cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding Clerkship Student Roles in the Context of 21st-Century Healthcare Systems and Curricular Reform

Phenomenon: Preclerkship medical education has undergone extensive reform, and the clerkship years are growing targets for curricular innovation. As institutions implement new preclerkship curricula to better prepare medical students to practice medicine in the context of modern healthcare systems, the perspective of clerkship leaders regarding clerkship student roles and potential for change will facilitate redefining these roles so that preclerkship educational innovations can continue into clerkships. Approach: In this qualitative exploratory study, authors conducted semistructured interviews with clerkship and site directors for eight core clerkships from April to May 2016. Questions addressed how clerkship leaders perceive current student roles and the potential for change. Through iterative consensus building, authors identified themes describing current ideal clerkship student roles applicable to future roles. Findings: Twenty-three of 24 (96%) directors participated. Findings fell into four themes: factors influencing the clerkship role, clerkship student role archetypes, workplace authenticity and value, and potential for change. Student, supervisor, and context factors determine the clerkship student role. Three role archetypes emerged: the apprentice (an assistant completing concrete patient care tasks), the academic (a researcher bringing literature back to the team), and the communicator (an interdisciplinary and patient liaison). Each archetype was considered authentic and valuable. Positive attitudes toward preclerkship curricular changes were associated with openness to evolution of the clerkship students' role. These emerging roles mapped to the archetypes. Insights: Clerkship leaders perceive that student, supervisor, and context factors result in varying emphasis on role archetypes, which in turn lead to different types of learning. Medical educators can use the archetypes to articulate how expanded student roles align learning with clinical needs, particularly as they relate to health systems science and inquiry.
Screening pregnant women for suicidal behavior in electronic medical records: diagnostic codes vs. clinical notes processed by natural language processing

We examined the comparative performance of structured, diagnostic codes vs. natural language processing (NLP) of unstructured text for screening suicidal behavior among pregnant women in electronic medical records (EMRs). Women aged 10–64 years with at least one diagnostic code related to pregnancy or delivery (N = 275,843) from Partners HealthCare were included as our “datamart.” Diagnostic codes related to suicidal behavior were applied to the datamart to screen women for suicidal behavior. Among women without any diagnostic codes related to suicidal behavior (n = 273,410), 5880 women were randomly sampled, of whom 1120 had at least one mention of terms related to suicidal behavior in clinical notes. NLP was then used to process clinical notes for the 1120 women. Chart reviews were performed for subsamples of women. Using diagnostic codes, 196 pregnant women were screened positive for suicidal behavior, among whom 149 (76%) had confirmed suicidal behavior by chart review. Using NLP among those without diagnostic codes, 486 pregnant women were screened positive for suicidal behavior, among whom 146 (30%) had confirmed suicidal behavior by chart review. The use of NLP substantially improves the sensitivity of screening suicidal behavior in EMRs. However, the prevalence of confirmed suicidal behavior was lower among women who did not have diagnostic codes for suicidal behavior but screened positive by NLP. NLP should be used together with diagnostic codes for future EMR-based phenotyping studies for suicidal behavior.
Illinois Terminal Railroad: Impact and Demise from the Perspective of the Village of Morton, Illinois

The interurban changed public transportation in the United States. The electric railroad was able to connect communities together, and transportation became affordable, feasible, and convenient. This article seeks to analyze this phenomenon from the perspective of the Village of Morton, Illinois and to question the true motives behind the interurban demise from both a national and local level. This article is available in Constructing the Past: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/constructing/vol11/iss1/9
Growth and change in the Georgia regional economies

Georgia’s foremost economic problem for over a century has been to raise the level of income received by the State’s residents; per capita incomes have been far below those found in most other states, particularly outside the Southeastern region. In recent years, however, this gap has narrowed dramatically; Georgia’s per capita income as a percent of the national average rose from 71 percent in 1950 to 86 percent in 1973. In fact, the Georgia economy has now reached a point where it is appropriate for the State’s policymakers to place increasing emphasis on guiding and controlling growth rather than on just promoting growth.
Depressive symptoms and cerebral microvascular disease in adults with Type 1 diabetes mellitus

