energy transfer. Bulk kinetic energy, although locally significant in the outflow from the reconnection site, plays a more important role as mediator or catalyst in the transfer between magnetic and thermal energy. Generator regions with potential auroral consequences are located primarily off the equatorial plane in the boundary regions of the plasma sheet.
Successful Treatment of Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus Pacemaker Lead Infective Endocarditis with Telavancin

Emerging infections caused by vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) isolates are more likely to be associated with treatment failures than infections caused by other types of S. aureus. We present a case of pacemaker lead infective endocarditis caused by a non-daptomycin-susceptible strain of VISA. After 8 weeks of parenteral telavancin therapy, the patient achieved microbiological and clinical cure.
Direct pulsed laser crystallization of copper indium diselenide nanocrystal thin films for photovoltaics

In current research, novel, rapid, low cost technique called direct pulsed laser crystallization (DPLC) to manufacture economic, high performance thin film solar cells (TFSC) is introduced. DPLC improves the TFSC's efficiency by reducing internal defects such as grain boundaries and inter-crystal gaps. Fewer defects allow more effective electrons thus produce stronger currents. DPLC has a good potential to be utilized in mass production because of its simplicity and rapidness: it does not require vacuum and high temperature systems, and it completes in the scale of nanoseconds. Optimal DPLC process makes 20-nm-diameter nanocrystals growing into 4-um-wide big crystals without loss in chemical and structural properties. The number of grain boundary drops significantly and density of inter-crystal gaps decreases from 2.5×101, cm−3 to 4×1010 cm−3. Improvement on optical properties was observed, for instance change on band gap (E g ) leads to broader (∼100 nm) acceptance of solar spectrum. An increase of 20% in optical absorptance could be obtained in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions after DPLC. Another feature is selectivity which means that DPLC processes only the intended layer while let other layers alone. The mechanism of DPLC has been studied and revealed. DPLC delivers laser pulses to nanoscale absorber material (e.g. CuInSe 2 ). It induces the crystal growth due to abnormal crystal growth and thermal-driven crystal rapid melting/solidification which are driven by the thermodynamic driven forces caused by pulsed laser induced rapid heating and cooling processes. Future experiments will be done to measure the conversion efficiency of TFSC manufactured using proposed method.
On sound energy scattered by a rigid body near a compliant surface

A theorem is derived which generalizes the classical extinction theorem (also known as the optical theorem) to cases where a rigid scatterer of arbitrary shape is located near a large compliant surface which has quite general mechanical properties, including dissipation and wave-bearing features, and where the acoustic media on both sides of the compliant surface may have different densities and sound speeds. The theorem relates the sound energy scattered from incident planar acoustic waves to the far field pressure in the specular reflection direction and that in the transmission direction, determined by the Snell's law. From this simple relation, the scattered energy can be found almost trivially from the far field pressures in these two particular directions; the energy calculation then completely avoids integration of energy flux over control surfaces.
Minimally invasive surgical treatment of coronary artery multivessel disease

Abstract Background. If coronary artery multivessel disease is the target of a minimally invasive procedure, either median sternotomy or cardiopulmonary bypass can be avoided. Methods. We used an alternate technique instead of minithoracotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass to treat 102 patients (82 men, 20 women; age range, 39 to 82 years; median, 61.0 ± 8.9 years) for coronary artery single-vessel, double-vessel, or multivessel disease between November 1996 and January 1998. Twenty-nine patients (22 men, 7 women; age range, 46 to 78 years; median, 69.0 ± 8.4 years), who were in a high-risk group for the development of perioperative complications because of the use of cardiopulmonary bypass, received median sternotomy and a beating heart procedure using the Octopus stabilizing technique. The left anterior descending coronary artery was the target vessel in all patients except for 1, in whom the left internal mammary artery was used. Results. There was no intraoperative death in either series. In the beating heart group (Octopus) 2 patients died on postoperative day 31 and 35, respectively, of postoperative pneumonia. Conclusions. Both techniques present safe alternative procedures to conventional coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with coronary artery multivessel disease.
Errors in the Location of a Buried Electromagnetic Source Resulting from Lateral Changes in Ground Conductivity

