cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CAVITATION PROPERTIES OF BLOCK COPOLYMER STABILIZED PHASE-SHIFT NANOEMULSIONS USED AS DRUG CARRIERS

Cavitation properties of block copolymer stabilized perfluoropentane nanoemulsions have been investigated. The nanoemulsions were stabilized by two biodegradable amphiphilic block copolymers differing in the structure of the hydrophobic block, poly(ethylene oxide)-co-poly(L-lactide) (PEG-PLLA) and poly(ethylene oxide)-co-polycaprolactone (PEG-PCL). Cavitation parameters were measured in liquid emulsions and gels as a function of ultrasound pressure for unfocused or focused 1-MHz ultrasound. Acoustic droplet vaporization preceded generation of acoustic cavitation in liquid matrices and gels. Both stable and inertial cavitation was observed for focused ultrasound while only stable cavitation was observed for unfocused ultrasound.
Wave motion of low-tension interfaces with electrical double layers

An approximate solution is developed for the system of equations describing flow and ion transport in a diffuse electrical double layer slightly perturbed from equilibrium. The approximation is valid only when the potential difference across the diffuse layer is small, less than about 25 mV. When the approximate solution is used to study wave motion of low-tension interfaces, it is found chat ion transport in diffuse layers slows down interfacial motion in both stable and unstable situations. Although the slowing effect is relatively small (a few per cent or less) when the small potential approximation applies, the form of the solution suggests that the effect could be significant for potential differences in the 50–100 mV range, which exist in many systems of interest. There are also indications that the slowing effect can significantly influence wave motion of thin liquid films with diffuse layers, e.g. soap films, although a detailed analysis of the thin-film situation is not carried out.
Two-dimensional modeling of organic field effect transistors

We present device simulations for p-channel organic field effect transistors. The current conservation equation and Poisson’s equation are solved self-consistently in two dimensions in the drift-diffusion approximation. We focus on modeling transistor structures consisting of a gate electrode, a silicon dioxide gate insulator, and a pentacene or a conjugated polymer layer as the active (channel) material. The source and drain contacts are taken to be deposited directly on the gate insulator (bottom contact structure). We examine the effects associated with differences in charge carrier injection for different source and drain contact materials. It is also shown that, if the organic material immediately adjacent to the contacts has poor conduction properties, ‘parasitic’ source and drain series resistances that depend on the contact/organic injection barrier height as well as the channel material mobility can result.
Multilayer waveguides: efficient numerical analysis of general structures

An efficient numerical method for accurately determining the real and/or complex propagation constants of guided modes and leaky waves in general multilayer waveguides is presented. The method is applicable to any lossless and/or lossy (dielectric, semiconductor, metallic) waveguide structure. The method is based on the argument principle theorem and is capable of extracting all of the zeros of any analytic function in the complex plane. It is applied to solving the multilayer waveguide dispersion equation derived from the well known thin-film transfer matrix theory. Excellent agreement is found with seven previously published results and with results from two limiting cases where the propagating constants can be obtained analytically. >
Controlling the delicate balance of tetrapyrrole biosynthesis

Tetrapyrroles are a family of compounds that contain four pyrrole rings. They are involved in many fundamental biological processes such as photoreception, electron transport, gas transport and also as cofactors for enzymatic reactions. As regulators of protein activity, tetrapyrroles mediate cellular response to light, oxygen and nutrient levels in the surrounding environment. Biosynthesis of haem tetrapyrroles shares, conserved pathways and enzymes among all three domains of life. This is contrasted by chlorophyll biosynthesis that is only present in eubacteria and chloroplasts, or cobalamin biosynthesis that is only present in eubacteria and archaea. This implicates haem as the most ancient, and chlorophyll as the most recent, of the common tetrapyrroles that are currently synthesized by existing organisms. Haem and chlorophyll are both toxic when synthesized in excess over apo-proteins that bind these tetrapyrroles. Accordingly, the synthesis of these tetrapyrroles has to be tightly regulated and coordinated with apo-protein production. The mechanism of regulating haem and chlorophyll synthesis has been studied intensively in Rhodobacter species and will be discussed.
Material characterization and in-situ process monitoring for a robust ACF base flip chip technology

Thermal and mechanical material properties involved in ACF base flip chip technology were carefully investigated. A process sequence was designed based on thermal and mechanical properties of ACFs and substrates determined with thermo-mechanical analysis equipment, dynamic mechanical analysis equipment and differential scanning calorimeter measurements. In-situ monitoring of contact resistance of two single interconnects, daisy chain resistance, bonding force and bonding temperature was performed. Monitoring interconnect resistance and daisy chain resistance, bonding forces of 10 or 20 kg/die were adapted. Extra force applied to junctions caused bump, pad and substrate deformation, resulting in poor junction reliability. It will be shown that in-situ process monitoring can be a powerful tool for process optimization and material selection for ACF base flip chip technology. Interconnect reliability of ACF base flip chip technology was evaluated under several accelerated stress conditions. It was found that ACF interconnect is very stable up to 2 000 h under high temperature storage life test at 125/spl deg/C and temperature and humidity test at 85/spl deg/C and 85% RH, regardless of bump materials, ACF materials and substrate materials examined in this work. This work demonstrated that a careful study of ACF thermal and mechanical properties and in-situ monitoring of ACF flip chip process can provide a robust ACF flip chip technology.
Controllable Magnetic Metamaterial Using Digitally Addressable Split-Ring Resonators