AIM To assess the prevalence of, and risk factors for, depressive symptoms, comparing a sample of middle-aged adults with and without juvenile-onset Type 1 diabetes mellitus, and to determine if depressive symptoms were associated with white matter hyperintensity volume among those with Type 1 diabetes. METHODS Depressive symptoms and white matter hyperintensities were compared between adults (age range 30-65 years) with juvenile-onset Type 1 diabetes (n=130) and adults without Type 1 diabetes (n=133). The association of Type 1 diabetes with depression was computed before and after adjustment for white matter hyperintensities. Among the Type 1 diabetes group, the primary associations of interest were between depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory score ≥10) and white matter hyperintensities (n=71), hyperglycaemia and physical activity. Associations between depressive symptoms and diabetes-related complications, cognitive impairment, smoking and self-reported disability were examined. Analyses were controlled for education, sex, age and antidepressant use. RESULTS Depressive symptoms were more prevalent among those with vs those without Type 1 diabetes (28% vs 3%; P<0.001). White matter hyperintensities explained 40% of the association of Type 1 diabetes with depressive symptoms, while Type 1 diabetes had a direct effect of 68% on depressive symptoms. Among those with Type 1 diabetes, depressive symptoms were related to white matter hyperintensity volume, a 16-year average HbA1c ≥58 mmol/mol (7.5%), and lower physical activity levels. Associations with other characteristics were not significant. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a cerebrovascular origin for depressive symptoms in adults with Type 1 diabetes, perhaps triggered by hyperglycaemia. Future longitudinal studies should investigate whether targeting hyperglycaemia and physical inactivity alleviates depressive symptoms, possibly by slowing the development of cerebral microvascular disease, in people with Type 1 diabetes.
Thiol regulation by Mn porphyrins, commonly known as SOD mimics

Superoxide dismutases play an important role in human health and disease. Three decades of effort have gone into synthesizing SOD mimics for clinical use. The result is the Mn porphyrins which have SOD-like activity. Several clinical trials are underway to test the efficacy of these compounds in patients, particularly as radioprotectors of normal tissue during cancer treatment. However, aqueous chemistry data indicate that the Mn porphyrins react equally well with multiple redox active species in cells including H2O2, O2•-, ONOO-, thiols, and ascorbate among others. The redox potential of the Mn porphyrins is midway between the potentials for the oxidation and reduction of O2•-. This positions them to react equally well as oxidants and reductants in cells. The result of this unique chemistry is that: 1) the species the Mn porphyrins react with in vivo will depend on the relative concentrations of the reactive species and Mn porphyrins in the cell of interest, and 2) the Mn porphyrins will act as catalytic (redox cycling) agents in vivo. The ability of the Mn porphyrins to catalyze protein S-glutathionylation means that Mn porphyrins have the potential to globally modulate cellular redox regulatory signaling networks. The purpose of this review is to summarize the data that indicate the Mn porphyrins have diverse reactions in vivo that are the basis of the observed biological effects. The ability to catalyze multiple reactions in vivo expands the potential therapeutic use of the Mn porphyrins to disease models that are not SOD based.
Internal Lining Open image in new window

When a portion of the nose is missing, the ideal surgical approach is to repair it with an equal quantity of similar tissue. This is particularly important when dealing with the lining of the nasal passages.
Single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography imaging of RAGE in smoking-induced lung injury.

Expression of the Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE) initiates pro-inflammatory pathways resulting in lung destruction. We hypothesized that RAGE directed imaging demonstrates increased lung uptake in smoke-exposure. After exposure to room air or to cigarette smoke for 4-weeks or 16-weeks, rabbits were injected with 99mTc-anti-RAGE F(ab’)2 and underwent Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging. Lung radiotracer uptake was calculated as percent injected dose (%ID). Lungs were dissected for gamma well counting and histological analysis. 99mTc-anti-RAGE F(ab’)2 SPECT/CT imaging demonstrated increased lung expression of RAGE with smoke exposure compared to room air control at 4-weeks: Room air right (R) 0.75 ± 0.38%ID, left (L) 0.62 ± 0.32%ID vs. Smoke exposed R 0.17 ± 0.03, L 0.17 ± 0.02%ID (p = 0.02 and 0.028, respectively). By 16-weeks of smoke exposure, the uptake decreased to 0.19 ± 0.05%ID R and 0.17 ± 0.05%ID L, significantly lower than 4-week imaging (p = 0.0076 and 0.0129 respectively). Staining for RAGE confirmed SPECT results, with the RAGE ligand HMGB1 upregulated in the macrophages of 4-week smoke-exposed rabbits. RAGE-directed imaging identified pulmonary RAGE expression acutely in vivo in an animal model of emphysema early after smoke exposure, with diminution over time. These studies document the extent and time course of RAGE expression under smoke exposure conditions and could be utilized for disease monitoring and examining response to future RAGE-targeted therapies.
Construction and operation of a multiplexed microfiltration device to facilitate rapid pathogen detection