Measurements of surface magnetic fields may be used to locate a sub-surface oscillating magnetic dipole. However, lateral changes in ground electrical conductivity can affect the location accuracy. Use is made of finite difference solutions to assess the location error. Results show that for reasonable lateral changes in conductivity serious errors can result. Locations based on magnetic tilt angle measurements are more accurate than locations found from the null of the horizontal component.
General-pupose technology for a general-purpose nervous system

The nervous system is a one-trick pony, using general- purpose neurons with the same basic signal transduction, transmission and integration mechanisms to handle essentially all information processing needs in the body: sensation and perception, posture and movement, autonomic and visceral function, memory and learning. Over the past fifty years, scientists and engineers have developed many different interfaces between neurons and electronic instrumentation in order to study how individual subsystems work and to fix some of them when they malfunction (e.g. pacemakers, cochlear implants, deep brain stimulators, etc.). While the various interfaces and their applications may look different, they are all based on strikingly similar, fundamental principles of biophysics, electrochemistry and information theory, and enabled by similar microfabrication and microelectronic technologies. Neural control is gradually converging on principles of design and best practices that can and should give rise to engineering standards and interchangeable components for recurring functions such as bioelectric recording and stimulation, transmission of power and data, and physical packaging and user interfaces. As such general tools become available, the clinical applications will be limited only by our understanding of the underlying pathologies, which are often best studied by those same tools. This virtuous circle consists of accessible technology enabling basic science enabling clinical applications generating business success motivating yet more technology.
An information model for a CAM data base to support flexible manufacture of printed circuit boards

Key features from an information model for a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) database that supports flexible manufacture of printed circuit boards and other selected components and products is presented. This model incorporates information from several sources: shop orders, computer-aided design (CAD), bill of materials, and process setup. The essential activities of manufacturing can be subdivided into several information categories. These categories include products, processes, factory structure, factory operations, and factory inventory. The information model identifies the entities and data elements that are associated with each of these categories, as well as the relationships among the entities. Having provided appropriate levels of abstraction, this model can support a wide variety of products and processes. The resulting relational database implementation is integrated with multiple manufacturing software applications to assist with the operation of a manufacturing facility. >
Pointwise confidence intervals for the covariate-adjusted survivor function in the Cox model

A graphical representation of the pointwise confidence intervals allows a researcher to easily assess the precision of estimators. In the absence of covariates, the official commandsts graph can be used to plot these intervals for the survivor function or the cumulative hazard function; however, in the presence of covariates, sts graph is insufficient. The user-written commandsurvci can be used to plot the pointwise intervals for the survivor function after the Cox model. In this article, I describe the current and new features of survci. The new features include pointwise confidence intervals for the cumulative hazard function and the support of stratified Cox models, as well as factor variables; available as of Stata 11. I describe the methods used in calculating pointwise confidence intervals in the Cox model for both the covariate-adjusted survivor function and the covariate-adjusted cumulative hazard function. I also demonstrate the syntax of survci using Stata's example cancer dataset, cancer.dta.
Affordability of meteorology graduate programs in the United States and Canada

The authors surveyed 55 university departments in the United States and Canada that grant doctor of philosophy and/or master of science degrees in meteorology or the atmospheric sciences. Two-thirds of university departments responded. Survey topics included graduate student income (stipends and health insurance benefits) and mandatory costs (tuition, fees, and health insurance costs) incurred for fall 1996. Results show that most graduate students do have funding but only one-quarter of departments indicate that health insurance benefits are provided to graduate assistants. The largest mandatory cost is typically housing, which was estimated (except for Canadian schools) with 1996 Fair Market Rent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For schools not providing it, the second largest cost is typically health insurance. The smallest costs are typically tuition (waived for graduate assistants in most cases) and fees. The difference between income and mandatory costs over a nine-month period gives an effective income. Evidence was found associating greater effective income with larger departments and with locations where housing costs are larger. No significant evidence was found to associate differences in effective income with city size or geographic region. The broad range in effective income between the departments suggests that some graduate programs may be much more affordable than others. This information can aid university departments in planning budgets that keep them competitive with one another. This paper will also help prospective graduate students by raising awareness about important issues of graduate program affordability.
Three-Dimensional Model-Observation Comparison in the Loop Current Region