An ideal metamaterial is composed of identical elements in a uniformly structured array so that the material response is a single magnetic or electric resonance. Variations in the metamaterial particle characteristics or array assembly result in undesirable broadening of the effective material response. When lumped circuit elements are used in metamaterial particles, this effect can be significant due to element variability. To mitigate this effect, we designed, fabricated, and characterized a magnetic metamaterial in which the response of each particle can be individually tuned. Such a material can be reconfigured into a variety of states for use in different applications.
At the Intersection of HIV/AIDS and Cancer: A Qualitative Needs Assessment of Community-Based HIV/AIDS Service Organizations

Due to advances in treatment, persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are living longer, but with aging, immune deficits, and lifestyle factors, they are at increased risk for cancer. This challenges community-based AIDS service organizations (ASOs) to address the growing cancer needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Community-based participatory research was applied to engage ASOs in exploring their capacities and needs for integrating cancer-focused programming into their services. Focus groups were conducted with a community advisory board (CAB) representing 10 community-based organizations serving PLWHA. Three 90-minute, serial focus groups were conducted with a mean number of seven participants. Topics explored CAB members’ organizational capacities and needs in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship. Transcript analyses identified six themes: (a) agencies have limited experience with cancer-focused programs, which...
A mass spectrometric study of the structure of Sterol Carrier Protein SCP2 from ratliver

Abstract The amino acid sequence of Sterol Carrier Protein2 (SCP2) isolated from rat has been investigated. Using a novel mass spectrometric mapping approach, the C-terminus was found to be extended beyond the previously published sequence. Carbohydrate analysis of SCP2 samples suggest the presence of tightly bound mannose oligosaccharide of 5–10 residues, although probably not in a glycoprotein linkage.
Epithelioid sarcoma of the vulva and its clinical implication: A case report and review of the literature

•We present a case of vulva epithelioid sarcoma, and review the articles.•The rarity of this disease causes delay in diagnosis and lack of guideline for optimal treatment.•Physicians should have high suspicions in diagnosing this vulvar disease using prompt biopsy without delay.
Adaptive dialogue systems for assistive living environments

Adaptive Dialogue Systems (ADS) are intelligent systems, able to interact with users via multiple modalities, such as speech, gestures, facial expressions and others. Such systems are able to make conversation with their users, usually on a specific, narrow topic. Assistive Living Environments are environments where the users are by definition not competent with technology, due to various factors, such as mental or physical disabilities, age and others. While technology that helps improve these people's quality of life exists, many times they cannot access it due to inflexible interfaces. ADS, therefore, have the potential to bridge users and technology by acting as a mediator between them. There are several unique challenges posed by this problem, in addition to the challenges faced by a generic ADS. Our contributions to the state of the art focus on Online Dialogue Policy learning which, coupled with other methods we proposed, can lead to an ADS able to exhibit complex behaviour and appear more intelligent. As a consequence, users trust the system more and it becomes more functional as it is able to elicit behavioural information and use it, for example, to make basic diagnoses.
Improving performance of GPU code using novel features of the NVIDIA kepler architecture

Graphics processing unit GPU computing is a popular approach to simulating complex models and performing massive calculations. GPUs have attracted a great deal of interest because they offer both high performance and energy efficiency. Efficient General-Purpose computation on Graphics Processing Units requires good parallelism, memory coalescing, regular memory access, small overhead on data exchange between the CPU and the GPU, and few explicit global synchronizations, which are usually gained from optimizing the algorithms. Besides these advantages, the proper use of some novel features provided on NVIDIA GPUs can offer further improvement. In this paper, we modify an existing optimized GPU application to illustrate the potential performance gains of these features and to demonstrate the performance trade offs of different implementation choices. The paper focuses on the challenges of reducing interactions between CPU and GPU and reducing the use of explicit synchronization. We explain how to achieve these objectives using two features of the Kepler architecture, warp shuffle, and dynamic parallelism. We find that a judicious use of these two techniques, eliminating repeated operations and synchronizations, results in significantly better performance. We describe various pitfalls encountered in optimizing our code to use these two features and how these were addressed. In particular, we identify a subtle data race condition when using dynamic parallelism under certain circumstances, and present our solution. Finally, we present a technique to trade off the allocation of various device resources to find the parameters that offer the best performance. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Simulation of interfacial fracture in highly crosslinked adhesives