Millions of Americans contract food poisoning or are affected by microbial pathogens each year. Rapid, sensitive detection of dilute levels of pathogens in foods, produce, water, and biomanufacturing process samples is key to consumer protection; however, current enrichment methods require as much as a full day to enrich viable bacterial pathogens to detectable levels. Our lab previously demonstrated the ability to concentrate and detect dilute levels of pathogens, within 8 hr, from various food matrices using microfiltration in our continuous cell concentration device (i.e., C3D) with one or two filter modules. This short communication describes the design, materials and construction, layout, and operational characteristics of a four filter module multiplexed system based on a four channel device. Benefits are a 2× greater sample capacity than an equivalent duplex system (achieving the same time to result of less than 8 hr from sample preparation to detection), simpler operation, and a footprint enabling operation inside a biosafety cabinet instead of requiring a BSL-2 room. Flow rate variability through four channels fit within an operational envelope of ±3%; flow rates are reproducible from one run to the next thus ensuring relatively simple, concurrent processing of samples.
The Role of Home Literacy Practices in Kindergarten Children's Early Writing Development: A One-Year Longitudinal Study.

Research Findings: Home literacy practices are an important variable in the development of literacy skills among children. However, several questions regarding the relationship between home literac...
Optimal sensor network design for multi-scale, time-varying differential algebraic equation systems: Application to an entrained-flow gasifier refractory brick

Abstract An algorithm for optimal sensor network design for multi-scale, time-varying differential algebraic equation systems with non-separable dynamics is presented. As the process is time-varying, an integral normalized posterior error covariance of a multi-scale filter is minimized to obtain the optimal sensor locations. For reducing the computational cost, an adaptive sampling rate approach is considered for the slowly-varying variables. The algorithm is applied to a smart refractory brick with embedded sensors as part of an entrained-flow gasifier. Thermistors and interdigital capacitors are considered as candidate measurement technologies for estimating temperature and slag penetration profile along the gasifier wall. When the optimal set of sensors obtained from the algorithm is used for estimating temperature and slag penetration profiles in a multi-scale Kalman filter framework, satisfactory estimates are obtained despite high measurement noise and model mismatch.
Rapid Structural Disease Progression in Knee Osteoarthritis Reply to Letter to the Editor.

We appreciate the letter from Drs. Riddle and Dumenci on our analysis assessing trajectories of joint space width (JSW) progression in knee osteoarthritis (OA). The authors raise good points about the analytic approach and in interpreting the results in general. The authors raise a question about the interpretation of early vs. late progression in the context of a cohort study enrolling subjects with prevalent knee OA. We describe the so-called "horse-racing effect" in the discussion section of our manuscript and gladly expand here.
Trends in Store-Level Sales of Sugary Beverages and Water in the U.S., 2006-2015.

Introduction Previous research on sugar-sweetened beverage trends has focused on self-reported consumption from surveys. Few studies used objective store sales or explored differences by area-level demographics and store type. Methods The average volume of beverages sold per store per 3-digit zoning improvement plan code from 2006 to 2015 was calculated using national Nielsen Retail Scanner point-of-sale data from 24,240 stores. A multilevel regression model analyzed annual trends, with random intercepts for state and separate models for beverage type (regular soda, no/low-calorie soda, other sugary drinks, 100% fruit juice, bottled water). Differences by store type (convenience, supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers) and area-level demographics (categorized as tertiles) were examined. Data were analyzed in 2019. Results The model-based estimates indicated that sales of regular soda (−11.8%), no/low-calorie soda (−19.8%), and 100% fruit juice (−31.9%) decreased over time, whereas sales of bottled water (+34.4%) increased and sales of other sugary drinks remained stable (+2.4%). Decreases in sugar-sweetened beverage sales were largely concentrated in supermarkets and larger in areas with high income and education levels and a high percentage of black and Hispanic people. There were also relatively larger increases in bottled water sales in states located in the South and Midwest. Conclusions The finding that sales of sugar-sweetened beverages decreased over time, whereas sales of bottled water increased is encouraging because sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is linked to obesity and other chronic conditions. This study provides a novel, rigorous assessment of U.S. beverage sales trends and differences by community and store characteristics.
Abstract PO-169: Racial distribution of neighborhood social deprivation in a retrospective cohort of prostate cancer survivors