Abstract Accurate high-resolution ocean models are required for hurricane and oil spill pathway predictions, and to enhance the dynamical understanding of circulation dynamics. Output from the 1/25° data-assimilating Gulf of Mexico HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM31.0) is compared to daily full water column observations from a moored array, with a focus on Loop Current path variability and upper-deep layer coupling during eddy separation. Array-mean correlation was 0.93 for sea surface height, and 0.93, 0.63, and 0.75 in the thermocline for temperature, zonal, and meridional velocity, respectively. Peaks in modeled eddy kinetic energy were consistent with observations during Loop Current eddy separation, but with modeled deep eddy kinetic energy at half the observed amplitude. Modeled and observed LC meander phase speeds agreed within 8% and 2% of each other within the 100 – 40 and 40 – 20 day bands, respectively. The model reproduced observed patterns indicative of baroclinic instability, that is, a vertical offset with deep stream function leading upper stream function in the along-stream direction. While modeled deep eddies differed slightly spatially and temporally, the joint development of an upper-ocean meander along the eastern side of the LC and the successive propagation of upper-deep cyclone/anticylone pairs that preceded separation were contained within the model solution. Overall, model-observation comparison indicated that HYCOM31.0 could provide insight into processes within the 100 – 20 day band, offering a larger spatial and temporal window than observational arrays.
Ruger Responds - 'The Changing Role of the World Bank in Global Health'

"The Changing Role of the World Bank in Global Health" received numerous comments. In this response I restate the specific aims of the paper and offer comments regarding the Bank's structural adjustment programs and governance structure, its support of privatization and user fees, its insufficient examination of equity and efficiency in health and its distribution, and its move toward greater transparency and accessibility.
Unsymmetric Mononuclear and Bridged Dinuclear CoIII(cyclam) Acetylides

Reported herein are the preparation and characterization of a new trans-bis(acetylide) complex of CoIII(cyclam) (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) bearing two different acetylide ligands (1) and the first example of an all-carbon (C4) bridged dinuclear Co species (2). Structural features of monomeric 1 and dimeric 2 are similar to those of the previously reported CoIII(cyclam) bis(acetylides), and the C≡C and C–C bond lengths of the butadiynediyl bridge in 2 conform to the acetylenic resonance form. The Co centers in the bridged complex 2 do not exhibit a measurable electronic coupling, as revealed by voltammetric measurements, and this behavior is rationalized through the DFT analysis of complexes 1 and 2.
Abstract 4351: Exposure to ionizing radiation causes long-term increase in serum estradiol and activation of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in mouse mammary gland

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Purpose: Exposure to ionizing radiation is an established risk factor for breast cancer. Radiation exposure during infancy, childhood and adolescence confer the highest risk. Although radiation is a proven mammary carcinogen, it remains unclear where it acts in the complex multi-stage process of breast cancer development. In this study, we investigated the long-term pathophysiological effects of ionizing radiation at a dose (2Gy) relevant to fractionated radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: Adolescent (6 to 8 weeks old; n=10) female C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 2 Gy of total body ≤ radiation and the mammary glands were harvested and serum and urine samples were collected 2 and 12 months post-exposure. Molecular pathways involving estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI3K)-Akt signaling were investigated by immunohistochemistry and western blot. Results: Serum estrogen and urinary levels of the oncogenic estrogen metabolite (16alphaOHE1) were significantly increased in irradiated animals. Immunostaining for the cellular proliferative marker Ki-67 and cyclin-D1 showed increased nuclear accumulation in sections of mammary glands from irradiated versus control mice. Marked increase in p85alpha, a regulatory sub-unit of the PI3K was associated with increase in Akt, phospho-Akt, phospho-BAD, phospho-mTOR, and c-Myc in irradiated samples. Persistent increase in nuclear ERalpha in mammary tissues at 2- and 12-month after radiation exposure was also observed. Conclusions: Taken together our data not only supports epidemiological observations associating radiation and breast cancer but it also for the first time specifies molecular events that could be involved in radiation-induced breast cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4351. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4351
Spontaneous regression of intracranial aneurysm following remote ruptured aneurysm treatment with pipeline stent assisted coiling