The fracture of highly-crosslinked networks is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The network is modeled as a bead-spring polymer network between two solid surfaces. The network is dynamically formed by crosslinking an equilibrated liquid mixture. Tensile pull fracture is simulated as a function of the number of interracial bonds. The sequence of molecular structural deformations that lead to failure are determined, and the connectivity is found to strongly control the stress-strain response and failure modes. The failure strain is related to the minimal paths in the network that connect the two solid surfaces. The failure stress is a fraction of the ideal stress required to fracture all the interracial bonds, and is linearly proportional to the number of interracial bonds. By allowing only a single bond between a crosslinker and the surface, interracial failure always occurs. Allowing up to half of the crosslinker's bonds to occur with the surface, cohesive failure can occur.
Breakout Session Report:Tribology Research in MEMS

The breakout session on Tribology Research in MEMS was organized to address the following points: 1) What are the most challenging problems-issues? 2) What are the best approaches-expertise needs? 3) Recommendations-directions for research We started by asking the following question: Is stiction in MEMS still an issue or did industry solve it already and is keeping it a secret ? The answer which became clear is that stiction remains a very big issue even for industry (good input was given here from Analog Devices represented at the meeting).
The Multidimensional Turn: Revisiting Progressive Black Masculinities in Multidimensional Masculinities and Law: Feminist Theory Meets Critical Race Theory

The original project on progressive black masculinities engaged multidimensional theory to assess whether black men lacked access to patriarchal privileges as nationalist scholars asserted or whether black men were privileged by gender and oppressed by race as certain interpretations of intersectionality theory maintained. Multidimensionality theory suggested that in some contexts black men were privileged by gender in relation to black women, and in other contexts they were oppressed by gendered racism as blackmen – one word – and one multidimensional entity. In this essay I ground the project more deeply in multidimensionality theory. I do so because I believe the multidimensional turn in intersectionality theory better situates masculine identities and practices within the matrix of socially constructed hierarchies, better explains the synergistic interplay between categories such as gender and race, and better explains the role context plays as well as demonstrating its necessity in understanding a particular interaction. As such, it is a useful tool in explaining and clarifying the gendered racial dynamics present in such phenomenon as lynching and racial profiling, as well as in understanding the justifications for the project of progressive black masculinities. Part I of this essay defines progressive black masculinities. It also briefly summarizes the arguments that support the concept and which seek to encourage black men’s engagement with it. Part II discusses the development of the multidimensional turn in intersectionality theory in relation to masculinities studies. Part III turns to masculinities and hegemonic masculinity theory situating the insights about the patriarchal gender system and the ranking of masculinities within a multidimensionality framework. Part IV then briefly makes the argument for progressive masculinities, drawing on both multidimensionality and masculinities theory.
Abstract LB-127: Synthetic lethal RNAi screen of the human kinome with cytarabine (AraC) in leukemia cells

Cytarabine is the backbone of therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, yet due to a high incidence of relapse and treatment-related complications novel, less toxic treatment regimens incorporating AraC need to be designed. To increase the therapeutic effect of cytarabine we developed and performed an RNAi synthetic lethal screening assay using siRNA, targeting 572 human kinases in combination with AraC in human myeloid cell lines TF-1 and THP-1. Several genes that enhance the effectiveness of cytarabine were identified. Among the top candidate genes, a trend became apparent in which several key regulators of the cell cycle as well as DNA repair genes where among the strongest sensitizers (CHEK1, PKMYT, CDC2, AURKB and ATR). The effectiveness of targeting these genes in combination with AraC was verified using a highly robust siRNA drug-dose response assay (siDDR) that validated CHEK1 as strong sensitizer, PKMYT as moderate sensitizer, and did not confirm CDC2 or AURKB as sensitizers. Since CHEK1 is emerging as a potential treatment target in combination chemotherapy in solid tumors, we obtained two commercially available CHEK1 inhibitors, PD 407824 and SB 218078 (both Tocris). PD 407824 strongly sensitized to AraC in the range of 2 to 10 fold decrease in several lines (MV 4;11, THP-1, HL60, HEL, ML-2) whereas in a few no sensitization was observed (MDS-L, U937). Calcusyn software was utilized to ensure the effect was more than simply additive in effect. Less effect was observed for SB 218078, which was surprisingly found to be antagonistic in some lines (TF-1, U937, ML-2, HL-60). Both compounds have slightly different target spectrum9s that include CHEK1 plus other kinases. Interestingly, the sequence of addition of the compounds dramatically affected the outcome, with the greatest effects seen when CHEK1 inhibitors were added before AraC. In cases where AraC was added first or simultaneously, the effect was less pronounced or was not seen at all. Herein we present the “first-in-class” human kinome synthetic lethal screen in leukemia suspension cells in combination with AraC. In this unbiased functional genomics screen a strong convergence of hits emerged around G2/M cell cycle and DNA repair control. This information can immediately inform clinical drug development, channel resources and serve to direct development of new therapies in acute myeloid leukemias combining AraC with the first clinical available CHEK1 inhibitors. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-127.
Paramagnetic Meissner Effect in Electrochemically Doped Indium-Tin Oxide Films