Background: Cancer incidence and mortality rates vary across geographic areas; however, a better understanding of neighborhood level variables is needed to increase the precision of cancer control interventions that target geographic determinants of cancer health disparities. The purpose of this study is to characterize the distribution of neighborhood deprivation features in a cohort of racially diverse prostate cancer survivors based on social determinants (e.g., race) and clinical characteristics (e.g., Gleason score, tumor stage). Methods: A retrospective cohort of prostate cancer patients who were treated with radical prostatectomy from 2011 to 2019 was established using the tumor registry at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina. Data on clinical variables (e.g., stage, grade) and social determinants (e.g., race) were abstracted from electronic medical records. Residential addresses were geocoded and neighborhood-level social deprivation measures (income, education, employment, housing, household characteristics, transportation and demographics) from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey five-year estimates were used to generate a composite Social Deprivation Index (SDI) using factor analysis. Next, descriptive, bivariate and correlation analyses were conducted to characterize SDI and examine the association between social determinants, clinical characteristics, and SDI. Results: The study sample included 249 men (168 white men and 81 African American men) who had an average age of 66 years (+6.6). The mean for SDI was 44.5 (+27.4) and the range was 97 (1-98). White men that were married were 88.7% while African American men that were married were 77.8% (p: 0.02). Men who lived in neighborhoods that had a high level of social deprivation (i.e., SDI score of 48 to 98) were 121 (48.6%). There were significant racial differences in SDI between African American and white men. The mean SDI score was 58.5 (+26.9) among African American men compared to 37.8 (+25.0) among white men (p Citation Format: Oluwole Adeyemi Babatunde, John Pearce, Melanie Jefferson, Lewis Frey, Peggi Angel, Rick Drake, Caitlin Allen, Chanita Hughes- Halbert. Racial distribution of neighborhood social deprivation in a retrospective cohort of prostate cancer survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: Thirteenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2020 Oct 2-4. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(12 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-169.
Asymmetric Quantile Persistence and Predictability: the Case of US Inflation

This article investigates the evidence of time-variation and asymmetry in the persistence of US inflation. We compare the out-of-sample performance of different forecasting models and find that quantile forecasts from an Auto-Regressive (AR) model with level-dependent volatility are at least as accurate as the forecasts of the Quantile Auto-Regressive model, in particular for the core inflation measures. Our results indicate that the persistence of core inflation has been relatively constant and high, but it declined for the headline inflation measures. We also find that the asymmetric persistence of inflation shocks can be mostly attributed to the positive relation between inflation level and its volatility.
A Bi-fidelity ensemble kalman method for PDE-constrained inverse problems in computational mechanics

Mathematical modeling and simulation of complex physical systems based on partial differential equations (PDEs) have been widely used in engineering and industrial applications. To enable reliable predictions, it is crucial yet challenging to calibrate the model by inferring unknown parameters/fields (e.g., boundary conditions, mechanical properties, and operating parameters) from sparse and noisy measurements, which is known as a PDE-constrained inverse problem. In this work, we develop a novel bi-fidelity (BF) ensemble Kalman inversion method to tackle this challenge, leveraging the accuracy of high-fidelity models and the efficiency of low-fidelity models. The core concept is to build a BF model with a limited number of high-fidelity samples for efficient forward propagations in the iterative ensemble Kalman inversion. Compared to existing inversion techniques, salient features of the proposed methods can be summarized as follow: (1) achieving the accuracy of high-fidelity models but at the cost of low-fidelity models, (2) being robust and derivative-free, and (3) being code non-intrusive, enabling ease of deployment for different applications. The proposed method has been assessed by three inverse problems that are relevant to fluid dynamics, including both parameter estimation and field inversion. The numerical results demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed BF ensemble Kalman inversion approach, which drastically outperforms the standard Kalman inversion in terms of efficiency and accuracy.
Recent Progress in Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Cancer (HCC)

The management of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has drastically changed in the past few years with approval of several first-line and second-line systemic therapies. In this review, we present an overview of the recent progress in the treatment of advanced HCC and discuss future perspectives. The phase 3 clinical trial IMBRAVE150 has recently shown the combination of an immune checkpoint inhibitor, atezolizumab, with an antiangiogenic agent, bevacizumab, to be superior to sorafenib monotherapy for treatment-naive advanced HCC. Moreover, patients now have multiple options available in second-line therapy including targeted therapies like sorafenib, lenvatinib, regorafenib, cabozantinib, and ramucirumab and immunotherapies like atezolizumab and nivolumab either alone or combined with ipilimumab. There has been tremendous recent progress in the management of advanced HCC. Combination therapy with atezolizumab–bevacizumab has recently become the standard first-line therapy for patients with advanced HCC. Additionally, immunotherapy agents are poised to play a significant role in the management of HCC either alone or in combination with molecular targeted therapies.
Family history of disease and risk of leukemia among children with Down syndrome: A Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Study