Spontaneous aneurysm regression is a rare phenomenon. We present the interesting case of a 54-year-old woman who was admitted with a Hunt/Hess grade IV, Fisher grade III subarachnoid hemorrhage and multiple intracranial aneurysms. She was treated with coiling of the largest paraclinoid aneurysm and placement of a flow diverting pipeline embolization device that covered all internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms. A follow-up angiogram at 6 months showed remodeling of the ICA with complete obliteration of all treated aneurysms. A distant, untreated, right frontal M2 aneurysm regressed spontaneously, after the flow was diverted away from it with the stent. The literature is reviewed, and potential pathophysiological mechanisms leading to aneurysm regression are discussed.
Unprotected intercourse in the 2 weeks prior to requesting emergency intrauterine contraception

Background Previous emergency contraception studies have excluded women who report >1 episode of unprotected or underprotected intercourse. Thus, clinical recommendations are based on exposure to a single episode of underprotected intercourse. Objective We sought to assess the prevalence and timing of underprotected intercourse episodes among women requesting emergency contraception and to examine the probability of pregnancy following an emergency contraception regimen including placement of either a copper intrauterine device or a levonorgestrel intrauterine device with simultaneous administration of an oral levonorgestrel pill in women reporting multiple underprotected intercourse episodes, including episodes beyond the Food and Drug Administration–approved emergency contraception time frame (6-14 days). Study Design Women seeking emergency contraception who had a negative pregnancy test and desired either a copper intrauterine device or levonorgestrel emergency contraception regimen enrolled in this prospective observational study. At enrollment, participants reported the number and timing of underprotected intercourse episodes in the previous 14 days. Two weeks later, participants reported the results of a self-administered home pregnancy test. Results Of the 176 women who presented for emergency contraception and received a same-day intrauterine device, 43% (n = 76) reported multiple underprotected intercourse episodes in the 14 days prior to presenting for emergency contraception. Women with multiple underprotected intercourse episodes reported a median of 3 events (range 2-20). Two-week pregnancy data were available for 172 (98%) participants. Only 1 participant had a positive pregnancy test. Pregnancy occurred in 0 of 97 (0%; 95% confidence interval, 0–3.7%) women with a single underprotected intercourse episode and 1 of 75 (1.3%; 95% confidence interval, 0–7.2%) women reporting multiple underprotected intercourse episodes; this includes 1 of 40 (2.5%; 95% confidence interval, 0–13.2%) women reporting underprotected intercourse 6-14 days prior to intrauterine device insertion. Conclusion Women seeking emergency contraception from clinics commonly reported multiple recent underprotected intercourse episodes, including episodes occurring beyond the Food and Drug Administration–approved emergency contraception time frame. However, the probability of pregnancy was low following same-day intrauterine device placement.
Office evaluation of pediatric upper airway obstruction.

Office evaluation of pediatric upper airway obstruction requires the physician to establish trust with his or her patient, perform a thorough history and physical examination, and implement evaluation with advanced office-based diagnostic equipment. A systematic approach to this problem is presented in detail in this article. Specific techniques addressed include fiberoptic nasopharyngos-copy, videostroboscopy, rhinoamanometry, pulmonary function tests, and radiographic evaluation.
Symeon the Logothete and Pseudo-Symeon