Transparent conductive indium-tin oxide (ITO) thin films, electrochemically intercalated with alkali (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+), alkali earth (Mg+2, Ca+2), or complex NH $_{4}^{+}$ ions, show tunable superconducting transitions with dome-shaped behavior of T c versus electron density around the maximum at ∼ 5 K. On field cooling, the transition into the superconducting state is accompanied by a paramagnetic response, i.e., an increase of magnetization, rather than the usual diamagnetic Meissner response. We provide an extensive study of this so-called paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME), using DC SQUID, transport measurements and a variety of sample sizes and growth conditions. We show that the PME in electrochemically doped ITO films results from a higher T c at the sample edges than at the center of disk-shaped samples, causing flux to be expelled towards the center of the disk, following the flux-compression theory of Koshelev and Larkin. Changing to the opposite spatial T c profile largely removes the paramagnetic response. The paramagnetic magnetization is strongly influenced by sample geometry and flux pinning conditions. The reduction of pinning defects by thermal annealing removes the paramagnetic response. An alternation of the external magnetic field restores the usual Meissner diamagnetism.
A Prospective Cohort Study of Mineral Metabolism After Kidney Transplantation.

Kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) because it reverses many complications of chronic kidney disease (CKD), improves recipients' quality of life, and prolongs survival.1 Advances in immune suppression, which vastly enhanced short-term allograft outcomes, have enabled the transplant community to focus more attention on managing the nonimmune aspects of the posttransplant period to optimize recipients' long-term health. Disordered mineral metabolism is a common complication of CKD that begins early in the course of disease and progressively worsens as patients approach ESRD.2 In its most severe form, disordered mineral metabolism in ESRD is characterized by hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcemia, deficiencies of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, and markedly elevated levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23).3-8 Individually and in aggregate, these alterations are associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, fracture, and death.8-12 Although restoring normal kidney function by transplanting a healthy kidney might be expected to fully reverse disordered mineral metabolism due to ESRD, most existing data suggest that transplantation only partially corrects certain alterations.13-18 Furthermore, presence of a healthy allograft that can respond to the hormonal effects of lingering elevations in PTH and FGF23 levels can precipitate de novo alterations in mineral metabolism, including hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia.19,20 Posttransplant hypercalcemia and hypophosphatemia present clinicians with management challenges because they may jeopardize graft function and bone health and exacerbate fracture and cardiovascular risk.20-22 The postkidney transplant period should be considered a unique phase in the natural history of disordered mineral metabolism associated with CKD that requires dedicated investigation.14 Few studies have systematically studied mineral metabolism in the posttransplant period. Among those that did, most previous studies were small, single-center, brief, and failed to measure a comprehensive panel of mineral metabolites.23-28 As a result, the frequency of hypercalcemia, hypophosphatemia, and persistent hyperparathyroidism during the first year after kidney transplantation remain incompletely characterized. We conducted the current prospective, observational study to examine the evolution of persistent hyperparathyroidism and associated alterations in mineral metabolism during the first year after kidney transplantation.
Ultra-high accuracy nonlocal timing and positioning -beyond the classical limit

We report a proof-of-principle experiment which demonstrates a novel concept for ultra-high accuracy non-local timing and positioning, such as one-way synchronization of distant clocks. The ultra-high accuracy relies on the non-local features of ntangled states. We show that the measurement can achieve, in principle, resolutions beyond the classical limit.
External Biliary Conduit for Occlusion of an Endobiliary Stent in Malignant Biliary Obstruction: A Nonsurgical Solution