1310 We investigated the role of family history of cancer in first-degree relatives of probands in bladder cancer (BC) risk. 713 cases and 658 age, gender, ethnicity matched controls were identified by personal interview from an on-going case-control BC study conducted in Texas. In a traditional case-control analysis, we found no significant association between family history of any cancer, smoking related cancer, urological cancer or BC with BC risk. But when stratified by smoking status, family history of BC and smoking-related cancers were associated with significant 2.34-fold (95% CI: 1.00-5.50) and 1.48-fold (95% CI: 1.00-2.20) increased risks for BC, respectively, among ever smokers only. To determine whether there was an excess of BC among first-degree relatives of case probands as compared with control probands, we took another analytic approach, in which each first-degree relative was treated as a study subject. The 713 case probands reported 5160 first-degree relatives and the 658 control probands reported 4816 first-degree relatives. Overall, family history of BC conferred a non-significant 1.46-fold (95% CI: 0.77-2.80) increased risk for BC. Using relatives who were negative for family history of BC and who had never smoked as the reference group, we observed thatt relatives who never smoked but with a positive family history did not show an increased risk of bladder cancer (Adjusted RR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.08-2.59) an increased risk of BC (Adjusted RR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.08-2.59), and for relatives who smoked but lacked a family history, there was a non-significant 2.79-fold increased risk (95% CI: 0.87-8.94). However, relatives positive of family history and who smoked were at a significantly elevated risk (Adjusted RR: 4.95; 95% CI: 1.64-15.21). We also observed a joint effect of smoking status of the relatives with proband age at onset. Compared with never smokers who had a proband diagnosed with BC at an older age (> 65), the risk was 6.89-fold (95% CI: 2.25-21.12) for relatives who smoked and who had probands diagnosed at a younger age (40-65). A consistent finding derived from the two analytic approaches is that positive family history of BC along with smoking habits resulted in an increase in BC risk. Identifying high-risk subgroups has substantial cancer prevention value. Finally, in an analysis of risk factors for BC recurrence in the same group of cases, we observed a more than 3-fold increased risk for BC recurrence (adjusted HR: 3.33; 95% CI: 1.34-8.26) among current smokers who also reported a positive family history of cancer, suggesting that family history may be associated with risk of a more aggressive phenotype among smokers. Supported by NCI grants CA74880, CA91846 and CA85576.
Stalin's Last Generation: Soviet Post‐War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism. By Juliane Fürst. (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2011. Pp. xiv, 391. $99.00.)

Drawing on a wide array of central and regional Russian archival and published sources, the author of this study has produced an appealing account of the last generation to come of age under Josef ...
Host Associations of Culex pipiens: A Two-Year Analysis of Bloodmeal Sources and Implications for Arboviral Transmission in Southeastern Virginia.

Understanding vector-host interactions is crucial for evaluating the role of mosquito species in enzootic cycling and epidemic/epizootic transmission of arboviruses, as well as assessing vertebrate...
Glucose Homeostasis in the Postoperative State

The postoperative period is a unique and complex state caused by the controlled injury of surgery, anesthetic agents, and starvation. These factors produce profound physiologic and metabolic alterations which subject homeostatic mechanisms to stress. The glueose-insulin feedback system operates in an altered milieu of increased catecholamines and corticosteroids, liver glycogen depletion and changes in perfusion patterns. We have examined the response to insulin in the early and later postoperative periods to determine insulin clearance, hepatic glucose output and peripheral utilization of glucose.
The Dionysiac Chronotope (1802–1804 and After)

Chapter 9 looks at Holderlin’s translations of and commentaries on Sophocles’ Oedipus the Tyrant and Antigone. In an instance of unparalleled textual (and artistic) creativity, the image that the poet invented from his previous retrieval of Dionysus’ spirit—in particular the modern use of visual media (such as the telescope) to exploit earth’s resources for profit—is fused with a dynamic, original representation in Greece. The dreadful spirit of isolated, monetised eyes that fix instrumental pictures of the cosmos with modern visual technology coalesces about the ancient tyrannical spirit of Oedipus, as when the tyrant (unconsciously) initiates a mystical revelation of the truth (and horror) of his own blindness. To conclude, the chapter shows how this unparalleled retrieval of Dionysian Greece reappears in Holderlin’s final poems and his last years of lucidity.
Congressional Power to Effect Sex Equality