Although Constantine VII’s historians were commissioned to write their works by an emperor with an interest in history, their works seem also to have encouraged historians who wrote under Constantine’s less bookish successors. None of these writers is known to have had a commission from an emperor, though some may have had, and they all must have hoped to advance their careers by writing their works. More than that, they seem to have concluded from the histories commissioned by Constantine that historians still had important work to do by incorporating earlier accounts into more comprehensive histories. By the accession of Romanus II, in 959, much had happened since the death of Basil I, in 886. Through most of this period the empire had suffered from wars with the Bulgarians and Arabs and disputes over Leo VI’s fourth marriage and the imperial succession; but such mishaps became less uncomfortable to recall with the passage of time and the improvement of Byzantine fortunes. Now that earlier ages had become more familiar to educated men through advances in scholarship, including Constantine’s Historical Excerpts, writers wanted to assign current affairs their proper place in world history. As usual, authors with opinions on recent events wanted to praise what was good and condemn what was bad in their own times, or at any rate to praise their friends and condemn their enemies.
Pediatric mucinous neoplasm of the appendix presenting as a mucocele: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract Mucocele of the appendix is a rare entity in pediatrics, with few case reports in the literature. We present a case of a 17-year-old male with right lower quadrant pain who was found to have an appendiceal mucocele while being evaluated for appendicitis. Laparoscopic-assisted resection was performed, with pathology confirming a low-grade mucinous neoplasm of the appendix, a tumor scarcely described in the pediatric population. He underwent complete resection with negative margins, rendering him cured without the need for any further resection or treatment. We review the literature on this topic.
Clinical Chemistry's Commitment to Education: Stronger than Ever

In addition to focusing on the publication of cutting-edge scientific reports, Clinical Chemistry has shown a genuine commitment to education by devoting a substantial portion of its pages to educational articles since 2008. The main rationale is to engage a broader segment of the AACC membership in the Journal and provide those whose main focus is not research with educational materials to improve their knowledge and practice of the profession. In addition to Reviews and Mini-Reviews prepared by leading investigators in the field, the Journal has added Q&A articles, Perspectives, Clinical Case Studies, Journal Club, Guide to Scientific Writing, Citation Classics, Point/Counterpoint, and podcasts. The podcasts have been downloaded 1.6 million times, and recently, the number of Clinical Case Studies downloads surpassed 1 million. Nearly 15000 laboratory scientists from 4500 institutions in 150 countries have subscribed to the Journal Club to receive each month a …
Judicial Resolution of Nonconsensual Pornography Dissemination Cases

Nonconsensual pornography dissemination has emerged as one of the key social issue of the digital age. In response, legislators are rapidly adding new laws to combat it. However, these laws supplement an extensive body of civil and criminal laws that already address many of the same concerns. To get a better sense of the regulatory scope of the existing laws, we compiled eighty-seven enforcement actions involving nonconsensual pornography disseminations dating back to the 1980s. This compilation provides a useful baseline to critically evaluate any new laws against nonconsensual pornography dissemination.
Multiarterial grafts improve the rate of early major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events in patients undergoing coronary revascularization: analysis of 12 615 patients with multivessel disease

OBJECTIVES Our goal was to compare the rates of in-hospital and 30-day major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) including death, stroke, myocardial infarction and repeat revascularization in patients with multivessel disease undergoing multiarterial (MultArt) coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with the left internal mammary artery/saphenous vein (LIMA/SV) CABG or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS From 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2009, 12 615 consecutive patients underwent isolated primary CABG (n = 6667) with LIMA/SV (n = 5712) or MultArt (n = 955) or were treated by PCI (n = 5948) with balloon angioplasty (n = 1020), bare metal stent (n = 3242), and drug-eluting stent (n = 1686). We excluded patients with acute myocardial infarction. We matched the CABG group with the 3 PCI subgroups, and the PCI group with the 2 CABG subgroups. Multivariable analyses were used to evaluate the impact of CABG versus PCI and their subgroups on early MACCE. RESULTS Unadjusted early MACCE were lower for MultArt (1.5%) than for LIMA/SV (4.5%, P < 0.001) and PCI (8.5%, P < 0.001). In matched analysis, CABG had lower early MACCE versus balloon angioplasty (4.7% vs 13.2%, P < 0.001), bare metal stent (4.3% vs 8.3%, P < 0.001), and drug-eluting stent (2.9% vs 5.5%, P = 0.008), as well as LIMA/SV versus PCI (4.6% vs 9.2%, P < 0.001) and MultArt versus PCI (1.8% vs 7.8%, P < 0.001). Stroke rate was similar in MultArt versus PCI (0.8% vs 0.3%, P = 0.18) but higher with LIMA/SV versus PCI (2.3% vs 0.4%, P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, PCI (odds ratio 4.53, 95% confidence interval: 2.62-7.83; P < 0.001) and LIMA/SV (odds ratio 2.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.18-3.53; P < 0.011) were strong predictors of early MACCE compared with MultArt. CONCLUSIONS MultArt confers the lowest rate of early MACCE.
Case 51: Cystic Schwannoma