(Nester; Cook) were added to the tract as the sheath was retracted to minimize the risk of bleeding. Neither bleeding nor liver failure were observed after embolization. The patient died 6 months later of systemic metastasis of gastric cancer without any signs of recurrent bleeding from the pseudoaneurysm. In the present case, because of the surgically altered arterial anatomy and vessel injury from previous catheterization, standard antegrade transluminal embolization was considered unsuitable. For coil embolization, the catheter must be advanced adequately into the vicinity of the pseudoaneurysm, but this was impossible because of the extraordinarily tortuous path to the pseudoaneurysm. Embolization with a liquid material such as n-butyl cyanoacrylate posed some risks, including ischemia of the duodenum and pancreas, nontarget embolization of the hepatic artery, and proximal embolization. Percutaneous thrombin injection or coil embolization via direct puncture of the pseudoaneurysm is another treatment choice, but it would have been difficult to detect the pseudoaneurysm under ultrasonographic (US) guidance in this case. A transhepatic arterial approach was thought to be the only way to treat this hepatic hilar pseudoaneurysm fed by tortuous collateral vessels. Previous reports of a transhepatic arterial approach include those of Yu et al (2) and Papadopoulos et al (3), but both groups used a transhepatic arterial approach under US guidance. The present report appears to be the first description of successful treatment via a transhepatic arterial approach under fluoroscopic and angiographic guidance. Yu et al (2) also reported challenges and limitations of percutaneous hepatic arterial puncture paralleling those encountered with other transhepatic interventions, describing the most difficult aspect of the procedure as the actual transhepatic puncture of the desired hepatic artery. Multiple passes are often required, with each pass increasing the risk of hemoperitoneum, hematoma formation, hemobilia, and dissection/pseudoaneurysm of the targeted artery. We performed transhepatic arterial puncture under fluoroscopic and angiographic guidance, allowing easy confirmation of the desired artery. Moreover, we used an axial puncture technique, which is used in percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage for nondilated bile ducts (4). This technique increases the chance of the puncture needle meeting the targeted vessel because a longer length of puncture site is used, and provides an appropriate angle for insertion of a guide wire. By using this technique, we assumed successful puncture could be obtained with fewer attempts, reducing the risk of multiple passes. In conclusion, transhepatic arterial approach is one treatment option for inaccessible hepatic hilar pseudoaneurysm and should be considered by interventional radiologists when a standard antegrade transarterial approach is impossible.
STUDY ON THE FLUX IN STEEL-ALUMINIUM SOLID TO LIQUID BONDING

This paper studied the effect of the welding-supporting technology on the quality of steel-aluminium solid to liquid bonding. The results show that welding-supporting technology can solve interface oxidation problem in the process of solid to liquid bonding, and interfacial strength in steel-aluminium solid to liquid bonding could increase substantially by immersing flux No.1 made up with halogenide.
Legal aspects associated with dismissal from clinical laboratory education programs.

OBJECTIVE To review academic dismissals, students' rights in dismissal cases, and several key cases involving academic and disciplinary dismissals. DATA SOURCES Recent academic literature and legal precedents. STUDY SELECTION Not applicable. DATA EXTRACTION Not applicable. DATA SYNTHESIS Students involved in dismissals are protected under the principles of constitutional law and/or contract law, depending on whether the institution is public or private. The basis for dismissal from educational programs is either academic or disciplinary in nature. In academic dismissals, a student has failed to meet either the cognitive or the noncognitive academic standards of the program. In disciplinary dismissals, a student has violated the institutional rules governing conduct. Policies that affect progress in the program and the dismissal process should be published and distributed to students, as well as reviewed for consistency with institutional policies. CONCLUSION The amount of documentation needed in the defense of a dismissal decision has not been specified, but, in general, more is better. Procedures are suggested as a guide to dismissals in clinical laboratory programs.
Hyperlipidemia sink for anesthetic agents

We present a case that involves anesthetic resistance during anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy. Despite adequate dosing of both intravenous and inhalation anesthetics, our patient was resistant to induction of the state of general anesthesia. Subsequently, we noticed extreme hyperlipidemia. We hypothesized that the patient's extreme hyperlipidemia served as an anesthetic "sink" and prevented the full dose of intravenous agents from quickly reaching their intended site of action.
Cloud technology and EHR data management

Cloud technology today is being leveraged in various aspects of life ranging from entertainment to business. Among its several applications, interesting ones are those in the general field of scientific data management. The data generated here is typically of huge volumes from multiple sources and sharing often becomes imperative for collaboration among professionals and access to users. At the same time, the information involved is usually of a highly sensitive nature posing risks in sharing. In this work, we look closely at the healthcare domain where data was traditionally stored using pen-and-paper and has now shifted to electronic records being stored online. The next paradigm shift would be the storage of healthcare records using cloud technologies. This is precisely the focus of our work. We provide a background of existing cloud services, give details of data management in electronic health records (EHR), explain how cloud services can be useful in EHR data management and discuss the benefits as well as risks involved. We conclude with a list of open issues that present the potential for further research.
Cholecystocolonic fistula presenting as a lower gastrointestinal bleeding: Preoperative work-up, treatment options, and literature review

Cholecystocolonic fistulae are the second most common choloenteric fistulae, yet only a small percentage are diagnosed preoperatively. This lack of preoperative recognition often leads to intraoperative discovery, leaving little opportunity for preoperative planning. Herein, we present the case of a 59-year-old male who presented with a cholecystocolonic fistula, manifested by lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Recognition of the fistula allowed for medical optimization and preoperative planning. There is currently a shortage of data on the ideal management of cholecystocolonic fistulae. We review the literature on cholecystocolonic fistulae and discuss the alternatives and controversies to the optimal management.
Colonic Transit and Bile Acid Synthesis or Excretion in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome–Diarrhea Without Bile Acid Malabsorption