From its passage by Congress in 1972 to its ratification failure in 1982, the Equal Rights Amendment (“ERA”) pivotally shaped sex equality discourse. While historians and legal scholars have examined and analyzed its demise, its failure has been deemed inconsequential for constitutional doctrine — conventional wisdom submits that a “de facto ERA” was achieved through judicial action. This Article argues that this dominant narrative has obscured the other half of the equation — the role of Congress in implementing the “de facto ERA.” Through original archival and legislative research, this Article offers a new account of congressional action aimed at entrenching the substantive guarantees of the sex equality principle. This Article introduces the Economic Equity Act to the sex equality narrative. Originally conceived as enforcement legislation for the ERA, this Article shows how congressional lawmakers used the omnibus Economic Equity Act for over a decade to articulate and advance their substantive vision of equality for women. Lawmakers introduced successive versions of the Act from 1981 to 1996, passing over thirty enactments. This Article argues that through the provisions of the Economic Equity Act, the women’s movement, lawmakers, and their constituents staked claims to the emerging meaning of sex equality and the terms of women’s economic citizenship — a critical chapter that has been written out of the histories of sex equality. This Article argues that this account rewrites our history of sex equality in three important ways. First, this Article contends that the Economic Equity Act constituted a decisive turning point in congressional activity — away from legislation effecting “equality in theory” through facial prohibitions on sex discrimination, to legislation aimed at achieving substantive equality or “equality in fact.” Second, this account redresses a fundamental gap in the sex equality literature by showing how lawmakers advanced the Economic Equity Act in an effort to revise New Deal-era federal law and policy premised on the norm of the male breadwinner and female homemaker. Finally, this Article reveals the Economic Equity Act as a foundational chapter for understanding the historical and contemporary role of Congress in effecting sex equality. At stake for lawmakers advancing the Economic Equity Act were the terms on which the benefits and privileges of economic citizenship under federal law would be conferred in the wake of the societal changes precipitated by the modern women’s movement.
Unity-Magnitude Input Shapers and their Relation to Time-Optimal Control

Input shaping reduces residual vibrations by convolving a sequence of impulses, an input shaper, with the desired system command. Using negative impulses in the shaper leads to faster maneuvers. Unfortunately, when negative input shapers are used, there is no guarantee that the shaped command will satisfy actuator limitations. A new type of negative input shaper is presented that satisfies actuator limits for a large class of unshaped commands. The performance of these input shapers is compared to the time-optimal control and other types of input shapers.
Schiff bases of pyridoxal

Abstract Various tautomeric forms have been postulated for pyridoxal Schiff bases, including the ring-chain tautomers aldimine ∡ aminoacetal (Ia ∡ Ib). We have found that acylation stabilizes either the aldimine or the aminoacetal form, depending on the structure of the Schiff base and the acylating agent used. Thus pyridoxylidenebenzylamine gave a derivative of the aminoacetal form on benzoylation, but acetylation with acetic anhydride gave a tetraacetyl derivative of the aldimine form. Variation of the amine moiety of the Schiff base had a profound effect on product distribution, even though NMR revealed only the aldimine structure in the starting materials. Thus acetylation of pyridoxylidene-p-methoxy-benzylamine gave a mixture of “ring” and “chain” derivatives, whereas pyridoxylidenepropylamine gave the “ring” form exclusively.
Nanomechanical quantum limits

Quantum effects usually manifest themselves only in the microscopic world of atoms, whereas macroscopic objects of the everyday world follow the classical laws of Newtonian mechanics. But can large objects also behave quantum mechanically? In his Perspective, Blencowe discusses work reported in the same issue by LaHaye et al. on attempts to observe the phenomenon of Heisenberg9s uncertainty principle in a relatively large vibrating beam. Although still small by everyday standards, the microfabricated beam consists of about 10atoms. The measurements indicate that the apparatus is within striking distance of direct observation of quantum fluctuations.
Distant Solar Wind Plasma — View from the Pioneers

Temporal variation and spatial gradients over nearly 50 AU in heliocentric distance and about 17 deg of latitude are investigated on the basis of observations from Pioneer 10-11, Voyager 2, IMP 8, and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter. The average solar wind velocity was found to vary somewhat over the solar cycle, but at any given epoch the average velocity is essentially independent of heliocentric distance. No indication of a terminal shock or signature of interaction with the interstellar medium was found. The stream structure commonly observed in the inner heliosphere diminishes with increasing heliocentric distance, reflecting the processing of material in the stream-stream heliosphere, both at times of high sunspot activity and disturbed solar conditions, and near the solar minimum when the interplanetary current sheet is flattened.
Representation of rule-based knowledge in neural networks

Shows how to represent rule-based domain knowledge in the framework of a neural network and how to represent neural network knowledge in the format rules for connectionist symbolic processing. >
The Insiders' Experiences with Continuous Transversus Abdominis Plane Blocks for Analgesia After Cesarean Delivery

Objective. Transversus abdominis plane blocks have been recently utilized for analgesia after cesarean delivery. However, little data concerning continuous transversus abdominis plane blocks has been reported in the existing literature. Available studies mainly examine the efficacy of single-injection blocks, and only one small case series has been published regarding continuous blocks for analgesia after cesarean delivery. First-hand experiences and observations of three acute pain medicine specialists who received a continuous transversus abdominis plane block for analgesia after cesarean delivery are presented. Settings and Patients. Three physicians specialized in acute and perioperative pain medicine personally underwent continuous transversus abdominis plane block placements for analgesia after cesarean delivery via a disposable infusion pump at the same teaching hospital. Results. In a very motivated, well-supported, and informed patient after uncomplicated cesarean delivery, the use of continuous transversus abdominis plane blocks for analgesia offers the significant advantages of early functional recovery and excellent prolonged analgesia. Conclusion. The patients experienced postoperative continuous transversus abdominis plane blocks that seem to be of value in limiting opiate use and improving analgesia with daily activities in the acute postoperative phase after cesarean delivery.
Relationship Between Electrostatic Discharges on Spacecraft P78-2 and the Electron Environment