47-year-old man presented with mild abdominal pain and an incidental mass in the pancreas on MRI.
The cost of meeting increased cooling-water demands for CO 2 capture and storage utilizing non-traditional waters from geologic saline formations

Deep (> ∼800 m) saline water-bearing formations in the United States have substantial pore volume that is targeted for storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the associated saline water can be extracted to increase CO2 storage efficiency, manage pressure build up, and create a new water source that, once treated, can be used for power-plant cooling or other purposes. Extraction, treatment and disposal costs of saline formation water to meet added water demands from CO2 capture and storage (CCS) are discussed. This underutilized water source may be important in meeting new water demand associated with CCS. For a representative natural gas combined-cycle (NGCC) power plant, simultaneous extraction of brine from the storage formation could provide enough water to meet all CCS-related cooling demands for 177 out of the 185 (96 %) saline formations analyzed in this study. Calculated total cost of water extraction, treatment and disposal is less than 4.00 US Dollars (USD) m−3 for 93 % of the 185 formations considered. In 90 % of 185 formations, treated water costs are less than 10.00 USD tonne−1 of CO2 injected. On average, this represents approximately 6 % of the total CO2 capture and injection costs for the NGCC scenario.
Controlling Cattail Invasion in Sedge / Grass Meadows

As a result of water-level regulation, cattails have invaded sedge/grass meadow in all wetlands on Lake Ontario. Even with a change in water-level-regulation to a more natural hydrologic regime, restoration requires methods for active cattail management without the ability to manipulate water depths and without imperiling other vegetation. We conducted replicated studies at a wetland site with an active invasion front in zones of nearly mono-dominant cattail and transitional invasion. We tested various combinations of cutting cattail ramets when carbohydrate reserves were minimized, spraying cut stems with herbicide, slicing rhizomes to mimic tilling, and hand-wicking resprouted ramets with herbicide. We also collected companion environmental data. The most effective treatment in both zones was cutting during the period with reduced rhizome carbohydrates followed by hand-wicking resprouted ramets with herbicide in late summer, which allows the herbicide to be absorbed by the rhizomes. Two years of treatment provide the best results, reducing cattail stem counts and cover by more than 50%, but follow-up applications in ensuing years may be warranted to treat surviving cattails. Given the widespread problem of cattail invasion, these treatments may have broad application in wetlands where water levels cannot be manipulated.
Ontologies and Knowledge Representation

Knowledge representation (KR) systems are an important component of many artificial intelligence applications, such as planners, robots, natural language processors, and game-playing systems. The KR system stores the underlying model of the domain that is employed by the application. In contrast to database systems, KR systems need to represent more complex and possibly incomplete domain models. KR systems use reasoning techniques to answer queries about the knowledge. Knowledge representation is the branch of artificial intelligence that studies the design and expressive power of KR languages, the computational properties of their associated reasoning problems, and effective implementation of KR systems.
Refining cell therapy

We are in the midst of a major shift in how we think about treating disease and the regeneration of damaged tissues. Although small-molecule and protein therapeutics are the dominant forms of treatment today, we are now at the point where we can engineer our own body's cells to detect and treat disease. Using the cutting-edge tools of synthetic biology, we may one day be able to build smart therapeutic cells that reside in the body for life, poised to respond to diseases that would otherwise thwart our natural immune system.