Background and Aims Bile acids (BAs) are passively absorbed to a different extent along the mammalian colon, so that levels are lower in the feces than in proximal colon. Our aim was to explore associations among total, primary, and secretory BA in stool and colonic transit in patients with irritable bowel syndrome–diarrhea (IBS-D) without overt BA malabsorption (BAM). Methods In a cross-sectional observational study of 116 patients with IBS-D recruited from local communities in Minnesota, we measured total and individual main fecal BA excretion, fecal fat and fecal weight over 48 hours, fasting serum levels of C4 (surrogate for BA synthesis), and overall colonic transit by scintigraphy (geometric center at 24 hours and 48 hours). Patients without overt BAM were assigned to groups based on total fecal BA level below 2337 μmol/48 hours (n = 86) or serum levels of C4 below 47.1 ng/mL (n = 91). We used Spearman correlations to test study hypotheses with correction for 14 correlations tested ( P Results Patients with IBS-D who had increased or normal total BA excretion in stool or BA synthesis had higher stool proportions of primary BAs (especially chenodeoxycholate), compared with healthy control subjects. In patients with IBS-D without overt BAM (normal 48-hour total fecal BA or serum C4), there were significant positive correlations between total fecal BA, fecal primary and secretory BA, fecal weight, and increased geometric center at 24 and 48 hours ( P Conclusions In the absence of overt BAM, the total, primary, and secretory BAs in stool contribute to the acceleration of colonic transit and fecal weight in the diarrhea of patients with IBS-D.
Analyse des klassischen Ansatzes zur Software-Bewertung

Dieses Kapitel gibt eine Ubersicht uber die traditionelle Vorgehensweise und die damit verbundenen Probleme bei der Definition und Verwendung von Software-Masen. Es ist nicht das Ziel, die Vor- und Nachteile einzelner Metriken aufzuzahlen. Es geht vielmehr darum, die allen bekannten Metriken zugrundeliegende Methode zu analysieren. Diese Analyse basiert auf einem umfangreichen Literaturstudium. Eine zusammenfassende Literaturubersicht zu bekannten Software-Masen kann im Buch [AB89] gefunden werden. In [CDS86] findet man eine sehr gute Darstellung des gesamten die Software-Mase betreffenden Themenkreises innerhalb des Software-Engineering. Die neuesten Erkenntnisse aus der Software-Metriken-Forschung werden in der Spezialausgabe der Zeitschrift IEEE Software vom Marz dargelegt.
Chemo-Immunotherapy with Hyper-CVAD Plus Ritixumab for Adult Burkitt’s and Burkitt’s Type Lymphoma (BL) or Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL).

Abstract Prognosis has improved for BL/B-ALL, particularly with short, intensive, multi-agent chemotherapy. Outcome of 26 non-HIV BL/B-ALL patients (pts) treated with hyper-CVAD (fractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone) showed CR rate of 81% with induction mortality 19% owing to systemic fungal infections in pts aged 60 years (yrs) and older [Thomas et al, JCO 17:2461, 1999]. Older age was also an adverse feature predicting relapse with shorter 3 yr survival compared with younger pts (17% vs 77%). To evaluate the addition of rituximab, a CD20 monoclonal antibody, to hyper-CVAD, 31 adults with newly diagnosed HIV negative BL (n=15) or B-ALL (n=16) received hyper-CVAD with rituximab. Their median age was 46 years; 29% were 60 years or older. Course 1 was given in laminar air flow room for pts aged 60 years or older. Rituximab 375 mg/m2 was given intravenously days 1 and 11 of hyper-CVAD courses and days 1 and 8 of methotrexate and cytarabine courses with 16 intrathecal treatments (methotrexate day 2 and cytarabine day 7 of each course). No maintenance chemotherapy was given. No allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplant was planned in first CR. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 24 of 28 evaluable patients (86%); 3 had a partial response and 1 had resistant disease. There were no induction deaths. The 3-year overall survival (OS), event-free survival, and disease-free survival rates were 89%, 80% and 88% respectively. All nine elderly pts aged ≥ 60 yrs achieved CR with all but one in continuous CR (death in CR from infection); 3-year OS rate was 89%. Nineteen pts (61%) were older than 40 yrs; OS rate was 90% compared with 35% for historical group (48 pts treated with hyper-CVAD alone). Reduction in the relapse rate with rituximab was observed compared with hyper-CVAD alone (7% versus 34% overall, p=0.008; 0% versus 50% for elderly, p=0.02; 11% versus 29% for age
Altered visual strategies and attention are related to increased force fluctuations during a pinch grip task in older adults.