Abstract : The relationship between the energetic electron environment and electrostatic discharges on the P78-2 (SCATHA) spacecraft has been examined. Internal discharges occur near perigee while surface discharges occur about uniformly over the radial range covered by SCATHA, 5.5 to 8 Re. The surface discharges peak at local midnight and decrease toward local morning while the internal discharges have a broad occurrence maximum centered on local noon. Both types are far more likely to occur when the Earth's magnetic field is disturbed. Although few surface discharges occur when the Planetary Magnetic Index, Kp, is less than 4, a modest number of internal discharges occur under these quiet to normal conditions. In all cases where internal discharges occurred under quiet to normal conditions, a period of very disturbed conditions had occurred a few days earlier. Surface discharges have a strong tendency to occur when the flux of electrons with energies of 10's of keV is high while internal discharges occur when the flux of electrons with energies of 100's of keV is high, and the flux of 10's of keV electrons is low. A significant correlation has been found between the occurrence of discharges on SCATHA and an estimate of the energetic electron fluence at geosynchronous orbit obtained from a neural network model of the relativistic electron flux at geosynchronous orbit. At predicted daily fluences greater than 1010 elec/sq cm almost all discharges result from internal charging. The incidence of internal discharges at predicted daily fluences above 1010 elec/sq cm is sufficiently high to warrant the use of this predictor to issue warnings for real time satellite operations.
Reconstruction of Switching Facilities at Essex Generating Station

LOCATED on the Passaic River, three miles from the business district of Newark, N. J., the Essex generating station of the Public Service Electric and Gas Company was designed and constructed in 1915–16, to supply the load of the Newark and surrounding area at 13 kv with ties of approximately 20,000 kva to the neighboring Marion generating station. By 1924, six generators had been installed, totaling 214,444 kva, and the switch house had been extended to the ultimate of the 1915 plans.
Prospective characterization of musculoskeletal symptoms in early stage breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors.

Purpose Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are increasingly used as adjuvant treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. AIs are commonly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to describe the musculoskeletal symptoms that developed in the first 100 subjects enrolled who had at least 6 months follow-up. Methods Women with early stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer were recruited into a multicenter randomized clinical trial to study the pharmacogenomics of two AIs, exemestane, and letrozole. Patients completed the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months to assess changes in function and pain, respectively. Patients were referred for evaluation by a rheumatologist if their HAQ and/or VAS scores exceeded a predefined threshold. Results Forty-four of 97 eligible patients (45.4%) met criteria for rheumatologic referral. Three patients were ineligible because of elevated baseline HAQ (2) and failure to initiate AI therapy (1). No baseline characteristics were significantly associated with referral. Median time to onset of symptoms was 1.6 months (range 0.4–10 months). Clinical and laboratory evaluation of patients evaluated by rheumatology suggested that the majority developed either non-inflammatory musculoskeletal symptoms or inflammation localized to tenosynovial structures. Thirteen patients discontinued AI therapy because of musculoskeletal toxicity after a median 6.1 months (range 2.2–13 months). Conclusions Musculoskeletal side effects were common in AI-treated patients, resulting in therapy discontinuation in more than 10% of patients. There are no identifiable pre-therapy indicators of risk, and the etiology remains elusive.
Damage detection in nonlinear systems using multiple system augmentations and matrix updating

Recently, a damage detection method for nonlinear systems using model updating has been developed by the authors. The method uses an augmented linear model of the system, which is determined from the functional form of the nonlinearities and a nonlinear discrete model of the system. The modal properties of the augmented system after the onset of damage are extracted from the system using a modal analysis technique that uses known but not prescribed forcing. Minimum Rank Perturbation Theory was generalized so that damage location and extent could be determined using the augmented modal properties. The method was demonstrated previously for cubic springs and Coulomb friction nonlinearities. In this work, the methodology is extended to handle large systems where only the first few of the augmented eigenvectors are known. The methodology capitalizes on the ability to create multiple augmentations for a single nonlinear system. Cubic spring nonlinearities are explored within a nonlinear 3-bay truss structure for various damage scenarios simulated numerically.
High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Oxamniquine in Plasma Samples