The significant contributions of the study are the addition of eye movement data and an attention task to explain differences in hand motor control across different visual displays in older adults....
When outgroup negativity trumps ingroup positivity: Fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees place greater value on rival losses than own-team gains:

Much research suggests that ingroup positivity is more central than outgroup negativity. We argue that this conclusion is incomplete as a description of the totality of intergroup emotions. In 4 st...
Unifying Exchange Sensitivity in Transition Metal Spin-State Ordering and Catalysis Through Bond Valence Metrics

Accurate predictions of spin-state ordering, reaction energetics, and barrier heights are critical for the computational discovery of open-shell transition-metal (TM) catalysts. Semilocal approximations in density functional theory, such as the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), suffer from delocalization error that causes them to overstabilize strongly bonded states. Descriptions of energetics and bonding are often improved by introducing a fraction of exact exchange (e.g., erroneous low-spin GGA ground states are instead correctly predicted as high-spin with a hybrid functional). The degree of spin-splitting sensitivity to exchange can be understood based on the chemical composition of the complex, but the effect of exchange on reaction energetics within a single spin state is less well-established. Across a number of model iron complexes, we observe strong exchange sensitivities of reaction barriers and energies that are of the same magnitude as those for spin splitting energies. We rationalize ...
An evaluation of a Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in the rural south

Abstract Children in the court system who are abused or neglected are mandated by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to have special legal representation in the form of a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). A GAL can be a staff attorney or a volunteer layperson (known as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA) who has undergone GAL training. In some states, the CASA volunteer can be a substitute for the GAL, while in other states, including Georgia, the CASA is appointed by the judge as a complement to the staff attorney. To date, there has been very little research evaluating the fidelity of CASA programs where they are implemented, nor has there been much research on the CASA program more generally. Therefore, this study evaluates the fidelity of a rural CASA program using the Justice Program Fidelity Scale (JPFS; Miller & Miller, 2015) and interview data from 12 CASA volunteers, along with local CASA program statistics and training materials. The CASA program evaluated for the present study scored an 85.64% on the JPFS using combined scores from two researchers. Implications for practitioners working in the field of child abuse and prevention in rural areas, including implications specifically for a judicial circuit with no dedicated specialty judge for cases involving abused or neglected children, are discussed.
Advertising cosmetic surgery.

The use of advertisements for cosmetic surgery has fluctuated throughout the twentieth century. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Using Decision Support Systems for Delay Analysis: The Project Management Perception Program:

This paper discusses the use of decision support systems and their application in the area of project management. Not only can computers be used to provide scheduling data, but they also can provid...
Ecovandalism and Psychological Inquiry

This book has sought, in both broad sweep and fine detail, to examine the nature of vandalism and vandalism intervention in contemporary society. We have considered its frequency and costs, definitions and demographics, typologies and theories of causation, strategies and tactics of intervention, means of combining tactics into effective intervention programs, and guidelines for rigorously evaluating the effectiveness of such programs. Collectively, those several topics combine to almost, but not quite, complete the psychology-of-vandalism picture we seek to present. What remains to be addressed is the topic of ecovandalism.
Health metrics for helminthic infections.

Over the past five decades, accurate and comparable assessment of disease burden due to different ‘worm’ infections has proven problematic. Estimates of the health impact of helminths have varied significantly, depending on the assessor's perspective and the approaches taken to quantifying disease effects on patient performance status. Past surveys have frequently suffered from misclassification bias due to the lack of a diagnostic ‘gold’ standard. At the same time, there has been a tendency to define disease based solely on late-onset, ‘pathognomonic’ outcomes that can be uniquely attributed to each pathogen. However, we are now gaining a much better understanding of the role of helminths in anaemia causation, impaired growth and development, and poor school or work performance. With a new appreciation of the link between long-term, parasite-mediated inflammation and the patient's lifetime risk of disability, we recognise that the bulk of worm-associated diseases is found in the latter, ‘non-specific’ categories, with relevance to individual performance status and detriment to regional levels of human capital. Appropriately, the emerging use of comprehensive disability metrics such as the quality-adjusted life year (QALY)—as opposed to the widely used disability-adjusted life year (DALY) metrics—will better capture the impact of helminthic infections on the long-term health of Asian and other developing world populations. This improved, more valid assessment is expected to provide evidence favouring preventive over curative intervention for control of these highly prevalent diseases.
Investigating the use of formant based features for detection of affective dimensions in speech

The ability of a machine to discern various categories of emotion is of great interest in many applications. This paper attempts to explore the use of baseline features consisting of prosodic and spectral features along with formant based features for the purpose of classification of emotion along the dimensions of arousal, valence, expectancy, and power. Using three feature selection criteria namely maximum average recall, maximal relevance, and minimal-redundancy-maximal-relevance, the paper intends to find the criterion that gives the highest unweighted accuracy. Using a Gaussian Mixture Model classifier, the results indicate that the formant based features show a statistically significant improvement on the accuracy of the classification system.
Animal pain and distress in vaccine testing in the United States.

National statistics on animal use in research can provide guidance in setting priorities for research into alternative methods, i.e., those methods that can replace, reduce, or refine animal-based procedures. All else being equal, fields of research causing the most suffering to the largest numbers of animals should be considered prime candidates for alternative research. We examined national statistics on animal use in research in the United States to determine the extent to which vaccine testing accounts for those animals that experience unrelieved pain and distress. During 1998, 96,536 regulated animals were reported to have experienced unrelieved pain and distress in research (laboratory-bred mice and rats, as well as all non-mammals, are excluded from the U.S. reporting system). Vaccine-related testing alone accounted for 61% of this total. Of the 58,820 animals used in such vaccine testing, nearly all were hamsters (68%) and guinea pigs (28%), at least 74% were used in potency tests, and at least 55% were used in testing of Leptospira vaccine. This analysis and an earlier one [1] both underscore the need to develop and implement alternative methods in vaccine testing.
The reality of ‘messy real life’: Jazz Jennings and the dramatisation of young transgender celebrity on TLC’s I Am Jazz

In the last decade, there has been a confluence of transgender celebrities in the entertainment industry as trans issues have garnered attention in public policy and debate. Reality television, known for exploring the lives of both ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’ people, has been a critical site for mainstream audiences to learn about the experiences of transgender people. While attention has focused on Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, this article examines transgender issues as mediated through Jazz Jennings’ self-brand and her TLC reality series I Am Jazz (2015 – present). Jazz, a transgender teen girl living in Florida, has crafted her brand as an activist, author, and YouTube producer while expressing her message of living authentically. On reality TV, I argue that Jazz’s self-brand collides with the ‘messy real life’ brand touted by TLC's sensationalised programming. As I Am Jazz attempts to mainstream transgender issues via the nuclear family, it also fabricates moments where Jazz must engage ...
Nitrogen excretion during marsupial development in the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare.

Abstract Marsupial embryos of Armadillidium vulgare (Isopoda: Oniscidea) were collected at different stages of development and assayed for products of nitrogen excretion. Stages were classified as early stage one, late stage one (clear embryo and somite differentiation), early stage two (chorion shed, prior to blastokinesis), late stage two (following blastokinesis), and mancae (vitelline membrane shed; second embryonic molt). Stage one and stage two embryos were primarily ammonotelic. Mancae showed a significant increase in stored uric acid and decrease in ammonia production, in most cases to undetectable levels. The increased metabolic rate of mancae, and the fact that they imbibe marsupial fluid prior to exiting the marsupium, may have favored a switch from ammonotely to uricotely to avoid ammonia toxicity. Protein metabolism, estimated from ammonia production, accounted for 7% of the measured catabolic rate in Stage 2 embryos. Newly emerged juveniles showed a >2-fold increase in metabolism relative to mancae, accompanying the transition from aquatic to aerial respiration. Following 48 h post-emergence, juveniles resumed ammonia excretion, volatilizing the base (NH3) as in later instars. Elevated ammonia excretion in early juveniles may derive from the catabolism of remaining yolk protein. A sharp increase in whole-animal glutamine in juveniles is consistent with its role as an intermediary nitrogen store during periodic ammonia excretion. Total ammonia concentration in the marsupial fluid fluctuated but did not increase significantly over time and ammonia was not volatilized across the oostegites, indicating that embryo ammonia is transported into the maternal hemolymph for excretion.
Top-down Gamma Saliency - Learning to Search for Objects in Complex Scenes

Saliency measures are often used to predict fixation location in images. However, a pure bottom up saliency is not useful for visual search in a complex scene with many objects since it is only driven by the input image. Alternatively, neural networks can localize objects within scenes, but rely on a brute force classification of heuristic bounding boxes. We propose a top-down attention mechanism that combines the traditional saliency measures with the learned ability of neural networks to distinguish between objects. To do this, we will use a set of feature maps produced by the convolutional layers of a trained classification network as the inputs to our saliency measure instead of a traditional RBG or LAB image. On top of these feature maps, we can learn a set of weights to bias the saliency towards specific objects. We test this top-down approach against the traditional bottom-up approach in a synthetic environment where it proves to be more adept at finding specific objects quickly in crowded scenes.
Abstract P280: Type V Collagen is a Lung-Associated Self-Antigen Uncovered by Chronic Hypoxia

Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive and often fatal consequence of chronic hypoxia (CH) exposure (chronic lung diseases, high altitude and sleep apnea). We recently demonstrated th...
Toward All MOCVD Grown InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot Laser on CMOS-compatible (001) Silicon

Indium arsenide quantum dots (QDs) are demonstrated on gallium arsenide on silicon templates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The template threading dislocation density is only $9.5\times 10^{6}\ \text{cm}^{-2}$ and the ODs are of high quality. © 2019 The Author(s)