Abstract A sensitive and reliable liquid chromatographic assay procedure for the quantitation of oxamniquine in plasma or urine was developed. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase phenyl colum using U.V. Detection at 254 nm. The eluting solvent was the mixture of 0.05 M acetate buffer pH 5 and acetonitrile (3:7). With this mobile phase the drug and its external standard were well separated from the interference of the blank samples. The average recovery of oxamniquine from 3 or more replicate dog plasma samples of different concentration (0.125 − 4.00 μg/ml) was 95.5% and its coefficient of variation was 4.17%. The reproducibility of the assay was confirmed by the analysis of variance test for the slopes of the three standard plots obtained from plasma samples at three different occasions (F=4.2, p > 0.01). The detection limit for plasma samples was approximately 20 ng/ml. The method was applied to measure the plasma level vs, time profile of this drug following a single bolus intra...
Psychological characteristics in twins discordant for smoking behavior: a matched-twin-pair analysis.

The matched-twin-pair methodology was used to investigate the pattern of interactions between twinning and personality in 127 monozygotic and 140 dizygotic adult male twin pairs. Eighteen standard and three research scales from the California Psychological Inventory were used to identify differences in personality between twins discordant for smoking and in nonsmoking and ever-smoking twins treated as individuals. Although no evidence was obtained for a significant heritability component in the smoking habit, numerous interactions between the twinning condition (e.g., monozygotic or dizygotic) and personality were identified. As expected, monozygotic twins discordant for smoking show fewer personality differences than do individuals discordant for smoking. Discordant dizygotic twins show more disparity than unrelated individuals. The only personality scale showing a consistent discriminating effect regardless of the twinning condition was that measuring socialization. Results are discussed in terms of the environmental conditions that may contribute differentially to the smoking behavior in related and unrelated individuals.
Vitamin D and the skin

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient that humans obtain through the diet and by synthesis in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet B. Vitamin D is then converted by the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, its major circulating form. This form is the best indicator of vitamin D nutritional status and is easily measured. Under the influence of parathyroid hormone, the kidney then converts 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the biologically active, hormonal form of the nutrient that is important in the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus and is critical in building and maintaining healthy bones. Many cell types outside of the skeletal system, including various cells in the skin, also express the vitamin D receptor. In addition, many cell types convert circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D for local use. This metabolite has been shown to exert potent effects on cellular differentiation, cellular proliferation, and immune regulation. It is theorized that by these mechanisms vitamin D and its analogues are effective treatment options for psoriasis and other skin diseases. Insufficient vitamin D nutritional status has been associated with a host of other diseases, most notably cancer. There is evidence that supplementation with vitamin D reduces the overall incidence of cancer, although current evidence is insufficient to prove a causative effect. Sunscreen use blocks the ability of the skin to photosynthesize vitamin D, although the effect this has on the vitamin D status of the general population is unclear.
The effect of hyposensitization on the in vitro histamine release by specific antigen.

Abstract Whole blood from 14 untreated allergic patients was incubated with various concentrations of specific antigen and the amount of histamine released into the plasma was measured chemically. During the course of specific hyposensitization of these patients, a total of 30 similar studies were carried out, and the pattern of histamine release was compared with the pre-treatment data for each patient. Studies on 2 patients showed that treatment was associated with a suppression of histamine release which was practically complete at all antigen concentrations. In the remainder, suppression of histamine release occurred only at low antigen concentrations, and was more effective as treatment progressed. However, surprisingly little change occurred at an antigen concentration of 4 μg protein nitrogen per 100 ml. blood, even though more suppression was often seen at the highest concentration (40 μg PN per 100 ml. blood). Some of our observations are explained by the production of serum blocking antibody during treatment, but other changes are more consistent with an alteration in cellular reactivity during hyposensitization.
Biotechnology, inquiry, and public education

Education of our children is arguably society's most important task, profoundly shaping the communities in which we all live. Achievement and success in many facets of our culture depend critically on formal education. Education is widely perceived as the only viable weapon against the poverty, drug abuse, crime and teenage pregnancy that derail many citizens, particularly in the inner cities, from realizing their productive human potential. Beyond its value to individuals, education is the cornerstone of societal advancement.
Effects of diethyl ether and thymol on the ultrastructural and biochemical properties of purified sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments from skeletal muscle

1. 1. Studies were conducted to determine if the biochemical alterations of sarcoplasmic reticulum fragments produced by diethyl ether or thymol treatment were related to the membrane ultrastructure. 2. 2. Concentrations of diethyl ether or thymol that abolished Ca2+-accumulating ability but did not reduce the Ca2+-activated ATPase activity caused the formation of transparent patches on the surface of negatively stained vesicles. 3. 3. Higher concentrations of diethyl ether or thymol caused a decrease in the Ca2+-activated ATPase activity, an apparent loss of the 40-A subunits and an increased irregularity in the vesicle surface structure. The vesicle shapes observed in sectioned preparations were also altered.